New Lives

[Letter of March 9, 1990]

Schnitzel Hunt

…and lots of hellos to you all from Thalheim. Something’s always going on at camp. There’s never enough time to write. But it’s been raining all day today. The mood here is really great. Adelheid, our group leader, always helps out, even if it’s just somebody who still doesn’t know how to make her bed right. She certainly has shown us how often enough. The girls from the other groups are jealous of us because of Adelheid. Although at the end of the day when we’re in bed and the lights are turned out, she’s nowhere to be found.

We often have chores to do, working in the kitchen or cleaning up. I get along with everybody. We’ve had dancing two evenings already, and tomorrow there’s another dance. All the older girls are in love with Rolf, Herr Funke’s assistant. He has a moped and a helmet. Herr Funke always says Rolf is his right-hand man. Rolf played the trumpet at the memorial stone in honor of all the fallen. Before that we had subbotnik and pulled weeds.

Yesterday we had a schnitzel hunt. Maik was on the verge of tears when he was told to step forward. Frau Borchert read his letter aloud to us. Maik doesn’t want to be at camp. Frau Borchert asked him what he wanted to do at home, since everybody would be working and nobody would have time for him, and all the other kids would be at camp. We all had to laugh. Herr Funke had asked why he wanted to play at home and not here at camp. He should tell us what he doesn’t like about camp. And of course he didn’t know. First he writes letters like that and then doesn’t say a peep and he’s always just goofing off. Adelheid says Maik looks like he just might run away. Kids like Maik like to make a run for it and then the police and everybody else have to go looking for them. And of course all sorts of things can happen in the meantime and nobody’s around because they all have to go looking for Maik.

Maik started to bawl. He should have thought twice about it. It was scary, because Maik had broken camp rules. Herr Funke asked him about it — but of course not a peep. Herr Funke said he had no choice if Maik wasn’t going to talk. Maik had brought it on himself. But he was going to give him one more chance anyway. It was a way for Maik to prove himself, and Maik nodded and then said okay. We marched to the athletic field and fell in for roll call. As the brigade leader I always give the report of present and ready. It’s so crappy when I have to be the last to report in because somebody’s chattering away and just won’t hush up. We had to discuss Maik. Maik swore an oath before everybody that he wouldn’t run away. But he’s got to make up for it, for writing letters like that! What if they had ended up in the wrong hands, Herr Funke said. Children all over the world long to go to a camp like we have here, but they have to go to work and never get to attend camp. And they don’t have enough to eat, either. But we get to come here every year. Everybody was in favor of Maik having to do it. Herr Funke asked if anyone didn’t agree, but we all wanted Maik to do it, and even he raised his hand, so it was unanimous. Then he took off, just like he was, in his shorts and undershirt. We all counted out loud, eight, nine, ten, bango! Bango marks the start. Maik ran off carrying the sack, up the hill into the woods. Herr Funke called out to keep in mind that he’d sworn an oath. Then Herr Funke gave a little speech and said we shouldn’t disgrace ourselves. A half-hour head start was a real long time. But we had to keep practicing until we got it right. Just keep practicing, every day if we could. A schnitzel hunt is a fine thing, after all, Herr Funke said, and it helps the kitchen out too. If it were up to Herr Funke there’d be a lot more schnitzel hunts, throughout our whole republic. We formed four groups. The older boys divided into two groups. We were supposed to gather pinecones. Adelheid had put everything in a sack and closed it tight, and the boys took it along with them. Herr Funke came too, of course, and Rolf. We kept our eyes peeled here. You never know what somebody like Maik may do. What if he sneaks back around and suddenly he’s here and we’re all in the woods? We kept our eyes wide open and collected wood. We piled it at the kickoff circle, right at the center of the athletic field. It was a little eerie in the woods, but nobody wanted to be a scaredy-cat. Just yell, Adelheid said, if Maik shows up, just yell. Nothing’s going to happen. He’s a good two inches shorter than me. So yes, we just kept our eyes peeled. We collected more than enough wood. There’d be no gripes about that. And then we heard the siren. Herr Funke had taken the camp siren along. And so we knew that it had turned out okay. Then we took off, along with Adelheid and Sylvia, whose hair is so long it reaches her rear end. She’s always one of the first to be asked to dance. Sylvia’s the prettiest girl in camp. She has a broad belt with a golden buckle, she’s going to have her parents get one for me when we go home, because her father can arrange things. Then we’ll both have one. We went at least a kilometer into the woods. Adelheid showed us the poop of deer and other animals. We want to learn stuff like that over the next few days, and to identify bird calls too.

We waited by a little shed with lots of signposts. Then Herr Funke and the boys arrived with Maik. Two boys in front, two behind, and Rolf kept trying to show them how to rest the branch on their shoulder without it hurting. Herr Funke told us how really angry they had been. Maik hadn’t resisted much. Even though he promised he would. Then he just sat down on a tree stump with the empty sack across his knees. Pine trees all around. Maik ran away when the boys started throwing. Didn’t do any good, of course. Especially when Herr Funke is with them. He can throw from a hundred yards away, and still hit his target. They all threw at the same time. Herr Funke said it was like what used to be called an organ, like those big “steel organs” the Soviets had. Maik kept his undershirt on, so no matter where he ran he was easy to spot. They just had to aim for his undershirt. Maik didn’t have any shoes on, either, but his eyes were wide open. He bumped into things a couple of times anyway. When Herr Funke realized we all wanted to be part of it, he said we had the right stuff. Herr Funke is strict, Adelheid always says, but he’s fair. It’s pretty rare for him not to have something to gripe about. But we did our job because we worked together with Adelheid. We stood in formation around Maik just like at morning roll call. Herr Funke said he was proud of us. Everybody had done his job.

The boys carried him up onto the porch where Herr Funke and Herr Meinhardt, the caretaker, were standing. Adelheid said Herr Meinhardt had said how great it would be to have a nice little devil like this delivered every day, that would sure make things easier for the kitchen. Then it all went real fast, because everybody wanted some. Herr Funke praised Herr Meinhardt for being so good at his job and always remembering to bring the basins to hold underneath. The boys were busy the whole time. We got the bread sliced and carried the tea bucket out to the athletic field. We used the wheelbarrow and the boys brought the frame for the spit. And Rolf got the fire going for under the spit. Herr Funke laughed at how unrecognizable Maik was now. It took a real long time before we could dig in, well after our usual bedtime. But I like sausage anyway. It tastes better than schnitzel. Herr Funke went on for a long time about how things used to be and how hard they had fought and all their sacrifices, but how they had always believed in victory no matter what. That’s why we have an honor guard too. And then Herr Funke played his guitar, and Adelheid sang, and so did we. I kept thinking about that belt. If only I could have been wearing it. And then Herr Funke said: Who would like to see the head? And he pulled it out of the sack it had been in all along. Who wants to carry the head? Herr Funke asked. I grabbed Maik’s head the way Herr Funke showed me, by the hair. It was really heavy, and I didn’t want to get my hands dirty. I never thought Maik’s head would be so heavy. Holy cow, I thought. Because it was so heavy we took turns, Sylvia and me. Sylvia is my best friend. We want to visit each other when we get home.

All the best from your Sabine, Group M 4