“I haven’t forgotten how awful it was back then,” she said, dropping her voice as she glanced at Felix. “Sometimes you had to pay a price just to keep your family alive. I do understand that. But is it true?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied. Her eyes narrowed.

“I think you do. Can you honestly tell me that Jürgen wasn’t involved in what happened at Mittelwerk?”

How could one word have so much power? As Claudia said Mittelwerk, my stomach dropped, and a wave of shame and guilt rushed over me, so powerful I swayed with the force of it. Felix was oblivious to all of that. He tugged at my hand, impatient to go inside to play with Claudia’s son Luis. Eventually, I wanted to tell my children everything, but he wasn’t even five years old. It wasn’t time yet for him to overhear a conversation like the one Claudia was trying to prompt.

My voice was thick with emotion as I managed, “As you say, Claudia, things were very difficult during the war.”

“Some of my friends joined the Party or turned a blind eye to the harassment of Jews on the street,” she said stiffly. “These things I can forgive. But I absolutely draw the line at running a—” she looked from me to Felix and then mouthed dramatically “—forced labor camp.”

“He didn’t run a camp!” I exclaimed fiercely, but then I sighed, knowing I’d already lost this battle. “Maybe we can sit down, and the children can play while I tell you the whole story? We didn’t have any choice about what happened.”

I felt sure if Claudia heard me out, she’d understand the impossible position Jürgen and I had found ourselves in. But she had already made up her mind. She stepped back inside and gave me a grim look.

“There’s always a choice, Sofie. Always.”

She moved to shut the door, but I couldn’t let the conversation end like that, so I stuck my foot out to hold the door open.

“As I understand, you and Klaus were living a long way from Berlin during the war,” I said firmly. “And you’re younger than us—I’m assuming Klaus was very junior at his workplace back then. You don’t know what you’d have done if you were in our position.”