Endangered Max

June 3, 1941

Dear Journal,

The day was going well. We found a new soccer ball and began to play a street game. Suddenly, the other kids stopped moving in the middle of a penalty kick, I turned around and I saw a group of men entering Frau Diller's shop. I had no idea; who they were, or why they were here? But of course, Rudy knew all about it. Apparently, the NSDAP needed more air-raid shelters, so they were checking basements to see if they provide suitable protection. After learning this, I knew that I had to get home as soon as possible and tell papa. But there was a problem; it would look really suspicious if I went off running home. Everyone around me continued playing soccer as though nothing was ever said, but I remained frozen in front of the goal.

As I saw the Nazis walk pass us, I conceived simple and yet effective plan. But before I could put it into action, I ran into Klaus Behrig causing him to completely miss the goal. I skinned my knee and a ridiculous headache. Not to mention, Klaus was beyond angry. It seemed that my life could not any worse at that moment, but of course I was wrong again. I party member came over to check my condition and offered to take me home. I refused him three times before Rudy stepped in and convinced him that I would be fine. I was truly grateful, but now I had to deal with the most stubborn boy on Earth. Well, if I could not go to papa, he needed to come to me. So, Rudy rushed over to my house to get papa. Then papa carried me in and I explained to him that the Nazis were coming. Papa immediately thought to hide max under my bed; however, it was already too late to devise a half-baked scheme as the Nazi party members were knocking at our door.

We realized our only chance of survival would be to distract the party members until we could safely hide Max. I was shocked to see the same Nazi to help me earlier. I tried to remain calm; it helped that mama and papa was little frightened too. I remembered how cleaned by knee both to delay the party member and soothe his own worries. We could only sit in silence as he examined the basement thoroughly. I needed Max to be safe; he was almost like a brother to me now. We shared our nightmares, our aspirations, and a sense of happiness that was hard to find in Nazi Germany. I could never imagine how terrified Max must have felt; he was so close to safety, and yet so close to being discovered, at the same time. I could not help but worry that he may discover Max and then take mama and papa away. Papa wanted us to look as natural as possible, so he told me to read my book and for mama to start cooking. I was nearly having an emotional break down when the sound of the party member excusing himself reached my ears. I basically ran down the basement stairs along with mama and papa. We removed the drop sheets and old paints only to be greeted by a highly disturbed Max. This moment was ingrained in my mind, never before had I seen Max like this: "Max Vandenburg sat beneath the steps, holding his rusty scissors like a knife. His armpits were soggy and the words fell like injuries from his mouth. 'I wouldn't have used them,' he quietly said. 'I'm sorry I put you through that'"(Zusak 345-346). Until this moment, I really did not realize how much Max suffered, since he resorted to such drastic measures. I was scared that someone as kind, helpful, and smart as Max, regressed to an almost primitive form, in self defense. Sometimes I wonder, if he was found, what would have happened and who would have lived? I do not want to understand how brutal Nazi Germany truly was.