April, a season for weddings

Today is Sunday, April 6, 1941. Spring is in the air this morning, the city still asleep. A few people are attending mass or walking to the market. On a streetcar, a schoolteacher is analyzing a new book of philosophy for a review he will write. He is on a short ride up the hill to report for reserve duty at the King’s Guard. Times are uncertain, and the aftereffects of the recent military coup are strangely absent. The coup was sparked by the city’s outcry against the signing of a pact with three global empires. War has been averted. It is peacetime.

A changing life

In a few minutes, for millions of people, this Sunday will change life forever. The ensuing epic is what the schoolteacher had gambled against, by taking the oath of allegiance to his King. Soon, he will never see his family, friends, country— even his paintings and beloved caver— again. And he was one of the lucky ones.

April 1941

April 1941 is this soldier’s story.