Chapter 19
New Friends
July 1942
Warsaw, Poland
 
Klaus remembered when he’d met Briggita. It was late 1932. He was twenty-eight and unemployed. He’d lost his job working at a grocery store as a clerk, the only position he’d been able to find in depression-riddled Germany. He was sitting in a café, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper when she walked in with a couple of friends. They sat down at a nearby table. He’d not been able to take his eyes off her. After a few minutes she’d noticed him. She turned quickly away, but throughout their meal she’d glanced now and again at him, starting to blush each time. He’d waited until they were finished and then stepped up to the table and introduced himself. He asked her if she would stay and have another coffee with him. To the obvious surprise of her friends, she agreed.
They’d spent the rest of the evening in that little run-down café, drinking coffee, talking and laughing. She told him about her family, how her father had lost his business and was struggling to find work. About her dreams to become a famous painter, but she lacked the funds for any more training, or even supplies. He told her of his desire to join the army, a hope that was dashed because of the strict 100,000-man limit on the German army imposed by the French and the English after the last world war.
They began to court, much to the disappointment of her family. They considered themselves above him. He didn’t care and neither did she. She was his shining star. Everything changed after she met him. They were married barely six months later. She brought him to the Nazi party. She was a fervent believer in the new Germany espoused by the freshly appointed chancellor, Adolf Hitler. Their nation would no longer be the kicking toy of their old enemies. There would be jobs again, industry, food, vacations. Everything they’d lost in this terrible post-war environment.
Klaus impressed the local leader. He was loyal, hardworking, and sharp. He was made a police officer in the city force. The commander didn’t like it, he wasn’t a Nazi, but he had little choice. Klaus rose quickly in the ranks. After a few months of walking the streets, he was assigned as a detective, then a commander of detectives. As the years passed, his pay increased. They moved to a larger apartment, then they saved enough to buy a flat of their own. Their little girl was born. Everything seemed set.
Then the war began. A new opportunity came. An SS officer appeared one day at the department, looking for Klaus. They’d heard of his reputation as a fair and competent officer. His party record was impeccable. If he wanted, he could join their ranks as an officer and a member of the national police. He would have important duties in the newly occupied territories. He’d accepted, and they’d relocated to Warsaw, moving into a home and living a lifestyle they’d never dreamed of.
Here the hard realities of the new order set in. Preparing a new Poland with German masters was difficult. The people were stubborn, rebellious. Unable to govern themselves, they resented control by the Germans. Klaus had worked hard to follow the rules laid down by Hitler, to the letter.
“Are you already awake?” his wife asked in the darkness.
“I have been, for a little while.”
She moved closer to him, resting her head on his chest. “Go back to sleep, darling,” he said. “It’s still a few hours until you have to get up.”
He put his hands on her head, stroking her hair lightly. She murmured, enjoying his touch. In a few minutes, her breathing was deeper and regular again. He pulled himself slowly away, rising out of the bed and quietly dressing in the darkness. He eased himself out of the room and tiptoed down the hall. Klaus opened another door, peering into his daughter’s room. She was there, sleeping, safe. He lowered his head, saying a little prayer for his family.
Peter was already out front, the car running. Klaus stepped in and accepted a cup of tea out of a canteen Peter brought each morning. He looked over at his assistant’s bloodshot eyes and noted the slight grimace as he turned his head.
“Another rough night?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Peter mumbled.
“Yes, I can see that. I see you’re putting weight back on again also, my friend. It’s time you lay off things.”
“I’ll pick up my exercise.”
“You should do more than that. Take a few months off. You have plenty of war left, to sleep with the remaining female population of the city.”
Peter laughed. “Where are we going?”
“We have a meeting.”
“Right now?”
“That’s correct. Take me to Długa Street.”
Peter lurched the car into motion. The streets were deserted, and they made good time. Klaus sipped at his tea, trying to keep himself awake. He was exhausted from another night of bad sleep. You will not think of such things, he admonished himself. You have a job to do and you will do it. “Who was it last night?” he asked, deciding a little conversation would help him stay alert.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Indulge me.”
“I can’t reveal my information,” said Peter, obviously enjoying this little game. “But you would recognize the name.”
“A celebrity then?”
“Of sorts.”
“A solid Aryan woman, I hope?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’m telling you, Peter. You need to find a good German woman and settle down. All of this tom-catting is going to be the end of you.”
“There’s plenty of time for that when the war is over.”
“That should be in short order,” observed Klaus. “Our armies have pushed deep into southern Russia.”
“It’s not all good news,” said Peter. “The British stopped us in Egypt.”
“A minor setback. Besides, that’s a sideshow. If we didn’t have all our forces fighting the communists, the English wouldn’t last a week against us.”
“And the Americans?”
“Bah. They won’t be ready to fight for years. If they ever get ready. I’m telling you, Peter, a few more months and the fighting in Russia will be over. Once the Soviets quit, the rest of them will make a deal. They can’t go on without the Russians.”
“You’re probably right,” said Peter. “Hell, you’re always right.”
“I’m glad you’re starting to understand that,” said Klaus. “Now take my advice and cut the womanizing for a few months. Let’s say the first of the year. If you do, I’ll put you up for another promotion.”
“I don’t have anywhere to go,” said Peter.
“I will recommend you for lieutenant.”
“Promotion to officer?” said Peter, musing out loud. “That would be worth a few months of clean living.”
“I’m glad you think so,” said Klaus, laughing. “Now let’s see if you can do it.”
“Coming up on the address you gave me,” said Peter.
“Good. Stop here,” Klaus said.
“You’re going in alone?”
“Their rules, not mine.”
Peter stopped the car and Klaus stepped out. He looked up and down the street, looking for any open curtains, cars on the street, people hiding in shadows. There was nothing to see. He stepped up to the building and gave a knock at the front door. He heard a voice inside. “It’s unlocked.”
He turned the knob and pulled open the door. He stepped into a hallway. “It’s the door to the right,” said the voice. He opened this door too, and entered a large room shrouded in darkness. “That’s far enough.”
“What’s with all the secrecy?” Klaus asked.
“You’re not exactly popular in Warsaw. I can’t be seen meeting with you.”
“What do you have for me?”
“There’s an operation afoot to smuggle children out of the ghetto.”
This perked Klaus’s attention. “What kind of operation?” “It’s run by Illustrationegota.”
Klaus had never heard the name before. “Who or what is Illustrationegota?”
“Your worst enemy.”
Klaus couldn’t help but laugh. “I doubt that. These little groups crop up now and again. It’s all a bunch of secret meetings and handshakes. They hardly ever come to anything.”
“This group is different. They have deep pockets and deeper connections.”
“Tell me everything.”
“I don’t know everything. But I know they have an operation planned very soon.”
“An operation to do what?”
“To smuggle Dr. Korczak’s orphans out of the ghetto.”
Klaus whistled in astonishment. “There are hundreds of kids there. They could never manage it. And even if they could, where would they go?”
“I don’t have all the details yet. But I will soon.”
“How soon?”
“In the next few days.”
“And what is your price?”
“Fifty thousand zlotys.”
“That’s it?”
“I will tell you the rest when I have the information you want.”
“Fair enough,” said Klaus, turning to leave.
“That’s not all.”
He turned back. “What else?”
“They have friends on the inside.”