by Ward Wagher
“Then by all means make it happen,” Schloss said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
January 31, 1942; 2PM
Große Tiergarten
Berlin, Germany
“I like walking in the park, Poppa,” Hans Friedrich said.
“Even though it is cold, today?” Schloss asked.
“Frau Marsden made me bundle up. I am warm.”
“Good. Good. I am glad to have a chance to get outside.”
“Me too, Poppa. The park looks different in the winter.”
“Yes, it does,” Schloss said. “In a few short months, the park will be green again.”
“It seems to happen just as we get tired of the winter.”
Hans is remarkably perceptive, Schloss thought. I wonder what kind of a nation he will grow up to see. I must succeed, if only for my children.
Frau Marsden had decided the children were getting restless since they had not left the Reich Chancellery for the past couple of weeks. Oh, they had spent hours playing in the snow in the courtyard, and they were a familiar sight roaming the halls during the coldest days. After the initial shock of seeing children running and playing, the governmental functionaries now seemed to take it in stride. Kirche had confided to Schloss that most of the denizens of the building actually enjoyed having the children around, even if they were too dignified to admit it.
So, at Frau Marsden’s biding, Schloss arranged the family trip to the Große Tiergarten on this cold, clear Saturday in January. The park staff had shoveled most of the walking paths, and the few days of sunshine had burned through the ice to leave dry cobblestones. The bare trees combined with the heavy snow cover to render a stark beauty to the park. Dozens, if not hundreds, of birds wheeled and swooped, hoping for handouts from the earth-bound people.
“Could we make a snowman, Poppa?” Anna-Lisa piped in her clear, little girl voice.
Schloss chuckled. “It is much too cold for the snow to pack properly, I am afraid. We will need to wait for warmer weather.”
He glanced around. His security force was spaced out across the area along with the other park visitors. Many of those visitors recognized Schloss, but innately followed the German tendency to mind their own business.
“I think I like the park even better in the winter than the summer,” Gisela said as she tucked her arm into his and pulled him closer. “In spite of the cold.”
“Are you cold, Schatzi?” Schloss asked.
“Just a little,” she admitted. “Still, I am happy to see the children enjoying this.”
“The cold never seems to bother them. I definitely have my limits, though.”
“I am sure Frau Marsden’s hot chocolate will put you to rights,” she laughed.
“Frau Marsden works hard to make me put a lot of things to rights.”
“Oh, hush, Darling. You know she is as dedicated to your survival as she is of the children.”
He stopped walking and looked at her. “It is kind of frightening, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“She sort of showed up out of nowhere and effortlessly took over the rule of my household. She intimidates everyone she comes into contact with. She brooks no argument.”
“It surprises me that you are afraid of her, Darling.” The look on her face showed that she enjoyed teasing him about the old lady.
“I am not afraid of her,” he stated firmly. He hesitated. “Well… not exactly.”
Schloss was so focused on his conversation with Gisela that he briefly lost awareness of the surroundings. So, Alden Schlemke’s voice in his ear was a complete surprise.
“Back to the vehicles. Now.” Schlemke said with quiet intensity.
He immediately swung around and began walking towards the safety of the armored Mercedes. Behind him he heard Anna-Lisa complain.
“But I am not ready to go home.”
Two of the guards had swept up his children in their arms and were marching purposely fully away from the park. In the distance men in dark clothing and weapons slipped out of cars.
“Do we have the firepower, Alden?” he asked.
“Not sure, Herr Reichschancellor. If I yell for you to drop, you will need to get right on to the ground.”
“I understand. Do the best you can.”
One of the guards next to the vehicles had trotted over to the call box. Schloss decided that whoever was coming after them had made a mistake in driving in opposite of where they had parked. It left open a means of escape, and Schloss was sure Schlempke would take full advantage of it. At the moment, though, he was terrified for the children and for Gisela.
A fusillade of shots sounded and Schlempke shouted, “Down!” pushing them both to the ground. He heard Anna-Lisa cry out as the guards with the children tumbled to the ground as well.
God, if you are out there, take care of my children! Schloss cried out in his mind. The inner voice that provided ongoing commentary remarked about his sudden conversion from atheism.
A deeper report from rifles sounded from where the chancellor’s vehicles were parked. The party security people had quickly got into action.
“We are very exposed here,” Schloss shouted to Schlemke over the din of the firing.
“It can’t be helped,” the guard yelled.
There were shouts and screams as other people in the park scrambled for safety. There were a lot of bullets flying. Because of the lack of cover, the Tiergarten was a killing ground.
Schloss carried his pistol, out of habit, every time he left the Reich Chancellery. He pulled it from under his jacket. Once again, it felt like an old friend. It was very comfortable in his hand. Some part of him was still amazed at this, since he had never had weapons training. But, if the attackers got close, he intended to give good account of himself.
In the background, the two-toned sirens of the local polizei sounded. Somebody was quick off the mark anyway. Anna-Lisa was crying uncontrollably. Hans-Friedrich was quiet. Schloss hoped he hadn’t been hit. At least the two guards back by the vehicles were keeping the attackers distracted.
“If the polizei can get here quickly we should be safe,” Schlempke said. “I would suggest not firing, Herr Reichschancellor. They seem to be distracted for the moment.”
“Mein Gott, what a mess!” Schloss said. “Right out in the open and no place to go.”
Two cars from the polizei swung into the park from opposite directions, blocking the cars the attackers had arrived in.
Now they cannot get away, Schloss thought. On the other hand they have nothing to lose either.
The contest now turned into a three-cornered fire fight between the attackers, Schloss’s guards and the polizei. With a scream, one of Schloss’s guards went down. The attackers were better armed than the polizei, and had them pinned down. A couple of the attackers then attempted to run across the park towards Schloss. They fired alternately towards Schloss and towards the remaining guard at the vehicles. The four guards with Schloss’s party had their pistols out and were ready.
“Okay, get ready,” Schlempke called. “Hold fire until you are sure of your aim. We won’t have time to reload.”
The firing seemed more intense, but then, the attackers recognized the battle was going against them and were desperate, now. Schlemke fired once, and one of the two running attackers dropped. Schloss scowled and then began repeatedly pulling the trigger on his pistol as rapidly as he could. The second attacker stumbled, then picked himself up again. Then he dropped.
The remaining four attackers suddenly broke and fanned out away from them into the park in a clear attempt to break contact. One of them fell, but the rest continued to run.
“Are we clear?” Schloss asked.
“Stay down for now,” Schlempke said. “We still have those two lying over there. If one of them is still alive, he could still get a shot off.”
The roar of automobiles at full throttle now intruded as the firing ceased. Six cars swung into the park and stopped next to
Schloss’s vehicles. The quick reaction team had arrived. They demounted from the cars and trotted over to where Shloss and his group lay in the snow.
“Is everyone all right?” one of the guard shouted.
“Go secure the two attackers over there,” Schlemke pointed. “We don’t need any more surprises.”
Four of the guards trotted over to where the attackers lay. “One of them is still alive!”
“Please stay down, everyone,” Schlemke said. With a guard by Schloss, Gisela and the two children to enforce the directive, no one was able to move. Anna-Lisa continued to cry.
Finally, Schlemke allowed them to rise. Schloss quickly moved to his daughter and pulled her close. “It is over, Liebling. We are safe.”
“Poppa, those men wanted to shoot us,” she wailed.
“Shush, child,” he said gently. “The guards protected us.”
A very wide-eyed Hans-Friedrich moved close to Schloss. “Why did they want to kill us?”
“That, Hans, is a very good question.”
He looked at Gisela who shook her head sadly.
§ § §
January 31, 1942; 3:30PM
Reichchancellor’s Apartments
Berlin, Germany
“They were renegade SS,” Rainer said.
He had come to the Reichschancellor’s apartments. Schloss had stepped aside with him as soon as he was able to ease away from Anna-Lisa. Surprising him, she had clung closely to him, rather than Frau Marsden or Gisela. And he didn’t want to interrupt that closeness.
“Are you sure?”
Rainer nodded. “We have clear identities on the three we stopped. Two are dead. One is in the hospital. He is expected to survive – at least until after the trial.”
“Do you expect to get information from him?” Schloss asked.
“We will try.”
“By what methods, Karl?”
Rainer bit his lower lip. “Much as I am tempted to revert to the old methods, I do not think that would be wise. I am going to allow the polizei to handle the interrogation. They have assured me it will be rigorous.”
“I think that is a good idea,” Schloss said. “We have got to allow the civilian structures to reassert themselves whenever possible. Your efforts to turn the SS into what is merely an investigative service must move forward.”
“I was frightened when I received the call,” Rainer said. “It seems you are going to have to carry much heavier security when you go out.”
Schloss sighed. “I know, and it disgusts me. Fortunately, none of the Berliners in the park were injured. It could have been very bad.”
“I must say I am thankful these idiots were so stupid tactically. Schlempke told me they arrived clear on the other side of the traffic circle. They gave you all the time in the world to react. That is what saved you.”
“It seemed odd to me,” Schloss said. “Of course, I had other things on my mind at the time.”
“Schlempke’s people handled things exactly right,” Rainer said. “And, the one guard that was hit will survive.”
“Thank God for that. Those men put the lives on the line for us.”
“As they are supposed to.”
“The papers are starting to release their Extras,” Rainer said. “The sense I get is shock and outrage from the people.”
“Karl, I am shocked and outraged. We simply must run down these renegades and remove them from our nation.”
“It looks as though they are getting help from some of the disaffected elements. It is difficult to track them when we are uncertain of our own people.”
Schloss stuck his hands in his pockets as he stood next to Rainer. “Just so. And that is unfortunate. Our change in policies concerning the Jews has not received universal approval.”
“I am surprised it has gone as well as it has,” Rainer said. “The Nazis have been poisoning the well for the past twenty years.”
“There is that,” Schloss said. “It still disgusts me.”
“I hope we can start unraveling some of this. Since things are getting better in the Fatherland right now, maybe our renegades will find fewer and fewer willing to hide them.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath, Karl. Anoxia is an unpleasant way to die.”
“I am not convinced there is a pleasant way to die, Herr Reichschancellor. You will pardon me if I do my best to keep you alive for as long as possible.”
Schloss laughed. “You will hear no complaints from me on that topic.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
February 1, 1942; 11AM
Sara Street
Haifa, Palestine
The two men were bundled against the cold as they huddled around the kitchen table in a small apartment on Sara Street. Normally the coastal weather was mild, even in the winter. But this was an unusually cold January.
“This policy of accommodating the Arabs is not going to work, David,” Menachem Begin said. “They continue to attack the kibbutzim regardless of whether we hold our hands out to them or not.”
David Ben Gurion grimaced. “You understand that, and I understand that. But our British masters continue to believe they can devise a solution to the problem.”
“The only solution is that there will be no more Moslems in Eretz Yisrael. That is our mission. It is the only way we will have peace in the land.”
“And you will kill them, Menachem?” Ben Gurion asked quietly. “As the Deutch were getting ready to do to us?”
“Nah, nah, nah,” Begin waved a hand. “Just rounding them up and shooting them would be immoral. But, that is what the imams are preaching that the Arabs do to us. No, but we must push them out of the land.”
“Is that even possible? How could we avoid generations of warfare if we do something like that, assuming we could?”
Ben Gurion’s wife placed cups on the table, and poured tea.
Begin wrapped his hands around the cup. “Ah. Thank you, Paula. It is very cold this morning.”
“I spoke with Peres in Jerusalem a little while ago,” Ben Gurion said. “They had snow.”
“Is the end of the world coming with fire or ice?”
Ben Gurion chuckled. “This is not the time to talk about the end of the world. We are at the beginning. Let us talk about solving today’s problems and build a nation. Then maybe Messiah will come and we will let him take care of the end of the world.”
“Do you really believe that, David?” Begin asked.
“No, but it is a convenient myth.”
“Hush, David!” Paula Ben Gurion said. “You should not be so casual about the prophecies in the Book.”
He grinned at Begin. “I have been corrected.”
“Back to the subject,” Begin said. “You and I are in agreement about our problem. The Deutch have done us a huge favor by sending thousands of immigrants to the land, and arming them. The British are hanging by a thread here. I have heard they are talking about pulling back from here and the Levant to Egypt as a last stand against the Deutch.”
“I agree that things are looking good for us,” Ben Gurion said. “I also think that this fruit is not quite ripened yet.”
“And I think you are being too timid.”
“Gently, Menachem, gently. We are on the same side, here. This is a difficult problem. We must take our time and determine the best way to unravel it.”
“And sometimes you must simply take a sword to the Gordian knot! If the British manage to defeat the Deutch, they will… what is the English word? They will dilly dally for the next two decades, and still not come to any conclusions.”
“And you think now is the time?”
“I do. The Arabs do not have any armaments to speak of. We now have plenty of military rifles and ammunition. We should strike.”
“Then we drive women and children out of their homes during the winter? What would the world think of us?”
“I am not talking about doing this today. We should take a few months to prepare. It will be spring by then.”
“I would agree that we need to develop a self-defense force. In fact, I have been working on that,” Ben Gurion said.
“Yes, yes, yes, you have been working on it for years. But, what results, David? You go out two nights per month and play soldier.”
Ben Gurion leaned forward. “Now, you listen! We are defending the Kibbutzim. The Arabs are no longer quite so eager to break their teeth on our defensive lines.”
“But you will not take the battle to them,” Begin said. “That is the whole point. They do not respect us. They can throw rocks at us, and we do not respond. They must understand that if they touch any Jew in Palestine there will be retaliation.”
“Gratuitous violence solves nothing, Menachem.”
“To win against an enemy, you must break its will. I am not so foolish as to believe I can snap my fingers and make it happen. But this current approach is certainly not working.”
“And, there is a lot to be said for patience,” Ben Gurion said. “You are correct that if we allow the British to continue controlling the dialogue, we will never achieve our goal.”
“You see, we need to act.”
“Give it time, Menachem.”
An hour later, after Begin left the apartment, Paula Ben Gurion turned to her husband. “That little man is going to be the cause of great trouble for us here in Palestine.”
David Ben Gurion smiled sadly at his wife. “And what frightens me is that he is completely right. But, we still cannot let him off the leash.”
“Can you stop him?”
“I do not know. The Irgun is loyal to him. And they are more fanatical than he is. We may be reduced to cleaning up after him.”
“Will you let him destroy us, Husband?”
“Oh, he will not destroy us. He will make our nation strong. But he also may make us a nation of criminals.”
§ § §
February 1, 1942; 2PM
Reich chancellery