Shadows of War

by Michael Ridpath

‘I did get it,’ said Theo. ‘I thought about replying, but I didn’t know what to say. Because I didn’t know what to think.’

  ‘About the war?’ Conrad asked.

  ‘About the war. About you. About me.’

  The barman approached, and they ordered pea soup and beer.

  ‘I know what I think,’ said Conrad. ‘Hitler must be stopped. That’s why I joined the army: to stop him.’

  ‘It’s easier for you than me,’ said Theo.

  ‘But you do still think Hitler must be stopped, don’t you?’ asked Conrad. It was an important question. If Theo had changed his mind about that, then Conrad should halt the conversation right there and then.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Theo. ‘But I don’t want to undermine my country in a war. Unlike you, for me those two things clash.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ said Conrad. He had visited Theo’s family seat in the heart of Prussian Pomerania. Theo’s father had been a general, as had his father before him. Patriotism, duty, the obligation to fight for one’s country: all these were bred deep into Theo’s bones, despite the socialist ideals he had professed at Oxford in the early 1930s.

  ‘You’re still in the Abwehr?’ Conrad asked.

  Theo smiled. ‘You know I shouldn’t really answer that question.’

  That was good enough for Conrad.

  The soup came and they began eating. ‘I have dropped everything to come here,’ Theo said. ‘And I’m curious why. What’s an infantry officer doing in Holland? Shouldn’t you be in France?’

  Conrad scanned the café. There was one other customer, an old man reading a newspaper and drinking a small glass of beer. He looked very Dutch. He was also out of earshot, as was the barman.

  ‘Do you know a Captain Schämmel? Of the OKW Transport Division?’

  ‘I’ve never heard of him,’ said Theo. ‘Should I have?’

  Conrad hesitated. Could he trust Theo? Of course he could. Theo knew the names of most of the people who had been involved in the previous year’s conspiracy. One more name wouldn’t make any difference.

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Conrad. ‘He claims he is representing a group of German generals who intend to overthrow Hitler. Soon.’

  Theo nodded. He was thinking. Conrad let him. ‘And you are meeting him? Here in Holland?’

  Now it was Conrad’s turn to hesitate. But he had to trust Theo; he had already taken that decision. ‘Yes.’

  ‘And the British secret service sent you?’

  ‘Sir Robert Vansittart. Chief Diplomatic Adviser. Personally.’

  Van had been aware of the discussions with Theo’s co-conspirators and the British government before the Munich peace conference the year before, and Theo knew that.

  ‘I see.’ Theo studied Conrad. ‘I haven’t heard of this Schämmel. Which is a little strange. I have spent a lot of time in Holland recently.’

  ‘Is there an imminent plot?’

  Theo hesitated. Then he nodded.

  Conrad leaned forward. ‘When?’

  ‘Next week. The fifteenth of November to be precise. If the generals don’t lose their nerve.’

  Conrad felt a surge of excitement. ‘Which generals?’

  ‘Halder. And most of the others from last year.’

  ‘Halder is still Chief of the General Staff?’

  Theo nodded. ‘Hitler intends to launch an offensive through Holland and Belgium next week.’

  ‘Next week?’ Conrad was stunned by what Theo had just told him. The date of a major offensive. In a lot of people’s eyes that would be treachery of the highest order. He glanced at his friend. Theo knew what he was saying.

  ‘That will turn the Sitzkrieg into a real war,’ Theo said. ‘Nineteen fourteen all over again. The generals think the German people won’t like that. So it’s the right time to strike.’

  ‘So by next week Hitler will be overthrown and the war will be over?

  Theo grinned. ‘That’s the plan.’

  It sounded too good to be true.

  ‘Do you think they will go through with it?’ Conrad asked.

  ‘The offensive or the coup?’

  ‘Both,’ said Conrad.

  ‘The Führer seems determined not to be put off from the date of the offensive. As for the coup? Halder has let us down before. He said he would act if Hitler invaded Poland and he didn’t, so I can’t be sure he won’t let us down again. I hope he won’t. I have to believe he won’t.’

  ‘I hope to God he does act this time,’ said Conrad. ‘Does that mean it’s possible Halder could have sent someone to sound out the British government about peace terms if there is a coup?’

  ‘Yes, it’s possible. And I suppose it is possible I wouldn’t know about it. But I can find out.’

  ‘Ask Canaris?’

  Admiral Canaris, the Chief of the Abwehr, had given his behind-the-scenes support to the planned coup. He knew everything.

  Theo avoided answering the question directly. ‘I’ll have to go back to Berlin. I might not get you an answer for a couple of days.’

  ‘That’s all right. I expect there will be a number of meetings to discuss possible peace terms. Schämmel is supposed to be bringing one of the generals he is working for.’

  ‘Do you know who that is?’ asked Theo.

  ‘No. Schämmel hasn’t said yet. Which is understandable.’

  ‘I suppose so.’ Theo narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you going with Major Stevens?’

  ‘Who is Major Stevens?’

  ‘He’s the British Passport Control Officer in the Hague, which means he is in charge of the British secret service in the Netherlands. I know a lot about Major Stevens. In fact I know a lot about everyone who works for him, and the people who work in the British Embassy. Your whole Dutch operation is full of holes. You should be very careful.’ He frowned. ‘You haven’t told them about me, have you?’

  ‘No,’ said Conrad. ‘I haven’t met Major Stevens yet.’

  ‘Good. Best not to mention me at all, and if you do, give me a code name. Say I’m in the Luftwaffe and close to Göring. That should confuse them.’

  ‘You are asking me to confuse my own side?’

  ‘You bet,’ said Theo. ‘Because if you don’t, there is a good chance that my side will find out that I have been talking to you. And the wrong people on my side.’

  ‘I understand,’ said Conrad. ‘But I will pass on what you said about the offensive next week. You know that?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Theo. ‘I know.’ He mopped up the last of his soup with some bread. ‘How’s Anneliese?’

  ‘She’s well,’ said Conrad.

  ‘How’s she settling in to life in London? Do you still see her?’

  Conrad took a spoonful of soup. ‘I do, when I can,’ he said. ‘It’s difficult for the Jewish refugees in London. It’s hard to find a job, although she’s just got something working as a nurse.’

  ‘It’s got to be easier than Berlin,’ said Theo. ‘At least she left before Kristallnacht.’

  Theo was referring to the wholesale beating-up of Jews and smashing of their property twelve months before.

  ‘That’s certainly true.’

  ‘I’m glad you are still seeing her. I admire Anneliese. She’s a strong woman. I’ve come across people who have spent time in the concentration camps; they are not quite the same afterwards.’

  Conrad smiled quickly. ‘It was difficult for her,’ he said.

  Theo caught something in the tone of Conrad’s voice, and looked as if he was about to pursue it, before deciding not to.

  Theo signalled for the bill. ‘Oh, and please give your beautiful sister my regards when you can,’ he said. ‘Once this has all worked out as it should.’

  ‘I will,’ said Conrad. Theo and Millie had met briefly in Germany the previous year and Theo had clearly taken a shine to her. Although Theo had many strengths, the way he treated women wasn’t one of them, so Conrad was quite happy that Theo had only met his sister the once.

  ‘How will we meet
next time?’ Conrad asked.

  ‘There’s a chemistry professor at Leiden University: W. F. Hogendoorn. He’s Dutch, but trustworthy. Leave a message with him, at the university, and he will tell you where and when.’

  ‘W. F. Hogendoorn,’ Conrad repeated. By ‘trustworthy’, Conrad wondered what Theo meant. Trustworthy for the Germans? The Abwehr? Theo? The cause of peace? ‘I hope you are right about the coup.’

  ‘So do I,’ Theo said. ‘So do I.’

  Theo paid the bill and left the café walking up towards the Breestraat. Conrad waited a moment and then turned the other way.

  He was still stunned by what Theo had told him. In a week’s time the Germans would launch an offensive and General Halder would arrest Hitler. Or perhaps kill him. There was hope after all that Europe wouldn’t tear itself apart again.

  Conrad was looking forward to seeing Schämmel. As he had told Theo, he was prepared to fight. But much better if Theo, Schämmel and their friends could topple Hitler and sue for peace at the same time, avoiding the deaths of millions in the process. And Conrad was glad he might get to play his part in it after all.

  His one regret was that he had brushed off Theo’s questioning about Anneliese, or at least not told him the whole truth. Anneliese was not ‘well’. Conrad was worried about her, very worried. He hadn’t spoken to anyone about her, but Theo was an old friend. At Oxford they had shared their feelings about everything. And Theo actually knew Anneliese, and how important she was to Conrad. Perhaps he could help; perhaps Conrad should have let him help.

  As he reached the end of the Diefsteeg, Conrad realized he was heading the wrong way for the station and turned on his heel. A man was walking alone down the lane towards Conrad, hands in his coat pockets, hat tilted down over his eyes. He looked Dutch, nondescript, forty perhaps, but there was something about his nose – a little long, an upward tilt at the end – that Conrad recognized. Conrad was pretty sure that he had passed the man leaving the lobby of the Hotel Levedag an hour before.

  Despite all Theo’s precautions, it looked as if someone had spotted Theo talking to Conrad after all.

  Who was it? Conrad wondered.

  7

  Berlin, 8 November

  ‘Ah, come in, Hertenberg. Sit down.’

  ‘Thank you, excellency,’ said Theo as he took a seat in front of the admiral’s desk.

  Admiral Canaris’s office was on the top floor of the Abwehr building on the Tirpitzufer in Berlin, overlooking the chestnut trees lining the Landwehr Canal. The admiral was a small, neat man with light blue eyes and fine white hair. He was stroking a rough-haired dachshund nestled with its eyes closed on his lap. With him was Colonel Oster, a debonair cavalry officer and the man who had recruited Theo into the Abwehr. As a trainee lawyer, Theo had been introduced to Oster by his father, under whom Colonel Oster had served. Paradoxically for a former pacifist, the Wehrmacht and the Abwehr had seemed to Theo a good alternative to joining the Nazi Party, which Theo would have had to do if he wanted to pass his final assessor’s exams. Officers in the Wehrmacht were still not required to become Party members.

  Despite Canaris’s rank, Theo felt at ease. The Abwehr was a haven of safety in a very dangerous Reich. Canaris led by example: he felt spying was the preserve of gentlemen, and honour and duty were more important than ideology. He looked after his own, and Theo was very much one of his own.

  ‘What brings you to Berlin in such a hurry?’ Canaris asked.

  ‘A couple of things, excellency,’ Theo began. ‘I saw de Lancey yesterday.’

  ‘Ah, de Lancey,’ Canaris smiled. ‘I wondered when he would pop up again. I take it he is with the British secret service now?’

  ‘Not directly, I think. He said he was sent to Holland by Sir Robert Vansittart of the British Foreign Office. To meet a man called Captain Schämmel of the OKW’s Transport Division. Schämmel is supposed to be representing leaders of a plot to overthrow Hitler. I’ve never heard of him.’

  ‘Neither have I,’ said Canaris. ‘Tell me what you know about him.’

  Theo related all that Conrad had told him about Schämmel and his generals.

  Canaris listened closely. ‘And de Lancey didn’t say which general this Schämmel was representing?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘What do you think, Hans? Have you heard of this person?’

  Colonel Oster shook his head. ‘Could he be one of Göring’s men?’

  ‘Possible,’ said Canaris. ‘I doubt it myself, but you never know.’

  The senior echelons of the Nazi Party were by no means united; it was Hitler’s deliberate strategy to keep them rivals. Himmler’s SS, Heydrich’s Gestapo, and Göring’s little empire comprising the Luftwaffe and the Prussian Interior Ministry were all separate power blocks. Then there were the lesser Nazis like Ribbentrop and his Foreign Ministry, Goebbels’s Propaganda Ministry, Rudolf Hess and Alfred Rosenberg. The stormtroopers of the SA, once a force to be reckoned with, had been neutralized by Himmler in the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ back in 1934. Outside the Nazi Party were Canaris and the Abwehr, Schacht and the Finance Ministry, Admiral Raeder’s navy and, perhaps most powerful of all, the army led by Generals von Brauchitsch and Halder.

  The conspiracy that Canaris, Oster and Theo had been involved in encompassed the army and Schacht, as well as one or two other politicians and some elements of the police. Göring was certainly not one of this group, but he was ambitious and powerful, and perhaps the most likely of Hitler’s friends to make a move against him.

  ‘Or it could be a trap,’ said Canaris.

  ‘A trap?’ said Oster. ‘Set by whom?’

  ‘The Gestapo,’ said Canaris. ‘We know they suspect something. They could be trying tease out from the British who among us has been talking to them.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘It’s what I would do. And it’s the kind of idea Heydrich would love.’

  Theo was yet again impressed by the subtlety of his chief’s thought process. Not for him the simple giving and taking of orders. The admiral’s escapades in the last war when, as an intelligence officer aboard the Dresden in the South Atlantic, he had used bluff and double bluff to stay one step ahead of the Royal Navy, were legendary. A model of the ship stood on his desk.

  ‘I know there have been some Gestapo agents operating in Holland,’ Theo said. ‘Mörz, for one.’

  ‘I’ll talk to Schellenberg, see if he knows anything.’ Canaris and the new young head of the foreign-intelligence section of the Gestapo were neighbours in the Berlin suburb of Schlachtensee, and occasionally rode together in the Tiergarten. Although Canaris held the Gestapo in contempt, he had some respect for Schellenberg. Theo had never met Schellenberg and found the Gestapo’s efforts at spying frustrating.

  ‘If it is a trap, we don’t want de Lancey caught in it,’ said Oster. ‘He knows too much about us.’

  ‘De Lancey won’t talk,’ Theo said. ‘I mean, he will talk, but not about us. He has outwitted the Gestapo before.’

  ‘That’s true,’ said the admiral. ‘But we don’t want to rely on anyone keeping quiet once Heydrich has his hands on them. Warn de Lancey to be careful, Theo, until we are sure who exactly this Schämmel is.’

  ‘Certainly, your excellency.’

  ‘And the other matter?’

  ‘I have been having some very interesting conversations with Mr Bedaux...’

  After the meeting, Theo followed Oster to his office.

  ‘Do you think Halder really will move on the fifteenth?’ Theo asked the colonel.

  ‘He’s trying to persuade Hitler that the weather will be too bad to launch an offensive,’ Oster said. ‘But Hitler won’t listen.’

  ‘So the coup will go ahead?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Oster. ‘I mean, if Halder really wanted to overthrow Hitler he would be urging that Case Yellow would go ahead.’ Case Yellow was the general staff’s plan to invade the Low Countries and attack France from the north. ‘That’s what we were all hoping for last year.’<
br />
  It was true. Theo remembered how the conspirators had prayed for Hitler to order the invasion of Czechoslovakia so they could launch their coup. When he had called it off at the last minute in response to Chamberlain’s peace overtures, they had all been devastated.

  ‘It’s more difficult now we are at war,’ Theo said.

  ‘It is,’ said Oster. ‘You know, Theo, strictly between us, in my view it would be a disaster for our country if France was knocked out of the war.’

  Theo trusted his superior. Oster was the driving force behind the conspiracy. Canaris left Oster, and through him Theo, to do the organizing. Canaris was careful to preserve the delicate balance of loyalty to the Fatherland and willingness to overthrow its leader. Oster had fewer qualms.

  Theo nodded. ‘I understand, Colonel.’ He also understood how Oster’s words would be seen as treason, not just by the Nazis, but by most German officers and by Admiral Canaris himself.

  Theo had intended to tell no one what he had told Conrad. But somehow telling Oster made what Theo had done less treasonable. Like Theo, Oster believed that the most important thing for Germany, the only thing for Germany, was to get rid of Hitler by any possible means.

  ‘I gave de Lancey the date of Case Yellow,’ Theo said.

  Oster looked at Theo gravely. And then a smile spread across his face. ‘And I told the Dutch military attaché last night that we would be invading his country next week. But let’s keep this to ourselves, eh, Theo? And now, isn’t it about time you went back to Holland?’

  8

  Munich

  Fräulein Peters stared down at the Bavarian countryside flickering beneath the clouds below her and marvelled at her good fortune. It was her first time in an aeroplane and it ranked as one of the most exciting days of her twenty years. Not only was she a thousand metres up in the sky, but she was there with the Führer! Six months before, she would never have believed it. Then she had been transferred to the Reich Chancellery secretariat, and for the last three weeks she had been working for the Führer himself.

  Fräulein Peters was doing a good job; she was an efficient and competent secretary, quick thinking and able to see one step ahead. The only trouble was her nerves. On those occasions when the Führer spoke to her directly, she could sense herself blushing. She could almost feel her tongue swelling in her mouth and she was sure that at some point soon she would garble her words and make a fool of herself. Fortunately, the Führer seemed to enjoy her blushes. She had blond hair, blue eyes and a very clear complexion. She was, she knew, a true German, and she was proud of it.