A Right to Plunder

by Brendan O'Neill

  As she walked hurriedly along, she regretted not having taken her bicycle; it was a popular mode of transport in Paris for good reason – ease and speed. She spotted a notice in a doorway stating that Django Reinhardt, the famous Romani gypsy jazz musician, influenced by ‘Duke Ellington’, the great American jazz composer, would be playing there soon. She loved his music, particularly his tune ‘Nuages’ a beautiful musical interpretation of the folly of war which sold 100,000 copies and gave hope to the liberation movement. Madelaine knew that the German authorities had suppressed jazz, and Hitler had banned it in his misguided thinking that it undermined German greatness. Youths caught playing this ‘decadent music’ would be treated as dissidents to the regime and would be sent to labour camps. There were other notices in doorways imploring opposition to the German occupying forces. Disruption of transport and cutting telephone wires was urged, and posters of printed speeches of De Gaulle from London were prominent. The Cross of Lorraine symbolising French patriotism was a common sight on prominent buildings. She was heartened by such gestures, and knew that the tide was turning against the hated unwanted oppressor. But also prominent was the sight of people wearing the yellow Star of David and the concerned faces of Jews who still appeared on the Parisian streets.

  The six male Resistance members gathered in the small room at the rear of the busy café were in a sombre mood this sultry summer evening. The room was smoke-filled and the conversation was in hushed tones. All were in their twenties and were passionate about their motivation to rid France of Bosch occupying forces. One member always kept a lookout through a narrow window at the rear in case of unexpected German patrols. The room provided an ideal location for such a clandestine meeting as rapid exits could be made through the front café or alternatively by the back which led to a myriad of old laneways and passages.

  When Madelaine came in, she was greeted with warm smiles and genuine affection. Since joining this small group over a year ago, she had quickly become the authoritative voice and provided leadership on strategy and direction on disruptive methods to hamper and hinder the Germans. They were a microcosm of the larger organisation ‘Liberation Nord’, and had come together shortly after the occupation of the 14th June 1940. They took their inspiration from Jean Cavailles, the Professor of mathematics at the Sorbonne University, and the motivator behind this major Resistance group. He printed an underground newspaper and urged acts of sabotage throughout France by Resistance fighters and their networks. They would not accept the attitude adopted by a lot of Parisians who became indifferent to the cause of nationalism and felt overwhelmed by the military might displayed by the Germans.

  These young men had to be extra careful, they lived in the shadows. The German Gautleiter, Fritz Sauckel, Chief of the Labour Masses, was seeking and drafting ‘volunteers’ from France to work in Germany in the labour service to boost the industrial war machine The requirement for manpower from the occupied territories to supply the German war machine was insatiable – conditions for this slave labour were appalling, they were expected to survive on starvation rations, but German steel production and armament manufacture was impervious to their physical longevity. The issue of work cards was another system that the Germans used to monitor and control the youthful population.

  Madelaine called the little group to order. "We have intercepted coded messages from Berlin to Paris that indicate transportations from Drancy camp are to be accelerated. In Berlin, they are demanding that at least three trains per week depart every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday going via the French/German border at Noveat on the Moselle River’’. The assembled group listened attentively. “Each train is to carry one thousand people and other inmates will be rounded up to take their place on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.” Anger was now palpable in the room. “Drancy is effectively a waiting room for Auschwitz.” A small dark-haired youth stubbed out his Gauloise. “It is obvious they intend to fulfil their threat to make France Jew-free by 1944”.

  A forlorn hope was raised, that after the massive roundup that had taken place a year previously at the Velodrome d’Hiver, when over thirteen thousand had been rounded up and taken to the indoor cycle track in central Paris where they were deprived of food, water and sanitary facilities for many days and thence to Auschwitz for extermination, that international outrage would prevail and change policy. But there was no change in strategy from the Germans. It seemed a hopeless task to oppose the might of the Reich. Madelaine knew that she would have to lift their despondency and channel their anger into positive action. She started by reminding them of their national pride and their fervent love for ‘Marianne’, the affectionate name for France. She told them that the Germans were experiencing heavy defeats on the Eastern territories and were being pushed back to retreating battle lines. Their faces looked at her engagingly as she spoke of the leader of the Free French in London, Charles de Gaulle, and reminded them of his exhortations and support for them. He spoke over the British radio to his people: “The flame of French Resistance is not extinguished and it will not be allowed to perish”. In addition, she said that the Western powers with their massive economic resources would soon rescue Europe from the evil jackboot. On practical issues, she said that they must continue to print leaflets condemning the Germans and do everything possible to disrupt their military machine. These actions generally took the form of disabling motorised vehicles by putting sugar in their petrol tanks or puncturing vehicles on side roads, cutting telephone lines and, most vitally, blowing up train lines. Finally, she told them all to be extremely careful as she had evidence that the Milice had infiltrated other Resistance groups.

  The Milice was a new paramilitary organisation set up to oppose the French Resistance, attracting as many as twenty thousand to its ranks. It was made up of Frenchmen who tortured other Frenchmen in their attempt to suppress the Resistance movement. They were despised by Madelaine and her group as they were made up of criminals and self-serving traitors who assisted the Germans by betraying their fellow citizens. These Frenchmen formed an alliance with the Germans and were rewarded by an increase in their food rations and exemption from forced labour in Germany.

  She warned the group to be particularly alert about black market trading which was controlled by Henri Lafont, a career criminal and Gestapo agent who operated a torture centre at Rue Lauriston. He was rumoured to have one hundred men as collaborators/informers at his disposal and their treachery was boundless. Going towards the door, Madelaine told her group in hushed tones, "I know that tomorrow the Commandant of Drancy is coming to the Chase Bank. At our next meeting, we will make plans for Alois Brunner, he is an evil puppet for his Berlin masters’’.

  SEVENTEEN

  PARIS: 1943

  When Alois Brunner entered the impressive portals of the Chase Bank on that late July morning, his SS uniform barely raised an eyebrow from the busy staff in the crowded banking hall. Unlike the visit of Reinhardt Heydrich over one year previously, when the manager had alerted staff to show due deference to the SS Chief of high authority, Brunner's visit was low-key. He was only a captain in the SS and even though he was in charge of Drancy, it was nothing special. In any case, the bank employees were very familiar in seeing the many various uniforms of the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and also the SS. The Chase bank in Paris was very much open for business with the German occupiers.

  As Brunner walked across the marble foyer to the reception desk to announce his arrival, he had a look of disdain which he barely bothered to disguise. Being a pathological Jew hater, he also had contempt for the banking system. This had developed from his Austrian background where he had witnessed the Jewish community enrich itself with the assistance of bankers. He remembered, that barely days after the Austrian Anschluss in 1938, he had, together with his SS colleagues taken Franz Rothenberg, the Chairman of the Creditstalt, which was a prominent Austrian bank, for a car ride. They threw him out of the moving vehicle, having first beaten him. This bank which was controlled by the Jewish f
amily, Rothschild, was subsequently confiscated by the Nazi-controlled Deutsche Bank.

  The young receptionist was polite but impersonal when he announced that he was there to meet with the manager, Carlos Niedermann. She motioned him to a small private room at the rear of the banking hall and assured him that the manager would be in attendance shortly. He curtly thanked her and made his way there. Seating himself down in the sparsely furnished room at a long rectangular table with six upright chairs, he noted that there were just two paintings on the stark white-painted walls. One was the familiar portrait of the Führer and the other was what looked like a Renoir painting. Examining the Renoir up close, he was not surprised to see that it was a copy, as all of the quality art works had been sequestered and plundered from all over Paris and shipped to Germany. Brunner knew that it was German state policy under the instructions of Alfred Rosenberg, the Estonian-born chief ideologist of the National Socialists, to remove all valuable artworks and sculptures and transfer them by train to designated recipients in Germany. It was ironic that a great number of precious paintings now being looted had already been plundered from territories under Napoleon’s reign. Art that was considered degenerative such as some Picasso works and also paintings by Dali were burned. Rare books and manuscripts were seized and added to enhance the booty. It was well known in the higher echelons of the SS that Reichfuhrer Himmler coveted the magnificent ‘Bayeux Tapestry’. A priceless embroidered work relating the conquest of England at the battle of Hastings nearly one thousand years ago. In his perverted idealism, Himmler saw the depiction as confirmation of the superiority of the Aryan race, incorrectly assuming the tapestry was of German origin. By clever clandestine deceptions, the French had managed to protect the artefact and frustrated all attempts at seizure. The rapacious requisition was formalised under the control of Einsatzstag Reichleiter Rosenberg (ERR) when the great treasures of the Rothschild collection were stolen. Often, in the case of wealthy Jews, the plunder was disguised as barter. Exit visas were traded for extorionate sums of money and priceless art. Brunner was surrounded by death and looting, but his main purpose for visiting the bank this morning was to see if the Heydrich legacy was speculation or fact and if the rumour was correct, how he could personally gain. As he ruminated on this issue, the door opened and Carlos Niedermann, accompanied by Madelaine, entered the room. Formal pleasantries were exchanged and when the trio were seated, Brunner commenced the conversation by introducing himself as the newly appointed Commandant of Drancy and went on to express his willingness to continue the excellent relationship with Chase Bank. He had carried out some research on the banking activities of Chase and knew that the bank was very favourable to Third Reich policies and had made substantial commissions on monies taken from dispossessed Jewish families by converting Reichmarks to Dollars. He also knew that the German diplomat, Otto Abetz, had financially assisted the Gestapo high command by paying for radio propaganda financed by Chase, which had resulted in campaigns of terror and roundups.

  Though Chase was an American institution, Brunner knew that its credo was to serve the cause of money, not patriotism, which is why it continued trading even after Germany had declared war on the United States. As he spoke, Madelaine noted that unlike Heydrich, Brunner did not have the social skills or polished courtesy of the assassinated SS Chief. He had a basic roughness and spoke in crude terms regarding the problems he was encountering at Drancy. Mentioning the transportation difficulties that he was trying to deal with at Drancy, ‘’I have selected Bobigny rail station nearby, as being more suitable for the trains, as the transfer buses can access the rail lines directly. Eichmann in Berlin is ever more demanding.’’ She could hardly contain herself when he described the mounting haul of jewellery and valuables dispossessed from the Jews as an ‘Erntedankfest’ (Harvest Fest). Instead, she forced a small smile and nodded encouragingly. The Nazi party member badge that she had carefully pinned to her lapel was obviously noted by him and stimulated the conversation to be more relaxed and vitriolic in his contemptible view of the Jewish population. He went on to say that, “It is very important that the SS organisation only deal with pure Aryan companies. We have a designated award, the Adefa Zeichen, given only to Jew-free businesses and recently a large American chain named Woolworths achieved this status by firing all their Jewish employees.” He wore an SS ring on his right hand and kept on turning it. Noticing that Madelaine was watching him, he said, “Oh, this SS ring is a personal gift from the Reichführer, SS Heinrich Himmler. It is in silver, I would prefer if it was gold but Reichfuhrer Himmler regards gold as a Jewish commodity and will not permit it.”

  After a long monologue, by way of ingratiating himself personally into the favours of the Bank, that as camp Commandant, he could make available to the Bank, items of extraordinary value which were accumulating on a daily basis at Drancy. He suggested that these be held at the Bank on a custodial basis, pending transfers to the Reich. As a temporary curator of these valuables, he went on to say that the Bank could charge a substantial fee for this service and that he would be most accommodating to whatever would be proposed.

  Niedermann expressed his satisfaction with this proposition. “Herr Hauptsturmführer, Chase Bank would be honoured to transact this type of business with you and if there is any way in which we can facilitate you personally, we would be pleased to be adjudged your supporters in this undertaking.” Brunner knew by that response that he had struck the right note and he then decided to gamble on the real reason he had suggested the meeting.

  “Herr Neidermann, there is some unfinished business relating to the assassination of our beloved SS Chief Reinhardt Heydrich which you can be of assistance.” He went on to exalt the virtues of his deceased chief and his irreplaceable loss to the Nazi hierarchy, by mourning his demise as a potential Führer of Germany. Eyeballing Niedermann, he spoke of the elaborate card index file that Heydrich had recorded on all personnel and characters which formed the nucleus of power in the Third Reich. He also said that there was a detailed list of so-called subversives and those considered to be potential enemies of the State.

  “Following the assassination, all of this information had been brought under heavily armed guard to Gestapo Headquarters in Prinz Albrecht Strasse 8 Berlin and is under round-the-clock security”. Neidermann knew that Brunner was hinting that perhaps his name was amongst those finding their way to the dark basement vaults of the Gestapo building.

  Brunner finally came to the point, “I understand that the bank has in its possession documentation placed here by Obergruppenfuhrer Heydrich at the time of his visit to Paris on the 6th of May 1942, and that as this detailed list refers to the dispossession of a Jewish family, it should now be returned to the SS”. Neidermann nodded and confirmed that he was willing to release the Heydrich file to Brunner on foot of accountable receipt. In truth, he was concerned as to what to do with the file containing details of the Heydrich transaction, as he was given no instructions in the event of his death. The file and monies from the dispossessed Darius family were to be transferred to the Bank for International Settlements in Basel. This requirement had been carried out. The funds, all two million dollars, had been lodged in Basel, but Niedermann had kept exact copies of the documentation and the entire file with its title document details and account accessibility. Brunner could not believe his luck. It was confirmed that there was a Heydrich transaction documented in the Bank – rumours were right, and now he was about to get possession of it.

  Throughout the discussion, Madelaine had stayed quiet, taking notes and inwardly seething; she was suspicious of his motive for seeking the Heydrich file. He was a vulgar and crude individual and an opportunist who wholeheartly believed in the Nazi ideology. Once he obtained the file, he would follow the money trail. Niedermann stood up. “I will get the file in our archive section as only I have access to the safe security code.” He left the room.

  Madelaine felt helpless. She knew that as long as the file stayed in the bank's posse
ssion, its contents would never be revealed. Heydrich’s death had ensured that it would become another inactivated piece of documentation and with German war reverses increasing on a daily basis it was eventually going to be destroyed by Chase Bank. She began to type up the official receipt for Brunner’s signature knowing that she dare not raise any questions or opposition to its transfer for fear of disclosing her true feelings. Niedermann returned with the black leather-bound folder emblazoned with the white SS runes and passed it across the desk to Brunner who promptly signed the receipt on behalf of the SS. Standing stiffly erect, he curtly gave the Hitler salute, thanked them both and said he looked forward to continued business with the excellent services of Chase Bank.

  It had been over a year since Madelaine had met Heydrich’s sister, Maria, and her daughter Anna, and she was now the only one alive who was aware of the perilous danger to which they were now both exposed. Her passion for the noble endeavour of the French Resistance was matched by her hatred for the SS, but the raw emotion to alert an unsuspecting Maria and her innocent daughter became paramount in her thoughts. She would have to thwart this man’s evil ambitions by whatever means necessary.