The following text is from the stolen files that were stored on my lap top, luckily only the draft pages of the book I wrote containing 21 Chapters, titled ‘Heralds of the Holy Grail’; today I am publishing it on my website to protect myself from plagiarism… ©AnneGelicrisio
The completed manuscripts are stored in my BRA with my Australian and Maltese Passports; to both Herlads of the Holy Grail and Betrayed Not Beaten; and only Florian Tiziani, will have access to my bra and all the contents in it, after my divorce.
“Darling” she said with the kettle ready boiled in the grip of her right hand and balancing two empty cups on the other, “would you like some coffee?” Her husband seated upright at the kitchen table preoccupied with the morning newspaper, remained silent. It not like him at all; something has got his attention. Alma allowed the brief silence while taking a moment to enjoy the fine rays of early morning sun, streaming through the kitchen window that was slightly open to let in the fresh ocean air from the Mediterranean Sea that surrounded the beautiful Italian island of Capri.
Alma and her husband Franz Werfel – a talented novelist, poet and playwright – were taking a break from public life and their busy neighborhood in Austria, after the worldwide success of his novel titled, ‘The Forty Days of Musa Dagh’; which detailed the mass murder and expulsion of Armenians from eastern Anatolia. The novel based on a true story, awakened the world to the evidence of the persecution and genocide inflicted on the Armenian nation during World War I, 1915. It was translated into 24 languages and chosen by the Book-of-the-Month Club, three years ago in 1935. Before the book was published, an English translator deleted some three hundred passages that were deemed to be either unfavorable to Turkey or laudatory of the Armenian people. Despite being subjected to political pressure because of its intense criticisms of the Turks, Franz Werfel, persevered in exposing the facts without fear of retribution, it was a story he felt that had to be told for all those who suffered in silence. His book sold one hundred and 25 thousand copies in its first four months in the U.S. It was published on the eve of the Nazi reign in Germany and has since been regarded as an unwittingly prophetic parallel with the devastation brought about upon the Jews. Hollywood studio didn’t waste anytime trying to initiate plans to make the novel into a movie but the State Department exerted pressure resulting in the studio’s abandonment of the project.
Alma herself, was the widow of Gustav Mahler's and now the wife of Franz Werfel. She was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in Austria and was a part of an elite group of intellectuals, composers, writers, painters, conductors, actors and academics who regularly gathered at her house. On 14 November 1917, Franz Werfel, was introduced to Alma by a mutual friend. At first she did not find Werfel physically attractive, and was bothered by the fact that he was Jewish; "Werfel has bow legs and is a fat Jew with thick lips and oozing slitty eyes” she once said in a private conversation with a close friend, “but the more he presents of himself, the better he gets" she added. Franz’s first impression of Alma was very different however, describing her as “a guardian of the fire”. In the following weeks, he visited her more frequently in order to make music with her – night after night he used to trawl through the bars and cafés of Vienna with Ernst Polak, Alfred Polgar and Robert Musil, but all this was soon to change – Franz saw in Alma his savior, a goddess whom he was permitted to worship, and described her as "one of the few magical women who exist". The relationship became public in mid April 1920. By this time Alma shared a daughter named Anna Mahler, to Gustav Mahler, which didn’t bother Franz in the slightest; and despite Alma’s eleven-year seniority over Franz, and considerable political and religious differences, the two fell in love and married in 1929, after Franz, satisfied Alma’s precondition of renouncing Judaism.
On this glorious morning, in their five-star holiday cabin with ocean views stretching as far as the eye can see, Alma prepared a light breakfast consisting of two cups of the finest quality coffee and some delightful French Jams spread liberally on hot raisin toast, served on a shiny silver designer tray, a wedding present that Alma was very fond of and took everywhere they travelled. Her husband was strangely quiet still seated at the kitchen table glued to the international newspaper, “a good breakfast will help him” she thought privately and took the silver breakfast tray over to him.
As she leaned over to hiss his cheek standing proudly beside him, she noticed the newspaper headlines now in her full view. “Oh shit” she whispered in a sudden panic, ignoring the succulent smell of freshly brewed coffee dominating the air, which is something she usually looked forward to in the morning. With a comforting hand on her husband’s bulky shoulder and still standing beside him, Alma leaned over to quietly read the article titled, “The Anschluss of Austria (1938)…” she continued on reading, “there has been a display of naked force at a Government which was prepared to consult the people. Had it been certain that that consultation was going to favor the union of Germany and Austria, it would have been allowed to proceed in peace. That force has been taken, in my opinion, against the will of the Austrians. This fact of a forcible alteration in the status of Austria causes widespread alarm throughout Europe and is a warning of the dangers to come.”
Devastated with the bad news, she collapsed in the vacant chair right next to her husband, her unspoken words made more noise than waves crashing on the rocks in a synchronized fashion. The most concerning of all passages highlighted on the front page of that newspaper was that Hitler had advertised that he wanted all German-speaking nations in Europe to be a part of Germany but he showed no interest in being a part of them. To this end, he had designs on re-uniting Germany with his native homeland, Austria, where Franz and Alma lived.
.
“Oh, Franz darling, what are we going to do?” she cried in a sudden panic. Franz, finally turned to his wife making eye contact for the first time that morning that came from his very depths and tried to calm her with his sense of humor (as usual) but his tone of voice was not at all cheerful, “well, after you capture Hitler, I'll cut off his head, frame it and then feed his body to the wild pigs, for they have more morals than him and deserve a good feed?” Alma gave no response as this was time for jokes; it was as if the bad news had suddenly sucked out her enjoyment for life. Franz continued, “well, we can’t both be depressed now, can we?”
Deciding to change the mood, Franz suddenly swung into action, plotting out loud a possible escape plan that would see them safely migrate to neighboring France, where they had many friends, particularly in Paris. Pacing up and down the kitchen isle in a somewhat disciplined march, Franz continued “…you can go to Austria to settle our affairs since you’re not Jewish and I’ll meet you in Milan, where it is safe, am I right?” Alma stood up and with a voice broken with worry, she replied “you do realize that people with written talents are at the top of the hit list.., don’t you darling?” her husband replied with a comical tone “of course I do, a sure target for a dictator who wants everyone silent no doubt” Alma finished his sentence, “yes, and especially if you’re Jewish!” Franz stopped pacing and glanced out the kitchen window absorbing the glorious view for the first time that morning and spoke his usual humor with the intention to change the bad mood that engulfed the fresh ocean air, “oh yes, and while we’re at it we can do the Tour-de-France, what a wonderful opportunity we have been presented with all of a sudden… thank you, Hitler, you ass hole!”
This was very much a part of his character, a trait that Alma always loved about her husband the survivor that refuses to lie down, that turns grim into grin in just a few seconds and his heart, one that loves her beyond measure putting his worry aside to ensure her happiness, this is why she married him after all.
After another minute of silence, Alma turned to her husband in question, “how could this happen to Austria, our homeland?” In an educated response, Franz said, “look darling, to be quite frank, Hitler wants control of the largely German-speaking area within Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland and unfortunately Austria shares a border with this area so to get it, Hitler needs to first destabilize Austria, it's not rocket science, he's a greedy bastard.” Alma in frustration conversed back, “yes darling, I know that, I'm not stupid but I don't understand how Austria gave into the Germans, I'm mean, the Austrian Chancellor, Dollfuss, tried to crack down on the Socialists and Nazis - political factions that he thought were tearing the country apart...” she continued in competition with her husbands intelligence, “and Dollfuss banned the Nazi party, he opposed any suggestion of takeover by those unintelligent German animals”. Franz stood up in contemplation and slowly walked over to his wife that he loved more than life itself and assured her, “Alma darling, in 1934, Hitler ordered the Austrian Nazis to create havoc in Austria, which turned into an attempt to overthrow the government and Chancellor Dollfuss was murdered...” Alma, sat back down with worry absorbing every word, as her husband continued the conversation, “…but they failed because of the Austrian Military, who defended the Austrian Government” Alma was quick to cut in “yes, yes and Italy, which is where we are now, had agreed to protect Austria from outside aggression, did they not?” Franz nodded in submission and remained silent allowing her to finish but Alma didn’t have the energy to continue and so he added, “...the Italian dictator, Mussolini, honored the agreement and moved Italian troops to the Austrian border to deter Hitler from invading...” he continued without taking a breath “but the new Austrian Chancellor, Schuschnigg tried to co-operate with Hitler as much as possible, no doubt it was his biggest mistake, as Schuschnigg's position was undermined in 1936 when Hitler and Mussolini formalized the Rome-Berlin Axis during their joint involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)” taking a deep breath, Alma finally concluded “ ...and with Germany and Italy now firm allies, Austria had lost the protection of Italy and was vulnerable to German attack, it's no wonder they gave in, they had to I suppose – how on earth?” She continued “…why of why …and what are we going to do now Franz, my darling?”
Franz stood still by Alma’s side, who stood up to meet him and with both hands now covering her face, she buried her head in his shoulder for support trying to hold back tears seeping through the tiny gaps of her fingers and staining his shirt collar. Franz, held her tight in his arms while staring out of the kitchen window contemplating their escape plan a little further. “Alma”, he whispered with hope in his heart and new enthusiasm, “let's go to the glittering boulevards of Paris, while France is still a free zone, we've got money darling, we can take it from there!” She looked up at him slowly wiping the moisture from her eyes, as he continued, “...you know the French are no push over, they have a remarkable history resisting dictators, you know during the French Revolution and all that and besides, we've got friends in Paris, so we won't be alone?” he went on like a motivational speaker, trying to inspire his wife “…we'll just start again, and again, and again if we have to until we are finally free” he continued “…and I’m sure we’re not the only ones in this position but we might just be the lucky ones that get away!”
Alma, feeling much better already replied with, “yes darling, yes it’s possible for it is written, a popular phrase as old as time that…” and just before she got a chance to finish, her husband joined in and together, they completed her sentence in synchronization as if they were rehearsing their wedding vows again, “there is always one that gets away to save it for the others!”
Comments