I stand in my underclothes, puny and exposed, at the edge of the dark water. The granite rock, warm beneath the soles of my feet is reminiscent of that sun-warmed jetty all those years ago. Terror hovers and my legs begin to quiver. I cannot let anyone know I’m afraid. I close my eyes and launch myself off the rock, far out into the centre of the pool.

The shock of the icy water takes my breath away, as it once did before, and I plunge downwards. I uncurl, fighting the panic, kicking frantically for the surface.

I shoot up into the light, taking huge gulps of air, still kicking hard. I can almost feel those strong hands pulling me up, away from that hideous watery end.

‘Hey! Move out of the way down there!’ someone shouts from above. I look up, pulling my body vertical. Erna and three others are standing high up on a rock next to the waterfall, ready to jump. I swim out of the way and watch the four girls plummet through space and crash into the pool. The water swallows them, bubbling in the place they entered. A second’s pause and they shoot to the surface, laughing, gasping and wiping water from their eyes. They have no fear and suddenly I hate my own.

I flip onto my back and float, gazing into the azure sky, trying not to think about the terrifying volume of water between me and the solid earth. It laps around my head and seeps into my ears. The cold numbs and soothes my aching limbs. What I would give to be having a long soak in a mineral bath, then to fall naked into Walter’s arms…

Hell! What depraved thoughts are these? Give me strength, oh Führer, to banish this evil from my mind. My heart beats in double quick time.

The personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil, assumes the living shape of the Jew. Hitler’s words rattle through my mind. By defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.

It’s so hard. Dirty visions spring, unbidden, into my head. They are grubby and wrong.

I try to focus on the white clouds drifting high above me. A movement in the distance catches my eye. Three black dots in a ‘V’ shape, travelling low and fast across the sky. Fighter planes. Perhaps they’re off to join the war in Spain. Deep in the peace of the countryside, that real war, happening so far away, is surreal. And what of this bigger war, that Vati alludes to? One right here in Germany, and all over the world. A war to right the wrongs of Versailles and to restore Germany to its rightful place as leader of the world. A war to crush the ambitions of the Jews. My stomach twists.

‘Erna,’ I hiss urgently, ‘I need to talk to you about something. It’s private.’ I glance at the bevy of girls bobbing nearby.