Chapter 32 The Gray Building
The Gray Building
Berlin
The family shared a few precious days of being back together, and Helene savored every one of them. That morning she celebrated
by making a special breakfast before Derek kissed them all and headed to work.
At the ministry of war, he clocked in, then went up the stairs to his office, which was beside Keitel’s. He sensed something
from the hallway and opened the door to find two men rummaging through his desk and files.
“Gentlemen, can I help you with something?” he asked in a firm, confident voice that was the exact opposite of how he felt.
“Lieutenant Derek von Sholtz?” Asked the man with shaved head and round metal glasses atop piercing blue eyes that could be
said to sever more than look.
“The same. How may I be of service? I need to get a report ready for Keitel.”
“Your boss has been apprised of the situation. You’ll come with us,” the blue-eyed man said.
“And where will we be going?”
“To interrogation.”
Derek took a step back. “Am I being detained?” His instinct was to turn and run, but he knew that would only end up worse.
“Yes. This way,” the Gestapo agent said, taking one of Derek’s arms while his partner took the other.
Derek did not resist. His officemates ducked their heads. When people were arrested, they turned invisible to everyone else.
Derek knew he was being mentally scratched off by everyone he had worked with for years.
After a short drive they parked before the Gestapo building. Derek’s eyes flicked to the Secret Library. It was so close,
but he could not warn Helene of the danger.
The agents pulled him out of the car and led him to a cell in the basement, where he spent the next few hours alone. His army
education included training both on interrogation and on resisting it. He knew exactly what was ahead of him, and he did not
know how long he could hold out.
Eventually, the door opened, and Derek was in no way surprised to see the face of the man who was behind his detention: Rudolf
Kummer.
“Sir, how lamentable to meet under these circumstances, but your wife had been warned. I’m given to understand that she continues
to return to her former public library and, even worse, that she maintains a secret library. You’re a good German citizen,
but you made a mistake when it was time to pick a wife,” Kummer said. He sat down next to Derek on the rusty bedframe.
The cell stank of sweat and urine. It was decorated with bloodstains, and the dim light of the single bulb dangling from the ceiling left Kummer’s face in shadows.
“I’m also given to understand that you’ve been in Poland. It pains me that an officer in our army finds himself in this situation
but, as I’ve said, you’ll need to confess. I know that you’re an upright man. If you tell me everything, I can make you two
promises. First, nothing will happen to you; you have my word. Second, you’ll retain custody of your children. If you decide
not to cooperate, that will not be the case. Rather, you and your wife will end up in separate camps, and your children will
be given to a respectable German couple. I believe that your former neighbors have been looking for just the right children
to adopt.”
Derek tried to feign calm, willing the panic rising within him to be imperceptible. No matter what he did, there was no good
way out of this.
He cleared his throat and answered, “Keitel will be sending for me. You have no proof about anything. Helene and I are innocent.”
The SS official threw back his head in laughter. “Apparently it’s not yet been made clear enough to the German public: Proof
is no longer required. The only thing that’s kept you safe thus far has been your position in the army and your family’s name.
But now we’re at war, and old-fashioned notions of prestige no longer matter. That’s the nice thing about war, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
Kummer started to get impatient. He leaned closer to Derek and said, “You’re in prison. If you don’t confess, we’ll lock your
wife up as well.”
“War is always a prison. We can’t escape our destiny, sir.”
Kummer stood and punched Derek in the face. “Don’t make me use violence. I prefer persuasion. Cooperate!”
Derek shook his head. “How did you get from being a librarian to this?” he asked.
The evasion tactic infuriated Kummer, who pummeled Derek so mercilessly that he fell unconscious to the floor. His face was
a mess of blood and sweat.
Kummer delivered a few more blows with his boots, then slammed the cell door on his way out.