[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.His hope was to keep out of the military altogether and to continue servinghis country in the diplomatic service.This required some fancy footwork,however, especially after his return from Morocco, for there were newregulations eliminating many military service exemptions, including those formembers of the Foreign Service.It was finally resolved at the highest levels.Still, it didn't hurt to be a member of the club, He was offered and accepteda reserve commission in the SS--not the honorary SS--as a Brigadefiihrer-SD,the secret service of the SS, with the understanding that he would not becalled to active service and would remain with the Foreign Ministry.Attired in a quickly tailored black SS uniform, he took the oath of personalallegiance to Adolf Hitler in a ceremony presided over by Reichsfiihrer-SSHeinrich Himmler himself.Afterward, his brother was kind enough to hold asmall reception for the new Brigadefuhrer at a home maintained by the familyat 44-46 Beerenstrasse in Zehlendorf.Reichsfuhrer-SS and Frau Himmler put in a brief appearance en route to thesymphony, which the Graf von Heurten-Mitnitz told Helmut was an unusual honor.Helmut von Heurten-Mitnitz considered asking Muller to be present at eitherthe swearing in or the reception, but decided against it.If they appeared toochummy, that might provoke suspicion.After the reception, he took off the SSuniform and hoped that he would never have to wear it again.After settling into his new work, he labored industriously on the report forthe Fuhrer without actually completing it.The point was to keep it on theburner until it was for gotten and they found something else for him to do.His name almost immediately appeared on guest lists of allied and neutralembassies, and he dined out nearly every night.He was a bachelor and therebyin demand on that account, There were many widows in Germany.That satisfied what he thought of as bodily demands, but he took care not toform anything approaching an emotional relationship.And then, on the nineteenth of December, the Americans sent him a message.On the morning of the twentieth, when his secretary Fraulein IngebordSchermann came into his office, his desk was piled high with dossiersPage 59ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlKborrowed" from the French Deuxieme Bureau (analogous to the FBI).These were to assist him in preparing his report to the Fuhrer on Frenchperfidy.What he was actually doing was reading a novel by the Viennese novelist FranzSchiller about a romance between an Austrian nobleman and a tubercular widow.Helmut von Heurten-Mitnitz's secretary made him uncomfortable.She was intense.Worse, fanatical.Ingebord Schermann's blond hair was parted in the middle, brushed tightagainst her skull, and then brought together in a tight bun at the base of herneck.What few words she uttered were delivered like orders, in a Hessiandialect even harsher than Obersturmbannfuhrer SS-SD Johann Muller's.Von Heurten-Mitnitz regarded Muller as the archetypal Hessian peasant, blunt,phlegmatic, practical, and dull.Like most Northern and Eastern Germans vonHeurten-Mitnitz was convinced he spoke German, and that Middue--Hesse and theRuhr--and Southern (Bavarian and Swabian) Germans spoke a vulgar patois onlyloosely based on that language.Fraulein Schermann was a not unattractive woman of, he guessed, thirty orthirty-two.Her calves and ankles were a little thick--another Hessian peasantcharacteristic, von Heurten-Mitnitz thought--but she was not fat and reallydidn't need the "foundation garment" that encased her body from just above herknees to just below her neck.It was difficult for von Heurten-Mitnitz to imagine Fraulein Schermann in thethroes of carnal passion, although he had caught himself more than oncethinking about her breasts.As a young man, he had once had a fling with apeasant girl, a Silesian, whose breasts had been nearly as firm as her tail.He suspected that in the unlikely event some young man got his hands onFraulein Schermann's breasts, he would find much the same thing.Von Heurten-Mitnitz had not chosen Fraulein Schermann, she was thrust uponhim."And I have just the girl for you, Helmut," the Chief of the ForeignResponsibilities Division had told him."Very efficient.Very dedicated."There were three reasons why Fraulein Schermann was assigned to vonHeurten-Mitnitz The first was innocent coincidence, She was available forassignment when his need came up.Second, Fraulein Schermann's dedicationtranslated to mean she was an informer for the Gestapo or the SD.There was no reason he should be under suspicion, but that didn't mean hewasn't being watched on general panciples.Third, Fraulein Schermann had madesomeone else in the Foreign Ministry as uncomfortable as she made him, and shehad been gotten Ad of as tactfusy as possible.Von Heurten-Mitnitz looked up from his carefully hidden behind paperwork novelwhile Fraulein Schermann delivered in the tones of a Feldwebel (Sergeant) withtwo long service medals the announcement that'obersturmbannfuhrer SS-SD JohannMuller wishes to see the Herr Minister.""Would you ask the Obersturmbannfuhrer to come in, please, FrauleinSchermann?" Fraulein Schermann nodded her head, just once, an almostmechanical movement.Page 60ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Jawohl, Herr Minister," she said.Muller marched into the office.He was wearing a black overcoat that reachedalmost to his ankles.There was a leather belt around the coat, from whichhung a closed pistol holster.KHEIL Hitler!" Muller barked and gave the straight-armed salute.KHEIL Hitler!" von Heurten-Mitnitz said."I'm pleased that you could fit meinto your schedule, Obersturmbannfuhrer." KIT is my honor, Herr Minister,"Muller said."I have taken the liberty of reserving a table at the Adlon," vonHeurtenmitnitz said."Is that all right with you?""The Herr Minister is most kind," Muller said."It was good of you to give me a ride," von Heurten-Mitnitz said."Just let me get my coat and hat." He had not quite reached the bentwood coatrack when Fraulein Schermann appeared, snatched the coat from the hook, andheld it out for him.As he was shrugging into it, she handed him his hat."Obersturmbannfuhrer Muller and I will be taking lunch at the Adllon, FrauleinSchermann," von Heurten-Mitnitz said."If there are any important calls forthe Obersturmbannfuhrer or myself, please be good enough to transfer them.""Jawohl, Herr Minister." Muller's car, an unmarked Opel Kapitan, was parked infront of the Foreign Ministry.There were both uniformed Berlin municipal policemen and plainclothes SD menstationed there, wall king slowly back and forth in front of the sandbagsstacked against the building.None was wihing to remind an ObersturmbannfuhrerSS-SD that parking was prohibited in front of the Foreign Ministry.Muxer got behind the wheel, and they drove off."Drive by my house, will you, Muller?" von Heurten Mitnitz said.KI have to go inside for a moment." Muller nodded.Going to Zehlendorf and then back downtown would give them a few minutes totallk in privacy.There was nothing suspicious in a man going home on his wayto lunch to pick up something he had for gotten.Muxer drove past the Zoological Gardens and then down the Kurfurstendamm toBrandenburgischestrasse.Two blocks into it, the street was blocked by amountain of rubble and two wholly unnecessary policemen waving directionalsigns to order them onto a detour.Von Heurten-Mitnitz saw the shell of adepartment store where he had once bought underwear [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]