They Used Dark Forces (67 page)

While Speer was with Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler were talking together and, as it was the first time that Gregory had seen the latter, he eased his way through the crush to get a closer look at him. Bespectacled, paunchy and pasty-faced, he appeared even more insignificant than in his photographs. With his head thrust forward he was speaking in a low, earnest voice and evidently endeavouring to persuade Goebbels to do something.

Looking in the other direction but straining his ears, Gregory caught the words, ‘… weeks ago and you agreed with me then.
Together we could save something. I am now in a situation to arrange everything. You are a fool to have changed your mind. But there is still time.'

Goebbels' reply was inaudible but he violently shook his narrow head and, as Erika had told Gregory of Himmler's negotiations with Count Bernadotte, he had heard enough to guess what they had been talking about. It confirmed what she had said about Goebbels having contemplated playing the traitor in concert with Himmler. But he had evidently decided against doing so. The reason, Gregory had little doubt, was because he had the sense to realise that even if he could hand over his Führer bound and gagged to the Allies they would still show him no mercy.

Only the fanatics—Bormann, Burgdorf, Grauber, Christian, Stumpfegger and a few others—showed even a moderate cheerfulness at this extraordinary birthday party. Ribbentrop, his face gaunt with worry and with great bags under his eyes, loathed and despised by all, stood alone, a picture of misery. Goering, now equally hated for the failure of his Luftwaffe, a human mountain of a man blazing with jewels and decorations, showed complete indifference, occasionally addressing a remark to the unhappy Koller or von Below, who were standing near him, and for the rest of the time pouring champagne down his throat as though he had hollow legs.

After a while he came over to Gregory and said, ‘I've had enough of this; so I'm off. You'll stay, of course, to do what you can. Koller will be coming in each day from the new OKW headquarters and you can get in touch with me through him if you wish. I don't need to urge you to take all the care you can of our mutual friend. I only hope that in a few days' time I'll see you both in Munich.'

Soon afterwards the party broke up. Himmler, Ribbentrop, Doenitz, all took their leave of the Führer and joined the great exodus from the capital that was taking place that night. Every Ministry was being evacuated either to the north or the south and long lines of lorries were crawling out of the ruined city by every exit still available.

Gregory made his way to Goering's little house. The electricity there had been cut off for some days and there was no
hot water; but by candle light he and Erika had a scratch meal surrounded by priceless pieces of Louis XV furniture. As the house was an old one the risk of a bomb burying them in the cellar was as great as that of their being killed in one of the upstairs rooms; so they went to bed in Goering's exotic ‘love nest', which might have come out of the pages of Crébillon Fils.

Next day there was another hours'-long conference in the bunker. After it Hitler sent for Gregory to walk with him. He was positively bubbling with excitement and had suddenly become confident that he could save Berlin. ‘My instinct is always right,' he declared. ‘I was against leaving East Prussia, but Keitel persuaded me to, and East Prussia was lost to us. But in Berlin I shall remain and as long as I am here the city will not fall.'

After a moment he went on, ‘I have worked out a new plan. At dawn tomorrow General Steiner will launch a great counter-offensive with his army, which covers the south of the city. I have sent him details about the part that every one of his battalions is to play. He is not one of those Army pigs but an Obergruppenführer of the S.S., so he will not betray me. Besides, I have taken precautions. It is to be an all-out attack and I have given orders that any commanding officer who holds back his men will forfeit his life within five hours. I have spoken to Koller, too, about his miserable Luftwaffe. I told him, “You will guarantee with your own head that every aircraft that can leave the ground goes into action.” '

For half an hour Gregory's role remained that of an audience to these absurd blusterings and callous threats, but at last they petered out in breathless gasps. It was not till Hitler turned to re-enter the building and go downstairs that he managed to get in a few words. He said:

‘
Mein Führer
. Under your personal direction one can hardly doubt that this new offensive will prove successful. Should it fail that will be through no fault of yours, but owing to a decision by those controllers of the Universe who decree the body into which each of us is to be born on reincarnation, and a limit to the length of each life that no power on earth can enable us to exceed. Failure, I am convinced, would be
a clear indication that those powers are averse to a delay of even a few months before you begin to prepare yourself to become the leader and saviour of the great people who inhabit Mars.'

When Gregory spoke of a possible failure he was betting on a certainty. Keitel, Krebs, Jodl, Burgdorf, everyone in the bunker, knew that two-thirds of the formations that Hitler had ordered into battle had already ceased to exist; yet such was his mesmeric power and their terror of him that none of them had dared say so.

Next morning, the 22nd, a stream of contradictory reports followed one another into the bunker's telephone exchange. Some said the attack had started well, others that the Luftwaffe had not even left the ground. By three o'clock there was still no definite news; but gradually, while Hitler held his conference with Keitel, Bormann, Krebs, Jodl, Voss, Koller, and Burgdorf, the truth emerged. Steiner had not attempted to take the offensive. He was hard put to it even to hang on where he was. Still worse, owing to Hitler having ordered the transfer of troops on the northern front to support Steiner in the south, the front from which they had withdrawn had been so weakened that the Russians had broken through and their armoured spearheads had actually penetrated the northern suburbs of Berlin.

At that the storm broke. Gregory, von Below, Grauber, Hoegl and the others who were in attendance on the far side of the partition heard through it the spate of curses and denunciations that came pouring from the Führer's mouth. He shrieked, screamed and bellowed to a degree that could not have been exceeded had he suddenly become a victim of the worst tortures the Gestapo could inflict. He yelled that he had been deserted by everyone; treachery was universal. The Army he had always known to be packed with cowards. Every man in the Luftwaffe should be shot. Now even the S.S. had failed him. On every side he was surrounded by treason, corruption and lies. This was the end. He could bear no more. The Third Reich had failed, so there was nothing left for him to do but die.

That he should at last make such an admission left everyone
gasping. But apparently he meant it, for when he had calmed down a little he went on to declare that he had now definitely decided not to leave for the south. Anyone else who liked might go, but he would meet his end in Berlin.

All his adherents protested vigorously, but he could not be moved. The liaison officers telephoned the astonishing news to their chiefs. Himmler, Doenitz and Ribbentrop came on the line in quick succession and pleaded with him to alter his mind; but he would not listen to them. He sent for Goebbels and directed that a broadcast should be made announcing his intention of holding Berlin to the last and dying there. Goebbels protested volubly, but was ordered to obey.

Meanwhile in the dining passage and outer bunker consternation reigned. The Generals and Obergruppenführers had been shocked out of their wits. Their Führer had declared that he would hold no more conferences, give no more orders, take no further part in anything. For years he had dominated their minds, made every appointment, personally directed the movements of every Army formation. Without his rasping orders ringing in their ears they were utterly at a loss. They had not an idea what to do.

It was Jodl who, with his ingrained sense of discipline and responsibility, at length had the courage to say, ‘We cannot allow him to act like this. He is still Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and has a duty to perform. He must either tell us what to do or delegate his authority to someone else.'

Jodl and Keitel then went in to see Hitler. They begged him for orders, but in vain. He declared that the whole Reich was falling to pieces so there was no need for further orders. When they protested, he said, ‘I have no orders to give. You had better apply to the Reichsmarschall. It is no longer a question of fighting because there is nothing left to fight with. If it is a question of negotiating Goering can do that better than I.'

So in the early hours of April 23rd ended the momentous session brought about by the news of the failure of Steiner's attack.

When Gregory reached Goering's little house Erika was asleep, but the situation that had now arisen was so exceptional that he woke her to tell her about it. With shining eyes she
drew him to her, kissed him and said, ‘Oh darling! How wonderful that it should be you who have destroyed the power of that mighty, evil man.'

He shook his head. ‘The idea of becoming Lord of Mars and conquering the Earth certainly appealed to him. But he was in half a mind to make a spectacular end of himself here in Berlin anyway. We can't say more than that perhaps I supplied the feather that weighed down the balance.'

‘Anyway, thank God it's over. First thing in the morning we'll leave for the south.'

Again Gregory shook his head. ‘I only wish we could. But I can't. There is still a chance that he may change his mind. I've got to stay and remain on hand, so that I can do my utmost to counteract the pressure that is still bound to be brought to bear on him to go to Berchtesgaden. But you——'

‘No, darling! No! I'll not leave without you. And now that Hitler has surrendered his powers to Hermann there's no longer the same danger in remaining here. It's certain that he will order a surrender on the Western front immediately. Given a free run, British tanks should be in Berlin within twenty-four hours.'

‘That's true, and the Russians will find it tough going actually to penetrate the city. General Wenck's army should be able to hold them off for some days at least.'

Several hours later, back in the bunker, Gregory had reason to be glad that he had decided to stay, as another battle raged round the Führer. Ribbentrop telephoned again to say that he was about to pull off a marvellous diplomatic coup that would save the whole situation, if only the Führer would go south and give him a week to complete his negotiations. Bormann also did his utmost to persuade his master to leave Berlin. But Speer, who was also there, refused to support him and argued forcefully that with the German capital in ruins it would be more dignified for the Führer to die there rather than seek to prolong his life for a few months at what had been his holiday home. Hitler then summoned Goebbels who, with fanatical zeal, endorsed his Führer's decision to have a ‘Viking's funeral' and even sought to persuade him that if he stayed in Berlin the city might yet be saved.

Meanwhile the Propaganda Ministry was going up in flames; so it was agreed that Goebbels, his wife and their five children should become permanent inmates of the bunker. During Hitler's brainstorm on the previous night he had declared that he needed no more drugs to see him through; upon which the revolting Dr. Morell had gladly joined the exodus; so the Goebbels family were given his two rooms.

Throughout all the rumpus Hitler, as was often the case on the day following one of his exceptional rages, remained calm, and in the afternoon held a tea party presided over by Eva Braun. Gregory was among those present and with relief listened as he reiterated his intention of dying in Berlin. He said that his state of health would not permit him to go out into the streets and die fighting, and he was determined that his body should not fall into the hands of the enemy; so he and Eva Braun had decided to shoot themselves and afterwards their bodies were to be burnt.

But evening brought a new crisis. A telegram arrived from Goering. It later transpired that Jodl had repeated to Koller that morning at the OKW headquarters what Hitler had said when asked for orders the previous night. Koller had decided that it was his duty to fly at once to Munich and inform his Chief that he was now the arbiter of Germany's fate. Goering had at once summoned a Council which included Mueller, the Gestapo chief, Frank, the leader of the S.S. at Berchtesgaden and Lammers, the head of the Reich Chancery. Goering had declared himself ready to fly to General Eisenhower but insisted that he must have direct confirmation of his authority to arrange a surrender; and, as a result of their deliberations, a telegram was sent, copies of which were despatched to Keitel, Ribbentrop and von Below. It read:

My Führer
,

In view of your decision to remain at your post in the fortress of Berlin, do you agree that I take over, at once, the total leadership of the Reich, with full freedom of action at home and abroad, as your deputy, in accordance with your decree of 29th June 1941? If no reply is received by ten o'clock tonight, I shall take it for granted that you have lost your freedom of action, and shall
consider the conditions of your decree as fulfilled and shall act for the best interests of our country and our people. You know what I feel for you in this gravest hour of my life. Words fail me to express myself. May God protect you and speed you quickly here in spite of all. Your loyal

Hermann Goering

Von Below showed Gregory the copy he had received and they agreed that the message could not have been more proper to the occasion or shown greater devotion. But for years past the mole-like Bormann had lost no opportunity to discredit all the Nazi leaders powerful enough to put a check on the influence he was acquiring over the Führer; and now he saw his chance to dispose finally of Goering. He could not question the fact that the Reichsmarschall had been legally appointed by the Führer as his successor; but one sentence in the telegram enabled him to pour his poison into Hitler's ear. It was,
If no reply is received by ten o'clock tonight
. That, he pointed out indignantly, was an ultimatum. Goering was holding a pistol to his Führer's head. To give him a time limit was the greatest effrontery. If a reply was sent, owing to the chaotic state of communications, Goering could later say that it had arrived after the deadline. For all his fair-seeming words Goering had clearly decided to usurp the Führer's power and arrange a surrender. He was a traitor.