by Alex Gerlis
A policeman had walked past the car and now, in his rear-view mirror, Henry could see him turning around and heading slowly back in his direction. He needed to move, but first he removed from his pocket a tightly wrapped piece of paper, from which he produced the Nazi Party membership badge he had taken from the perfume shop owner in Essen. He pinned it carefully to his lapel and checked in the mirror it was at a proper angle. The car started first time, if rather noisily and lurched forward as he selected the gears. He drove slowly down the side streets to get a feel of the car before turning into Kurfürstendamm.
Create a commentary: decide your route, write it down then memorise that route in the spoken form. When you’re driving along, keep reciting the commentary, it means you can avoid using a map and drawing attention to yourself.
East along Kurfürstendamm, then right into Joachimstaler Strasse, which becomes Kaiser Allee. There was surprisingly little traffic on the road, though he had to be careful of the trams. The Opel was heavy but powerful, and he had to concentrate hard to keep his speed under control.
Through Wilmersdorf and Friedenau. Kaiser Allee leads into Rein Strasse. At the end of Rein Strasse you will see the Botanischer Garten signposted. Turn right into Grunewald Strasse: you will know where you are from there.
It was 11.20. The journey had been quicker than he imagined and the Opel now handled beautifully: he had little doubt that once it got out on the open road it would perform well, assuming they got that far. In Kaiser Wilhelm Strasse he eased the car slowly to a halt in a position where he could see the house on the corner of Arno-Holz Strasse.
At various stages since he had arrived in Berlin he had been telling himself he did not need to do this, that he could pull out now. No-one would know if he did, with the possible exception of Kato. He could drive on towards Tempelhof, abandon the car and still have time to catch the 12.30 flight to Berlin – there was just about enough time – and for a brief moment he hesitated.
Then the image of Roza appeared again, smiling this time and the sense of calm that he had first encountered in the air-raid shelter in Stuttgart station returned.
He left the car and walked over to the house, knowing there was no going back.
***
Chapter 24: leaving Berlin, March 1941
Henry Hunter’s career as a secret agent ceased the moment he knocked on the door of the house where Rosa Stern was hiding. He had been a Soviet spy since 1930 and a British one for a year and half. Serving first one then two masters had required him to be constantly on his guard, and to be in control and exercise caution all the time. Despite sometimes affecting an air of detachment and possibly coming across as a bit too questioning, Henry knew he had survived because he had actually always done what he was told.
Now, he was doing the opposite. From this moment on he was turning his back on the obedience that had dictated his life for previous ten years. He would be exploiting his training for his own interests.
When Rosa opened the door she looked as though she’d seen a ghost.
‘What on earth are you doing here? I told you it was too dangerous to return: you have to leave now! Oh my God Henri this is so dangerous. Please go. Please!’
‘Let me in Rosa. I need to explain. You’ll understand when I tell you why I’m here. You know it’s dangerous for me to stand here. Please.’
So she let him in and hurried him upstairs while she settled Frau Hermann. When she came up to the small lounge on the first floor she look flustered and stood by the closed door, arms folded.
‘What is it Henri – and how come you’re still in Berlin? My God – what’s that?’ She was pointing at the Nazi Party membership badge on his lapel. ‘You’re not…’
‘Don’t worry Rosa; it’s to stop me looking suspicious.’
She laughed sarcastically. ‘A Swiss citizen walking round Berlin wearing a Nazi Party badge: you think that doesn’t look suspicious?’
‘Listen to me Rosa. You’re in danger, you and Sophia.’
‘Thanks for telling me that Henri. Don’t you think I’m already very well aware of that?’
‘No, no… What I mean is you’re in immediate danger. You have to leave the house now!’
She gasped and moved away from the door, moving to the sofa opposite Henry.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I saw Franz this morning. He told me he’s heard through a contact that the Gestapo have been informed you’re hiding in this area: they’ve been told you’re in a house in one of the roads just north of the Botanischer Garten. They’re planning to search every house. The search could begin at any time.’
‘But Franz was here yesterday, he never said a word about this. I’d have known if something was wrong, surely?’
‘I saw him early this morning: he’d only just heard.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course I’m sure. Why else do you think I’m here?’
‘But Franz had a plan we’d use if we’re ever in danger: he’d telephone and use a code word, then Sophia and I would go to Pankow, where a friend of his has a shop and we’d be able to hide in the attic. He…’
‘There’s no time Rosa. I’m sure Franz made all these plans but maybe he panicked. I told you, they could start the house-to-house search at any time. We have to leave now.’
‘We?’
‘Yes. I’ve got a car. I’m going to take you and Sophia, but we need to leave now.’
‘This is madness Henri. We have no proper papers and what about Frau Hermann? I can’t just abandon her.’
‘I have papers Rosa, here – look.’
He handed her the identity cards Kato had left for him in the car, hers in the name of Dagmar Keufer, Sophia’s in the name of Gisela Keufer. Rosa studied them carefully.
‘The photographs Henri – they’re not even of us!’
‘No, of course not – there was no time. But they could be of you: they ought to be good enough for a basic check, they’re not too bad and I have a card in the name of Erich Keufer, so we’ll be able to pretend to be a family. You see our address is in Frankfurt: we can say we’re driving there.’
‘To Frankfurt – are you mad? We’ll be lucky to get out of Berlin. And what do we do when we get to Frankfurt – buy a house, join the Nazi Party?’
‘We’re not going to Frankfurt, Rosa. We’re going to Switzerland. I’ve got Swiss papers for you and Sophia, too, I had them prepared only last week. They’re very good, but I think we can only risk using them when we’re much closer to the border.’
Rosa was pacing around the room in a circle, shaking her head and running her hand through her hair. ‘I’m sorry Henri but this doesn’t make sense to me. You seem to have got hold of these papers very quickly – I thought you said it was only this morning that Franz told you he heard we were in danger?’
‘Can be honest with you Rosa? When I first visited you here it was apparent your situation was too dangerous. I thought something like this would happen, but I didn’t want to voice my fears to Franz as he’s been so good to you. I was so worried I had these identity cards prepared: just in case.’
Rosa sank back in the sofa, looking overwhelmed and confused. She clearly thought Henry’s plan was crazy, but then so was remaining in the house if there really was a chance it was about to be searched by the Gestapo. Henry was sure she was far from convinced but he was counting on her not risking her life and that of her daughter by ignoring him.
‘And Frau Hermann?’
‘Make her comfortable and tell her you’ll be back later. Franz will come round after work. Rosa, we need to move fast – you need to get Sophia ready. Pack a few things, but nothing that identifies you or Sophia. We also need to take food and blankets; we might not be able to stop.’
Rosa was back by the door now, her hand on the handle. She peered at Henry sceptically.
‘Perhaps I should contact Franz? We’ve got an agreed system to use in an emergency – I telephone him pretending to be a secretary from another law firm
.’
‘No Rosa! Under no circumstances! Franz said he thinks they’ll be listening in to all telephone calls in this area – maybe that’s why he hasn’t contacted you himself. If you phone him at his office it could reveal your location and bring him under suspicion. You must do nothing that would draw attention to this house, do you understand?’
Once Rosa decided she had no alternative but to go along with Henry, she moved fast and decisively. She gave Frau Hermann her lunch early and told her she would be back later. She packed a small suitcase for her and Sophia, telling the little girl they were going on a long journey and if she was a very good girl and did everything she was asked to, and told anyone who asked her name was Gisela, she would see Alfred. But only if you’re good. And only if you remember your name is Gisela.
Henry decided to bring the car right outside the house rather than risk Rosa and Sophia being seen crossing the road with a suitcase.
***
Always see a car journey in the same way as one on foot – as a series of short journeys: a car trip from London to Edinburgh, for example, should be broken down into a series of shorter stages – London to Northampton, Northampton to Nottingham, Nottingham to Sheffield, et cetera. These are much easier to explain if stopped, as long as you have a feasible story ready to explain that journey.
This aspect of his British training and more was racing around in Henry’s mind as they left the house in Arno-Holz Strasse at noon. They were just ahead of the schedule he had in his mind when they pulled into a layby just outside Potsdam 40 minutes later. He turned off the engine and took out a road map from beside his seat.
‘Here, let me show you our route.’
‘Where to?’
‘To Switzerland, I told you.’
‘You’re serious, aren’t you? How are we going to get that far?’
‘Let me show you, I have it all planned.’
Henry opened out the map, allowing it to rest on the dashboard and their laps. He moved towards Rosa as they looked at it. As he got closer he caught the scent of a delicate perfume. She flicked her hair out of her eyes, looking carefully at the map as he pointed at the Swiss border.
‘I know where Switzerland is.’
‘There are two possible routes, Rosa. This one here – I’ve called that the east route. It’s more direct. We’d go south-west in more or less a straight line: Leipzig; Bayreuth; Nuremberg; Ulm. The plan would be to cross the border around Lake Konstanz…’
‘Attempt to cross the border, Henri.’
‘Attempt to cross the border then. I understand the Lake Konstanz part of the frontier can be a bit less dangerous than some other crossings. But that’d take us through Bavaria and close to the border with the Protectorate, where I’m told security is especially strong’.
Henry leant over Rosa to unfold more of the map. Her hair brushed his face.
‘This is what I call the west route: it’s much more circuitous. We’d drive to Brunswick then down towards Stuttgart before crossing the border around Singen, with an option to go over the mountains. It has the advantage of taking us close to Frankfurt, which is where our identity cards say we are from.’
Rosa studied the map for a while. She frowned.
‘I suppose your west route is the lesser of two evils. Do you know how long it’ll take us?’
‘From here to Brunswick is just over 110 miles, but I’m planning to come off the main roads and stick to the side roads as much as I can. If anyone asks why, just say you get car sick on main roads. I think we’ll get south of Brunswick – maybe as far as Göttingen – before it gets dark. We can then look for a wood to drive into and hide for the night. We’ll be 200 miles from Stuttgart: we can be there by Wednesday night and drive to Switzerland on the Thursday.’
Rosa said nothing, but shrugged as if in reluctant agreement. Henry restarted the Opel and they pulled out into the road.
‘You must drive slower, please – and not so close to the centre of the road. You had this all planned, didn’t you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re too near the kerb now, just slow down a bit,’ said Rosa. ‘Are you seriously telling me you saw Franz this morning and since then you’ve sorted all this out, including working out how long it’s going to take?’
‘Yes and no. I told you Rosa, since I first met you I’d been so concerned at the danger you were in that I’d given some consideration to this. And when Franz told me this morning I had to move fast.’
To the surprise of both of them, the journey to Brunswick was uneventful. Where they could, they dropped off the main road: the Lower Saxony countryside was ideal for this kind of driving, with plenty of small narrow roads leading off the larger ones. On the occasions they passed police or military vehicles no interest was paid to them: a husband and wife and their daughter out for a drive. A few miles to the north of Göttingen, with the light beginning to fail, they came across a wood with a track leading into it from the road. Henry stopped the car and managed to open a creaky wooden gate, then drove as deep into the wood as possible. When he walked back to shut the gate it was impossible to see the Opel from the road. It was when he returned to the car, feeling pleased with himself and almost relaxed, that Sophia started crying. It was a soft cry at first, almost a series of sobs, but then it became louder.
‘What is it darling?’
When Sophia replied she spoke so quietly her mother had to lean across the front seat to hear her.
‘I can’t hear you darling; you’ll need to speak up.’
‘But I can’t, Mama,’ she whispered. ‘You told me to whisper. You said people mustn’t hear me speak.’
Rosa turned around and stroked her daughter’s face.
‘It’s alright now darling. You don’t need to whisper here in the car: only if there are other people around. Now, what were you going to say?’
‘I’m frightened.’ Each word punctuated by a noisy sob.
‘What are you frightened of?’
‘The goblins! There are always goblins in a forest.’
‘There are no such thing as goblins,’ said Henry impatiently. ‘And, in any case, this is not a forest, it’s a wood.’
This only seemed to make things worse and Sophia’s cry turned into a wail. Rosa left the front seat and went to sit next to Sophia in the back. After a long cuddle, the little girl calmed down.
‘Where are we going?’
‘You should rest now darling.’
‘But where are we going?’ Sophia sounded as if was pleading with her mother.
‘Somewhere safe darling. Now, please rest.’
‘If we’re going somewhere safe, does it mean we’ll see Alfred there?’
‘Yes darling, I told you we would, especially if you’re a good girl. You should rest now.’
‘Will we also see papa in the safe place? Why don’t you tell me?’
Rosa didn’t reply. Henry glanced back at her, her head had dropped and she was tapping her teeth with her knuckles as her eyes filled with tears. Sophia was sitting with her legs hunched up to her face, her enormous dark eyes unblinking as they looked up at him from behind her kneecaps. In the gloom her pale skin now appeared chalky-white. She gave him the beginnings of a smile and waved one of the paws of the dirty, white, one-eared rabbit she was clutching at Henry, who waved back awkwardly.
‘If you’re quiet, Sophia, and behave very, very well,’ said Henry, ‘then I promise that when we get to the safe place you’ll get a present. But you have to be quiet.’
‘What kind of present?’
Henry shrugged. ‘Chocolates.’
The little girl said nothing but pulled a face.
‘What about a new rabbit? That one looks very old – it’s only got one ear.’
‘But I love Mr Rabbit! You can’t take him away!’
The little girl started crying again. Rosa pulled her close.
‘No-one is going to take Mr Rabbit away darling. Henri meant we’ll buy you a friend
for Mr Rabbit.’
During the long silence that followed the light dimmed quickly and when Sophia spoke again it was almost dark.
‘It’ll be nice for Mr Rabbit to have a friend, won’t it Mama?’
‘Yes darling. You try to rest now.’
‘Because we don’t have friends anymore, do we?’
‘What do you mean darling?’
‘Alfred told me that. He said the reason we had to be so quiet in the house and not go near the window is because no-one is our friend. Is that true?’
Rosa said nothing, but busied herself arranging a blanket around Sophia, allowing the rabbit’s head to poke out of the top.
‘Here are some biscuits darling. Eat those then try to get to sleep.’
She munched at the biscuits, her eyes looking around the car, unblinking.
‘Why is no-one our friend, Mama?’
‘Don’t keep asking questions, darling. Where we’re going, everyone will be our friend.’
‘Is Henri our friend?’
In the rear-view mirror Henry caught Rosa’s face as she hesitated briefly before replying.
‘Yes, darling. Sleep now.’
Henry watched through the mirror, waiting for Sophia to fall asleep. When she finally did, he cleared his throat and turned around to talk. Now was the time, he had decided, to be honest with Rosa. Maybe then she would see him in a better light.
But when he turned, Rosa was fast asleep too and the moment had passed.
***
On the Tuesday morning, before the Opel had even left Berlin, Franz Hermann was becoming increasingly worried. He had been unnerved by the encounter with Alois Jäger in Oberwallstrasse and even more so by the way his colleague had been since then. First of all Jäger had only walked with him part of the way to the office, then had suddenly stopped and said he needed to go back and check something. Back at the office he had come in to see him.
‘If you had not told me otherwise, Franz, then I’d have thought you and that Swiss man knew each other. You looked like you were acquaintances, rather than one stranger giving directions to another.’
