Chapter 31 #2
‘You know this means you can’t carry on with what you’re doing,’ he said.
‘And after the police coming today, you are no longer safe, liebling. I can only protect you for so long and that time we have left is very short.’ The look of worry and pain was written all over his face.
She could see it in every crinkle at his eyes, every frown line on his forehead and every muscle of his clenched jaw.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I never meant this to happen.’
‘Shhh, you can’t think like that. But the net around you is closing. They are asking about the Angel of Life. People are talking. It’s not safe. And it will only be a matter of time before they know it was you at the facility.’ He stroked her face. ‘It is no longer safe for you to be in Berlin.’
He paused, letting the statement sink in. Clara slowly shook her head. ‘I’m not leaving the city. I’m not leaving you.’
‘Clara, you have no choice. You need to leave.’
‘But where? Where am I supposed to go? And what about you?’
‘I cannot come.’
‘You can. I’m not going on my own. Please Friedrich, you can’t let me leave you. I am carrying our child.’
‘I have already made plans. I prepared for this day,’ he said, as if he hadn’t heard her.
Of course he had planned for this. Friedrich wouldn’t have left anything to chance. ‘What’s going to happen?’
Friedrich moved to his desk and withdrew a leather portfolio, his movements deliberate and calm despite the gravity of the situation. Clara watched him, her hand instinctively moving to her still-flat stomach.
He sat back down beside her and opened a folder, spreading several documents out across the coffee table.
‘These are your travel documents. You will be Nurse Frida from the Health Ministry, travelling to check the supplies being transported and assess what other supplies are needed to be transferred to the hospital in Lille.’
Clara’s eye’s widened as she took in the official Wehrmacht letterheads, the official stamps and authorisation codes. ‘Friedrich, please don’t make me go.’
He carried on without answering. ‘I requisitioned the paperwork legitimately. The authorisation codes are real, the transport exits. The transfer of soldiers is real. You’ll be accompanying three actual patients who need medical supervision during transport.
It is something I have been organising. I can easily arrange for you to travel on any given day.
This is the route.’ He traced his finger across a map.
‘The next convoy I can get you on leaves the day after tomorrow at five thirty in the morning. Dawn checkpoint changes happen at six o’clock.
So, like before, you will be crossing when there will be less scrutiny. ’
Clara studied her husband’s face. He was absolutely determined about this. She realised with a feeling of dread that there would be no changing his mind. She stared at the forms in front of her, feeling the fight leave her body. ‘What if they ask specific questions?’
‘Keep your answers brief and authoritive.’ Friedrich stood, straightening his posture into an official bearing.
‘Like this. “The Ministry requires an assessment of the facilities. Any deviation from protocol must be documented and reported.”’ His voice carried the crisp, bureaucratic tone she’d heard from countless officials.
Clara tried to mimic his stance. ‘The Ministry requires—’
‘No.’ Friedrich gently adjusted her shoulders. ‘Don’t recite it. You’re not asking permission, you are stating a fact. Officials don’t explain themselves. They expect compliance.’
Clara tried again, this time with my authority. ‘Is that better?’
‘Much. But don’t fidget with your papers.’ He caught her hands which had been nervously shuffling the documents. ‘It’s all about confidence.’
She practised several more times until she finally got the seal of approval from Friedrich.
‘Perfect,’ he said quietly. ‘You sound exactly like every ministry official I’ve ever dealt with.’
Clara wasn’t sure she really wanted to sound like a German official. ‘What if they try to verify the papers?’
‘They won’t have time.’ Friedrich pointed to the bottom of the authorisation. ‘By the time anyone realises there is a discrepancy, if they realise, you’ll be in France.’
Clara felt light-headed again. ‘You’re putting your signature on these papers. It will lead straight back to you.’
‘I know what I’m doing,’ he replied quietly. His voice was steady, but she could see a slight tremor in his hands as he gathered the documents together. ‘I will meet you at the border to make sure everything goes smoothly.’
‘Are you coming with me then?’ In her heart she knew the answer, but she asked all the same.
Friedrich shook his head. ‘Not straightaway. Once you’re in Lille, you’ll make contact with your sister Rose. She will be able to facilitate you getting to England.’
‘What? How? I mean, you’ve spoken to her?’
‘Indirectly. I have contacts who have contacts.’
Clara looked in amazement at her husband. She really shouldn’t be surprised at any of this. Her heart expanded with love for this man. ‘I had no idea,’ she said.
‘Now, once you are in Lille, you will be contacted by a man called Oscar. He will take you to Rose. She will be expecting you and you will be taken to England from there. She has been working in the British field hospital there but since the invasion of France, she has been holding back. Waiting.’
‘Waiting for what?’
‘I don’t know. But now she is waiting for you. There is a big evacuation happening at Dunkirk. The British are retreating. That’s how you’re getting back to England. The beach is being held but any day now German forces will break through the defences. This is your only chance.’
The enormity of the plan and the lengths Friedrich had gone to weren’t wasted on Clara. ‘You’ve been planning this for months, haven’t you?’
He nodded. ‘As much as I can. Obviously, escaping via Dunkirk was not something I could anticipate. There was an alternative route through Spain, but this is the safest. Everything I’ve done at Bendlerblock, I’ve been learning, noting and working out how I can help you.
Ever since you started going out to the women at night, I’ve been preparing for this moment so I can save you and now I have to save you and our child. ’
‘What about you? How will you follow?’
Friedrich took her hands. ‘Liebling, I will find a way, but it may not be soon, it may be some time. You have to trust me.’
‘I won’t leave you,’ she said through tears.
‘You will. You have to. It’s not just about you anymore. It’s about saving our unborn child.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘Our child deserves to grow up free.’