“We were told by the hotel management that they expect us to leave within thirty days,” Walker responded, with barely contained anger. “We are American citizens and will not accept shabby treatment. I want you to arrange for us to fly back to the United States as soon as possible!” Walker glared at the official, who smiled pleasantly back.
“I completely understand your distress, but I don’t know what to say. We are working on long-term solutions and will let you know when we have anything new.” The bureaucrat was finished and expected the Reverend to leave.
But Walker couldn’t give up. “What do you mean ‘long-term’? We have no desire to stay here indefinitely!”
The Israeli official was losing his patience. “Sir, there are no commercial flights from Israel to anywhere. You heard the announcement! There’s a war going on in Europe. And even if you did manage to fly safely to the U.S., where would you go, what would you do? No one in the country knows any of you: your homes aren’t there.
“Look,” he said, seeing Walker’s growing panic and sympathizing, “there’s no way right now to get you back to where you came from. The only thing to do is to try and take care of your group here, now. In every other place it’s 1941.
I can assure you that you will not be thrown out on the street. Your people will be treated well, but we are still working out the details, so please be patient.”
Walker walked slowly back to the hotel where he assembled his group in a conference room. They looked good, rested and fresh, unlike their pastor. They did not seem worried; they trusted him.
“We cannot go back to the U.S. as planned,” the Reverend announced quietly, “which isn’t so bad if you consider the circumstances. Right now there’s nowhere else in the world offering the kind of conveniences we take for granted, like being able to consult a doctor who’s heard of the medicines we take. The Israeli government has promised to provide us with the services and accommodations we need. So, as long as we’re stuck here, think about what we’d find in America now and give thanks.”
The group obediently bowed their heads. But it wasn’t long before their prayers gave way to a loud discussion. Apparently not everyone felt thankful.
***
Gad Yaari was finishing his report to the negotiating Committee. Unsurprisingly, the Nazis had not heeded the warnings about harming the Jews. According to radio intercepts several ‘actions’ were planned, the first to take place in Lutsk, Ukraine – just like in the old time-line. Yaari recommended caution, since the Nazis did seem to be complying with some of the demands. Radioed orders seemed to indicate that Jews were not treated as brutally as in the original time-line. The radio intercepts also talked about Eichmann and a bunch of other experts preparing to go to Italy to survey sites for transfer camps in the area designated by the Caliph.
“The German ambassador in Rome was instructed to start negotiating with the Italian government to establish transit camps for Jews on its territory,” he reported.
“So do we go ahead as planned if they start killing Jews?” Amos Nir asked.
Mina Katz, a psychologist and experienced hostage negotiator, leaned back in her chair and offered her opinion: “These people are psychopaths. We predicted they’d accept the caliph idea since it fits their warped view of the world. Basically, they bought it. They did not however accept the idea that our Caliph is as dangerous or determined as they are. A strong reaction to their noncompliance is likely to persuade the Nazis that they can’t afford to play games. I recommend that we continue according to plan.”
Almost everyone in the room had lost family to the Holocaust. All of them, even the few who had no relatives in Europe at this time, had learned in childhood how important it was to never again let Jews be slaughtered. There could be no compromise with the Nazis.
“We need to approve a target then,” Amos Nir stated. “The destruction has to be very painful. The way I see it, we have to destroy a large area in order to demonstrate the Caliph’s power.
“At the same time, the strategic balance in the war has to be preserved. We’re helping the Nazi war effort by making them treat the Jews humanely instead of making a huge investment in the machinery of extermination. We estimate that that alone will prolong the war by another year. After all, tens of thousands of troops can now be sent to fight the Soviets, including construction groups freed to build fortifications instead of concentration camps. Plus huge amounts of ammunition, railway rolling stock, fuel and industrial effort newly made available. Most historians believe the Germans would have won their war against the Soviets, or at least captured Moscow, if they hadn’t been diverting so many resources to kill Jews. We must compensate; otherwise we’ll have to intervene directly.”
The negotiating committee discussed available options for another hour. When a decision was made, the Chief of General Staff gave his orders to the Commanding General of the Air Force.
***
It was almost dark by the time the Bristol Blenheim carrying Avigdor Mizrahi landed in London. He was stiff, tired, and hungry. The cheerfulness of the British pilots annoyed him. A fresh crew had come aboard in Gibraltar who knew nothing about either Mizrahi or his mission. They were the second new crew, with the first exchange having been made in Malta. It seemed that Churchill abided by the Israelis’ request to keep the whole affair secret. At the moment Mizrahi didn’t care. All he wanted was a hot shower, a meal, a bed.
A car with its lights almost invisible due to the blackout was waiting by the aircraft when they finally stopped taxiing, at a remote corner of the airport. There were no discernible potholes in the landing strip, though Mizrahi knew it had been bombed only a couple of days before.
The driver got out and opened the rear door. The Israeli had the heavy briefcase with him and watched as the rest of his luggage was taken off the bomber and put in the trunk. Nothing more to do but get comfortable in the back of the limousine, where he quickly fell asleep.
It was completely dark when they stopped in front of an open door. The driver ushered him inside and closed the door behind them. When the light came on, Mizrahi was surprised by the size of the entrance hall. The house appeared to be big, well-furnished and comfortable. He looked forward to exploring it sometime, when he wasn’t so tired.
***
Several hours earlier, Hitler had been listening to Fritz Todt, the Third Reich’s armaments minister: “Mein Fuehrer, I have no idea what happened. According to eyewitnesses from the surrounding villages, at approximately six in the afternoon the sun descended on Wolfsburg. I do not give much credit to peasants’ tales, but some of the observers were trained anti-aircraft officers from batteries around the town. I saw them myself - severely burned, some blind. They describe a flash brighter than the sun directly over the Volkswagen plant. We found pieces of the steel structures and machinery, but essentially the plant and town are gone, flattened and burned.”
Goering, Himmler and Goebbels listened along with Hitler. Everyone sat quietly, stunned and sobered.
“Mein Fuehrer,” continued Todt, “we don’t have spare capacity at any other plant to produce vehicles. Volkswagen also made spare parts and assemblies for other manufacturers. I am working on solutions, but as of now we’ve found no industrial replacement and I’m afraid our war effort will suffer.”
“How many people did we lose?” asked Hitler.
“Our best estimate is about seventeen thousand, trained workers and their families. Also some slaves.”
The intercom buzzed. “Yes,” Hitler said quietly.
“A message from the General staff radio room. Personal and confidential for you, sir.”
Hitler had the message brought in and read it. Throwing it on his desk, he told Goebbels to read it aloud.
To: The glorious Fuehrer of victorious Germany
From: The Great Caliph, may Allah cherish and preserve him forever
My dear brother:
I regret the destruction of Wolfsburg. My heart bleeds for all the good
Aryans that had to die. If you had followed my instructions, we would not have caused this terrible loss of life and property.
You must stop killing Jews. You already deprived us of more than 300 from Lutsk. No more. You must give them to us unharmed and happy or accept Allah’s terrible retribution again.
I extend my friendship to you, dear Fuehrer, and remain,
Your sincere friend and admirer,
The Great and Merciful Caliph, may Allah cherish Him forever
“This was not a pre-positioned bomb, Goering.” Hitler sounded hysterical as he paced back and forth. “This was some kind of hellish device that came from the air. Where was the Luftwaffe? Why didn’t you do anything to protect Wolfsburg?”
Goering made a dismissive gesture, as if pushing the responsibility away. “I have no idea where this bomb came from – No one at the anti-aircraft batteries saw anything. We debriefed them thoroughly. They claim that there was no aircraft to be seen or heard anywhere in the area.”
Goebbels thoughtfully studied the message: “We need to make an announcement. An industrial accident or sabotage - What will it be? Personally, I am for an accident - We don’t want to give saboteurs that much credit.” The remark seemed to calm everybody down: There was something familiar to discuss and decide, even in this weird situation. An accident it would be. Goebbels had a keen sense for propaganda and the others trusted him in this matter. Silence followed the decision.
Todd was the first to speak: “We can ill afford the loss of another industrial city. Is there a way we could go on killing Jews and not risk retaliation?”
“This Caliph doesn’t seem to be rational. He sounds like a religious fanatic that will not stop until he gets what he wants,” said Goebbels “And he has the advantage of having a weapon we can’t counter or defend against.”
Himmler said: “I suggest we postpone the planned actions. We have a big one planned for tomorrow in Kaunas, Lithuania, plus some smaller ones in other places. The Romanians are also active and I don’t know who else. Before we go on, we need to identify who are the spies that give this Caliph information. We can resume our plans as soon as we fix the leaks.”
“My dear Heinrich,” Hitler’s voice was sarcastic and venomous, “are you proposing that we make the Jews safe and happy, just like this maniac proposes?”
“Mein Fuehrer,” Goering hesitated for a second, “of course getting rid of the Jews is worth a city or two, but why lose anything at all? If we do as the Caliph asks, we get rid of the Jew infestation with very little effort. They won’t be happy for long - they’ll be gone. This Caliph seems to be fanatical on the subject of Jews. Why not let him do the work for us. We will have all the resources freed for the war effort and this fanatic will do a good job on the Jews. He certainly seems to have the ability and will for this.”
Herman Goering sat very quietly now. He gambled on Hitler’s admiration for the First World War ace and commander of the Red Baron’s squadron he had been. He needed to draw attention away from the air force’s failures guarding against this Caliph. It was unlikely that Hitler would shoot him on the spot. On the other hand, if the Fuehrer was swayed by his argument, he truly became the second most powerful man in Germany and therefore the world. Himmler would never again be a threat or even an irritation.
“You are very audacious, my dear Herman, but there may be some truth to your argument.” Goering could breathe again.
It took hours to hammer out a plan of action. The first step was for Goebbels to write a letter to the Great Caliph:
From: The Great Leader of Germany
To: The Great Caliph
My dear friend:
It was absolutely unnecessary for you to destroy a German city. I am in full agreement about the fate of the Jews. They will be transferred to you in as good a condition as possible. I cannot promise that absolutely no Jews will be harmed in the process, especially since my allies are not as well organized and may not respond readily to your demands.
Nevertheless, I will do my best to ensure they follow your instructions. You can be assured that any deviations from your demands will be solely due to their failures, for which you should, of course, hold them responsible.
I trust that no more unfortunate incidents will mar our excellent relationship.
Your partner in this great mission,
The Fuehrer of Great Germany
The letter was approved and immediately radioed on the frequency and code designated by the Caliph. A promising response came while they were still considering the orders and actions to be taken.
From The Great Caliph, may Allah cherish Him forever.
To: The Fuehrer of Great Germany
Dear Brother,
I am certain there will be no more incidents between our great nations. We will be reasonable regarding unintentional accidents. Please emphasize to your allies that their punishment for disobedience will be very severe as they are not pure Aryans and deserve no consideration.
We expect all newspapers and radio stations to immediately instruct the populations in Germany, your conquered territories and the territories of your allies to treat Jews well, promising the usual reprisals if they do not.
Looking forward to putting Jews on ships, with your cooperation, I remain
Your admiring friend,
The Great Caliph may Allah smile on his fortunes forever
***
Amos Nir was hosting a number of Knesset members for a Q&A session. The Prime Minister preferred these discussions to a full debate in parliament. It was easier to quell opposition and explain things to a small group than before the full Knesset.
The attendees were briefed, as he was doing for all the members of parliament, on the first use of nuclear weapons by Israel. Some of them were extremely unhappy and not shy about expressing it. A member who was also the leader of a human rights organization had told him, “Prime Minister, you can’t continue with your barbaric policies. We will not be a party to Israel murdering tens of thousands of innocent civilians. This behavior is not fit for civilized people and absolutely unacceptable to us as Jews. Your actions put us on a level with the Nazis, and I cannot possibly condone this!”
Amos looked at the group in front of him. Judging by their reactions, many of them agreed that the bombing of Wolfsburg was “un-Jewish”. It was his belief that their attitude was self-defeating, extremely dangerous, and demonstrated a serious defect in their understanding of Jewish values.
“I will respond first to the claim that we killed innocent civilians,” Amos Nir began. “This is a fallacy based on the assumption that the German civilian population is neutral in this conflict. I don’t think it is. They’re enthusiastically making weapons, growing food and generally are doing all they can to support their state and its policies. It is immaterial whether they do this voluntarily or not: as long as the Nazi state is supported by its population, that population is a legitimate target.”
He paused to allow some of the group to indicate disagreement.
“Let me ask you a question,” Amos continued. ”If enemy planes are attacking us, do we limit ourselves to just destroying the aircraft overhead or is it legitimate for us to go after their airfields?”
“Yes, but this is irrelevant,” the human rights advocate asserted. “We are talking about civilians here.”
“So you agree that we can attack the airfields,” Amos continued. “If so, then why not attack the factories that make those planes?”
“That’s legitimate,” was the response, “but not killing people in their homes.”
“So you are saying that we can kill them at work but not at home, or we can kill them as long as they are in uniform, but not if they take it off?”
“Exactly,” responded the Knesset member smugly.
“In that case, we can’t touch any of the millions of Nazi party members or the Gestapo or any of the other functionaries who are the foundation of this regime - just because they don’t wear uniforms. I hope you
see that what you are saying amounts to fighting the army but leaving its supporting infrastructure and political leadership in peace. That’s a very cruel policy - the war will go on indefinitely with huge numbers of people killed, after they don uniforms, of course.
“And let’s not forget that in the current situation such a policy will lead to the extermination of millions of Jews and others who truly are innocent.”
Amos sensed a change in mood, though his opponent still seemed dubious. “We made this mistake with the Arabs. In my opinion, we would have had peace with them years ago if we had behaved toward them along the lines of our actions towards the Nazis. Our strategy only prolonged the conflict and cost many more lives than it should have. I repeat: we will regard any civilian population helping and abetting our enemy as being the enemy - and treat it as such. No one is innocent or immune to violence in a war. This was the strategy the Allies used against Germany in this war and it worked.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying!” his opponent cried. “Your statement justifies terrorism – It’s just what the Arabs have always said! Are you saying they were right?”
“Certainly! The terrorist were, and still are, attacking our population. This population supports the state by serving in its armed forces, working in its factories and otherwise participating in making it stronger. As far as I'm concerned this is a legitimate application of force. But don’t forget that this argument cuts both ways: we are justified to attack the civilians who enable the terrorists to act by sheltering them, providing them with materiel and moral support and allowing them to disappear into their crowds. To give you a simple example: If rockets are fired from a neighborhood against us we are justified to destroy the neighborhood by artillery fire. We have no obligation to hunt down just the perpetrators and keep the civilians safe, just as they have no such obligation. Our only obligation is to the citizens of this state.
“Let me answer the claim about this being un-Jewish behavior. Our holy book says we were commanded to destroy the nation of Amalek as punishment for ‘smiting the hindmost, all that were feeble behind’ when they attacked us soon after the exodus from Egypt, near Refidim in the Sinai. The Israelites were severely punished for not obeying this command and subsequently King David waged a war of extermination against the Amalekites. Our Torah also states that if a man rises to kill you, you are obligated to rise and kill him first. Is that un-Jewish? You will excuse me if I see killing mortal enemies in defense of our people as very Jewish indeed.” Amos was gratified to see that all, except one, of his visitors were nodding in agreement.
The Shield: a novel Page 10
