Rising Sun, Falling Shadow Read Free Page A

Japan and the Soviet Union had signed a neutrality pact, the Russians—including a large Jewish contingent—were faring better than most, but even Little Russia had suffered in the face of constant rationing, inflation and shortages. The broken windows, backed-up gutters and stench of stale garbage reaffirmed for Franz that Shanghai was a shell of her former self, little more than a ruin in the making.
    A girl rushed down the street toward them. Even before Franz could make out her features, he recognized his daughter by her slightly lopsided gait. He opened his arms to greet her, but Hannah stopped short and thrust a sheet of paper out to him.
    â€œPapa, have you seen this?” she panted.
    Franz took the page from her. “No, Liebchen.”
    â€œWhat is it, Hannah?” Sunny asked.
    â€œA proclamation! The Japanese have posted them all over.”
    Sunny and Esther crowded in while Franz read the English words aloud: “Proclamation concerning restriction of residence and business of stateless refugees.” The hairs on his neck stood up. “Due to military necessity, places of residence and business of stateless refugees in the Shanghai area shall hereafter be restricted to the under-mentioned area.”
    â€œThey mean the German and Austrian Jews, Papa,” Hannah murmured. “Us.”
    Franz locked eyes with his daughter. He considered telling her that everything was going to be fine, but he realized she would see right through the lie. All he could muster was a meek “Yes, Hannah-chen.”
    The proclamation went on to declare that all stateless refugees had until the eighteenth of May to sell their homes and businesses and relocate to a narrow area within Hongkew, one of the most crowded boroughs in the city. It concluded with an ominous threat—“Persons who violate the proclamation or obstruct its reinforcement shall be liable to severe punishment”—and was signed by the military governor.
    Sunny squeezed Franz’s hand until her nails dug into his skin. Franz knew that she must be thinking about her parents’ house—the only home she had ever known—but all she said was “Three months, Franz.”
    Before he could reply, Esther’s gaze darted frantically from Sunny to Franz. “A ghetto! Just like the Nazis created in Poland. Like Warsaw and Łódź.”
    All the local Jews had heard horror stories of the ghettos in Eastern Europe. “Essie, you cannot jump to—”
    Esther’s anguished expression silenced him. “My baby . . . born in a ghetto. His father gone. Mein Gott, what next?”
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Chapter 3
 
    The winter sun finally nudged through the canopy of clouds that had hovered over the city for weeks. But the brightness did little for Sunny’s mood as she tromped along Ward Road beside Franz.
    Reminders of Simon’s absence were everywhere. At the end of the block stood the bomb-damaged schoolhouse that he had helped to transform into a functional hospital. Across the street loomed the largest of the heime, the hostels, that the CFA ran to shelter and feed the thousands of Jewish refugees who had no means of supporting themselves. Without Simon, and his magical ability to pull supplies out of thin air, what would become of all those hapless refugees? Would they starve? But Sunny was too worried for her close friend to dwell on the fate of the rest of the community.
    Franz reached for Sunny’s hand. “You know Simon. He always manages to land on his feet, as he likes to say.”
    Not since her father, who had died four years earlier, had Sunny known anyone who could read her mind as readily as her husband. At times, she found it uncanny. “But with the baby so close.”
    Franz shook his head. “To have to miss the birth of his own child.”
    Sunny studied Franz, trying to discern his thoughts. She longed for a baby of her own and, while Franz seemed to share in that