Historical suspense novel by Yossi Berger
Summary
On October 30, 1942, the Gestapo commander in Estonia received a message that the Finnish government intended to hand over nine Jewish refugees to Germany.
A week later, on November 6, 1942, only eight Jewish refugees were handed over to the Nazis.
Where did the ninth Jew go?
Nadav, a young Israeli photographer, loses his way in the frozen wilderness of Lapland and is saved from death thanks to a survival cabin. A mysterious cipher engraved in a hidden corner of the cabin arouses his curiosity and together with Heidi, a young Finnish woman he met, they crack the cipher and reveal the secret behind it. During the investigation, the two discover the connection between a Jewish-Finnish sniper unit that exterminated Nazis in World War II, a stolen treasure of diamonds and the mysterious disappearance of the ninth Jew.
In the settlement of Yad Hamona, established near Jerusalem by a group of Finnish immigrants in memory of those eight Jewish refugees, the mystery is finally solved. The message conveyed by the ninth Jew in the cipher takes on a chilling meaning in the horrific massacre that took place in Israel on October 7, 2023, and brings together the fate of Nadav and Heidi with human evil. It is an imaginary historical suspense novel written inspired by real events, while being based on places, people and historical facts, and takes place in Finland, Austria, Germany and Israel.
The book will be published in the coming weeks. Selected chapters from it will be published in Hai Pa in the coming weeks.
Chapter 2 - Thanks to the Sisu
Phone! I remembered.
I quickly reached into the pocket of the snow suit and hurriedly pulled it out.
It's time to call Jonas!
I was surprised to see that my phone was switched off. It was quite unusual. With the help of my teeth I took off the glove of my right hand and pressed hard on the power button.
no response
I pressed again with all my might, until my hand shook. Nothing!
"Sail, sail, sail!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The words came out accompanied by bleating.
I remembered with horror, that this morning, before we left the hotel, I noticed that I had forgotten to charge the phone during the night and the display showed that the battery was almost empty. It didn't bother me much because in the last few days, during the photo tour, I hardly used my phone.
Relax Nadav, I thought, as always, you will find a way out of this trouble.
The phone is dead, the road signs are gone, it's getting dark, and I have no idea where I am or which way to go.
What to do?
Sitting still and waiting for them to find me is not an option. I have to keep moving non-stop to keep my body warm. I decided to move north in the hope that I would meet the group of photographers, and if not them, I would surely come across a road or a settlement sooner or later.
I examined the landscape again, trying to remember which direction the tracks had led before they were erased. I still hoped that I was not mistaken and that from the top of the next hill I would see my friends.
I leapt forward and surfed full of hope, but it soon dawned on me that it was false hope. I stopped and looked frantically around. is nothing!
A real panic struck me. The sun was setting on the horizon, the wind picked up and intensified my feeling of loneliness and helplessness.
Maybe it's still better to wait instead? Jonas must have called for help and I'm sure they're looking for me. Maybe you should find shelter in the forest for the night?
My heart pounded hard and my mind tried to find a solution to the problem.
As an officer in an elite patrol, I was no stranger to movement in the field, as well as getting out of dangerous and desperate situations. But the current situation was different. The terrain is unfamiliar to me, I do not know where I am and I am not experienced in surviving in extreme cold conditions. I didn't know how long I could last.
I couldn't forgive myself for not bothering to take an interest in the area we were traveling through. I trusted Jonas who knew the area well. Contrary to my usual habits, I didn't check the route, I didn't know where we started from and where we were planning to arrive. Without a map I have no idea where I am.
The sun had already partially hidden beyond the horizon and in a short time darkness would descend on the place. I decided that as long as I could move forward, I would. I continued gliding north, climbing hill after hill, hoping each time to meet someone, notice a settlement, or come across a road.
This ritual was repeated, and each time my hope was dashed.
The shadows lengthened and darkness took over the white spaces dotted with dots and dark spots of individual trees, groves and forests.
I was exhausted and sweat covered my body. I stopped by a lone tree, panting heavily and mulling over which way to go.
Suddenly I thought I heard a faint rumbling sound. I held my breath and my heart filled with hope. I tilted my ears, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Far away, just above the treetops of the forest on the horizon, I noticed a shimmering light.
there is! It was a helicopter cruising in the distance at low altitude. This is a rescue helicopter looking for me, my heart leapt with joy. I picked up the ski poles and waved them vigorously.
"Hey! I'm here! Save!" I screamed in a snoring throat.
Obviously, the chances of me being noticed in the dying light of twilight were slim, not to mention the possibility that someone would hear the screams, but my reaction was spontaneous and uncontrollable.
The sun was long gone and stars were twinkling one after the other in the cloudless black sky. The snow glistened in the dark, a light wind blew and the cold became freezing and threatening. I located the North Star, stood with the rest of my strength on my feet and continued surfing.
Every now and then I passed the edge of a forest but avoided going into it, fearing that I would lose my way completely and go in circles.
I can't say how long it lasted, but my browsing speed slowed down. My muscles ached, the wool hat that covered the front of my face, was covered in ice and I continued to ski like a soma in the dark, meter after meter until I felt that... this was it.
Give me strength.
I collapsed on the snow and leaned exhausted against the trunk of a tree at the edge of a forest of birch trees. Will my life end here? I pondered sadly.
The thought that someone would find me sitting in this position, a lump of frozen flesh covered in snow, gave me chills. This is the first time that despair took over me. Strangely, I felt no fear. The fatigue clouded my consciousness and I just wanted to sleep.
I don't know how much time passed until I started to feel the cold slowly seeping through my clothes. I thought about the moment when my parents would receive the news of my death and the agony they would go through when they would try to imagine what happened to me in my last moments.
I don't know the reason for this, but suddenly I remembered a conversation I had a few days ago with Jonas. Somehow we got to talking about World War II and I noticed that I don't know much about the history of Finland at that time.
Jonas's knowledge on the subject was wide and deep. As a tour guide and accompanying tourist groups in northern Finland, he knew in detail what was happening in this area at that time.
"With the outbreak of the First World War, the Soviets invaded Finland and encountered fierce resistance. It was a desperate war," he said, "Finland's chances of winning were slim. We fought few against many, in extreme cold conditions, with very few weapons, and despite everything the Finnish army managed to do Names in the Red Army, and prevented the Soviets from occupying Finland. Do you know why?" Ask.
"Because they spoke a strange language that no one understood?" I was joking.
Jonas burst out laughing.
"One might think that Hebrew is a less strange language. When they don't understand something, they usually say: stop talking to me in Chinese, right?" I nodded and he continued, "So, just so you know, we say, stop speaking Hebrew."
"Walla?" I laughed, "So how did you beat the Russians anyway?"
"Mainly because of the Sisu," Jonas answered.
"What is Siso?" I asked, trying to ignore the Hebrew phrase "Jesus and his joy" that immediately popped into my head.
"It's a little difficult to explain," he answered, "but it can be defined as 'extraordinary determination in situations of extreme danger, which leads a person not to despair and to act against all odds to get out of the trouble he finds himself in.' Finns grow up from their childhood on the myth of the Sisu. In that war , which we call the 'Winter War', Finland's chances of preventing the occupation of their country by the Russians were nil, and yet we stood, few against many, and managed to repel the massive Russian army. We believe that this happened thanks to the foundation we have."
"Although there is no word for this feature in Hebrew," I said, "I think that we Israelis also have this siso. Although seven Arab armies are not equal to the Red Army, but without an Israeli siso, the State of Israel would not exist."
Heavy fatigue fell on me. I felt a strong desire to close my eyes and fall asleep, but I knew that if that happened, I would never wake up.
With the rest of my strength, I got up, stood on my feet that were attached to the skis and looked around, trying to decide where to go next. I didn't want to go into the forest and therefore, without any logical explanation, I leisurely skied up the small hill to my left.
The white snow suddenly changed its color to greenish. At the first moment I was sure that this was the first sign that I was losing my perception of reality and that I was starting to sink into hallucinations.
I looked up at the sky and saw fluttering trails of greenish light above me, which reminded me of the snow dust storm that had obliterated my road signs.
I have never seen such a phenomenon. Due to my exhaustion and the despair that took over me, it took me a while to realize that I was seeing, right above me, the Northern Lights phenomenon.
A Nadav I know would immediately pull out his camera and enthusiastically record the spectacular spectacle. However, the indifference that befell me was a clear sign that I was discouraged and close to exhaustion.
I stood there, in the heart of the ice, looking in amazement at the spectacular natural phenomenon that illuminated the forest behind me and the hill in front of me in green.
Suddenly I noticed a silhouette that made me skip a beat.
Interesting article Yossi