The Forbidden Six

November 11th, 1938

Leyna sat down in her math class at Kassel University. All of her classmates stared at her as she sat. She wore a simple black dress.

"What? Stop staring at me," she barked at them.

"Fräulein Hernon. Go to the principal's office and don't come back," the teacher commanded as soon as she sat down.

"I didn't do anything. I haven't even said anything yet and you tell me to go to the principal's office? Why? This isn't fair."

"Just go. And take your things with you."

She looked around at her classmates, meeting each of them in the eye. A few of them looked away. Others held her gaze. Leyna snatched up her bag and gave the teacher a dirty look. She huffed and marched into the office. She sat down in a chair and crossed her arms.

"Remind me why you're here again?" the principal asked while writing something down.

"Ich weiß nicht. I got sent here. I swear I didn't do anything." Leyna threw up her hands. "I have missed a few school days. I promise it hasn't affected my quality of work."

"And what is your name?" The principal reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of paper with official looking writing on it.

"Leyna Hernon. I'm pretty sure I'm the only Leyna at this school."

"You're getting kicked out because you're Jewish. This should have happened yesterday, but you weren't here yesterday."

Her mouth fell open. "You're joking." The principal gave her a blank stare. "This is so unfair. Just because I'm Jewish it means that I have to stop attending school? I just want to become a teacher and teach students. I will be the best teacher there is because apparently all teachers in the world don't know a thing."

"You should be grateful that you got to attend college at all. Being a female and a Jew..." He shook his head with disdain. "I'll just have to call your mother to come pick you up. What is her number?"

"I am eighteen. I can drive myself home, thank you very much. Have a good day," she said, her voice dripping with animosity.

She quickly stood, causing the chair to fall behind her. She crammed her beret onto her head and stormed out. She paused once to kick over a trash can before walking out. It hurt her foot and she bit back a curse. She didn't want to give the school the satisfaction of knowing that she had hurt herself.

Once outside, she sat on the steps with a sigh. She covered her face and tried to forget what the principal had said. She set her face in a hard expression and stood, filled with defiance. She stomped back into the classroom. The teacher stared at her as she took out her notebook and began taking notes.

"I thought I told you to get out of this classroom." The teacher set down his chalk and stared at her.

"Ja. I know you did. I spent money to learn and that's what I'm going to do. I spent almost all of my savings on this because I thought that I would be learning how to become a teacher."

"Fräulein. Kindly leave this classroom or I will call the Sturmabteilung."

"Call them. I'm not leaving." Leyna pressed her mouth into a line, trying to ignore her fear.

The teacher walked out of the classroom and down the hall. The students started whispering to each other and gawking at Leyna. She held her head high and waited for the teacher to return. She knew what the SA could do to her. She knew they could kill her.

The teacher came back a few minutes later and grinned a triumphant smile. Leyna gulped back her fear and looked at the board.

Five minutes later, the SA appeared in the classroom. Her hands started to shake and she shoved them into her lap. The teacher pointed at her and she sprang up. Leyna looked for an escape route. The only door was blocked by the soldiers. There was a window behind her. It wasn't open, but it was her only choice. Escape or be arrested.