Bob Carruthers - Into the Gates of Hell - Stug Command '41

There was a knock on the door and Captain Grunewald entered, looking as dapper as ever. His immaculate uniform was perfectly creased and he had with him a bottle of schnapps.

“Forgive my intrusion, but, as the command is being split up, I thought I’d take the opportunity to present a small memento of our first action together. I hope it won’t be the last.”

“Well, news certainly travels fast around here,” said von Schroif. “I’ve only just learned that the kampfgruppe is being disbanded and the wake is already in full swing.”

“Do you know where your unit is headed, Captain?” asked Voss.

“We have been ordered to Smolensk,” said the Captain. “It looks like we’re headed for Moscow, and you?”

“It seems we’re headed south. We’re re-joining the division, it would appear.”

“That will be welcome,” said von Schroif with a smile, “but I suppose even you don’t have the clout to get us a posting to Africa. I am not looking forward to a winter in Russia.”

“We are certainly available and willing,” said Grunewald.

“Sadly, I’m not a magician,” said Voss. “Our destiny looks set in stone. It seems to me that Russia will be our mistress for some time to come.”

IN THE comfort of his grand office at Tirpitzufer 76/78 Canaris shook his head in sorrow.

“I am afraid the news is not good, Lehmann. It seems that all of our worst fears were true. Plan Ost is already in operation. My sources have confirmed that Himmler and Heydrich are in the rear of the battle zone. They have been observed at a number of execution sites. Our friend Dirlewanger is involved in the operation.”

“That comes as no surprise to me,” replied Lehmann.

“His Sonderkommando is composed of hardened criminals, but even they are reported to be finding the work unpalatable. Himmler’s orders are to exterminate as humanely as possible,” said Canaris with palpable contempt in his voice. “In addition to open-air shootings, they have also made use of ‘gas vans’… they kill by carbon monoxide. Being mobile, they save the trouble of building permanent installations and having to transport the victims to a distant killing site…. They look like closed trucks and are so constructed that at the start of the motor the gas is conducted into the van, causing death in ten to fifteen minutes.”

“And how big are these vans?” probed Lehmann.

“They vary in size, with capacities ranging from fifteen to twenty-five people. Dr August Becker, an SS lieutenant and the inventor of the vans, considers himself to be a humanitarian. In order to eliminate the victim’s suffering, as well as the resultant filth as they evacuate their bowels, he has ordered a change in technique of administering the carbon monoxide. The valves are to be opened slowly, instead of all at once, so that ‘prisoners fall asleep peacefully.’”

“Presumably the inventor is delighted with the results?” ventured Lehmann.

“No doubt he is, but the firing squads are posing the real problems. We understand that some of these men, as savage as they are, are having mental breakdowns. A number of officers have taken their own lives.” The Admiral paused briefly, as if it was almost painful for him to continue. “It makes me sad to admit to being a member of the German nation, but, regrettably, there are some who have taken to their task with excess enthusiasm and sadistically maltreated the prisoners. There are also reports of a series of bestial acts of a sexual nature, but, as you say, that is only to be expected if Dirlewanger is anywhere in the vicinity.”

“Can’t these acts be dealt with by way of a formal complaint?” asked Lehmann.

“No, of course not. We are not dealing with the humdrum of the normal world here. The sad fact is that this is not some isolated incident of madness, but part of a considered plan, a general policy dictated by the most senior levels of our state.”

“How widespread are these incidents?”

“You clearly didn’t study Plan Ost in enough detail.”

“That’s certainly true, Admiral Canaris,” replied Lehmann. “We could not take the risk of having a copy made, so you will have to refresh my memory, I’m afraid.”

“The resources are substantial. Four SS Einsatzgruppen , of 3,000 men each, have been ordered to follow in the wake of the Wehrmacht. As you and I know, their mission is not just to ensure the security of the operational zone; that is, to prevent resistance by partisan groups and civilians. These are special police of a very singular nature. They have been given an additional task by Heydrich. Their chief task is to round up and to liquidate not only bolshevik leaders, but all Jews, as well as gypsies, ‘Asiatic inferiors’ and ‘useless eaters’, as they refer to the mentally disabled and incurably sick.

“We know that Heydrich himself has drafted new orders in accordance with Plan Ost stating that the Einsatzgruppen are to execute all Soviet officials of medium rank and above, members of the Comintern, ‘extremist’ Communist Party members; members of the central, provincial and district committees of the Communist Party, Red Army political commissars and all Communist Party members of Jewish origin.

“With regard to Jewish populations in general, no steps are to be taken to interfere with any purges that may be initiated by anti-Bolshevik or anti-Jewish elements in the newly occupied territories. On the contrary, these are to be secretly encouraged. Everything is clearly detailed in Plan Ost and now the plan is being put into operation. It’s a black day for Germany when these subhuman barbarians can do this in our name.”

“We can only hope that Plan Ost is now in Moscow. I am still firmly of the opinion that its publication will be big enough to bring down the corporal’s regime.”

“I regret to inform you that Moscow has not received any plan. This message has been received. It is being transmitted from inside the east fort in the fortress of Brest-Litovsk. According to our monitoring posts, this message has been repeated daily: VSWENDORFFINEASTFORTRESS.”

“I regret I’m not following you, Admiral,” said Lehmann, who was genuinely confused.

“I’ll spell it out for you. Our courier’s name is Wendorff. His former commander is Hans von Schroif, who is in command of a StuG battalion attacking the fortress at Brest-Litovsk. It would appear from the context of this message that the only copy of Plan Ost is currently located inside a corner of the besieged fortress. If the courier survives the siege, which is rapidly coming to a successful conclusion, and this plan falls back into the hands of Obergruppenführer Heydrich, the man even Hitler calls ‘the man with the iron heart’, it won’t take long for the SD to work out where it came from.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“Possibly, if we can intercept the courier and get the documents safely back to you… can you get them back into Heydrich’s safe?”

“That’s assuming that he hasn’t missed them in the meantime,” said Lehmann nervously.

“I don’t think he will have had the opportunity to miss them. If there had been an investigation into a break-in, we’d have heard about it by now. We know for certain that he has been touring the rear areas with Himmler constantly since the beginning of Barbarossa. They are hell-bent on seeing their plans for genocide through. I think we can safely assume that his mind is not currently focussed on the paperwork.”

“I think we can manage to get it back inside the safe, if you can get the plan back,” replied Lehmann, although his manner was unconvincing.

“Good. It’s a long shot, but, should we succeed, you must make sure that you do your bit. The consequences for our respective families would be too awful to contemplate. Fortunately, Abwehr still has some effective agents in the field. I know a man who might be able to make this happen. For the sake of everyone you know, you had better start praying that he does not let us down.”