Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold - Plough

A Blow 36But despite Eberhard and Emmy’s hurt, Heiner never heard them uttera nasty word about those who had abandoned them. “It is not that we whostayed are good, and the others bad,” his mother explained. “It is just that theysaw everything as an experiment, and we know it is a calling.”In November a strange young man arrived. He wore a brown tunic andsandals, and toted a knapsack and guitar on his back. His hair fell below hisshoulders. He called himself Roland, after the legendary knight.Heiner saw him coming and approached him right away. Within minutesthey were chatting easily, and soon Karl Keiderling (his real name) was offeringto help Heiner with his afternoon chores. As they chopped wood forMoni’s kitchen fire, Karl told him how he had met a policeman on his wayfrom the train station, and stopped him to ask for directions to Sannerz.“So you’re going to the Jewish settlement?” the policeman had said.“I’ve heard they are Christians.”“That may be. But who do you think they get their money from? RichJews! How else could they exist?”Karl, who was nineteen, told Heiner that his father had kicked him out ofthe house. He found a second father in Eberhard, though, and within days hedecided to stay at Sannerz for good. He continued to supply the house withfirewood, and Heiner helped him whenever he could get away from school.If he saw Karl through the classroom window setting out for the forest, heslipped away to join him. By the time Trudi noticed his empty seat, the twowere usually out of sight, pushing their wooden handcart up the hill.As winter turned to spring, Heiner and Karl spent hours on end watchingdeer in the forest or just lying in the grass talking. Most of the time neitherthought of the ten years between them. But once, Heiner confided his lonelinessfor a playmate his own age. Yes, there were his brothers, but Hermannwas a little boy, and Hardy preferred his books and his violin. His only hope,he told Karl, lay in his parents’ plan to rescue unwanted or orphaned children.Little did he know how quickly his wish would come true: the same year, noless than six new children moved to Sannerz. One of them was Sophie.Homage to a Broken Man