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70. Living in America
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240 D Chapter Seventy d Living in AmeriCA Over five years had passed since the steamship Italia, sailing under the flag of Panama and groaning with old age,dropped its rusty anchor on Manhattan’sWest Side.A mere six weeks after applying for my immigration visa, it was handed to me by the American Consul in Berlin. Due to the speedy economic recovery, fewer and fewer Germans were willing to emigrate into the unknown,so the majority of those seeking a new beginning in the United States were“Displaced Persons”from the Eastern countries devastated by war.Most of these people were survivors of Nazi camps, robbed of their existence, and, in many cases, their families; they were accepted in the United States outside any quota. My goal was NewYork City,where a friend had offered me temporary shelter.With the vast sum of twenty-two dollars in my purse, I had boarded the Italia in Hamburg harbor, filled with hope for a better future in the land of unlimited possibilities for myself and my son—the son I had to leave behind. The inside cabin on the Italia’s C-deck, an oversized broom closet, offered no unnecessary comfort for me and my fellow captives, three war brides. The “air conditioning” consisted of a few slits in the door, which meant that, in case you wanted to breathe, it was advisable to wait until you could go on deck. A little salad bowl in one corner, disguised as a wash basin, served as a cleaning device for two grown and two overgrown women, showers and toilets being located at the far end of a dark, endless corridor. We had to take turns dressing; there was room for only one to move about at a time. On the second day of the voyage, which found me cursing my fate in all the languages at my disposal,includingVendish,a miracle happened.One of the kaiser’s last birthday gifts to his“little monkey”had been an elegant notebook bound in red leather,engraved with the imposing initial “W” and the imperial crown in gold. After barely surviving the first night onboard the Italia, I noticed my little treasure was missing. Almost in tears over the loss, I went to the ship’s chief purser in the faint hope that it might have been turned in by someone . To my surprise, the elderly official with his neatly parted hair, rimless glasses, and impeccable manners, obviously a gentleman of the old school, seemed to have expected me. The book had indeed been recovered by a steward in the library, he informed me, and after clearing his throat, he asked if the imperial crown was of any special significance? Was I, if he might be so bold to ask, a relative of “His Majesty”? Blessing the fact that, after my divorce , I had resumed my maiden name, I decided that it would probably be more advanta- The Promised Land 241 geous for me to leave a veil of mystery over my relationship to the House of Hohenzollern and nodded my head ever so slightly. Excited beyond description, he inquired if the “gracious baroness” was satisfied with her accommodation on the ship. Accommodation? I was barely able to stifle the hoarse scream trying to escape from my throat. Noticing my reluctance to answer his well-meant inquiry, he hastened to inform me that, due to some good fortune, he was in a position to offer me a rather nice stateroom on the A-deck all to myself, at no extra charge. He would be honored if I would be gracious enough to accept his proposition. A stateroom? The decision to honor him with my graciousness was not a hard one for me; within minutes, a steward removed my unsightly pieces of luggage from the rat hole in the ship’s belly and, under the incredulous eyes of my former cellmates, carried it to my new domicile. Never before had I fully realized the true meaning of the term“splendid isolation ,” and I was now determined to enjoy the glory of my private domicile with bath to the fullest extent. Unfortunately, the one factor I had failed to take into consideration was the elements. Due to the fact that the boat’s stabilizers were either inadequate or totally missing, I spent the better part of the next twelve days in a horizontal position. The handsome young ship’s doctor was unable to offer lasting relief; this...