Letter to the Romans

Letter to the Romans

Andr Traichel

Letter to the Romans

Teutnia, RS 2013

Letter to the Romans

All rights reserved. Registered in Brazilian National Library, under the number 459.630, book 864 Cover photo: Katia Grimmer-Laversann Portuguese revision: Gabriela Silva German Revision: Adilson Eskelsen Translated by Noeli Eggers Strate

Letter to the Romans

Notice to the Readers:

This is just a fictitious, detective story that was based on an urban legend of a town of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Legend has it that at the beginning of the century XX, a Masonic Temple caught fire, without causing casualties, but, until now, the facts are mixed with folklore and almost nothing is said. In one of the cemeteries of the town there are still timeworn tombstones with symbols of Masonry. I repeat: it is not related to this story. The Order of Teutonic Knights exists until now, its headquarters is in Austria, but it doesnt have anything to do with the German immigration in Brazil. The description about the Lutheran Church is also factual, but the facts narrated in this book are fiction, they are just part of the plot of this novel. The characters of this story and the community of New Berlin are also fictitious and any resemblance with names is purely coincidental.

Letter to the Romans

To my wife Mariana and my children Matheus and Valkiria for the comprehension for the hours spent in front of the laptop; to grandma Elvira, who never let us forget who we are and where we are from.

Letter to the Romans

Prologue
June 07, 1944 22:25pm
All were alarmed. The news about another three temples that had been burned in several places in the Valley concerned the Brothers; now they redoubled the security to the access to the meetings. The sequenced beat and the old entrance word, whispered and transmitted only to the members initiated in the Order, were not synonymous of trust and entrance to the sessions anymore. New dreads resuscitated old wounds that everybody in the Order had considered healed. On that starlit night, fourteen worried members from the neighborhood and also from other districts, came to the meeting in the New Berlin Colony temple. - Mein Gott, we will not be safe anywhere while we wont discover what is happening said the only Novice present at the meeting. I heard that in the neighbor district all the accessories of the temple remained there, among the ashes and the demolished walls, until the curious ones arrived. After that, they didnt even paid attention to the bodies; they were more interested in taking the candlesticks! This caused exaltation among them.
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- This shows that whoever burned the temple, was not interested in robbery, but, in burning our Brothers live said the oldest. While all discussed how and what happened and what actions should be taken, a small flame began near one of the curtains that covered the east wall of the temple. The Brothers analyzed the alternatives that rested, taken by the anguish and dread due to the recent facts happened in the neighbor colony, so concentrated on their ideas that they didnt perceive the imminent danger that surrounded them. When they realized, there was a thick layer of smoke on the ceiling of the room of the four-sided building, adorned with golden inscriptions in Latin and old German, about legends and teachings transmitted from generation to generation to those that were chosen to compose the Order. The fire spread fast in the room. The Brothers tried but no water came out of the small tap of the lavatory in the back of the temple. The youngest and more vigorous tried to choke the flames that now were shaping using the several rugs, but, the situation complicated more, as if the fire waited for this. The heat increased and the dense smoke that entered in the lungs was already causing the succumbing of the oldest, with the black tunics that covered the whole bodies.
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Letter to the Romans

The despair increased when they realized that the only exit of the building was through the Initial Room, localized in the previous portion of the building. With difficulty, some of the Brothers tried to open the thick door, elegantly carved, but of no use. The entrance was locked, probably from outside, with no chance of opening. Since old times, the Order temples didnt have windows or other alternative outlets. In just thirty minutes the fire consumed not only the building localized inside a small colony of five hectares but also de bodies of thirteen respected members of the community of New Berlin Colony.

Letter to the Romans

Chapter I
A new beginning
April 25, 2008 4pm It was 3pm when Klaus Fischer emptied his drawers at the News from RS newspaper office. After a decade of working as a police journalist, at one of the most respected newspapers of the south of the country, Klaus felt that his time there was over. It was not just the competition among the journalistic environment that disturbed him, but also the fact that there were no chances to grow there anymore. The salary was not suitable according to the risks of the reports, besides, the sacrifices of the daily routine were stressing the whole family. During the last five years, Klaus had followed the same routine. Every day he used to take his son at the nursery; that cost a considerable part of his salary, and he used to walk the five kilometers through Cristvo Colombo Avenue until the headquarter of the newspaper office, saving the money of the ticket besides doing some physical exercise. His work demanded him to spend the whole day dealing with law suits, puzzles, witnesses, and plots that were similar to any Hollywood movie. On the last working days, Klaus used to call to this wife,
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Letter to the Romans

Bianca, to ask her to pick the little Artur up at the nursery after work, because the chief editor asked him to stay longer at work. The reason for this forced overtime was the report about a German engineer that had been killed with his hands tied in a luxurious apartment of the seventh floor in one of the fanciest neighborhoods of Porto Alegre. Klaus was, definitely, tired of this. After saying goodbye to those who had been his colleagues for a long time and with a brief wave to his former boss, Klaus took the lift on the third floor feeling relieved. He had just quit in a way that he would always be remembered at the newspaper office. During the meeting with sarcasm and truths that everybody would like to say. Finally, he was free to restart his life in another place, far away from the noise of the big city, of the car pollution and, above of all, with his family. Some weeks before, when he and Bianca decided to quit their jobs, they researched through the Internet the Real State agencies of some nearby cities. In a short time, they bought a house in a small town not far from Porto Alegre, founded by German immigrants in the mid of the nineteenth century. Almost all the thirteen thousands and five hundred inhabitants there had Germanic ascendancy and they still spoke their grandparents dialect: the Plattdeutsch. Klaus was extremely excited about the chance of using the first language that he had spoken when
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Letter to the Romans

his family of small farmers lived in the countryside in a town that had also been founded by German immigrants. New Berlin was the perfect place to raise Artur and to restart their careers: he at the local newspaper they liked to have a journalist from the capital city for a countryside salary and she as a Math teacher at the Agricultural Technical School. The sixty-year-old house was bought with the savings that they had done during ten years. It needed a remodeling; Klaus and Bianca would do what they could, like the painting and a new garden. Besides saving the handwork money, it would also help to relax, a collective hobby. On a sunny Saturday, two days after they quitted, Klaus and Bianca moved. They packed and put the furniture in the small truck. After a last look at the apartment that had been their home for so many years, the couple left for their new life. As soon as they arrived, they called the attention of the few neighbors that lived in Linha Fritz; most of them were agriculture workers, who rarely left their town and that were not used to strangers, especially those from other cities. There were many speculations among the dwellers about how would be the new inhabitants of that house that had been sold after many years. As usual in small communities, everybody observed the furniture and the packages that were coming out of the little truck.
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Letter to the Romans

Bianca gave instructions to the carriers and to an already annoyed Klaus about where the furniture should be placed; while little Artur was already playing in the garden of the house. The couples move would be the subject of the conversations of the small community that week. The first days were not as planned. Although Klaus was a typical German descendant, one hundred kilograms of weight and six feet height, blonde hair, blue eyes and usually unshaven, the dwellers or dealers of the town were polite only if they were greeted with a Guten Tag, well pronounced with a heavy accent. After introducing himself at the local Newspaper, Klaus new boss suggested him to snoop around, in order to know the people and the places that would be his new working subject. During this first week, he noticed the distrustful and crossed looks several times. What most called the journalists attention was, of course, the prominent people of the town: the mayor Franz Schmidt, a simple guy that had been elected under a job promise for everybody, even that for turning this possible he had to build another city hall in order to accommodate all of them; the police officer Hans Jorge Schneider, known by everyone (even by those who were arrested by him); and Mr. Frank Meyer Schuch, an octogenarian respected by all the elders of the town; considering the fact that he was the principal responsible
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Letter to the Romans

for the political emancipation of New Berlin, in the 1950s, contributing for the progress and abundance of the small town. The tourist attractions called his attention, as well as the halftimbered style of the city hall, the typical German style. The stone walls of these kind of buildings are hacked by wood beams in the horizontal and in diagonal, providing support to the structure; the colonial style centenary houses, well preserved; the main square of the town always flowered and very clean, its basalt sidewalks and trees like German pine tree, beyond several araucarias, typical trees of the temperate climate of the South of Brazil. One of the most visited tourist attractions was the observatory, built among the hills around the town, at 800 meters height, revealing an incomparable beauty in the woods and fog, typical of that period. Due to the fact that it was localized in a place of difficult access, among the hills and with no industries, New Berlin didnt attract workers from other cities, conserving much of the culture of its founders. The local economy was based on agribusiness, since dairy to the exportation of meat and it derivatives. It was at the cemetery of the biggest Lutheran church that Klaus Fischer noted something different, though. Although there were many other cemeteries in the town, most of them centenary and situated in the countryside, Jardim Concordia was the oldest, where
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Letter to the Romans

the first colonizers were buried, as well as, the most prominent people of the town. Concordia church, which supported the cemetery, was localized in the center of an area of around three hectares, large lawns, tombstones outworn by the time, where some epitaphs in old German were not legible anymore. Amid all this, the journalists attention was captured by thirteen tombs, placed separately from the rest, its tombstones in a broken column shape and, above each of them, a marble angel, already darkened by the time, but, still pointing to the sky, as if they were indicating to the visitors that their occupants had left to a better place. Klaus approached in order to see better and he perceived that, although they had been weatherworn, they were all well cared, without weeds or dirtiness. He also noted that at each tombstone there was a small sculpture in high-relief, something like an eightpetal-flower. - Its the Luther Rose; one of the symbols of the Lutheran church, created under the supervision of Martin Luther himself. Another symbol is the cross; each element has a different meaning. A nice work, dont you think so, Herr Fischer? The journalist was so curious and entertained that he hadnt noted the arrival of a man that was around sixty years old, he had
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gray hair, white skin, but a rosy face, and in a good physical fitness. - Do you know me? - asked Klaus, surprised. - Aber natrlich! Many people that you interviewed belongs to the Concordia church, because most of the people is Lutheran and this was the first churched that was built in town, on April 10, 1870. So, it is expected to be a meeting place of the members of our community. Entschuldigung, I forgot to introduce myself: my name is Gustavo Dietrich von Karl. I am the janitor of this resting place. Klaus was really surprised by the erudition of the janitor; he sounded more convicted and eloquent than the mayor or the police officer who, theoretically, are enlightened. - Herr Karl, sehr angenehm. - Danke, Herr Fischer, I know that your German is perfect, but, we can speak in Portuguese. - So, again, it is nice to meet you, Mr. Karl. This cemetery is really nice and well cared; I guess you are very dedicated to your work. - I believe that for many people come here and talk to the beloved ones that passed away is the best way to expiate their sins and problems; a mean to find the way for better days. They always keep the cemetery clean and organized, I just do the usual maintenance and the security. - I understand. Could you tell me something about these
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Letter to the Romans

people buried here? I became curious because they are so separated. - It was a fire, a long time ago; old history for some people. Thirteen men died burned in a building and, as we didnt have firefighters on that time, there was nobody to save them. What rested from their carbonized bodies was buried in these thirteen tombs. You can observe by the dates that the burials were all in the same day, but, unfortunately, in some of them the names are not so legible. - I understand. I thought it was strange that they were so separated from the other ones. It seems like they were not supposed to mix with the others - Its a fool superstition, Herr Fischer interrupted the janitor, fast you know how people are. Thirteen people dead, a not very blessed number. But, if you excuse me, I have to finish my tasks. Gustavo Dietrich von Karl said goodbye fast and returned to his janitorial function, leaving the journalist with the impression that there was more about that story, something that the educated janitor wouldnt like to reveal. On that evening, the meeting at the Lutheran cemetery was the subject during their dinner and Klaus told the strange history to his wife. - The Lutheran emblem is really beautiful. I remember the Confirmation classes, when the Pastor explained each element of it.
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Letter to the Romans

If Im not mistaken, the black cross reminds the crucified Jesus Christ; the heart is red because the cross doesnt kill our faith, but keeps it live. Finally, the rose is white because the faith brings joy and peace. I guess thats it - Well done, Bia, you paid attention in class! Dont forget that the rose is in a blue background, symbolizing the celestial joy and around it, there is a golden symbol, which represents the eternal blessing, our most precious one. - Touch - said an amazed Bianca - you also havent forgotten! - Certain things we keep in the memory and dont forget anymore. It is like the linking verbs. Once I memorized them for a test at school and until today I keep those damn ones in mind: to be, walk, stay, seem, remain, continue and become. Both laughed and Bianca continued repeating the verbs for some instants more. - But, what really called my attention continued Klaus were those thirteen tombs so separated from the others, like if they didnt want them to mix. When I asked the janitor about the reason he simply changed subjects and didnt tell me anything else. It seemed that he didnt want to talk about this, as if he had said the sufficient. - Look - Bianca interrupted you can talk to the head of the
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Letter to the Romans

municipal museum. There was a group at school who went to see the exposition about the history of New Berlin, since the first immigrants until today. The students told me that there are pictures, documents and dome artifacts that resisted to the time and to the war. But, before I forget, Leo called. He said he had access to the investigation reports about the German engineer case and he had already sent them to your email. - Ive already told Leo that I dont have anything to do with this anymore said Klaus - I passed the information to Marcio, he should analyze the investigation data. - I know, my dear, but you spend so much time on this case; I think you could take a look and give Leo a feedback about it. After all, he worked hard to gather the information for you former report. Like always, Bianca was right and he knew that. Many times, the well dressed, tall, thirty-two-year-old mathematician, logical thinker, gave the right direction to the reports that Klaus took home, to work overtime, in front of his laptop. It wasnt different this time, he knew. He really had to give a support to the young journalism trainee; he had also faced this at the beginning of his career in small newspapers of the capital city and he knew how difficult it was to get the attention and the credits after the effort after finishing a report.
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Letter to the Romans

They met at College when Klaus decided to take the discipline of free choice with the Mathematic course. The figure of someone that was lost was outstanding in trigonometry classes and Bianca noticed it. It was during the monitoring classes with Bianca that they met and they started a relationship soon after this. Two years later, they were graduated and got married and, since then, they have helped each other in their professions. That evening, another person would require the couples attention. Although he was just six, Artur seemed to be older, probably because of his height and weight, brown hair and very active, demanding long hours of attention from his parents and from any other person that was in the house. After dinner, Klaus and Bianca stayed a longer time with Artur in the living room, playing with his toys. After that, Artur went to sleep in his bedroom, since he was going to have class early next morning. Considering the move to the countryside, this was the biggest change for them because all schools in the small town started their classes at seven thirty in the morning, even if the temperature was zero degree and the lawn was frozen. It was ten oclock when the lights went off at the house in Linha Fritz, but, something was bothering Klaus, something that he knew was a good history. What he didnt know was that this same history would risk
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Letter to the Romans

not just his life but also his familys life.

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Letter to the Romans

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