“If the Jew is victorious over other people of the world,” Ellen continued with her rant, “his crown will be the funeral wreath of humanity—this planet will, as it did thousands of years ago, move through the ether devoid of men.”
Veronica cursed herself for trusting these people—Ellen … Flavia … evil was in their blood.
“As you know, James, those are the words of a man whose beliefs you have dedicated your life to re-establishing, isn’t that true?”
Kingston nodded his head as if Ellen was in the room with them.
“So if you believe those statements as fact, then you will be responsible for this ‘Jewish Campaign of Lies,’ and you are responsible for this ‘crown,’ which will be the funeral wreath of humanity. Because you, my grandson, are of Jewish blood. You are the great-grandson of Etta Sarowitz.”
Veronica shared a look with Maggie, as if to say Oma had it all the way.
“You are a crazy old lady who doesn’t know what she says,” Kingston shouted at the screen.
“You can paint me as crazy if you like,” she continued, as if they were having a real-time conversation. “But every word that was presented to Maggie’s class, was completely accurate. While the Sterlings and others within the Apostles might be using Judaism as a cover for their true identities, my identity has always been true to my blood. I was wrong to keep this from you and your father, along with the rest of the Apostles—only recently did Aligor discover my true heritage. I thought by keeping it from you, I was keeping you safe, but I came to realize how wrong that was.
“And that’s the reason he wanted to remove me from the equation. Because if you found out, then you might question your own beliefs … especially when you find out that the Führer was well aware of my Jewish blood when he took me in and cared for me. That is why he kept me hidden in that bunker in the Alps. He said it was for my safety, which was partly true, but the main reason was that he was worried that if the world found out how he cared for a Jewish girl, he could no longer sell the myth of the Jews as a subhuman race. A myth that fueled his power. A power he needed like oxygen.
“One can detach themselves from large masses of unknown souls, but not from an individual connection. Six million is a statistic, but one person is a tragedy. The Führer treated me with the utmost care and delicacy, but he chose to delude himself about my true heritage. Maybe if he acknowledged it, he would have seen the Jewish people as living, breathing souls, and history would have turned out differently. Nobody will ever know.
“If you don’t believe me, I suggest you ask Aligor about it. He can vouch for what I just told you. In fact, I have it on tape from our last meeting. And while you’re at it, ask him how your father was really killed. The one who was chosen to lead the Apostles by the Führer, despite having the same Jewish blood as his mother.”
Kingston looked at Sterling. He waved dismissively, as if to indicate that Ellen was off her rocker.
She continued, “I knew the Führer as well as anyone, and I know you, James. One of the things you have in common is neither of you carried these vile hatreds until you were young men. You weren’t born with these beliefs. Your father’s murder sparked your anger, just like World War I sparked his. But in the end, it was he, and he alone, who was responsible for what happened. Just like it will be for you, James. The question is whether you take action for the truth, or if you will continue to fall victim to the big lie.”
The screen went blank. The room turned deathly quiet.
Kingston gathered himself. He tried to stand strong and look presidential, but he couldn’t hide the fact that he was shaken by Ellen’s words. He didn’t look at Sterling as he walked to the DVD player and ejected the disc. He causally took it out and broke it in half.
He then began ripping the pages out of the memoir, and feeding them through a shredder.
“No!” Maggie yelled out and began running toward him. Veronica held her by the back of the coat. There was nothing they could do.