It
was a cold damp day when the school bell rang and all of the third graders went
outdoors to pledge their loyalty to Mr. Hitler, their Nazi leader. Droozy was
among her classmates, the only Jewish child in the group. She stretched her arm
out in a straight line in salute. When Herr Kübler, her teacher, spotted her in the crowd, he ordered her to stand in the back and never to do that again. Droozy stood in the cold shaking with fear. While the other children were saluting she just stood there. Soon Mr. Kübler came back again to where the child stood and hit the eight year old across the face, telling her that she had been disrespectful to their leader. Droozy wanted to disappear. She was not permitted to raise her hand like her classmates, nor was she allowed not to raise it. She made herself as small as possible, bending her legs in order to appear smaller and hoping that perhaps she would not be noticed. Fear seized her until the “Pledge to the Fuehrer” was over. This exercise went on every day, and every day little Droozy shook with fright while trying hard to hide behind one of her tall Christian classmates. |
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