Camp forest Tennessee March 15th, 1945 Anna Fisher stood outside interrogation room 3 clipboard in hand mentally preparing herself for another routine session she was 28 years old one of 12 German American translators working at the facility helping process the endless stream of prisoners being shipped back from Europe the work was tedious but necessary name rank unit circumstances of capture the same questions different faces day after day for eight months
she knocked twice opened the door the prisoner sat with her back to the entrance hands folded on the metal table shoulders rigid with the tension of someone trying to maintain dignity in the most undignified circumstances standard procedure
Captain Morrison the interrogating officer gestured for Anna to take her seat German female Morrison said sliding a thin file across the table captured near Cologne three weeks ago Vermacht Auxiliary Signals Unit not particularly cooperative so far
Anna nodded settling into her chair opening her notebook she’d translated for hundreds of prisoners over the past eight months the routine was automatic now she barely looked at them anymore just processed information converted German words to English filed reports moved on to the next one
let’s start with basics Morrison said name and place of birth
Anna translated the question into German her voice professional detached the voice she’d cultivated over eight months of doing this work never friendly never cruel just efficient
the prisoner’s shoulders stiffened she didn’t turn around
Greta Webber she said quietly born in Chicago Illinois 1919
the voice hit Anna like a physical blow that voice she knew that voice had known it before either of them could form complete sentences before continents divided them before war made them enemies
her hand froze over her notebook the pen slipped from her fingers clattered on the table
Morrison frowned problem Fischer
Anna couldn’t speak couldn’t breathe couldn’t do anything except stare at the back of the prisoner’s head at the way her hair fell across her shoulders at the exact angle of her neck that Anna would recognize anywhere because she’d grown up beside it because she’d braided that hair 1,000 times when they were children because she’d watched that same head lean over homework at their kitchen table in Chicago because that was her sister
slowly the prisoner turned their eyes met for three seconds the world stopped
Greta’s face drained of color her mouth opened closed opened again no sound emerged
Anna felt her own face doing the same thing shock recognition terror flooding through her in waves so powerful she thought she might faint right there in the interrogation room
13 years 13 years since she’d seen that face
Fisher Morrison’s voice seemed to come from very far away you OK
Anna forced herself to nod forced her hand to pick up the pen forced her voice to work though it came out wrong too high too tight yes sir sorry thought I recognized but no continue please
Morrison studied her for a moment then returned his attention to the prisoner to Greta to Anna’s sister who she hadn’t seen since 1932 not since their father had taken her back to Germany when Anna was 15 and Greta was 13 when the family split down the middle because their parents couldn’t agree where to raise their daughters in a world falling apart
Weber Morrison said Chicago Illinois when did you leave the United States
Greta’s eyes were still locked on Anna her face showed everything shock fear desperation a thousand silent questions
Anna shook her head slightly not here not now don’t speak don’t reveal
Greta understood Anna could see it in her eyes the same understanding they’d developed as children the wordless language of Sisters
1932 Greta said her voice steadier now though her hands trembled on the table my father returned to Germany I went with him
and your mother Morrison asked
stayed in America she was American citizen the marriage it didn’t survive
Morrison made notes he didn’t notice the way Anna’s hand shook as she translated didn’t see the tears threatening at the corners of her eyes didn’t understand the magnitude of what was happening in his interrogation room two sisters separated by war now sitting across a table in a prison camp one wearing an American uniform one wearing the Mark of the enemy neither able to speak the truth because acknowledging it would destroy them both
Morrison asked about her service record Greta answered mechanically radio operations message relay administrative work nothing combat related nothing sensitive
Anna translated her voice somehow remaining steady while her mind screamed this was Greta Little Greta who used to be afraid of thunderstorms who collected leaves in autumn and pressed them in books who cried when their cat died and couldn’t be consoled for days
now she sat in a grey prison uniform marked with the letters P W answering questions about serving the Wehrmacht while Anna translated for the enemy who’d captured her
we’ll continue tomorrow Morrison finally said same time I want more details about her unit’s communication protocols
the guards came to take Greta away she stood slowly at the doorway she paused for half a second glanced back
Anna kept her eyes on her notebook
the door closed Morrison gathered his files that one’s hiding something he said did you catch it the way she hesitated on certain questions
Anna’s throat tightened which questions
family when I asked about surviving relatives she said her father died in 1942 but her face she wasn’t telling everything
Anna’s world tilted their father was dead Greta had just told her through Morrison through this terrible game of telephone that Heinrich Fischer was gone and Anna couldn’t even ask how
grief
Anna managed people hide grief maybe
Morrison stood we’ll dig deeper tomorrow get more background on her family situation sometimes that’s where the leverage is
leverage he wanted to use their family as leverage
yes sir Anna said
that night lying in her quarters Anna didn’t sleep the questions wouldn’t stop how had Greta ended up in the vermoc what had happened in Germany over these 13 years was their father’s death natural or war related did Greta blame America did she blame Anna for staying behind
and most urgently what would happen if someone discovered they were sisters translators weren’t supposed to have personal connections to prisoners it compromised objectivity created security risks
if anyone found out Anna would be removed from her position possibly investigated her entire service record questioned
but Greta if they discovered she had family working for the Americans they might suspect her of collaboration of being a plant she could be segregated interrogated more harshly treated as a security threat
staying silent protected them both but it also meant Anna had to sit across from her own sister day after day and pretend she was a stranger
this is the story of Anna and Greta Fischer two sisters torn apart by a world that forced them to choose sides
for the next 46 minutes you’ll watch them navigate the most impossible situation imaginable recognizing your own family across enemy lines knowing that acknowledging it could destroy you both
this isn’t just about war it’s about the invisible walls that split families about the lies we tell to survive and about the moment when staying silent becomes more dangerous than speaking up
there are six major revelations in this story the first comes in four minutes their father’s death and what it meant the second at minute 18 why Greta joined the Wehrmacht the third at minute 28 what Anna was really doing as a translator the fourth at minute 36 when the other translators started to notice the fifth at minute 44 Greta’s impossible choice and the last one at minute 48 what happened after the war ended
you need to stay through all 50 minutes because the ending isn’t what you expect it’s not Hollywood it’s not clean it’s just two sisters trying to survive a world that wanted them to be enemies
let’s go back to Chicago 1925 when these sisters were just children and their father made a choice that would haunt them forever
the next morning Anna reported for duty with dark circles under her eyes she’d spent the entire night replaying that moment of recognition Greta’s face the shock the fear the silent understanding that passed between them
she walked past the prisoner barracks on her way to the administration building somewhere in there Greta was waking up to her first full day in Camp Forest did she sleep or did she spend the night with the same questions that tormented Anna
in the translator’s office her colleague Sarah Chen was already at her desk reviewing files for her own interrogation sessions
morning Sarah said glancing up you look terrible didn’t sleep well
first session jitters you’ve been doing this for months
no just a headache
Sarah nodded sympathetically Morrison’s a tough officer to work with very thorough he’ll squeeze every detail out of that prisoner
Anna’s stomach turned that prisoner that’s what Greta was now not a sister not family just a prisoner to be squeezed for information
did you review her file Sarah asked briefly German American born in Chicago left as a child that’s unusual most of the prisoners are native Germans wonder what her story is
Anna kept her face neutral we’ll find out
at 10 hours Anna returned to Interrogation Room 3 Greta was already seated this time Anna saw her face from the beginning saw the way her eyes tracked Anna’s movement across the room saw the desperate question in them what do we do
Morrison entered behind Anna let’s pick up where we left off Webber tell me about your father you said he died in 1942
Greta’s eyes flicked to Anna then back to Morrison yes she said in German heart attack Berlin August
Anna translated her voice steady despite the emotion threatening to overwhelm her their father dead three years and Anna was only learning about it now in an interrogation room translating her sister’s words for an American officer
were you with him when he died Morrison asked
yes
any other family
Greta hesitated my mother in America but I haven’t spoken to her since 1939
Anna’s breath caught their mother Dorothy Fisher was still alive still in Chicago still waiting for news of a daughter she hadn’t heard from in six years
why no contact Morrison pressed
the War Mail Service stopped I tried to write the letters were returned
Morrison made notes hand your service in the vermacht when did that begin
1943 after my father died I needed work income the vermacht was hiring auxiliaries for administrative and communications positions
you weren’t ideologically motivated
Greta’s jaw tightened I was hungry captain ideology doesn’t matter when you’re hungry
Anna translated this and Morrison raised an eyebrow honest at least
the session continued for another hour questions about her unit her duties the names of officers she’d worked with standard intelligence gathering nothing that would help the war effort significantly but Morrison was building a profile looking for inconsistencies testing for deception
throughout it all Anna watched her sister Greta had changed the soft girl who cried over dead cats had hardened into a woman who spoke about war work with detached efficiency but underneath Anna could still see traces of the child she remembered the way Greta bit her lower lip when nervous the way her left hand fidgeted with her collar small tells that only a sister would recognize
when the session ended and Greta was LED away Morrison turned to Anna your assessment sir you’ve been doing this longer than I have what’s your read on her
Anna chose her words carefully she’s telling the truth about her service low level administrative work no combat involvement she’s not ideological she served because she needed to survive
agreed which makes her a good candidate for cooperation
Anna’s heart sank cooperation
she has no loyalty to the Nazi regime she’s German American with family still in the States if we can flip her get her to provide intelligence voluntarily she could be useful
what kind of intelligence names locations communication protocols even administrative details can help piece together German organizational structures
Anna understood immediately Morrison wanted to recruit Greta make her an informant offer her preferential treatment in exchange for cooperation which would put Greta in even more danger if other prisoners discovered it
I’ll work on building Rapport Morrison said use you as the bridge German to German female translator she might open up more with you than with me
Anna nodded feeling the trap closing around them both
that evening Anna did something she’d never done before she violated protocol she requested access to Greta’s full file not just the interrogation summary but the complete record captured papers personal effects medical examination everything the army had documented when she was processed
the clerk gave her the file without question translators had clearance
in her quarters Anna opened it inside among the standard documentation was a single photograph creased worn carried in Greta’s pocket when she was captured
it showed their father Heinrich Fischer older than Anna remembered grey haired thin sitting in what looked like a small apartment in Berlin he held a newspaper dated July 1942 one month before his death
on the back in Greta’s handwriting Papa’s last birthday he was 61 he talked about Chicago he said he made a mistake
Anna stared at those last five words until they blurred he said he made a mistake
their father the man who’d torn the family apart who’d taken Greta back to Germany because he couldn’t adapt to America who’d split his daughters across an ocean in the end he’d admitted it was a mistake
Anna pressed the photograph to her chest and let herself cry for the first time since Greta had walked into that interrogation room not just for their father but for everything that photograph represented
13 years of separation a family destroyed by one man’s homesickness two daughters forced onto opposite sides of a war neither of them wanted and now three years after their father’s death his daughters finally reunited in the worst possible circumstances unable to speak to each other honestly unable to acknowledge the relationship that defined them both unable to do anything except continue the charade
Anna carefully returned the photograph to the file she’d have to give it back tomorrow but tonight for a few hours she had this small piece of her sister’s life this evidence that Greta had carried their father’s memory through the war that she’d kept this connection to family even as everything else fell apart
in the morning Anna would return to Interrogation Room 3 she would translate Morrison’s questions she would watch her sister answer and she would continue to pretend they were strangers because that was the only way to keep them both safe
to understand what happened in that interrogation room you need to understand what came before you need to know how two sisters ended up on opposite sides of a war it started in Chicago 1925 …
(Phần còn lại của nội dung tiếp tục theo đúng logic “mỗi đoạn xuống dòng”.)
