by Ward Wagher
She had come to the chancellery from her apartment to have lunch with Schloss, and had planned to spend the afternoon with him and the children.
“I cannot avoid my duties simply because of the risk,” he said. “Besides, the party security did their job. They protected us.”
“But if one of those bullets had your name on it, Hennie, I don’t think the guards could have dissuaded it.”
They stood facing one another in the foyer of the apartment. He grasped her arms.
“Listen, Gisela, I could think of nothing more terrifying than placing you and the children under fire like that. You are not suggesting anything I haven’t thought about. But I still have a job to do.”
Frau Marsden stepped into the foyer. Schloss almost quirked a smile, for it seemed to him that even the concrete floor quivered slightly when the old lady walked by.
“Yes, Frau Marsden?” Schloss asked.
“Nobody would blame you for staying home this afternoon, Herr Schloss.”
“Perhaps not. However, that does not absolve me of my duties.”
“You will want to see to your security, then,” she said.
He winked at Gisela. “Oh, I think Alden and Karl are highly motivated in that regard. Besides, everyone is expecting me at the Gau Berlin’s birthday party.”
“I shouldn’t think it would be the end of the world if you missed the Gauleiter’s birthday.”
“He is new to the job, since replacing Goebbel’s. It is important that I show support.”
“It is important that you stay alive to serve the nation.”
“Please, Frau Marsden. Practically everything I do carries some measure of risk. We just work to minimize it.”
She harrumphed. “Sometimes I feel like I am talking to the wall.” She shook her head and trundled out of the room.
Gisela grinned at him. “She has your best interests at heart, Darling.”
“I am not always so sure of that. I sometimes feel like she has some kind of wider agenda.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
He shook his head slightly as he gazed at nothing. “I don’t know. Sometimes she is… spooky.”
She laughed. “I think we should have stayed at the Kalksee a few days longer. You cannot tell me you do not need the rest.”
“I am planning for a week following our wedding,” he said. “I cannot promise I won’t have to attend to business during that week, but I plan to spend every other moment paying attention to you. Until then all I can promise is an occasional weekend.”
“If that is all I can expect, I shall happily accept that,” she said. “Life without you would be a very poor experience.”
“I cannot imagine life without you,” Schloss said.
She gave him a hug. “And I have kept you long enough. When do you expect to return?”
“A couple of hours, I hope. I would like to make my usual grand entrance, greet the Gauleiter and a few others, then sweep out again… with my apologies, of course.”
“Can you do that?” she asked.
“Everyone knows what happened yesterday. I think they will make allowances.”
She shivered. “Yesterday was a nightmare. I was terrified for the children.”
“We are fortunate our party guards were paying attention. And also, fortunate the attackers were so incompetent. We were in a very bad position.”
She suddenly grabbed his arms. “Oh, Hennie, what are we going to do?”
“We make the best preparations we can, and then not dwell upon it. If we allowed ourselves to worry about it, we would all be sick. Most Berliners do not think about getting run down while crossing a street, but it happens all too frequently.”
She cocked her head as she looked at him. “There is something wrong with your logic, Hennie.”
“Oh?”
“I would need to think about it, but it really doesn’t hang together right.”
He laughed softly. “Will you be here when I return?”
“I am planning to spend the afternoon with the children,” she said. “Anna-Lisa is fragile right now.”
“And I thank you for your devotion to them. I believe you will be a wonderful mother to them.”
“I plan to do my best, Hennie. They have already suffered much in this life. I want to shield them as much as I can. I know that isn’t totally possible, or even wise. But I want to be here for them.”
He looked down fondly at the beautiful red-haired woman. “And I am reminded once again why I love you so.”
She threw her arms around him again, and favored him with a deep kiss. “You mean more to me than I can say, Hennie.”
“And, now I really must go.”
He stepped out into the hall where the head of the party guards waited.
“Are we ready, Alden?”
“Yes, Herr Reichschancellor. The vehicles are waiting and the guards are detailed.”
They began walking to the elevator.
“Not to complain or anything, but I would really prefer to avoid another situation like we faced yesterday.”
“Herr Reichschancellor, please allow me to apologize, once again, for my incredible negligence yesterday. It was inexcusable.”
Schloss stopped and grasped Schlempke by the arm. “If I truly thought you were at fault there would be a new guard commander today. Benefit of hindsight, I could make some suggestions on how we might have handled that differently, but can you honestly tell me you would have thought of that beforehand?”
Schlempke had a mulish look on his face. “But, it was my fault, Herr Schloss.”
They continued walking again. The elevator operator had the car stopped on the current floor and was waiting for them. They stepped on to the elevator and began moving towards the ground floor. Schloss looked over at Schlempke.
“I am sure you have heard me say this before, Alden. But, understand. While your organization of the guards yesterday was not your fault, it was your responsibility. I am not blaming you for the situation we found ourselves in, but I am holding you responsible to make plans for handling similar situations in the future. And I hope to God that you do not have the opportunity to exercise those plans.”
“Absolutely, Herr Reichschancellor.”
The ride to the Berlin Gauleiter’s home was made in silence. Schloss pondered the recent events and Schlempke was not motivated to say much. The gauleiters were the regional leaders for the Nazi party. Schloss was curious to see how the appointment of the new gauleiter would work. Felix Mandel had been a loyal party member for a decade, at least. This was as Rainer told him. He worked hard and people liked him. He was eager to assume his new responsibilities, and Schloss fervently hoped it would work.
With all of the Nazi brass present at the party, much heavier security was in evidence. As they pulled into the drive, they saw a group of polizei binding another man in shackles.
“Find out, if you will, Alden what that is all about,” Schloss commanded. “I will wait here.”
“At once, Herr Reichschancellor.”
While it was impossible for Schlempke to know each of the police in Berlin, they all knew who he was. He talked to them for a few moments and then returned to the car.
“The young man tried to infiltrate himself into the caterers, Herr Schloss. One of the others did not recognize him and called attention to him with the polizei. He was carrying a pistol. I recommend we return to the Reichschancellery.”
Schloss sighed. Will this never end? “No, Alden. We will grace the gauleiter with a brief visit and then go home.”
“As you wish,” Schlempke said.
“Just pay attention, okay?”
Schlempke jumped to attention. “Of course, Herr Reichschancellor.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
February 2, 1942; 10AM
Laplace Street
Munich, Germany
“Explain!” Reinhard Heydrich ordered.
“Nordheim placed his people badly, and was defeated in
detail,” Konrad Mussen said. “From the newspaper reports, they arrived on the opposite side of the park from Schloss and were detected immediately.”
Heydrich stood, and walked over to a window. From the upstairs room of the safe house he could gaze over the gardens behind the house, and he usually found them soothing.
“How could he have been so incompetent?”
“Herr General, I tried to warn you about Nordheim. He was inexperienced in tactics.”
Heydrich glared at Mussen. “I do not tolerate excuses, Konrad.”
“What would you want me to say?”
Heydrich continued to glare at the other man, and finally subsided. He moved back to the table and sat down again.
“Oh, very well. What is the damage?”
“One of the team was wounded and captured. We do not know which one.”
“Can they be traced back to us, here?” he asked.
“They were Berlin locals,” Mussen said. “They might possibly trace him back to our Berlin organization, but that seems unlikely.”
“Instruct the Berlin organization to disperse. Otherwise Rainer will have them in another day or so.”
“Are you sure, Herr General?”
“Go! Send the message. There is no time to debate. Rainer is not to be trifled with. He is a dangerous adversary.”
Mussen quickly walked from the room. Heydrich shook his head and looked down at the papers he was reviewing. Perhaps it had been a mistake to operate in Berlin. His strength was here in Munich. Rainer had made a mistake in not purging the party organization here along with the SS. Munich was the heart and soul of the Nazi Party in Germany. Many of the party members in Munich were horrified at Schloss’s abandonment of the key tenets of Nazi ideology.
It was really no wonder the government fell, Heydrich thought. Hitler had been surrounded by incompetents. Only Himmler knew what he was doing. After Hitler died, Himmler could not staunch the worms who ate at the the roots of the Nazi tree. In spite of their best efforts, Schloss captured the leadership of the nation and put all the loyal Nazis outside of the pale. And he had to admit that Schloss and Rainer, along with those who followed them grasped the opportunities which presented themselves. They were very good at what they did.
He sighed as he stood up again and began to pace the room. There had to be a way to insinuate himself into the awareness of the nation. It was clear that naked force would not work at this point. When he was the Protector of Czechoslovakia he had make progress by improving the conditions for the people there. By making overall life easier and at the same time harshly suppressing dissent, he was molding that land into a proper subject nation for the Reich. Unfortunately, Schloss was employing the same methods. What Heydrich needed was to instigate something that would cast blame on Schloss. If he could make Schloss sufficiently unpopular, a putsch would be much easier to execute.
He sat back down at the table and began scratching out ideas with his pen. He looked up quickly when Mussen stepped back in the room, and then continued with his work. He had a tendency to become so absorbed in his efforts that he lost situational awareness, and that could be deadly in the current situation. Mussen eased back out of the room. Heydrich did not take interruptions gracefully, and Mussen would wait outside the room. If he was needed, he would be summoned.
§ § §
February 5, 1942; 10AM
Cabinet Room
10 Downing Street
London, England
Frederick Lindemann completed his presentation to the cabinet and leaned back in his chair. His friend Winston Churchill had appointed him to his cabinet position as an advisor to the government and he took his role seriously. Germany was under control of a group of very evil men and it was the job of every Briton to resist the evil. Although he was of German background and even spoke with a slight German accent, he was a British citizen and a loyal subject.
Lindemann’s presentation concerned one of the weapons he was sure would contribute to the fall of the Third Reich – strategic bombing. By reducing the German industrial plant to rubble, the English would make it difficult to resist their eventual invasion of continental Europe.
As usual, Churchill sat at the head of the table, puffing his ever-present cigar. He let the debate flow around him and listened carefully.
“A good presentation, Sir Frederick,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. “Cogent and pursuasive.”
“Thank you, Clement,” Lindeman said. “We put a lot of thought and effort into this.”
“I wonder if we can afford the level of effort this requires,” the Chancellor of the Exchequer said.
“Can we afford not to?” Lindemann replied.
“We will have a couple of heavy bomber lines coming into production soon,” Lord Beaverbrook said. “AVRO and Handley-Page are moving Heaven and Earth to drive the schedule. Those aeroplanes will be the key to this strategy.”
“And I wonder of what value this all is,” Churchill suddenly commented.
“Prime Minister?” Lindemann asked.
“We have had three raids where no aeroplanes returned. Obviously, Jerry are up to something new. The RAF are completely mystified.”
“I am sure our people will have it figured out soon,” Lindemann spoke. He recognized the edge of incipient panic in his voice. Churchill had never questioned his advice before.
“Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe roams unmolested over England. And, we are losing flight crews over Europe to no benefit.”
“I could hardly say the Luftwaffe is unmolested when they fly over England, Prime Minister!”
“After that disaster at Bletchley Park, and before that when they caught our returning bombers,” Churchill said, shaking his head. “Along with that we are in deep, deep trouble in North Africa and Palestine. Gentlemen, I believe it is time to regroup. I propose we shift our limited resources to develop better fighter aircraft. We will continue to develop the bombers at a lower level. I can see us having a need for them in the future. But right now, we need to see to our immediate needs, and that is protecting our airspace.”
“But, Prime Minister...”
“No, Sir Frederick, I have made up my mind. This is how we will proceed. I believe your presentation made sense, but now is not the time.”
Lindemann sat staring at his presentation as the meeting faded into the background. The Prime Minister had made some good points, but he couldn’t help feeling Churchill had just made a mistake.
§ § §
February 5, 1942; 10AM
Reich Chancellery
Berlin, Germany
“I would be properly appreciative if you would get out of my face, Colonel!”
Heads turned to watch the exchange between an obviously angry Hermann Goering and a white-faced Luftwaffe Colonel.
“Please Herr Reichsmarshall, these are the papers you wished to bring to the governing council meeting. You left them at the office.”
“Oh, give them to me,” Goering said. “Now, get out of here! I am tired of seeing you.”
The colonel marched out of the meeting room with a ramrod straight posture. Schloss watched him leave and then looked around at the others in the room. Rainer looked at him with one eyebrow slightly raised. Peter Schreiber looked at him and rolled his eyes, pursing his lips in a silent whistle. Ribbentrop stared at the notebook in front of him, pointedly not making eye contact with anyone. Willem Kirche did the same.
“Very well, I am here, mein Herren,” Goering said. “I suppose we can get started.”
“What was that all about?” Schloss asked.
Goering laughed heartily. “Oh, my staff fusses over me like a bunch of old women. I have to frequently remind them who is in charge. It gets them upset, but there you are.”
Schloss studied the Reichsmarshall for a moment, then turned to Kirke. “What’s the first item on the agenda, Willem?”
“General Guderian continues to protest of the trial of his nephew. He has petitioned the Reichschancellor’s off
ice to intervene.”
“On what grounds, if I might ask?” Ribbentrop said.
“The entire affair has been bungled from the start!” Goering shouted. “Young Guderian was arrested on a pretext. There was no investigation. The general is very properly concerned about this. I have tried to quash this, and our people in Lyons are resisting me.”
“It sounded like an open and shut case to me,” Rainer said.
“That is just the problem,” Goering shouted again. “We cannot have people going around accusing the military of things like this.”
Schloss raised his fingers with his palms on the table. “Herr Reichsmarshall, we have all seen the dossier on Fritz Guderian. You agreed that the case was clear.”
“Ja, ja. But Heinz Guderian has given more information proving his nephew is innocent.”
“Why has he not left this to the Feldgendarmarie?”
“And why must you question everything I say or do, Herr Schloss?” Goering exploded. “You are not listening. For whatever reason, the people in Lyons seem determined to push forward with this. I am not getting any help from the people in this room and I do not like it. And I see the way you all are looking at each other and I do not like that either.”
“What would you have us do?” Schloss asked.
“I would like a team from Berlin to travel to Lyons and investigate the matter. The general said that would satisfy him.”
Schloss looked over at Rainer. “Karl, is this something you can assign to someone trustworthy?”
“I have already done so,” Rainer said. “I expect to have the report on my desk in a couple of days.”
“And why can you not tell me these things?” Goering shouted. “Really, mein Herren, is that too much to ask?”
“I am sorry, Herr Reichsmarshall,” Rainer said, “I notified your office that I was sending the team out. I assumed you knew.”
“I think you are just making excuses, Rainer. If you had notified my office, they would have told me.”