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    Mighty Fortress
    Mighty Fortress
    Mighty Fortress
    Ebook23 pages18 minutes

    Mighty Fortress

    By Kristen Stieffel

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Pastor Gottlieb finds it difficult to preach with Nazis in the pews, but since the Anschluss, he has no choice. When a Jewish family seeks his help, he willingly agrees, seeing it as a way to oppose the troops that have invaded Austria.

    He hides the family in the church, in a service corridor behind the organ pipes. The younger family members plan their escape to New York, but soon realize their elderly grandmother is too frail for the trip.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKristen Stieffel
    Release dateDec 9, 2012
    ISBN9781301164431
    Mighty Fortress
    Author

    Kristen Stieffel

    Kristen Stieffel is a freelance editor specializing in speculative fiction and is associate editor of Havok, a flash fiction magazine focused on the science fiction and fantasy genres. She provides a full range of editorial services and has worked on a variety of projects including business nonfiction and Bible studies, but she is a novelist at heart and has edited novels in many genres for both the general market and the Christian submarket. Kristen is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and Christian Editor Connection and is a Word Weavers International mentor.

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      Book preview

      Mighty Fortress - Kristen Stieffel

      Mighty Fortress

      By Kristen Stieffel

      Copyright 2012 Kristen Stieffel

      Smashwords Edition

      License Notes:

      Thank you for downloading this e-book. It remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied, or distributed. If you enjoyed this story, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com. Thank you for your support.

      Cover Photo © Jan S.—Fotolia.com

      Cover design by Kristen Stieffel

      Hymn excerpts from A Mighty Fortress Is Our God by Martin Luther, 1529

      English translation by Frederick Henry Hedge, 1852

      Contents

      Mighty Fortress

      About the Author

      Mighty Fortress

      Though his stomach writhed, Pastor Gottlieb closed the Epiphany service with his usual benediction. Blessing the brown-shirted men in his church seemed sacrilegious. It took an effort of will to remember that even the stormtoopers who had overrun Austria last spring were God’s children, however iniquitous they might be.

      He dutifully shook hands with all the worshipers as they departed, even the ones in Nazi uniforms. Then he went back inside, blowing warmth into his hands and rubbing their touch from his skin.

      Behind him, the sexton closed the arched oaken doors with a resounding thud. Together, they returned to the sanctuary to extinguish the candles in the two tall, wrought-iron candelabra flanking the altar.

      The Mighty Fortress Church of Christ was a gothic structure of gray stone and leaded glass. Its centuries-old vaulted ceiling covered a sanctuary full

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