H. Adler - Panorama

Breaks from school are frequent now, even if they are not vacations, mainly because so many children are sick that half the class is missing. At other times there’s no school for other reasons, such as if there is no coal and the furnace cannot be lit, or there are fewer and fewer class hours, as well as another school being set up in Josef’s school as several classrooms are turned over to the many wounded, since fewer and fewer students come to school. But Ludwig’s father is not in any school, he’s fine at home, even if he spends a lot of time lying down, and he just has a leave since it was only boils, though that is not the only thing that exists in the field hospital. Dysentery has also broken out, and it is a very bad sickness that weakens men entirely, such that they can hardly sleep or keep any food down, many of them dying. Everyone says that Ludwig’s father is very lucky, for though he’s a bit weak, he’s getting stronger and is sitting up in bed and in an armchair, but no one is allowed to visit him and Josef doesn’t go to see him, only the father having visited once with the mother after he said, “At least we should make an appearance in case they need anything that I can get for them.” Then they visited and took along some real coffee and a little cocoa. Ludwig’s mother was so happy that she sent Josef a lovely book the next day, Ludwig bringing it to him.

Josef is very fond of Ludwig of late, and Ludwig comes over a lot in order that his father has more quiet for himself, which means that Josef sees less of Bubi, who doesn’t want to come over when Ludwig is there, it being awful that time when Bubi came by once and at the door asked Anna, “Is Ludwig in there?” Anna had replied, “Come on in, Bubi, Ludwig is already with Josef inside.” Then Bubi made a terrible face and slammed the door so hard that Anna almost fainted, later telling the mother that she wasn’t going to take that from some little squirt, she simply won’t let him in the next time he comes around, and that will be easy to do, as there’s a peephole in the door, just like at the panorama, though only one, Wenzel always being the one to install things in the apartment, and in this case he had made a little cover out of leather for the peephole which you had to push to the side when you wanted to look through and see who was outside, the parents having reminded Anna to be very careful and make sure the chain was engaged and that Anna should let in no one she didn’t know, even if he said he was collecting on behalf of the wounded or for the emperor and held some kind of list in his hand, and also if he said he was from the Red Cross, not to mention never a complete stranger, for there were so many bad people running around and taking advantage of people’s good intentions, and you hear terrible reports of attacks and of people being beaten because they were not careful enough. Josef should never open the door or even come to it, even if someone rings twice, for untrustworthy people also know how to make such a sign, and no one knows who is really standing on the steps outside. Anna has also become cautious, and she says that her life is much too precious to hand over to such a scoundrel, so she trusts no one as long as this war persists. But there’s no reason for Anna not to allow Bubi in, says the mother, and she will speak with his mother in order to make sure that such rudeness doesn’t happen again, and that Bubi apologizes to Anna for his misbehavior. To that Anna had said that she wasn’t nobility, so no one had to apologize to her, but Bubi just had to not be so fresh in the future and she would let him in. Indeed, Ludwig was pleased that Bubi had been so fresh, but only because he hadn’t been allowed in. “Bubi can be so snotty,” Ludwig says. “He thinks that he’s better than all the other kids because his father is now a first lieutenant. But he hides out by the goulash cannons, where there is no shrapnel. Bubi just marches around and won’t talk to anyone, nor does anyone want anything to do with him. He struts like a peacock.” But Josef is still very fond of Bubi, who yesterday gave him half a pomegranate, it being the first time he’d ever tasted one, at which Ludwig said, “If he had given me ten pomegranates, I would have tossed them right back. He can have them all to himself.”

One time the father says that things are bad, he doesn’t believe any longer that the emperor can win the war. “It’s all rotten through and through.” Josef then asks what will happen if the emperor loses the war. “I don’t know, son. But I’d advise you not to say a word to anyone about what I said. Otherwise they could lock you up for treason, as well as your mother and me.” But no one at school says anything, they only collect more money for the war, and since victory is at hand and our glorious troops will soon return home in triumph we will want to welcome them in a grand fashion. The newspapers that arrive each morning also say everything is going well, all the articles talking about the victories that our brave troops have accomplished once again. Aunt Betti is thrilled that the war will soon come to an end, for then Uncle Paul will come home, as long as he is not taken prisoner at the last moment, which would of course be terrible, though she firmly believes that nothing will happen, because he writes so confidently that the outlook is good. Aunt Gusti has also taken on an extra responsibility assumed by all women of the fatherland, namely to visit the war widows, as she tries to comfort them by observing how miserable it is everywhere and how it would really be best for the war to finally be over, saying, “Better a bad end than no end at all!” Every day she runs around, and when she has no lessons she has a list of addresses to visit, and she does what she can for the widows, learning in the process how bad things really are everywhere.

At school Hugo Treml says that his father has been awarded the Signum Laudis, which is a great honor for the entire family, Josef’s mother having said so as well, for which they have a small party and drink rose-hip wine that the mother made herself, Josef also getting a small glass, the wine itself so sweet and sparkling as they toast the uncle and the emperor, convinced that victory is near, everyone proud of the uncle, Fräulein Reimann saying, “Your uncle is really something, Treml. You and all the children should follow his example. But even if you don’t have a Signum Laudis you can still be a good man and still aspire to be something. In these terrible times the children should above all be thankful and cause their parents no worry. Everyone has to use their last bit of strength and each do what he can!” Only Eiberheit laughs in response from the last bench, which makes the teacher very mad as she replies, “You should be ashamed to laugh so! If everyone was as lazy as you and did nothing, we’d have no men at all who could be decorated with the Signum Laudis. If we didn’t have such heroes, your homeland would not still be free and we’d have the Russians here. And yet they’ve been cast out, and you can go back home with Pieposberger and Flamminger, who have already left.” Eiberheit, however, is not ashamed, though he doesn’t say another word and is completely quiet as the class looks around at him, while the next day he doesn’t come back to school, nor does he ever again, the teacher announcing one time, “Eiberheit has gone away with his mother and all his siblings without saying where to. That’s the way the Poles do it. But we don’t have to regret his departure.” Fräulein Reimann also says that the situation is serious enough that, even though Treml’s uncle had been decorated, people were going to have to store up for winter in order to make it through, each needing to help the other, the children needing to pitch in as well and not just play with their toys, for they need to be serious, because the times are so serious.