Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

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The violent overthrow of the Last Paradise came suddenly in February 1921.…I am writing in great haste at the hospital in the middle of the night. Uncle David Chavchavadze is waiting to take thisletter with him to Europe. His family and George’s are already in Batumi. David has to leave before daylight to make hisway out of Tbilisi.The final fall came two days ago with the Red Army descending on Tbilisi from three sides, only the coast near Batumi isstill open. Once again we have decided to stay. The Zugdidi Dadiani, the Orbeliani, and the Dadeshkeliani will leave withthe inner circle around Jordania. Tamara, pig-headed as always, wants to stay. With her close ties to the Mensheviks sheis in real danger…This is going to be an ugly letter, but I trust you understand that I cannot lie about three ugly days. You are no longer achild whom I need to protect.The invasion took place at night. I was at the hospital on night shift, because we have an outbreak of typhoid among therefugees in Ortachala—twelve serious cases and two dead so far. Thank God, Konrad was spared the worst, he waswith my parents.A group of soldiers stormed the hospital. They herded all female personnel into one ward, threw the patients out of theirbeds and gang-raped the women. The officer of the detachment stuck a gun into my mouth and neatly raped yourmother, separately.I am forty-three now and will survive it. But the shame, which I still have trouble living down, is that these soldiers werenot Russians, but native Georgian Bolsheviks. The snotty character in the shaft-boots of an imperial Russian officer wasfrom Guria. Full of hatred, he addressed me as Princess Orbeliani.Next morning they brought in old Persephone from Shavnabada. Someone had first raped her and then stuck hisbayonet between her legs. She bled to death. That finally made me cry.Our house has been confiscated by Comrade Sergo Ordzhonikidze, the leader and Stalin’s mastermind of this raid,another Georgian from Vladikavkas. Your grandparents have been relegated to the attic. They are all right, but Irakli isnot going to survive this collapse of Georgia. We worry much about Aunt Sophia…Dear Otto, if all of this sounds horrifying, it really is, but we will survive. We Georgians are like vines, we are flexible andwill grow back in time. Do not worry about your parents. If you feel like crying, weep about the downfall of Georgiandecency. I will see Ordzhonikidze and face him down.However, I fear this will be my last letter for a long time.Be well my grown-up child, remain honest and true to yourself even in your darkest hours.I love youAlexandraAlexandra’s rebellious spirit was not dead, she went to see Ordzhonikidze in her father’s house. She was led at gunpointinto her father’s study, where behind Irakli’s desk she found a boisterous, lean Georgian of about 35 in a shabby uniformwith the resounding voice of a warlord."Yes, Princess Dadiani what can I do for you," he said with a condescending smirk."My name is Doctor Alexandra Dadiani-Rost, you can omit my father’s title. I assume that you have been informed that Iam the vice-director of the hospital and one of only five medical practitioners left in Tbilisi. I am afraid, ComradeOrdzhonikidze, we are facing a serious situation. As of this morning we have fourteen cases of typhoid in Ortachala andfour dead. The epidemic is likely to spread unless you take drastic measures."Ordzhonikidze apparently had not been informed of the extent of the typhoid epidemic. He fidgeted nervously with Irakli’spen set eyeing Alexandra suspiciously. "What do you want me to do?"Alexandra knew that she had won. "First of all, I need two motor vehicles to transport the worst cases. I would have takenmy car for this, but you decided to retain the old Benz for your own personal transportation.“Second, I need a house in which I can establish an isolation ward separate from the hospital."Third, I assume for your own Georgian self-respect that you were not informed of the rampage which one of yourGeorgian officers and his comrades committed at the hospital. They mass-raped my entire female staff, myself included."You should realize that this dedicated hospital staff under Professor Dato Ortaladze’s direction is the only modernmedical facility in Georgia and that it will be in your own interest, Comrade Ordzhonikidze, to protect the hospital fromsimilar gratuitous abuse in the future. For that reason I ask for a guard responsible for the protection of the hospitalagainst future lawless elements disturbing our work."Alexandra was given what she had asked for, the officer from Guria was court-marshaled two days later. For theremainder of Ordzhonikidze’s reign in Georgia she lived under special protection at her hospital.Konrad and Alexandra moved into two rooms at the hospital. Asmat and "little" Sophia stayed with Alexandra’s parents—Tamara had gone underground. The two girls became Tamunia-Deda’s life-spirit. They would slip through the guardssurrounding the Dadiani house, ferrying messages and food, which Alexandra had the hospital kitchen prepare for them.Irakli sank into a despondent state. Occasionally Alexandra would obtain permission to visit her parents, then Irakli wouldperk up for a few hours only to go back, unshaven and listless, to his bed when Alexandra left.The Soviet troops stationed in Tbilisi were mostly Georgians, by and by Tbilisi reverted to the old Georgian humdrum212
ways. Corruption became the way of life, and despite food shortages—largely created by the disappearance of the landowningfamilies and the general incompetence of the new regime—one could still obtain vegetables and an occasionalchicken on the black market. The bakers worked under the threat of gun-toting soldiers using flour often provided byshipments from the American Hoover Foundation.Apparently a letter from Otto reached Alexandra in 1923. She writes of her surprise that it had reached her at the hospitalby regular mail.…I am happy that you and Annika are still together. You should know that you and she, should you want to marry her,have all my blessings and good wishes.In veiled terms she warns him of the censors and the dangers he could put her and others into. Personal messages wereall right, and he should continue to send his mail to the hospital address.But then she continues with her sad news:Irakli died peacefully last year. We were given permission to bury him quietly, using one of my hospital vans as a hearse.There was even a priest. They have become few and are old, hungry, and dirty. It was a rare occasion where we wereallowed to get together as a group of more than three people: Deda—who was less depressed than I had feared, Asmatkeeps her young—Dato, Christine, Bertha, and Sagdulla—whom we have become close to—Olga and Leist—who arevery old too, the surprise was Henri, and finally Konrad and myself. We have not heard from Asmat’s mother. Irakli’scolleagues did not attend but sent flowers anonymously. We had a small dinner at a restaurant which has recentlyopened in the former Bazaar.This was the end of my dear, most beloved father. An extraordinary man in spirit and wisdom and my closest friend, evenbefore and above Konrad.Alexandra sent this letter with a Russian Socialist attending a meeting in France in the spring of 1924. It came too late,Annika was dead by the time the message reached Otto.Lenin’s death in 1924 unleashed a fierce power struggle in Moscow in which Stalin usurped the party leadership. At firstthere was rejoicing in Georgia, the "Georgian Tiger" on the throne of the Russian empire would finally "make good" andelevate Georgia to supremacy and independence.This national fantasy quickly turned into a cruel hoax. Lenin had so far curtailed Stalin’s final reckoning with Georgia.Within a few months Ordzhonikidze and the Georgian troops in Tbilisi were replaced by Russians under a Russian RedArmy general. The easy, corrupt life of Tbilisi came to an abrupt end.Georgia boiled over: An altercation between Russian soldiers and a few Georgian hotheads on Mariamoba, Mary’sAscension on August 28, 1924, ignited the long smoldering dissatisfaction into an uprising against the Russianoccupation. An astonishing arsenal of hidden weapons surfaced in the hands of the insurgents.When the head of the Russian forces was killed by his Georgian pilot running the plane kamikaze-style into the ground,Stalin put down the revolt unconditionally and mercilessly. Thousands were liquidated or deported, among them Tamara.She did return a year later, devastated and half dead. Alexandra, risking her life, hid her in the hospital, and slowlyrevived her.Everyone ducked and either paid lip service to the new order or kept his mouth shut, but sometimes this was not enough.Alexandra kept her position at the hospital, they needed her badly, and surprisingly Konrad survived at the Universityafter a few days of detention. Javakhashvili was removed form the rectorship of the university and put under house arrestwhere he would live for years, expecting to be picked up any night.Alexandra could not mention any of these events. Instead, her letter of 1928 is overshadowed by her anguish that shehad lost connection with Otto. She had not heard from him for a long time, and her flying excursions had not brought anynews which she could decipher.I saw you on one of my flights in great distress in an unknown place. Mouse was missing. What has happened? At least Iknow you are still alive. Please, let me know where you are and what misfortunes have befallen you. Such knowledgewould be better than this uncertainty.We are all right. Konrad spends much time renovating the Botanical Gardens and teaching classes on how to improveagriculture on small plots. He is looking forward to his retirement from the university. I had to give up my private studies. Iattend to my patients and try to keep the hospital going. There are sick people who need me more than ever. Fortunatelybabies are still being born. Delivering them is my preferred occupation.Aunt Sophia died two years ago. She lived out her last days with relatives in town. Their manor house in Kaspi has beenconverted into a mental hospital. Our friends have shrunk. We don’t see each other often. Christine remains very close tome, and I work with Dato every day. Bertha and Sagdulla, whom Konrad taught to dance, work at the hospital, as doesyour sister. Asmat is our great worry. Deda is getting old and is not always up to the demands of her growing adopteddaughter.The highlight of the past year was Bertha’s wedding in Elisabethtal, it was like in the old days. She married WachtangEberle, a Swabian from Tbilisi. Bertha’s mother prepared chicken tsatsivi for us and we drank wine from Kakheti. Weeven danced afterwards. Konrad was almost delirious with happiness.From this letter my father knew of Bertha Wagenbauer’s married name, Eberle. Susanne Eberle must be her daughter.213
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Table of Contents1. My Grandfather'
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1.My Grandfather's Watch among the
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ditch beside the road.Mother was tr
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Deep snow still covered Djvari Pass
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"But you know nothing about how to
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newborn baby! You won’t need a ba
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Dadiani bent over the table, reache
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Autumn had come to Georgia, and it
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"Gespenstisch!" whispered Mouravi t
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Finally, depressed by his inability
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They slowly rode up the hill north
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On their way back to the Lavra Alex
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Blushing like a young girl, she gav
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Alexandra bowed deeply to a middle-
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All applauded and Ilia made a small
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She had done her hair up in a new w
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ape her. But then he must die, and
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a rear door when she entered.If Per
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Alexandra went purple with embarras
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The smell of roasting lamb wafted t
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Konrad quietly sat back. To his gre
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The tall, dark-haired woman began w
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She kissed him."Maybe you dream of
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14.Tuscany - the Wolfsons' House in
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ut are, unjustly, much more famous.
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Alexandra had fallen into melanchol
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She kissed him tenderly. "Niko, I a
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obligations, and she, ever since th
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months, was flooded with the diffus
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could they be aroused into communal
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19.An unexpected encounter with Vla
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chauffeur drop me at the station ju
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She described her sensation of flyi
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sky a thin, transparent blue. Imbed
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interest in Theosophy."Marti shrugg
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to?Mother had never mentioned any d
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"Ah, of course, of course, ‘Eine
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Konrad agreed that this sounded mor
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patriarchal oak and smiled, a littl
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have a similar situation in our vil
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Alexandra disagreed. "Most abortive
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a limited edition, hand-screened ma
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Alexandra touched her necklace and
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close!"She had hugged him, tears ru
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The others came lumbering up the st
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urden the heart with this task, whi
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the colors mixed and changed depend
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28.Kandinsky's suprising confession
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With kisses Alexandra removed the v
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He knelt, removed her knee and leg
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Joachim viewed Konrad with sympathe
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The rumbling continued at regular i
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Russia."She picked up a piece of br
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conservative pessimism, demanded th
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preventative method and taking it e
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new provocation in modern music and
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exhausted the Renaissance idea of b
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creative clairvoyance, and her shar
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Left to herself, Alexandra, awed, w
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public. She fended off the fuzzy wo
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ailways on strike. The strike had t
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Grandfather was very sad when he fo
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and put on his coat and shoes, he r
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Alexandra not in the mood to give V
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crowd of the fashionable and the ma
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established tradition with some mil
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42.Uncle Muravi's Benz, Tiflis1907"
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equisitioned a locomotive to take t
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meaningless rituals. That may be on
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lacking. I like this man, and at th
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are suitably ambiguous."45.The Dadi
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think of Munich or something else p
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He showed them the room where they
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death."Alexandra was more intereste
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they fought over the offering. The
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flew off cawing.Claudia grabbed Ale
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Together they were hedging out a pl
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the right of women to own their bod
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The Chinese wife of a sinologist at
Page 161 and 162: these texts."However, Ch'an is the
Page 163 and 164: times, but moved back together agai
Page 165 and 166: survived the Bolsheviks, the Fascis
Page 167 and 168: physically overwhelm her. Despite h
Page 169 and 170: Konrad picked up Alexandra at the t
Page 171 and 172: Abruptly her vision had narrowed, a
Page 173 and 174: the Kwadjagani, the Masters of Wisd
Page 175 and 176: somewhat, his back was still bent,
Page 177 and 178: century. The characteristic Chinese
Page 179 and 180: Alexandra was relieved and happy, a
Page 181 and 182: subconscious past her observant min
Page 183 and 184: Dahl leaned back in surprise. "This
Page 185 and 186: visions reappear. Entire armies mar
Page 187 and 188: "This method is not easy, I have ne
Page 189 and 190: He had started with representationa
Page 191 and 192: His hair had turned completely whit
Page 193 and 194: Overnight the mood in St. Petersbur
Page 195 and 196: daughter. His wife had left him no
Page 197 and 198: which was presented to him—with a
Page 199 and 200: "From the soldiers whom I took care
Page 201 and 202: He watched Alexandra’s doubting m
Page 203 and 204: lond, bony girl whose gray eyes loo
Page 205 and 206: call it intellectual humanism. It d
Page 207 and 208: time I asked this question I had me
Page 209 and 210: "I spent most of the winter of 1918
Page 211: We buried him in the cemetery at G
Page 215 and 216: 68.A Concert in Kreuth - Eliso1989I
Page 217 and 218: Eliso listened with increasing fasc
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Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

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