1
8th September 1941
Erich Brandt joined Hans Frank, Reinhard Heydrich, and an array of other generals and commanders at the Wolf’s Lair, the Fuhrer Headquarters. Erich’s men had guarded the compound for many months, yet this was the first time Erich had appeared here personally. The two-and-a-half mile complex contained three enormous security zones ringed by over 50,000 landmines. It had taken mere months to build and soon after Hitler had come to inspect his forward eastern command post.
“I am sorry for forcing Christian to remain outside this security zone.” Reinhard Heydrich approached Erich outside one of the eleven bunkers that made up the central ring. “Security is our top priority, and friends are not permitted, even our own friends.”
Like always, Heydrich’s cold eyes betrayed no signs that he cared at all what Erich thought. Heydrich had continued to grow as one of Hitler’s favourites. His hair was perfectly gelled and styled. His uniform had not a single speck of dust. The silver buttons gleamed and he carried himself with a noble air.
“I understand.” Erich removed his black peaked SS cap to smooth his blonde hair over his head, then carefully set his cap back on. “Not that he would have brought anything to the discussions. The direction of the war has nothing to do with him. He’s to carry out my orders and that’s it.”
“Well put.” Reinhard seemed to look past him. “I think the meeting will reconvene soon enough. We would not want to keep the Fuhrer waiting. By the way, when we are finished, I wish to speak to you again about the Jewish issue.”
Erich nodded and tried to suppress a smile. The Jewish question had plagued the Nazi elite for too long. What could they do with millions of Jews throughout Europe? It would take forever to shoot them all, and it was too labour intensive to resettle them all in the Holy Land of Israel. Right now they were an afterthought locked in the ghettos of Europe.
The Fuhrer’s bunker was at the north side of the inner ring of the Wolf’s Lair hidden in the forests beyond. Hitler had chosen it personally because it kept the area shrouded in shadow and hidden from the air. Today the Fuhrer’s bunker buzzed with activity. Erich picked out Hans Frank, the loathed administrator, hidden away in a corner chatting to his administrative colleagues.
Himmler himself had attended today’s meeting. His glasses highlighted the vindictiveness behind his eyes. Joseph Goebbels, the party’s propaganda chief, was never far from Hitler. The Fuhrer had yet to enter, but Goebbels hovered close to the door through which Hitler would enter.
“Goebbels is no better than a dog.” Heydrich said to Erich in a low voice. “But he knows how to turn a phrase to be sure.”
The SS had little time for the party’s administrators. They were nothing more than glorified secretaries vying for the Fuhrer’s attentions. In the conference room, dominated by a long table with maps of various parts of the Soviet Union, the SS and the Wehrmacht leaders all gravitated towards each other. Finally, the administrators in their suits and brown uniforms took up the last remaining space.
The hot weather meant they didn’t go down to the underground bunker but remained in the main conference room instead. Only weak light came through the windows, leaving small shadows lying on the conference table like the outlines of corpses.
The door moved and Adolf Hitler entered the room. He waved his hand in the traditional Nazi salute. Everyone returned it.
“Heil Hitler,” said Erich.
Hitler moved to the centre of the table, with a couple of generals on either side of him. The SS flanked them both. Erich was a mere four places from the man he idolised. There were to be no private conversations this time. The invasion of the Soviet Union had begun. Personal relationships had long been condemned to secondary importance.
Hitler didn’t smile as he began speaking. “Gentlemen, I’ve received good news from the front. I have just received word from Field Marshal von Leeb that the city of Leningrad has been cut off from the rest of the Soviet Union.” He waited for a ripple of congratulations and delight to circle the room. “Soon the city will fall and with it one of the jewels of the Soviet Union. Stalin won’t be able to resist us much longer.”
Hitler’s speech continued in the same vein. He invited nobody else to speak and no further suggestions. Erich didn’t complain. He loved nothing more than listening to what the Fuhrer had to say. Later, the other generals would only parrot the Fuhrer. How could anyone say a single bad word against the Fuhrer when all his predictions and ambitions had come to fruition?
“Now,” said Hitler after another ten minutes. “Everyone who isn’t a part of the SS should leave. Quickly.”
The generals and the administrators began to file out of the room. Erich smirked at Goebbels, who looked like a puppy kicked out of the house at Christmas time. He wouldn’t put it past that wretch to have his ear pressed against the door.
“Gentlemen, it has come to my attention that we’re wasting far too many resources keeping these Jews alive. I want more from them. They’ve never worked for anyone but themselves and that’s unacceptable in my Germany. Himmler, what are you doing?”
Himmler looked taken aback at being addressed by his last name by someone he considered to be a friend. “Mein Fuhrer, the Jews are weak. They are – ”
“I didn’t ask for excuses,” Hitler raised his voice. “This is not about you torturing them for no good reason. It’s a waste of time and resources. I want the Jews to give back, and the only way they’re going to do that is through you. Do you have the ability to do that? Do any of you?” Hitler’s gaze swept the room. Erich shivered under it.
Himmler cleared his throat. “Mein Fuhrer, it will be done. There will be more Jews deported for forced labour, and the SS will use Soviet prisoners for the same.”
Hitler looked satisfied. “There. That wasn’t such a difficult thing to accomplish. We all hate those Jew pigs, but we need to be pragmatic. We’re at war and every man of the Reich needs to fight communism and drive that sub-human scum all the way to Siberia. Dismissed.”
Erich continued to watch the Fuhrer in awe. He had joined the party in 1919 and he had never flirted with anything but National Socialism. Hitler had evolved from an angry nationalist to a silver-tongued God whenever he appeared in public. Erich never tired of watching Hitler in action.
Hitler continued to talk and with every word Erich felt like he could break the back of the Soviet Union with one hand. Every grand gesture swelled his heart and made him feel more German than ever.
When the door finally closed on Hitler’s meeting the spell broke. None of the SS members spoke. Their leader had been humiliated and Himmler wasn’t above inflicting his own pain on someone else to make up for it. Heydrich was the first to turn on his heel after Himmler departed, out of respect. Erich soon joined him at his side as they left the Fuhrer’s bunker and came out into the open again.
“They’re not exactly hanging around, are they?” Erich observed.
Most of the men who attended the meeting had already climbed into cars and sped off out of the Wolf’s Lair. There were no social gatherings here. The Fuhrer spent most of his time here, close to Rastenburg in East Prussia. It was well-known amongst Hitler’s inner circle that he had no love of Berlin. He also had no love for pointless courtesies or champagne National Socialists.
“The majority of those men you see are filled with fear. They are inefficient and have no clear ideas of their own. The Fuhrer welcomes new ideas, but these men are too terrified to even think. But enough of them. They are of no concern to me, or you for that matter.”
Erich gulped. “What did you want to talk about?”
Heydrich sighed. “The Fuhrer already mentioned it, but I think we need to delve into it further. The Jews are only going to be used as forced labourers for so long. That is efficient. It is for the good of the Reich. What of the women and the children?”
“Stuck in the ghettos,” said Erich tentatively.
“Precisely. Taking up our lebensraum. Taking away our food, not to mention the soldiers needed to manage them. It is a great burden on the state. That is why for some time I have been working on a solution to put an end to all this. A final solution.”
“A final solution,” Erich repeated. “Tell me more.”
Heydrich tilted his head in recognition. It was the only sign of friendship Heydrich ever showed.
“The extermination of all the Jews of Europe, Erich.”