Summary
On October 30, 1942, the Finnish police informed the commander of the Gestapo in neighboring Estonia, which they intended to hand over to them in the coming days, nine Jewish refugees.
About a week later, only eight Jewish refugees were handed over to the Nazis.
Where did the ninth Jew go?Y?
The code discovered by Nadav, an Israeli nature photographer, just before he froze to death in frozen Lapland, allows him and Heidi, his Finnish friend, to uncover the strange story surrounding the disappearance of the ninth Jew. The plot of the book slowly reveals the mystery surrounding this unknown affair, while chasing a mysterious treasure and a confrontation with the grandson of a Nazi colonel who was serving at the time in Finland. Will they discover the identity of the ninth Jew?
The book was translated into English, published as a printed and digital book. A printed book including a dedication and the author's signature, can be obtained from her at the address: [email protected] and can be purchased at Bibox, Steamtsky Digital and Amazon, In this link.
Chapter 7 – A nuclear scientist?
I looked at Heidi. The question you raised about the connection between the Jewish religion and the State of Israel caused me confusion. What to me as an Israeli seems normal and self-evident, to an outside observer seems impossible.
"What was the topic of your master's thesis?" I asked.
"I focused on historical research on power politics and violence that led to futile wars," she said with a serious undertone, "Given my family history, the area I grew up in, and my military service in the Middle East, it was quite natural for me to show an interest in this field."
snow began to fall. She slowed down and activated the wipers. I looked at the snowflakes floating in the air. They seemed to accelerate and increase their speed as they approached the car window.
"I have never thought about our wars from this point of view. I assume you know the history of Israel's wars," I said and gave her a questioning look. She nodded and I continued, "I'm sure it would be difficult to fit them under the definition of 'futile wars.'
"Defensive wars are not futile, but the definition of a defensive war may sometimes change depending on one or another political needs."
My body language probably indicated that I didn't quite agree with her last statement.
"What did you do in the army?"
It seemed that Anna did not want to enter into another argument with me, so she changed the subject. My eyes lit up. I like to talk about my military service.
"I serve as a reserve officer in a special unit," I explained, "in Israel you continue to serve in the army many years after liberation. Our army is mainly a reserve army."
"Just like in Finland. The Finnish army is based mainly on reservists," she said, "Did you get to participate in the war?"
"I participated in the Second Lebanon War and in quite a few operations. In one of them I was injured but nothing serious. I returned to the unit after I recovered."
"Do you know that this war in Lebanon is badly imprinted in the national memory of the Finns?"
"really?" I raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.
"An Israeli bomb killed four UN soldiers, including a Finnish soldier."
"I do remember that event," I said, "but I didn't remember that one of the UN observers was Finnish. A truly terrible event!"
"What did you do after your discharge from the army?"
"I went to study physics. A field I really liked back in high school."
"As someone who specifically likes the field of social sciences and the humanities, I admire those who like exact sciences," she said.
"It's not such a big deal. When you love something, specialize in it and succeed in it, it stops being as complicated as it seems to the outsider. For an experienced fighter pilot, for example, it's probably not complicated at all to fly a plane," I said with a smile.
"So… are you a pilot?"
"I would die to be a pilot but a physicist is not bad either."
"Nuclear scientist?" Tried her strength again.
"I wasn't drawn to the field," I replied.
"I stop guessing!" She lifted both her hands from the steering wheel for a second.
"Okay, okay," I smiled, "I completed my master's degree in physics and I did my thesis on a creative idea I had in the field of electro-optics. I later patented it and applied it to a tiny camera with exceptional performance. To turn this patent into a product, I co-founded a startup With a friend. We were not bad at all and after a few years we sold it to a large and well-known concern called 'Nokia', have you heard of it by any chance?" I asked with a joking expression.
"Sounds more like a Japanese company name." flowed with me.
"The truth is, when I first came across a phone with that name, I was sure it was a Japanese phone," I said.
She looked at me and smiled.
"Later I realized that every kid in Finland knows that Nokia is a huge Finnish industrial concern that was among the first manufacturers of cell phones. For almost a decade I went around the world presenting our unique camera to all kinds of companies," I continued, "During my travels I also came to Finland."
"So why did you choose to sell your patent to a Finnish company?" She was intrigued.
"Nokia won my invention not because they paid more than others, but mostly because I like working with the Finns," I replied.
"What do you like about Finns?" she asked without hiding her satisfaction.
"The integrity, reliability, professionalism, practicality, directness and creativity."
"...and you didn't find any faults in us?" she laughed
"You are a little too introverted for my taste, rarely talk and, unlike you, do not excel in a particularly developed sense of humor."
Heidi burst into a rollicking laugh.
"If you made an exit, you're probably rich."
"This is true."
"So why did you decide to become a photographer?"
"Making money was never my goal in life. Although it's easy to say that after you get rich, the business world drains all your energy and leaves no time for satisfaction and enjoyment of all the other things in life. This is why I decided to change the course of my life and focus on my love for photography. It gives an opportunity to travel In the world, to meet people and enjoy life."
"This is a world view that is not typical of the Israelis I know," she said, "By the way, does the name Nadav have any meaning?"
"Yes," I replied, "the name is derived from the word generosity which signifies giving, bestowal, generosity and love. It is a name also mentioned in the Bible," I added.
"Can you live up to that name?"
"You'll have to find out for yourself," I replied with a smile and felt myself blushing.
Despite my success in life, the fact that I was short, balding and small-bellied hurt my self-confidence, especially when it came to daring to start with the fairer sex.
"What does the name Heidi mean?" I asked.
"This is a quite popular Finnish, Danish and Icelandic name and means beauty in Finnish and also... bird. The Finns have a special attitude towards beauty and birds." laughed and gestured with her hand towards the bright green and white landscape.
"What do you like in Israel?"
She got a little serious and lost in thought.
"I really like the landscapes of your country, the warm weather, the bright sun, the human diversity, your openness and your stormy temperament," she tried to summarize in a short sentence an answer to my question.
"Interesting," I laughed, "what we perceive as loudness, vulgarity and inconsiderateness, you see as a stormy temperament."
"It certainly makes sense," she said, "the closer you are, the more flaws you see. Our flaws, the Finns, I'll leave you to discover for yourself."
There was silence and after a while she looked at me with concern.
"Someone once told me that if an Israeli encounters silence, he has the feeling that the other party is angry. Israelis, he said, do not feel comfortable with silence. When they are in a company, they feel the need to talk all the time. Is that true?" a question.
"I hadn't thought of that," I replied, "but there's something to it."
As we passed the village of Santa Claus, several kilometers north of Rovaniemi, the snow had stopped falling but the sky remained gloomy. The place was full of tourists and above our heads passed a huge passenger plane that had just taken off from the nearby airport.
"I still have enough time until my flight. Which hotel should you go to?" a question.
I mentioned the name of the hotel.
"Do you perhaps have an explanation for this incredible coincidence?" I asked.
The puzzled look she sent at me signaled me to answer in her place.
"The first person I meet after I was saved by a miracle, she is a cute Finn who knows Israel well and even loves it," I said just as we stopped at the entrance to the hotel.
She smiled and nodded.
"When we enter the hotel, you will most likely be engulfed in the commotion that will be around you. Before we part, could you perhaps show me the address you took in the shack again?" asked for
"Yes of course," I said, turned on the camera, handed it to her and went to get my backpack and ski equipment out of the trunk.
"It looks like a hidden script, a real cipher," she said as she got out of the car and handed the camera back to me. She was taller but slightly than me and her figure was full, just to my liking.
"It will be a serious challenge to crack this code," she said excitedly. "Although it is difficult to understand what is written here, it seems to me that it is written in Finnish. When you connect to the Internet, send me the picture. I will try to reproduce some of the words and letters."
My entrance into the hotel lobby caused great excitement when they discovered that the man dressed in a ski suit was the lost Israeli that everyone was looking for.