Doodlebug

CHAPTER 1 -------------------------------------- “Initial Briefing” 1:30 p.m. February 20, 1942 Location: Pension Moritz Hotel, Berchtesgaden, Bavaria Waffen SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany during World War II, faced the three Hartmann brothers who served in the SS as German secret agents. They stood at attention in the underground command post while Himmler raised his right arm, saluted, and snarled in a loud voice: “Heil Hitler”! He paused, staring at each agent individually and intently for a brief second, and continued. “As members of the Germanic peoples, you can be happy and proud. You can be thankful that once in a thousand years fate has given us, from among the Germanic peoples, such a genius, such a leader, our Fűhrer Adolf Hitler.” He closed his eyes briefly, as if in silent prayer. Turning slightly, he looked up in the air and began to converse with them in a soft voice. It was almost as if he were directing a stage play and they were the actors participating in the play; and that it was necessary to explain to them the necessary communication they needed among themselves in their next scene, in order for them to promote an immediate reaction from the audience. “You three Hartmann brothers are here today because of a direct order from the Fűhrer himself. He is aware of your background. When you immigrated back to Germany from Canada to assist your father in managing our famous Bavarian hotel, the Pension Moritz, you did the correct thing. You immediately joined the Nazi Party. He is also aware that you have other relatives still living in Canada, including a brother and a sister. You have been chosen for some very special missions; clandestine operations that will involve your immediate return to Canada and covert entrance into the United States.” His results as a director were immediately rewarded as, in unison; the brothers Hartmann clicked their boot heels together, raised their arms in a return salute and shouted, “Sieg Heil!” the Nazi response meaning, “We will win”, or “We salute the highest!” On February 10, 1942, Chancellor Adolph Hitler ordered Himmler to hold a strategic planning meeting with the brothers at a secret location, an underground command post located beneath the Austrian town of Berchtesgaden, above which rose the beautiful Alpine region called Obersalzberg. The Nazi’s had constructed the secret underground chamber for Hitler’s benefit and for the use of other Reich Ministers and their staff. The Eagles Nest, or Kehlsteinhaus, Hitler’s private retreat for entertaining dignitaries and other guests of the Reich, was located at the top of the Kehlstein Mountain in the Alps a short distance away. The underground area, consisting of a series of large cavernous bunkers and tunnels, was almost the size of a small town in itself. It was cleverly accessed through an entrance door hidden in the rear of the kitchen of the Pension Moritz, a large hotel that serviced the many vacationers and tourists who visited the area. While the hotel was one of the most beautiful and luxurious lodges in Europe, the Nazi Party had taken over the hotel in June of 1936. A long series of forty stone steps from the kitchen area of the hotel led down to a concealed underground passageway, cut into and through the left side of a thick wall of rock located at the bottom of the stairwell. The passageway led into an underground chamber consisting of a series of very large tunnels and bunkers, interconnected, well fortified, and well lighted. Twelve enormous diesel-powered generators, originally constructed for use aboard German U-boats, supplied the electrical power for heat, light, and refrigeration for the underground cavernous compartments. Directly at the bottom of the stairwell, another stone wall with three rectangular cutouts faced the steps. Nazi soldiers stationed in a small hollow bunker room behind this wall aimed the barrels of their submachine guns up the stairwell toward the kitchen door. Obviously, entrance to the underground chambers was well guarded and protected. Hans Hartmann, the oldest brother, stood stiffly at attention while looking straight ahead. He asked Himmler, “My brothers and I will be deployed to Canada and we will have access to the United States as necessary. Is that not true, Herr Reich minister?” “Your deployment will be at the discretion of Obergruppenfuhrer Ernst Kaltenbrunner and his chief aides, Gruppenfuhrer Otto Ohlendorf and Brigadefuhrer Walter Schellenberg. Do you not understand?” Himmler shouted at him with raised eyebrows, implying that he should never question a direct order. “Yes, my leader,” Hans replied. “We wish only to make our family proud of our service to the Reich. We returned to Germany to support the Reich. We are totally committed to whatever orders we are given and will continue to support the ideals and standards of the Waffen SS!” Himmler continued to peer intently at him for several seconds. The electric lights in the cavern dimmed slightly as a second U-boat generator kicked in to supply power. He then placed his hands behind his back and paced slowly back and forth. Turning abruptly, he addressed the brothers again, spoke quietly and said, “The process for fabrication and authentication of your identity papers and those of your two brothers Peter and Frederick, as Canadian citizens, is extremely plausible because of your backgrounds. Ration cards, work passes, identification cards and currency, both Canadian and American, will be available shortly. And you will be given final orders for your mission by Obergruppenfuhrer Kaltenbrunner when we have established appropriate goals and the presence, or, let’s say the ‘reappearance’ of you and your brothers to eliminate suspicion of any kind. Himmler’s eyes grew narrower and he persisted. “As special agents of the Reich, your responsibilities will be to destroy all targets as directed. This will include destruction and elimination of targets such as manufacturing operations, shipping and transport operations and the like, as well as the assassinations of American and Canadian military and civilian officials. Our contacts in Canada will be expecting your return and that of other agents as well on a routine basis,” said Himmler. “You will be expected to complete all missions as expeditiously as possible. You will not be taken alive if caught. Do you understand?”