Berma

“family. But just to prove superiority, the Gestapo member who accompanied him hit the man across the face at the end of the questioning. The Jew then became difficult, and Erich asked that the children be removed from the room. They had begun to whimper, the one thing most likely to distract him. Erich continued to question the man who held a hand to his bruised face, pretending coldly that there had been no harm done, and the interview concluded quickly. Once outside”
― Gemma Liviero, The Road Beyond Ruin

“the sound of crying offensive, the evasive answers annoying, Erich would find that such brute force would be a necessary part of the job, and that people like his associate served a purpose.”
― Gemma Liviero, The Road Beyond Ruin

“trying to model what it means to be a man, but they don’t truly know. They think it means be tough, feel nothing, betray nothing. And then Luis comes along and decides that his definition of a man is someone who is not afraid to be kind. That takes courage. Don’t you think?”
― Catherine Ryan Hyde, Have You Seen Luis Velez?