The Metal Man: An Account of a WW2 Nazi Cyborg (8 page)

With a cowed nod, Greutmann reached up to take an armful of papers and documents from one shelf. Nothing here was in any special order; in his long career, Greutmann could recall only one other time when someone – a historian researching a book – had asked to examine these jumbled-up records concerning Hegensdorf and its inhabitants.

Without doubt, this was going to be an extremely long day.

12

Mayer grunted and spat on the ground. He was sat with the three other men who’d previously been under Karl Brucker’s command.

This group had placed themselves almost noticeably apart from the hundred or so other SS soldiers who’d assembled outside of the ghetto that had been formed on the edge of an already wretched-looking Polish town. (The name of which was quite unpronounceable to Mayer and the others.)

A large gate set within the high, barbed-wire fences surrounding this ghetto was open, while a number of the old, sagging buildings were on fire and smoking.

Bodies of slain men and women lay here and there, shabbily-dressed, alongside a few of them some crude, handmade weapons. 

‘So they’ve been keeping the poor bastards stored away in here, then,’ remarked Bach quietly.

‘Looks that way,’ nodded Mayer. ‘Now they want to move them somewhere, and – Well, they’ve managed to get or make some weapons and they’re fighting back…’

Ackermann’s unit had received the radioed order to come and assist with the attempted clearance of this ghetto several hours earlier. As they’d been only a few kilometers away, they’d been able to come relatively quickly, some of the SS men sat on top of the three Panzer tanks.

But now, for some reason, all the assembled SS units (in reality a ragbag group of scruffy, hollow-eyed men, plus a few tanks that had little shells or fuel remaining) were being ordered to hold back.

The two excursions made into the ghetto so far had cost the German force a surprisingly large number of casualties – the reason why several soldiers lay on the ground near Mayer and the others, their bullet wounds causing them to sweat and curse…

But they were at least alive, unlike the corpses of five SS men lying elsewhere.

‘But where would these people even be moved… to?’ asked Bach quietly.

The others shrugged, and avoided looking at one another.

‘Not our concern, Bach,’ said Mayer finally. ‘We’ve just got to go in there and try and get them out, next time the order’s given.’

‘Shaping up to be a hell of a job, even with the basic weapons those Jews in there have got,’ observed the radioman Amsel. ‘They’ve dug tunnels and are hiding down in them. Women fighting as hard as the men – even some of the children…’

His words again caused the four SS men to look down at the ground, as though they felt ashamed.

‘Shouldn’t even be here,’ muttered Weber finally. ‘Just let these people get on with it, and get ourselves back to Germany.’

Mayer glanced with narrow eyes over to where Ackermann was stood.

The sole leader of their unit – now that Brucker was gone – appeared to be having a slightly ‘animated’ conversation with another officer, although neither Mayer nor the three others could hear what was being discussed.

‘He wants to get in there, I guess,’ growled Mayer, who then spat on the ground again. ‘Him and his men – get those buildings really burning; shoot a few of those poor bastards who’ve been virtually starving to death here in this… place.

‘But he probably doesn’t quite like the odds, yet – wants to make sure some more reinforcements arrive first…’

Mayer’s voice then fell into silence, as he and the three other men sat in the small group exchanged uneasy glances.

‘So we
are
officially waiting for reinforcements, then?’ asked Bach quietly.

‘Not sure,’ returned Mayer. ‘All I know is – ’

Mayer’s words were cut off by the sudden arrival of a huge military lorry. Its brakes squealed as it came to a stop near the four seated men. The driver – dressed in a smart grey uniform noticeably different to the shabby camouflaged overalls the SS troops were wearing – jumped down from his seat, and saluted Ackermann and the other officer as they walked over.

Some words were exchanged – again, Mayer and the others couldn’t hear what these were – and then the driver and the two officers walked to the back of the vehicle.

The back was opened up; two white-jacketed men, who had the appearance of being scientists or something similar, got down.

‘What is this?’ asked Amsel, his voice reflecting the confusion felt by everyone watching this curious scene.

Then the back of the lorry suddenly raised slightly, as a figure much larger than a man followed the two scientists out of the green-colored vehicle, down three metal steps and onto the ground, a huge gun held in its outsized hands.

‘What the hell…’ murmured Weber.

‘It’s – him,’ began Bach uncertainly. ‘This ‘super-soldier’ we’ve been hearing about. The one they call the ‘Metal Man’.’

‘No way,’ said Mayer. ‘No way could any man wear armor like – that – and still be able to walk. It must weigh well over a ton.’

‘Hear that, though?’ questioned Amsel, the stocky radioman’s eyes wide and fixed on the jet-black, goggle-eyed figure. ‘The whining noise as it walks, I mean…’

“It’?’ repeated Mayer, showing a slight, incredulous smile.

‘Well – you think there’s a man, somewhere in there?’ demanded Amsel. ‘You just said there’s not – there can’t be – because of the weight of that armor.’

‘I don’t know,’ shrugged Mayer, staring back at the Metal Man. ‘But what else can that thing be?’

The four SS soldiers were clearly able to hear what Ackermann said then, the officer raising his voice to address the Metal Man. 

‘You’re to enter in there,’ began Ackermann, pointing with his finger towards the opened metal gate that led into the ghetto, ‘and level the place to the ground.

‘I want some prisoners, though – do not kill everyone. We will follow you in shortly.’

The Metal Man inclined its head, the face (if indeed it
did
have such a thing) concealed by the black mask that was below the goggle eyes.

‘It doesn’t speak, then,’ observed Bach.

‘But that ‘grill’-type thing – there where its… mouth… should be,’ noted Weber uncertainly. ‘What’s that for, exactly? So it can breathe?’

A hush descended across the approximate hundred-strong German force, as the Metal Man began walking towards the ghetto.

A shot rang suddenly out, fired from one of the shabby buildings inside. It ricocheted harmlessly off the Metal Man’s chest. Then another shot, and another, more coming as the Metal Man now entered through the large, open gate.

Its great arms moved (the red swastika showing on both shoulders), positioning the gun. It fired towards the source of the shot, in the direction of where the sniper was concealed.

The gun spat fire, its bullets chewing up the rotten masonry and wood of the building. The gun firing at the Metal Man was abruptly silenced.

But other snipers now opened up, driven in desperation to use the ammunition which Mayer and the others had already realized must be in such short supply.

In return the Metal Man aimed its gun in various directions, firing all the time, the bullets punching through bricks, wood and cement.

Someone screamed from inside one of the buildings. A woman.

The screaming continued as the Metal Man stopped firing. It stood motionless, its head bowed slightly, as though it felt somehow confused.

More shots bounced off that gleaming black armor.

‘Attack! Continue with your
attack
!’ bawled Ackermann at the armored warrior.

The Metal Man again raised its gun, and once more began firing. The screaming stopped.

Several figures ran suddenly in front of the jet-black figure, firing several shots in close range before attempting to dart back inside the buildings. The Metal Man fired and one man all but exploded, the other simply being cut in half.  

There was shouting now from inside the ghetto, muffled voices of those hidden inside the buildings and down in the sewers and dug-out tunnels.

Telling each other to stand firm, to prepare for a final battle – to fight to the death. (Although none of the SS men listening spoke Polish, the meaning of the words was obvious.)

No surrender.

And then another sound, coming suddenly, the Metal Man again lowering its gun and head as it evidently heard this noise.

A baby wailing.

‘Attack!
Attack!
’ yelled Ackermann again, his face red and spittle flying from his lips.

Mayer and the three other men gazed alternately at the infuriated SS officer and then at the Metal Man, their faces becoming tight as the baby continued to cry. The only sound breaking an otherwise almost eerie silence.

‘Why’s he stopped?’ murmured Amsel.

‘How can a baby exist in a place like this? How can
anyone
live in a place like this?’ demanded Bach in the same low voice, his eyes dark and secretive as he shook his head.

At once the Metal Man turned around and began walking back towards the gate, its mechanical parts whining. Ackermann was virtually shrieking at the black-armored soldier now, but still the Metal Man continued to advance – until it stopped barely two feet away from the SS officer.

‘You – whoever you are –
whatever
you are…’ began Ackermann, his rage almost choking him. ‘You are disobeying a direct order!’

The Metal Man’s goggle eyes stared blackly at the officer who was jabbing his finger in front of him. Ackermann stood some six feet in height, but still the Metal Man dwarfed him. 

No part of the mechanical soldier moved, except for the large fingers of its left hand, which had previously cradled the barrel of its colossal gun. These fingers twitched just slightly, Mayer wondering what if anything this signified.

Some sign of irritation – of
anger
? Could this thing (whatever the hell it was) actually feel any emotion? And if not, then exactly
why
was it disobeying a direct order from a superior?

Such thoughts passed not only through Mayer’s mind, but also through the minds of a number of those other soldiers who were stood watching in awed silence... 

*

Some hours later, after heavy fighting between the SS soldiers and those Jews who’d been imprisoned inside the ghetto, victory finally fell to the German side.

The surviving Jews now stood in a line outside of the ghetto, their hands placed on top of their heads. Although one woman cradled a baby, attempting to hush the infant as it continued to emit the same cry which had, somehow, clearly caused the Metal Man to break off its earlier assault on the ghetto.

The mechanical soldier stood motionless and silent by the lorry which transported it. It had stood like this ever since it had finally walked away from Ackermann, who – virtually apoplectic with rage – had consulted with his fellow SS officers about what they should do next.

It was then that the SS troops had been ordered back inside the ghetto, with the final crushing of this rebellion costing the Germans the lives of another four soldiers…