Things Never Known: The Parallel Nazi - 8, page 11
Taft moved behind the enormous desk and sat down. He waved Donovan to a chair across from him. Donovan thought about the difference between the current and former presidents. Truman always offered coffee to his guests and often served them himself. And during meetings that extended into the late afternoon hours, Truman would join them in a drink. Taft was a different sort of bird, Donovan thought.
“It didn’t take long for me to ask myself what possessed me to run for President,” Taft replied. “I knew that I would be busy. But this exceeded my expectations substantially.”
“I expect the cleanup out in Washington state contributes to that.”
“Yes, that, and dealing with the Japanese. I have to give Truman credit for stopping that war, but I wish their domestic situation would settle down. The Navy has to walk a thin line between enforcing the peace while at the same time avoiding undue interference in their domestic politics.”
“I regret not being able to develop intelligence sources in Japan soon enough to be of help,” Donovan commented.
“Yes, and can you explain that?” the president asked.
“Primarily the cultural differences, Mr. President. Inserting agents into western Europe is comparatively easy. The Germans and Italians are not so very different from us. To successfully embed there, one must have been born in Japan.”
“We inserted agents into German and Italy?” Taft asked. “When we weren’t at war?”
“Of course, Sir. The Germans and the Brits have people in America. Everybody does that. It keeps our friends honest.”
Taft shook his head. “I have a lot to learn. Do we not have Japanese-Americans in government service who could serve clandestinely?”
“We do, and the OSS is actively recruiting from that group. Of course, the best of those are already in the Army and Navy signal groups as decoders and analysts. And prying them loose for the OSS causes a lot of screaming from the Army brass.”
“I can understand,” Taft chuckled.
“And for our people to be truly effective, we should have inserted them into Japan in the 1920s and 30s. They needed to be there long enough to be considered part of the background.”
“Okay,” Taft replied, “what can we do about it now?”
“We have people in the American installations in Japan — the embassy and the military bases. They are actively working to gain the confidence of individual Japanese. We hope, eventually, to turn them into information sources. Fortunately, in the areas controlled by the Japanese government, as opposed to the Army, the civilians are encouraged to be friendly to the Americans.”
“That sounds like a reasonable approach,” the president said. “Now, we need to talk about the OSS.”
Donovan stiffened inside. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had pressured Truman to dissolve the OSS now that the Pacific War was ended. And Truman had considered doing just that. Donovan had argued that the president required a non-parochial source of intelligence, one not tainted by the built-in bias of the armed services. For whatever reason, Truman had never made a decision. Or, perhaps, he had, since the OSS still existed.
“How may I help you, Mr. President?”
“As you probably know, the Army and the Navy, in particular, would like to dissolve the OSS. They claim it is no longer needed.”
“I would like to discuss that point, Mr. President.”
“You would like to protect your baby, is that it, General?”
“I’m sure that is some of it, to be honest. However, the conditions that drove the creation of the OSS still exist. I will not impugn the patriotism of the armed services, but the fact is that they shape their intelligence operations to show their individual branches in the best light. And that contributed to our losses in the early stages of the Pacific War. I think I am being honest when I say that keeping a centralized intelligence function in place is for the good of the country.”
Taft smiled. “At the risk of revealing my hand, General, I would have to agree with you. I will shortly ask Congress to introduce legislation to formalize the existence of the OSS. The new organization will comprise the current OSS and what other intelligence assets we deem necessary to its mission.”
“I am delighted to hear that, Mr. President. What may I do to help?”
“A couple of things, actually,” Taft replied. “First of all, we need a thorough assessment of our intelligence operations across the whole span of the government. Each branch of the armed services needs its own intelligence function. But I want to consolidate everything else into one organization. Both State and the FBI maintain foreign intelligence operations, and I think that needs to move into the OSS. They won’t be happy about it, but there you are.”
“Do you want me to head that assessment?”
“No, I would like to ask Allen Dulles to run that. I know that this is reaching into your organization, but let’s be honest, you are not well-liked around Washington. I know why that is true, but I want to put these organizational changes in place with a minimum of controversy.”
“I understand, Mr. President.”
“The second thing is that I want you to understand that you will need to resign, probably on the last day before the new organization legally comes into being. You have given great service to the United States, but as a practical matter, the knives have always been out for you, General.”
“I understand,” Donovan said softly. “To be honest, I intended to remain in this role just through the war. So, I have overstayed. I will be happy to work with you to effect a smooth transition.”
“That’s all anyone can ask. Thank you, General.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
February 13, 1945; 9 AM
Reich Chancellor’s Office
Reich Chancellery
Berlin, Germany
Heinrich Schloss folded the morning edition of the Berliner Zeitung and slapped it on his desk. He felt his face heating from anger and blood pressure. Having a muckraking reporter write about him in the New York Times was bad enough. But now, the German journalists were picking up on it. The Zeitung article revealed his ownership position in Askania and Fiesler. Schloss’s investments were perfectly legal. Fortunately, the thicket of laws and regulations governing investment were in the future.
Yet, the reporter had not questioned the legality of the investments; he had wondered how Schloss had financed those investments. And since the transactions in question had taken place before he had landed in this world, he had no idea how this had occurred. Replacing the Alter-Schloss left Schloss with a series of mysteries that he knew would never be resolved.
The Alter-Schloss was apparently as honest as he was, as his friends and coworkers never questioned his current attitudes. He knew that many Nazis had accumulated wealth by despoiling the Jews. Göring had undoubtedly done so. And he reminded himself that the Göring estate was a problem he would need to address sooner or later.
So, the press nosing around in his private business presented a threat he would struggle to confront. And there was no one he could approach for advice. He would have to talk to Karl Rainer about it, and he had no idea where that would lead. If he admitted to not knowing about the transactions, he would raise doubts in Karl’s mind. And he didn’t need that.
Schloss’s first meeting of the morning was with Konrad Zuse. With Schloss’s encouragement, Zuse had incorporated a business to manufacture his computational equipment. Ribbentrop had helped by recommending a business manager to work with the inventor. They had heavily patented Zuse’s computational methods in Germany, the UK, and the United States. He already saw significant licensing income from the patents. In addition, he had patented his work with solid electron tubes. Siemens had licensed the invention and was nearing production of several devices based on Zuse’s work.
Frau Pappel escorted the little man into Schloss’s office and served the requisite coffee and pastries. After she left, Schloss looked at the inventor.
“So, what do you have for me today, Herr Zuse?”
“Good news today, I think. We just signed a licensing agreement with Askania. They want to use the solid electronics in the robot pilot for Fiesler flying bomb.”
“Is that so? I think that is good news, indeed. I suspect we will see a great performance improvement in the weapons.”
“I think so. It is interesting, mein Herr. After we announced the invention, people began coming up with all kinds of ideas for its use. I have a confidential agreement with General Dornberger and Askania to develop a guidance unit for the rockets. And the American company, IBM has received a license to use the solid electron tubes in computational equipment.”
“You have been busy,” Schloss commented.
It looks like my guidance paid off for Zuse. Once the benefits of the transistor were known, the immediate applications were obvious. And Germany owns it.
“And there was one other thing I needed to bring to you, Herr Reich Chancellor.”
Zuse stood and handed a small portfolio across to Schloss.
“And what is this?” Schloss asked.
“Because your suggestion has paid off enormously, the corporate directors voted to gift you with stock in the company.”
Schloss opened the flap on the leather binder and looked at the printed shares of stock.
“I don’t know what to say,” Schloss exclaimed. “This is not something I deserve. I made a simple suggestion.”
“Your simple suggestion will make us all wealthy, Herr Reich Chancellor. It is no more than you deserve.”
“It is much more than I deserve. My only wish is to advance Germany.”
“And so, you have. And we want you to have this.”
“Thank you,” Schloss finally said. “You have honored me.”
He looked at the agreement at the front of the stock shares. It listed the transaction as one hundred thousand shares.
“What is the current price of the stock, Herr Zuse?”
“As of this morning, it was about twenty-five Reichsmarks per share.”
Schloss was speechless. Zuse had just handed him over two and one-half million Reichsmarks in stock. That represented significant wealth.
“I… I don’t know how I can accept this.”
“Oh, but you must. The directors were insistent. You deserve much more. “
“Well… I thank you.”
“And I had one other thing,” Zuse looked hesitant.
“What would that be?”
“Do you have any other interesting ideas we can pursue?”
“One other thing occurred to me, Herr Zuse. I would think storing information will become a challenge. You are going to be responsible for creating a lot of computational equipment. Perhaps you might consider coating a metal platter with iron oxide. If you mount it on a spindle and have an arm carrying an electromagnet, sort of like a gramophone, you could magnetize spots on the platter….”
“To store information,” Zuse interrupted. “That is an amazing thought. I can immediately see how that would work. Thank you, Herr Reich Chancellor. You may have done it again.”
After Zuse left their meeting, Schloss pondered what he had just done. One of his hobbies had been reading and studying aircraft, and he was knowledgeable. But he had also read about computers and how they generally worked. He wanted to give Germany an insurmountable lead in computer technology, and Zuse seemed to be the perfect man to help him realize it.
Schloss suddenly was wealthy. It was illiquid – tied up in stocks. But it formed the basis of a nest egg that he knew he would need someday. And he did not feel that badly about accepting the gift. It was legal in Germany, and he knew who had given it to him. And taking ideas from his former world and introducing them earlier into this Germany was reasonable and fair, he thought. He was not stealing from anybody.
And now that he had the stock shares, it occurred to him that he wasn’t sure what to do with them. One of the bankers he had dealt with when he was the Parteileiter could probably manage this for him, but he wasn’t sure who to trust. Then he thought of someone.
“Frau Pappel,” he shouted, “see if you can get Misty Rainer’s office on the phone. I would like to speak with her.”
“At once,” the old lady barked.
“Herr Reich Chancellor,” Misty said, “it’s quite a surprise to receive a phone call from your office.”
“I had a personal financial question. Actually, a personal financial question has arisen, and it’s not the business of a lot of people.”
“Like the Berliner Zeitung, for example? I saw that article.”
“They would be a good example of people who don’t need to know about this. It’s nothing illegal, but I don’t enjoy seeing my personal business spread across the papers.”
“I believe Karl’s reaction when he saw the newspaper was somewhat more energetic,” she giggled.
“Right. I have recently acquired shares in Zuse, GmbH. Now that I have them, what do I do with them?”
“Do you wish to sell them?” she asked.
“Not necessarily. I provided some advice to them, and they gifted me with the shares. I think they will be a good long-term investment.”
“I understand. We would be happy to initiate a client relationship and place your stock holdings under our management. I don’t think you would have to worry about the banks here in Berlin. They know how to maintain confidentiality. However, as an independent investment bank, we are one step removed from the fiduciary duty to the government that the established banks carry. That would give you some additional security.”
“I would like to keep it in the family, as it were.”
She laughed delightedly. “Well, yes. I must confess that you feel more like a brother-in-law than anything.”
“I hope you mean that in a good way.”
“Oh, of course, Herr Reich Chancellor.”
“Fine. What would be the process of setting up an account?” he asked.
“We would need to meet to sign some papers, and then you would deliver the stock certificates to me. Uh, how many shares of Zuse do you have?”
“One hundred thousand shares.”
He heard papers rattling in the background from her side of the call.
“Let’s see, that closed yesterday right at twenty-five.” She whistled. “That was a very generous gift.”
“I would say that was an understatement. I was certainly surprised. And as I think about it, I hold shares in Askania and Fiesler. I probably should transfer management of those to you as well. I haven’t been able to pay much attention to those things over the past several years.”
He heard her snort. “That makes a lot of sense, Herr Schloss. I would mention that we also can arrange for interest-bearing demand deposits. Something you can write cheques against.”
Schloss thought about the fifty thousand Reichsmarks he had discovered in his safe shortly after arriving in this world. The cash had followed him to his office in the Reich Chancellery. Along with his stock holdings, it followed him to Frankfurt and then back to Berlin. The Reich Chancellor’s office was probably as safe as anywhere, but he needed to put it under management.
He wasn’t sure if the cash belonged to him or the party. Nobody had ever mentioned it to him, so he assumed it was his. And if some of the newspaper articles were true, the money probably didn’t belong to him. So, it was perhaps wiser to have the cash locked up in his office. If it was unaccountable, it removed a weapon from those who wanted to bring him down.
“I probably won’t do the demand deposit right now,” he told Misty. “Would it be reasonable for you to come to my office? We can then go through all of my documents, and you can put the agreement together. I’m sure Karl can arrange for guards to accompany you back to your office.”
“That would work,” she replied.
“I will have Frau Pappel arrange for an appointment, then.”
“Thank you for considering us,” she said.
“I’m just glad I thought of it. You will provide a lot of peace of mind. Thank you for your time.”
Schloss set down the phone and sighed. That was one problem out of the way. But what should he do about the newspaper articles? So far, his strategy of not responding to questions from the press seemed to be working. But he wondered how long he would be able to maintain it.
He turned his attention to other things. A delegation of Nazi Party members had requested a meeting to discuss his announcement about elections. He expected it to be contentious and Major Strang, his head of security, was nervous about it. At least they were openly critical rather than quietly conspiring as the Munich Faction had done.
Gerhard Wicklein was busy setting up speaking engagements around the country for Schloss to sell the party on the initiative. By taking an aggressive approach, Schloss hoped to sidestep resistance within the party. Getting an accountable government in place was crucial, but Schloss was under no illusions about the challenges he would face.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
February 15, 1945; 9 AM
The Queen’s Study
Buckingham Palace
London, England, UK
Colin Marty was always nervous when Winston Churchill arrived for his weekly meeting with the queen. Not because of what Churchill might say, for he found the prime minister one of the more interesting people he had observed. But Margaret always seemed primed to explode in the cherubic-looking man’s presence.
Marty was usually tasked with calming the mercurial queen after the meetings, which was not always pleasant. Reining her in during the meetings was more problematical. It took a deft touch, which Marty had in measure, but she was apt to lash out at him when he attempted to intervene. It was part of his job, and he was philosophical about it, but that did not make it any more pleasant.
“And now, Prime Minister, we can begin with the items on your agenda today. Then I have several items I need your guidance in understanding.”
