Yoram Cohen, long since retired and living off his pension and German reparation checks had been taking his daily stroll along the shore collecting seashells when the warning came from the loudspeakers. At first, he turned to escape. When he heard the screams of Bobby and Jane, however, he froze in place. Yoram wasn’t armed, but he felt he couldn’t just leave the children alone. Against all his common sense he ran towards the boat.
As Yoram approached the children Bobby cried out, “They killed my mother!” Jane was curled up next to the rotted hull repeatedly mumbling, “Mommy, mommy.”
Yoram spoke practically no English, however, he understood the meaning of these words all too well. At the age of eight he had witnessed both his parents slaughtered by sword-wielding Cossacks during a pogrom in his native city of Kiev, Russia. He too, like Zelda, was a survivor of the Nazi extermination camps. Yoram knew their position was hopeless. The four terrorists were now approaching the boat and strafing it with automatic fire. He could hear the clattering of the bullets hitting the side of the boat. There was no place to run.
Yoram grabbed Bobby and Jane and laid them down. He crouched over them and tried to shield them with his body. He kept repeating to them khrabryye deti, meaning “brave children” in Russian.
Then he started to pray in Hebrew. “Shema Yisroel, Hear O’ Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” This passage, perhaps the most sacred prayer in Judaism, is traditionally recited by a Jew who is facing imminent death.
As round after round fired from the terrorists’ AK-74 assault rifles hit the boat, the leader shouted an order in Arabic: “Leave them for now, let’s finish off these Zionist pigs.”
The five now began to spray bullets at Zelda and Shlomo. Zelda, about twenty yards from Shlomo, was hit in her left shoulder. As the leader charged in her direction, Shlomo tried to cover her. However, with only three bullets remaining in his revolver, and the other four terrorists heading towards him, he was in a bad situation.
The leader decided to finish off Zelda the way he had killed Mary Fletcher. As he raised his assault rifle to bludgeon her, Zelda lifted her gun and fired. The bullet pierced the terrorist’s neck and he fell to the ground, gasping for air. His blood formed a crimson pool in the sand around them.
Shlomo, seeing the fallen terrorist, crawled in the direction of Zelda. When he reached her, he said to Zelda, gently, “Please stay still.” The elderly grandmother was in terrible pain, but her face revealed a distinct glow of satisfaction.
Shlomo picked up the now-bloody AK-74 as he glanced with the disgust at the terrorist leader, who was drowning in his own blood. But he had no time or inclination to put the murderer out of his misery. It had been many years since he had operated an automatic rifle, and he was trying to remember his training.
Shlomo grabbed a magazine from the belt of the gasping leader and stuffed it into his pocket. In order to conserve ammunition, he switched the rifle from automatic to semi-automatic mode. He then opened fire.
The four remaining terrorists were now faced with a new situation, leaderless and facing a veteran with an AK-74. Laying in the sand, they argued about their next move.
Two miles to the south, Aryeh Glickstein and Shmuel Roth, both former Golani infantrymen, were serving in reserve duty. Every year for the past six years they had been assigned to the same job, patrolling the beach between Herzliya and Netanya eight hours a day. In six years of patrolling they had not once spotted anything even remotely suspicious, save the occasional lost suitcase. But as Aryeh often told Shmuel, “It beats manning a roadblock in the middle of the Negev Desert.”
Nearing the end of their shift they were approaching Netanya when suddenly a voice came over the jeep radio. “Patrol Aleph-3, proceed immediately to Sector 28. Snakes have been spotted.”
Aryeh hit the gas and the two sped to the public beach in Netanya. Within two minutes they arrived at the boat, where they saw Yoram lying motionless on top of two children. One, a young girl, was screaming in hysterics, while the other, an older boy, was trying to comfort her.
Shmuel jumped from the jeep as Aryeh slowed down. Holding his Uzi submachine gun firmly at his waist, he began firing rapidly in the direction of the terrorists. With its distinctive boxy shape and legendary reliability, the Israeli-produced Uzi had become a favorite of both Israeli Special Forces and Hollywood producers. Now caught in a crossfire between Shmuel’s Uzi and Shlomo’s requisitioned AK-74, the terrorists were in a bind.
Aryeh stopped the jeep and went to check on the old man and two children hiding behind the boat. He pulled Yoram’s lifeless body off the children, and was relieved to see that they appeared to be unharmed.
Aryeh told them firmly in Hebrew, “Everything is going to be O.K., just stay behind me.” He then went back to the jeep and hopped onto the back, where a Browning M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun was mounted. The machine gun’s awesome firepower was overwhelming, and Aryeh’s barrage of bullets created a barrier that prevented the terrorists from approaching Shmuel or Shlomo.
The terrorists soon realized that they were caught in a deadly crossfire. There were only two options. One was to make a break for their assault boat. However, they would be an easy target for Israeli patrol boats and aircraft, making escape impossible. The other option was to charge the entrance to the beach and kill as many Israelis as possible until they were martyred. A crowd of beachgoers had remained to watch the firefight at what they thought was a safe distance. In unison, the terrorists began to rush toward them.
For a moment, panic struck the crowd. The terrorists successfully dodged the bullets fired by Shmuel, Aryeh, and Shlomo. A massacre seemed inevitable.
Suddenly, the crowd became quiet. The panic-stricken beachgoers turned to look in the direction of an Army truck that had just skidded to a halt twenty feet away. Out jumped a unit of soldiers wearing green fatigues and red combat boots, signifying to that they were paratroopers, Israel’s top combat soldiers. This was Unit 269, Sayeret Matkal or General Reconnaissance, often considered to be Israel’s most elite commando unit. They had been on training maneuvers just eight miles away on the Green Line when Captain Motti Golan had picked up news of the attack over the truck’s radio transmitter. Golan. Always the maverick, knew his men were needed and fast, so without awaiting orders they had headed immediately to the site.
Upon arriving, Golan ordered his unit to split into two groups. The first group was ordered to defend the crowd and close off the entrance to the beach. The second group was directed to engage the terrorists. Half took a position near Shlomo and Zelda, with the unit’s medic attending to Zelda’s wounds. The other half moved into position at the north side of the beach, effectively cutting off thee directions for the terrorists, leaving only the sea open.
Golan raised his arm, signaling the soldiers to open up with heavy automatic fire. The commandos were equipped with Israeli-made Galil assault rifles, which were more than a match for the terrorists’ AK-74s. At the same time, Shmuel continued to strafe the beach with Uzi fire alongside Aryeh manning the jeep’s mounted heavy machine gun.
Having no cover on the beach, the terrorists were left with their faces in the sand. With no choice, they crawled toward their assault boat floating in the shallow waters.
Golan was not interested in a prolonged chase that could put more civilians at risk. He gave a signal to his unit, raising up one hand with his palm facing upward. This let his soldiers know to raise the elevation of their aim seven feet above the heads of their terrorists. He then picked up the radio, instructing Shmuel and Aryeh to cease fire, as they were not familiar with his planned maneuver. He then ordered a group of four soldiers at Shlomo’s position to strap their Galils to their backs and take out their bayonets.
The terrorists slithering towards the sea with their faces in the sand did not notice the change in elevation of the fire. All they heard was the sound of bullets whizzing above their heads.
Captain Golan then gave the signal to the four commandos
to charge. They ran in a crouched position at full speed under the umbrella of bullets. Within seconds they pounced on the terrorists. Three of the commandos, with cold precision, cut the throats of their assigned terrorists. The fourth, as ordered, pressed his knife firmly against the Adam’s apple of his terrorist, drawing blood, but making sure not to kill him.
Golan gave the signal to cease fire. Then he walked over and stood above the trembling, lone subdued terrorist. Speaking calmly in Arabic, he said in a commanding voice, “Please give me a reason to cut your throat.” The terrorist, already feeling the blood soaking the collar of his khakis, gave no reason, and Motti took him prisoner.
6
Hitler considered his new project, “Valhalla,” to be his greatest achievement. Now he would finally be able to fulfill his vision of a pure Aryan society, built from the ground up and planned to the last detail. While the whole world was awaiting the military defeat and collapse of Nazi Germany, Hitler delighted in knowing that he would get the last laugh.
Three elements were necessary for the successful execution of his plan. First, a suitable location must be found. Then, transportation of personnel and supplies would have to be arranged in total secrecy. Finally, Hitler himself would have to vanish in a way that would prevent his enemies from searching for him after hostilities ended.
Hitler meticulously scrutinized dozens of relief maps provided to him by Goebbels until he settled on his ideal site for the project. In the winter of 1941, a team of geologists tasked with identifying potential oil reserves had accompanied Rommel’s Tank Corp during their campaign in Northern Libya. During a survey, they had discovered a cluster of underground caverns resembling a four-leafed clover, hundreds of feet below the earth’s surface. Knowing that this type of geological formation could potentially contain oil deposits, the geologists sent down a drilling team to explore the interior. Though no oil reserves were discovered, the team noted substantial coal deposits that ran along the perimeter of the cave. Though the depth and the remoteness of the site made coal mining economically unfeasible, the details of the survey were reported and filed, gathering dust on a shelf until it was retrieved for Hitler’s perusal.
The reasons that made the site unfeasible for mining were, in fact, exactly why it was ideal for the Valhalla project. The site was located fifty miles from the coast of Libya, in the Sirte Basin of the Sahara Desert, one of the most remote and desolate places on Earth. The average temperature was over one hundred thirty degrees Fahrenheit. It was constantly plagued with sandstorms. Even desert nomads steered clear of this part of the Sahara. Furthermore, Hitler believed that the Allies would never search for him in an area that had been under their control for over two years.
What made the nearly ten-square-kilometer cave complex perfect for Hitler’s project, however, was a feature discovered by the exploration team that was completely unexpected. Natural springs at one edge of the cave fed a sizable underground river of potable water. This reliable water source was critical for long-term human habitation. Adding to the site’s appeal was the unusually high ceilings reaching nearly two hundred feet above the floor of the cave. As he read the report, Hitler thought to himself that the descriptions of cavern complex could easily have described legendary Valhalla of Norse mythology.
The second part of Hitler’s plan was so complex it would seem to be a logistical nightmare. In order to build Valhalla, enormous amounts of building materials and supplies would have to be transported to the remote site in secret. As Hitler’s plans called for an underground city with a projected population of fifty to one hundred thousand inhabitants that would be able to live in total isolation from the outside world for a minimum of fifty years, all equipment would need to be in place from day one.
Valhalla was more than just a fortress from which Hitler would rein destruction on his enemies. It would also be the birthplace of the Fourth Reich, which would bring to fruition Hitler’s dream of conquering of the world and repopulating it with a “Master Race.” In Hitler’s vision of Valhalla, he would play the role of Odin at the head of the banquet attended by his Super-Aryans as his valiant warriors. Hitler envisioned that one day, after sanitizing the Earth from its present inhabitants, his Super-Aryans would emerge from their underground sanctuary at Valhalla to repopulate the planet.
Hitler worked with Dr. Julius Schreiber to conform his breeding program to Alfred Eydt’s study of Aryan morphology. In Hitler’s vision, continents would be populated according to Eydt’s classification. Europe would be populated with the Nordic Aryan, Asia with the Falian Aryan, Africa with the Eastern Baltic Aryan, North America with the Western Baltic Aryan, South America with the Dinaric Aryan, and Oceania with the Eastern German Aryan.
To this end, Dr. Schreiber organized the selection of six hundred young women and sixty men between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. This seed group was flown from Berlin’s Institute for Research of Heredity to the remains of the Strain facility in Crete, which would serve as a staging ground before the final move to Valhalla. At the same time, Hitler ordered Professor Broder, who had by then recovered from his nervous breakdown, to make up a list of the necessary equipment, supplies, and manpower he would need to complete the Strain Program.
Hitler understood that in order to build Valhalla, skilled manpower was essential. Hitler tasked Goebbels to identify one hundred unmarried SS engineering officers and bring them to a training seminar in Berlin. Upon their arrival, the engineers were housed in a hangar at the Berlin Military Airfield, one of the few buildings that remained after many Allied bombing runs. Instead of a seminar, the officers found themselves at an impromptu award ceremony. Hitler arrived at the hangar and pinned on each officer’s uniform an Iron Cross, Second Class. Once a highly coveted metal, after 1943 it was freely awarded in order to maintain loyalty. Upon the conclusion of the ceremony, the engineers were boarded onto transport planes and flown directly to the airfield near the Strain facility on Cyprus.
Heinrich Mueller, head of the Gestapo, was alerted to the unusual movements of the engineering officers as well as vast amounts of vital war material being sent to Cyprus. It was his duty to report suspicious activity regarding SS personnel to his direct superior, Himmler, but his intuition suggested that perhaps the Fuhrer was directly involved and might not want the information publicized. Therefore, he decided to bypass Himmler and go directly to the Fuhrer to inquire.
When Mueller scheduled to meet with Hitler to discuss the matter, Hitler was placed in a precarious position. Hitler had intended from the beginning to maintain total secrecy from the Nazi bureaucracy which he had come to distrust. He realized that even if he denied everything and ordered Mueller to drop the matter, Mueller was likely to discover Valhalla and put the entire project at risk, especially if he was captured and interrogated by the Allies after the war. Initially, Hitler decided he would have Mueller executed by the Fuhrerbunker guards on some pretext. However, he changed his mind, concluding that Mueller’s mysterious disappearance would likely create even more exposure.
Hitler personally liked Mueller, so he decided to include Mueller in his plans. This turned out to be a shrewd decision. Mueller, a ferociously sadistic Nazi, would be able to utilize his position as the head of the Gestapo to procure tens of thousands of tons of supplies without anyone daring to question his purpose.
After an hour-long meeting with his Fuhrer, Mueller knew everything there was to know about the Strain and Project Valhalla. Hitler put him right to work overseeing the procurement program.
Mueller knew exactly what to do. He first concentrated all financial resources at his disposal, including over ten thousand kilograms of gold Jewish dental work which was smelted into bullion and sold for cash. He also collected a vast fortune of cash reserves that had been confiscated from hundreds of banks throughout conquered Europe. The money was deposited in Swiss bank accounts by Nazi sympathizers.
He then ordered agents around the world to purchase materials and goods from a list provided
to him by Hitler. The purchases were made at black markets in many different countries by locally stationed Gestapo agents. Such transactions were not unusual during the closing stages of World War II, in fact, there was an unwritten rule that cash payments for supplies meant no questions asked. Mueller coordinated the shipment and delivery of these purchases by assembling a private merchant fleet which would pick up and deliver these supplies to a makeshift port on the coast of Crete.
Mueller was also able to secretly order the transfer of thousands of Jews who were being evacuated by way of forced death marches from Poland’s extermination camps and boarded them on to his merchant fleet. These Jews served three purposes. First, he needed “volunteers” for Schreiber’s experiments to develop additional modules to Das Maschine. Second, Broder needed Jews as test subjects for the Strain program. Finally, slave labor was necessary for the back-breaking work required to build and maintain Project Valhalla.
On February 1, 1945, the first phase began. All supplies and initial manpower were loaded onto cargo ships docked in the port in Crete. The convoy of ships were under top secret orders to head toward a designated spot off the Libyan coast. In order to prevent Allied naval forces from intervening, Hitler arranged a distraction. Two groups of U-boats were sent to engage larger British vessels at Malta and Sicily. Though there was some initial resistance by senior naval officers to what seemed to be a completely futile suicide mission, a brief and violent visit by Gestapo agents quickly dissolved the opposition.
As the vessels departed for Libya, Heinrich Mueller flew to Crete for a meeting with SS Gruppenfuhrer Otto Kempler, the official in charge of Hitler’s security team for the project, at the mountaintop ruins of the former Strain facility. Mueller handed Kempler a mahogany box that held twenty sealed envelopes. Each one contained the handwritten orders of the Fuhrer. Mueller instructed Kempler to open the first envelope which was marked with a handwritten Roman numeral I and bore the signature of the Fuhrer.
Agent of Vengeance Page 5
