Nacht und Nebel

Gertrude stepped outside into the bright September sunlight. Though it was barely fall, the day had a chill to it. She buttoned her coat and put on her gloves while waiting for the staff car. Her daughter Lotte stood next to her, appearing to be as nervous as Gertrude felt. Lotte was blonde, as her mother had once been, and tall like Otto. Standing nearly six feet tall, she towered over her mother.

"It's all right Mama," Lotte said gently. "This one will be better than the last two. Uncle Albert promised."

"Ja Ja," Gertrude replied distractedly.

General Burkhalter exited the house just as the car pulled up in front of them. He got in the last seat after helping in his niece, leaving Gertrude to get in the middle seat by herself. She absently watched the scenery go by, lost in her own thoughts as her brother and daughter chatted idly behind her. Passing a mother grasping her small child's hand as they walked along the side of the road, brought back memories Gertrude had long tried to suppress.

HHHHHHHHH

It was March of '32, when Otto received his promotion to Oberst and posted under the command of Generalleutnant Fredrich von Boetticher. A year later, von Boetticher, appointed by Hitler to be the Military Attaché to the United States, began packing up his office for the move to America. Gertrude was excited about the news. She had studied English in school but never had the opportunity to use it. Moreover, she had never been out of country before. After the sadness and grief she had experienced in the last couple of years, a change of scenery is exactly what she needed. There was another reason to her wanting to leave. Due to the new law passed in Germany, Lotte was required to join the Bund Deutscher Mädel. Privately, neither Otto nor Gertrude approved of the organization. However, to verbalize such sentiments anywhere except behind a locked bedroom door was dangerous. Therefore, a much-relieved Otto, Gertrude and little Lotte, packed up their home and boarded a ship for America.

Gertrude found America to be exciting. During the day, she often accompanied her husband on various military installation tours. She loved talking to the troops but was amazed at the diversity among them. She was surprised, though in retrospect she should not have been, even though there was so many differences between Americans and Germans, how much seem the same. In the evenings were various dinner parties given by the Embassies, the White House and Washington's social elite. Gertrude was even able to travel to Texas and have a brief visit with Emma. When the school year began, Lotte enrolled in an American school and after overcoming the language barrier, excelled.

Gertrude loved traveling through the country but her favorite city was Boston. They arrived there for a week's stay with one of Boston's social elite families, Mr. and Mrs. Howell Thurston. Gertrude loved walking in a nearby park during the day. The snow, which blanketed ground, glistened and the trees decorated with icicles simmered and sparked in the sun, reminded her of home.

One day Otto asked to join her. At first, she was concerned that Otto had bad news, which he wanted to give to her privately. Otto assured her that he just wanted to spend some time alone with his wife. Walking in the park, hand in hand, neither speaking was wonderful. She felt at peace and relaxed. The burden of the previous years seemed lifted from her shoulders and she felt young again. The same thing must have been going through Otto's mind because in the middle of the park he stopped, wordlessly gathered her into his arms and kissed her. Not the kiss one might give to a sweetheart but a kiss he had never given her outside of their bedroom. She was shocked and trilled. Not caring who was watching, she returned his kiss with equal fervor.

On January 5, 1936, Otto received news of his promotion to General and transfer to the 103rd Panzer Brigade headquarted at Potsdam. Rumors of war had the Linkmeyers nervous. Gertrude had lived through one war and did not want a repeat experience. Otto assured her that everything would be all right. Once again, they packed up their household and moved.

Once settled back in Germany, General Linkmeyer began the task of training his troops and getting them ready for possible deployment. Rumors of war and secret treaties filled Berlin. People were nervous and the majority did not want another conflict. Unfortunately, the ones who are the loudest are heard. In this case, the voice belonged to the Nazi party. Otto tried to calm her fears but with each passing day, they grew stronger.

It was during this period that Albert made Oberst and posted to the 59th Infantry Division. Not escaping Gertrude's notice was the fact Albert and Bertha were drifting apart. Part of the problem was Albert's roving eye. She counseled him on one occasion that it would not be good for his career if there were a scandal. He politely thanked her for her advice and then told her to mind her own business.

In 1938, as war loomed ever closer, Eduard enlisted into the Heer as an Infantryman, like his father, and received a commission as a Leutnant. Gertrude was receiving reports from friends traveling abroad that Gregor was writing pamphlets criticizing Hitler's foreign and domestic policies. Of particular concern to him was the annexation of Czechoslovakia and Austria. In addition, his private life was becoming public knowledge. Her brother's activities brought unwanted notice and pressure for Albert and Otto from the High Command. Fearing for the welfare of all her loved ones, she wrote Gregor and begged him to cease his publications. The problem was Gregor was an idealist and could not make the connection between his behavior and the effect it was having on his family who lived so far away. So he dismissed his twin's concern and continued his publications.

On September 1, 1939, German tanks and troops rolled into Poland. England and France, per their treaty with Poland, immediately declared war. World War II had begun. Albert left with the 19th Infantry Division to Poland while Otto got his troops ready for the Western assault.

Otto and the men under his command invaded Denmark on April 10, 1040 and then on to Norway. Once the two countries were secure, Hitler gave the order for the invasion of France. On May 10, 1940, the invasion began. Belgium and the Low Countries fell to the invading Wehrmacht almost overnight. The armies then moved swiftly into France. The French and British found they were quickly outflanked. Halt orders issued in order to give the Wehrmacht time to strengthen their lines as to ensure the Allies would not be able to break through. This gave the Allies enough time to evacuate three hundred thousand troops. This, in her opinion, was the first great mistake of the war.

General Lynkmeyer returned home to a very relieved wife and a promotion to Generalleuatant. His posting to Berlin as a member of the General staff was happy news. However, that was not to last long. Otto became privy to certain activities by the High Command, which deeply disturbed him. Gertrude tried to get him to talk about it but he would just tell her ignorance was bliss. Whatever it was, it caused Otto many sleepless nights. She watched with concern as he began to lose weight. Sometimes during the night, she could hear him sobbing in his sleep, begging someone for forgiveness. She would wake him but could not get him to talk to her about it. The only information she could get him to part with is that the Gestapo was looking for Gregor, who had gone into hiding after Paris fell. If God had any mercy, he told her, they would shoot him dead as soon as they found him. Anything else was cruel and unthinkable. She was shocked and appalled by her husband's words but he would say no more.

The bad news was to continue. During Operation Marita, as Athens fell, a sniper shot Leutnant Burkhalter. At the age of nineteen, Eduard fell face down in the street and died. This caused a deeper fracture in an already troubled Burkhalter marriage. Frau Burkhalter's response to the death of her son and her husband's wandering was to find comfort in food. Disgusted, Albert would find reasons not to go home.

June 1941, saw Otto transferred once again. On the 22nd, he was with the 107th Panzer Division partaking in Operation Barbarossa. By October, Otto was reported missing somewhere near Kharkov . No amount of pleading or bribery could get Gertrude any answers. Everyone said she was a widow, but it was something she could not accept. She was determined to find out what happened to her beloved Otto, no matter the price.

Early in 1942, Albert was sent to Germany to recuperate from wounds he received at the front. During this time he was given command over all the Stalags in Germany. In November of that year, his promotion to General came through and he became attached to the High Command.

HHHHHH

A sharp turn in the road brought Gertrude back to the present. Up ahead, she saw the camp where her future intended lived and worked. A shabby place, grey and uninviting, surrounded by guns, watchtowers and barbed wire. She watched as the gates swung open. Passing through them, she felt as if some great beast was devouring her. Home sweet home, she thought sadly.

TBC

Next: Stalag XII

a/n:

Nacht und Nebel: Night and Fog, refers to a directive given by Hitler on December 7, 1941. It was to be used against persons in German occupied territories thought to endanger German Security (activists, the resistance, partisans) but it was expanded two months later by Feldmarschall Wilhelm Kieitel to include all persons in occupied territories who had been in custody eight days who had not died or been executed. Once arrested, the person would disappear. If any inquiries, they were informed of the arrest but that is all. It would be as if their loved had disappeared into the fog and night, their ultimate fate unknown. It was a tactic used to instill fear and intimidation into the population.

Generalleuatant (2 star general) Fredrich von Boetticher was Hitler's military attaché to America from 1933 – 1941. It was his reports of America's strength that lead Hitler to decide to declare war on America. Boetticher reported accurately America's military strength but Hitler thought it was going to be a short war and would be over before the US could fully commit. The thinking in the High Command was that it would take the US at least a year to mobilize and was shocked at the speed in which the peacetime army was whipped into shape and deployed. There is a great book about Boetticher which gives a lot of insight to what was going on in Germany during that time called, Hitler's Ambivalent Attaché.

Bund Deutscher Mädel: The girl's part of the Hitler Youth. Began in 1923, it did not become mandatory until 1933. All girls ten and older joined whether they or their parents wanted them to or not. Failure to join would cause placement in an orphanage and their parents would face long jail terms.

Operation Marita (The Invasion of Greece) occurred on April 6, 1941 with Athens falling on the 27th of that month. The Germans were victorious and occupied Greece until 1944.

Operation Barbarossa (The Invasion of Russia 1941 to 1943)