The rainbow never sets

Günter was made an area leader, with a green cord hanging from his epaulet, and I was given a red and white thin cord and was put in charge of the smallest unit (between 10 to 15 members).

But our heart wasn't in it. We really resented the free time we had to spend at Hitler Youth meetings, and gradually we eased ourselves out of the situation. We told our district leader at home, that we had to go back to Posen because of mounting school work. In Posen, they thought we were still involved in the country group. By stealth we had become 'passive' members.

*

Our life in Posen went on as usual. Otto Körner was my class mate, and we did a lot of home work together, as he lived in the room next door at Tante Else's.

"I have to buy a book for Biology," I said to him one day, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure, I like to browse through the book shop." We caught the tram to town.

When we were in the book shop, I saw Otto leafing through a book on birds.

"I'd love to buy this book for my father," he said, looking at the beautifully coloured pages.

"Why don't you?" "It's too expensive. I haven't got the money." "I'll fix that," I said, and looking around, to see if anybody was watching, I put the book into my bag. Then I walked over to the counter with the biology books, found what I was looking for, and went to the cashier near the door, handing her the biology book.

"That will be RM4.20," she said. I handed her a fiver, got the change, and said to Otto: "Come on, let's go home."

After we had gone some way, Otto said: "Gee, that was easy." "Yeah, my friend, that's how it is done."

At home I handed him the book on birds for his father. "I hope he'll like it."

"I'm sure he will." Temptation struck again, when next I visited the bookshop. I told Otto afterwards: "I went again to our book shop."

"Yes? and what happened?" "Do you remember the book on mushrooms?" "The one in the same series as the bird book?" "Here it is."

"Well done, Dieter. Did you pinch it?"

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