Chapter 6 Things Get Ugly
Things Get Ugly
Berlin
Night wrapped around the city, and fog settled over the rivers and parks. Christmas was a distant memory. Discreetly, two
by two, a dozen or so men entered Franz von Papen’s luxurious home. Oskar von Hindenburg, son of the president, left his bodyguards
at the door and entered alone.
Derek accompanied General von Blomberg but waited one room over. The voices came through the closed door clearly enough, especially
those of von Papen and Adolf Hitler. The others were somewhat muffled, like the background chorus to a Greek tragedy.
“We accept that you’ll have the three ministries, and we’re being very generous. You will be chancellor. Wilhelm Frick, the
Reichsminister of the Interior. And Hermann Goring will be Reichsminister without portfolio, but he will preside over the
police in Prussia.”
The Nazi leader spoke a few words Derek did not catch until he heard, “Kurt von Schleicher is planning a coup, after which he will declare a state of emergency so he can avail himself of a military government. My good friend General von Blomberg has made us aware of this. That won’t do.”
Oskar von Hindenburg piped up. “My father won’t support a coup.”
Derek heard a match light and then a verbal tsk—he presumed that someone had lit a cigarette and Hitler, known to dislike tobacco, had disapproved.
“Very well,” Hitler continued. “I accept the conditions. But I hope, gentlemen, that this is not another delay tactic. If
we can’t reach an agreement tonight, tomorrow I’ll call for new elections. We’ll win with an overwhelming majority and will
no longer need your support.” Hitler’s parsimony belied his confidence of having things completely under control.
Derek heard the group rise to their feet and bid their farewells. The Nazis filed out, but Derek remained where he was.
“At my father’s specific request, you’ll be the new minister of defense. Don’t let us down,” Oskar said. He was not convinced
about Hitler being appointed chancellor.
Von Papen tried to diffuse the situation with his customary humor. “Hitler will be contained like a cork in a bottle. He won’t
be able to do anything without our consent, and with one finger the president can sack him and send him flying back to Austria,
where he never should have left.”
Everyone but von Blomberg laughed. He knew Hitler too well.
Von Blomberg left the meeting room, and Derek handed him his cap and coat.
“Tired?” the general asked his subordinate.
“No, sir,” Derek lied, though all he wanted to do was go to Helene’s apartment.
“You’re a bad liar, but I won’t take much of your time. I just need a drink.”
At the car, Derek asked where they were headed so he could instruct the driver.
“I love Die Katakombe. But if the Nazis hear that we’ve been to that dive, where they mock Hitler, it’ll be all over for me.
At the Kakadu Bar I’ll run into too many people I know. We’d better go to the Casanova.”
Casanova Casino International was not far. They played good jazz, and the drinks were well-made.
When they walked into the smoke-filled room, the ma?tre d’ seated them promptly. The place smelled of hair gel, cologne, and
the sparkling perspiration of dancing women—the general’s favorite perfume.
“I think things are going to get very interesting. When my beloved wife died, I thought I had lost all interest in life. But
Derek, don’t let anyone fool you: You’ve got to get all you can out of life. What are your aspirations?”
The general’s tone was so intimate that Derek clammed up. The heavy smoke in the air made him feel lightheaded, and his lips
tingled with the alcohol that was slowly taking effect in his blood.
“I want to get married, have children, and enjoy being a family. Nothing original. For most of my peers that surely sounds
boring, but Helene is the love of my life.”
Von Blomberg smiled. Derek needed higher ambitions than that.
He lit a cigar and savored it before resuming the conversation.
He had also aspired to a typical career, family life, and maybe a home in the country, but ambition had slowly and surely seduced him.
It started small: a better position, a more prestigious transfer, a charming villa on the outskirts of Berlin.
And along the way he had sacrificed the values impressed upon him in the academy: patriotism, loyalty, and honor.
No one believed in those things anymore.
The world he grew up in no longer existed.
Yet his young assistant seemed to still be living according to that code.
“Is that why you joined the army? For a good salary and to retire young?” von Blomberg asked, polishing off his drink in one
sip to wash away everything that had transpired at von Papen’s house. Yet the alcohol was not strong enough to silence his
Prussian conscience.
“Well, the army was my father’s idea. When I’m on reserve or retired, I hope to open a jazz club. Music and sports are what
I really love.”
Von Blomberg’s eyes followed the moves of the dancers. Their sweaty, sensual bodies captivated him. A glance at Derek showed
that the young man was immune to their charms. Whatever he felt for his girl must be real.
“I don’t understand youth these days. They seem bored by it all. Your generation is too satiated, though you may be the exception.”
Derek did not answer. He had aspirations, and starting a family with Helene was top on the list. If, to serve his country,
he had to get wrapped up in politics, he preferred to stay in the background and just quietly retire with a good pension.
He did not like the things he had witnessed in the past few months, and he had zero trust in Hitler. Chills raced down Derek’s
body every time he saw the man. Evil seemed to peer out from the Nazi leader’s eyes.
“My generation is not going to remake the world. We’ll be content as long as it doesn’t get destroyed again. It seems like if”—hesitant to invoke him, Derek dared not say Hitler’s name aloud—“that man comes to power, it won’t be long before we’re at war.”
“You think so? Sometimes I think that man is Germany’s only hope. And other times I sense he’ll be our doom.”
“I don’t think anything one way or the other, but I do know what happens every time the demon of war enters our country.”
Von Blomberg nodded gravely at Derek’s conclusion before turning his attention back to the show.