Chapter 2
The young man saluted sharply. "Gefreiter Schlausen, reporting as ordered, sir."
Hochstetter sat behind Klink's desk. He glanced up at the handsome young man standing before him. "Your name is Klaus Schlausen?"
"Jawohl, Major Hochstetter."
"You look like a strong, sturdy fellow. Why is it that you are at a POW camp instead of the front?"
"I was slightly injured in a training exercise, Herr Major. I was sent here for light duty."
"You appear to be fully recovered," Hochstetter observed.
"Ja, Major. Danke schoen."
Hochstetter scowled. "So why are you still here?"
"This is where I am ordered to serve, sir."
"But you would prefer combat, ja? To defend the Fatherland?"
"Sir, it is an honor to wear my country's uniform and serve however I am able. My grandfather fought in the Great War, and my great-great-grandfather fought in the Franco-Prussian War," he bragged. "But what I really want," he lowered his voice a little, his tone confiding, "is to be a Luftwaffe pilot like Oberst -" He stopped himself before he said 'like Oberst Hogan,' who had taken pity on a sky-hungry soldier and talked to him about flying once or twice. "Like Oberst Klink was in the Great War."
"I am not interested in your genealogy. I am interested in your service in the Hitler Youth."
"Der Hitlerjugend? I am too old for that, sir," Schlausen pointed out as politely as possible.
"Apparently, you've been too old for quite a while. This file," Hochstetter slammed a hand down on a manila folder, "says your attendance record in the Hitler Youth was spotty. Do you not know that the Hitler Youth program is how we prepare our young men to serve der Führer und der Vaterland? How we turn boys into men?"
"Jawohl, sir, I know."
"So, were you too good to show up for meetings? Were you already a man? Or were you disloyal to your Führer even when you were hardly out of short pants?" Hochstetter demanded.
"Major, I had to help my father in the shop. During the Depression, he could not afford to hire as many people as he used to. And once the war began, his clerks enlisted, as was their patriotic duty. My troop leader understood that I could not come as often as I would have liked."
"If he was so understanding, why did he mark you absent? Why did he not record you as present, as you should have been?"
Schlausen stared at him, puzzled. "But that would have been lying,Major."
SCENE BREAK
"Obergefreiter Karl Langenscheidt, sir." The German corporal looked the very picture of a good Aryan: tall, fair-complected, straight brown hair, blue eyes, handsome in his gray uniform. Unlike Hochstetter, who was short, dark-haired, and only his mother would call him handsome, especially in his black uniform.
Hochstetter returned his salute. "You have a sister?"
"Ja, Major. Greta." Langenscheidt tried to keep his face blank, as if he were in one of the illicit poker games with the prisoners. The last thing he wanted to discuss with a Gestapo officer was his sister. Greta had her own opinions about the government and the war, and sometimes she was not as discreet as she should have been in keeping her opinions to herself.
"How well do you know Sophie Scholl?" Hochstetter demanded.
"I don't think I've ever met a Fraulein Scholl. I know a Sophie Zimmerman," Langenscheidt offered.
"So you deny your sister is taking classes with Sophie Scholl? That they are, in fact, friends?"
"Sir, my sister is a student at the University of Munich. I don't know the names of any of her classmates, but she is a very friendly girl, a sweet girl. I'm sure she is friends with most of her classmates -
"Sophie Scholl has been arrested for treason and Wehrkraftzersetzung. And your sister is in the same biology class that she is!"
"Sir, with all due respect, Greta is studying to be a schoolteacher. I am sure there are many students in her biology class. Greta is a patriotic German," Langenscheidt said honestly. He then lied, "and a loyal supporter of National Socialism. She would never do anything against the war effort." As proof of her support of the Wehrmacht, he added, "She knits stockings for me and the other guards."
SCENE BREAK
The soldier saluted. He looked like a scarecrow in uniform, tall and scrawny. "Obersoldat Doofenshmirtz, sir, reporting as ordered, sir."
"Doofenshmirtz," Hochstetter repeated. He glanced down at a file on the desk. "According to this, you were not a member of the Nazi Party before you were drafted. Why not?"
"I'm not good at parties; I always stand in the corner nursing a beer all night. I'm always too nervous to talk to any girls. Really, I'm just not a party person."
"Doofenshmirtz?" Hochstetter interrupted the stammering explanation.
"Yes, sir?"
"Shut up!" Hochstetter took another look at the file, although he had studied it before coming to Stalag 13. "Private J. Doofenshmirtz. And what does the J stand for? Johann? Jakob? Josef?"
"José, sir," he confessed quietly. He had put up with a lot of teasing about his name over the years.
"José," Hochstetter sneered. "A foreign name. Why is a good German soldier bearing an Untermenschen José instead of an honest German Josef?"
"My mother worked at the Peruvian embassy, sir. The ambassador promised her a raise if she named me after him," Doofenshmirtz explained.
"And this embassy, it was in Berlin, ja?" Hochstetter asked.
"Nein, mein Herr. It was in - "
"It was in St. Gisilberht," Hochstetter said simultaneously with the young soldier. "Are you a good German, Doofenshmirtz? How can you be," his voice rose into a screech, "when you aren't German?"
"Sir, I - "
"Are you loyal to the Führer, foreigner? You aren't a party member. You aren't a real German. How can you be a proper soldier for our beloved Führer?"
Doofenshmirtz shuddered in his boots. "Sir, it was true I was born in Drüselstein. But because of the Anschluß,Drüselstein is now part of the Großdeutsches Reich.I was a good Drüselsteiner. Drüselstein is now part of Germany, so I am now a good German."
Hochstetter scowled. "That remains to be seen, soldier."
CHAPTER'S END
Author's Notes: Drüselstein is a fictional German-speaking kingdom from the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb. Since Hitler annexed Austria in real life, he certainly would have annexed Drüselstein if it had existed. It is known that José Doofenshmirtz was the son of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz's great-grandmother, and that she gave him the family meat loaf recipe. It is unclear whether he was Heinz's grandfather or great-uncle. ** Sophie Scholl (1921 - 1943) was a university student who protested against the war and was executed for treason. ** Klaus Schlausen created by Peggy H. Greta Langenscheidt created by Evenmoor. Danke to both for permission to borrow.
Anschluss (Anschluß) – annexation, in particular the annexation of Austria in March, 1938
Großdeutsches Reich "Greater German Domain" - the official state name of Germany from 1943–45; earlier used to refer to pre-1938 Germany (the Altreich) plus Austria and other annexed territories
Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) – The German youth organization founded by the Nazi Party (NSDAP). Made up of the Hitlerjugend proper, for male youth ages 14–18; the younger boys' section Deutsches Jungvolk for ages 10–13; and the girls' section Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM). From 1936 membership in the HJ proper was compulsory.
Wehrkraftzersetzung – a crime invented by the Nazis. It meant "negatively affecting the fighting forces." People who expressed doubts about Germany's chances of winning the war, or about Hitler's leadership were sometimes put to death for Wehrkraftzersetzung
Obersoldat: roughly the equivalent of a private
Gefreiter: roughly the equivalent of a private first class
Obergefreiter: roughly the equivalent of a corporal, perhaps closer to USMC lance corporal or specialist, according to Jinzle (Danke, Jinzle, for researching German ranks.)
