Читать книгу The Women of Janowka - Helmut Exner - Страница 16

– Chapter 9 –

Serafine and Friedrich had their first daughter, Auguste, in February 1911. In October 1912, Natalie, their second daughter was born. A few days later, baptism was performed by the sexton. Since Serafine needed some time to recover from the birth, 18-year-old Katlika had been helping her with the housework in the last few weeks. Having to cope with two little children took some getting used to. And the house and yard work didn’t get done on its own. Katlika, however, enjoyed being with Serafine and the little girls. Moreover, she thereby was able to divert her thoughts, since she had fallen in love.

What had begun as an ordinary crush for Eduard Ehmke two years ago, had in the meantime become a great love. If only she could marry Eduard at once. Her father Karl, however, was of a different opinion. She could still pass for a thirteen-year-old girl, was small and thin, so that her father didn’t want to admit that she had become a grown-up and marriageable young woman. Some time ago, he even gave Eduard a talking-to, and said to him: “Now listen, son. As long as you’re not married, make sure you keep your hands off my daughter, as well as your other body parts. When Katlika is old enough and you still like each other, you can come and talk to me and I’ll be ready to listen to you.”

The problem was that Eduard didn’t know when Katlika would be old enough in Karl’s mind. Other girls already got married at the age of seventeen, or even earlier in case one was expecting. Katlika had been pestering her father at every opportunity. In this matter, mother Christine would have the deciding vote anyway – as always. If she said to Karl that Katlika was old enough to marry, then he would readily agree.

Katlika sat in Serafine’s kitchen working on the butter churn. In her mind she held an inner monologue which was a mixture of fury and disappointment.

What is Father thinking? I’m not his little girl any more. I’m a grown-up woman. Just because I’m not a big, fat matron, it doesn’t mean he can treat me like a child. Damn it all! I just want to do what everybody does, lie in the same bed with a man, get touched everywhere without having to push him away ever again, nor putting him off indefinitely. I want to be alone with him. I just want to have my fun! And Mother? She’s just like him! I can’t hear it anymore: Wait a little bit longer! You are still so young, and Eduard is still so young. It’s always the same old story and it’s getting on my nerves!

“Well, Katlika, just by looking at how energetically you’ve been working on the butter, I’d say it’s done already,” said Serafine.

“Wow – you really gave me a scare! I’ve been completely lost in thought. And I am furious.”

“Obviously! You must have love problems.”

“On the contrary. I would like to finally marry.”

“I think, I should talk to your mother. Why shouldn’t you get married at your age? Besides, Eduard is a nice guy. And if you marry him, we’ll not only be sisters-in-law, but will also be related to each other, since Eduard is a cousin of mine.”

“Is there anybody in the area to whom we aren’t related?” asked Katlika.

“Well, there aren’t too many, that’s for sure”, replied Serafine, smiling.

“Well, talk to Mother then, please do. I can’t stand pushing Eduard away any longer for fear something could happen. But if it happens – against all odds – it’ll end in disaster.”

“Well, we won’t let it go that far. I promise, I’ll talk to your mother at Christmas when everybody is going to be in a good mood. And if your mother says ‘yes’, then your father can only nod his agreement.”

Both women had to smile which ended up in rambunctious giggling.

On Christmas Eve it started to snow. About six o’clock in the evening the entire village flowed to the parish hall. Usually, a service centred on the sermon and readings from the Scriptures. But on Christmas Eve there was singing, too. The choir, which otherwise performed on the occasion of burials, had rehearsed some songs. Most parishioners had to stand, since the few chairs were reserved for the aged and infirm. With great fervour, the sexton said a prayer whose truthfulness nobody doubted:

“Lord, let us furthermore live together in peace and harmony with our brothers and sisters whether they are Germans, Russians, Poles, Ukrainians or Jews. Preserve all of us from need, hunger and war. Protect the Poles and Ukrainians, too, who live in our village and are not here tonight because they have another religion.”

The sexton expressed just what everybody was thinking, since in the past few years certain segments of the population were increasingly at a disadvantage. The Poles had been suspicious of the Russian authorities because they had been regarding this land as theirs. And so it had been for centuries – until the Russians, in the course of the third Polish division, had annexed Volhynia as part of their empire. The fact that so many Germans lived in this region, annoyed the Tsar even more intensely. In his opinion, the Germans should live further east which was less densely populated. Since Volhynia was located not too far from Germany, he was also having the enemy in his own lines in case of an armed conflict. To emphasize the Tsar’s request, the Russian administration was instructed not to allow any people of German origin extensions on expired leases, nor were banks allowed to grant them loans for buying property. Hence, more and more families were leaving the area. Some had moved eastwards, many had gone to East Prussia, some had emigrated to South America, but the vast majority were starting a new life in North America.

Things weren’t going well for the Ukrainians either. Until 1861, many of them had been serfs – first under Polish and later under Russian rule. As a result, most of them never had the chance to own a piece of land in their own country. So, the emigration of Ukrainians, to Canada in particular, was huge. Since 1861, when the big Polish landowners found themselves having no more serfs cultivating their vast fields, farmland was either sold or leased. Since many Ukrainians were too poor and could never afford being their own masters, Germans flocked into the region, mainly escaping from the chaotic situation in Poland. Up to the turn of the century, hundreds of German villages and colonies were founded. Before that, there were already some German settlements which had been founded mainly by Mennonites who had come from West Prussia. Many of them used to have Dutch and North German names, as their forefathers had come from Friesland where they, like in almost any other German region, had been persecuted because of their religion. There were Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, White Russian, Lithuanian and Jewish villages. A big patchwork rug consisting of old and new settlements in which people worked for their own good as well as for the public good of the country and, thus, turning Volhynia into a significant breadbasket of Europe. However, all of this was in danger now. Black clouds were gathering. The rulers of Europe had their own points of view. Apparently, they hadn’t been interested in the public good, but in their own well-being.

Confronted with this background, most people did not succeed in enjoying Christmas as much as they usually did. Many families had been decimated. How could one take pleasure in the holiday roast while the children and grandchildren were in America? Probably, one would never see them again. So, Christmas had a slighly bitter taste, leaving more and more families with mixed feelings of grief, pain and tears. Besides, there had been a lot of talk about an impending war. That simply was beyond the power of people’s imagination. And how could that happen in the first place? There was literally no one who wanted war, not here in Janowka and not in the villages around either. However, everyone was aware that there were things over which they had no influence. In order to do so, one would have to penetrate into the minds of the high and mighty.

At Christmas 1912, the Exner family in Janowka was not yet reduced by emigration. With the help of a few glasses of wine, they succeeded rather well in taking a more lenient view of politics and, of defusing the danger of war.

“Oh what a nice Christmas that was!” said Christine to her husband when they were sitting together in the parlour.

“True, there is nothing better than having many around livening the place up,” agreed Karl.

“However, I feel sorry for Robert. This time, he certainly had a sad Christmas,” Christine mentioned, having become rather thoughtful. Robert, a brother of Karl, had been living further south in Berestetschko, a town belonging to the Dubno district. where he had been running his cloth factory. Four of his sons, however, had emigrated to Canada this past year.

“Yes, but there’s nothing you can do about it. If the young folks have decided to go this way, one cannot tie them down.”

“I know,” said Christine, while she topped up her cup with tea. “We have been spared so far. We only have four children, and everyone should be able to make a living here.”

“The question is,” said Karl taking his glass of wine from the table, “whether in the future anyone here will still be able to make a living.”