When Speer faced- his master and disclosed what he was doing, yells and curses rang through the bunker yet when Speer emerged from the ordeal, he left the bunker still a free man. Gregory felt that this miracle could be attributed only to divine intervention.
Of the satraps who visited the bunker in these days, the most frequent were Goebbels and Ribbentrop. The little doctor, with his twisted foot and twisted mind, although normally concerned only with inventing endless clever lies and distortions of fact to boost the morale of the German people, could at times show an unscrupulous brutality rivaling that of the worst of the other Nazis. On one occasion, infuriated by the mass air raid on Dresden, he demanded that the Fьhrer should repudiate the Geneva Convention, order the massacre of forty thousand Allied airmen prisoners as a reprisal, and bring into use two poison gases that had terrible effects on their victims.
Hitler, so his doctors said, was subject to a pathological blood lust. It is in any case certain that he always became happy and excited after ordering an execution; so the idea of this wholesale slaughter made a strong appeal to him. But Koller hastily sent for Goering who, with the aid of Doenitz and several Generals, all of whom feared mass reprisals on the prisoners of war in their own Services, succeeded in dissuading Hitler from carrying out this heinous crime.
Ribbentrop gave Gregory an extremely nasty moment; for one day they came face to face in the outer passage. It was two and a half years since Gregory had been a guest at a small supper party given for the Reichsaussenminister at a nightclub in Budapest, but from the stare he gave Gregory it was obvious that he was trying to remember where he had previously met him. Fortunately, Major Johannmeier, General Burgdorf s assistant, distracted Ribbentrop's attention by coming up just then and saying that his Chief would like a word with him while he was waiting to see the Fьhrer. After that Gregory always kept a wary eye out for Sabine's ex lover and, whenever he came to the bunker, stayed well out of his way.
For some time past, Gregory had been very worried by the thought of Sabine; for, knowing her unhappy state, he had had every intention of keeping his promise to go out and spend a few hours with her at least once a week. But once he had succeeded in interesting Hitler in Malacou's predictions and the subject of reincarnation he had felt that in no circumstances must he again leave his post for any length of time, in case he or both of them were sent for. Much as he owed Sabine, the war, and the millions involved in it, had to be put first.
To excuse his neglect of her he had several times tried to telephone, but the exchanges and lines in Berlin were constantly being destroyed by the nightly air-raids so he had failed to get through; and he felt it too risky to write, because a great part of the mail was being opened by Gestapo men at the post offices in a witch hunt for grumblers and pacifists, and he did not want it to be known that he was acquainted with her.
During the first days of April the Anglo-American advance
continued unchecked, but the Russian front remained quiet and, although any piece of bad news never failed to bring on one of Hitler's screaming fits, there were no special excitements in the bunker. Then, on the night of the 5th, he again sent for Gregory and Malacou.
The procedure was as before and the gist of Malacou's ramblings as translated by Gregory were as follows. The Russians were building up for another major offensive which would be launched in. the middle of the month. The Ruhr must be written off, because Field Marshal Model was surrounded by traitors and they would force him to surrender. There were traitors too among the senior members of the Government; at least two of them were secretly in touch with the enemy and endeavoring to bring about a peace; but they would not succeed. In spite of the present successes of the Anglo-American Armies they would never reach. Berlin, and they were shortly to receive a blow of the greatest magnitude, which could alter the whole political outlook.
Hitler had been crouching over his desk, looking extremely ill. At this point his head suddenly fell forward and, although he made an effort, he was unable again to raise it.
Springing up from his chair, Bormann ran to him and shouted to Gregory to go and get Dr. Morell. Malacou, arousing from his state of semi-trance, opened his eyes and Bormann told him to `get out'.
Morell occupied two rooms in the further bunker and rarely left them, so Gregory had no difficulty in finding him and telling him what had happened; then they hurried back to Hitler's study. There the slovenly, cringing old doctor gave his Fьhrer a shot in an arm that was already black with the marks of injections. Within a few moments he recovered, fixed his dull eyes on Gregory and said
`Your Turk is a wonderful medium. I am psychic myself, you know; so I can readily recognize the true gift in others. In my case it takes the form of remarkable intuition, and his prediction that the Anglo-Americans will never reach Berlin accords with my own firm belief. I am tired now, so we'll not call him back. But I'll send for you both again soon… quite soon.'
Waiting for him upstairs in the vast Egyptian-style hall on the ground floor of the Chancellery, Gregory found Malacou. With his dark eyes gleaming the Jew asked in Turkish, `Is the swine dead?'
Gregory shook his head. `No. His resistance is extraordinary. That unsavoury old brute who looks after him is the worst kind of crook, but he gave him a shot that brought him round almost immediately.'
Malacou muttered a few Hebrew curses. Then, as they left the building, he took something from his pocket. An air-raid was in progress and at that moment a bunch of incendiary bombs exploded in the street some forty yards away. By their light Gregory saw that Malacou was holding in his hand a long piece of cord with a noose at one end. His curiosity aroused, he asked:
`What is that?
'A garotte.' Malacou smiled. `I carry it as a talisman for our protection, and a focus by which I can draw down power. If I did not take something of the kind with me to these stances, at a vital moment Hitler's own evil radiations might destroy my contact with the Outer Circle.'
`What is there so special about that piece of cord to give it such a potent occult significance?' Gregory enquired.
Malacou gave a harsh laugh. `Astrology alone could not enable me to make such accurate predictions. Now and then I must make an offering to… well, the source of my power. In normal circumstances one would use a sacrificial knife and that would become the talisman. But as things are I would not be allowed to take a knife down into the bunker; so instead I carry the garotte. And it is highly charged, because I have recently used it several times to take life.'
Halting in his tracks Gregory grasped the Satanist by the arm, swung him round and exclaimed in horror, `D'you mean that when you sometimes go out on your own at night it is to murder people in the blackout?'
Shaking off his grasp, Malacou retorted, `If I had we would be far better protected. But, unfortunately, I have not the courage. For my victims I make do with animals.'
`What! Cats and dogs?'
`Yes. I lure them with a little food, throw my coat over them and carry them to the nearest bombed out church, then offer them up by strangling them with the garrote.'
`Good God, how revolting,' Gregory exclaimed.
`Your scruples are foolish,' Malacou retorted sharply, `and this is no concern of yours. Be content to make use of my contacts with the Timeless Ones to bring to ruin our common enemy.'
By then they had reached the Air Ministry. As Gregory started to turn into it the Satanist wished him an abrupt good night and walked on.
For a few moments Gregory remained there and was almost sick at the thought of the bestial act that the colleague whom fate had forced upon him was about to commit. He was in half a mind to follow and stop Malacou; but the thing that mattered above all else was to put an end to Hitler and, if these ghoulish rites performed during the hours of darkness might contribute to that, he realized that his duty to humanity lay in ignoring them. Sick at heart, he went down to the basement of the Air Ministry.
Next day Hitler again sent for Gregory to walk with him
in the Chancellery garden, and again questioned him about reincarnation.
Had Gregory been talking to anyone else, he would have said that with every life in which a person's good deeds exceeded their bad ones they progressed; and, although at times they might be sent back to hardship and poverty in order to learn humility or some other special lesson, as a general principle they were born into a higher status where they would have greater responsibilities. And that, on the other hand, should they abuse their powers to inflict grief and suffering on others, in their next several incarnations they were sent back to face situations in which they would be the victims of similar tyrannies themselves.
But he was no unorthodox, though true, priest making a forlorn last minute bid to save Hitler's soul; so he couched his replies in accordance with his secret objective. Using unctuous flattery he told the megalomaniac who was limping along beside him that, with every life a personality lived, it acquired more knowledge and consequently power: that the Fьhrer had been perhaps in ancient Egypt a minor official, in Rome a Centurion, in the Middle Ages the Abbot of a rich monastery, in Venice a wealthy Senator, in the eighteenth century the ruler of a small Principality, until by his accumulated abilities it had been decreed that he should become the Leader of one of the greatest nations in the world.
Seeing himself in all these roles Hitler readily agreed, then asked, `But what now? How, in my next incarnation, can I go yet higher? It seems to me that in this one I have already achieved the limit.'
`By no means, mein Fuhrer,' Gregory replied. `Our earth is only one of ten thousand worlds. Science has shown us that the stars are as innumerable as the sands of the sea. With the exception of the handful of Planets in our own solar system, every star is a sun and most of them have their own system of Planets revolving round them. Science has told us, too, that all the heavenly bodies are composed of more or less the same materials and that all of them, like everything else in the universe, are subject to growth and decay. They begin life as molten bodies and through the aeons gradually cool until they become extinct. Yet in their long lives there is, compared to ours, a single moment of time when they have cooled sufficiently for their crust to harden and produce first vegetable then animal life. In view of the incalculable number of heavenly bodies in the universe there must, at this moment, be at least several hundred of them that are passing through the same stage of development as this world of ours. Their inhabitants may not resemble us physically, but it would be unreasonable to suppose that they do not possess intelligence, in some cases almost certainly superior to ours.'
`I see; I see,' Hitler muttered. `Then you think that when personalities here can progress no further, their next incarnation takes place on another world?
'Exactly, mein Fuhrer. And I feel no doubt at all that when the time comes for you to leave your present body you will be born again in a world where you will be given opportunities to become an even greater ruler than you have been in this.'
`You interest me greatly,' Hitler declared excitedly. `But I have walked enough for today. I am tired now. I must go down and rest.' On that this second private conversation ended.
Considering it unlikely that the Fьhrer would send for him three days running, on the 7th Gregory decided to risk a visit to Sabine. When he arrived at the villa she was delighted to see him but soon began to reproach him bitterly for his neglect, of her.
To excuse himself he told her that there had been several casualties among the staff in the Air Ministry Map Room and replacements for them could no longer be spared; so those remaining had to do longer hours and now, like sailors, had been put on four-hour watches. As, in the present chaotic condition of transport, it took four hours to come out to the villa and return, that had put a visit to her out of the question until that day, when he had persuaded two colleagues each to take half of his watch for him. He added that he had hoped by this time to find that she had left Berlin.
She shook her head. `I'm better, much better, but not completely cured yet and I won't go until I am.'
`How soon does your doctor think that will be?' he asked.
`Another week or so. Perhaps a fortnight.!
'But my dear girl,' he protested, `the Russians will be here in a fortnight. They have just launched another of their great offensives. Within three weeks they will have captured Berlin. I'm certain of it. You positively must go before there is any danger of the city being surrounded and all escape routes cut.'
`Yes, that's what Kurt says.'
Gregory raised his eyebrows. `So he's turned up again?
'He has been to see me several times. As I told you he is genuinely in love with me; so he too is anxious for my safety. Naturally, I've continued to refuse to let him come back and live here, but I let him spend Sundays with me.'
`I thought you found him a bore, so were glad to be rid of him.'
She gave a bitter little laugh. `It is I who am bored these days. For the past five weeks I've seen hardly a soul and it has been getting me down terribly. Anyhow, it was only as a lover that I found Kurt unsatisfactory; he is always interesting to talk to.'
Later they had a meal together, and before leaving Gregory, again endeavoured to persuade her to leave for the south; but he could not move her from her decision to remain until she was completely cured.
When he was only half-way back to central Berlin a major air-raid began. The thunder of the ack-ack guns was deafening, the sky a great, twinkling carpet of bursting shells, bombs rained down, mostly on the northern part of the city and soon, from the many fires they started, the streets were almost as bright as by day.
During the next few days the situation began to look desperate. Colonel-General von Vietinghoff, who had taken over from Kesselring in Italy, reported that General Alexander had launched a full scale offensive and that without big reinforcements it would not be possible to continue to hold the Gothic Line. General Model's encircled army in the Ruhr was losing thousands of men in killed and prisoners every day. In Czechoslovakia and Austria two more great armies, consisting of the survivors of the scores of divisions sent to South Russia, the Balkans and Hungary, were cut off. In Holland the Army Group under von Blaskowitz had its communications with Germany threatened by the Canadians. The British armour was driving towards Hamburg and that of the Americans towards Leipzig and the Elbe. In the north the Russians had taken Stettin, outflanked the German line and were overrunning Mecklenburg; while in the centre they were launching attack after attack against the Oder, which was the last line of defence for Berlin. It was now clear to everyone in the bunker that only a miracle could save Germany from being completely overrun by her enemies.
On the night of the 10th Hitler again sent for Gregory and Malacou. When he had given them his usual limp handshake and told them to sit down, he said:
`Gentlemen, things look very black for us. But after the conference today my good friend Dr. Goebbels tried to lighten my depression by reading to me a passage from Carlyle's Life of Frederick the Great. You, Herr Major, will no doubt know it: In 1796 that great soldier-king was at war with Elizabeth of Russia. His armies had been defeated and the Russians were at the very gates of Berlin. It was thought that nothing could save the city. But on February 12th the old Empress died. Her son, Peter, had always hated her and immediately he succeeded he reversed all her policies. The young Emperor was a great admirer of King Frederick; so he at once ordered his armies to halt and offered Frederick an armistice. Thus at the eleventh hour, by what is known as the "Miracle of Brandenburg", Berlin was saved. Now last time-'
A violent fit of coughing caused him to break off. When he had recovered from it he- went on, `Last time you were here Hen Malacou predicted that the Anglo American armies would never reach Berlin; yet from the progress they are making I cannot help fearing that they will unless something utterly unexpected happens to stop them. He also predicted that our enemies would shortly be subjected to a great blow that could alter their whole political outlook. It seems that only somethin
g of that kind could halt their advance. Can you reassure me that such a miracle is really likely to take place?'
Gregory and Malacou entered on their usual act. For some moments the occultist rambled, then he produced the following predictions which Gregory translated as: In less than a week the Fьhrer would receive the support and encouragement that it had been earlier foretold would come to him unexpectedly in mid April. This support was associated with the Moon and must, therefore, come from a woman. Although the Russian front was holding it presented a greater menace to Berlin than did the breakthrough by the Allies in the West. The Anglo American armies would be halted while still some distance from the capital, but the Russians would be in the outskirts of Berlin before the month was out. The event which could alter the whole political outlook of the Allies was the death of President Roosevelt, and it would occur on the 12th.
At that Hitler jumped to his feet, exclaiming, `We are saved! I knew it. My intuition is never at fault. There is to be another Miracle of Brandenburg The President's death will alter everything… The Americans and British will become our allies against the accursed Communists.'
Then he swung round on Bormann. `_But there remains one danger. We must not be caught in Berlin before the Western
Allies can come to our assistance. We will adopt the plan that we have so often discussed. The Bavarian Alps are a natural fortress. Among them the employment of armour is almost impossible. There is certain to be some delay in agreeing terms with the Americans, so for a while we may have to continue to fight on two fronts. Unless Berlin is seriously threatened, I shall remain here; but preparations must be made for a move to Berchtesgaden. Give all the necessary orders.'
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