Volk (11 page)

Ernst was neutral concerning the Jews. He knew that Hitler did not like them, and Hitler's logic in
Mein Kampf
was persuasive. But Ernst had seen in America that Jews could be much like any other people. So it seemed best to move them out of Germany and have no further quarrel. But if they were now murdering government officials, that made the matter more serious. So he paid attention, and learned the background of this episode.

It seemed that one Herschel Grynspan was a Jew whose parents had been forcibly relocated to the Polish border, in accordance with the program to move Jews elsewhere. Rather than accept the situation, it was suggested, he had assassinated the official who had made the decision. Of course Grynspan would be dealt with. Ernst knew that these things happened. But von Rath was in critical condition, and it was doubtful whether he would live. That was unfortunate for him.

But why was Goebbels making so much of this? It was as if the Jews had bombed Berlin and killed the
Führer
! Anger was building up throughout Germany. What was Goebbels up to?

However, Ernst had more important things to focus on. He had to be perfect for the ceremony on the ninth. It was the anniversary of the Munich “Beer Hall Putsch” of 1923, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazis invaded a political meeting in their attempt to seize the Bavarian government. But the people did not support the Nazis then, and the troops of the government opened fire as the Nazis marched into the heart of Munich, killing sixteen. Hitler and other leaders were tried and imprisoned. But though their effort was a failure, it attracted a great deal of attention to the movement, and thereafter it grew. So in the longer view, it really had not been a failure, but a necessary step.

Ernst was among those who watched the solemn ceremony as the remaining survivors of the Munich Putsch silently re-enacted their march through the city. Fifteen years had passed, but the solemn memory had grown rather than fading. Today the sixteen martyrs were interred in state in the colonnaded Temple of Honor beside the ill-famed beer hall. The survivors marched by it, followed by a phalanx of those who had received the “Blood Order” award. Ernst felt a tear at his eye as the procession silently passed. This was a fitting recognition of those who had risked or given their lives on behalf of Nazism in the troubled early years.

Adolf Hitler himself was in Munich with the “Old Guard” leaders for the traditional dinner celebration in the town hall after the ceremonial re-enactment of the Munich Putsch. But in the afternoon the news came that Ernst von Rath was dead. It was reported that the
Führer
left the hall, visibly upset, without giving his address. Goebbels had to fill in. He gave a rousing speech urging the Old Guard fighters to start spontaneous demonstrations throughout Germany.

That evening was the official swearing in, at the Beer Hall itself. But as they marched there, they heard shouting and saw crowds roving through the streets. There was the smell of smoke. What was happening?

The commander halted the troop. “There are riots in the city,” he announced. “Loyal citizens are destroying the property of the Jews.” He scowled. “I have no sympathy for Jews, of course, but I dislike allowing mobs to rule. Our troops are forbidden to take any notice, either to participate or to resist the activity. Therefore we shall march on past without observing anything.”

The march resumed. They went right past a store whose broad glass front had been smashed in, and whose contents had been strewn half across the street. “Looters!” the commander muttered with deep disgust, but the march did not pause.

By the time they reached the Beer Hall, the directive to restore order had gone out. The police were finally in the process of protecting Jewish property and businesses, and arresting looters. But of course it was too late; the damage of what was to become known as Crystal Night had been done.

The ceremony itself was deeply moving. It was by torchlight in front of the hall, and on each of the sixteen smoking obelisks was the name of one of the martyrs of National Socialism. A voice intoned each one of those names, and was answered by the chant of a thousand voices: “Here!”

Ernst felt the tears in his eyes again. Surely those heroes were indeed here in spirit, and had not died in vain.

 

 

I swear to thee Adolf Hitler
As
Führer
and Chancellor of the German Reich
Loyalty and Bravery
I vow to thee and to the superiors whom thou shalt appoint
Obedience unto death
So help me God

 

 

Ernst received his collar patches and permanent SS pass. Now he was ready to complete his term in the SS VT, before becoming a “full candidate” and taking the final oath to obey the law restricting marriage that the Reichführer SS had issued. He was granted leave, and went home to renew acquaintance with his family and Krista.

•  •  •

“You are so handsome in your dress uniform!” Krista exclaimed in the company of their families. “Let me take you out on the streets of Wiesbaden and show you off to all my friends.”

But when she got him away from home, she took him instead to the park, which was deserted at this hour. In the shelter they had paused at before, she embraced him and kissed him passionately. “You really are stunning,” she breathed. “We have so little time together.”

He smiled. “Most of our association has been apart, anyway.”

She drew her blouse from her waistband. “But much can be accomplished briefly.”

What was she up to this time? “There is something to be accomplished?”

She took his hand and put it against her breast, under the loose blouse. The touch was electrifying. “There is something I want from you, Ernst.”

“I fear it is something I will not want to give, or you would not be taking this approach.”

She let his hand go and reached behind her back. Something loosened. Then she took his hand again and moved it to bare flesh. She had undone her halter. “I want to marry you,” she said.

Yet again she had startled him. “Marriage! I'm not ready for that!”

“When you are allowed. I know you must complete your training. But when you do—”

“Krista, I love the feel of your flesh. But that is not reason to marry. The commitment—”

“I will give you the feel of all my flesh,” she said evenly. “All that you want. Immediately. Here. If you will agree.”

He was suspicious of this, despite the amazing effect of her breast in his hand. “Why?”

“Because I love you, as I always have.”

He gave her a little squeeze, not so much for the pleasure of it but as a negation. “Your love is qualified. I ask again: why marriage?”

“As the wife of an officer, I will have status. I will not have to endure more training or to take some dull job to support myself. I will not have to remain in this dull town.”

“You could marry some other officer.”

“Oh come on, Ernst!” she snapped. “I gave you a practical reason because you asked for it. You're the only man I want. I'm afraid you will go away and meet someone else, who won't be as good for you.” She took his hand again and moved it down to her waistband.

“So you will make a down payment on me now, to secure me for later marriage,” he said. It did make a certain sense. It was not that he might meet another woman, but that she might not meet another man who suited her fancy.

“Anything you want, if you will commit,” she agreed. She used her free hand to draw the waistband out, and started his hand down under it.

“But I might get shipped far away for years,” he protested. “Perhaps killed. Where would you be then?”

“Then at least I will have had your love for this moment.”

He stopped his hand. “No.”

“I will do it,” she argued. “You do not have to take my word. Everything is yours. Only promise.”

“I will not promise. I am not ready to commit to marriage.”

“Let me persuade you!” She tugged at his hand.

“How do you know I wouldn't lie to you, as men do, to obtain your body without marriage?”

She laughed. “The day you tell a lie, Ernst, the sky will crash about our heads.”

He laughed too, but not much. “I hope never to test it. But too much is unknown. If I were ready and able to marry now, I would consider your proposal. But I am not, so I will not. Perhaps some later day I will. I do like you, Krista, and the thought of possessing your body threatens to drive me mad. But this is not the time.”

She hesitated, then made a decision. “Then I will give it to you without your commitment. It is not right to tease you. Only keep me in mind, when—”

“No. That would be a tacit commitment.”

“Then without any understanding at all,” she said. “Please, Ernst—”

“You don't want to do this,” he told her. “You want only my commitment, express or implied, and you know it will be there if I do this. If I marry you, then I will expect the delight of your body, and I do long for that delight. But I can not do this now. I will instead give you all the commitment possible for me now: I will keep you first in mind for marriage.”

“I accept that.” She caught his hand once again.

“No more hands,” he said. “I give you this commitment without touching your body.”

“Without?” Her eyes were big.

“Without. Now put yourself back together.”

She proceeded to do that, seeming relieved. “I do love you, Ernst, more than ever now.”

“I find you fascinating, but—”

She quickly put her finger against his lips. “That much is enough.”

They resumed their walk. Ernst hoped never to be tempted this strongly again. Krista's offer had been almost enough to destroy his better judgment.

Why was she so determined to have this commitment? She had had a crush on him when she was fifteen, but that should have passed. She certainly had discovered what effect her new body had on men; she had demonstrated uncanny competence in soliciting his desire. She could have another man if she wanted. At this stage Ernst did not see himself as the best of prospects. Yet she had fastened on him instantly and persistently. Perhaps that was part of his reason for demurring; he distrusted what he did not understand, and he did not fathom her motive. Surely she did like him, and did want to marry him, and would deliver on any promise relating to it that she made. But that could not be the whole story.

He did not think she would lie to him if he asked her the right question. But she was capable of avoiding that question. He would have to figure out what it was. Then he could decide.

•  •  •

Ernst was afraid that he would be assigned to the SS Regiment “Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler” in Berlin. That unit had a bad reputation. It had been commanded by Sepp Dietrich, but had been so inefficiently run that it was completely lacking in military discipline. The inspector of the SS VT, Major General Hauser, was a former Wehrmacht General, a traditional Prussian soldier who supported proper training and competence. But he had found it hard to implement his policies in the face of Dietrich's resistance. It was common gossip among the troops that Berlin was fit only for misfits.

But to Ernst's great relief he was assigned to the “Deutschland” regiment in Munich. This was commanded by Major Felix Steiner, one of the more remarkable officers in the SS. He had been a member of a Storm battalion in the World War: one of the elite units pulled from the front lines to break the deadly cycle of trench warfare. He was convinced that the future belonged to special groups which could strike with lightning-like rapidity and force, fragmenting the opposition, and then destroy the dislocated fragments. He had resigned from the Wehrmacht in the face of opposition to his theories and come to the SS, which had been starved for good officers. He had instituted his theories of training and command there with what was beginning to look like remarkable success. Ernst knew just enough of the Major's policies to be excited.

Steiner had done away with barracks drill, concentrating instead on athletics. He was turning his soldiers into cross-country experts of the hunter-athlete type. He had reduced the distinctions between enlisted men and officers, fostering camaraderie between them in the face of hardship. Unit Spirit was highly emphasized. Men and officers competed together. Doors were left open in the barracks. All future officers had to serve two years in the ranks, as Ernst himself was doing. Certainly they would not forget the concerns of the ordinary soldiers.

Ernst threw himself into the training with a will. He soon found himself in effective charge of a battle group, which was the basic unit of Steiner's force. Such groups were supposed to be well versed in military teamwork, but still capable of functioning as regiments. The theory seemed good to Ernst, but it was apparent that the unit—indeed, all of the SS VT—suffered from a lack of officers. In the past recruitment had been severely limited, because of the competitive influence of the Wehrmacht, and most of its recruits had come from rural areas. The same was true of its officers at every level. The units compensated for this with fanatical devotion and unity, but the lack was still felt. Thus anyone with good potential promptly rose to responsibility, and Ernst quickly became important.

Instead of the Wehrmacht's regulation rifles, they trained with more mobile and effective weapons, such as submachine guns, hand grenades and explosives. They dressed in camouflage instead of regulation field service uniforms. And they learned how to deploy rapidly. They were able to cover three kilometers in full gear in twenty minutes. That made the eyes of conventional units pop.

There was other things Ernst liked about Major Steiner, though he could not say so. The man gave Heinrich Himmler no respect, refused to marry, and refused to leave the Church. Ernst knew that Himmler was second only to Hitler in importance, but he was not a tenth the man Hitler was. Himmler was a pompous functionary, barely competent, and Ernst hoped never to encounter him directly. As for marriage—it was indeed expected of officers, but they had to choose approved brides, which greatly limited the romantic aspect. Ernst had been freshly reminded of this by Krista's proposal. Sometimes marriage just wasn't right for a man, and it was good to see a key officer asserting himself in this manner. Finally the matter of the Church: there were no harassing call-outs here. How could there be, when the Major openly espoused his Church membership?