When You Could Only See Red

The Invasion of Amsterdam

"Destruction is in her midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets." -Psalms 55:1

Two years ago, the radios were going haywire. Everything seemed to be falling apart. The Germans were closing in on the Netherlands, invading left and right. And even though the Dutch tried to push them out of their humble country, they still failed. 

Now, Felix's homeland was infested with Nazis. 

May 10th, 1940, Queen Wilhelmina and her family fled to England, seeking refuge from the Nazi control. But in turn, left her country to fend for itself. Everything seemed to change overnight. The world caved in as Felix tried to find ways to hide Margeit and her family from persecution. He had tried to make deals with individuals all over the country- he even tried to convince the Fischers to go to Krakow to work for Mr. Schindler, but they wouldn't budge. 

"There's nothing you can do for us, Felix." Margeit said, her voice trembling. "You should leave before they catch you." 

"No." Felix stopped in his tracks. He and Margeit were sitting in Margeit's room, which was down the hall from the rest of her family. Just like before when he was leaving for Austria, he was pacing back and forth in front of her, while she was sitting on her mattress. This time was different though, she was crying. He could see the hopeless look in her eyes, the tears threating to fall from her face. She looked miserable. Holding her knees to her chest, she gazed wearily at the wooden floor in front of them. Felix went towards her cautiously, hoping to break her gaze and get her to look at him. She was not doing that much these days. "I'm not leaving you." He spoke. "Never." 

"But why not?" She cried; her eyes puffy. She threw her arms forward, as if to show her frustration and desperation. "There's no reason for you to-" 

And that's when Felix kissed her. They hadn't kissed in a while- only once or twice in the past few weeks. She stopped showing much affection once the Nazis showed up. He was certain it because she did not want him to get caught kissing or being involved with a Jew, but Felix didn't care. All he wanted was to show her off to the world, to show her affection. But he couldn't- at least on in public anymore. But this kiss was different than the ones they had shared over the past few weeks. Or months really. It made Felix feel warm inside, like an enveloping hug. He felt Margeit move closer to him, and he placed his hand on her cheek. 

As they pulled away, Margeit slowly blinked her eyes open, looking directly into his own. He felt his heart skip a beat. "I promised to protect you, right?" He asked softly, trying not to upset her any more than she already was. She nodded, giving him a small smile as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Felix opened his arms, in which she gradually accepted the hug, leaning against his chest. He heard her sniffle softly, wrapping her own arms around his middle and leisurely, she began to relax. 

Felix knew how scared she was. How hard it was for her to relax. Everything she ever knew was changing, pulling away from her in an instant. She stopped going to school a long time ago, but officially all Jews were forced to leave schools- go to "special" Jewish schools with "special" Jewish teachers. Everyone was out of the job, no businesses were running anymore, and it was unlikely to see almost any Jews outside walking anymore. There were so many attacks, so many disappearances, so many disasters. Just recently, aircrafts were flying above Amsterdam, the sounds of bombs echoing across the land, shaking up everything like an earthquake. 

The whole world was at war. 

At the beginning of the year, Felix was hoping (and praying) that this year would be better. Him and Margeit were now sixteen and seventeen, meaning that they were getting closer to be able to get married, and to get out of this mess. Felix and Mr. Fischer had talked about it earlier that year, hoping that this year- 1942- would a positive change for their family. But it hadn't been so far. Mr. Fischer and Felix talked about marriage between him and Margeit like it was a normal thing. Like it was not forbidden or even sacred in the same way that it was spoken about in Felix's home with his father and mother. Mr. Fischer seemed to want them to get married.