THE FÜHRER'S DAUGHTER

THE FÜHRER'S DAUGHTER (Episode 2 of 5) Chapters 19, 20 & 21

“Do not despise the days of small beginnings, my dear. Sometimes it just takes one person to stand up and face the giants. That person need not be a giant herself, she only need know from where her strength comes.”

“I remember a story like that—The Shepherd King¸he called it. Miles read it to me from a secret book.”

“That secret book is called the Tanakh, or the Bible—the holy text of Jews and Christians. Its main subject is about liberation, courage, and the triumph over evil and death itself.” He lowered his chin and gazed out over the gold rims of his spectacles. “You can see why such texts would be considered dangerous by the Nazi party. They are viewed as subversive, revolutionary.”

“But that shepherd boy had the power of the Almighty behind him, when he defeated the giant. He was destined to win, destined to rule.”

“Exactly.” Eli smiled.

It took a moment to register what he was implying. “But I don’t even know who I really am, much less what I’m destined for.”

“There is a prophecy—You do believe in prophecies, don’t you?”

She laughed to cover her uncertainty. “Now you’re patronizing me.”

“Oh, I understand. Even among our own people, there are those who don’t believe. They call it anything from a fable or folklore, to a prediction. But I know…it is an actual prophecy.”

“Isn’t it just a childish fantasy?”

“Not in this case.” Eli clasped his hands together and shook them slightly. “Your very presence here is proof.”

Grace furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“Your whole life you’ve been lied to—a fact that you are just now realizing. But it goes far deeper than that. The truth about the empire and how this dark regime came into power would make anyone with a heart cringe.”

A shiver crawled up her spine like a spider.

The dreadful genocidal images from the archives returned. The bodies, the people she had called Mother and Father standing over them. It had cost Freidrich his life, nearly cost her own. And Mother had died protecting her from the consequences of that discovery. “I’ve seen pictures.”

“Oh, it’s far worse than any pictures you’ve seen. America was never liberated, quite the contrary. Nazis from Germany unleashed a horrendous nuclear weapon and conquered this country when the entire world was at war. As they took over and established a new government, they crushed any who dared stand against them. They literally rewrote the history books such that future generations—such as yours—would know nothing of their atrocities. But you’ve seen…and now, you have the most dangerous weapon of all.”

“What weapon is that?”

“The truth.”

Understanding rushed in like a flood. Questions, inclinations, and suspicions coalesced. She was waking from a nightmare, only to find reality to be much more horrific.

 “My dear Grace,” Eli said. “Try to understand. They have worked to deconstruct everything that makes us human, our very existence. They rule with an iron fist and only continue to increase their power. The Empire will destroy us all if we let it—not just with bombs, guns, and gas chambers, but by crushing the human spirit.”

All her life, she had been taught to be a role model, an exemplary citizen and a good Nazi. Indeed, people throughout the Aryan States admired her virtue and loyalty to the state and to the Empire. Now, she knew: It had all been a lie.  “But…I’m just a girl.”