Page 15 of Library of Forbidden Books

“Just? Do you know how many kids have gone back home with their eyes shining, hungry to devour the latest adventure novel you recommended? Or how many elderly people have chased away the loneliness at night by reading the books you’ve given them? I can still remember Mario, that laborer from Italy who was illiterate. You taught him to read in German. You opened his eyes, just like Jesus did in one of those miracles they talked about at church when I was a kid. You’re pure light! But sometimes I cannot stand you. So come out with it: What all did Dr. Vichow tell you?”

Helene chewed on her pencil, a nervous habit she had developed as a child. She had spent a few days trying to work out a plan but did not want to put anyone else at risk.

“The wedding is just over a month away. I should be focused on it, like my mother and Derek’s mother say, but how can I think about a wedding at a time like this?”

“We’re all postponing our lives. Nobody knows what’s going to happen. Sometimes I think they’re going to kick us all out.”

“Well, you’re Aryan. You’ve never been active in a political party, and you’ve got a brother in the SS,” Helene said without thinking.

“He’s no brother of mine!” It was one of the few realities Lena could not face. “Almost my entire family voted for the Nazis, and they used to be Social Democrats. The world has gone stark raving mad!”

Helene got up to make sure no one was looking through the window of her office door, then sat on the edge of her desk. She briefly recounted the night that Dr. Vichow had showed up at the library and then told Lena: “So I’m thinking about going to Rudolf Kummer’s office and stealing the list. I think he has an office at the central library, on the same floor as Hugo Andres Krüss.”

Lena’s eyes were popping out of their sockets. She shook her head over and over and finally managed to ask, “Who do you think you are, Mata Hari?”

“No, but it’s got to be done. You in?”

Lena drummed her fingers on the table for a few moments and stared into an empty corner. Then, with a smirk, she said, “Nothing sounds better than a new adventure with my best friend.”

Helene was flooded with relief. She felt that falling into step with destiny, however elusive it was, might be the key to overcoming any difficulty.

Helene decided not to mention anything about her plan to Derek. She comprehended the risk she was taking by entering a government office and stealing an official document, especially in the new Germany, where the consequences for any misdeed could include being locked up in a work camp with no trial, or even facing death itself. And anyway, later she would need Derek’s help getting the list to President von Hindenburg or his aides.

The first obstacle was finding an excuse to be in the vicinity of Kummer’s office. Lena suggested that they could request a meeting with Krüss and ask him to reinstate funding for the Neukölln library’s community projects. Helene could excuse herself to go to the bathroom and, while Lena distracted Krüss, could find the list, take a picture of it, and get back to Krüss’s office before anyone noticed. The plan sounded simple enough at first, but enacting what they had scribbled down on paper would not be easy.

A few days after they requested the meeting with Krüss, they received a positive reply. On the appointed day, Lena and Helene dressed their best.

The taxi dropped them at the entrance to the Prussian State Library, one of the most impressive libraries in Europe. This mother of German libraries housed an unrivaled collection of rare books, manuscripts, and historic documents of incalculable worth.

Helene and Lena stood in awe before the majestic facade. The building was only nineteen years old, but it seemed like a holdover from classic antiquity. Inside, the great circular hall emanated the magnificence Germany wanted the world to believe it had. Yet that temple to the language of Goethe, Kant, and Schiller was now at the service of Nazi propaganda.

They showed their IDs at the front desk. Dressed in a tube skirt and white lacy blouse, the amiable secretary seemed more like a Valkyrie than a librarian. She led them up the steps, down several hallways, and finally to the door of Krüss’s office.

“Excuse me, ma’am, I have a question. Is Rudolf Kummer in his office? I wondered if we might greet him while we’re here.”

The secretary gave them a puzzled look, as if any aberration from the schedule were disconcerting.

“I really couldn’t say. He spends most of his time in Munich. I’m told he does not care much for the hustle and bustle of Berlin.”

She went to a nearby door and knocked, then opened it and checked to make sure there was no one inside.

“I’m sorry, he must be out.” Then she went back to the imposing door of her boss’s office, knocked, and led the women in.

“Herr Krüss, Miss Helene Nathan and Miss Lena von Bülow to see you,” the secretary said while everyone shook hands.

“I’m pleased to meet you. You’re doing excellent work at your branch. Please, take a seat.” Krüss’s smile was friendly and his demeanor attentive. They had only seen him once before at an administrative meeting, and at a distance, but up close he seemed as personable as he had during his presentation.

“Thank you so much for being willing to meet with us, and so soon. I imagine you’re extremely busy.” Helene turned her brightest smile on the man. Her mother always said that a happy face is the best visitor’s card.

“Yes, but you two represent the cultural veins of the city. We need the information to flow so that Berlin can continue to breathe. What I regret most about my job, though I’m the first to admit how lucky I am, is that I hardly spend any time with the books themselves anymore.” He cast a glance at the large shelf lining one wall, then got up and pulled out a few volumes to show them. “That’s why I keep some works in here, to enjoy them when the weight of the work drags me down.”

Helene and Lena leaned forward and looked at the first book. Krüss donned a pair of gloves.

“This is a manuscript of tales of the Brothers Grimm. I love looking through it. The writing is illegible, but undoubtedly it’s one of our greatest treasures.”

He put it back on the shelf and pulled out a much thicker volume.

“Have you young ladies ever seen an original Gutenberg Bible? This one is from 1455, when Gutenberg started it all. The Chinese had already invented a printing press, but with Gutenberg, books became accessible to people outside the walls of a monastery. I could go on all day about the papers of Humboldt, Johann Sebastian Bach, Beethoven, or Martin Luther, but you’ve got the idea.”