The T.V. show Hogan's Heroes belongs to Bing Crosby Productions. No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is implied or inferred, and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 11

The Decision

The 109 swooped down on what was supposed to be an enemy B-17. "Rat tat tat tat tat, Rrrrrmmmm." The Allied plane wiggled in the air before its engines sputtered and the plane went belly-up spiraling into the dirt.

"My turn, my turn!" One boy quickly grabbed up the ill-fated B-17 and took off running across the park, the German Messerschmitt again in hot pursuit, destined to smite the enemy and send him plummeting once more into the ground.

Biedenbender smiled; he enjoyed being a hero. His victory over the American Colonel, thanks to the Propaganda Ministry, was played out daily in schoolyards and playgrounds across Germany. He suspected it wasn't just the exhilaration of the German people over a vanquished foe that was at the heart of the Propaganda Ministry's agenda. There had to be more. Biedenbender shook his head and laughed at himself. I'm being paranoid. It probably means no more than that it is a way to keep German pride high.

General Biedenbender straightened and breathed in deeply through his nose, taking in the rich musky smells of fall, and his thoughts again drifted back to his defeated enemy.

Colonel Hogan was soon to be released to a Luft Stalag. The question was, which one?

You're much too clever to put into just any prison. It must be inescapable! General Burkhalter has been studying you, watching how you cope with the testing you've been put through, judging your stamina…your rebellion…measuring your strengths and weaknesses. We wouldn't want you escaping and making your way back to England…or… to die trying! We've worked to hard to get you where you are, both physically and mentally.

"Heinrich,"Rolf was quickly approaching, red faced and out of breath. Biedenbender turned in the direction of the summons.

"Where have you been?" Not waiting for a response Rolf added, "What are you doing? General Burkhalter's been looking for you!"

Biedenbender looked with increased interest at Rolf. "General Burkhalter has been looking for me?"

"Ja, we told him you had stepped out for lunch and were expected back soon. He has called three times in the last hour." Rolf stepped closer to Heinrich. "He even called and asked if you were with me. I don't mind telling you, General Burkhalter makes me nervous. He has been around long enough that he has a lot of influence all the way up and down the political ladder. I'm always afraid I'm going to say the wrong thing, or the right thing in the wrong way and poof…gone…and forgotten"

Biedenbender laughed good-naturedly at his friend. "Nonsense Rolf, you're looking at it all wrong. These are the kind of men you want to associate with, get close to, and if possible, be on a first name basis with. If you want to move up, you have to be in the right circles."

Rolf, blinked the stunned look off of his face. "I know, but…well…just watch yourself around him, Heinrich, that's all I'm saying."

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"High altitude testing, ability to function in freezing temperatures…oxygen deprivation…and sleep deprivation coupled with cognitive and physical exercise. Well they certainly ran him through the gamut. Did they learn anything they didn't already know?" Rolf tossed the report back onto the desk in front of Heinrich.

Biedenbender pulled his clasped fists away from his chin, "I don't know. They share the test notes but not their significance. That sort of ambiguity on its own merit causes speculation." Biedenbender leaned back in his chair. "Did you notice the date on the last report?"

Rolf looked questioningly at Heinrich and reached for the reports again.

"That's all right, don't bother. It was eighteen days ago. I checked: they've moved him on to the transition camp at Wetzlar."

"Two and a half weeks ago? And he is still there? Is that why General Burkhalter wants to meet with you? Doesn't he know what to do with our prize toy?" Rolf asked.

I wonder if Rolf is right. Maybe Burkhalter wants to discuss Hogan's placement. Biedenbender quickly discarded the idea. "I'm guessing the Luftwaffe is taking a last crack at getting him to talk before passing him on to a Luft Stalag, thinking he may have softened up a bit after his ordeal at Hohemark. Burkhalter probably wants to know what I know about his weaknesses." Biedenbender shook his head. "He won't talk. That is one thing I am sure of. He'd rather die. I knew that at Hohemark when he looked into the observation room at us. He was not, nor would he be, defeated. Dead, maybe, but not defeated."

There was a light tap on the office door, followed by the appearance of Biedenbender's secretary. "General Burkhalter is here, Herr General."

Rolf quickly stood and facing the door, bounded to attention, his arm raised in salute as his hills clicked with precision. "Heil Hitler!"

Burkhalter sauntered in with a slight smile on his face, a smile that Rolf always considered to be cold and deliberate. It was not a smile meant to put you at ease.

"General Burkhalter, please come in." Biedenbender stood and stepped around the desk. "I believe you know Oberst Schinner. We were just looking over Colonel Hogan's file."

Burkhalter glanced at Rolf and nonchalantly returned the salute. "Yes, we have met several times…on official business. You may stand at ease, Oberst Schinner."

"Danke, Herr General." Rolf relaxed only slightly and turned to Biedenbender. "If you have finished with me, General Biedenbender, I will go and take care of those reports for you." Rolf looked at Heinrich with pleading eyes, begging him not to make him stay.

Biedenbender nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "You are dismissed," Biedenbender granted. Rolf turned to leave and was suddenly stopped by his friend's next subterfuge-filled comment. "Have those reports ready for me by the end of the day."

Rolf carried through with the show of superiority Heinrich was displaying for General Burkhalter with a snap to attention followed with a crisp salute and a "Jawohl!"

Burkhalter watched the door close, "Interesting man. I'm not sure what to make of him yet. He upholds the ideals of the Reich and seems to be quite efficient and capable…but…he always seems to be rushed and hurrying on to his next task." Burkhalter turned to look at Biedenbender. "You keep him extremely busy…maybe you should consider getting a second aide to help with the workload."

Biedenbender bit the inside of his cheek, to keep from laughing at the whole situation. If only Burkhalter knew it was his presence that caused the urgency in Rolf's departure! Keeping his composure, he answered, "You make a good observation, General Burkhalter, I will consider that." Waving his hand and gesturing toward the chair Rolf had vacated, Biedenbender offered, "Please General, have a seat."

Burkhalter sat back in the chair and extended his feet out in front of him, crossing them at the ankle, the leather of his boots creaking with the action. "I have reached some decisions regarding our Colonel Hogan."

Biedenbender leaned forward, his elbows on his desk. "You've decided where to send him?"

"The day before yesterday, if you had asked me that I would have given you an answer." Burkhalter was now deciding on a different approach. He was here, more or less, for a second opinion, or maybe it was just affirmation he wanted. "Colonel Hogan was moved to Wetzlar eighteen days ago. Each day, after morning roll call, he has been removed from the prison population and taken to a location more conducive to…private conversation."

Biedenbender knew what was inferred. Hogan was removed so there would be no witnesses among the prisoner population about methods used on Colonel Hogan that could be considered to be outside of the terms of the Geneva Convention. "I was not told officially, but I guessed as much from the date of the last report of Colonel Hogan's testing from Hohemark."

Burkhalter nodded, sizing up the officer sitting across from him. The practice of reading a man's character was a trait not unique to General Burkhalter. Any officer above the rank of Captain had to posses this skill if he was to stay alive in Germany today. You had to know your enemies, but you had to know your friends even better.

"You are very observant, that is good." Burkhalter said approvingly and then frowned, "They got a little carried away with their interrogation a couple of days ago and as a result had to keep him isolated from the general prisoner population for a few days until he was able to walk a little straighter."

Biedenbender raised an eyebrow, "A little straighter?"

"Nothing serious, just a couple of cracked ribs," Burkhalter answered dismissively. "They obviously weren't making any progress and decided to increase their efforts. They pulled him from the prison population altogether and placed him in solitary confinement. That is where he was yesterday morning when I arrived at the transit camp to talk with Kommandant Zurbruck."

"You saw him yesterday morning?"

Burkhalter nodded, "I did. He is still impertinent. He refused to show proper military respect and salute me. Even after being urged by the Kommandant and the guard, he did not obey. So I upped the stakes, I wanted him to know it was not just a General that was interested in him, but that the Fuhrer also had his eye on him, and that we found his endurance under Luftwaffe and Gestapo interrogation most fascinating. Still, I could not let his lack of respect go unpunished, so I turned him back over to his interrogators and lengthened his stay by two days giving them a total of five days to try and get him to talk." Burkhalter smirked and amended his statement, "No; talking he does-- what I should say is give us useful information.

Burkhalter paused and then as an explanation said, "The scientists at Hohemark were right, our Colonel Hogan has a mouth on him. Although, I must admit, considering his circumstances, he controls his backtalk fairly well…most of the time." Another pause, "Well, let's say half the time. The other half of the time, judging from some of the transcripts I've read, his interrogators don't even realize they've been insulted," Burkhalter revealed, apparently amused.

Biedenbender leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I told you from the beginning, this man is a fox and he will bear close watching."

Burkhalter sobered. "About that…what do you know about what drives this man?"

"Duty!" Biedenbender answered immediately. "Duty. And, as I have come to learn after his capture, a strong conviction in his beliefs."

Burkhalter smiled, "I agree, and knowing that, what would keep him from following the duty of every officer to try and escape?"

Biedenbender shook his head negatively. "Nothing, it would be his duty to work with the other officers he's imprisoned with, to find a means of escape. There would be no stopping him from…" Biedenbender was staring at the Colt pistol enshrined on his office wall and envisioning the captured American plotting with his fellow officers, when he began to understand what the General was alluding to.

"You're going to put him in an enlisted man's camp!" Biedenbender's eyes widened.

Burkhalter smiled, "It has possibilities." Burkhalter was pleased with Biedenbender's understanding of what he was attempting to do.

"We shift where his duty lies," Biedenbender rubbed his chin thoughtfully

"The other side of the coin is, if he can't escape himself, will he take up the challenge of planning mass escapes of the men under his command. It would give him satisfaction to pull that off," Burkhalter concluded.

Biedenbender nodded, "Ja that would definitely be the Hogan touch." Biedenbender looked a little deeper into the psyche of the man he called his enemy and again agreed, "Ja, definitely." He was pulled from his thoughts as General Burkhalter continued.

"However, there is a Luftwaffe camp that has not had any successful escapes…up until now. Of course it is a fairly new camp and it could be that the prisoners have just not organized themselves yet, or do not have a leader." Burkhalter looked at Biedenbender, trying to read his thoughts on the matter.

"So a lot will be riding on the Kommandant's ability to prevent or recapture those attempting to escape under Colonel Hogan's direction," Biedenbender realized out loud.

Nodding, Burkhalter continued, "Putting Colonel Hogan there could just be giving them the leader they need. The alternative would be Colditz, and their attempted escape record does not fill me confidence either.

"I think your idea has merit, General Burkhalter."

"I am glad to hear you say that. We still have plans for Colonel Hogan. And I would not want to have to tell the Fuhrer that he has escaped. I'd rather shoot myself, and I'm not excited about that idea either." Recovering from that distasteful thought, he continued, "I have arranged to increase patrols in the woods surrounding the Camp for a while and have notified the local Gestapo that we will be holding a very dangerous prisoner there, and to be prepared to give assistance immediately if called. Should we be wrong in our assessment of his driving force, any escape attempts by the American Colonel will be stopped immediately."

Should we be wrong! Our assessment! Rolf was right, I should have been more careful. I am now going to share in the decision to put Colonel Hogan at... "What Stalag did you say this was?"

"I didn't." Burkhalter smiled his cold, deliberate smile, and Biedenbender felt anything but at ease.

Biedenbender held Burkhalter's gaze, waiting for an answer.

"It is a Stalag near the town of Hammelburg. Stalag 13, its Kommandant is Oberst Wilhelm Klink."

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