I hope you enjoyed. No, sorry, the story really is over, sorry if I got your hopes up with this update. ;) But I felt a few historical/misc. notes were in order, if you care to read over them. I may occasionally add something in if I catch something in my story that bugs me. Thank you so much for reading.
Arnfried - name derived of arn "eagle" and frid "peace"
Amsel - blackbird
So, I guess you could nickname him something like PeaceEagle Blackbird. Cheesy? Maybe. Fucking badass? Of course.
Ottokar - wealthy and vigilant
Schuhmacher - shoemaker (duh)
...
The Niederhagen in this story is based off the actual Nazi death camp under the same name, but the story diverges their history a bit. Niederhagen did imprison homosexuals, as well as Jehovah's Witnesses (marked by purple triangles, as one man was in this story) and political prisoners, to name a few. It was actually a very small camp, and it mainly made laborers work on a nearby castle. It was disbanded in 1943, while this story's Niederhagen was liberated near the end of the war.
Tirol, Austria is an actual place, and it's beautiful and located near the Alps. I was lucky enough to spend some time there last summer which was the inspiration for putting it into the story.
After the war, homosexual concentration camp prisoners were not acknowledged as victims of Nazi persecution, and reparations were refused. Well after liberation, many still faced persecution and some were even sent to prison after serving at concentration camps. Nazi laws condemning homosexuality that were made in the mid 30's stuck around until 1969. Arnfried and Ottokar would be hiding their relationship in Austria all the way to 1971, when same-sex sexual activity was legalized there. In their time, they would seriously be considered criminals.
Along with that, Ottokar choosing to move away from where almost everyone knew of his sexuality was probably the best idea. He would have been unable to find work as a doctor or find many patients willing to be treated by him if he stayed.
Arnfried was 25, but I realize I never really gave Otto's exact age. He was well in to college and close to a bachelor's, if he wasn't... well, rudely interrupted. So, think 22 years old.
Today, Ottokar would be 92 and Arnfried would be 95. Sooo, most likely RIP my little babies. T^T