Sergei watched the General step back, talk with the young lieutenant and then head his way. He straightened to attention and received a salute in return. “Keep your spirits up soldier,” the General said in a voice that conveyed self-confidence. Sergei hoped that it would all turn out for the good. The fighting along this sector had recently died down. Only around Budapest and Warsaw were the Soviets still pushing. Whenever there were smaller probing attacks in his sector, the Red Army still did not take prisoners. And yet Sergei thought, since they had announced themselves to the world and along the frontline, there had been a small but constant trickle of men across the front line despite the Red Army’s steady if slow advance westwards. Maybe the General would be proven right. For the moment Sergei could just he can just do his duty and make sure that no-one snuck across the no-mans land.
17th February
ReichsKanzlei
Berlin,
The building was now guarded by British and American soldiers. And still they continued to meet. When the allies had reached Berlin, Goerdeler had formally handed over power to General Omar Bradley the senior officer commanding the allied troops in the area. Eisenhower had arrived shortly thereafter and did not set up shop or interfere in any decision-making that the Germans could see. Eisenhower’s resignation had, on recommendation from Marshall, been reversed by Truman simply because there was no other experienced commander at that level available. Neither Marshall nor Eisenhower had been happy with the arrangement but in the end vanity had won out as Eisenhower had been unable to resist the offer of commanding the allied troops entering Berlin. Allied troops had continued eastward towards the frontline which the Wehrmacht still held against the Red Army in Poland and Hungary. Everywhere they went they were greeted as saviours. In Austria and western Hungary they had already reached Soviet positions and disarmed almost all Wehrmacht troops. They had however also made it clear to the Soviets that for the moment the frontline would represent their respective zones of occupation until political issues had been resolved. Eisenhower had issued a few stern orders concerning fraternization with the enemy, but had been powerless to stop extensive liaisons between GIs and German women. Even Generals could not command hormones.
Bradley had been appointed commander of allied forces in Germany while Eisenhower who was still moving his forces gradually eastward figured out what to do. It was clear that he did not always like what he heard these days from Marshall or Truman, but orders were orders. And since there was no longer any competition between ambitious British or American generals the alliance worked reasonably well on the ground.
Although General Bradley had accepted the handover of sovereign power form Goerdeler, he had not formally disbanded the German cabinet but instead turned it into an advisory body. With allied troops moving eastward, the logistics needed to be secure and the General knew that the less he interfered with existing German systems, the less he would be forced to divert US manpower, food and fuel to the upkeep of the Germans. For the moment even Speer had been allowed to continue in his role. After all there were less than 3000 Americans in Berlin at the moment, only a third of the combat troops.
To make sure that things went smoothly, Goerdeler and key ministers attended two meetings per week at the Reichskanzlei where Bradley had set up his new office. Today it had been Goerdeler and Leber who had been asked to attend. Bradley curious about the man, had also asked that Claus Stauffenberg be there. The meeting had gone well, the administrative matters as always had been agreed upon very quickly since Bradley was not an unreasonable man. The General had then spent half an hour alone with Claus, quizzing him on the reasons for his actions in July 1944. Through a translator Claus had explained as best he could. Sticking to facts rather than emotions, he found was best. In the end he doubted the small American General would have understood the dictums of his mentor Stefan George anyway. From the brief exchange Claus somewhat rashly concluded that Omar Bradley lacked the classical education necessary for that. But there was no animosity. Bradley came away from the meeting impressed and embarrassed for he had accidentally reached out to shake a hand Claus no longer had.
Leber and Goerdeler stayed behind, approaching Stauffenberg on the way out. Stauffenberg relayed the substance of the meeting in short clipped sentences, still not entirely comfortable with verbalizing what had ultimately been an emotional decision. The former Chancellor’s shoulders were hunched, he had the look of someone resigned to an outcome he did not like but was powerless to change. “You know during 41, 42 and even into early 44 I really believed that von Trott was wrong, that the western allies would welcome our removal of Hitler. That they would accept us. I just did not understand the enormity of the situation, just did not see how global Hitler had made this conflict through his mad ideology. That we did not remove this man in 1938 or 39 as Beck and Colonel Oster tried and wanted to will always be our guilt.”
Stauffenberg’s hair, pitch-black in mid-1944, was beginning to show signs of premature grey. “Chancellor we acted, and history will remember that when it judges our nation. That is what General Bradley told me”
Goerdeler looked up at Claus, a sad weariness in his eyes. “No Count, you acted. You the man whom the war had marked, acted while the rest of us talked, planned and hoped. Men who had access to Hitler and who could fire a gun did nothing, take Fellgiebel, the Fieldmarschalls, generals, the general staff characters. They talked and agonised about their soldier’s oath and in the end they were bought off. Zeitzler, von Brauchitsch, Keitel, Jodl all that lot may have had the technical skills to do their job, but they lacked the moral fibre or the brains to do so. Younger men like von Treskow who also tried but whom luck did not favour in 41 and 42, younger men did something. You did something. You young men are the ones who acted. Too many other Germans, the majority possibly did not even think about it, possibly felt that under the circumstance they could not even think about it.”
“Yes, Leber chimed in “we do make good loyal subjects. But Chancellor I think you are being pessimistic, we have done the best we could under the circumstances since Claus killed Hitler. We released prisoners, put the senior Nazis on trial…”
“Yes but we too made compromises with our own ideals.’
“under the pressure of the current situation we did what was right to save the nation. Do you really think for example that, “he looked around the hall for any allied soldier within earshot ”letting Schellenberg go after he had wiped out Himmler and his top dogs was a mistake? Schellenberg prevented the possibility of a civil war, and it was right to just let him run with all that fake money, don’t you think? By the way there are no records of Bernard I assure you, only a renegade SS operation shut down in mid-1944.”
Goerdeler shot him a pained look ”Already the politician. I worry that these are exactly the expedient decisions that will come back to haunt us.”
“That they may, “Leber was unrepentant “but I’d rather be judged by history than dictators. Also I think that the fact that the Poles were at least willing to do a temporary deal with us, signals that there will be those who will understand our situation. Don’t you agree Claus?“
“I am not sure. I know killing Hitler was the right thing to do. I sometimes wonder whether we did not deserve to be beaten anyway for delaying for so long. In the end I agree we have made choices that seemed rationale at the time. The funny thing is that such a sentiment is relative. You know that when Hitler came to power I was among those who cheered. When Hitler started losing, I started thinking.“
Goerdeler placed a hand on Stauffenberg’s arm, “That would describe you and countless other officers and citizens. The nation voted in this monster, when the democrats failed to present a viable alternative in the Weimar Republic in the early 1930s. That now seems a century ago. Let’s face it back then we all felt the Republic was the bastard child of the Diktat of Versailles. Therefore none of us really cared for it. Only once we had lost it did we realize its value.”
He shivered as
they walked on, age weighing him down.
“Back then they spoke of the stab in the back, that Germany was not really beaten in the Great War. That anger eventually brought the radicalism that pushed the Nazis via the ballot box into power. Many of us stayed on, we could not believe that the man would last. Yes he was doing some good things to get the country and its economy back on its feet but we did not see the speed with which he used us all to end the Weimar Republic, and with it a democratic system. Failing to anticipate that, Stauffenberg does not make us culpable.”
“Also do not forget, that history will ask why the allies, both Stalin and the Anglo-Americans did not respond to all of our earlier approaches and our peace offer in July 44. Sadly there will be enough guilt to go around. In war there always is.”
Claus thought of his mentor Stefan George. The poet had always believed that the decisive man would grasp the metal and change the course of history. Decisiveness came from clear strong morals. It sounded so easy. Yes he conceded to himself that he had changed the course of history. But as long as defeat had been an abstract future concept it had all seemed easier. Now this was reality, Germany was occupied, without a fight. Foreign soldiers had entered and occupied the capital. That was no longer the future, this was reality and it felt bitter. His wife had tried to talk him out of his glum mood, but in the end the patriot in him resented defeat more than almost anything. And he knew that most officers, most soldiers who had suffered and struggled would feel the same.
They headed towards the entrance hall where Werner and the other adjutants waited.
Werner the loyal supporter, who had supported him quietly in everything he did. He had never asked for a promotion or a better posting, just loyally supported his boss in changing the world. Claus almost grinned. Now all he could hope for was that the next generation of Germans like the younger von Haeften would not point to his action as the next stab-in-the–back which again robbed Germany of her victory. In ten, fifteen years would they understand how decisively the tide had turned against Germany by mid-1944, how deeply her ideals had been compromised by Hitler’s actions. Maybe the plotters should not have sought to make so many of the Nazis henchmen disappear, maybe they would need the masses of guilty to show the extent of the crimes and the moral failure? Only time would tell.
“Gentlemen, I feel tired. I think I will end this soul-searching and return home, while it is still mine. I am sure that in a few days the efficient Speer will have us all here to approve another series of actions he had already done.”
Goerdeler was suddenly very serious “Stauffenberg, Speer has turned out to be the ultimate technocrat and whatever his crimes were before 20 July, he will have to answer for. But I intend to absolve him of any charges after that. If he and his men had not done what they did, we could well have the Russians in this city now. If the allies intend to charge him, I will say that he acted under my orders for that period. I will accept responsibility for his actions.“
“I will support you there Chancellor.” Leber nodded “Speer like all of us has done his bit. Now it is out of our hands.”
“Good day gentlemen” Handshakes followed and slowly they headed out.
Werner von Haeften stood waiting for Stauffenberg, thick winter coat at the ready. Stauffenberg as so many others would be walking to the tramline that would take him home. “Well Werner, General Bradley is a small man in a non-descript uniform, without a classical education. But he seems decent and fair.”
“Right now that is all we can hope for Herr General.” Werner wanted to ask more but then chose not to. But as they walked down the street the young Leutnant could no longer restrain himself:
“Herr General, what does the future hold for our nation?”
“What indeed, Werner,” Stauffenberg sighed “is this what we set out to do last year. I have no doubt that what we did was right. Of the future I am less certain. We are an occupied nation, possibly they will let the Russians in. “
“Werner, what we set out to do last year was to show the world and history that we could clean up our own house. That we did and that history will record. And you will be able to tell your grandchildren that one day and they will be rightly proud of you and of being German.”
“That Herr General is worth a life.”
“Werner, you of all people know that the only thing I really feared was for the safety of my wife and children. It was this strange need of any person that his offspring should survive; that Nina and the kids would somehow be spared…”
For a while they walked in silence, before Stauffenberg continued. ”Whatever it is that the future holds for Germany, is no longer up to us to decide. We acted too late to get back more than our honour as a nation and the right to be deemed a civilized nation.” He thought of his wife Nina and of how her words had given him strength. ”But I am certain that ultimately our action means that we need no longer fear defeat. And that would have been worth my life.”
February 12th
Erding Train Station
On the northern outskirts of Munich
Michael Wittman stepped off the train fatigued and dirty. The train station had not changed from the last time. The same railway official, the veteran who had lost a leg and who again straightened instinctively at Michael’s decorations and his tankers uniform. And yet it felt different. There was something different about the town, even though the bomb damage was still evident at a glance. Michael rubbed the stubble on his chin. Maybe it was the knowledge that they had won a temporary reprieve on the Ostfront, maybe it was that they had bought peace, however temporary, with some honour in the struggle against Bolshevism. Somehow occupation by the western allies did not seem like defeat. Michael, shook his head, he would figure it all out later, or maybe some politician might; right now he wanted to see Hilde, his wife. It had been over four months since he had last seen her. Yet they had corresponded almost daily. He had all her letters still with him, a prized treasure taking up most of the space in his small duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
Stopping briefly to acknowledge the wounded veteran’s salute and the stares of two snot-nosed teenagers, he hurried towards the exit. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the British uniform at the gate. His hand shot to his sidearm – which was no longer there. Then he stopped. He remembered, part of the peace was that Germany had made peace, of a sort with the western allies and accepted their occupation forces. These allies now controlled his country, the exact details of which the soldier Michael Wittman did not care about. What mattered was that the British soldier, an MP no older than 25 could not avoid his eyes widening when he saw the Panzer ace’s decorations and the Waffen SS Panzer uniform which Michael had never gotten around to replacing. Looking the short tanker up and down, the gangly British MP asked in heavily accented German for his ID. “Ausweiss, Bitte.”
Michael handed it over without a second thought and the MP glanced at it, his eyes struggling to divert from the decorations on the tanker uniform. In seconds Michael had the document back.
The young Englishman could not suppress his curiosity, “You were Waffen SS ? What kind of Panzer?” His German was passable, despite the terrible accent.
Michael had expected almost every other question but not that. “Tiger” he answered “Schwere Panzer Abteilung 101. “ He did not think adding Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler would be helpful.
“You were the Tiger Ace who destroyed the County of London Yeomanry of 7th Armoured Division on June 13th at Villers Bocage?”
Michael, was immediately wary, what powers did these British have; did this young man have an axe to grind. “Yes I fought in Villers Bocage that day” it all seemed centuries ago, that and the rerun at Chalons in August when he had bagged Patton.
“I lost a comrade that day.” It was a statement. For a second Michael expected aggression. Then the young MP straightened and reached out. “You fought well. That day my side lost.“
Stunned Michael took the young man’s hand “We did our duty�
� was all he could think off.
For a few moments the Englishman searched for the right words, then he turned serious. “Yes we all do our duty, but it’s time for peace. Go well and peace be with us all. Herr Wittmann.”
Michael still held the man’s hand, struggling to contain his emotion. A nod then he walked on. He was heading home to Hilde. In their last letters they had discussed adopting the children whose parents had died in the British napalm bomb attack just before Michael’s previous visit. Michael’s smiled, he and Hilde might still have children of their own, but it was time for soldiers to lay down their weapons and heal the wounds cut by this war. He was coming home.
The gulf between Britain and Russia is unbridgeable, except by friendly diplomatic relations
Winston Churchill in a note to Anthony Eden
Minute of 23 June 1945, Churchill Papers
2nd of April, 1945
The Kremlin
The map on the wall said it all. It was a map of Europe and it showed the thick red line far too far to the east. It showed that the frontlines had solidified in a manner not of the Soviet Union’s choosing. From the north red stars signified either Red Army units or red-coloured areas countries or regions deemed friendly to the Soviets. In Scandinavia, Finland had succumbed to Soviet influence as well as the presence of Soviet naval bases, while preserving a nominally independent Government. All of the Baltic Republics were occupied by the Red Army and the Supreme Soviet had already passed a resolution ‘welcoming’ the three Baltic provinces back into the Union. A small part of east Prussia was also Soviet, but that was more symbolic Rokossowski and his 2nd Byelorussian front had delivered that little miracle at the last moment before the British arrived. From the eastern edge of East Prussia, the frontline bent westward before sloping east again towards Warsaw. Perched on the eastern end of an exposed salient the polish capital had resisted all of Zhukov’s might to the very end. He had still been shelling it when the Americans entered the devastated town. From there the front sloped westward to Lodz and Czenstocha entering Czechoslovakia southwest of Kattowitz. Most of Slovakia was occupied by the Red Army as was all of Hungary except for a small corner to the north and west of Budapest. They had a small foothold in eastern Austria and troops in most of the Serbian province of Yugoslavia. To the east of that Moscow held sway.
The Valkyrie Option Page 70