“The Seventh Cross” by A. Zegers in summary


German anti-fascists – dead and alive – are devoted to this book.

The action takes place in Germany in several villages around the Vestgofen Concentration Camp.

Chapter first

The narrative is led by one of the prisoners, but it is not clear who, because he always says “we”. Near the barracks number three were cut down under the human growth of extraordinary trees – seven plane trees. To them boards were nailed, they seemed from a distance with seven crosses. The barracks are very dirty and damp. It began to rain.

I

Franz Marnet is an employee of the chemical industry. The factory goes to work on a bicycle. He’s in a good mood. Rides past the shepherd Ernst.

II

Franz loved to go to work alone and was a little annoyed that he would have to go along with Anton Greiner, whom he met on the road. Anton spoke to Franz. Greiner thought that something had happened to him in the morning – he showed

the strange behavior of the military as proof. At first, Franz did not understand and thought that this was nonsense. But then he suddenly felt in the air that something had happened.

In the dining room from Anton, that several people have fled from the camp, they say that most have already been seized.

III

Georg Geisler was lying in the quagmire. The escape was discovered. The military is running around everywhere, the siren howls. Very thick fog. One fugitive was caught – Beitler.

IV

Fahrenberg, the camp commandant, thinks in his office that this is a dream. All events corresponding to such an event have already been made, orders have been given. It remained only to wait until they caught the fugitives. When they dragged the beaten Beitler, investigators Overkamp and Fisher entered the gates of the camp. Overkamp ordered to immediately call the doctor and was angry that the fugitive now even interrogate will be impossible, he was beaten so badly.

V

George all crawled. In his head he always had the image of Wallau, who, as it were, mentally gave him advice

on what to do and that he did not give up and not give in to panic and fear.

When he went out on the road, he met an old man named Gribok, grandmother, “nicknamed Korzinochka” and her granddaughter. With them, he reached the village. Suddenly, a motorcycle suddenly appeared. George jumped over the wall, wedged on top of broken glass. He was not noticed, but his hand was covered in blood and terribly ill. It was the wall of an agricultural school. Next to it was a barn in which George dressed in someone’s brown velveteen jacket with a zipper, shoes and trousers. I took the engine part that lay at the door, and went with her to the street “because such a burden indicates the certainty of the path and legitimizes the carrier.” When he stopped the patrol, he showed the label of the company with the details of the car, and he was released. He reached the village of Buchenau. Suddenly the village was cordoned off. Georg hid in the nearest yard behind the wood.

Fritz Helvig – a student of an agricultural school, a gardener – discovered in the shed the loss of his jacket, which he had long saved and informed the police.

VI

In the courtyard, the women were taken off the clothes from the ropes. George was still hiding behind the wood. In the yard came to search, but in the next house they found another fugitive. It was Peltzer. George found out about this, because they said about the caught man that he was wearing glasses. But only Peltzer wore glasses. Everyone in the village decided that there was no more danger, and there were no more fugitives. Peltzer was taken to the camp and interrogated. He was told that Georg Geisler had already been caught and testified.

VII

George lay in the field and thought that he must certainly get to Lenny. This is the girl he met 21 days before his arrest. He again thinks that Wallau would advise him. One driver tossed it. They were driving, and they were stopped at their posts. The soldier considered Georg for a long time, because he approached the description, which was sent to all posts, but he let the car go. After a while, the driver silently landed Georg in the middle of the road and left. Georg dostopal to the nearest city and went to the cathedral.

VIII

Franz and George met for a long time and at first did not love each other, and then they became friends and lived together for a long time, until Georg took Franz’s girlfriend Ellie. Even married her, and they had a child, but she left him.

Chapter Two
I-II

The cathedral was closed, and George slept there.

III

Alphonse Mettenheimer – father Ellie – was summoned to the Gestapo for interrogation. He was asked about George Geisler, but Alphonse said that he did not want to know this bastard and he was released.

IV

Georg accidentally went to the private doctor Herbert Levenshteynu and he, guessing who George was, was very frightened and bandaged his arm for free.

In the hotel “Savoy” caught a thief. The crowd thought it was a thief. And this was one of the fugitives. Belloni in ordinary life – Anton Meyer. He was shot at his feet when he was not sitting on the roof. He fell in the middle of the hotel yard. Belloni died in the hospital. The doctors talk: “What do you care about his feet? Not from them did he die.”

V

George walked along the Rhine, he exchanged a jacket for a boatman for a sweater, then went on, but he was attached to Schurenok – one of the fishermen. He brought George to the spit and confessed that he misled Georg, so that the fisherman was not bored to go. Georg was already going back. Suddenly a policeman came out of the bushes, when he asked for documents from Georg, he ran. He managed to escape. He was again in the city. I went to the cafe. He learned from the loader the name of the woman who was planning to go somewhere on the truck – Frau Binder. He climbed into her car and began to tell something about distant relatives, a hospital, etc. After a couple of chapters, he was dropped off.

VI

After Alphonse Mettenheimer installed surveillance, and he noticed it. Behind the house of his daughter – Georg’s wife – too. When a fan Henry Kubler came to visit him, the military confused him with Georg, grabbed him and took him away for interrogation, where they severely beat him.

This is approximately 128 pages. Total pages 390. There is no point in further telling. So. Georg is still walking. He came to Lenny, but she pretended not to recognize him, and he left. Wallau was caught. His wife was preparing to escape and left him clothes and money in a shed at a dacha with friends. Here is a friend and passed it, and then hanged himself. Vallau was silent at the interrogation, because he considered himself already dead. Now only 3 fugitives remained at large: George, Füllgrabe and Aldinger. Their photos were placed in the newspaper. With Fühlgrabe Georg accidentally met at a stop, he told George that he was about to surrender. The story of the old man Aldinger is simple – he was reported to the Gestapo to get a position. When he escaped, he simply walked straight, guided by some inner sense of the landmark. He reached his village, lay down under a bushes to rest and died. He was found and buried. There was only one fugitive – George. He came to an old school friend – Paul Raeder. He decided to help George, went to his old comrades, but one was already planted, and the second Sauer pretended not to know George. Under the guise of a cousin, Paul arranged Georg for his aunt Katharina Graber for a day. And he went for help to Fidler – a colleague at work. He settled Georg with the Kress family. Paul was taken away for questioning.

And at this time Franz told Herman what Paul looks like. And one of George’s comrades-Sauer also said that Paul came. Herman decided to give the passport to Georg.

While George was at Kressov, Fiedler remembered another comrade, who also can help – Reinhardt. Has come to that all to tell, and that already knows everything and at it ready documents on a name of George and money. It turned out so that George simultaneously from both sides helped.

With documents Georg was taken to the pier, in a cafe he met the waitress Maria. And he was waiting for the ship “Wilhelmina.” There was a man who immediately realized that he was “ready for any risk.”

Ends with the continuation of the first page, where someone tells. It becomes clear that this is what the prisoner says after the escape, when they have already appointed a new commandant to the camp.


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“The Seventh Cross” by A. Zegers in summary