The German Peace

by Derek Pennington

  Once again von Brauchtisch looked forward to the day he could cease being a politician.

  LONDON

  Winston Churchill was enjoying a cigar and a whisky in the comfort of his study. He was ruminating on the events of the past year. During that time war had been declared on Germany and a British army landed in France. For many months there had been no fighting on land, although there had been naval campaigns, and many British ships sunk by enemy U-boats.

  Then the war exploded, and in short order Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and France had been attacked and occupied. The British army suffered a devastating defeat. Nowhere in history had there been such a successful war of conquest. It almost defied comprehension.

  He had been appointed Prime Minister in May.

  Then out of the blue the Germans offered peace. Moreover it was peace on honourable terms. Now there was even a possibility of a military alliance with their recent enemy.

  “May you live in interesting times” he said out loud to himself, repeating an old saying.

  With Herr Hitler and his bunch of rogues off the scene, the new German regime was acting in a thoroughly decent manner, he had to admit.

  His great fear of a Nazi tyranny had now been replaced by his other old bogey; the Soviet Union, Stalin, and communism. This had led him a couple of days earlier at a cabinet meeting, to authorise the Minister of Defence to investigate the concept of Britain joining the European Alliance that the Germans seemed to be pushing.

  It was certainly worth considering.

  BERLIN

  At the same time that Churchill was enjoying his cigar and whisky, Jeremy Blackstone and Klaus von Altendorf were having dinner at a quiet restaurant known for its simple but excellent food. Von Altendorf had brought his younger sister to meet his English friend.

  Erica von Altendorf was a lecturer in history. She was 30 years old. Very attractive, rather than beautiful. Long blonde hair tied up Germanic fashion for this evening. Slim, with magnificent eyes that seemed to swallow you. Jeremy had to force himself not to stare.

  Since joining the army some sixteen years before, Jeremy had found little time for girls. Oh, he liked them alright, but somehow never seemed to meet anyone special. His mother was always reminding him of her desire for grandchildren.

  Right from the start he was completely at ease with Erica. She would subtly change the conversation whenever Jeremy and Klaus were tempted to talk too much shop. Being very intelligent, she was able to take part in any discussion on any topic that was brought up. Jeremy was thoroughly captivated.

  The dinner was over far too quickly for him. But what an enchanting evening! He could not recall a more enjoyable time. It was then that Klaus asked him what plans he had for the weekend, because he and Erica were visiting their family estate outside Berlin. They would be honoured if he would join them.

  Jeremy’s only plans were to start looking at the pros and cons of this idea of a European Alliance. This was something that he had received instructions to do, that very day.

  Before he could say anything, Erica put her hand on his arm and pleaded with him come. It would be great fun, the three of them together. He would love the estate with its shooting, fishing and riding. And some lovely walks, she added.

  There was no way he could resist. There was no way he wanted to resist. He imagined he could feel the warmth of her hand through his sleeve. The invitation was gracefully accepted. They made their arrangements. Klaus settled the bill and they left.

  Outside they said their goodbyes. Erica gave Jeremy a little peck on the cheek that he convinced himself lasted longer than it should have. He was walking on air as he made his way home.

  THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND

  The von Altendorf family estate was a little over a one hour drive from Berlin. It nestled in a beautiful unspoilt wooded valley with a crystal clear river running through it. It had been in the family for over two hundred years.

  They arrived early on Saturday morning and the three of them managed to fit in pheasant shooting, trout fishing, and horse riding, all in one day. Klaus and Erica were proficient on horseback, whereas Jeremy was an indifferent rider. He was stiff and a not a little sore later that afternoon.

  That evening he was the first down for dinner. Erica arrived a few minutes later. The two of them settled into two comfortable large leather armchairs in a corner and their heads were close together in deep conversation when the door opened and in walked Baron von Altendorf. He hadn’t been expected at the estate that weekend.

  Surprised, they jumped up, and Erica, arm linked with Jeremy, walked to her father to introduce Jeremy. As they reached him the Baron said, “Hello Major Blackstone. Oh, I am sorry; I see it is Colonel Blackstone now. How nice to see you again.” They shook hands.

  Erica stared at Jeremy quizzically and asked, “Jeremy?”

  Jeremy gave her an apologetic grin. “Your father and I have met before. Some months ago.”

  Erica now transferred her enquiring look to the Baron. “Father?” She was clearly perplexed by Jeremy never mentioning the fact that he knew her father.

  Jeremy thought quickly. Although the talks in May had been top secret at the time, afterwards it had been more of an open secret about who had actually attended the talks. It was only his own inbuilt caution and dislike of gossip that had stopped him mentioning that he had been one of the British team. He decided he could tell Erica. He explained.

  Erica was impressed that Jeremy had been part of such an important event. At the same time she could not help feeling slightly annoyed that he not trusted her with the information.

  The Baron helped. He knew his daughter. “My dear, Colonel Blackstone acted correctly in this matter. The names of the delegates to that meeting, while not exactly secret, are not common knowledge either. Perhaps the British government prefers it that way.”

  The smile that Jeremy had already learned to love, reappeared on her face.

  That evening the four of them had an excellent and intimate family dinner. The food was superb, the wine was probably the best Jeremy had ever tasted. He was treated as one of the family. There was no doubt that he felt at home with these wonderful people. ‘Damn the politicians that managed to get us into a war with them,’ he thought.

  A little later, Erica had gone to change, and Klaus had excused himself to make a few phone calls. The Baron and Jeremy were enjoying an excellent cognac. They were having a relaxed conversation about progress in the various different European countries, as well as China and Japan, over the past few months. Neither gave away any secrets but both picked up bits of useful information.

  Unexpectedly the Baron turned the discussion to the European Alliance. This could not have pleased Jeremy more.

  “You know Jeremy, the European Alliance is going to happen. There is nothing secret about it. Norway and Denmark have said yes. To everybody’s surprise Poland is also looking at it seriously. Holland will join any day now.

  Belgium has intimated that they are ready to abandon their traditional policy of neutrality, but they have to get their forthcoming referendum out of the way before they can commit to anything. We will know the result of that, next month. Our reading of it is that the country may well end up being partitioned. I don’t know if it would be a good thing or not. Perhaps it is preferable if it ends the age old hostility between the two different population groups.

  Spain has been actively pushing for membership. Obviously they - and Portugal, are seen as logical participants in European security, but we have some concerns about the internal policies of General Franco. We do not wish to encourage Fascism.

  The Portuguese dictator, Salazar, is right wing and reactionary but he is doing quite a good job of running his country. He has ended decades of decay and corruption within his country. He is both anti-communist and anti-fascist.

  As regards Italy. It is no secret that I have advised the Governing Council not to offer membership of the European Alliance to Italy while Mussolini remains
in power.”

  He paused, thinking.

  “And France, sir?” Jeremy asked.

  “Ah, France. Hmmm. Strictly between you and I, the French can be difficult. Personally I have no animosity whatsoever towards them, but I am not looking forward to negotiating the final peace treaty with them in the next few months.”

  This was news to Jeremy.

  “They are a thoroughly beaten nation, yet when one talks to their politicians it is as if they are the occupying power, not Germany. One of their Generals, Charles de Gaulle, is arrogant beyond belief. Fortunately he proved to be so egotistical that nobody in the Vichy regime would work with him. He was sent packing to some military posting in Africa.

  They can be exasperating. It may not be easy to persuade them to join the European Alliance.

  I fear poor old Marshall Petain will not survive long after there is permanent peace. He will be made the scapegoat for France’s failures before and during the war.”

  He cheered up, “Another brandy, my boy?”

  Late the following afternoon Jeremy and the younger von Altendorfs drove back to Berlin. The three of them had taken a long walk around the entire estate in the morning. Then a late lunch before leaving. But at no time had Jeremy been able to catch Erica alone. Frustrating!

  Jeremy was dropped off at his apartment with a promise that they would phone him during the week. Regrettably the weekend was over.

  Once he had unpacked, Jeremy settled down to record the interesting items he had heard the previous evening. Before he compiled a report, he thought that it might be a good idea to discuss the European Alliance project in the next day or two with his friend, Jamie MacLellan, from the US Embassy. See what he knows.

  OCTOBER

  BERLIN

  It had been three weeks since Admiral Canaris had disclosed to a shocked Governing Council the existence of an underground opposition movement, probably Nazi orientated. His agents had successfully penetrated it, and he now had a list of eighty five senior and middle ranking organisers. The plotters were planning to act on the first day of Munich’s Oktoberfest, the annual beer guzzling festival which was soon to be held for the first time since the European War had started.

  During the past three weeks the military members of the Council had kept this problem to themselves. Initially they had considered it a military matter, and secondly, it was not altogether impossible that one of the civilian members were part of the movement. Even though this was thought to be highly improbable.

  They planned to take action on the morning of the next meeting of the Governing Council, scheduled for two days time. The arrival of Field Marshall Goering would be the signal for the rounding up of the listed plotters to commence. This way nobody could tip off Goering.

  After some discussion it had been decided to treat it as a civil matter and use the police for the arrests. Sufficient evidence had already been uncovered during the Abwehr’s investigation. It was anticipated that many of the plotters would readily co-operate with the police once everything was out in the open.

  Involving the police also meant putting the accused on trial. Everybody had agreed that the public and the outside world, needed to see that justice was being done, in contrast to the days of the previous regime when opponents simply ‘disappeared’. To do this, von Brauchitsch needed to involve the Interior Minister as both the police and justice portfolios fell under his ministry. It was felt that the risk of disclosing the problem to Speer was minimal as Speer was totally non-political and nobody worked harder than him for the new Germany.

  The talk with Speer had gone well, as expected. The Minister was his usual efficient and competent self and promised complete co-operation. The police and the Justice department would be ready.

  All was ready on the day the Governing Council met.

  The Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Economics, had been asked to arrive a little earlier than the scheduled start time. This would give von Brauchitsch time to share with them the details of what had been uncovered, and the actions being taken.

  On hearing what had been discovered, the normally imperturbable Baron von Altendorf buried his head in hands and exclaimed, “The fool. The fat, stupid fool. When everything is going so well for Germany, he would cheerfully spoil things. And for what? The man is a disgusting traitor of the worst kind.”

  Schacht had a grim expression.

  A little later Goering’s motor car swept into his allocated underground parking space in the Reich Chancellery. The sky blue, (Goering’s favourite colour), magnificent Mercedes Benz 540K had his family crest on the doors. Its arrival was watched by an Abwehr agent. As always the Field Marshall was accompanied by his two faithful brutish air force bodyguards. He made his way imperiously to the Council chamber. His bodyguards went off in search of a cup of coffee.

  Everything appeared normal. All the others were either discussing things in subdued tones or looking at their papers.

  Goering was something of a showman. He had a penchant for gaudy and flamboyant uniforms designed to his own specifications. Today he was wearing a silk sky blue Luftwaffe uniform stretched over his corpulent frame. He had a similar coloured cape around his shoulders. Everyone thought he looked ridiculous.

  After his usual cordial greetings, he settled his bulk into his chair and looked around the room. He was totally unaware of the bombshell that was soon to hit him.

  As had become customary, Baron von Altendorf spoke first. He reported that Italy had withdrawn their troops from the territory they had occupied in Southern France. Mussolini had issued a statement saying that in view of the settled state of affairs in Europe, he was making a magnanimous gesture and returning to France their land. He was extending the hand of friendship to that country. In the same spirit he was also putting his signature to a peace agreement with Great Britain.

  Nobody could avoid derisory smiles.

  With obvious satisfaction, the Minister then advised that agreements for the sale of most of the Kriegsmarine heavy ships had been signed over the past week with Argentina, China, Mexico, Spain and Turkey. Negotiations were ongoing with the Soviet Union for the battleships Bismark and Tirpitz. The Russians were being their usual obtuse selves.

  “The terms of these sales are broadly similar in each case and have been agreed in consultation with the Kriegsmarine in regard to handing over the vessels. The Ministries of Economics and Interior have agreed to the credit terms and the shipments of agricultural produce and raw materials offered to us as payment. Everything is most satisfactory. I submit that we have the best possible deal that can be expected.”

  Goering now interrupted. “Once again, gentlemen, I have to express my opposition to these sales. I think it is a serious mistake to weaken our naval forces.”

  He had said this before, and, as before, his comments were noted – and ignored - as before.

  Von Altendorf continued, “Two days ago we received a request from the Japanese that their military forces be allowed access to French Indochina to facilitate their war against China. In line with our agreed policies, I informed them that Vichy France is an independent state, and their colonies are their responsibility. I added, however, that should France refuse their request, and should Japan invade any of the French, British or Dutch colonial territories, Germany would consider this an unfriendly act. I sent a copy of this reply to the Vichy and Dutch regimes, and to the British Ambassador. We await Japan’s reaction.”

  The French viewed their Indochina colonies, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, as economically important to them. They had been controlled by France since the end of the nineteenth century. There was, however, a history of rebellion in Vietnam, the last such major episode being only ten years earlier in 1930.

  Von Altendorf wondered if they were worth the trouble of fighting for. There were, after all, only thirty four thousand French civilians living in the region. But the French were the French!

  He carried on speaking. “China has requested tha
t our two countries establish embassies. They are seeking a much closer relationship with Germany. I recommend that we do this. There will be protests from the Japanese, of course.

  The Chinese have also requested military aid from us. Ostensibly to defend themselves against the Japanese, but I believe a portion of any such aid would be used to defeat the communist rebel army in their country. This may be something we would like to consider as I believe we have a considerable number of surplus European War tanks and aircraft that we are disposing of.

  While a communist China is perhaps not likely in the near future, perhaps we should give some thought to the ramifications of such a large country becoming wholly communist. The consequences of the world’s most populous nation turning to communism are frightening.”