- Can't you be the first?
- If I did, it would be something really unprecedented.
- Everything is unprecedented until someone does.
After everyone went to sleep, Karl sat on that couch for several hours, wondering if what his son had told him was really a possibility. In fact, he wasn't sure whether or not it was possible to do that. Before going to sleep, Karl said to himself:
- My only way is to do what my little son said to do.
The next morning, Karl announced "his" idea to his farm workers:
- I found a way out of our problem: we are going to produce the wine.
- How? We will lose everything before the grapes are ripe.
- We will produce wines with green and frozen grapes.
- That's impossible. - Everyone cheered.
- Maybe it is, but it does not hurt to try, because in any case we will lose everything. Everything seems impossible, until someone with courage and ability doubts, does and proves the opposite. What's more, we can do the difficult things right away; impossible things take some more time.
- Is not it better to focus on something else?
- With all this snow falling? No. We are going to focus on producing our wine. I'm counting on you.
They stayed there, for some time, talking about how they were going to do to harvest the grapes, because it would not be possible to use the machines: the harvest should be manual. Everyone should work as quickly as possible, because they would work with the extremes: they would succeed or they would fail; there would be no middle ground.
Everyone worked all month, and although Karl didn't want them to work all five hours a day, working in the snow was much more tiring than outside. However, they hadn't even listened to him, and in fact even he worked all winter day, sometimes he didn't even have lunch. For a month they managed to harvest all the grapes and started to prepare the wines.
The wine was interesting, and the winemaker at the farm was very enthusiastic about the new wine. But he warned, "This wine should not be stored for long, because of the water." In a short time, the wine fell into people's tastes, and as it was a little cheaper wine, most people could buy it. The farm produced about 39,000 liters of wine and were sold at record speed. The 78,000 bottles were sold in three months. At the end of these three months, when it was already spring, Karl gathered all his employees and thanked:
- I have no employees! I have friends, I have family. I thank all of you for believing.
- We have to thank you.
- We all have to thank you, even me, because I received a very important help.
Everyone there looked at each other.
- Yes, even I received help myself, because the idea of collecting the green and frozen grapes and making the wine, was not mine. The idea came from my son, Otto.
Everyone clapped their hands, it was apparent that Otto was smart, even smarter than many men twice his age. Karl took advantage of the money to build new housing for likely new workers on the farm; and that is exactly what happened, with the success of the new wine, many people came to try a job to work on the farm. In addition, he shared with the employees a large part of the money, so that each one could buy what he needed or wanted. There wasn't even an employee there who didn't buy him a gift, because that extra money helped a lot.
It was close to April 1973 when fate wanted to surprise Otto, but unlike all the surprises that Otto had brought him here, it now brought him a cruel surprise. Night had already fallen when the neighing of horses left the Heisenberg family on their feet. Several horses were neighing outside. The horses on the farm were all tame, those outside were skittish, nervous. Karl was concerned, he knew they were outsiders. Karl warned.
- I think it's better not to open the door, I don't know these horses.
- Maybe they are outsiders looking for a job.
The Heisenberg family had already suffered too much, but as things started to get better in the last few days, they thought it was a good thing. It often looks like the devil is knocking on the door, but it is simply the chimney sweep. Or the other way around. Karl opened the door:
- What do you want?
- Just a few little things. - Said a hooded man.
- What little things?
The man pulled out a silver .38 Carabinieri, pointed at Karl's chest and announced:
- Whatever you have of value: this is a robbery.
In spite of all the bad things that they went through in their lives, those hours to come would be the worst hours that family would spend. For exactly six hours they were terrified. There were nine men, wicked, treacherous, armed to the teeth and made it very clear that they would not hesitate to spill innocent blood in order to reach the goals set for that night. During the entire time that they stayed in the house, they beat, mistreated, and Jew of the three. After they found more than they imagined, they locked Otto in a room, tied Karl to a chair, beat Ann until she fell to the floor and one of them shouted:
- You will see all of us own your wife. One at a time. Or more than one.
- Please! - Ann begged. - Do not do it. Please do not.
- It depends on you! I want you to show me where you have the most assets.
- We already gave them everything. We have nothing else. Nothing.
Otto heard the screams of his father and mother, and yet, there was nothing he could do. He was trying in vain to break down the door. I wanted to go down through the window, but it was barred. The only possible way out was the fireplace, here was the opportunity to escape: he was going to climb the chimney and go out through the ceiling. He knew his parents were in trouble and he would do anything to help. The men stopped screaming and asking for more goods, and started laughing, madly. It was possible to hear the sound of tapas and one was talking to the other "your turn, " and "now your turn." Ann begged no, asked for please and screamed, cried. Otto was in the middle of the chimney as he went up, listening to his mother howling in pain and his father screaming with rage. That was when one of the men shouted, "Come on, now, the two of us." Karl was being forced to watch the whole scene of terror, tied up, with no chance to defend himself or his wife. difficulty, he managed to free himself from the ropes he was holding. Karl took the chair he was sitting on and broke the head of the first man who stood in his way. of the chair and buried it in the neck of the man who was clinging to his wife. The other one who was also clinging to her tried to run, but Karl was already on top of him with another part of the chair and buried it in his chest. Karl still had an asset: the psychological. People can't think while they are naked. It is as if it were an animalistic instinct, the sensation of the lack of clothes makes the person feel cornered, without courage. Karl took the nearest weapon that was within reach and, as they tried to pull themselves together and put on their pants, he started to make more victims. Five bullets in the magazine and in a few seconds, five more men on the floor. Those crashes were horrible, Otto, inside the chimney was even more afraid, but instead of fear paralyzing him, it gave him more strength and he managed to get out of the chimney. It was blacker than coal. He saw the farm employees coming towards the house and shouted:
- Help!
Most of the employees had guns, and they carried them around. A shot rang out inside the house and two men left the house, mounted their horses and ran. When they passed Otto, he looked deep into their eyes and put it away. Some farm men tried in vain to hit them, but failed.