Churchill's White Rabbit

by Sophie Jackson

  Forest set his mind to not only contacting Dr Schuler, but getting him to help them. Schuler had adopted the name Ding in the camp for no obvious reason. He was a pleasant-looking young man with dark hair and eyes. He had a boyish set to his face and looked decidedly too friendly to be the sort of person to happily inject a patient with typhus. Unlike some of the tougher-looking guards there was something about Ding that suggested he might be open to manipulation. At least, that was what Forest hoped.

  But getting to him was a challenge in itself. The best option was to work through Arthur Dietzech, who served as Ding’s assistant and was as heavily implicated in the evil experiments as his master. He had certainly never refused an order, no matter how unpleasant. The communists had had a similar idea, but had failed to arouse Dietzech’s interest, and he had flatly refused to help them. Though this was not encouraging, Forest felt that the changing war situation might be the key to securing Dietzech’s help. Every day there was more news that the Allies had returned, were storming through France and would soon be in Germany. It would only be a matter of time before Buchenwald was liberated and the Nazis were scared. Any German caught inside the camp who could not prove himself a genuine prisoner would be liable to a war crimes tribunal and Ding, with his diabolical experiments, could hardly expect anything other than a long drop on a short rope. His assistant Dietzech was equally in danger.

  If Forest couldn’t appeal to their humanity, he would appeal to their sense of self-preservation. It felt like being back in SOE headquarters as Forest tried to negotiate a way to Ding. It began with Burney, who put him in touch with a man called Balachowski. In turn Balachowski put him in touch with two German prisoners: Eugen Kogon and Heinz Baumeister (‘quite first class men’).4 Out of these Kogon proved the most useful as he was secretary to Ding and happy to help. He also had seen large numbers of papers detailing the appalling deeds of the doctor that could be used for blackmail.

  During the course of his secretarial duties Kogon worked on inducing paranoia in Ding. It wasn’t hard as daily news arrived that the Americans were drawing near and that Germany was suddenly fighting a defensive war. Many SS men were now trying to think how they could cover their backs and survive what was to come. With gentle prodding it wasn’t long before Ding came up with the idea one day that perhaps if he was to help a couple of prisoners escape it would be his insurance for the day the Allies knocked on the gate.

  The news that Ding was slowly cracking could not have come at a better moment. Things within the camp were taking a nasty turn. A further 168 Allied airmen had been martialled into the camp three days after Forest had arrived; they should have been in a POW camp but the SS had manoeuvred around this by accusing them of being ‘terror fliers’ – airborne terrorists – and they were not to be treated as genuine prisoners of war.

  Their lives were quickly made unbearable at the camp. Many of the men had to sleep outside and developed pneumonia and pleurisy. When an Allied air raid destroyed the factory attached to the camp, killing 300 prisoners and eighty SS men, the situation only got worse for the POWs.

  They were fortunate that Burney was actively working to save them and managed to smuggle a message to a nearby Luftwaffe station about their situation. The Luftwaffe immediately saw to it that the airmen were transplanted into their care, except for eleven men who were too sick to be moved.

  It was a lucky break but it worried Forest that if genuine airmen could be treated so badly what would happen to him and his fellow SOE men?

  Then in the early afternoon of 9 September the usual roll call began. Forest and his colleagues had been ordered not to attend so it was a surprise when, over the speakers, a supplementary order came that sixteen men from Forest’s little group were to attend. Among the names was that of young Pickersgill and Desmond Hubble.

  No one was particularly concerned about the summons; it just seemed like another of the random things the SS thought up. Perhaps they wanted to check for escapees. While Hubble made sure that Forest looked after his chess set during his absence, he was not worried that he wouldn’t be back. Henri Peulevé later commented that he was under the ‘assumption that if the SS had wanted them dead they would have killed them in France.’5

  Even so, as Forest stood with a few others to watch the men off he noticed the bleak expression on the face of the prisoner who controlled their block and heard him mumble that ‘it was a bad business’. Forest was alarmed and exchanged glances with Peulevé and the others, but it was quietly agreed that they would not say anything to the others to upset them unnecessarily.

  When night came there was no sign of the sixteen and Forest feared the worst. He quietly hid Hubble’s chess set with his belongings, doubting there would ever be any future camp tournaments.

  The next morning a Polish prisoner brought news that the sixteen had been badly beaten but were still alive and others reported they had been seen exercising outside, but it didn’t appease Forest’s suspicions. The SS rarely did things without sinister motives and he wasn’t convinced they had removed the men so carefully simply to beat them. They preferred such punishment to be public.

  The following day Forest’s fears were confirmed when the Polish prisoner returned to them again, this time looking particularly gloomy. A fellow prisoner had reported seeing the bodies of all sixteen, it appeared they had been executed the previous night. Panic swept through the group, but some tried to remain hopeful, after all it was just a rumour. Forest, however, was inclined to believe the story, it sounded far too similar to others he had heard.

  Later, Balachowski appeared with the full story. After going to the roll call the sixteen men had been removed to another building where they were savagely beaten and then hung from meat hooks in the ceiling. This was around 5.30 p.m. and the process of slow strangulation from the hangings had taken at least 5–10 minutes. It was a popular method of execution among the Nazis and some of the conspirators in the plot to assassinate Hitler had died in a similar method. The bodies had been passed on to the crematorium, where the Polish informer had seen them. Balachowski was distraught to have to tell them the news, not least because they now had an idea of their own fates. Or at least some did.

  ‘So these sixteen were condemned, then perhaps we are not, because if we are, why haven’t they taken us too?’ asked some, but Forest did not share their optimism.

  Balachowski was still willing to help and arranged for Forest and Peulevé to hide in one of the camp laboratories for a while so they could write letters undisturbed. Forest was quite convinced that these would be his last messages and expressed as much in his notes. They were the bleakest he had written during his entire confinement:

  These are ‘famous last words’ I am afraid, but one has to face death one day or another so I will not moan and get down to brass tacks.

  I will not attempt to make a report on my journey, except to say that up to the very moment of my arrest it had been a success and I had got things cracking and woken up a number of slumberers (sic). I was quite pleased with things – I took every precaution and neglected nothing – my capture was due to one of those incidents one cannot provide for – I had so much work that I was overwhelmed so I asked PIC to provide me with a sure dependable agent de liaison, and he gave me a young chap called Guy whom I renamed Antonin. He worked for me for a week, and then he got caught; how I do not know, but in any case, he had an appointment with me at 11am on Tuesday 21st March by the metro Passy and brought the gestapo with him. He was obviously unable to withstand bullying and very quickly gave in to questioning. I was caught coming around a corner and had not an earthly chance, being collared and handcuffed before I could say ‘knife’. I was badly beaten up in the car on the way to gestapo HQ, arriving there with a twisted nose and a head about twice its normal size. I was then subjected to 4 days’ continuous grilling, being beaten up and also being put into a bath of icy cold water, legs and arms chained, and held head downwards underwater until almost drowned, then pulled out
and asked if I had anything to say. This I underwent six times – but I managed to hold out and gave nothing away. Not a single arrest was made as a sequel to my capture. The only trouble was that the party who was lodging me got arrested and will have to be compensated for losing liberty and home. The name is Mlle Sandoe…

  I was interrogated for about 2 months, but dodged everything – I was offered freedom if I would hand over Bingen – some hopes – I nearly lost my left arm as a result of the tortures, as I got blood poisoning through my wrist being cut to the bone by chains and remaining unattended with handcuffs biting into the wound for about 6 days. Apart from that I was kept in solitary confinement for 4 months at Fresnes…

  I was pretty weak when I came out, had lost about 21/2 stone in weight. I was sent to Compiegne on July 17th, whilst there recuperated a bit and had arranged an escape together with a chap well-known to … BCRA, whose name is Roberty – and got sent to Weimar on the eve of escaping. Roberty succeeded. Bad luck for me. The journey here [Buchenwald] was an eventful one, it took 8 days.

  We had to stop at Saarbrucken for 3 days in a punishment and reprisals camp, and were beaten up on arrival – as usual I seemed to attract particular attention and was well and truly slapped and cuffed. We were confined for 3 days and nights, 37 of us in a hut 9 feet by 7 feet by 7 feet. It was Hell. We then came on to this place Buchenwald – on the way our escorts plundered and stole practically all our affects. Never believe a word about German honesty, they are the biggest thieves, liars, bullies and cowards I have ever met. In addition they delight in torturing people and gloat over it.

  Men die like flies here – I sent a message to you thru (sic) Geneva. I hope you received it, but have no means of telling. The bearer of this message will give you all the details so I will not say more – whatever he tells you is Gospel truth, he is no romancer, and he will never be able to really do justice to the horrors perpetrated here. For God’s sake Dizzy [Lt Col Dismore], see to it that our people never let themselves be softened towards the German people, or there will be another war in 15 years’ time and all our lives will have been sacrificed in vain. I leave it to you and others to see that retribution is fierce, it will never be fierce enough.6

  Forest also made it clear that there was a great deal of material on bacterial warfare and other research held at the camp that should be seized at all costs. While Forest pitied those who had been subject to the tests it seemed illogical to let the material collected be wasted. He signed off sadly, but for the most part he felt numb to the terror that should have been gripping him.

  ‘I seemed to have lost all feeling and become a machine’ he commented later. ‘I had no fear of death in any shape or form, and I felt absolutely no apprehension. Never during those days did I worry for myself; it was not a matter of courage, I just cannot explain it.’7

  It was in this atmosphere that the Ding plan progressed.

  Kogon had been working steadily on his boss, and when Ding had come to the conclusion that he must help some prisoners his secretary was quick with suggestions.

  ‘What about men from block 17?’ (Forest’s group).

  ‘Perhaps, but it could only be a maximum of three, any more and it would look suspicious.’

  Ding had other concerns: ‘And what about Dietzech? They would need to go into block 46 where he is kapo.’

  ‘I am sure we can find a way to persuade Dietzech to cooperate,’ Kogon said, but in fact he feared that the thuggish Arthur Dietzech might be their biggest stumbling block.

  Dietzech was certainly not an easy character to deal with. He might have been a prisoner but that was all that divided him from the Nazis who guarded and ran the camp. He was ruthless and even cruel, had no compunction about doing anything to the guinea-pig prisoners who came before him and tolerated no disobedience or nuisance. If the communists could not illicit his help then Kogon would have to be extra cunning. Fortunately in his duties for Ding he had also gathered quite a bit of evidence on Dietzech and now he moved to blackmailing his second victim.

  Dietzech might be a thug but he was not stupid. He recognised that he would not escape a criminal court should he fall into Allied hands and, unlike the SS men who could flee the camp if they needed to, he did not have that option. So when Kogon suggested a way to mitigate the damage his work at Buchenwald had caused he was curious enough to listen.

  ‘We’ll have the three prisoners sign papers before you help them as evidence of how good you were to them. That will go a long way with the Allied authorities.’ Kogon explained.

  ‘And the credit will go all to me? I don’t want anyone sharing it and reducing its impact.’

  ‘Of course, the papers will say you helped them entirely on your own.’

  It was a necessary deception to get Dietzech on board, but from now on it was imperative that no one mentioned Ding’s role in the escape lest the kapo went back on his word.

  Kogon returned to Forest with this news, but he was not happy. He had wanted all twenty-one remaining men saved, not just three.

  ‘Ding will only agree to three and that is better than nothing. He also insists you must be one of them as the commanding officer, because your evidence has the most weight.’

  Forest was distressed. He had already given up on his own escape, he still wanted freedom of course, but he would not put his life before others. If he had to choose three to live he certainly wouldn’t have put himself among them, but now he had no choice. If he argued too much he would ruin everything for the other two men he could save. It was a terrible dilemma, yet Forest had to agree.

  The next few days were agonising as he made his decisions about who to take with him in isolation and secrecy. Revealing the plan could result in dreadful despondency among those who were not going, so he plotted alone. His final decision was to take Peulevé and the young Hessel from BCRA. Forest never gave a deep explanation for why he picked these men over the others, in many respects perhaps he could not define the reasons for himself. In the heavy camp atmosphere, decisions were never easy or entirely logical.

  Even after his decision was made Forest dared not mention it to the two chosen until the plan came to fruition. He was also still uncertain whether he could trust Dietzech and decided he would have to be a sacrificial victim to test the man’s reliability. With everything settled, one day Forest was smuggled to Dietzech who gave him an injection to induce the symptoms of typhus. Forest quietly returned to his hut and waited for his symptoms to develop. It was only now that Forest pulled Hessel and Peulevé aside and told them the gist of the plan. They were to remain silent, tell no one and wait for further instructions from Balachowski.

  That night Forest descended into a prickly fever and, in the morning, reported to the block commander, asking to go see the camp doctor. Typhus was a deadly fear within the camp and the block commander was all too keen to get Forest out of his domain and sent him to the camp hospital where, as arranged, Dietzech was waiting to diagnose him with typhus and have him transferred to the guinea-pig block, 46.

  The fever lasted three long days and there was no doubt that at times Forest wondered if Dietzech had proved treacherous. Then on the third day he began to improve and as the effects of fever left him he sent word to Kogon to fetch Peulevé and Hessel.

  On 19 September, ten days after the deaths of Hubble, Pickersgill and the others, Dietzech appeared at block 17 looking for guinea pigs for his experiments. It was not uncommon for Dietzech to seek out healthy victims without SS knowledge and no one thought much about it when Peulevé and Hessel were unceremoniously selected. Their colleagues miserably wished them farewell, while Peulevé and Hessel had to control their emotions and not reveal that it was actually those they were leaving behind who were in the greatest danger.

  Dietzech marched them through the barbed-wire cordon and into block 46 with no hint of sympathy for the conspirators. It must have been a hair-raising moment as Peulevé and Hessel wondered if they were going to meet Forest or an SS welcomin
g committee. It would have been so easy to be betrayed, but Dietzech had a lot riding on the plan and kept his side of the bargain.

  Forest was waiting for them in a room on the first floor. There were two other occupants who had been initiated into the conspiracy: English-speaking orderlies who had sworn to keep the secret. The room was luxury compared to the huts. There were four individual beds for the men (as opposed to one bunk per two men in their prison accommodation) and the room was divided in two by a line of cupboards. Windows looked out onto the camp and for the first time in many months the men felt relief and a fragile sense of safety. Forest was elated to see them and now hoped for their plan to move forward.

  The next step to ensure their escape from instant execution was to use Ding to swap their identities with typhus patients, thus faking their deaths. Then they would work on actually getting out of the camp. But as Forest well knew, nothing was ever that simple.

  With no new executions being ordered for block 17 Dietzech and Ding started to relax and believed they had plenty of time to arrange for the swap. Their newest ‘patients’ were safely housed in the hospital room above the wards. No SS guards would dare risk passing the typhus-ridden patients to inspect the room and the three men were even kept busy filling in hospital paperwork. Yet Forest was anxious they should be moving as fast as they possibly could.

  A few days after the arrival of the escapees a group of ailing labourers arrived from a work camp in Cologne where there had been a bad typhus outbreak. They were all French and Hessel had the grisly task of interviewing them and assessing which would make suitable candidates for an identity switch. It was not a pleasant chore, but when he was done and could talk with his comrades it was decided that three men – Michel Boitel, Maurice Chouquet and Marcel Seigneur – would prove ideal matches. Now all they had to do was wait until the men died.