being sick has given me time to think about things, so here is the next chapter!
M.W. Fodor wrote in 'The Nation' in 1936, "No race has suffered so much from an inferiority complex as has the German.
National Socialism was a kind of Couè method of converting the inferiority complex, at least temporarily, into a feeling of superiority."
"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war
when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia,
nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood.
But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along,
whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.
It works the same in any country."-Herman Göering(Commander-in-Chief of the Lufwaffe, German for air force)
Most of the walk was very quiet; Richtofen led the way out of the factory (what felt like an eternity),
passing three individual security checks on our way through a quiet exit, which connected to a small trail that continued down the grassy meadow of about thirty feet in diameter on every side, blending into the forest surrounding Waffenfabrik Der Riese.
This path did not wander far, it was still visible from the inside, this was a fact, for there were several watch guards stationed in every corner of the gate surrounding Der Riese; I knew they were watching us with their binoculars, guns in hand in case I decided to run or do anything sudden.
I bet anything that Dr. Richtofen had alerted them before we left, that he was going on a walk with der frau and to not be disturbed in any way.
It took us roughly a half hour to get out of the facility (which is huge, about the size of a small village),
and about fifteen minutes to tread down the trail.
It was well into the day so the cold fog that lingered in the mornings when temperatures were low would be absent for another five hours or so,
allowing rays of the sun to filter through the nest of trees ever so slightly, producing a very blissful, refreshing temperature.
This was a good example of Spring beauty, the trees slowly waking from their slumber, flowers wanting to bloom,
causing there to be a lingering smell of pollen in the air.
One could watch as the few dead leaves that were left fell from their branches, floating as they descend,
only to be caught midair by the wind, lifting them back up, weaving throughout the clustering trees, whirling in harmony…
only to die back down into silence, giving augmentation to the echoing sound of birds chirping somewhere in the distance.
Somehow, this once deathly quiet between Dr. Richtofen and myself developed into that of comfort as I invited myself to further explore my visual surroundings, which would explain why I didn't notice I had bumped into him until it felt virtually like I had run into a stern wall.
"Ah, ich enstchuldige miche, herr, my head vas in zhe clouds und I did not see you stop!"
I was quick to apologize, taking a few steps back, though I couldn't help but to catch his scent, the smell of old books and good quality tobacco.
Richtofen was now regarding me with a mixed expression of humor and embarrassment.
"It is fine, frau, it is partially my fault for abruptly halting in my step as I vas directly in front of you."
Having said that, his expression hardened back into its usual cold visage, and with a gesture of the hand, he invited me to walk beside him;
I complied, encouraging him to continue with a small smile.
"But enough vith zhe pleasantries, I am not interested in bartering polite nonsense vithz you,"
he hesitated, searching for my eyes; he regarded me with interest and a very charming smile that would make any other weak legged girl falter.
"I vish to study you thoroughly, I must know vhere you stand in terms of academic competence und psychological health,
your epistemology in general, it is important to know if I am to trust you vith meine und Dr. Maxis' raison d'être."
It pleased me that he would use a famous French phrase meaning 'reason of existence', it certainly indicated a man with an open mind to philosophy.
"Zhat is only sensible, , I am looking forward to answering your questions to zhe best of my ability,
I am very curious as to vhat your 'life's work' is, somezhing brilliant I am sure."
I smiled pleasantly as we continued walking, the sun clashing with my cream colored dress.
A very pretty dress at that, with a silk underskirt, accompanied by a pair of one inch heels.
This guise proved to be ideally comfortable under the German sun caressing my exposed back, providing infinite warmth in the shade.
"Are you a zealous nationalsozialist?" came the question seemingly out of nowhere,
Richtofen's attention sharply fixed on me, falling back on his semi-marching rhythm to match a more comfortable stride,
once more locking arms behind his back; this was a very militarized habit of his, I noted.
I have encountered many National Socialists in my life, many of which I judged to be sexist dummkopf's that always liked to harass me
with the Hausfrau ideology, men that followed a belief just because that is what most people are believing,
but in reality they are just mindless schafe, appealing to whatever personality is the safest to have.
I learned to be careful, as well, of those Nationalsozialist's that are frighteningly obsessed with the Völkish Ideals, these demented men do many unspeakable things, naturally resulting to be the ones that reached higher ranks, or are surgeons, or nurses….
To be a good Nazi, one must bash a few heads here and there, a sturnbannführer once told me,
I was seated next to him at a speech in my university and had no other choice but to listen….
i did not ask anything of his occupation, though it was obvious by the uniform he proudly wore.
So it is that he rambled on, bragging of his cruelty like a trophy,
his disgusting rotten breath hitting me in the face in sickening waves, invading my nostrils.
I would sit there and listen, and I was expected not to complain, because I was just a silly fraue trying to get an 'education'.
Never had hatred been so tangible, it was even a taste, a metallic, unpleasant taste.
or was that because I was so angry that I bit my lip, causing it to bleed into my mouth?
Nonetheless, that is neither here nor there, and Richtofen, did not seem malicious, he appeared to be more concerned with science than politics.
Perhaps he would understand my point of view.
"I did not kommen here by choice, but neither am I objecting, recht?
I absolutely vill not stand for zhis so called Volkskrieg or a Führerprinzip land,
but I am more interested in die developments der Führer ist die Finanzierung more zhan anyzhing else, I am not interested in human morality or politics."
I paused quickly to examine Richtofen's demeanor, seeing as he was still regarding me with amusement, I deemed it safe to go on without being shot.
"I do demand equality as a voman, if I am to vork for sie, for I assure you i can be as cruel as any man here."
As I said this, I narrowed my eyes at him, letting him know I was very serious.
Silently we stared at each other until he burst into an almost maniacal laughter.
I felt my face grow hot with anger, balling my hands into fists, I proceeded to glare at the man as he laughed at me.
Abruptly, his laughter seized, followed by a nasty smirk, one that belonged to a man that enjoyed brutality.
"Zhat is a very interesting disposition, frau, it pleases me zhat you understand zhat we are men of science here, very vell,
let's go back, to my office, shall ve?" and with that he sped up his pace, I followed suit, back to another entrance of the building.
Richtofen did not say anything afterwards; instead he kept his gaze on me, every now and then glancing downward to see where he was stepping.
A couple dozen feet before we got there, I noticed a soldier in a nearby watch tower pointing his sniper rifle us,
though I knew it could only be pointed at me; I grew tense, watching the man as he looked at me through his scope.
My heart grew uneasy and I felt my pores releasing cold sweat, I shivered as a very icy pang traveled down my spine.
I was going to die, I knew.
I would drop as soon as he pulled that trigger, a headshot, no doubt.
I hope my blood spills on , because I knew he had called the assassination, which is when I realized why we had gone on a walk.
However, I did not die, this was due to a very minute gesture of the hand, courtesy of the Doctor himself,
I'm sure he thought I did not notice that he had called it off.
Something I said changed his mind, for I knew he had taken me outside to kill me quietly, but in the end he decided against it.
I was not sure if I should be happy or frightened, in fact, I felt rather offended.
This, I kept to myself for fear that he might just change his mind.
At this point, my analogy of him so far was that of a cold and calculating man, confident and slightly ambitious,
ambivalent in nature, for he had a certain warmth and passion to him.
I knew he could be very kind if it was in his best interests, though he could also use this as a form of manipulation.
His humility could have also been accounted for by his youth, for he could not be that much older than me, no more than ten years.
Of course, he was a man of his work, a man that did what he must do, regardless of principles.
I would forever be cautious of him; I knew he'd stab me in the back if he needed to.
And with that this chapter leads to an abrupt halt! I didn't want to keep my readers waiting,
so i decided once more to cut a chapter short and deliver a bit more. Please review, ja!
Vocabulary:
der frau-the lady
waffenfabrik-weapon factory
ich enstchuldige miche-excuse me
Hausfrau ideology-the stereotype that all women should should devote their lives to their children, husbands and cooking and cleaning.
shafe-sheep
sturnbannführer-military rank, unit leader
kommen-come
recht-right
Volkskrieg-peoples war
Führerprinzip-the ideal of dicatorship lead by a single leader.
der Führer ist die Finanzierung-the leader is financing