.
What's In a Name
Chapter 5
A Fair Trade and a Discovery
It had been a hectic morning, with so many men coming and going, that Helga had become distracted. She had failed to notice the private who had entered the building and now remained standing in front of her desk. The young man, cap held tightly in front of him, stayed quiet, until the pretty young secretary paused from her work to take a sip of water.
Startled, she tipped over the mug, spilling water all over the desk and onto the floor.
"Oh, I'm sorry, forgive me." The soldier felt for a handkerchief in his pocket. Not finding one, he began using his cap to clean up the mess.
Meanwhile, Helga righted the mug and used a towel from her drawer to lap up the water.
"It's okay to announce yourself," she said as she finished. "Can I help you, Private?" she asked after a short pause.
"I was told to report here. At least I think I was." He handed her his file. As he nervously played with his hands, she took the paperwork and walked over to the Kommandant's office.
"I'll announce you, Private…Langenscheidt." She looked at him quizzically. "You do know this camp is a Luft Stalag?"
"I do now."
Helga smiled, then knocked on the door.
"Come in," Klink answered.
"Kommandant. A Private Langenscheidt to see you."
"A guard? Wonderful. Langenscheidt? Come in. We're low on guards and…" Klink paused. "This is a Luft Stalag; you're Heer."
"My orders, sir."
Klink took the paperwork from the nervous soldier, glanced at it briefly, then set the file down in front of him. "Langenscheidt. Your orders said to report to Hammelburg, not Hamelburg."
Without waiting for a reply, Klink opened a drawer, pulled out a bottle of aspirin, then hastily shook out a dose.
"I …I …was ordered to report to a troop train heading to Hammelburg. When I told them it was Hammelburg, not Hamelburg, they wouldn't listen. This is Stalag 13, isn't it, sir?"
"Yes, well, temporarily." Klink muttered. "I get one Heer guard, and they get twelve of my Luftwaffe guards. Not a fair trade is it?"
Langenscheidt, now realizing the Kommandant expected a reply, answered, "No, sir?"
"Wait. Don't move."
"Yes, sir." Langenscheidt glanced at the closed door in a futile attempt to see the friendly face of the young secretary.
Klink picked up the phone. "Helga please connect me to the Kommandant at Stalag 13." He held up his hand.
"Von Crailsheim?" Klink said when the other Kommandant picked up. "This is Klink. Yes. Again. The guards that belonged here…Well, I insist you return them immediately."
"You what?" Klink exclaimed. "I understand you're bigger, and you are preparing the camp. But I have heard from reliable sources that you haven't received your prisoners yet. Well, we have and more are arriving."
"Yes, that's true, we've have no escapes," Klink said proudly. "So, we don't need the extra guards. No wait, I didn't agree…Yes, we have one of your guards here. It appears he didn't get the correct directions. Who? Hold on." After checking the file, he added, "Private Langenscheidt. He is a…please hold."
Klink put down the phone. "Langenscheidt. It says you're a linguistics expert? And a trained clerk?"
"Yes, sir," Langenscheidt replied. "I speak French, Italian, English and Dutch. And I type 65 words a minute, plus I know shorthand. Although not as well, I'm sure, as your secretary, sir."
Klink thought for a moment. "Hello? You may keep my guards, if I can keep your private. What. No he's not AWOL. He's here."
Langenscheidt began to turn pale.
"I will call you back." Klink hung up the phone. "What is it?"
"I think I should report to my original post, sir." Langenscheidt hoped to stay where he was, as this stalag looked way more inviting than he imagined the other stalag to be, but the mention of being absent without leave frightened him. So far, he had kept his nose clean, and he wished to stay that way. Moreover, although he was not a coward, he was not fond of violence or Hitler, and he wanted to stay away from the front. "Thank you for your assistance."
Klink stood up. "We could use a man like you here, Private."
"But sir, I'm in the Heer, and…"
"I'm sure I could arrange a transfer to the Luftwaffe, Corporal," Klink stated. "And I'll straighten out the AWOL charge."
Langenscheidt's mouth hung open for a moment. "Corporal? Um, but…Luftwaffe? Yes, sir. I will do as you request."
Klink rubbed his hands together in glee. "Welcome to our Stalag, Langenscheidt." He pushed the button on the phone. "Helga, send for Sergeant Schultz, then come in please."
Helga entered, smiled at Langenscheidt, then took her seat. "Yes, Kommandant?"
"I will need transfer papers and also promotion papers drawn up for Corporal Langenscheidt. He is now on-duty as a guard and translator. Plus, if necessary, he can relieve you on weekends."
"Oh? Congratulations, Corporal Langenscheidt," Helga said, turning to acknowledge him.
"Thank you," Langenscheidt replied, his head still swimming at how a numbers mix-up and two similar towns had led to a promotion and a transfer to another branch in a matter of a few minutes.
After sending Langenscheidt off with Schultz, Klink again called Stalag 13. However, he was forced to wait impatiently for the other Kommandant of return his call.
This time the Kommandant couldn't be bothered to speak with Klink; it was one of his aides on the phone.
"I will agree to let you keep my guards…and…wait, you have my clerk? He's been there how long?" Klink drummed his fingers on the desk. "And you were too busy to let me know. Now listen here, this is quite irregular."
"No, I understand how big you are, and will be…yes. You can keep my guards and clerk. But only if I can keep Langenscheidt." Sighing in frustration, he continued, "No, he's not AWOL. I said he is here."
"I can keep him if I promise not to bother you again? Fine." Klink held the phone away from his ear, as the yelling was giving him a headache. "And no, it's not my fault the maps have not been fixed. Good day!" Klink slammed down the phone. "Insolence!"
After waiting a moment for his ear to stop ringing, he signed Langenscheidt's transfer orders and promotion paperwork, then decided to call it a day.
After several weeks of holding on the blueprint that Helga gave him, Oskar decided the implications warranted further action. The veterinarian and a few other residents of Hamelburg met in the back room of a local Ratskeller, whose owner was sympathetic to their cause.
Max, the greengrocer, was one of the older members of their newly formed resistance cell. He spent several minutes looking over the blueprint, and then put it back on the table. "I don't recall ever hearing anything about a mine. This must have been started before I was born, and then abandoned."
"Well, we can't go around asking about it," said Otto, another member of their little cell. He took a sip of his beer. "I wonder if we can use this to our advantage."
"I don't see how," replied Max. "But if those prisoners decide to start digging, and dig far enough, they may get more than they bargained for."
Oskar was gently tapping his fingers on the table. "They're already starting to dig. I've noticed dirt spread around various areas. But I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they get caught."
"I thought you said the Kommandant was not very bright," Max pointed out.
"I'd say he's reasonably efficient, but also easily swayed. However, I've heard that the authorities send in specialists to look for tunnels." Oskar picked up the blueprint. "I think I can check out the entrance without being seen. I can tell the Kommandant I need to train the dogs in tracking. I'd say that it would be best if they were trained in the woods near the camp. I'm thinking if we can make use of this tunnel, we can store weapons, radio parts, and other items in there. If no one knows this entrance is there, the items should be safe."
"It might make a good hideout," Otto suggested.
"Well, we won't know unless we can get in there and see if it's stable," Oskar said. "But I'm an animal expert, not an engineer."
"I have no idea how to tell. We'd probably have to shore it up," said Max. "Unless it's already collapsed."
"Like I said, it's no use speculating. I'll try and get over there sometime this week," Oskar said as he picked up the blueprint. "If we can use this, we'll have to figure out how to get rid of the original paperwork in Dusseldorf."
"What's that saying? Don't put the cart before the horse?" Max chuckled. "Hey, maybe one of the prisoners knows something about dirt or mining. You think you could find out, Oskar?"
"I'd have to make contact," the vet replied. "But right now I won't risk that unless I have to."
The group agreed to meet at the same time the following week. Max and Otto also decided to check other sources in Hamelburg and the surrounding areas to see if any of their contacts had experience with engineering, building or mining.
The next morning, Oskar requested permission from the Kommandant to train dogs in the surrounding woods. The Kommandant gave his permission, and once Oskar explained that the guards would be a distraction at this point, he agreed that Oskar could handle the training on his own. Besides, the camp was still short on guards, and with new prisoners arriving daily, the men were needed in camp.
The following day, Oskar took two of his best dogs into the woods near the camp. To his satisfaction, he was easily able to follow the blueprint. The dog handler soon came to where he thought the mine entrance was located. But there was no obvious sign of the entrance. He had a hunch, however.
Oskar walked the dogs back and forth in a grid pattern to conduct a careful search. He continued to do this for about 20 minutes, being careful to not go over the same area twice.
Finally, by a small hillside covered with moss, vines and other foliage, the dogs showed signs of agitation. He stopped and let them loose. The large female started to dig, while the smaller shepherd barked.
"Is this it?" He pulled the dogs back, then examined the area. For several minutes he cleared away leaves and vines until he spotted what he was looking for: a sign that warned of danger. It had once been attached to a wooden door, but over the years the nails had rusted away, and the sign was now on the ground.
Oskar removed more foliage until the wood became totally visible. "All right my girls," he told the dogs. "Let's see what we find." He pushed at the wood, but the entrance didn't budge. But Oskar was strong, and he persevered. His perseverance finally paid off, as the wood collapsed and fell to the ground. Oskar grabbed the lantern he had with him, then entered the dark space with his dogs.
The immediate entrance was still intact. He couldn't see very far, but was able to see a room around three meters high, that gently sloped downward. He had seen enough.
Oskar was brave, but not foolish. It was too dangerous to explore this alone, so he backed out of the tunnel, telling his dogs to stay. After the animals obeyed, he replaced the wooden door, and covered it back up with the foliage. Satisfied he left it as he found it, he noted landmarks on the blueprint so that he could find the entrance more easily the next time.
Oskar looked around again at the surrounding area. The woods were to his south, and he knew that just past the tree line was the fence encircling the camp. From where he stood, he couldn't see the buildings, but the tops of several guard towers were visible.
The tower guards were usually looking at the prisoners inside the perimeter, and not usually all the way out in the distance. At least he hoped they weren't. "I really have to get a better idea of how this camp works," he told the dogs. He decided that the next time he was in camp, he would stay longer than normal to observe.
Meanwhile, he couldn't wait for the next meeting with his friends. And as he anticipated telling them the good news, and arranging for further exploration, he also contemplated the best way to make contact with the prisoners.
Lt. Colonel Von Crailsheim was the first Kommandant of the real Stalag 13.
The Wehrmacht consisted of the Heer (army branch) the Luftwaffe (aerial branch) and the Kriegsmarine (Naval branch). (Thank you to Fortune Maiden, who pointed out my original error of placing Langenscheidt in the Wehrmacht.)