“The images you are looking at are the product of several streams of information. We analyze the images to determine what ship it is and in what direction and at what speed it’s travelling. We also consider other available intelligence. In this case, we decoded several messages that mentioned Hiryu. One of these contained orders to bomb Port Moresby.”
The room was quiet while Roosevelt fit a cigarette into a holder. Finally the President nodded decisively. “I think that it would benefit both our countries to forge an alliance. Mr. Ambassador, I propose that your government prepare the text of a treaty, we will do the same. Then you and Secretary Hull can meet and come to an agreement.”
As the Americans were leaving, Roosevelt signaled for Lapid and Shaviv to remain. “I would like to discuss a couple of issues in private.”
“No problem, Mr. President.”
“Several Jewish newspapers and some other sources, including officials of Jewish institutions claim that the State of Israel as it now exists in Palestine was transported there from the future. Can you enlighten me on that?”
Lapid smiled. “Sounds like a fascinating story. I suppose that’s the only way anti-Semites can account for our knowledge and abilities.”
The President also smiled. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter. The truth eventually gets out.
“In the meantime what do you think will be your government’s response to establishing full bilateral relations, including a U.S. Embassy in Palestine, excuse me, Israel?”
“I’m sure they will be delighted.”
Chapter 12
December 1942
Ambassador Mizrahi poured himself another cup of tea. He was tired and impatient. For two hours he had been negotiating with General Wilson and Soviet ambassador Maisky about the location and procedures for the upcoming allied conference.
Wilson was saying, “Mr. Maisky, I appreciate Chairman Stalin’s desire to have the conference on Soviet soil. Sochi is a nice place but I have to take into consideration our delegation’s safety. As we have discussed already, the city is close to German lines and within reach of German aviation. There is no guarantee of complete protection against their air attacks.”
Mizrahi nodded agreement. “Mr. Stalin is reluctant to come to Tel Aviv because it’s complicated to get to and is the sovereign territory of another allied power. The same applies to Sochi.”
It was Maisky’s turn to agree. “I can see your problem gentlemen. I propose a neutral place: Teheran. Would that be acceptable?”
Mizrahi said, “My government will probably accept Teheran. General Wilson?”
Wilson nodded. “I think this is an acceptable compromise.”
The meeting broke up. When Wilson left Mizrahi gestured to Maisky to return to his seat. “Mr. Ambassador, my government thinks that this may be a good time to upgrade our relations. We would make our legation a full embassy and you will be able to open an embassy in Jerusalem.”
Maisky couldn’t hide his surprise. “Just several months ago your government was happy with a legation in Moscow and said nothing about a Soviet embassy in Palestine. Has something changed?”
“Several things, including the fact that we are now actively fighting and destroying Nazi divisions that would otherwise threaten your country,” responded Mizrahi. “The most recent change is that we were asked by the United States to establish full bilateral relations with them. It’s my government’s position that we treat all our allies equally.”
“I believe that my government will be happy to establish such relations.” Maisky hesitated before adding. “I know of several people that will be very interested in setting up an embassy.”
***
Rachel Rothstein finished her dinner preparations. Many things had happened since her family came to Israel as tourists in June of last year. A day before they were scheduled to return to Boston, the country was transported into the past. They were stuck but not helpless. Her husband David set up a consulting company in his area of expertise, manufacturing equipment to make microchips. With some initial help from his cousin Ze’ev Hirshson, the company was prospering. The Rothsteins moved from a small rental apartment in Tel Aviv to a new house in Rehovot. Their two sons were prospering as well: Josh graduated from high school in September and was now in the IDF doing basic training. Their younger son, Jake, was starting his last year of high school. Rachel kept herself busy teaching history in one of the local elementary schools – Israel had a severe shortage of teachers from the future.
Dinner was nearly ready. She surveyed her creation for today, smaller than usual. This time she remembered Josh was away and prepared an appropriate amount of food. David was supposed to pick up Jake. They should be home soon.
The phone rang. “May I speak to Rachel Rothstein?” a male voice asked.
“Speaking,” Rachel responded.
“Mrs. Rothstein, you may remember the forms you filled out for the Ministry of Absorption several months ago?”
“Yes, I do.” Rachel remembered the ads in the Jerusalem Post and on TV asking people with family in 1942 America to submit names. They were promised to be notified if those family members were coming to Israel.
“I just wanted let you know that a Mr. Benjamin Mosowitz from Wilmington, Delaware, signed up to make aliyah with his wife and three children. They are tentatively scheduled to arrive at Ben Gurion airport in two weeks. If you would like to meet them, please go to our website. It will have updated information on their arrival.”
Rachel was rarely speechless but this was one of those times, at least for a moment. “Can we take them straight to our home?”
“Certainly,” the voice responded, “although not for very long. We recommend that all newcomers go through an immersive Hebrew course. There is one not too far from where you live so you should have no problem delivering them there within a week of arrival.”
David and Jake arrived just as she hung up. “David, Jake, I have wonderful news. My grandparents, mother, and uncles are arriving in Israel!”
***
Avigdor Mizrahi shook hands with General Wilson. They had met only several days earlier at the Israeli embassy. “General, it’s time to discuss our peace proposal to the Germans.”
“Yes, I agree. But first I would like to congratulate your army on the victory in Austria. It was a monumental achievement. Truthfully, neither the Prime Minister nor I thought that your plan was feasible. You offered the Germans an irresistible temptation: a small force vulnerable to being surrounded. We’re still not clear about the details but our intelligence indicates that the Germans lost close to twenty divisions, including their tanks and artillery. Incredible. I also heard that Hitler sacked Field Marshall von Kluge. That must have been a sight to behold.”
Mizrahi smiled an unpleasant smile. “Maybe the Germans will learn not to mess with the Jews. This victory is exactly the reason my government thinks it’s the right time to start talking. With the renewed offensive in France the German High Command must have realized that the war is lost.”
Wilson nodded. “Our sources indicate that they’re close to making a decision. The French government agrees as well. In fact, their ambassador should be here shortly.”
Mizrahi smiled. “I’m glad we finally established relations with them, but please remember that they’re in the dark about who exactly we are and where we come from. Let’s keep it that way for a while.”
The French ambassador entered. “Gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” He turned to Mizrahi, “I hear that congratulations are in order. That was a brilliant victory.”
“Yes, we are somewhat pleased. This victory opens the door to finishing the war soon. After a painful defeat the Germans should be open to a negotiated peace. My government gave some thought to what terms we can offer the Germans. It would be as follows…”
After Mizrahi was finished, Wilson asked, “What do we tell the Soviets?”
“I suggest that we keep them informed of all the details,�
� the French ambassador said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Mizrahi responded. “Our Prime Ministers are going to meet Stalin next month. You don’t have an elected government yet, but a representative from the Free French Government will be at the meeting. I think that would be the right time and place to inform the Soviets.”
Wilson nodded agreement. “That is also the position of my government. In the meantime, this offer will remain secret. As was agreed earlier, the German representative, a civilian, will be brought to London. All negotiations will be done by me and Ambassador Mizrahi.”
The French ambassador bristled. “It was my understanding that we would be represented at those meetings as well.”
“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, Mr. Ambassador. Be assured that your government’s positions will be presented by us,” Wilson responded. “There’s no difference between our positions anyway.”
***
The group assembled in General Halder’s Berlin apartment was subdued. They sat facing the large fireplace, quietly exchanging news and waiting for Halder.
Finally General Halder, the commander of the Army High Command, entered, followed by another man in uniform.
Halder stopped and closed the door. “Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce Field Marshall Günter von Kluge. He decided to join our group and swore, like everyone here, to uphold any decision we make.
“Before we continue I would like the Field Marshall to report on the battle of Innsbruck. It will be a very short report. Field Marshall…” Halder took his customary seat in front of the fireplace.
“Gentlemen, comrades,” von Kluge began, “as you know the Fuehrer appointed me to command the special Army Group assembled to liberate Innsbruck. The Fuehrer, despite his promises, interfered and meddled with my orders, but that wasn’t the reason we were defeated.
“My group consisted of 19 full-strength German divisions, including five armor divisions, and two Hungarian divisions. We also had at our disposal close to a thousand Luftwaffe aircraft, most of them bombers. The armor divisions were equipped with the latest Panzer VI - some of you know it as the Tiger. Approximately 400,000 personnel participated in this operation. We were supposed to defeat a small force. Our scout reports and intelligence suggested that we faced less than two divisions. Destroying them was supposed to be an easy job, even knowing that a similar force destroyed two Waffen SS divisions several weeks earlier.
“I will make it short, like the battle itself. The Hungarians never reached us – they were destroyed on the way out of Hungary. Not a big loss. Most of the Luftwaffe forces were prepared for jump off at the Munich and Vienna airfields. The airfields, the planes, and the underground fuel tanks were demolished by the enemy in one short morning attack. Our two forces, that were supposed to crush the enemy, could advance not a millimeter. The Tigers were destroyed by both enemy tanks and infantry. Their tanks are absolutely invulnerable to our weapons. Their infantry operates from personnel carriers that are also invulnerable but the soldiers can be destroyed when they leave their vehicles. They don’t do it very often and when they do, artillery, tanks and other weapons we didn’t recognize, plus some that remained invisible to us, protect them.
“The bottom line is that they trapped our forces in the mountains and destroyed them mostly from the air. We lost all our heavy equipment and at least 90% of our fighting troops. It was a catastrophe. The enemy is still in Innsbruck and if it moves we have nothing to throw against them, which would be futile anyway.”
The room was quiet. Finally, Admiral Canaris asked, “Field Marshall, we have heard reports that the enemy is displaying flags with a Star of David and that their soldiers speak Hebrew. Can you confirm this?
“I have seen the flags with my own eyes. According to reports by several Gestapo agents that left Innsbruck after it was occupied, the enemy soldiers do speak Hebrew. Some of them speak Yiddish in addition to Hebrew. I also swear that as I was observing an enemy unit east of Innsbruck I was seen and recognized. A tank gun was trained on my location but then aimed at a position a hundred meters to one side and annihilated it. They never shot at me.”
Since there were no other questions Halder said, “In view of what we heard, Mr. Goerdeler has a very interesting report to make.”
Carl Goerdeler was the former mayor of Leipzig and a strident opponent of the Nazi regime. He had had several personal run-ins with Hitler over Goerderler’s refusal to fly Nazi flags over city hall or remove the statue of Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn, as well as enforcement of the Nuremberg laws, but somehow Goerdeler survived and even enjoyed some freedom of movement. After his resignation as mayor in 1937 he travelled Europe as the representative of the Bosch Company and met in England with Winston Churchill and with important politicians in France.
Now he got up and moved to the front of the room. “Friends, several days ago I was approached by a British agent. He invited me to come to London to listen to a proposal. I went. I met with two people: General Wilson, who is a representative of Winston Churchill, and Avigdor Mizrahi, the ambassador to Britain from the State of Israel. I was given no information about this state except that it’s a powerful, independent Jewish entity. Britain, Israel, and the Soviet Union are allied against us. The forces Field Marshall von Kluge described are a part of the Israel Defense Force.
“Their proposal is simple: If the Nazis are removed from power and Germany surrenders and goes back to its pre-war borders, the allies will stop fighting.
“They gave me some of the details which are, according to them, nonnegotiable:
All Nazis above the rank of District Leader and SS ranks above Brigadier General will be tried and, if found guilty of crimes on the list attached list, executed.
No former members of the Nazi party will be allowed to hold public office or work for any branch of the government - ever.
Companies that used slave workers will have to reimburse these workers at a rate double what was paid German employees one position senior to them.
All Germans and collaborators who participated in the murder of civilians will be tried for their crimes with the maximum punishment being death. This includes all concentration camp personnel. Detailed lists of such personnel attached.
An elected government will replace the military government of Germany within six months after signing the peace agreement. Germany will be a federal republic.
Allied garrisons will be stationed in Germany for as long as the allies deem necessary.
Germany will have to pay reparations to occupied countries, not punitive reparations like under Versailles but actual damages as agreed upon by a joint committee of allied and German experts.
“Those are the most important points.”
“What happens if we continue to fight?” asked Admiral Canaris.
Goerdeler smiled a sad smile. “If we continue to fight, the allies will destroy us. They promised to leave Germany in ruins. I believe them and, according to von Kluge, there’s nothing we can do to stop them.”
“At least none of us are members of the National Socialist Party. There are few of those among senior Wehrmacht officers.
***
“I know we have discussed this issue before but I still don’t agree,” the Defense Minister said while poking his index finger at the Foreign Minister.
“Nitzan,” the Prime Minister responded quietly, “you know better than to yell and lecture. We decided to postpone the decision precisely because of disagreements. Now it’s time to decide. We can’t maintain diplomatic relations and not have full reciprocity of embassies.”
“Why not?” Nitzan Liebler asked. “It allows us to keep technological and scientific secrets safe.”
“And how long do you think we can keep ourselves cut off from the world?” the Foreign Minister wanted to know.
“At least until the end of the war.”
“What exactly will change then? It’s not as if anyone could steal all our secrets at once. Which on
es do you consider most important to protect?”
Nitzan Liebler, the Defense Minister, drummed his fingers on the table top. “Nuclear secrets obviously, jet technology, microchips. There might be more but this is what comes to mind.”
The Infrastructure Minister smiled. “How about time and inter-dimensional travel?”
“Yes, that too,” Liebler agreed.
Amos Nir nodded. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Let’s start with nuclear technology. Don’t forget that the Americans, British, and to some extent the Germans know that uranium can be used as a weapon or power source. What exactly do you want to keep secret?”
“How to make a bomb, which as you know is not a simple affair.” the Defense Minister responded.
The Science and Development Minister smiled. “I agree, but this is not exactly information found in public libraries. Even if a spy finds a description of the equipment necessary, the country in question will still have to develop and build it. This is an enormous financial outlay, unless we let everyone look at our classified libraries. Even the U.S. will have a problem marshalling the resources necessary in the absence of war or threat. I can see only the Russians, maybe, trying to develop a bomb, and they will be seriously handicapped by the lack of information. It is true that just knowing that something is possible is a big step, but we already missed that train. The bottom line is that having a foreign embassy here will not endanger our nuclear supremacy in any significant way for a long while.”
Amos Nir nodded. “Good, let’s go to the second item: jet technology. As of now the Brits are working on a jet engine and have some designs for a turbofan engine. Messerschmitt has already tested one. So what are we guarding here?”
“I’m not an engineer, but it seems to me that materials and design specifics are very important,” the Defense Minister said.
“Are you worried that anyone will soon have jet fighters that would compete with ours?” the Foreign Minister asked.
Nitzan nodded agreement.
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