Griffin W.E.B. - Honor Bound 03 - Secret Honor

Deitzberg's orderly had been instructed to pack luggage containing uniforms sufficient for a week in Warsaw.

Even before Himmler had ordered him to his office, as he had indeed just done, Von Deitzberg had the scenario clear in his mind: Himmler would summon him to ask him why he hadn't been immediately informed of the Warsaw affair, even if that meant interrupting his luncheon with his wife. Von

Deitzberg would explain that the Reichsfiihrer had left orders that he was not to be disturbed; and in any event, he had already done all that he felt the Reichsfiihrer-SS would have ordered. An airplane was waiting at Templehof, et cetera, et cetera.

At that point, Himmler would wonder if the insurrection of some Jews was worth his personal attention.

"I think I had better tend the store, Manfred," he would say. "Who else could we send?"

At which point, von Deitzberg would say, "It would have to be someone who could act for you, Herr Reichsfiihrer."

And then Himmler would say, "I hate to do this to you,

Manfred, but I think it would be best if you went there. You will be acting with my authority, of course."

"Good afternoon, Herr Reichsfuhrer. I trust you had a pleasant lunch?" von Deitzberg said as he entered Himmler's office.

"We have two problems on our hands, Manfred," Himmler said.

"Two, Herr Reichsfuhrer?" von Deitzberg asked, sur prised.

Obviously Lowzer brought the second one. Did I make a mistake in letting him in to see Himmler without knowing what he wanted?

"Deputy Foreign Minister von Lowzer was just here. To show me a message to von Ribbentrop from Buenos Aires,"

Himmler said. He paused and looked at von Deitzberg before going on, somewhat dramatically. "Goltz and Griiner are dead," he announced.

It took a moment for Oberfuhrer von Deitzberg to absorb what he had just been told. "Dead, Herr Reichsfuhrer?" he finally asked. "Murdered by person or persons unknown.

Their bodies are aboard the Oceano Pacifico… which, by the way, the Argentine government has ordered from

Argentine waters, on the grounds of attempted smuggling."

"And the cargo of the Oceano PacificoT von Deitzberg asked carefully.

"The Oceano Pacifico was not able to unload her cargo,"

Himmler said. "Von Lutzenberger was obviously reluctant to go into all the details in a cable, but he made that point quite clearly." Von Deitzberg nodded.

"And said more details were available," Himmler went on.

"Three people are familiar with them, in addition to the

Ambassador himself. He suggested that von Ribbentrop arrange for at least one of them to come to Berlin on the next

Lufthansa Condor flight." "Did he provide their names?"

"Yes. Gradny-Sawz, von Wachtstein, and Sturmbann fiihrer von Tresmarck. I think your first order of business would be to have their dossiers sent up, so that you and I can have a fresh look at them." "Jawohl, Herr Reichsfiihrer."

"There will be a meeting of the others, and I would like to have that information before I go to that." "I understand, Herr

Reichsfuhrer." "And then I'd like your recommendations for someone to send to Warsaw to deal with that incredible problem."

"Before I knew of this, Herr Reichsfiihrer, I made arrangements to take you there. There is a Heinkel at your disposal at Templehof."

"I thought perhaps you might suggest yourself. " "If the

Reichsfiihrer-SS had decided going to Warsaw was not worth his time, yes, sir."

Himmler was aware that von Deitzberg was ambitious and that he stood a far better chance of promotion to

Brigadefuhrer (brigadier general) if he had some operational experience in the field.

"The problem, Manfred, is priority," Himmler said kindly.

"The Argentine operation is of far greater importance to the

Reich than the unfortunate business in Warsaw. I need you here, at least until some decisions are made about Argentina."

"I understand, Herr Reichsfuhrer."

"Can you think of someone off the top of your head?"

"Three or four people, Herr Reichsfuhrer. But I thought you might wish to go over their dossiers with me before you made your decision."

"Good idea. Get the dossiers as soon as you can."

"Jawohl, Herr Reichsfuhrer."

[TWO]

The Chancellery of the German Reich

Wilhelmstrasse

Berlin

2230 27 April 1943

Though it was officially the Reich Chancellery Air Raid

Shelter, everyone thought of it-and called it-"the

Fiihrerbunker."

Under the supervision of Hitler's personal architect,

Albert Speer, a new Chancellery had been built in 1938-39 on the grounds of what was now known as "the old Reich

Chancellery." The new structure was far more imposing than the old, in both size and style.

The Fiihrer had studied the proposed plans for the new

Reich Chancellery and the bunker carefully, made a few

"suggestions" for improvement, and then had watched the actual construction with great interest.

After the bunker was finished, the courtyard of the old

Chancellery looked very much like it had before the shelter was built. There were two exceptions.

The first was a round-roofed one-story building in a cor ner of the courtyard, which served as an above-ground observation post for the guards of the SS-Leibstandarte (Life

Guards) Adolf Hitler Regiment, who had been assigned the duty of protecting the bunker. A three-story flight of stairs under this building led down into the bunker and provided an emergency exit from it.

The second was the main entrance to the bunker. Con structed of thick concrete, and equipped with theoretically bombproof doors, it clashed architecturally with the Chan cellery Building, but aesthetics had to give way to practical military engineering when the lives of the Fiihrer and his closest advisers were at stake.

Only two senior Nazi officials had their own quarters in the

Fiihrer bunker: the Fiihrer's closest advisers, Martin Bormann and the clubfooted Dr. Josef Goebbels, Minister of Propa ganda.

Not even Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring or Field Mar shal Wilhelm Keitel had space in the Fiihrer bunker. Nor did

Admiral Karl Donitz, head of the German Navy, nor

Joachim von Ribbentrop, nor Rear Admiral Wilhelm

Canaris, nor Reichsfiihrer-SS Heinrich Himmler.

Space had been found, however, for Adolf Hitler's good friend, Fraiilein Eva Braun, who had her own bedroom mod estly apart from the Fiihrer's.

Since it was useful to have an intelligent and trustworthy second pair of eyes and ears at important meetings, when

Reichsfiihrer-SS Heinrich Himmler went to the Reich Chan cellery this afternoon, he took Oberfiihrer Manfred von

Deitzberg with him, but managed to get von Deitzberg only as far as the foot of the stairway leading downward from the courtyard of the Chancellery.

When Himmler and von Deitzberg passed through the two steel doors leading to the main bunker stairs, they were snappily saluted by the Schutzstaffel noncommissioned offi cers on duty and passed through without question. Himmler was, after all, the Reichsfiihrer-SS, and the guards knew von

Deitzberg was his adjutant. But as Himmler reached the bottom of the last of the long flights of stairs, he realized he wouldn't be able to take von Deitzberg any farther. Sitting in a row on steel chairs in the small area outside the bunker waiting room were Deputy

Minister Georg Friedrich von Lowzer of the Foreign Min istry and the aides-de-camp to Admirals Donitz and Canaris.

Someone has decided, Himmler thought, that a deputy foreign minister, a Navy captain, and a Navy commander- not to mention an SS-Oberfiihrer-are not important enough to wait in the actual waiting room.

And there is no question in my mind that that someone is

Martin Bormann.