• Welcome to Germany. Where the tall, snowy mountains are violet, the ocean is navy blue, the clouds are snow white and cotton candy-like, the grass is bright green, and the tall, sage green trees dance in the breeze. Two thirds of Germany’s population are Christian, one third of the population do not have a religion, and some are Jewish. The Jews had it hard during World War II. There is one family — the Evans family — who didn’t know whether they would receive a happy ending or not.
    “Audrey,” Andrea Evans told her daughter, “Eat your vegetables!”
    “No!” Audrey Evans snapped at her mother. “They’re disgusting! I won’t eat them and I don’t care how good for me you tell me they are.”
    “Audrey!” Audrey Evan’s grandmother, Elaine scolded. “Don’t snap at your dear mother! Now apologize to her and say it like you mean it.
    “I’m sorry,” Audrey moaned.
    “I said like you mean it!” Elaine scolded.
    Audrey rolled her hazel eyes while her brother Johnathan snickered.
    “Farshemen zikh, Johnathan! Don’t you dare snicker at your sister! Why must I punish the both of you?!” Elaine scolded once again.
    “Mother, please!” James Evans begged his mother, Elaine. James Evans had worked in Germany’s coal mines. He had worked with hard, long hours and only earned a few German marks per week. The Evans had struggled for money considering Elaine got laid off from her job at a grocery store and Andrea’s small general store had become out of business because of Adolf Hitler, who had recently become president. “Let the children resolve this on their own.”
    “Audrey still must apologize to her mother for talking back.” Elaine replied.
    Audrey sighed, “I’m truly sorry mother for snapping at you earlier.”
    “I forgive you, dear,” Andrea replied.
    Suddenly, the family heard a man screaming at the top of his lungs. Even though he was loud, the family couldn’t figure out what exactly the man was saying, “.....Jews...being..... relocated....sudden....by......orders......president...”
    Audrey rushed to the window and saw a tiny man with a square mustache and a weird-looking red “X” tied on his arm. “Mother? Father? What does that red ‘X’ on that man’s handkerchief mean?”
    Elaine, Andrea, and James gasped and rushed to the window. “Nazis,” they whispered.
    “Who are the Nazis?” Johnathan wanted to know.
    Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The family jerked their heads the direction of the door, frightened. “Open the door this instant or we’ll open it for you!” a man with a deep voice yelled. Elaine walked slowly toward the door and carefully reached for the doorknob.
    Be careful, bobeshi Audrey whispered under her breath.
    Elaine turned the doorknob and carefully opened the door. There stood a Nazi soldier with a gun held up and aimed toward her ready to shoot. Elaine was startled until the soldier layed down his loaded gun and spoke, “Good evening ma’am. By orders of President Adolf Hitler, all Jews must be relocated. Follow me.”
    “Why should we follow you? You’d have to be mashugga to make us leave our wonderful home here!” Elaine protested.
    “Ma’am, you and your family must come with me by the orders of President Hitler,” the soldier started to get angry. “Now come with me.”
    “I will never!” Elaine protested.
    “Ma’am, don’t make me use this gun. COME WITH ME!” the soldier was really angry now.
    “Make me,” Elaine snapped. That was that. The soldier held up his gun and shot. The bullet plunged through her heart and it stopped beating. Elaine fell to the floor. She was dead. The rest of the family started to sob.
    “Oh, you’ll get over it,” the soldier snapped. “Now, if you don’t want to end up like you’re dear old granny here, I would suggest you follow me.” The family obeyed without thinking. The soldier led them to a large truck covered by a black tarp. “Get in.” They obeyed.
    Once they got inside the truck, there were about 30 other Jewish families huddled together sobbing or talking about where they were going.
    A few hours later, they were at a concentration camp where they were stripped of the clothes on their backs to a server’s dress, their hair was cut, and they were sent to dig large holes in the ground.A few months later, James and Andrea attempted to escape during the night. The next day, they were hung in front of everyone. Johnathan and Audrey couldn’t bear to watch the terror this “great” president was making them watch.
    “May this be a lesson to all of you Jews to not disobey me,” Hitler announced. “You disobey me, and you die!” And with that, he pulled the lever to let the ropes hang. Eventually, the couple died.
    “Audrey?” Johnathan asked trying to hold back tears. “Do you think we’ll make it out alive?”
    Audrey paused to think of something encouraging to say. She couldn’t think of anything. This man had taken away all of their friends and family and now they were lonely orphans. “What more can he take from us?” Audrey whispered a little too loudly. “Johnathan, I don’t know. Sometimes life doesn’t have a happy ending like it does in the storybooks we read.”
    Adolf had been listening to the whole conversation. “Audrey Evans, you asked if I could take any more from you. Well, I can.” With that he took out two daggers and plunged them through the two children’s hearts.
    Adolf Hitler had killed the whole Evans family. The Evans never got their happy ending. Audrey was right. Sometimes life doesn’t have a happy ending.