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Five Lessons I Learned from My Papa By Sofia My grandfather was born in Vienna.

I've never been there, but I saw it on a map and it looks really far from Florida. He told me some stories about his childhood and I thought a lot about these stories. Maybe these stories will help you, too. Here's what my grandfather told me.... ============ When I was three years old, my grandfather took me to his office. he was a doctor and he helped many women with the births of their babies. I remember visiting his office and he gave me a white doctor's coat, made my size with my name "Doctor Kurtie" stitched on the chest pocket. I used to walk around the waiting room and I touched the belly of each patient. "Pregnant" and then I touched the next belly, "Not pregnant." The ladies laughed. My life was filled with adventures and interesting people. An old man with a white beard lived near my grandfather and one day he was talking with my grandfather. I walked up and I smiled at him. He reached down and patted the top of my head. "What a nice young man." My grandfather said, "Say hello to Dr. Freud." So I did and I put out my hand to shake his hand. Then in 1938 a large army came into Vienna and occupied the city. I liked seeing so many soldiers and their shiny boots and crisp uniforms. There was a big parade and my mother took me to the sidewalk and we watched the soldiers pass us. There were thousands of people on the street and my mother was not looking

happy. Then an officer stopped walking past us and came closer. He was tall and he bent at his waist to look down, almost on top of me. "Do you want to become a soldier, boy?" He asked with a large smile. I really liked the shiny buttons on his jacket. I nodded. Where do you live? I gave him our street address. Good boy. The officer turned to my mother, who was looking afraid, and he said, "When he is taller, he will join the Hitler youth." My mother pulled me away from the officer and stepped back. She was trembling. The solider smiled, said, "I will see you soon" to me and turned to rejoin his soldiers. My mother started to cry and turned away from the parade, pulling me again. ============= My grandfather stopped his stories and asked me, "What did the story about the soldier tell you about young boys?" So I said, " "

My grandfather asked, "Why was my mother scared?" So I said, " "

What lesson can we learn about some soldiers? So I said, " "

Then my grandfather started another story: ======= About two weeks later, my mother was quickly packing two suitcases. "Kurtie, we will need to leave soon. I

want you to find three things that you want to carry with you." I asked, "Where are we going?" She replied, "Far from here. No more questions. I have a lot to do." I went to my room and I looked at my toys. Hmmm, which should I take with me, I asked myself. Then I heard a loud knocking and some people talking. I moved closer to the door and listened. "Please," I heard my mother say, "Please leave. My husband is away right now but he will be returning." A familiar voice said, "My little woman, what could he say that will stop me from getting what I want?" I thought, "Where have I heard that voice?" I stepped out of my room and I peeked down stairs, looking on top of the head of the German officer who had spoken to me two weeks before. "Please go away." "Where is your bedroom?" the officer asked. "Upstairs, but I beg you, please leave my home." He grabbed her arm and started pulling her upstairs. She dropped to the ground. He pulled out his revolver and pointed it at her head. "Get up now." I could see another soldier behind the officer. The soldier looked up and caught my eye. "Herr Schmidt, there is another person here. Up there." The officer looked up and nearly saw me, but I pulled back so I could still

hear them but I was around the corner. "Aaaachhh, Jewish slime. I will be back when we can be alone." He put away his revolver and turned, dropping my mother's arm. When I heard the door close, I ran downstairs and saw my mother crying on the floor. I went to her and she grabbed and hugged me for a long time. Then we continued packing. ========= My grandfather asked me, "What was I thinking about the German army at that point?" and I said, " " My grandfather asked, "Do you think something beautiful and wonderful can be dangerous? Do you think the people in Vienna were happy when the army first arrived?" and I said " " he continued his story ========== After we packed some clothes in two suitcases and a small bag for me to carry, my mother called her parents. My grandfather drove a large car so the four of us could sit comfortably with the bags. We went to the train station and my mother told me, "Keep your head down. don't look outside the window." I heard people shouting and glass breaking. "Mein Gott" my grandmother said, "Why are they breaking the shop windows?" I heard my grandfather say, "They are destroying Jewish businesses, only Jewish businesses." We arrived at the station. My grandfather purchased the train tickets and soon my mother and I were in a train compartment. I pulled down the window and looked back. I waved at my grandparents and they raised their arms. The train was moving and I saw a tear on my

mother's cheek. "Keep waving, Kurtie," she said. "It will be a long time before you see them again." I felt her body tremble. ============ My grandfather stopped his story and showed me some photos. "They called that night, the night that my mother and I left Vienna, Kristallnacht." I asked, "What does that mean?" "Nacht means night and kristall is the same word in English, but it means glass." I asked, "Why did they call it glass night?" My grandfather said, "It was a night when the police encouraged people to destroy businesses owned by Jewish people. Why do you think people did that?" I said, " "

the ocean. We packed again and several weeks later we were in New York, pressing forward, passing through Ellis Island and again we were in a strange apartment. Many night I heard my mother crying softly ... I think she thought I was asleep. It was 1939 and New York City was hosting a World's Fair. It was a magical place, with pavilions from around the world and new products and inventions. I saw the first TV and I was excited by something in almost every building ... we were walking from place to place and after about five hours I could see that my mother was getting tired. She asked me to sit on a bench while she rested and I saw her face change suddenly. I think she was thinking about home and her parents and how far away familiar things were. She covered her face with her hands and leaned forward. then I saw a large mouse. A very large mouse. "Hello," the mouse said. "I'm Mickey. What's your name?" "Kurtie," I replied. "Do you want to dance with me?" And the person in the mouse costume stretched a hand to me. My mother looked up, smiled and allowed the mouse to pull her up. In two moments we were bouncing together in a circle, keeping in time with the mouse's la-lala-la melody. ============ My grandfather stopped. He said "Ever since that day, I've enjoyed wearing Mickey Mouse watches and shirts and hats. Mickey Mouse saved my mother." I said, " "

My grandfather said, "There are dark parts of human beings. They do things to protect themselves and sometimes don't care if they are stealing or hurting other people." He continued... ======== The next morning, my mother helped me get off the train and we found a place to stay. She said that we were in another country, in France. We found an apartment and we stayed there for several months. I went to the local school and I learned to speak French. I had friends at school and after a while I forgot about Kristallnacht. I wondered when my grandparents could come to join us. My mother told me one day that we were going to travel again, this time to America. I had heard about that place and I knew that we needed to go on a ship because a train can't cross

"You're right, Sofia. you're right," my grandfather said.

Later that day, after I returned home, my grandfather called and wished me a good night. "I really enjoyed telling you about my childhood," he said. I said, "But it was so sad." He said, "True, but look at what happened. Because a good country protected my mother and me, I could become a doctor here, have children and meet you, my wonderful grandchild. Even thought there are many evil people in the world, and even though it is a constant fight to protect what we love, we have to thank people and treat people the way Mickey Mouse treated my mother and me. " I said, " "

2 the German officer looking down on the boy in the parade 3 the German officer holding his gun over the mother

4 the boy waving to his grandparents at the train station 5 the mother crying on the bench wit the boy looking up at her 6 the mouse, mother and son dancing in a circle.

========== ARTIST we need 1 the little boy who played being a doctor

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