Do what you like with my clothes, but please don’t take away my precious photograph.

Soon he was done. The photo was still safely in the pages of a book.

We folded our belongings away as quickly as we could and closed our cases. I started to relax. It hadn’t been too bad.

Then he spoke again. ‘Get undressed.’

Mama just stared at him. With one hand, he pulled aside a curtain in the middle of the room. With the other, he pulled his jacket aside to remind us of the gun in its holster. ‘In there,’ he said to her. Mama didn’t try to argue this time. She walked across to the other section of the cubicle.

‘And you,’ he said to me as he drew the curtain closed behind her.

I undressed as quickly as I could. The guard took my clothes and examined them as I stood there shivering. I kept asking myself what was making me shiver more: the cold or my fear. It was a tough contest.

‘Turn around,’ the guard said. I did as I was told. Finally he threw my clothes back at me. ‘Get dressed,’ he barked as he went behind the curtain to humiliate Mama in the same way.

Finally, we were allowed to leave the cubicle.

‘Where do we go now?’ Mama asked, pulling her coat back on and picking up her case.

‘You go to hell as far as I’m concerned,’ the guard said before turning away.

We took that as our cue to follow the rest of the passengers to the other platform.

‘Mama, come quickly,’ I urged. A man was walking up the platform, blowing a whistle and closing doors.

We ran across to the train and got to the last open door a second before the guard did. I threw our cases on to the train, jumped aboard and reached down to help Mama get on behind me.

And then the door closed, the whistle blew, the train started moving and we were off.

Mama and I looked at each other and grinned. Then, despite the ordeal we’d just been through, we threw our arms around each other in joy; we jumped and danced and sang and laughed.

I wished more than anything that Papa was here to share the moment with us.

I did what you told me, Papa, I said to him in my mind. I got Mama to safety.

And then I smiled and smiled and smiled. We really had done it. We had crossed the border. We were no longer in Germany. The Nazis would never again rule our lives.

1940

MAX

Max spent even longer than usual in his bedroom shining his boots, combing his hair and checking the creases in his shorts. It was a special day and he knew how important it was to get everything right.

‘Ready?’ His father was at the door.

‘Nearly, Father.’