Rosa Alterman walked nervously along the wet pavements of her local high street in East Berlin. She had been out for about an hour, and, occasionally, stopped to take in a window display. However, today, her heart just wasn't in it. She just wanted to go home. So, she turned and walked towards the bus stop. The morning rain had stopped now and the sun was trying to get out, but, it did little to lighten up her mood.
It was May 1937 and, for her, visits to shops and public buildings in the vicinity of the apartment block where she lived, had ceased to be a pleasure. She was a very attractive woman, elegantly dressed, but, unfortunately, Jews like her were not popular now, not after the Nazi party had gained control of the country. Everywhere in Germany, the Jews were ostracised and blamed for just about everything that had gone wrong.
Even here on the streets, she was getting some hostile and disapproving looks, even from people, who previously, she had counted among her friends. Now more and more of them didn't even acknowledge her presence. She knew the reason. It was that damned Nazi leader, Adolph Hitler to blame. It was a well-known fact that he hated the Jewish people and it seemed that he and his government were determined to belittle and destroy them. He and his Nazi cronies had poisoned the minds of the entire non-Jewish population. Slowly and surely, he had consolidated power thanks to widespread disillusionment with the Weimar Republic.
Hitler's government for the past four years had authorised a bewildering number of laws and decrees to restrict and curtail the rights and activities of Jews. Even their very citizenship had been undermined. They had virtually become foreigners in their own country. Rosa shivered just thinking about it. What the future held was unknown, but, it was looking very black indeed. She pulled up the collar of her coat and hurried on, grateful that she had left home earlier to visit the market for food and provisions.
34 year old, Rosa, was classified a Jew in two ways. First her mother had been Jewish, and, secondly, she was married to a Jew. They had married 12 years ago, when she was 22 and he was 35. Her husband, Joseph, now 47, owned a shop on the local high street, a gentleman's clothing outfitters. He had run that business successfully for many years. It was thanks to this that the Alderman's had enjoyed a reasonable standard of living. They had a nice apartment a few streets away together with an enviable social life.
Regrettably, that part of their lives seemed to be on an ever downward spiral. Her neighbours and the local police knew they were Jews, and, friends and acquaintances, in the main, now seemed to want to distance themselves from them. There was no avoiding the notoriety, given that she was the wife of a shopkeeper and that Joseph was a dignitary in the local Jewish Synagogue. The irony was that Rosa had had nothing to do with Judaism since childhood and had consistently shunned attendance at meetings and ceremonies, to the disappointment of her husband. Also, she did not look like a typical Jewess, whatever her documents told the authorities.
Even their day to day activities were observed and monitored by officialdom that was hostile to them. The Nazis, represented by a low life in the form of caretaker/informant, Rudi Sauer, watched her approach her apartment block from across the street. For a long time now he had lusted after this beautiful elegant female. She might be a hated Jew, but, she fuelled his sexual fantasies something rotten with her beautiful face and slim sexy body. God those legs, that arse...uummmph. Married or not, what he could do to this strumpet was nobody's business.
But, finally, at last, he had done something about his growing lust for her. A nasty little trick he had thought up that might just work and produce some advantage for him. God, he had to try something, and, this might just work. Anything, to get his hands on that luscious body. Because, somewhere in his brain he had remembered some interesting fact about Rosa Alterman which he had got from listening to some old woman's gossip. Apparently, she hated rats. In fact, they terrified the life out of her. Some childhood hang-up. So, it was worth a try. That very morning, he had borrowed a pet rat from one of his weird friends, "just to play a prank on someone," he had said. He had got into her apartment and released the rat to run around. Boy would she be surprised when she got home...
"Guten Morgen, fraulein" he growled pleasantly, when she was in earshot. "A Lovely day?"
Rosa had the sense not to ignore him these days and she responded politely and respectfully. This obnoxious man, she knew, was linked to the authorities i.e. to the dreaded SS organisation to whom he reported with all kinds of tittle-tattle and gossip. Since the Nazis rise to power, he had gone from being a low-life nobody to a person of authority and standing in the neighbourhood. Being Jews, she and her husband had to be especially respectful of his presence and authority in the 50 or so dwellings he administered within the residential block.
He had a small office on the ground floor, just across from the main door. Positioned there, he had a first class view of the comings and goings of the occupants. He missed nothing, and, in addition, made it his business to listen to all the news and gossip he could glean about the inhabitants of the apartments in his block. And there was plenty of information to be had, because, German citizens of the Nazi era loved to spy and rat on their neighbours. It was near to being the national pastime. All Sauer had to do was stay at his post and they came to him with their tales and suspicions.
No sooner had Rosa got to the stairs, when a second admirer appeared in the darkness of the stairwell. He stood and looked up as the lady's nylons came into view. Oh how he drooled over those slim shapely legs as they tripped up the stairs. Young Rolf Weber was only just 18, but now considered himself a man. Already, he had completed 2 years as a member of the Hitler Youth organisation and took his important role very seriously. Recently, he had stepped up to the position of neighbourhood controller. That put him number 1 out of a group of 6. A small step to some, but, for his ambitions, an important one.
One of Rolf's favourite activities was to harass and bully Jews. Knowing that he had the State on his side was a tremendous advantage. Whatever mischief and thuggery he and his Nazi Youth mates got up to was condoned by the SS who were the supreme authority on the streets of Berlin. Little by little, Rolf and his cronies stepped things up in their neighbourhood, breaking windows, beating men up, causing mess and mayhem to Jewish shopkeepers and businesses. Joseph Alterman was a frequent victim. Three times his shop windows had been smashed in. Once from a brick thrown by Rolf himself. Poor Joseph, finally admitted defeat and simply boarded up his front with cheap wood. All he could do was passively take the punishment and abuse that the young thugs handed out. He knew it was no good complaining to the police. They would just throw him out onto the pavement or worse still arrest or fine him.
Lately, Joseph just sat, disconsolately, in the back of his shop, nursing his wounds and hoping to get a regular customer to put an order in. He tried to keep it all from Rosa, because, he knew she was worried enough without concerning herself with his safety. But, after the last incident, she had seen the cuts and bruises on his body. She was shocked and dismayed that this was happening to him. His business had suffered drastically since the Nazis had arrived on the scene and things were not looking up. She knew who was behind the latest attacks. These days, with Nazi encouragement, the Hitler Youth were a law unto themselves. She also knew that their leader, young Rolf Weber, was always hanging around their building, often ogling her as she walked up the stairs, trying to see up her skirt. She wondered if she could use that particular attraction to influence his behaviour towards her husband. It would be worth a try.
Satisfying though it was for Rolf to kick the shit out of Jews like Joseph, what he really wanted was to have his way with the man's wife. At night he would lie awake and masturbate to his collection of magazine pin up photos. But, always his thoughts drifted on to her. Because, unlike those models she was real and in his life.
Rosa paused, only to put away the foodstuff and other things she had bought, before stripping off in the bathroom for a shower. She only needed lukewarm water and that was just as well given the state of the heating system in the old building. It was temperamental at the best of times. But, she needed to freshen up and lighten her mood after her trip to the shops.
Ten minutes later, she switched off the shower and stepped out for her towel. As she did so, she was met with a sight that froze her in terror. There running around the floor was a large rat. For a moment, she didn't know what to do. Then, panic set in and clutching the towel, she ran out of the apartment. Once she was safely out in the hallway, she pulled shut the door. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. She had escaped the rat, but, she had only a small towel to her cover her nakedness. If only I wasn't such a coward, she thought, I could have got dressed or at least grabbed some clothes. But of all creatures in the world, it was rats that frightened her the most. She had been terrified of them since childhood.
As she calmed herself, she thought of what to do. Immediately, she knew that she would have to go to the Caretaker and implore him to come up and get rid of that damned rat. How it had got into their rooms she couldn't imagine. Nothing like that had ever happened before. She closed her eyes and dreaded having to go down to Sauer's office in the state she was in. There were one or two neighbours she could try for help, but, she knew they wouldn't be at home. Mrs Blax was away visiting her sister in Hamburg while Mrs Weiner would be at work. She stamped her foot in frustration, but, knew she had no alternative. Much as she dreaded the prospect, down the stairs she must go and ask Mr Sauer for his help. So taking a deep breathe she pulled the towel to cover her essentials and quickly ran down the stairs. Luckily, there was no one there to witness her embarrassment as she made it to Sauer's office door without being seen.
When Sauer looked up and saw her in the doorway, he could hardly believe his luck. Of all the outcomes of getting that rat into her apartment, this could be the equivalent of winning the jackpot. She must have been in the shower or something, because, all she had was that little towel to cover her tits and pussy. Otherwise, she was stark naked. Was this his lucky day or what? He was only half listening to her breathless plea for help. It was the rat alright, he gathered that and she wanted it gone. He tried not to show his delight at her predicament, but he was determined to make the most of it.
He kept her waiting, while he finished some paperwork and dug out his wire rat trap. Rosa felt her face blush, as he kept glancing across at her barely covered body. She clutched the towel tighter, but, she knew her legs and bottom were not covered. Sauer kept looking, his brain furtively working to take advantage of her situation. Finally, he was ready.
"I'll go up and see what I can do then," he announced, his eyes roaming her person from top to bottom, taking in the parts not covered by the small towel. Eventually, he shuffled towards the door..."I'll be back soon," he told her.
She sat down on a chair and sighed in relief as the Caretaker went out. All she wanted to do was get back to a rat free apartment and get dressed. She was not enjoying being so exposed and gawped at.
Sauer quickly went up to the second floor and located the door to her apartment. Using his master key, he went in and saw the rat near the window. It was fat and slow and he soon cornered it. Then, he managed to get it into the wire cage. He secured the flap and chuckled evilly. "Well my little friend, you have certainly stirred things up today. Let's see what I can get out of it."
He washed his hands, left the apartment and walked along the corridor until he came to a cupboard which housed utility pipes. He put the wire cage inside and closed the door. Then he made his way down the stairs back to his office. Rosa was still there waiting.
"Right" said Sauer as he entered, all eyes at her nakedness. "We can go up now. I got the rat out."
"Oh thank you" gushed Rosa gratefully. "I hate rats."
They got to the stairs. "You go first" said Rosa.
"No" said Sauer firmly. "Ladies first."
Rosa had not wanted to do it, but, she found herself walking up the stairs ahead of the Caretaker, still clutching her towel at the front. Unfortunately, her entire body at the back was uncovered and available to his lustful gaze. An erotic sight which he was enjoying immensely. He growled with delight, as he took in her curves and long legs and the way her perfectly shaped bare arse swayed as she walked. He felt his cock stir with stiffness at just the thought of him getting his hands on her luscious body...
She walked quickly, wanting to get into the privacy of her apartment as soon as possible, all the time aware of her near nakedness, freely available to his prying eyes. Their walk, with him always a couple or so yards behind her, seemed to go on forever.
At last they got there, with a red-faced Rosa reluctant to open the door not quite believing the rat had gone.
He moved ahead of her, swinging open the door. "See" he announced swinging out his arm to show her. "It's gone."
