Rastenburg, East Prussia, Wolfsschanze
November 19, 1943, 1200 hours
General Burkhalter had been nervous during the entire trip to Rastenburg. Actually, he had been nervous ever since receiving the phone call from the Führer himself requesting that he make the trip for a personal meeting. He wasn't nervous about meeting Hitler; he had done so countless times. But to be summoned from Berlin to the Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg was out of the ordinary.
Am I suspected of helping the Allies? He had thought. That can't be it, or else I would be arrested rather than summoned. So what could this be?
In the end, he had simply tried to stop worrying. Whatever the reason, he would find out when he arrived. And in any case, there was nothing he could do but make the trip. And so here he was, in the Führer's bunker at the Wolfsschanze, watching the midday situation report, one of the three that were given to the Führer daily.
Burkhalter stood against one of the walls while the various participants briefed Hitler on the state of the war in the various fronts. General Zeitzler and Field Marshal Keitel presented the news from the eastern and southern fronts. To Burkhalter, the news painted a bleak picture for Germany. The Americans and British attacking through Italy, the Russians attacking at several places along the Eastern Front threatening to make a breakthrough on the southern end. In all, it pointed to a slow, painful death for his country.
Throughout the briefing, Hitler interrupted with questions and comments. Burkhalter was impressed by some of the technical knowledge that he displayed with his questions, but he couldn't help but get the impression that the Führer believed that the war would be won simply because of his iron will, and the war would be lost because of the incompetence of the leaders in the field.
The briefing took almost ninety minutes. In that time, there were many others standing on the sidelines, as Burkhalter was. Some he recognized, like Nicolaus von Below, the Luftwaffe adjutant. Others, he did not recognize, but guessed that they were summoned for this occasion, as he was. He noticed that Reichsminister Goebbels and Reichsführer Himmler were also present, and though not taking an active part in the briefing, were standing at Hitler's side. Ah, the privileges of rank, he thought.
What surprised Burkhalter the most was that the entire briefing was being transcribed. A pair of secretaries was sitting off to the side, busily noting everything that was said in the room. Occasionally, Hitler would make a motion to them before making a side comment to one of the meeting participants. Burkhalter assumed that the Führer was indicating that certain statements he made were not to be entered into the official record.
Burkhalter was so entranced in the proceedings, and his own thoughts, that when he was finally spoken to, he almost did not realize it.
"General Burkhalter," Hitler beckoned.
Burkhalter stepped forwards and snapped to attention. "Jawohl, mein Führer!" he said smartly.
"I have read the report of your last briefing on the state of the Luft Stalags," Hitler said. "Has anything changed since then?"
"Nein, the situation is still the same," Burkhalter replied.
"And still no prisoner escapes from Stalag 13?" Hitler asked.
"Nein, the Kommandant there has the camp firmly under control," he replied. Actually, it's the American Colonel who has things firmly under control, meinFührer, he thought.
"That would be Colonel Klunk," Hitler stated.
"Klink," Burkhalter corrected. "Colonel Wilhelm Klink."
Hitler nodded absently, as if the correct name was irrelevant. "And what is your assessment of the security of the camp?" he asked Burkhalter. "I have seen reports that there is a large amount of sabotage activity in the area of Hammelburg, where this camp is situated."
"Yes sir," Burkhalter replied. "That is true. But handling the underground activity in the area is the responsibility of the Gestapo, not the Luftwaffe," he said nervously, glancing at Himmler. "I have not had any reports of unexplained problems from the camp itself." Thankfully, Colonel Hogan always makes sure that the problems that do arise are explained away to some other cause, he thought.
Burkhalter paused a second before continuing, "The local head of the Gestapo has constantly complained that the prisoners of Stalag 13 are the ones responsible for the sabotage in the area."
"The prisoners?" Hitler asked. "Is he trying to say that prisoners escape from the camp, commit sabotage activities, and then return to the camp?" Burkhalter nodded.
Himmer stepped forward, "If I may," he said. "That would be Major Hochstetter. He has been submitting reports for a while stating that the sabotage is coming from the prisoners. However, he has never shown any proof of this theory."
Hitler stared at the table for a moment. "It sounds like he should be concentrating on the inhabitants of the area in order to locate the underground cell that is truly responsible," he said. "Should you remove him?"
Burkhalter was surprised by this question. Ever since he had been silently aiding Colonel Hogan's efforts by making sure information was available, he had also thought that it would be good to remove Major Hochstetter. However, the thought just occurred to him that the replacement might be someone more competent than the blustering crank. Better the devil you know, he thought.
Himmler shook his head. "Not at this time," he replied. "But we are keeping an eye on him just the same."
"Good," Hitler said. Then turning back to Burkhalter, he said, "We have been having security problems with many of our important military research facilities. There may be times when it would be advantageous to house experiments, prototypes, information or important research scientists in a place where the Allies would not think of bombing."
Burkhalter nodded. "A place where there are hundreds of Allied personnel staying," he agreed.
Hitler nodded. "You have my authority to suggest Stalag 13 as you see fit," Hitler said. "If there is a disagreement with your suggestion, you talk to me and I will make the final decision."
Burkhalter nodded again, more enthusiastically. "As it should be, mein Führer," he replied. "I am sure that this will be a great help to the war effort." Ha! It will be a great help to the Allied war effort you fool. I can't believe that you just gave me more authority to do what I have been trying to do for the past two months!
"You may also be contacted by others about using the camp for this purpose," Hitler said. "It is your discretion whether to allow it or not." Hitler paused before saying, "Unless my discretion disagrees with yours."
Burkhalter was silent. There was nothing to say to that. Disagreeing with the Führer's discretion was the quickest way to earn a ticket to the Eastern Front.
"You will report directly to me from now on," Hitler continued. For a moment, Burkhalter's spirits sank. He didn't want to be stationed here full time. "You will attend the weekly research and armaments briefing here, but remain stationed in Berlin."
"Mein Führer, with your permission, I would like to move to the Luftwaffe Headquarters in Hammelburg," Burkhalter said. "I would like to be closer to the camp." Not to mention being farther away from Berta and her annoying nagging.
Hitler made a dismissive gesture. "Wherever you like," he said. "As long as you are here for the weekly meeting."
"Jawohl mein Führer," Burkhalter responded.
"There is one more thing," Hitler continued. He turned to Goebbels and made a gesture for him to speak.
"The Propaganda Ministry feels that it would be good to capitalize on the record of the Kommandant of Stalag 13," Goebbels told Burkhalter. "So we want to give him an award on a live radio broadcast that will be heard throughout Germany and the occupied territories. You will be contacted by Colonel Sitzer to make the arrangements."
"I will cooperate fully, Herr Reichsminister," Burkhalter said. Oh boy, I can already see Klink's ego inflating like a barrage balloon. An award for THAT blowhard? He's already insufferable, and this will just make it worse.
After that, Hitler dismissed the briefing and everyone cleared from the bunker. Burkhalter spent some time talking with several of the other Generals he was acquainted with before deciding that he should be returning to Berlin.
When he got to the car, he told the driver, "Stop in Rastenburg and find a market. I am hungry, but do not want to delay the return to Berlin."
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Vladimir watched as two Germans in uniform entered the market. He froze in shock when he recognized General Burkhalter as being one of them. His first instinct was to leave. But Tadeauz had already gone back to the farm, and there was no one else in the market. So Vladimir was stuck. He only hoped that Burkhalter had never seen him when he was in Stalag 13.
Vladimir walked up to the two officers. "Can I help you with anything?" he asked cheerfully.
"Yes, we are in a hurry to get back to Berlin, and would like to have something that we can eat along the way," Burkhalter replied, glancing at Vladimir. His gaze then traveled to a table with several loaves of bread, but suddenly returned back to Vladimir.
Oh no, Vladimir thought as Burkhalter stared at him. If he's recognized me, I'm a dead man. "We have some homemade bread and cheese that you might like," Vladimir said smiling, hoping to convince Burkhalter that he was just a simple peasant working in a market. "I also think I might have a chunk of ham left. I'll go look."
I've got to get them out of here quickly, Vladimir thought. The longer they are here, the more Burkhalter will think he's recognized me. He walked into the back room, where he knew there was a chunk of ham that he had been saving.
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Burkhalter watched the man walk into the back room. He looks familiar, but I can't place where I have seen him.
When Vladimir returned, he was carrying a chunk of ham that he placed onto a clean cloth. He then gathered a loaf of bread from the table in the market, and cut a large hunk from the wheel of cheese sitting on the counter.
Burkhalter watched the man closely, still trying to place where he had seen Vladimir. After Vladimir had gathered the food, he turned to face Burkhalter. Though the face was smiling, Burkhalter could sense some worry in the man's eyes.
"Will that be all for you, General?" Vladimir asked.
"Ja, that is very nice," Burkhalter replied. He told the driver to pay for the goods and return to the car.
As the two Germans were leaving, Vladimir called out, "Have a safe trip back to Berlin, Herr General."
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During the drive back to Berlin, Burkhalter was thinking about the man in the market. He knew that he had seen him before, and he did sense that the man was worried about something. Was he worried that Burkhalter might know who he was? Was he hiding from someone and didn't want to be found out? With the war going on, Burkhalter knew that everyone had something to worry about. He himself had been almost sick with worry on the way to Rastenburg.
Burkhalter was almost asleep when the recognition hit him. He jerked himself awake with a start. That's it. I know where I've seen him before. Stalag 13. I've seen him as a prisoner in Stalag 13. Burkhalter kept trying to remember if he had ever known the name of the prisoner he was thinking about.
Sam. The man's name was Sam. Another stab of realization hit him. Sam Minsk was the prisoner that Klink reported as the one Hochstetter claimed was a Russian when he took him out of Stalag 13. Sam Minsk was the same prisoner that was then reported taken from Hochstetter by the Abwehr and then shot. Burkhalter rubbed his temples. Could this be the same Sam? How could a prisoner, who was supposed to be a Russian posing as an American in a German prison camp, be both shot by the Abwehr and end up working in a market near the Führer's headquarters?
Burkhalter kept telling himself that it could not be the same man. But the more he kept telling himself, the more he became convinced that it was most likely the same man. And the more convinced he became, the more he realized that Colonel Hogan had to have had something to do with getting this man away from Hochstetter.
Burkhalter leaned back and closed his eyes. His head hurt with the jumble of suppositions that were running through his mind. But one thing was clear to him, even through the jumbled mess, Major Hochstetter was probably right about Colonel Hogan being the most dangerous man in Germany. And General Burkhalter knew that he must try to keep Hochstetter from finding out how right he was.