by Mark Hobson
Pieter flew across the room to the only window and looked out.
And there she was. Standing on the pavement across the street, with the dunes and the sea behind her. The lady in the hat. Looking up at him, and smiling.
But a bus went by then, blocking his view of her, and once it had gone past, he knew, he just knew!
Lotte was gone.
Pieter raised the flat of his hand against the glass and banged it over and over in frustration.
He looked left and right up and down the street.
She was nowhere to be seen.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This is of course a work of fiction, but some parts of it are based on actual events:
Unternehmen Werwolf – Operation Werewolf was the brainchild of SS Obergruppenfuhrer Hans-Adolf Prutzmann, General Inspector of Special Defence. Under orders from Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler to create a special commando unit of highly-trained operatives whose role would be to remain back behind enemy lines as occupied Europe was liberated by Allied forces, he came up with the Werewolf Commando Force. Their members were mostly made up of young men and teenagers from the Hitler Youth or young ladies from the BDM – The League of German Girls. Hulchrath Castle was their main training camp. Here they took part in map-reading, rifle practice, first-aid techniques, boxing and wrestling, hand-to-hand combat, preparation for acts of sabotage such as making mines from empty tins of Heinz soup, and learning assassination skills.
Operation Carnival likewise was a real operation. The members of the team, led by Herbert Wenzel, were tasked with assassinating the Mayor of Aachen, Franz Oppenhoff. The mission was pretty much as I have described in the novel, and all of the hit-squad members in my story were real people, including the young She-Wolf Ilse Hirsch. After the operation, Wenzel disappeared without trace, presumably spending the rest of his life living under a new identity. Although the surviving members of the hit-squad were rounded up and arrested shortly after the war, all were found not guilty and released. Hirsch lived to a ripe old age.
Radio Werewolf was part of Joseph Goebbels propaganda machine. The broadcasts were intended both to boost the morale of the Wehrmacht and the German population, as well as to instil fear amongst the Allied troops.
All of the locations that I have used throughout the story are real places, and many are worth a visit:
Schreierstoren Tower (or Weeping Tower) and The Waag are currently very pleasant cafes and bars, and patrons are always made to feel very welcome: alas, there are no robed or masked occult followers waiting to pounce on you! The Nemo Science Museum is a fantastic place to take your children, while the rooftop terrace where my chase sequence comes to a dramatic end, is completely free to visit – and the views across Amsterdam are simply breathtaking.
There is no secret tunnel between The Newcastle Bar and The Waag, however there is one underneath Bar Papeneiland. Just ask the bartender to point out the entrance underneath the steps. It dates back to a time when Catholicism was illegal in Holland, and Catholics would often meet in secret churches. The tunnel here led to one such secret church, which is sadly now demolished. For the novel I simply relocated this tunnel to The Newcastle Bar (another lovely drinking spot – the bar staff are not at all surly like Bart)
Amsterdam’s Red Light District needs no introduction. It is one of the city’s main tourist attractions, and is surprisingly very safe to visit, even late at night. It is well policed and most petty crimes are stamped upon quite harshly by the city authorities (not literally, as may have once been the case.) Please respect the working girls, and photography is strictly forbidden. If you follow the rules, the pimps and enforcers will leave you alone. If you don’t, you may very well end up in one of the canals.
There is a small convent in the village of Koningsbosch. Access inside is understandably carefully managed as it is a private and secluded place of worship. Both the convent and the village are beautiful, and the locals very friendly (and I’m sure the nuns are too)
Finally, the last location in the story, Katwijk aan Zee, is a gorgeous seaside town overlooking the North Sea. The beaches are pristine and the air full of healthy ozone. But be warned – Lotte may still be lurking!!
Mark Hobson
March 2020 – October 2020
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Hobson is a writer and historian. His works span numerous genres from military history to thrillers and horror, both fiction and non-fiction.
He lives at home in Yorkshire with his 3 cats.
Wolf Angel is Book 1 in The Amsterdam Occult Series.
His previous works include:
Now May Men Weep – Isandlwana: A Story From the Zulu War.
Ntombe 1879 (Non-fiction)
Isandlwana – A Military Enigma (Non-fiction)
