Faraway Home

Kristallnacht
Late on a November afternoon, not long after Uncle Rudi’s return, the family heard, from the street, the crash and tinkle of broken glass. Pricking up her ears, Goldi struggled to her feet.
Papa was at the shop. Mama peered cautiously through the window. ‘There are crowds,’ she said. ‘And a light in the sky. Something is on fire.’
‘What is it?’ asked Oma, her old hooded eyes full of fear. ‘Is it the Nazis? Are they coming again to take us?’ She twisted her heavy ring with trembling fingers.
‘Don’t worry, Oma,’ said Karl. ‘We’re safe here.’ But were they? The violence they could hear wasn’t far away. And what about Papa at the