Komsomol—acronym for the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, a political youth organization in the Soviet Union
Krambambulya—a Byelorussian flavored vodka drink
Kulaks—formerly wealthy independent farmers. They strongly opposed collectivization and hence were dispossessed of their property. Most were arrested and sent to hard labor in Siberia or shot by Stalin’s regime
Levitan—the primary Soviet radio announcer during and after WWII
Lvov—a largely Ukrainian-populated city in Poland. After Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, it was taken by the German Army, but on September 19, the Soviet Army replaced Germans under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Lyubov—(a first name) is translated into English as “love”
Mein Kampf—autobiographical book by Adolf Hitler
NKVD—the abbreviation for People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, a Soviet police agency that by the 1930s had become a vast internal security force
NSDAP—The National Socialist German Workers’ Party, commonly referred to as the Nazi Party
OSOAVIAKHIM—acronym for The Society for Facilitating Defense, Aviation and Chemical Construction. A mass volunteer organization in the USSR from 1927 to 1948. The agency organized mass education in physical culture and training in shooting, gliding, making model aircraft, paratrooper jumping, flying airplanes, air and chemical defense, etc. Beginning in 1940, it organized mass military training of the population to prepare for the danger of Nazi attack
Pervitin—a methamphetamine drug used in the German military during World War II
Polizei—a member of the German organized police force of collaborators
Polotsk—a city about 100 kilometers from Vitebsk
Promtorg—a convenience store in the Soviet Union
SD—the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany
SHON—abbreviation for Special Purpose School. In1938, the Soviet government established the centralized intelligence school to provide specialized espionage and intelligence training to new recruits of the intelligence service
SMERSH—the Soviet military counterintelligence organization during WWII, an acronym for “Death to Spies.” Among the tasks were counterintelligence, counterespionage, investigating traitors, “suspicious” persons who might be German agents, etc.
Sovinformburo—Soviet Information Bureau
Sovkhoz—acronym for a state-owned farm in the Soviet Union
SS—a major paramilitary organization in Nazi Germany responsible for crimes against humanity
Stalags—camps intended for NCO’s (sergeants) and enlisted men only
Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union—The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, named for the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union and Germany, signed in August 1939
VKPB—acronym for the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
V.P. Antonov-Saratovskiy—the chairman of the Saratov executive Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party (Bolsheviks); a Soviet politician
Wehrmacht—the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1946
Notes On Russian Names
In Russia, a person is identified by three names: an individual, given first name, a patronymic middle name derived from one’s father’s first name, and a family surname—for example, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Godyastchev, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Petrovskaya.
Patronymic names are used to address someone who is your senior or to denote respect or while on formal terms—Sergey Vladimirovich, Svetlana Andreyevna.
Russian forenames have formal forms—for instance, Nataliya, Sergey; endearing forms—Natasha or Natashen’ka, Serezha or Serezhen’ka, and diminutive forms—Arkashka.
Calling a person after one’s patronymic name—Il’inichna, for instance, implies a slight tone of familiarity.
Russians often use “aunt” and “uncle” as terms of addressing someone older with and without reference to family relations.
In the Soviet Union, the form of addressing each other by “comrade” became commonplace and was a standard form of address in the armed forces, for instance, “Comrade Colonel,” “Comrade Senior Lieutenant.”
A Love Letter To My Readers
Act of giving something to others is an art of flowering your heart.—Vinayak
Dear Reader,
What would we, authors do without you?
We spend hundreds or even thousands of hours writing a book before we can offer it to you. Of course, we write because it’s simply not possible for us not to write and also because we want to share our stories with you.
It is a dream for any writer to have an involved, sensitive reader who recognizes what we wanted to convey. As much a reader as I am a writer, every story leaves a mark in my mind, some in my heart, and others go as deep as into my soul.
Without you, Reader, there wouldn’t be us, writers. We are a perfect symbiose. There is no better gift for us than you reading our tales and sharing your impressions, thoughts, and feelings with us and other people.
Thank you for reading Too Many Wolves In The Local Woods.
Every story’s ending is a beginning of a new one. I’m eager to continue sharing my tales with you.
Sincerely yours,
Marina Osipova
When’s Mummy Coming?
Rachel Wesson
Contents
Synopsis
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Epilogue
About Rachel Wesson
Synopsis
The War was over but for some it had just begun!
Growing up in Berlin in the 1930’s, Heinz Beck watches the life he loves disintegrate, soon it become too dangerous to walk the streets. After a spell in Dachau, he reluctantly escapes via the Kindertransport to London, England. With him are his siblings and best friends. And his memory of the tortures he endured.
Newlywed Sally Matthews waves her husband, Derek off to war. Her Rector asks her to open her home to some Jewish children seeking sanctuary in England. She travels to Liverpool Street with the intention of taking one child home, and ends up with three.
Sally, Heinz and the children must learn to navigate through testing times. England is at war with Germany. Some neighbors believe the children are dangerous aliens who should be locked up for the duration.
Sally fights to keep her new found family together despite having to deal with losses caused by the war. Together they battle rationing, bombing and at times the unkindness of strangers. When the war is over becomes their mantra. When the war is over, rationing will stop and loved ones will return. The children will reunite with their German families.
.After five long years, the war is finally over. But can Sally give up the children she has come to love as her own? Have their parents survived?
