The Blood Flag

by James W. Huston

  He smiled and paced around the room. “Your trump card, yah? You’ll take your flag and go home. Well, maybe I wouldn’t care.”

  “That’s fine, we just have to do this in a way in which we both agree. You’re setting up the meeting, and I’m deferring to you. But I am not going to be your boy. I’m not going to dress up in a uniform just because you said so.” He considered me, looked at the flag, said, “At least you wore black. That’s enough for tonight.” He looked at Jedediah then back. “What about him?”

  “He can speak for himself.”

  Jedediah volunteered, “I’d be happy to wear an SS uniform. Best damn uniform ever designed in the history of the world. Sign of strength and dedication. And intimidation. I assume yours isn’t like the old uniforms, but if it’s close, I’m in.”

  I asked, “Tell us how you’re going to conduct all of this. What’s the plan?”

  “You’ll see in due time, but now we have to get you dressed,” he said to Jedediah. “But I will tell you this; the center piece of this entire production will be the flag. I’m going to have both of you behind stage. We’re going to put the flag on a pole, and I want you to carry it.” He said, staring at Jedediah who stared back.

  “I want you to carry it with one hand on the pole, like a leader of an Olympic procession. And I want you to bring it out at just the right time. No one knows it’s here except the three of us, and a couple of my friends. But I will tell you, once we do this, it will be the thing around which everybody rallies. It will be the greatest thing in the movement.”

  “Okay, what else is going to happen?” I asked

  “You’ll see. But it’s going to be a long, long night.”

  He checked his watch and walked to the door. “It is time for you both to go. One of my men will show you where to go behind the stage, I will be preparing the rest, and you’ll know when it’s time to start.”

  One of his men escorted us down to the stage area. We could see it from behind the curtain. It opened up onto a huge courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded on three sides by the castle, whose ornate stone walls rose to a height of four or five stories. It was beautiful and in immaculate condition. The courtyard was a deep cobblestone that looked to be hundreds of years old. At the end of the cobblestone was a huge grassy area, like a football field or a parade ground, the size of five or six football fields together. It was where there might normally be an ornate garden in a medieval castle. But here it was just grass, extending perhaps four hundred yards to the end. It was completely surrounded and enclosed by a fifteen-foot-high stone wall made of the same stone as the castle itself. On top of the wall was broken glass embedded in the concrete capping. At the end of the grass area, right by the wall, were two huge barns made out of wood. They appeared to be new and unweathered. Their construction and design were out of character with the rest of the castle.

  Jedediah looked around for the flagpole as I stood waiting. “You gonna wear the uniform?” I asked him.

  “Might just go with my own uniform.” He removed his fleece and underneath I saw a skin-tight, short-sleeved black V-neck shirt that had a large bold SS on it. The Schutzstaffel.

  “Where did you get that?” I asked.

  “Had it for a long time. Always waited for the right time to wear it.”

  “Now’s the time. You look pretty menacing with that shirt on. I think Eidhalt will approve.”

  Jedediah stopped what he was doing and looked at me. “I look menacing all the time.”

  I couldn’t disagree. “Is that how you like it?”

  “Makes life easier. I usually get what I want.”

  Eidhalt came out wearing a black uniform in the form of the World War II SS uniforms with knee-high shiny leather boots. He wore a cap with a skull on it, but noticeably absent from his uniform was any insignia. No SS or Nazi insignia. I asked, “Is that the new uniform? There’s no insignia.”

  “You’ll see.”

  Jedediah asked, “Where’s the pole? How am I supposed to display the flag?”

  Eidhalt shook his head. “Again, you will see. You must be patient.” He checked his watch. “But now, everyone is here. It’s time.” He looked at me, “You keep the case with the flag. I want them to see Jedediah and make a hint to them that something important and special will occur later. Come with me.”

  We walked onto what I thought was a patio but turned out to be a long deck that went halfway around the castle two stories above the courtyard. We walked around to the middle of the deck overlooking the courtyard, which was completely dark. There were no lights anywhere but you could see dark forms of people seated below. They could probably see the silhouettes of the three of us standing on the balcony from some ambient light from the castle. I stepped back out of sight, still carrying the case. I set it down beside me and ensured I was out of the line of sight against the wall of the castle. Eidhalt turned around and looked at me and gave me a slight nod, understanding, and then turned and took a step forward to a microphone that was awaiting him. Jedediah was one step behind him and to his right. Eidhalt stepped up to the microphone, and yelled in German, “Steht auf!”

  I moved around to the right so I could see across the balcony down to the courtyard. I could barely make out fifty or sixty dark figures now standing rigidly at attention. Suddenly, I heard soft music, growing louder. It was a men’s choir, building; then the music was turned up so loud conversation would have been impossible. “Deutschland über alles.” The German National Anthem, a recording of a male chorale with a hundred-piece band. It was spectacular. I could hear many of the men in the courtyard singing in the dark. And they were all singing the now prohibited first stanza, the one with the famous lyrics, “Germany, above all.” Only the third stanza was the official National Anthem now, about unity and justice and freedom. Not tonight. Tonight it was Germany, Germany—Nazism—above everything, über alles.

  At the climax of the song, suddenly flood lights illuminated everything. The castle was lit by up lighting and the people in the courtyard were bathed in direct white light. There were poles extending fifty feet into the air with draped Nazi flags hanging vertically, held in place by cross bars above and below. They were brand new and their blood red colors were vibrant. The white was perfect and the black swastikas in the middle were crisp, symmetrical, and stunning. I looked behind Eidhalt and saw that a massive crest, the Nazi Eagle with the eagle’s talons wrapped around arrows and the swastika—just like the one pulled down from the Reichstag at the end of the war—was suspended from the top of the castle behind him. It must have been ten feet high and forty feet across. It shimmered in the light. As the German national anthem ended, a door opened to my right and a line of men emerged and marched in front of me around the balcony. The line kept coming and coming. When they were done there must have been a hundred men lining the balcony overlooking the courtyard. They all wore black uniforms, and insignia of the SS. But on the other collar, instead of another SS insignia there was a silver W. They all wore the same knee-high leather boots and riding pants that Rolf Eidhalt was wearing. They wore uniform blouses with choker collars and a leather holster with a leather strap that hung across their chests in black patent leather. They stood there silently at attention as Eidhalt approached the microphone again.

  Eidhalt spoke. “Willkommen! I began in German, but I will continue in English because I know each of you speaks English. It will be our language of choice since we come from so many countries. You have come here from twenty different countries. I have picked each one of you for distinguishing himself within your own country in the Nazi movement. A movement which is the Third Reich emerging from the shadows, from silence, from its underground ways for the past sixty-five years. We have chosen the moment. We emerge now to change the world! To take over the parts of the world that we can subdue, and to rally the people to our cause! Many important and significant things will happen tonight. Give me yo
ur time and your attention! It will not be wasted. You all know me, I am Rolf Eidhalt. I am the chancellor of the Third Reich in Germany, or the Fourth Reich as we will call it. My vice chancellor is Konrad Krupp. And you can see some of my men, of which these are simply a few of thousands, have their insignia. I will now receive my insignia from Herr Krupp. Please stand at attention as I receive my insignia. He turned to his right and Krupp moved up and extended his arms and pinned the insignia to his two collars. He turned back to the microphone as Krupp stood behind him. And now each of you will receive the same insignia from another member of our corps.”

  A large number of men emerged from under the balcony. I couldn’t see them but could now hear them. They must have come out at the same time as the ones on the balcony and lined up underneath us. Each went to one of the men in the courtyard and pinned the SS insignia on the left collars and a new insignia on their right collars. They then went back to their positions underneath the balcony.

  Rolf spoke, “You will see that while we have insignia and we have membership badges, we do not have rank. None of us have rank. None of us is above or better than any of the others. How do you propose that we establish a hierarchy, a structure? I called myself chancellor, the chancellor of the German Nazi Party, but it is my objective to form a single, unified world party. But I will not do that on my own. I will provide the ability, but we will all agree on the structure. We will do it the same way Hitler first came to power, democratically. But thereafter it will be a dictatorship. Just like Hitler. I ask you all to please remain standing. Assume a position of parade rest. On my command, “Rührt Euch!”

  The men assumed a position of parade rest in a slightly relaxed formation. Many of them looked a little awkward, never having been in the military or marched in formation of any kind.

  Eidhalt continued, “I have many surprises tonight. Many that will inspire you, motivate you, and thrill you. But first, let me direct your attention to the eagle behind me.”

  A motorized screen came down from just under the eagle. It had to be twenty feet by thirty feet. The floodlights were dimmed except for those trained on the Nazi flags draped around the courtyard and the eagle above the screen. Suddenly the crystal clear image of Adolf Hitler came on the screen. Hitler waited for his audience to give him their undivided attention. He stood solemnly in his Nazi uniform, with his armband and his hair perfectly combed, staring at the adoring crowd, waiting, waiting longer inside the cramped and jammed building. Everyone waited for him to begin. And he let the tension build.

  I knew the speech. I had watched all of Hitler’s speeches. It was from the Bundestag, in 1933. It was famous. People who were there were interviewed years later; they said the speech electrified them and energized them for the rest of their lives. Even fifty years later they spoke in glowing terms. Hitler’s unmistakable voice came through the loud speakers. The recording had clearly been re-mastered and digitized. The clarity of the recording was stunning. He spoke with passion and power. His unmistakable gestures were present throughout. And for those who did not speak German the film had subtitles. Many of the men standing in the courtyard began applauding with the live crowd in the film, a marriage of the old and the new.

  But soon we could see that the speech was not the full speech. It was a medley of Hitler’s greatest moments. From Munich to Nuremberg to Berlin, from the Olympics to German Army units, building and building in its drive and determination. And then there were images clearly taken from Triumph of the Will. The adoring crowds, the crying women, the people reaching out to touch Hitler and then the scene that I really should have expected but didn’t. Hitler walked slowly in front of several German units, stopping at each one, and then reaching beside him, where Otto Hessler held the Blood Flag. Hitler took the Blood Flag in his hand and touched it to the banner of each unit and then Hitler glanced up at the Blood Flag in admiration, a moment I had never noticed before. The image froze and stayed on the screen above the eagle.

  Eidhalt stepped up to the microphone. “I told you I had a surprise. The surprise is far greater than anything you could have imagined. I knew when I issued my challenge that one of you would distinguish himself in a way that would set the direction of this movement for the remainder of a thousand years that began with the Führer. As you can see in the image behind me, the most treasured item in Nazi lore was the Blutfahne. The Blood Flag. And many of you, who know our history, know that it disappeared in 1944 and has never been seen since. Until tonight.”

  I could hear the men in the courtyard murmuring and looking around. Eidhalt continued, “I would like to introduce to you Mr. Jedediah Thom, from the United States. It was he who tracked down the Blutfahne.” He paused and lowered his voice. “How do we know it’s the real one? Because we have now authenticated it with the DNA of one of the men who died on it during the beer hall putsch in 1923! We dug up his grave! We have the Blood Flag! It is authentic and we have it here tonight!”

  Spontaneous applause thundered through the courtyard, with cheers pushing the clapping ever higher. Even Eidhalt’s men who lined the balcony above and below burst into applause. They were unaware of the flag’s presence. The energy generated from Hitler’s speeches had just been ignited. The applause built to a roar. I had to hand it to Eidhalt. He had watched enough of Hitler’s ways to know how to motivate people, and how to stimulate them. Eidhalt raised his hand to quiet the men. They stopped. He said, “The Blood Flag is with me on the balcony. Right now, as we speak. I know you want to see it. And I want to show it to you. It will be the focus of what we do.” He held up his hand. “But not yet. You’ll see it tonight, I promise, but not yet, and—not here. This, this is simply our first stop tonight. I suspect that we’re being watched. It may even be that some of you have alerted the authorities to what is happening tonight. I don’t think so, and I hope not, but I prepare for everything. We all need to take security precautions. There are those who hate our movement and will hate us. The government of Germany hates its own past and history, even if the people might rise in favor of it. But that will not stop us. Because tonight the Fourth Reich begins! So we will bring the Blutfahne with us. Achtung!”

  The men all came to attention immediately, as another song came over the loud speakers. I recognized it. It was the “Horst Wessel Song.” The rallying song for the Nazis in the forties. As the music grew louder, I noticed a sound that I’d not heard before. Turbine engines. Flood lights flashed on and illuminated the buildings and the grassy area far from the courtyard. As I looked at the barns and the light I could see that the buildings were artificial. Men in black uniforms ran to the sides of the barns, pulled on levers or chords and the walls of the barns fell to the ground. Behind the fake walls were three large black helicopters. They were starting their engines and the rotors were starting to turn.

  Eidhalt yelled through the microphone, “Men of the Fourth Reich! Join me in my helicopters for a journey. A journey to the past and the future!”

  The assembly broke up and was directed to the helicopters by Eidhalt’s men. We followed. Jedediah and I headed for the first helicopter, a large Super Puma. It held about twenty and it filled up quickly. Jedediah and I sat in the front row on the outside by one of the portholes. Jedediah looked at me with a little bit of concern in his eyes. He spoke loud enough to be heard over the whining jet engines. “Where the hell are we going?”

  “No idea.”

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Well, my former plan is now out the window. Sort of like war, as soon as the fighting starts the plans go to shit.”

  “How are our friends going to track us?”

  “I still have another cell. Only Alex has the number, and it’s on, in my sock. They’ll be able to track us for a while, and know we’ve left.”

  “Hope it works,” Jedediah said.

  Our helicopter was the first to go to full power. I felt the blades take the weight of the helicopter and l
ift us off the ground into the night. We leveled off quickly at a very low altitude, climbed over the wall and turned away from the castle, flying fast. I was disoriented and couldn’t tell which direction we were headed. I could make out the lighted castle through the small window. We might be heading south to Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s old headquarters. I was sure we were off to some historic Nazi location.

  We settled in for the ride, which was aggressive and rough. We turned frequently but I couldn’t tell if it was to avoid things or simply to be unpredictable in our flight path. We flew fast along the ground, maybe at a hundred feet. I was sure all their transponder radar gear was off and the Germans would have to find them by raw radar hits, which was unlikely at this altitude. Jedediah and I settled in for the journey, however long it was going to be. It turned out to be two and a half hours, always low, always fast, always in complete darkness. And flying in formation with two other helicopters that we could see next to us. There were no anti-collision lights—another violation of aviation rules—but enough exterior lighting that the other helicopters could be seen by the pilots. Finally we slowed, then came to a hover. The helicopters spread out, and we all descended slowly. I strained to see below us and could see the glow of lighting, but couldn’t see the ground. We went into a circling pattern and I could see there were three illuminated targets on the ground. A large white center with a second large white ring on the outside.

  We settled and the weight came off the blades. The engines began to quiet, and slowly the blades stopped turning. The doors opened and we were ushered out. We stood and stretched. We stood in an empty field apparently in the middle of nowhere.

  There were circles painted in the grass under each helicopter illuminated by a circle of small spotlights that were outside the rotor arc of each helicopter. I could see that they were buried and anchored into the ground. The pilot got out of the helicopter and came over to the group of men we were standing with. “Won’t be long. We are only here to refuel.”