When he got off the train in Berlin that evening, he looked around to see what was different. The usual bustle of German efficiency was absent. People seemed to wander about in a daze.

  “There should be a car waiting for us, mein Herr,” the guard said. “We will deliver you to the party headquarters, and then our task will be complete.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Gerhard responded. “I know this is not a normal task for you, but you and your people did very well. I will ask the Parteileiter to so notify the Reichsprotektor.”

  The Gestapo agent jumped to attention and clicked his heels. “You honor me, Herr Wicklein.”

  “No more than you deserve. I fear this may be a long night for many of us.”

  “I do not know what we are going to do,” the guard said in anguish.

  The railway Porter set Gerhard’s luggage on the platform. The guard captain snapped his fingers and pointed to the guards and the luggage. They quickly trotted over to pick it up.

  “Let’s be on our way, then,” Gerhard said.

  As they left the train station, Gerhard bought another paper. He opened it during the brief ride to the party headquarters, but there was little more information on the day’s signal event.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  June 11, 1941, 2 PM

  Nazi Party Headquarters

  Berlin, Germany

  Brucks and Pankow joined Gerhard in his office the next afternoon for a cup of coffee. The primary topic of discussion at the party headquarters following Hitler’s death was what would happen next. While the Führer had put together a solid party organization and followed many German practices in staffing the senior posts in the government, the line of succession was murky.

  “So, is Hess the new Führer?” Brucks asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Wicklein replied. “If that were the case, I’m sure we would have heard about it.”

  “Has Herr Rainer said anything to you about it?” Pankow asked.

  “I haven’t talked to Rainer. He was here all night, as was the Parteileiter. So, I would say he was too busy to talk to me.”

  “So what do we do in the meantime?” Brucks asked.

  “We will continue to do our jobs; what else? The party business continues and is not likely to change.”

  “I have received no paperwork from Rainer’s office today,” Brucks said. “I will soon run out of things to do.”

  “We can’t have that,” Gerhard said. “I need to do something about all this coffee I drank. After I take care of that business, I’ll see if I can snag a stack of paper off Herr Rainer’s desk.”

  “What if he doesn’t have any to give you?”

  Wicklein gave the man an evil smile. “Why we would just send you over to the Gestapo to help with their paperwork for a while. But it would only be temporary, Gottfried.”

  “That’s not funny, Herr Wicklein.”

  Gerhard looked over at Pankow, who was trying to hide his chortle. “And I could probably send Ludwig with you.”

  Pankow’s smile faded quickly. Wicklein chuckled. “Now that I have ruined everyone’s afternoon, I must visit the toilet.”

  Gerhard was not kidding about his need to take care of business. He had waited almost too long. He trotted down the hall and opened the door to the small toilet, and stepped in. He reminded himself that he needed to talk to the janitorial staff. The small water closet was filthy, and the smell was indescribable. He was surprised Schloss hadn’t done anything about it.

  After washing his hands, he walked briskly back into the office. As he did, he thought back to the events that brought him to this place. Bormann had moved Schloss to Berlin after his appointment as Deputy Parteileiter. Schloss had immediately taken possession of the office suite at the opposite end of the fourth floor from the Parteileiter’s offices.

  After Bormann’s death in December, Schloss immediately moved into the Parteileiter’s office and replaced most of Bormann’s people with his own. Those who had been displaced were moved into the former Deputy Parteileiter’s office suite. Schloss had not named a new Deputy as yet, although Karl Rainer fulfilled most of those responsibilities.

  As Wicklein walked through the offices, Schloss came out of his office and walked briskly towards the door. Apparently, he had been drinking a lot of coffee as well. Gerhard stepped to the side and smiled broadly to greet the Parteileiter. Schloss glanced at him and brushed by without any kind of acknowledgment. Wicklein raised his eyebrows in surprise and then walked to Rainer’s office.

  Wicklein knocked twice on Rainer’s door and then opened it.

  “I’m busy, Karl,” Rainer snapped.

  “I’m going to take some of the work off your desk since you obviously are not going to have time to look at it.”

  Rainer tossed his pencil down with a sigh and leaned back to run his hands through his hair.

  “I’m sorry, Gerhard, a lot is happening right now. Take this stack here and go through it. I will have to trust you to determine what Brucks can look at. You will have to take care of the other stuff.”

  “I am happy to do so, Karl.”

  Rainer placed his hands back on the desk. “Since I have you here, I need you to coordinate with Goebbels’ people on the Führer’s funeral arrangements. It needs to be taken care of, and I certainly cannot say I’m too busy to deal with it.”

  “I understand,” Gerhard replied. “I will give you a summary of what I have accomplished on this at the end of the day.”

  “Don’t waste time on writing a summary. Just come and tell me what you accomplished. And don’t be afraid to come into my office, Gerhard. If I really am too busy, I’ll just throw you out.”

  “Right, and I will just take this and get out of your way.”

  “Thank you, Gerhard.” Rainer picked up his pencil and looked at the document before him.

  “One other thing, Herr Rainer?”

  “Yes, what is it?”

  Gerhard recognized from Rainer’s tone that he was stretching his welcome just a bit.

  “It’s the Parteileiter, all right? I just saw him out of the office, and it seemed like he was in a daze.”

  “Over the past few weeks, Herr Schloss has suffered two major shocks,” Rainer said, “the man lost his wife, and now the Führer’s death has turned the country upside down. We just need to do our jobs and support the Parteileiter.”

  “Very well. I understand.”

  Gerhard walked over to Brucks’ desk. “I will have to sort through this before you can look at it, Gottfried. Please call Goebbels office and get whoever is arranging the funeral from there and on the line. I need to talk to him.”

  “At once, Gerhard,” Brucks replied.

  The propaganda ministry had definite ideas on how the funeral should proceed. Most of what Wicklein heard sounded reasonable, but he made careful notes for Rainer’s benefit. The planning director assumed that Wicklein had need to know and therefore told him a lot of things he had not heard before. The ruling council had discussed Hitler’s funeral in detail, apparently. The planning director let slip that there were fireworks between Schloss and Himmler in the meeting but did not elaborate. Wicklein wondered what that was about.

  Unfortunately, the phone conversation pointed to several items Wicklein needed to take care of immediately. He then called Katlin to tell her he would not be home until very late that evening, if at all. He quickly sorted several items out of the pile of paperwork and carried it to Brucks.

  “Here, Gottfried. Go through this stuff and make whatever decisions you feel are necessary. I think this will keep you busy, but if not, come see me.”

  “Might I assume Herr Rainer found something for you to do?”

  Wicklein looked at the slight smirk on the face of the secretary. “And you can be replaced.”

  Gerhard returned to his office and got on the telephone.

  § § §

  June 12, 1941, 2 AM

  Wicklein residence

  Berlin, Germany

  Katlin Wicklein sat up with a gasp and turned on the light as Gerhard walked into the bedroom.

  “You startled me!” she hissed. “What time is it, anyway?”

  “I’m sorry, Schatzi. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s a little after two.”

  “What is happening at the office?” She kept her voice low to avoid disturbing little Karl, who now slept in the next room.

  “It has gone from insanity to chaos. The Parteileiter is trying to hold the government together, and we are planning a funeral. The Parteileiter is acting strangely. He acted like he didn’t know me in the office today.”

  “What did Karl say?” she asked.

  “He told me that Herr Schloss has suffered two major shocks recently and can be excused if he seems a bit rattled.”

  She reached out to grab his arm. “There’s more to it, isn’t there?”

  He pulled her arm loose and started removing his tie. “I don’t know, Precious. Karl barely had time to talk to me, and I think he’s depending on me to keep the office running. He has his hands full helping Herr Schloss.”

  “People are wondering if they will announce a new Führer.”

  Gerhard began unbuttoning his shirt. He tossed it over a chair in their bedroom.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I wait until the morning to pick this stuff up. I just want to get to bed. And nobody has said anything about appointing a new Führer. I’m not even sure who is in charge.”

  “Just come to bed, darling. I will take care of your laundry in the morning.”

  Gerhard worried that he would lie awake because of everything on his mind, but he dropped off to sleep quickly. When Katlin shook him awake at 6 o’clock, he was in the middle of a dream where he had just been appointed the new Führer. He wondered if there was any significance to it.

  “You are not going to be very effective in the office today,” she said.

  “Rainer and the Parteileiter worked all night Monday night,” he replied, “and they were still there when I left earlier this morning. I think I need to be there.”

  “Are you going to be able to shave?” she asked.

  “You mean will I cut my throat?” He laughed. “I think I will manage.”

  “Then let me get some breakfast for you before the baby wakes up.”

  “And what about the other baby?” he asked, patting her distended belly.

  “I hope the child comes soon. I am really uncomfortable.”

  “I hope she does, too,” he replied.

  “She?” Katlin asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “Of course. We know it’s going to be a girl, right?”

  “You keep saying that.”

  “I would like to have a little girl,” Gerhard said.

  “I believe that is in the hands of God,” she replied.

  “A lot of things are right now,” Gerhard replied.

  Breakfast consisted of a thick slice of ham and two fried eggs. The toast was from a fresh loaf of bread and smelled good. He picked up his cup and frowned.

  “Tea?”

  “The coffee is not fit to drink,” Katlin replied. “There is still tea in the stores. I thought we could drink that for a while.”

  “I think the tea is better than what passes for coffee right now,” he replied. “Thanks for breakfast, Schatzi.”

  “I worry about what will happen to our country without the Führer,” she said. “I know some things about him were very wrong, but he has held the country together.”

  “I don’t know the answer to that. But I think Herr Schloss will work hard to keep things on track.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  June 12, 1941, 4 AM

  Wicklein residence

  Berlin, Germany

  Gerhard groaned when Katlin nudged him. It couldn’t be morning already. He felt like he had barely gotten to sleep. When she turned on the dim bedside lamp, it felt like the sun shone directly in his eyes.

  “What time is it?”

  “It’s about 4:15,” Katlin replied.

  He sat up suddenly and was now wide awake.

  “The baby?”

  She nodded with a luminous smile. “I felt funny when I went to bed. I got up a few minutes ago to visit the toilet, and my water broke.”

  He whipped the covers off and began pulling on his clothes. Once his shoes were tied, he stepped over to the mirror and dragged a comb through his hair.

  “I need to go downstairs to get Frau Fenstermacher,” he said. “I hate to wake her up at this hour.”

  “She said she was available at any time, Darling,” Katlin replied.

  “I’m just glad I brought a car home tonight. Or was it last night?”

  “It was earlier this morning,” she chuckled. “Are you sure you can drive me to the hospital?”

  “There shouldn’t be much traffic at this time of day, so I will likely not hit anything.”

  “You are so reassuring, Gerhard.”

  “That’s why I am so lovable.”

  She punched him on the arm as he picked up her bag, and they walked towards the door. When he opened the door, they both whooped in surprise and jumped back.

  “Frau Kassel, what are you doing here?” Katlin asked.

  The old lady marched into the room and placed her hands on her hips.

  “Since you are about to give birth, someone must stay with your child. And you should not tarry. I think things are happening quickly.”

  “Thank you, Frau Kassel,” Katlin said.

  They moved out of the apartment and down the stairs to the car. Gerhard busied himself with getting the car started moving. Gerhard told the single guard to remain because little Karl was sleeping upstairs.

  “I wonder how she does that,” he commented.

  “When you opened the door, and she was standing there, I nearly dropped the baby right then,” Katlin replied.

  “There is something spooky about that old lady.”

  “Oh, poo, Gerhard. She’s really sweet. But I do wish I understood how she knows when to show up at just the right moment.”

  “Once my heart started beating again, I was glad to see her.”

  It was a short trip to the charity hospital. Gerhard parked near the front entrance and guided his wife into the building. In a large city like Berlin, a hospital never sleeps. However, things were at a low ebb this time of the morning. One of the nurses spotted them walking in and immediately brought a wheelchair. Gerhard trotted back outside to find a legal parking place for the car. When he returned to the entry, no one was there.

  It was fifteen minutes before someone guided him to the waiting room, where he sat in one of the straight-backed wooden chairs. As the adrenaline drained from his system, Gerhard felt his lack of sleep and drifted off again.

  It seemed like he felt a hand shaking his shoulder all too soon. He looked up to see the doctor standing in the waiting room.

  “Congratulations, Herr Wicklein. You have a newborn son. He and the mother are doing well. You may return later today at visiting hours to see your wife and child.”

  Gerhard stood. “Thank you, Herr Doktor.”

  He looked at his watch. He had been in the waiting room for barely 45 minutes. As he groped through the fog, he decided it was good that Frau Kassel had shooed them on their way. If there had been any delay, Katlin would have given birth in the car or their apartment.

  Gerhard somehow found his way to the entrance of the building and then stood outside for a few moments until he remembered where he had put the car. It was barely 6 o’clock when he returned to the apartment. He opened the door to the heavy aroma of bacon. He could hear little Karl jabbering as he walked into the small kitchen. The boy sat in his highchair and wrestled with a bowl of oatmeal as Frau Kassel worked at the stove.

  “Da!” The child yelled in delight when he spotted his father.

  “How’s the little man?” Gerhard said as he patted the boy on the head. He was careful to avoid globs of errant oatmeal.

  The old lady slid a plate of bacon, eggs, and potatoes on the table.

  “Sit down and have breakfast, Herr Wicklein. You will need your strength today.”

  He smiled as he sat down at the table. It would be a long day with something less than three hours of sleep. The solid breakfast would help if it didn’t put him to sleep immediately. As he began eating, he wondered how Frau Kassel could make something as mundane as bacon and eggs taste so wonderful. Katlin was developing into a great cook, but the old lady was in another class altogether.

  “And you have some news, Herr Wicklein?”

  Gerhard shook himself. “Oh, yes. We have another baby boy. Katlin and the baby are doing well. I won’t get to see them until visiting hours.”

  “That is good news, then,” she said. “Children are a blessing from the Maker, but it does add to your responsibilities.”

  “I’m thankful for my wife and children,” Wicklein replied. “I just hope to take good care of them, especially in these uncertain times.”

  She leaned against the stove with folded arms as she watched Gerhard eat. It was clear he was expected to clean up his plate. It reminded him of sitting at the kitchen table as he was growing up and having his mother watch him eat.

  “Times will soon be better,” she said. “But you must do what you can to support Herr Schloss. He is important to the nation.”

  He wondered what she had meant by that. Among Frau Kassel’s other skills, she often spoke elliptically and left him wondering about the meaning of her statements. But he was too tired this morning to ponder her sayings.

  He picked up his cup to begin drinking. Because of the coffee shortage, Katrin only kept tea in the house. He was surprised when he caught the aroma of coffee and wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. He took a sip, and it was very good coffee.

  “I didn’t know we had any coffee in the house,” he commented.

  “Oh, I had a small amount that I brought with me. I trust this is satisfactory.”

  “It is amazing,” Gerhard said. “Thank you. I needed this today.”

  § § §

  June 12, 1941, 7 AM

  Karl Rainer’s Office

 

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