18 THE OPPERMANNS mann advertisements, "Oppermann customers buy good goods cheapIy," was a household phrase. All over the Reich Germans worked at Oppermann desks, ate off Oppermann tables, sat on Oppermann chairs, and slept in Oppermann beds. One might sleep more comfortably in Wels beds, and the Wels tables might be more durably constructed, but people preferred to in- vest less money, even if what they bought was a bit less sub- stantial. Heinrich Wels could not understand that, It hurt hie craftsmanls pride. Had the recognition of solid merit died out in Germany? Could not these misguided purchasers see that at one of his, Wels's, tables a single man had laboured for eighteen hours, whereas the Oppermann stuft was merely the product of a factory? They did not see it, They only saw that a Wels table cost fifty-four marks and an Oppermann cost forty, so they made their purchases at Oppermann's. Heinrich Vlels could not understand people nowadays. His bitterness steadily increased. However, during recent years, things had taken a turn for the better. A movement was making headway which spread the idea that hand-made articles were better suited to the char- acter of the German people than standardized products of fac- tories run on iriternational lines. This movernent called itself National-Socialism. It freely expressed what Heinrich Wels had long secretly felt, namely that the Jewish firms with their cut-price methods were responsible for Germany's decline. Heinrich Wels associated hirnself wholeheartedly with the movement. He became a District Chief of the party. He saw with delight that the movement was gaining ground. It was true that people still preterred to buy eheaper tables, but at least they abused the Oppermanns while they did so. The party also managed to put a higher tax rate on the larger stores so that the Oppermanns gradually had to advance their prices for tables, for which Wels charged fifty-four marks, from forty to forty-six marks.

BOOK ONE: YESTERDAY Anti-Jewish circulars arrived in quantities at all the nine Oppermann shops, anti-Iewish posters were pasted on the show-windows at night. Old customers stopped coming. Prices had to be at least ten percent lower than those of non-Jewish competitors; if they were only five percent eheaper some of the customers went to Christi an shops, Chicanery from official quarters increased under pressure of the growing National- Socialist party. Heinrich Wels profited. The difference be- tween the price of his merchandise and that of the Opper- manns steadily decreased. In spite of this, the furniture firm of Oppermann continued, outwardly at least, to maintain friendly relations with the Wels concern. In fact Jaques Lavendel and chief clerk Brieger had hinted to Wels that he should suggest a consolidation of the two firms or, at any rate, a closer co-operation between them. If such an arrangement were concluded, the firm of Opper- mann would be relieved of the odium attaching to a [ewish house. Further, as soon as Wels had a share in the business, certain official steps would undoubtedly lose much of their harshness as far as that firm was concerned. When the success of the Opperrnanns had outstripped that of Heinrich Wels, he had been wounded more keenly in his pride than in his purse. He was happy now that his work- shops were gaining ground. After a few verbal soundings on the part of Brieger, he had actually received a most courteous note from the Oppermann firm stating that they understood he had certain suggestions to make conducive to an even more pleasant co-operation than in the paste The firm was keenly in- terested and requested the favour of his call, to take up these matters in person, on the sixteenth of November at eleven o'clock in the office of the manager of the firm in Gertraudten Strasse. Heinrich Wels, accordingly, sat in the ante-room of the head office of Oppermann's and waited. He was a stately man