The Queen's Sacrifice
by
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Jamos hesitated. “You need to tell me where I am going and why.” The Lieutenant’s demeanor changed at once to a much more confrontational mode. “I cannot tell you anything, but you must come with me. I am under strict orders that I must follow.” Jamos asked, “Am I under arrest? What if I refuse to go with you?” The young SS officer answered, in a sinister tone, “You are not under arrest, but if you refuse to go with me, I will be forced to shoot your lovely wife in her face.” Jamos became angry. “That would be murder! My wife is not Jewish!” Lieutenant Schulz replied, “I know, but she is married to a Jew, so that is close enough for me. Dr. Kovac, I know you to be an intelligent man. You must realize the position you are in. You have no choice in the matter. You must come with me. I will give you one minute. I will wait outside for you while you say goodbye to your wife. If you do not come out, I will come back in and shoot her!” Jamos looked at Nora, who was now visibly shaking from the confrontation between him and the SS officer. He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly. “Darling, I must go with them. I don’t know where I am going or why. I will get word to you as soon as possible. The only thing I can tell you is that I love you so very much. I want you to be safe here. Please take care of yourself and our baby.” Jamos then picked up his medical bag and turned toward the door. He hesitated for a moment, as he thought he would never see his wife again; but he had no choice, so he walked out the door. The two SS Lieutenants were waiting for him near the stairway. Jamos asked once more, “So exactly where am I going?” Lieutenant Schulz stared at him coldly and replied, “Auschwitz.”
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About the Book
This book chronicles the lives of a Jewish family, the Kovacs, living on a small farm southwest of Budapest during the 1880’s. Their lives were profoundly impacted by the extraordinary circumstances that occurred during the first half of the twentieth century.... The catastrophe of World War One, the horrors wrought by the Spanish flu, and the atrocities of World War Two took the lives of untold millions. The lives of those who were fortunate to survive were forever changed. One hundred years ago, what was intended to be a small regional conflict between the belligerent nations of Serbia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, quickly evolved into one of the most decisive, but least understood events of the twentieth century. The so called “Great War” or “the war to end all wars” became a war of endless slaughter where twenty million people forfeited their lives for little or no gain. The war forever altered the physical landscape of Europe and created the collapse of empires that had existed for centuries. It also brought forth the worst global pandemic the world had seen since the bubonic plague of the fourteenth century, killing millions more. World War One, The Treaty of Versailles, The Treaty of Trianon, and the Great Depression provided fertile ground for the social, economic, and political unrest leading Europe and ultimately the United States into World War Two. We still hear the echoes of that dark and dangerous period today, and how our sense of humanity remains in question.
About the Author
LeBron Sims is a former US Army Special Forces Medic (1968–1971). After his military service, he earned a BS degree in biology from San Diego State University. While attending college, he spent several summer seasons working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska and the waters of Puget Sound in Washington State. He then earned a second BS degree, in nursing, from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, while working at the American Lake VA Hospital. After becoming a registered nurse, he transferred to the Puget Sound VA Medical Center in Seattle, where he worked in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit for six years and then with the Neurosurgery Service for fifteen years before retiring. He still lives in the Pacific Northwest near Seattle with his wife and family. He is an avid chess player. The Queen’s Sacrifice is his first novel.