Things Never Known: The Parallel Nazi - 8 Read online

  Schloss grinned broadly. “Heinz must be a bad influence.”

  The Reichsmarshall laughed. “That must be it.”

  Rainer sat in the outer office and looked up as Schloss’s guests left. Schloss followed.

  “Wait for a moment, please, Karl. I’ll be right back.”

  Schloss made another quick visit to the toilet and returned to the office. Frau Pappel had seated Rainer and provided the requisite coffee and pastries. Schloss settled into his chair and sipped on the fresh cup provided by the old lady.

  “A busy morning, Karl.”

  “I heard about Rommel. Is he going to be okay?”

  “He should survive, but he will be out of action for a while.”

  “Does that risk the Russian campaign?”

  “Not immediately,” Schloss replied. “General Balck is at the point of the spear, and he is competent.”

  “I wish we knew what the Russians are thinking,” Rainer stated.

  “I asked Peter to approach them again to see if we could reach some kind of agreement to end the war.”

  “Through the Judaeans?”

  Schloss nodded. “It’s odd, but Ben Gurion’s government has maintained cordial ties with Moscow. It does present us some opportunities, though.”

  “I have thought about your desire to help Chiang Kai Shek in China. I don’t think anybody has given this much thought.”

  “I’m glad you mentioned that, Karl. What are your thoughts?”

  Rainer leaned forward in his chair. “I had thought to take a trip to Judaea. I want to look at their security posture and also talk to Skorzeny. I wondered if I might enlist the Judaeans in helping us send aid to China. The Judaeans are an enterprising bunch.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Schloss stated. “This is not a huge priority for us, but if the opportunity presents itself….”

  “I’ll put it on my list. I expect it may be several months before I can make the trip.”

  “I understand. Tell me about any threats to the Fatherland you have discovered.”

  Rainer spent the next half hour summarizing his area of responsibility.

  “Thank you for the update,” Schloss said. “I have made arrangements for lunch with Gisela.”

  Rainer jumped to his feet. “Don’t let me delay you.”

  “And you probably are having lunch with the fair Misty.”

  “I am. And I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

  Schloss laughed and waved Rainer from the room. It was nice to simply do his job and not worry about the world collapsing around him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  December 20, 1944; 10 AM

  The Oval Office

  The White House

  Washington, DC, USA

  President Harry S. Truman and his wife Bess stood near the side of the Oval Office when the secretary ushered Robert and Martha Taft through the doorway. The Tafts looked around curiously as they walked in, and then Robert focused on Truman.

  “Mr. President-elect,” Truman said, reaching to shake hands, “welcome to your new office.”

  “Mr. President, thank you for your kind invitation to visit. This is my wife, Martha.”

  “And this is Bess.”

  Martha shook Truman’s hand and then Bess’s. “An honor to meet you both. I know Bob grumps about your policies but let me say that we both admire your style.”

  Truman chuckled. “And I have grumped about Mr. Taft’s activities in the senate, but I have no complaints about your character or personality.”

  “I have been here a few times for meetings,” Taft commented. “But the place gets to you.”

  “I understand and agree,” Truman nodded. “After President Wallace died, my first day in here was sobering. The history in this room weighs on you.”

  “Well,” Bess interjected, looking at Martha, “since the boys need to have their meeting, suppose I give you the grand tour?”

  “I would be delighted.”

  Truman smiled fondly at Bess as she led Martha Taft from the room.

  “You know, if it weren’t for Bess, I would still be a haberdasher in Independence.”

  “I think, Mr. President, we both married well above our stations.”

  “Too true. And call me Harry, Bob. We spent enough time in the Senate together to be formal.”

  “Thank you, and yes, call me Bob. But until you leave this office, you are still Mr. President. While there are fundamental differences in our philosophies, you did a magnificent job under horrendous circumstances. What went through your mind when President Wallace was assassinated?”

  “It was heart-stopping. We had stumbled into the one area where the constitution was silent. Fortunately, the Congress was up to the challenge.”

  “It says something about the strength of our institutions, doesn’t it? I mean, we saw what happened when organized forces subverted the constitutions of Germany and Japan. I still haven’t made up my mind about the UK.”

  Truman bit his lip and then visibly made up his mind. He waved his guests to the sofas aligned in the center of the room.

  “Please, have a seat. Would you like coffee or something stronger?”

  “Coffee is fine, thank you.”

  Truman walked over to the sideboard and poured two cups of coffee from a decanter. He handed one to Taft and then slid into an adjacent chair.

  “We haven’t said a lot about the Wallace assassination other than it was a rogue group of Brits who did it. Not to speak ill of the dead, but President Wallace put some severe strains upon our relationship with the Brits. And after the Japanese invasion, we needed each other badly.”

  “So, it was more than just a rogue group, Mr. President?”

  “That team never spoke about their activities, despite intensive questioning. But, between our investigators and the MI5 people, we put enough of the pieces together to make sense of that mess. That team was sent out to assassinate Schloss. They got Wallace by mistake. We are confident that the team was operating under a Prime Ministerial directive. What you are hearing is classified Top Secret, by the way.”

  “My God,” Taft breathed. “Churchill sent them out? What was he thinking? Schloss was trying to end the war.”

  “You can see what that would have done to the alliance had the news got out.”

  “And the man is back in Downing Street!” Taft exclaimed. “He’s no more than a common murderer. How did the queen ever allow that to happen?”

  “Margaret allowed herself to be backed into a corner. The reason she exercised power as she did is that Parliament allowed it. When Atlee got the bit in his teeth and called elections, she bowed to Parliamentary Supremacy. There was probably little else she could do.”

  “I’m surprised she didn’t arrange for an accident for Churchill. The Brits can be bloody-minded at times.”

  “Although she had assumed dictatorial powers, she did not have complete control of her government. You were aware, I assume, that she had fired the entire foreign action department of MI Six?”

  “Yes, I had heard that,” Taft replied. “So, it wasn’t just a political action on her part?”

  “Oh, no. They actively worked to thwart her wishes.”

  Taft sipped his coffee and looked around the room again. “So, what does all that do for our relationship with them in the long run?”

  “You and the Republicans will have to develop a coherent foreign policy and reach an understanding with Great Britain. Their foreign policy has seemed Euro-centric recently under Atlee, and I don’t expect that to change under Churchill. I will say the Australians are unhappy about it. They have been working towards closer relations with us.”

  Taft set his cup and saucer on the coffee table and rubbed his hands together. “You and the Congress have concluded a bona fide treaty with Japan, and I intend to support that fully. As you know, I am happy to let events run their course in Europe. I don’t think we have that luxury in the Western Pacific. The other nations over there are depending on
the Americans to force the Japanese to honor their commitments. The Japs started the war, and, well, you finished it, Sir.”

  “And the reason for any British presence in the Far East is because the queen twisted Atlee’s arm up behind his back,” Truman stated. “Churchill hasn’t been back in office long enough for us to see where he is going, but I suspect he will treat that region with benign neglect.”

  “He has bigger problems in India.”

  Truman snorted. “That is very true, Bob. It looks like the Brits are trying to ease out of India without ending up with everybody hating each other. And good luck to them.”

  “I’m glad we don’t have those problems.”

  “We could in the Philippines. We have promised to grant them independence.”

  “How has our administration of that area been going?” Taft asked.

  “I would like it to have moved faster, but they needed us to lead in putting them back together after the war. I would recommend you let the Filipinos set the timetable. If we do, I think they will be our friends for a long time to come.”

  “Despite our not rescuing them or MacArthur? No offense.”

  “And none taken,” Truman replied. “We weren’t prepared for that war, despite all of the warnings. And we had atrocious luck during the early phases.”

  “Anything else I should know about the Far East?” Taft asked.

  “The situation in Japan is still unsettled. The Jap Army holds a busted hand but hasn’t realized it yet. I don’t know how Hirohito will get that straightened out, but he seems determined to restore the authority of the Japanese constitution.”

  “What about the war crimes tribunals?”

  “You will need Solomonic wisdom, Mr. Taft, in guiding that. I have mainly focused on those who were directly involved in the atrocities. The guilt reaches the top levels of their government. So, we must stop somewhere unless we’re willing to march the army into Tokyo.”

  “So, Hirohito is guilty?”

  “As far as starting the war in the first place, Hirohito is guilty as hell. Sometimes you have to accept half a loaf.”

  “I understand and agree. Like making law or sausage.”

  Truman laughed. “Exactly.”

  Taft sighed, visibly changing the subject. “The Manhattan Project.”

  Truman frowned and nodded. “Benefit of hindsight, I wouldn’t change my decisions to proceed with that project. Our backs were against the wall. We needed whatever weapons fell to hand. But, God, what a mess. It happened on my watch, Mr. Taft, and it is my responsibility. If it becomes necessary for you to blame me for the disaster explicitly, I won’t complain.”

  “Why have we continued the project?”

  “We know the Brits and the Germans are working on this. We can only assume the Soviets are as well. It has the potential to create weapons of unprecedented power. It would be irresponsible, in my opinion, to allow other nations to develop these weapons and avoid them ourselves.”

  “I think there is broad consensus in Congress to continue. From what I have seen, we have managed the project well. But I don’t want to have another accident like that one. It seems blasphemous to call the accident an act of God, but there you are.”

  “I understand and agree,” Truman said. “But seeing what it did to our country....”

  Taft gazed at the lame-duck president and shivered as he caught a glimpse of the horrible burdens that fell on the shoulders of a president. What was he thinking when he decided to run for this office?

  The secretary stuck her head in the door. “Five minutes, Mr. President.”

  Truman nodded to her and looked at Taft. “Was there anything else, Mr. Taft?”

  “Just one thing. I appreciate the assistance of your people in making this an easy transition.”

  “I saw what Roosevelt did to Hoover, and I was shocked that he could be so small-minded. I have determined the country is far more important than any political considerations.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to ask if you are willing to lend your time to any bipartisan causes that may come up from time to time?”

  “I would be delighted to consider such. Bess plans to keep me at home in Independence, Missouri, but I don’t believe I will be satisfied to molder in my rocking chair.”

  Taft stood up, as did Truman. “Thank you for your time, Mr. President. Perhaps we could meet again before the inauguration.”

  “I think Bess has suggested a private dinner,” Truman said. “I would enjoy it.”

  § § §

  December 20, 1944, 5 PM

  7 Gabreillastrasse

  Swinemünde, Germany

  Wilhelm Canaris had just completed a long walk on the beach on a dark afternoon. The storm, rolling across the Baltic Sea, heightened the waves as they heaved upon the shore. The spindrift mixed with the snow and swept across the sand and into the town behind the beach. Canaris loved these dark, moody days and was once again satisfied with his purchase of a small cottage in Swinemünde.

  While Canaris was not initially delighted with his forced retirement, he considered it a better choice than a bullet in the head, which he had expected during his fall from grace. And in the intervening years, he had come to appreciate the idle hours and the long walks. His wife had gone to live with one of the children and he enjoyed the solitude. Life was relaxing and pleasant.

  The former admiral and head of the Abwehr was honest enough to admit that his ill-considered and intemperate remarks had driven him into retirement. He was still convinced that Heinrich Schloss was a fake and an imposter. However, to give the Devil his due, Schloss consistently defied the odds and landed on his feet. Further, the man had saved Germany, to be honest. Hitler was on his way to destroying the Fatherland, and Schloss had reversed that.

  Except for that brief period when the Russians had crossed the Oder River and occupied Berlin, Canaris's life was peaceful. And during the invasion, he had kept his head down. The Red Army had largely ignored the civilians in eastern Germany since they had much bigger problems.

  So, after stopping for hot cider on the way home, Canaris planned first to visit the toilet and then park in his easy chair to read for a couple of hours. He was undecided whether to go out again for dinner or fix something in his kitchen. It was less costly to eat at home, but it was also pleasant to have someone else prepare it.

  Canaris had shut the door and hung his coat on its peg when he heard the voice behind him.

  “Your security is not very good, Wilhelm, and your situational awareness is terrible.”

  Although his heart seemed almost to seize, and he felt that thrill of fear in his gut, Canaris was practiced at maintaining a calm facade and an unexcitable demeanor. He turned to face Erhard Milch, who occupied his easy chair.

  “I do not need extensive security. Schloss and Rainer leave me alone and I, in return, mind my own business. I have no complaints. And you seem to get around, Erhard. How is your security situation?”

  Milch grinned as he pointed to the window. “I have four men watching the house. Several others followed your perambulations this afternoon. I must say they got their exercise.”

  Canaris wordlessly walked around the corner and into the toilet. After taking care of his business, he returned to the front room, where Milch looked at him curiously.

  “A weak bladder, Wilhelm?”

  “It was a long afternoon, plus a stop for cider on the way home. And it’s Herr Admiral to you.”

  Milch snorted. “Of course, Herr Admiral.”

  Canaris folded his arms and leaned against the doorway. He stared at Milch without speaking.

  Finally, Milch chuckled. “Always the little games, Herr Admiral. I suppose you are curious about my visit this evening.”

  Canaris waited.

  “Very well. As you know, my recent operation with the Munich Faction was not successful.”

  “You are lucky to be alive,” Canaris replied. “I don’t understand why you didn’t leave the co
untry. Rainer probably wouldn’t bother with a trial. And either way, you would be a dead man.”

  “Life has its challenges,” Milch shrugged. “The Munich Faction was always a longshot operation, and the people in that group were not of the highest quality.”

  Canaris raised an eyebrow and cocked his head.

  “I know you do not have the highest regard for the Reich Chancellor,” Milch continued.

  “I do not. However, I do respect him.”

  “The man does seem to have a generous amount of luck, to be honest.”

  “And I always remember that,” Canaris replied.

  Milch studied Canaris for a few moments and decided to let him have his little victory.

  “I have not given up on dealing with Schloss, you know.”

  Canaris raised his chin as an invitation for Milch to continue.

  “Attempting a direct military putsch was a mistake. I suppose I should have learned that from the Führer’s experience in Munich. I have concluded that an indirect approach is more effective.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Canaris asked.

  “People like Schloss always have unwanted baggage in their past. He has always been sensitive to personal questions. He is very private.”

  “I understand what you say,” Canaris responded. “I discovered, to my embarrassment, that he responds quickly to a direct threat. He seemed to have difficulty when presented with something ambiguous, like a newspaper article that merely asked questions.”

  Milch nodded. “What I had in mind was presenting a journalist with enough information to encourage him to do some digging. Perhaps we may discover something lethal to his continued presence in the Reich Chancellor’s chair.”

  Canaris walked over to the front window and stared into the darkness. The streetlights shone, and warm light glowed from the windows in the village, but it was a gloomy night.

  “I think something like that has only a slight chance of success.”

  “But it is better than doing nothing.”

  “Perhaps. Perhaps.”

  “Very well,” Canaris snapped, “what is it you wish of me?”

  “You undoubtedly still have contacts in the Press. We can feed you items that will encourage people to dig into Schloss’s past. He has been a big proponent of the rule of law. If we can show the nation his hypocrisy, we will weaken him, at least.”