Johann and Daniel
by Charles Lacey
Chapter 18
Johann.
I hadn't told Daniel, but as soon as he told me he was going to Copenhagen to be interviewed at the University, I set myself to find out about possible work there. I had made friends with Herr Markbreiter, who was in charge of all the municipal gardens and parks in Linz, and asked his advice. At first he was very unwilling to let me go. He was kind enough to say that I was one of the best gardeners he had ever trained! But in the end he agreed to look into it, and promised to let me know if he could come up with anything.
The rest of our story is soon told.
Learning Danish was a strange task, but it was certainly easier than learning English! I remembered that Dr Eulenburg, whom we had met in England and was fluent in several languages, used to say that to learn a language all that was needed was a dictionary, a grammar and a Bible. So Daniel and I acquired these necessary books, and with the help of a Danish family called Langstroth - Herr Langstroth was a merchant banker who dealt with companies in both Austria and Denmark - we embarked upon our studies. It was quite hard work, but we did not grudge it.
Herr Markbreiter had found a contact in Denmark, who had discovered that the Royal Palace in Copenhagen was advertising for an under-gardener. I applied for the job and went for an interview. I think it was Herr Markbreiter's letter that got me the job. So we moved to a tiny flat in Østerbro , one of the less expensive areas of the city.
Daniel took up his place at the University and in due course graduated Magna cum Laude . Now he practises as an Advokat at the Courts of Justice in Copenhagen. I continued to work as a gardener and am now in charge of one of the special sections of the Royal garden. Only the other day the King complimented me on some fruit which I had grown and which he had enjoyed. It is a wonderful privilege to work for the King; while he is always dignified and regal, he is also friendly and interested in the welfare of all of his people.
There is a marvellous story often told about the King. One day during the Nazi occupation in Copenhagen he was walking, pushing his bicycle, when he was stopped by a pair of German soldiers. "Where is your bodyguard?" they asked him. The King looked around and waved his arm at all the Danish people in the street. "These are all my bodyguard," he replied. It was surely true. His Majesty is greatly loved by his people, the more so for his kindly and unassuming manner.
We are both now naturalized Danish citizens. We still live in Østerbro, though now in our own larger house. We have many good friends in the city, including several couples of the same kind of person as ourselves.
Each summer, when the Courts are not in session, we visit Papa and Mamma in Linz, and Ruth Freeman comes to stay with us each year. We attend the Lutheran Church in the city and have both served on the Church Council. It seems strange for a Jew and a Roman Catholic to serve in that way, but Denmark is like that! Daniel's birthday is the 5th of May, the same day that the Danes all celebrate their liberation from the Nazi rule. So on that day we always have a grand festival at our house, when our friends all come to dinner. We put a lighted candle in each window, in accordance with the Danish tradition.
I once asked our good Pastor Gabrielsen about our love for each other. He thought for a few moments, then replied with a beautiful Catholic hymn: Ubi caritas et amor, ibi Deus est. Where love is, and caring, God is there.
I think that says all that is necessary.
Epilogue: Daniel.
As I write this, I look back upon a very varied life. It's not always been easy, and there have been times when it has been very difficult.
When I look back at my young years, and the part that Hitler and the war played in my life, I find it very confusing. If it had not been for the war, I should have continued to live with my parents until I married. I am sure I should have married Miriam, and done my best to make her happy. No doubt my father would have found me a job in the bank, or at his offices, or perhaps at another company through the network of his friends. My life would have been comfortable and easy, but deadly dull and emotionally and physically unfulfilling.
As it is, my poor parents and my older brother were dragged away and put to death at Belsen-Bergen. I grieve for them still, all these many years later. We - Johann and I - had to leave our comfortable homes in Austria and wander the world until we finally made a new home together in Denmark. We both experienced times of considerable hardship and from time to time great fear.
And yet out of all this horror came Johann, my peerless Gentile Knight in shining armour. Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Jews, even Mohammedans, all worship the Lord in our different ways, but if I believe one thing it is this: it's not the words and ritual we use to worship God that are important, but our actions, our thoughts and our prayers. And in that there are no Yiddisher or Goyim , not Jew or Gentile, but just human beings. And likewise there are no homosexual or heterosexual, just people who love one another. As one of my people, the wise King Solomon, wrote many centuries ago: Love is stronger even than death.
My sister Leah died last year, after a long struggle with illness. She leaves her husband, who sadly never reconciled himself to Johann's and my relationship, and their three children.
Then three months ago the light went out of my life. Johann had had several minor heart attacks. And one night he woke, sweating and in pain. I telephoned immediately for an ambulance, but he died in my arms before it arrived.
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