Near the Danube Bridge
A Story of Faith, Courage, and Endurance
by
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A SHRINK-WRAPPED SKELETON
Three damp, dark, and dreary concrete walls joined by a heavy metal door enclosed Kalman and the Kommandant. One tiny, barred window, fitted high up in barely a cranny, revealed a miniscule amount of light, hardly a reminder that an outside world existed. A small pail in the opposite corner overflowed and reeked of excrement. Icy urine glistened around the edges of the cramped prison cell. Huddled in a corner, unable to even crawl, Kalman would one day describe himself appearing as a “shrink-wrapped skeleton.” The Kommandant, a construed abuser of his authority, bellowed orders as spittle foamed around his mouth and his face blazed red. “I want this cell to be cleaned today.” He grabbed Kalman, thrust a mop and bucket into his hands, and trumpeted, “I am going to break your faith. I am going to make you work on the Sabbath.” Unable to hold the mop and bucket, Kalman fell.
The Kommandant lifted Kalman as easily as if his prisoner were a small child. He held Kalman’s flimsy, emaciated substance of what remained of his body and flung it back and forth across the frigid chamber, bouncing him from one side to the other, slamming his head against each wall. The Kommandant specialized in torture and knew how to bring his victims to the brink of death without killing them. Kalman’s battered skull subsisted beyond the sensations pain brings. The Kommandant at last hurled him to the floor and stomped on him. Seething with hostility, he danced on Kalman’s stomach and twisted his boots impenitently over Kalman’s hands, grinding them mercilessly while reveling maniacally. After what seemed to be an excruciatingly long passage of time, the Kommandant proclaimed, “You would like to die for your God more than anything else.” Kalman’s voice, barely audible, pleaded in breathy gasps, “Put an end to this. Let me die.” The Kommandant, undeterred and unrelenting, pistol-whipped Kalman across his face. He continued the crucible, picked up the heavy metal bucket, threw its soapy water in Kalman’s face, and continued the beating with the bucket. The Kommandant worked Kalman over for what seemed like an eternity while maintaining that the bullet in the gun was too expensive to be used on him and that it would have been too easy to end Kalman’s life with it. Bloody, bruised, swollen, and purple, Kalman passed in and out of consciousness, convinced he was going to die on the bone-chilling concrete that very day. The Kommandant, exhausted, pulled his arm back to administer one final blow and exit the sweaty, smelly, bloodied, cell-turned torture chamber. It seemed as if only yesterday Kalman had been playing his violin in church.
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About the Book
Near the Danube Bridge is now an award winning book!
- Literary Titan Book Award
- Pencraft Book Awards
- International Impact Book Awards
- London Book Festival
- Firebird Book Awards
- Global Book Awards
Kalman Hartig was born in Yugoslavia in 1930 and lived a comfortable life until it was interrupted by World War II. By the 1950s, Yugoslavia had become a communist country. Little did he know what awaited him when he would report for the draft as a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector. A violinist, Kalman planned to perform in a symphony. Suddenly he was thrown in prison and beaten by the Kommandant who was notorious for his evil brutality.
This page-turner exposes in detail Kalman's harrowing ordeal. It includes his youth growing up during World War II, and the life of his future wife.
After many years of surviving the unthinkable, Kalman and Minka escaped Yugoslavia and eventually immigrated to the United States.”
Near the Danube Bridge
Book Club Discussion Points
1. What did you learn about European history during the early to middle 20th century that you didn’t know before? Which events did you find to be the most interesting?
2. Have you experienced discord within your own family or close circle of friends regarding different religious beliefs?
3. Other than Kalman, the protagonist, was there another character to whom you related? How?
4. Did you discover where the title of the book came from?
5. If you were facing persecution, where would you draw the line? When would you say it wasn’t worth it anymore, such as refraining from eating meat or something similar?
6. What are the most striking differences you see between immigration laws in the book and our present time?
7. Were you surprised that, even by 1959, German officers in the refugee camp said they didn’t want any Jews in the camp when they discovered the Hartigs worshipped on Saturdays? How did this make you feel?
8. Minka served as a pivotal character throughout the book. How do you think Kalman’s life would have been different without her?
9. Our world has a large refugee problem due to people fearing for their very lives if they stay in their homeland. Which circumstance or matter of conscience would make you consider leaving your own country and becoming a refugee?
About the Author
Catherine Allen-Walters, a professional violinist, has a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s in humanities. She has studied the history of religions and historical literature having always held a fascination with world cultures, ethnicities, and people’s varying degrees of religious adherence and differing beliefs. She works as a private tutor and violin instructor and enjoys crocheting in her spare time. Catherine resides in Escondido, California with her husband, dog, and two cats.
Elisabeth Hartig Lentulo, a licensed realtor, enjoys the excitement and challenges of the real estate industry. She is an enthusiastic vocalist and performs regularly with the prestigious Bonner Singers and periodically with the Fallbrook Chorale. Elisabeth was born in Serbia and grew up in Germany. She continues to speak German fluently with her friends in the San Diego North County Deutscher Stammtisch. She lives in Fallbrook, California with her husband and two dogs.