Improbable Nazi

by Ward Wagher

“I sent him to Palestine to do whatever Ben Gurion needed. If he is indeed dirty, that gets him far away from the other plotters. It also allows us to take advantage of his unique talents.”

  “What do you need from me, Karl?” Schloss asked.

  “I mainly wanted to let you know what I did. I told Skorzeny that I would not share what he told me to anyone. I assume he understood that I would have to tell you.”

  “You are handling this wisely, Karl. Please keep me appraised of how things go for him in Palestine.”

  “I will do so, Herr Schloss.”

  “Now, if there is nothing else?”

  “No, sir. I do not desire to fall afoul of Frau Marsden.”

  “See, you are a wise man, Karl.”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  Schloss smiled at Rainer and touched him on the shoulder. Without another word, he turned and walked out of his office.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  January 24, 1942; 10PM

  Near Rudersdorf, Germany

  “The air raids have fallen off again,” Gisela said.

  “Herr Goering has managed to stop the last two raids cold. In fact, none of the English bombers returned home,” Schloss said.

  “I would have thought Peter would have been trumpeting the victories from every outlet,” she said.

  “We decided to keep this quiet. I don’t want the English to figure out how we stopped them. Plus, if we say nothing about it, they will perhaps worry more.”

  She nodded and leaned back. They sat together on a sofa in the living room of a house along the Kalksee. A hint of smoke drifted through the room from the blazing fireplace. The row of windows along one wall showed gently drifting snow with the black backdrop of the lake.

  “That is very clever,” she said. “I wish we could get them to agree to end the war.”

  Schloss nodded. “That is my fervent wish, as well. All we can do is plant the seed and keep it watered.”

  “But, how many people will die before we can harvest the plant, my Darling?”

  He sighed. “That is really the imponderable. In theory, the English people will get tired of the war if it doesn’t impact them personally. They should eventually elect a more accommodating government. We should be able to wait them out.”

  “But?”

  He looked fondly at the woman, and studied the red highlights of her hair in the firelight. “I’m riding a tiger, my Dear. We are in a war against a determined foe. We are attempting to correct several great evils within the country. The former elite of this country wants very badly to restore the old-line Nazis to power. And we must guard against letting the people grow restive.”

  She snuggled under his arm and looked around the room. “I am glad you were able to get away for a weekend, at least.”

  “I probably shouldn’t have, but I decided to heed everyone’s advice.”

  “So you should have! I know you are exhausted. We do not need you to become ill.”

  “Last night’s sleep was restful,” he said. “I look forward to another before we head back to Berlin.”

  “This is a very nice place. How did you find it?”

  “Karl Rainer found it, or knew about it,” Schloss said. “The man has a positive gift for finding places like this.”

  “I like Karl,” she said. “How did you come to know him?”

  And that is a very good question, Hennie, he thought. I can hardly tell her I met him at Tempelhof after my sudden trip from 1982.

  “I suppose it would be interesting to chronicle the people I met in the party over the past years. Karl and I shared many opinions. Over time we became friends. There are not many people I can truly count on, but Karl is one of them. You do not seem to have that many friends, either.”

  “That is mainly because I am so disagreeable,” she immediately said.

  He laughed out loud. “That is certainly an outrageous statement. You are probably the most agreeable person I have ever met.”

  “That is because we are in love, Darling.”

  “Blinded by love?”

  “Most certainly.”

  “More coffee?”

  Now, it was her turn to laugh. “That is certainly a change of subject. And yes, I would love some more coffee.”

  He untangled himself from her and picked up the two coffee cups. He stepped into the kitchen where a Luftwaffe rating managed things.

  “The coffee has nearly finished brewing, Herr Reichschancellor,” he said.

  “Can you bring a couple of cups in to us, then?”

  He nodded. “Cream and sugar for Frau Badhoff, correct?”

  “And black for me,” Schloss replied. “Sorry to keep you on the job over the weekend.”

  “Herr Reichschancellor, the honor is mine,” he said.

  Schloss smiled as he made his way back to the sofa. The various branches of the armed forces vied for the opportunity to serve the leadership, especially Schloss. Goering was popular with the military rank and file, though less so with the flag officers. But, the ranks had come to revere Schloss, and he wasn’t sure why. It made him uncomfortable.

  The guards around the villa came from the party security force that Rainer and Schloss had developed over the previous six months. They were fiercely dedicated to protecting the Reichschancellor, and Rainer was loath to assign that task to anyone else.

  “The Luftwaffe guy has a fresh pot brewing,” he told Gisela, “and will bring us each a cup shortly.”

  “His name is Erich,” she corrected him. “He’s a dear.”

  “Thank you, Schatzi,” he said as he sat down. “I have trouble remembering names.”

  “I don’t know how you keep track of the ones you do,” she said.

  “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” he said. “Rainer and I keep a notebook of people I have met and those I am supposed to know. Before we visit a city, we review the names of people I am likely to meet. I would be completely helpless otherwise.”

  “That is very smart,” she said. “Is that how you remembered me?”

  Careful, Hennie, careful. You are about to get yourself into trouble.

  Following his surprise introduction to the girl, he had scoured the little book in an effort to discover her name. Once that task was complete, he had worked to piece together her background and how they had met. And he had not regretted their meeting.

  He raised an eyebrow and leered at her. “But, of course.”

  She elbowed him in the ribs. “Lout!”

  I really do not like to lie to her. And, what I just told her was the truth. It is becoming more difficult to hide things from her. Perhaps another change of subject is in order.

  “And how are the wedding plans going?” he asked.

  She glared at him through lidded eyes. “You have this way of avoiding battle, Mein Herr.”

  “Of course,” he said. “I have surrendered to your charms.”

  “Charms indeed,” she snorted. “Between Renate and Frau Marsden, I think things are going well. We are also getting a lot of advice from some of the women in the party offices.”

  “And Emmy?”

  She laughed. “Yes, Emmy Goering calls me nearly every day about one thing or another related to the wedding.”

  “Would you like me to speak to Hermann to see if he can get her to ease off?”

  “Oh, no, Darling. She would be crushed. That would be assuming you could get Herr Goering to say anything about it. He is completely smitten by Emmy.”

  “I understand.”

  “Right,” she said, elbowing him again. “Emmy has become a friend. I would not want to embarrass her. Besides, I think she can help us control the Reichsmarshall.”

  He looked sharply at her. “What do you mean, Liebling?”

  “You know he has been unable to shake off his use of morphine. You have noticed when he gets a bit… erratic?”

  “Emmy told you this?”

  “She did. He became addicted after he was shot in the putsch in Munich in
‘23. That was when Carin was still alive. At one time, he was hospitalized because he was out of control. But, then, you already know this.”

  “I had heard that,” Schloss said, “but I really did not have direct knowledge. He generally hides it well. On the other hand, it may explain some of his actions of late.”

  One of the things that amused Schloss about his conversations with Gisela was the inability to stay on a given topic for very long. She had a questing mind and his historian’s desire to look at all sides also tended to drive the conversations awry. But that was one of the things he loved about her. He could freely admit to himself that he loved her like he had loved no other.

  The conversation trailed off as they studied the fire and each other. Erich quietly slipped through the room to set the fresh coffee cups on the table in front of them. He then walked over to add a log to the fire. He then drifted out of room like a tendril of smoke from the fire.

  § § §

  January 26, 1942; 10AM

  Reich Chancellery

  Berlin

  “Quite the winter weather,” Goering said as he settled himself into the chair across from Schloss.

  Schloss glanced out the tall windows of his office at the snow still drifting down. “I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to make in from Rudersdorf yesterday. We had a couple of Wehrmacht trucks breaking trail for us.”

  “Not much else is moving in the city, that’s for sure.”

  “How did you manage to get over here from the Air Ministry, Hermann?”

  “I commandeered one of the staff Volkswagens. They will go through anything.”

  “Not quite your style, though,” Schloss said with a smile.

  Goering shrugged. “I prefer my Grosser Mercedes, but these little cars are oddly attractive. The factory is just a mess, though.”

  Schloss searched his mind. The story of Hitler’s People’s Car was a sideline to war and Germany’s defeat in his world. Apparently, some of the details here were slightly different.

  “How so?” he asked.

  “Our factory managers at kdf-Stadt are nearly incompetent. Responsibility for the organization falls under my authority. Unfortunately.”

  The Reichsmarshall had a sheepish grin.

  “Have you had a chance to do anything about it?” Schloss asked. “Do we even care?”

  “I talked to Speer about it. And, you must meet him sometime, Herr Reichschancellor. He suggested we hire Heinz Nordhoff from Opel to run the plant. He also suggested the government spin the whole venture off into a public company.”

  “Speer said that?” Schloss asked.

  And Albert Speer was Hitler’s architect and war industries manager in my former world. I wonder why he has faded from view here.

  “Yes. He is really quite intelligent about things like that.”

  “Useful to have around, eh?”

  Goering raised an eyebrow. “You know, I took a certain risk when I pulled him into my organization after the Fuhrer fired him.”

  “Just so.” And where are you going with this, Hermann?

  “But I hated to waste someone with his capabilities. To be honest, a lot of my successes in the management of the war industries are due to him.”

  Fat Hermann is being very honest this morning. Perhaps he is off the morphine.

  “Back to the topic at hand,” Schloss said. “How do you predict the English are going to respond to the loss of those two attacking groups?”

  “I have a group of Luftwaffe officers exploring ideas, Herr Reichschancellor. We think the English will begin sending their Beaufighters with the radio detection equipment to escort the bombers. That is what we would do, in any case.”

  “And how does that change the equation?”

  Goering heaved a sigh. He glanced down at the empty platter next to his chair with regret. The pastries had been particularly good this morning.

  “They would try to shoot down the Condors,” he said. “And they would likely succeed.”

  “Have we been able to duplicate the equipment we captured from the English airplane?” Schloss asked.

  “We are very close. Once again Speer had a brilliant suggestion. We equipped a small factory so that the technicians would quickly copy the English device and put it into limited production. There is a parallel group that has taken the original design and improved upon it. The English manufacturing is sloppy, and we think it makes their equipment unreliable.”

  “That is good thinking,” Schloss said. “Do you expect to begin placing the equipment into our aircraft?”

  “Yes. We will use the bf110, of course. It is more than adequate for night work.”

  “Very well,” Schloss said. “Please keep me apprised.”

  Goering nodded. “Of course, Herr Reichschancellor.”

  “Next item. How are things going with the Swallow?”

  “The tests with the BMW engines have been so promising I went ahead and approved production of the first hundred of the aircraft. I hope to start forming squadrons immediately. We may see some limited service as soon as this summer.”

  “And we want to keep the new aircraft out of view for as long as possible,” Schloss said. “I want them fully trained and in sufficient numbers that they will come as a horrible shock to the English. I think we may have a weapon that will be years ahead of anything the English are working on.”

  “I agree completely,” Goering said. “I have been talking to Rainer about how to improve security. Canaris told me he thinks the English may have gotten wind of our new U-Boat designs.”

  “And what did you learn from that, Herr Reichsmarshall?” Schloss snapped.

  Goering held up his hands. “I will not try to make excuses, Herr Reichschancellor. I know you warned me about this. Let us just say I am trying to learn from my mistakes.”

  Schloss sighed. “This makes me unhappy Hermann.” He drummed his fingers on the desk and looked up again. “Very well. I suggest you make an example of officers who are sloppy about security.”

  “But there might be some good men...”

  “Hermann,” Schloss interrupted. “If they are letting information slip to the enemy through negligence, they are not good men. Understand?”

  “I understand,” Goering said quickly. “As I said, I have already taken actions.”

  “Very well,” he said as he made a note on his desk. “I will check with you again in the future on how things are going in this regard. I should not have to do this.”

  “You have my humble apologies, Herr Reichschancellor.”

  “Just fix it! And apologies accepted. Now let’s move to North Africa. Tell me what’s happening.”

  “We are in a good position, but the commander on the ground seems overly aggressive at times.”

  “That would be Rommel?”

  “Correct. He has a tendency to extend himself beyond his supply lines.”

  “What would you suggest?”

  Goering tilted his head one way and then the other as he considered the question. “I am tempted to suggest to the High Command that they do a better job of providing logistics.”

  “In other words, it’s a political issue?” Schloss asked.

  “That is my suspicion. I am loath to criticize a general who consistently gives us victories.”

  “I will leave that to you, then, Herr Reichsmarshall. Please let me know if I can provide any assistance. I agree with you. We do not want to shackle our most successful generals unnecessarily.”

  Kirche slipped into the room and refilled the coffee cups. Goering looked longingly at the empty pastry platter again, but the secretary pointedly ignored him. Schloss had instructed him to not overfeed the Reichsmarshall when he visited the Reichschancellor’s office. Schloss studied the tableau and was privately amused.

  If I don’t help him control his appetite, he will go from being Big Hermann to Zeppelin Hermann.

  “I have another idea,” Schloss said.

  “And what would that be?�
�� Goering asked.

  “We know the English are working on jet propulsion, although they are likely not as advanced as we are. But, they will move heaven and earth to catch up with us once we finally reveal our capability. We need to be thinking about how to stay ahead of them.”

  “That is very true,” Goering said. “The Junkers people have told me they are experimenting with injecting fuel into the exhaust and this produces considerable extra thrust. It also greatly increases fuel consumption.”

  “My idea was along some other lines,” Schloss said. “Look here. I mentioned this the last time we were at Lechfield.”

  He began sketching on a piece of paper with his ever-present pencil. “Suppose we graft a larger set of, I don’t know what to call them, fans maybe on the front of the engine that push air around the turbine for some additional thrust. I don’t know if it would be faster, but it might save fuel.”

  Goering looked down at the paper and then up at Schloss. “How do you keep coming up with these ideas? I must admit I did not quite understand what you were talking about at Lechfield. This makes a lot of sense.”

  I cannot tell him, of course, that I liked to read aviation journals in the library during the 1970’s.

  “I am not sure if I can tell you how I do it,” Schloss said. “It just seemed to me that this might be worth exploring.”

  “May I take this with me?” Goering asked. “I don’t know if Willie said anything to the engine group or not. The Junkers people are still fighting with the initial model of their engine, but it might be something to get the BMW engineers thinking. They are very good. The reliability of the BMW engine has improved dramatically, and it is actually a lot less expensive to build than the piston engines.”

  “And you must encourage them to continue innovating. And you also should encourage the aircraft designers to think about how to accommodate the extra power for more speed.”

  “Willy Messerschmidt has told me that they run into problems as they approach the speed of sound. Big problems.”

  “How will we get around that?” Schloss asked.

  “I have received requests for a high-speed wind tunnel. I believe we should do it. We can place models in the tunnel and study how they respond to ultra-high speed.”