And So It Begins
"You wanted to see me Kommadant?" Bergman asked entering Klink's office, and giving him a crisp salute.
Klink responded with a distracted salute, and returned his attention to the pile pf papers on his desk. "Yes I did," he replied, looking back up at the young man standing before him. "I know you've wanted to take leave for a long time now. With the Stalag being so short staffed, I was finding it difficult to justify giving you leave and not my other men. But I just received a call from General Holzklau. He has some prisoners from the American 106th Infantry Division which he needs transferred to Stalag XIII C."
"I do not understand, Herr Kommandant. Why would the Heer ask the Luftwaffe to transport prisoners, and what does it have to do with my request for leave?"
"Glad you asked," Klink said as he smiled at his junior officer. "It seems the good General is short handed due to the Russian advancement. His forces are tied up trying to hold the line. Per Article 19 of the Geneva Convention, when a combat is close to where prisoners are housed, they must be evacuated to a safe location." Rising to his feet and moving closer to Bergman, Klink continued. "Now I know General Holzklau will hold the line, and these precautions will prove to be unnecessary. But in the mean time, why not use it to our advantage?"
"I am still not following you, Oberst."
"Well my boy," Klink began while clapping his hands together in glee, "it seems the POWs in question were not in a Stalag, but in an Arbeitslager in Dresden."
Bergman's mouth dropped open, and he was momentarily stunned into silence. Then the dam burst and all his words came tumbling out together, almost becoming one long word. "They are evacuating prisoners? What about the civilians? What about my family?"
"You're over reacting. The city is in no danger. This is merely a precaution, nothing more."
"What about the pamphlets? The warnings about possible bombings?"
"I have been told they are all lies. Merely a propaganda tool for the desperate Allies. Dresden is a cultural center, not a military target. The Allies will leave it alone as we have left Oxford alone. Besides, you can go and assess the danger yourself. If you still feel uneasy, you can always arrange for them to be relocated to Hammelburg."
"Well, I suppose that would work," Bergman said thoughtfully.
"Good, then it is all arranged. There are five prisoners to be transported. The others will be transported to different Stalags by other means. They are not your concern. I will give you written instructions on who are to be transported, and where the pick up will be. They must be picked up on the fifteenth and delivered by the seventeenth."
"That does not give Hedda and me much time together, but I guess some time is better than no time."
"Good, I am glad that is settled," Klink replied happily. Sitting back down at his desk, Klink reviewed the paper in front of him before continuing. "I am going to send with you Gefreiter Weber and Obergefreiter Langenscheidt. That is really more men than I can spare, but I want to ensure everyone returns safely. Be ready to leave at 1800 hours. I will have Schultz alert Weber and Langenscheidt. He will also check out a truck for you to transport the prisoners in. Any questions?"
"No Herr Kommandant, and danke."
"Bitte Leutnant," Klink said while returning Bergman's salute.
Stepping outside the Kommandtur, Bergman felt himself smile. He wouldn't have a lot of time to spend with his family, but a man dying of thirst drinks happily whatever is given to him.
"Well this is something you don't see everyday. Somebody happy after seeing the Bald Eagle," Hogan said while looking up at Bergman from his position near the bottom of the step.
He smiled down at Hogan and descended the steps. "Waste your mischief somewhere else, Colonel. I am too happy to be bothered by you."
"Come on, what gives?" Hogan said as he fell in step with the younger man. "You've been walking around for months like death on toast, and now you're Herr Sunshine. Tell me. You can trust me."
"Ha! I can trust you about as far as I can pick you up and throw you." Hogan opened his mouth to object, but before he could, Bergman waved him off. "Save your lies and fancy dancing for Klink. I will tell you, it's not any secret. Myself, Weber and Langenscheidt are going to Dresden to pick up some prisoners, and while I am there I will be able to see my family. Sorry I had no military secrets to tell you. Good day Colonel," Bergman said as he veered off towards the officers quarters.
"Colonel, did I hear right? They're going to Dresden?" Hogan's second in command said as he approached his commanding officer.
"You heard right, Kinch," Hogan said, putting his hands in his jacket pockets, and staring after the young German.
"You can't let them go. Colonel, you know what will be waiting for them there. Bergman is just a kid. What twenty, twenty-one? And pretty decent guy, for a goon. The same goes for Langenscheidt. The men are really fond of him. They call him Mini Schultz."
"I know, but I can't jeopardize the mission. I can no more warn them, than I can the POWs that are housed there. There have to be sacrifices. Sometimes good men die for stupid reasons. No matter what people believe, or what we tell ourselves, we can't save everyone. We have our orders, and we'll follow them, no matter how much those orders may follow us after the war."
A/N
Arbeitslager is a sub labor camp, which could be adjacent to a farm or factory. Not to be confused with concentration sub camps which were called by the same name.