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story of the Crossmen."
"Yes, Father. Eventually their murderous ways became so notorious that they
were censored by the Pope. This didn't bother them a bit. They simply became a
secular order and went on doing as they had been. Many long wars and bloody
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battles were fought by the kings of Poland against them."
"Then Poland will again have a king?"
"Of course, Father. We're but a century from the time of King Casimir the Great!"
"Praise God! But continue your story."
"Eventually, they were defeated at the Battle of Grunwald or Tannenberg, it's
sometimes called. This was -will be-the bloodiest battle fought by Christians in
the Middle Ages."
"The surviving Crossmen became vassals of the Polish Crown, as the Duchy of
Prussia. By that time they had completely eradicated the Slavic tribe of Prussians,
or Pruthenians as they are sometimes called, and had taken that name for
themselves, the way a barbaric warrior takes the clothing of his victim."
"But despite their vassalage, they never became Polish. Six hundred years from
now, they were instrumental in organizing and dominating all the German
states."
"Their spirit was that of another German group, the Nazis, which conquered
Poland as well as most of the rest of Europe. Their crimes were so horrible as to
be unimaginable. Not far from where we sit, they built a death camp called
Auschwitz where they systematically killed four and a half million people. That is
half again as many people as there are in all of present-day Poland."
"This was not a matter of the sack and slaughter of a city, done in the heat of
passion. This was a matter of Germans going to work each day for four years and
killing their quota of men, women, and children."
"And that was not the only camp, and the camps were not the only atrocity. In the
end, more than fifty million people died in six years. That's twice as many people
as lived in the entire Roman Empire at its peak."
Father Ignacy was silent for a while. "I cannot comprehend the numbers of
people you speak of, but I have never known you to lie. You are saying then that
this is a great evil that must be fought?"
"Yes, I guess so, Father."
"I take it then that you are not intending to run away, as many men would."
"I don't see how I can. If I did, they'd probably take those children back and sell
them to the Moslems. I can't have that on my conscience."
"No, I don't suppose you can. But you are only one man, and they are many
thousands."
"I know that I can't lick them alone," I said, my eyes blurring with tears. "But I
intend to do everything that one man can. If I die, well, I die. Father, you once
told me that I might be an instrument of God, and I didn't believe you. Well, in
this matter, I know that I have God on my side." I think I was crying a little.
"Very well, my son. For what small worth it might be, know that in this matter
you have me on your side as well. Go with God, my son. I give you no penance for
your sins, for I think that you will soon be punished more than you deserve, and
more than you can bear."
I had to stop a while in the vestibule to compose myself before I joined the others.
It doesn't do to be tear-streaked when your friends are worried about you.
But the others were in a merry mood when I joined them in front of the
monastery, and the girls were prattling about all the wondrous sights they'd seen.
I leaned back on Anna and soaked up their gaiety. I needed it.
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Vladimir informed us that the dinner hour at Wawel Castle would be over by
then, and we hadn't eaten lately. I suggested an inn that I had stopped at last fall.
A healthy-looking, well-filled-out young woman took our order, then did a double
take at me.
"Oh my God! You're Sir Conrad!"
"Guilty. Then you must be Malenka."
"Oh my God! Zygmunt! Zygmunt! Quickly! Look who's here!"
She ran out of the room to get her husband.
"What was that all about?" asked Annastashia.
"Oh, once I played matchmaker," I said.
The innkeeper came back with his wife, wiping his hands on his apron and
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