Read an Excerpt
FEBRUARY 18, 1943
Gestapo Headquarters
The cars screech to a
halt, officers pull
us out by the arms, haul
us inside and off to
separate
rooms, my heartbeat
pounding
all the while,
boom-boom,
boom-boom.
They swing
the door shut, unlock
my handcuffs, order
me to sit, rush about with
coats, hats, cases, papers
as I try not
to give in to the
overwhelming,
sickening
knowledge spreading through me:
the two of us are trapped
in this net because
of me.
Boom-boom,
boom-boom.
I take
a deep breath and prepare
to fight
for our lives.
INTERROGATION
I carefully blend
a cupful of lies
into the bucket of truth
spread out in front of me
as Herr Mohr shoots
question after question,
trying to catch me off-guard.
Fräulein Scholl, why were you carrying
an empty suitcase with you to the university?
So I could pick up clean laundry
from home.
And why were you at the university
if you were planning to head to Ulm?
So I could let my friend Gisela know
I couldn’t meet her for lunch after all.
Why were you and your brother
in the corridor upstairs?
So I could show him the Psychological Institute
where I take classes.
His eyes narrow,
his voice icy,
Herr Mohr is good at this,
but he doesn’t know
that I’m good, too.
Boom-boom,
boom-boom.
My voice sounds
so calm telling these lies,
I barely recognize
the words as my own.