by Donald Hunt
The idea had been in Hitler’s mind since the failure of Operation Market-Garden. The only officers brought into the planning were von Rundstedt, General Model, plus the Chief of Staff of G-3 and one aide each. Security was extremely tight. The penalty for a breech was death. The men involved remained very uncomfortable with the stress of the situation. The Headquarters charged with the operation were OB West and Army Group 3. There was blanket radio silence for the planners.
The objective was to drive a wedge between the British and American forces from the Rhine to Antwerp. The final objective was to isolate and hold the Antwerp deep water port, one of only two being used by the Allies. Hitler himself described the plan as the Field Marshals sat in stunned silence. The reason for the silence was obvious. In the summer of 1944, the combined losses on the Eastern and Western fronts totaled 1,200,000 dead, wounded or missing. An additional 230,000 troops had been placed in positions from which they could only surrender. The German military-industrial complex had become the monster it was by conquests, now all lost, including Rumanian oil, Swedish high -grade iron ore, Russian manganese, Yugoslavian copper, and Finnish nickel and molybdenum. Finally, the Allies possessed overwhelming superiority in air power, troop strength and supplies.
The overall picture was bleak but Hitler saw only the positives. Even with the heavy bombing, war materials production was down only a third. The extensive German rail and canal complex would support a major offensive, and finally he had what he believed would be his ‘trump card’, complete and total surprise.
His selection of the Ardennes Forest as the sector for the counter-offensive was based solely on the principle of attacking the Allies where they were weakest. The Allies occupied a line from the Swiss border to the North Sea, a distance of some 600 miles. There were some poorly defended areas. More to the point, the Allied Command was convinced that the Germans were incapable of launching a major offensive.
A major portion of the surprise was cover and deception. To the Allies there would appear to be a major build-up of forces in the Cologne area, east of Aachen, while the real troop concentration would occur under cover of darkness in the Eifel Mountains adjacent to the Ardennes. At the last moment the troop concentrations in Cologne would be moved to Eifel under cover of darkness.
The Allied Commanders awaited an enemy that would be predictable, use rational thinking and logic. Clearly, these Commanders still did not understand the decision- making process of the German Fuehrer. Hitler believed the Allies would consider the Ardennes area to be almost impassable in winter because of the rough terrain and normal heavy snowfall.
On December 14th, a female escapee reported to the 28th Infantry Division Commander that the area in the woods of the Eifel was ‘jammed’ with troops and mechanized equipment. She was interrogated the next day by VII Corp G-2 and sent to 1st Army Headquarters. She arrived there on December 16th. That same day, the first thunderclap of the massed German artillery was heard. Shortly after, the full-fledged counter-attack was launched by the German Sixth Panzer Division.
* * *
Das Gleichnis was a remarkable place by any standard. The estate was built in 1869 by a Prussian industrialist who was a relative of Wilhelm I, King of Prussia and the first German Emperor. Wilhelm had been a guest in the home as well as his Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck. It was under these men that Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and established the German Empire. The main house on the estate contained 26 rooms on four levels. Only the first floor was used as a dining area. The grandson of the original builder was killed in WWI and the family sold the estate in 1918. In 1934 it was refurbished and became das Gleichnis.
The structure was made of light gray granite with a large circular covered porch. The stairs leading up to the main level were circular as well. The snow fall had put a thin layer of white powder on the stairs that had not yet been swept. The enormous double steel front doors were inlayed with double-leaded glass. When Heidi and Sarah entered, these unrelated ‘sisters’ were astonished to find themselves in a 40 foot long central atrium with a 30 foot ceiling. In the center was a circular dome filled with a fresco of multiple and suppliant angelic figures. The main dining area was on the right side of the atrium and was also 40 feet in length. There was a large central hearth and a roaring fire, which lent itself to the metaphor of tranquility in turbulent times.
The women were seated at a table to the right of the hearth, midway to the front of the building. The 20-foot-tall windows were covered with heavy burgundy brocade. All of the tables were candle-lit, and a middle-aged gentleman in tuxedo stood at the far end of the room playing violin.
“Well, this is a fantasy!” Heidi whispered. “Now we can be aristocrats.”
“At least for one evening we can be,” Sarah agreed. “That’s if we’re allowed.” They ordered wine and were served an ‘ amuse`. Their dinner was as elegant as the surroundings. Each felt like Cinderella, only without a Prince Charming.
“You know,” said Sarah, “in a few moments we have to return to sagacious reality.”
“Yes, I know,” Heidi replied. “And it sounds ominous.”
“It is! Landis Koller has communicated to me that there may be a way to get you out of Germany. In the past two months the resistance has helped five Jews escape to France. They have been doing it near Offenburg which is directly on the front. There is a five kilometer ‘no-mans-land’ between the forces. The underground has been successful in making two runs, one with two people and a second with three. Heidi, it would save your life. You could join your parents.”
There was a long pause.
“I’ll have to think about it,” said Heidi. “I feel secure here, and I don’t want to leave you. I believe the war could end in a matter of months. I’m not sure it would be worth the risk.”
Sarah turned very sober.
“It is worth the risk. If you are caught, you’ll be sent to a work camp or worse, a death camp.”
Heidi bit her lip and finally spoke. “I’ll consider it. It’s a difficult decision….you know…. life and death.”
* * *
The counter-offensive of December 16th slammed the door on further underground operations to help escaping Jews. The troops on both sides of the front were on high alert after this unexpected attack. Following the initial penetration of the German forces, the Armies of the Third Reich had even more successes. They had caught the Allied Commanders by complete surprise. On December 17th, elements of the Sixth Panzer Army pushed to within eight miles of the U.S. First Army headquarters at Spa.
The Fifth Panzer Army was attacking to the South with its objective to cross the Meuse River. The success of the counter-offensive depended on several factors. Surprise, already noted, foul weather to keep the Allies Air power grounded, which they had, and rapid success and capture of Allied gasoline supplies. The Germans had all of these factors save one. The Sixth Panzer group came within one mile of an enormous American gasoline dump containing more than three million gallons. Stubborn make-shift resistance or good fortune or both kept the gasoline in Allied hands.
One very unusual part of the effort was called ‘Operation Grief’. This clandestine chicanery was commanded by one Otto Skorzeny, a Commando of Austrian descent, fluent in German, French, and English. He took two dozen English-speaking German soldiers in American uniforms, and using stolen American Jeeps, penetrated behind Allied lines. They spread disinformation and confusion, changed road signs and ultimately tried to take control of a bridge over the Meuse River. The confusion led to massive traffic jams. As MPs began trying to locate them, road blocks were set to ask questions only American soldiers would know such as the name of Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend. No one escaped interrogations. General Omar Bradley was briefly detained when asked the Capitol of Illinois. He correctly answered Springfield, but the MP thought it was Chicago.
When captured, several of the Germans were execut
ed as spies for being in American uniforms. So the remaining Germans put on their uniforms under the American ones. Eventually, all were rounded-up except their leader Skorzeny, who avoided capture and survived the war.
The critical battle to contain the Germans was the effort to hold the town of Bastogne. Five important roads converged in this small hamlet in eastern Belgium. The path of the Fifth Panzer Army to the Meuse River led directly through Bastogne. The German battle plan was to reach the river by day four of the operation. Timing was critical. On day two they were only 15 miles from Bastogne, which had a paper thin defense. However, on that night, the U.S. 101st Airborne Division was ordered to drive all night to reach Bastogne, which they did by daybreak. But by the 21st, the town was completely surrounded and under siege. The following morning, General Heinrich von Luettwitz, Commander of the German 101st Armored Corps, sent two officers under white flag into Bastogne. They carried a surrender note to the U.S. Commander, General A.C. McAuliffe. It read as follows:
“The fortune of War is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Librament is in German hands.
There is only one possibility to save the encircled town. In order to think it over, a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.
If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A.A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and neat Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two-hours term.
All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fore would not correspond with the well-known American humanity.”
The German Commander
McAuliffe was preoccupied with his defense planning and at first said nothing. “Sir, we have to reply,” his aide said.
“Aw, nuts!” was McAuliffe’s response. “Sir, is that our reply?”
Without looking up McAuliffe said, “Yeah”.
The aide scribbled ‘nuts’ on a piece of paper and presented it to the waiting German officers. When asked what it meant, the aide replied. “It means ‘go to hell.”
The fire fight was on. Because of the intensity of the battle, the Fifth Panzer Army could not get their divisions around the town. The 101st Airborne was fiercely holding on. The U.S. Second armored Division suddenly entered the battle from the north. On December 23rd, the weather cleared and major air support for the Americans began, including the dropping of supplies to Bastogne. The Germans became desperate and throughout Christmas day launched attack after attack. But the 101 Airborne Bastogne defenders held on.
General Eisenhower and troops – Victory in their grasp
The day after Christmas an armored force of Patton’s Third Army broke through from the south and relieved the town. The two principle German Generals, Manteuffel and Rundstedt, strongly advised a complete withdrawal, but Hitler would not listen. On New Year’s Day he ordered more attacks on Bastogne using troops from a bridgehead on the Upper Rhine. The Commander of these forces was none other than Heinrich Himmler who had never had a battlefield command. The other Third Reich Field Marshals thought it was a joke. The effort lasted two days and on January 5th, the Germans abandoned all hope and began their withdrawal.
Thus ended the ‘brainchild’ of the Austrian Corporal, the Supreme Commander. The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, caused 84,834 German casualties, including 15,652 killed, 27,582 captured or missing, and 41,600 wounded. American casualties were also staggering at 89,987. Those killed numbered 19,276, with 23,554 captured or missing and 47,493 wounded. The British suffered 200 killed and 1,400 wounded or missing.
The most tragic day of the battle might have occurred on December 17th, near Malmedy. There, more than 100 American prisoners were murdered by a combat group of the 1st SS Panzer Division commanded by Colonel Jochen Peiper. After the war, 43 of the SS officers responsible, including Peiper, were tried for the crime, convicted and sentenced to death. Because of concern by a group of U.S. Senators, the death sentences were commuted to life in prison. Eventually, under a general amnesty, all of those responsible were released from prison.
* * *
Heidi Brendler did not feel trapped. She had a job in healthcare which gave her anonymity. She had a very special friend, more like a sister, and in time, the nightmare of the Third Reich would be over. She was much like a person in an ocean of sharks that would by nature, rip her to shreds – or possibly not even notice her in the midst of their evil.
One of the chief pariah’s was Herman Goring. He had made the Nazi purpose very clear when he said, “This war is not the Second World War. This is the Great War. In the final analysis it is about whether the German and Aryan prevails here, or whether the Jew rules the world, and that is what we are fighting for out there.”
Clearly the Nazis saw the Jews as an existential threat. In concurring Europe, they would also achieve racial ‘purification’ of Europe. To this end, they would either relocate entire populations or kill every Jewish man, woman and child upon which they could lay their hands. This policy was justified by the concept which Landis Koller had learned as Untermenschen. If individuals could be deemed subhuman, there was no guilt in killing them and murder was not in fact, murder. Jewish people were even sought in countries Germans only occupied and in which they had no interest, countries such as France or Holland. Even from these countries, Jews were shipped hundreds of miles to death camps in Poland.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian historian and novelist, made these observations while serving in the Red Army.
“Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either…… but right through every
human heart….and through all human hearts.”
While the fierce Battle of the Bulge was being waged, 300 kilometers due east, Heidi and Sarah were anxiously following the progress on the BBC. Heidi wanted the fighting to end but not the month of December. That would mean her time in the children’s ward would also come to an end. She had not enjoyed her work as much in many months. There were days she dreamed about the children she might have had with Christian, children she now would never experience. They would have been exceptional, because he was exceptional.
The last Monday of the month was cold and clear. Heidi had gotten to the ward early to see a four-year old girl who had been admitted on the previous Friday, suffering measles pneumonia. Heidi was careful not to appear too familiar with the charts and medical records. The charge nurse was strict and an irascible Nazi. A perfunctory glance of the chart revealed the girl’s temperature was down and she was taking solid foods - good signs.
By 9:15 a.m., Heidi had finished her medication rounds and was ready to give her children their baths. As she turned to walk away from the nursing station, she saw a woman who looked vaguely familiar. Then the woman spoke to Heidi.
“Dr. Eichenwald! Dr. Eichenwald!”
Heidi was terror struck. She pretended not to hear and continued walking. “Dr. Eichenwald, I’m Gretchen Stoller.”
The woman stepped up to Heidi and continued.
“You did surgery on my child in Berlin about five years ago. You saved her life. Her name is Hannah…. Hannah Stoller.”
The woman was smiling and waited for Heidi to respond.
“You must be mistaken,” she said, forcing a shake of her head and a confused smile. “I’m Heidi Brendler, a nurse’s aide.”
The woman also continued smiling. “I am sorry. Do you have a twin? You look exactly like Dr. Anna Eichenwald, a surgeon at the University Hospital in Berlin.”
“No. I’m sorry,” she said, quickly walking away. She kept her eyes f
orward, wishing she had a chart to stare at. She exhaled slowly, wondering if the charge nurse had overheard. She walked quickly into the ward for bathing the children and tried not to look distressed. She put on her best smile and tucked her shaking hands into her pockets.
For the remainder of the day she had no indication of a problem. She couldn’t shake the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach and worried through every task until her shift was over. Finally, she was able to leave the hospital. She walked to the bank to look for Sarah, but she had already left for the day.
On the way to her apartment, Heidi went over every second of the encounter. She ran the words through her head verbatim, recounting it several times. She chose against entering the building and instead, decided to watch it for a moment from a distance. She didn’t see anything unusual, no suspicious bystanders, no dark, unfamiliar vehicle parked nearby.
Finally, she decided to go in. As she unlocked the door all was quiet. She closed the door behind her and sat down. She was still trembling. Maybe she was a sitting duck. Maybe she was worrying for nothing. Either way, she had nowhere else to go. If she visited Sarah and was being followed, that would put Sarah in jeopardy and the Gestapo would surely find the short-wave receiver. Sarah would be arrested and executed as a spy. For these same reasons she could not approach Landis Koller. If the charge nurse had heard, it was over for Heidi.