Lumen (37 page)

“Ah, but there is Mother Kazimierza’s faith in some inner light.”

“Yes.
Lumen Christi, Adiuva Nos
. We’ll need it.”

“We’ll need it.”

They drove in silence through the alleys of Cracow’s Old City, under a cloudy sky that promised more snow.

“You never told me who Father Moczygemba was.” Bora tried to smile.

“Father Leopold Moczygemba? A pioneer of Polish immigration to America. He built the church of Cyril and Methodius in Bucktown - Chicago’s Polish quarter.”

“And then?”

“And then he became the spiritual father of the Poles in Texas, but his flock chased him off when it realized the New World was not the promised land.”

“There aren’t any. Promised lands, I mean.”

“Right. Trust in the one and only Promised Land, Captain Bora.”

They knew they would not see one another again, and the feeling had a sharp, bitter taste for both of them. But they wouldn’t speak of it.

Soon they parted ways at the end of Karmelicka Street.

Epilogue

OBJECT:
“Skylight” Dossier (ref. HOFER/ZAPOLYAIA), final informational to enclosed Appendices.

 

TO:
US War Department Military Intelligence Division, Washington, DC

 

ATTENTION:
LT. COLONEL WILLIAM C. DICKSON, US Army - Office G2

 

CLASSIFICATION:
RESERVED

 

(Omissis).
. In conclusion, on the basis of information collected to date, and verified in place by the sources “Pedro”, “Thomas” and “Karol” (see enclosed Appendices,
S.D.1, S.D.1-bis, S.D.1-ter
), the Cracow Office, as requested by Central Office G2 on date 20 January 1940, is able to confirm the substantial veracity of the information, ref. points 1, 2, 3, of present informational note.

 

1. The only copy of the final report by Wehrmacht Captain BORA (MARTIN-HEINZ DOUGLAS), ref: Object (
ref. HOFER/ZAPOLYAIA
, 7 typewritten pages, body 11, double space, on plain German Army stationery), was forwarded to the Central Office of
Amt/Ausland Abwehr
in Berlin. A first analysis of its contents (see enclosed microfilm transcription -
ref. “Pedro”/SD.1
) leads to the conclusion that it will be filed there, under the rubric Military Secret, 2nd class/Reserved, unless orders to the contrary are
issued: orders that, according to information gathered, source “Pedro” is not likely to be issued.

 

2. Similar filing is expected for the report written “pro veritate” by the Revd Father MALECKI (JOHN XAVIER), SJ, for the Vatican Secretary of State. In reference to this, the source “Thomas” (see enclosed marconigram -
ref. “Thomas”/SD.1-bis
) confirms that the Vatican Secretary of State instructed the religious person in question to maintain the strictest reservation regarding Object. As for details of the beatification process of canonization of Mother Kazimierza, the argument lies beyond the scope of the present informational note.

 

3.
SS Hauptsturmführer
(Captain) SALLE-WEBER sent an “urgent and reserved” message to the attention of
Reichsführer
der SS HEINRICH HIMMLER, with copy to Head of General Government HANS FRANK, reporting Captain BORA’s “political unreliability”, and soliciting the application of “appropriate punitive measures” in his regard. According to source “Karol”, the
Reichsführer
HIMMLER, in consideration of the amicable relations the officer in question enjoys in the German Army
Oberkommando
, decided to insert Captain BORA’s name in the list of Wehrmacht company officers under “strong suspicion” of anti-Nazism (see enclosed
S.D./1-ter/ref. “Kreisau-Counts”
), reserving for himself the decision to apply more drastic measures in the eventuality that
Hauptsturmführer
SALLE-WEBER’s evaluation were to be confirmed in the future. Whether and how the discrepancy between Captain BORA and the political-military command cadre of the
Schutzstaffel
(SS) will become more acute and reach the breaking point, only time will tell. At present, no further factual elements exist in this regard, although the Cracow
Office, after attentive examination of the documents gathered to date, is inclined to conjecture that in the immediate future..
(omissis)

 

The present informational note was written in date 22 January 1940, and approved by the US Consul General before its transcription in code.

 

Awaiting acknowledgement of receipt.

 

BITTER LEMON PRESS

 

First published in the United Kingdom in 2011 by
Bitter Lemon Press, 37 Arundel Gardens, London W11 2LW

 

Copyright © 1999 by Ben Pastor

This edition published in agreement with the Author through
PNLA/Piergiorgio Nicolazzini Literary Agency

 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form or by any means without written
permission of the publisher.

 

 

 

The moral rights of Ben Pastor have been asserted in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988

 

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

 

eISBN : 978-1-904-73869-5

 

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