The Spandau Phoenix wwi-2

by Greg Iles

  the front of the house, and opened the door without knocking.

  An SS sergeant of the Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler had been posted in the

  entry hall to meet him. After a curt salute, the sergeant whisked

  Heydrich up the stairs to the bedrooms and indicated the door he wished

  the SD chief to enter.

  "You're to wait here, Herr Obergruppenftihrer. By order of the Fuhrer."

  Heydrich looked mystified- "Am I not to attend the conference

  downstairs?"

  "Nein, Herr Obergruppenflihrer. Reichleiter Borrnann instructed me to

  have you meet the Fuhrer in the teahouse, but I just received word that

  he won't have time for the walk."

  "We could drive," Heydrich suggested.

  "The Fuhrer never drives to the teahouse."

  The sergeant seemed to think this explanation sufficient.

  Heydrich dismissed him and reached for the bedroom door handle, then

  paused as another door opened farther down the hall. A blond woman

  leaned furtively out; Heydrich registered an ample bosom beneath a

  rather plain face before she ducked back inside. Only after entering

  the small bedroom designated for his meeting with the Fuhrer did he

  realize that the woman he had just seen must be Eva Braun. With an

  extreme sense of discomfort Heydrich put the incident out of his mind.

  The Fuhrer in a carnal entanglement with a

  peasant -girl? Preposterous!

  Out of habit Heydrich surveyed the Berghof grounds from the small

  bedroom window. He saw SS guards and dogs silhouetted against the snow

  at regular intervals all over the compound. Nodding with satisfaction,

  he sat stiffly on the edge of a narrow bed. An hour,passed. When he

  next heard footsteps in the hall, he knew they belonged to the Fuhrer.

  Standing deliberately, he straightened his silver-bordered collar and

  faced the door. As it opened, he cried, "Heil Hitler!" and gave a

  whip-crack Nazi salute.

  Adolf Hitler stood blinking in the doorway. He looked like a man

  suddenly pulled into a quiet alcove from a beer hall where a violent

  brawl was in progress. "Heydrich," he mumbled.

  "My Fuhrer."

  "We haven't much time. I have to get back to my generals.

  They've taken a break for food." With sudden ffitler s@ into the room

  and walked to the window. "Food!" he cried, pounding his right fist

  into his palm. "They think I am a fool, Heydrich! Adolf Hitler!

  My God, if I had listened to my generals we would never even have

  crossed into the Rhineland. And now that we stand ready to begin the

  greatest land invasion the world has ever seen, they counsel me to be

  cautious!" Hitler whirled, evangelical fire burning in his eyes.

  "Would caution have won us Poland, Heydrich?"

  "No, my Fuhrer!"

  "Would it have won us France?"

  "No!"

  "Then how can it win us Russia?" Spittle flew from Hitler's quivering

  lips.

  "It cannot, my Fuhrer!"

  "Exactly! You should hear them ... Halder, Jodl, even Guderian's

  reports sound like the whining of an old woman.

  They speak as if we have allies. We have none! For hours the fools

  have gone dyer and over the North African situation.

  The situation is clear! On January third the British captured

  thirty-eight thousand lwian soldiers at Sidi Barram. Did you know that?

  That's more prisoners than the British had soldiers!"

  "The Italians are swine," Heydrich declared, watching Mtler wind up,

  again.

  "What does Africa matter, I ask you? All my generals proudly display

  Mein Kampf on their mantelpieces. I don't believe one of the idiots has

  read it! Russia is the keY to el erything! When Russia falls, Japan

  will be free to attack the United States. And with Roosevelt's

  attention turned there, Churchill will be forced to sue for peace. it's

  so simple a child could see it."

  Hitler's left eye twitched angrily, "Perhaps _ I should place my armies

  under the command of the Hitler Youth!"

  Heydrich said nothing to this remarkable suggestion. Hitler smoothed

  his unruly forelock, then clasped his hands behind him and said, "Do you

  know what my Prussian peacocks are afraid of."

  Heydrich swallowed. "England, my Fuhrer?"

  c my own words back at me as if I "Pre isely! They throw did not write

  them myself. 'Germany should never again become embroiled in a

  two-front war. Never will I fight a twofront war.' Enough! England

  lies prostrate beneath our bombs, yet my sniveling generals call her a

  western front. A front! When we turn east, Heydrich, the cowards will

  learn what a front truly is!"

  Heydrich suppressed a sadistic grin.

  Hitler squared his shoulders. "Directive Twenty-one commands that all

  preparations for Plan Barbarossa be completed by May fifteenth of this

  year. Do you know why?"

  "So that we may defeat the communists before winter sets in?"

  "Exactly. And why this year, Heydrich? Because Stalin is arming Russia

  even faster than I am arming Germany! The purge of 'thirty-seven slowed

  him down considerably, yes, but he has a new program in place-a total

  reorganizationr will be too late! All that we have If we wait another

  yea it accomplished will be dust! Do you understand?"

  "Perfectly, my Fuhrer."

  "I believe you do. And that is why you are here." Hitler carefully

  read his watch, holding it close to his face because of his poor vision.

  "I have no intention of fighting on two fronts, Heydrich.

  But can I trust my spineless generals with my plans?" He waved his hand

  impatiently. "My brilliant generals. imbeciles, every one.

  England doesn't want warNo matter what your agents tell you, Heydrich, I

  know.

  Withstanding aerial bombardment is one thing-fighting a land war is

  another. The English people will do almost anything to keep from

  sending their sons to die at another Somme or Ypres. Believe me,

  Heydrich, I was there- No, the only obstacle to an Aryan peace is

  Winston Churchill.

  Churchill and his warmongering cronies! Do you agree?"

  "Absolutely, my Fuhrer."

  "Tell me," Hitler said in a confiding tone, "what do you think.of our

  chances of making peace with the British?"

  Heydrich tried to guess which answer Hitler wanted today.

  The Fuhrer did not tolerate equivocation; it had to be one absolute or

  the other. "As things now stand," he ventured carefully, "we have no

  chance whatsoever."

  Hitler's eyes sparkled. "You seem certain. Yet I suspect that some of

  your superiors might disagree with you."

  Heydrich f@it his chest tighten.

  Hitler's voice cut like a blade. "What do you know, Herr

  Obergruppenfiihrer, of attempts by my officers to make clandestine

  contact with the British?4' Heydrich felt the tingle of opportunity in

  his palms. "May I speak frankly, my Fuhrer?"

  "You had better!"

  "My Fuhrer, so far, despite exhaustive efforts, I have not uncovered any

  proof of treason around you. However, I am aware of efforts on the part

  of certain individuals to make clandestine contact with British citizens

  in various neutral countries. I've taken the
liberty of compiling

  dossiers on the activities of each for your review."

  Hitler frowned disdainfully. "The Haushofers, for instance? Karl and

  Albrecht?"

  "Yes," said Heydrich, surprised by Hitler's knowledge.

  "You know of their communications with Hess.

  Heydrich nodded warily.

  "Goring?"

  "Surely you don't suspect the Reichsmarschall!"

  Hitler dismissed his shock with a wave of the hand. "Who knows?

  The air war over the Channel came close to breaking him. Goring hasn't

  the stamina for wars of attrition. He was trained for aerial

  dog-fighting-nothing else. But what of my question? How do you rate the

  chances of gaining peace by clandestine means?"

  Heydrich licked his thin lips. "As long as Churchill rules in London,

  my Fuhrer, England will fight us."

  Hitler nodded. "And the result?"

  "England will be crushed."

  "No," Hitler said softly. "There will be no war with England."

  Heydrich waited for some evidence to back up this mistic assertion.

  "There will be no war with England, because soon Winston Churchill will

  no longer sit at the head of the British government."

  Heydrich's pulse quickened.

  "Does that statement surprise you, Heydrich? t shouldn't.

  Because you are the man who is going to ensure that my prediction

  becomes fact."

  it took all of Heydrich's self-control to hold his facial muscles in

  check. Renwve Churchillfrom the government? It was too fantastic ...

  "Let me ask you another question, Herr Obergruppenftihrer. You consider

  yourself a good judge of men. What do you think of the Duke of

  Windsor?' Heydrich chose his words carefully. "As you know, my Fuhrer,

  I handled security on the occasion when the duke secretly met with

  Reichminister Hess in Lisbon. During my limited time with the duke, I

  developed an impression of a weak, self-centered man.

  He-behaved like a spoiled child.

  Having voluntarily relinquished the throne of England, he would like

  nothing better than to sit upon it again, if only so that his American

  wife can be called 'Her Royal Highness.' Windsor imagines that he would

  do anything to anain this end, when in fact he would probably do

  everything short of what is required."

  Hitler smiled. "You are indeed a good judge of men. But none of that

  matters in the slightest. It is the royal blood that matters, Heydrich-

  The blood. The English pretend to abhor my racial policies, they revile

  me at every turn. Yet in the final analysis they revere the blood just

  as we do!" Hitler tugged anxiously at his forelock.

  "How would you rate Windsor as a friend to Germany?"

  "There can be no doubt of his sympathies, my Fuhrer.

  From an intdllectual standpoint, he s the @ost right-thinking Englishman

  in the Empire. His actions in France proved that.

  Knowingly or not, he accelerated our invasion timetable by at least a

  week. But may I ask, my Fuhrer, why this is relevant? The English

  constitution forbids an abdicated king from ever resuming the throne,

  even should he wish

  to. "Don't worry about the English constitution!" Hitler

  snapped contemptuously. "If the English people recalled Windsor, would

  he accept?"

  "Undoubtedly. He said as much to Hess in Lisbon."

  "Well, the people are going to recall him, Heydrich. And soon."

  Heydrich blinked.

  "If King George were to die suddenly," Hitler postulated, "what would

  happen? There are two possibilities. Either his eldest daughter,

  Elizabeth, would assume the throne-a highly dubious prospect,

  considering that England is engaged in a life-and-death struggle@r the

  English people would remember the Duke of Windsor, their once-adored

  Prince of Wales and uncrowned king, who now wastes his

  not-inconsiderable gifts as crown governor of the Bahamas.

  Which alternative do you think they would choose, Heydrich? Which would

  you choose? An empty-headed child, or the strong hand of a man trained

  to rule? How important will Windsor's romantic follies seem in the face

  of England's greatest peril?"

  Heydrich shifted uncomfortably. "I ... I'm not sure the English view

  these things as we do, my Fuhrer."

  "Rubbish! And what does it matter? Windsor would only be the window

  dressing! The real power of England is in Downing Street! That is

  where the change must be made!"

  Heydrich sensed that Hitler had finally come to the point of this

  meeting. "But how is this change to be made, my FuhrerT' he asked

  softly.

  Hitler's eyes flickered. "Ruthlessly, Heydrich' ' as all acts of war

  must be. On the tenth of May, Winston Churchill is going to die.

  And with him King George the Sixth. When that happens, Britain will

  hold its breath, headless for a few moments of history. And through

  that brief window, we shall snatch the prize we want-peace in the west.

  Then Russia will be ours for the taking, and Guderian's panzers will

  roll!"

  Heydrich cracked his boot heels together and stood rigid before his

  master.

  "Have you been struck dumbt' Hitler asked, his very posture a challenge.

  "No, my Fuhrer. It's simply that ... the scope and genius of your

  concept have shocked me."

  Hitler nodded. "I understand. Few men think as I do, with a mind

  unfettered by the restraints of so-called 'civilized'

  SPANDAU PHDENIX

  war. Such a concept is ludicrous, a blatant contradictior terms.

  But I'm sure you're wondering exactly how deaths of these two men will

  gain us peace from the English."

  Heydrich nodded, though he was actually wondering how the deaths of

  those men could be accomplished.

  . "It's quite simple," Hitler explained. "When the new prime minister

  takes Churchill's place, his government will be mine. Or at least

  sympathetic to my ideas. Don't look so surprised. Like Haushofer and

  others, I too know of certain Englishmen who want peace.

  However, the men I speak of are Then of deeds, not words. They

  understand my true aims, that my primary goal is to expand eastward-not

  into Britain. They know that Adolf Hitler is the hammer that will crush

  world communism!"

  Heydrich stepped back from the raw force of Hitler's zeal.

  "The British Empire was not forged by men who whined at the sight of a

  little blood, Heydrich. The English understand that to create, one must

  first destroy. That out of death comes life!" Hitler wiped his brow-

  "So YOu see -- -" Heydrich did see. He saw that Hitler-from

  Machiavellian genius or sheer desperation-had decided to extend the

  tactics of terror, which had served him so well during the Party's early

  expansion, into the realm of international policy.

  Heydrich also saw that this decision would immeasurably raise his value

  to Hitler vis-A-vis purely military officers.

  Where another man might recognize imminent disaster, Heydrich saw

  opportunity. hands together, "be "So, " Hitler concluded, bringing his

  ginning now, you will devote all your energies to devising a method by

  which Winston Churchill and George the Sixth
can be liquidated. Three

  limits must define your plan. First, your mission cannot be

  accomplished in such a way as to incriminate Germany or the National

  Socialist Party. Second, you will conduct all inquiries involved in

  your t)lanning in in such a way that neither Reichsfiihrer Hi mler,

  Admiral Canaris, nor any other member of the High Command becomes aware

  of your mission. And finally, the mission must be carried out on the

  tenth of May-the glorious anniversary of our historic westward

  invasion!"

  Heydrich blanched. The Fuhrer had just placed restrictions on the

  operation that would make success all but impossible. Even if a bolt of

  lightning were to strike down Churchill and the king in Trafalgar

  Square, accusing fingers would still point to Germany. Yet despite this

  grim truth, Heydrich elected to keep silent. He had seen what happened

  to men who protested to Adolf Hitler that his orders were impossible.

  "Am I to understand, my Fuhrer, that I am to assassinate these men?"

  Hitler exploded. "Were you not listening? The thought of making

  Winston Churchill a martyr turns my stomach, but alive he hounds me like

  the devil incarnate. I want him dead! The king too!"

  Heydrich's mind reeled at the implications of this order. If what the

  Fuhrer said about Nazi sympathizers in England was true, the plan could

  actually work. But what were the odds of that? The terror bombin of

  London and other population centers had hardened Britain's will to

  adamant; the reports of all his agents confirmed this. Could there

  really still be Englishmen who feared Stalin more than they feared

  Hitler? Men to whom profits meant more than national honor?

  Men to whom a guarantee of safety from Adolf Mtler was worth more than a

  pr-e-war Deutschemark?

  "Do not think I labor under any illusions," Hitler said, almost

  telepathically. "The English have no love for me, or for things German.

  But they understand me, Heydrich. I represent absolute power

  concentrated in the head of the state, and the English respect that.

  Their industlialists and nobles fear Stalin and his hordes far more than

  my policies.

  Communism-power seized by millions of fanatical workers who cannot wait

  to tear down the ivied walls of traditionthat is like the plague to the

  English, the Black Death come again!"

  A sharp knock on the bedroom door halted Hitler in midstream.