Traitor's Gate (40 page)

‘You must be Herr de Lancey,’ the officer said, holding out his hand. ‘I’m glad to meet you, finally.’

‘And you, Colonel Oster,’ said Conrad, shaking it.

‘Hertenberg tells me that your sister had some interesting information for us.’

There, among the bushes, Conrad repeated everything Millie had told him, emphasizing the need to persuade Halifax and that only a personal visit by one of the leaders of the plot could achieve that.

Oster frowned. ‘That will have to be General Halder. Admiral Canaris is no good; no one knows him.’

‘Will Halder do it?’ Theo asked.

‘I don’t know,’ said Oster. ‘It’s difficult to ask a serving chief of general staff to fly to a potential enemy’s country in secret.’

‘What about General Beck?’ said Conrad. ‘I understand he has resigned, but he was the Chief of the General Staff for many years, wasn’t he? I’m sure he would impress Lord Halifax.’

‘And he would be more persuasive than Halder,’ said Theo.

‘Provided he doesn’t write any more of those damned mem­or­anda,’ said Oster. ‘You’re right. I’ll ask Beck.’

‘My father says that an aeroplane arriving at Manston Aero­drome in Kent will be allowed to land. He suggested a nocturnal visit.’

‘How soon?’ asked Oster.

‘As soon as possible. If Halifax is to be persuaded, we should do it now, before Chamberlain has had a chance to tie Czecho­slovakia up in a ribbon and hand it to Hitler.’

‘You mean this week?’

‘I mean tomorrow night.’

Oster smiled. ‘I’ll go straight to Beck’s house now. It’s not far. And if he agrees, which knowing him I think he will, I’ll tele­phone you at home, Hertenberg, and you can arrange things. I don’t think General Beck speaks English. Could you accompany him, Herr de Lancey?’

‘With pleasure,’ said Conrad.

‘We should plan a very quick visit,’ said Oster. ‘Fly there, speak to Lord Halifax, fly back.’ He frowned. ‘But will there be time to make an appointment to see him? And will he want to see General Beck late at night?’

‘My father is an old school friend of Lord Halifax’s,’ Conrad said. ‘I’m sure he will get Halifax to see us if we arrive on his doorstep.’

‘The famous English old-school tie,’ said Oster.

‘I used to hate it, but it does have its uses,’ said Conrad.

‘We will need to use an airfield somewhere near the North Sea coast. Hertenberg can drive General Beck and you up there tomorrow.’

Theo nodded.

‘If we succeed, and the British government stands by Czecho­slovakia, is there a chance that Hitler will back down?’ Conrad asked.

‘Very little,’ said Oster. ‘Hitler is determined to march into Prague ahead of his tanks and his flags and he doesn’t want Cham­ber­lain to spoil his fun by meeting his demands, which is why he is mak­ing them more outrageous by the day. He wants a war.’

‘If we can just persuade Halifax to stand by Czechoslovakia, we’ll stop Hitler before he has a chance to start one,’ said Theo, a gleam in his eye.

‘Thank you for all you are doing to help us, Herr de Lancey,’ said Oster.

‘It’s a pleasure, believe me.’

‘Tell me,’ said Oster, his eyes sharp. ‘Why are you helping us? Are you doing it for your country? Or for our country?’

Conrad was a little taken aback by the question, but it deserved a straight answer. ‘In a way, for both. It’s not really a question of obedience; as you know my government and yours are happily waltzing their way to a war and don’t want us to interrupt them. It’s just that I know that Hitler is wrong and he has to be stopped. And my government is wrong not to stop him.’

On the path, through the bushes, they heard the horse utter a gentle whinny and stamp its feet. Oster smiled. ‘Good luck tomorrow,’ he said, and turned to go.

‘Herr Oster?’ Conrad said.

The Abwehr colonel paused.

‘I have a question for you.’

‘Yes?’

‘I understand that a raiding party is being put together to arrest Hitler?’

Oster looked at Theo, who shrugged.

‘Possibly,’ he said carefully.

‘Would you consider me for that raiding party?’

‘And why should I do that?’

‘I have done a lot to help you over the last few weeks and I would like to do more. I’d like to be there at the end. I think I’ve earned it.’

Oster glanced at Theo, who nodded.

‘I’ll think about it,’ said the colonel.

Klaus arrived early at the meeting place, the statue of a long-dead composer of whom he had never heard, by one of the small ponds in the Tiergarten. It was after ten o’clock and the park was empty. Klaus checked his watch. His inform­ant was late, twenty minutes now. He ground his teeth in impatience.

Then he heard the gentle crunch of heels on gravel as she approached the statue.

‘Klaus?’

‘Over here!’ A loud whisper.

The small, elfin figure of Sophie emerged from the shadows.

‘Cigarette?’

Sophie gratefully accepted one, and they both lit up. ‘I told you I can’t help you any more, now Anneliese is dead.’

‘Poor Anneliese,’ said Klaus. ‘I know how much she meant to you; how much she meant to both of us. I was just on the point of securing her release as well. One more day and she would have been free.’

‘Who locked her up?’

‘Heydrich. He has a thing about racial defilement.’

Sophie shook her head. ‘It makes me wonder about the govern­ment. If the Führer knew what people were doing in his name, he wouldn’t allow it. I mean, I never think of Anneliese as Jewish.’

‘Neither did I,’ said Klaus, employing the correct tense.

‘She went to church, didn’t she? If that doesn’t make you a Christian, then what does?’

They stood in silence for a few moments, smoking.

‘Sophie, I need some more evidence. About the plot. Written evidence.’

Sophie shook her head. ‘I’ve told you, I’m not giving you anything else.’

‘I tried to get Anneliese out,’ Klaus said.

‘But you didn’t succeed, did you?’

‘Theo’s in trouble,’ Klaus said.

‘You said you would protect him!’ There was a note of panic in Sophie’s voice.

‘It will be difficult,’ said Klaus. ‘We know he has been hiding de Lancey.’

‘Has he?’

‘Do you know where de Lancey is?’

‘No. I heard he escaped from the Gestapo and he’s on the run. I don’t think Theo has anything to do with him.’

‘He has. He hid him with some friends in Dahlem. A man named Hans-Jürgen von Wedemeyer and his wife. They are in custody now, but de Lancey has slipped away. Again.’

‘I’m sure Theo has nothing to do with it,’ said Sophie.

‘I can do my best for Theo,’ said Klaus. ‘I can’t promise to keep him out of jail, but I can make sure he isn’t shot, and that’s something.’

‘No!’ said Sophie.

‘He could be arrested at any time. I need evidence, Sophie. Written evidence.’

‘I said I wouldn’t help you.’

‘It’s not just me you are helping. It’s the Führer. Unless you and I do something, there will be a putsch and he will be captured, humiliated and probably killed. He is the greatest man Germany has ever produced. If he lives he will lead us all to glory. But if you allow this plot to go ahead, you will be responsible for his death. Do you want that?’

Sophie sucked hard on her cigarette. ‘Why do you need written evidence?’

‘Accusing the army of planning to overthrow the Führer is very serious. We need hard evidence, not just rumour. Can you get me anything?’

‘Theo has a notebook. I once had a peek in it, that’s where I learned about the coup against the Führer in the first place. He only brings it home occasionally, and when he does he is very careful with it.’

‘Can you get it for me?’

‘Perhaps. If he brings it home with him. But if I take it, he’ll know it’s gone straightaway.’

Klaus thought a moment. ‘I have an idea.’

Sophie listened doubtfully as he explained it. ‘I can try,’ she said. ‘But I will need a few days for the right opportunity.’

‘How many days?’

‘Give me four. But I can’t guarantee it. If he doesn’t bring the notebook home there is nothing I can do.’

‘All right,’ said Klaus. ‘I’ll meet you here in four days’ time.’

‘And you will do your best to keep Theo out of trouble?’

‘I’ll do all I can. And I’ll make sure the Führer knows what you have done.’

For the first time that evening, Sophie smiled, her white teeth gleaming in the moonlight.

Theo and Colonel Oster had only a few hours to arrange the flight to England. Fortunately, false papers, visas and currency wouldn’t be needed for such a short trip. The Abwehr had a Fiesler Storch at permanent readiness should they need it in a hurry. To be certain of reaching Kent it would have to take off from somewhere in the north-west of Germany, which meant that Theo would have to set off from Berlin with his passengers at about lunchtime.

In the morning, he got a colleague to check on the Wede­meyers and it was with huge relief that he heard that they had been released from Gestapo headquarters. At eleven o’clock, he started on the hour-long dance to lose his Gestapo watchers. Even though he couldn’t see anyone, he had to assume that they were there somewhere. He took an indirect route on the U-Bahn to the Kurfürstendamm station, timing his emergence to meet a BMW driven by Captain von Both, a former adjutant of General von Fritsch. Conrad was crouching in the back. Theo had taken Conrad to von Both’s apartment the previous night, with the idea that Conrad would pose as a soldier visiting his friend in Berlin on leave for a couple of days.

Von Both drove off rapidly, leaving any unseen foot-bound watchers behind. Theo checked for pursuing taxis, but couldn’t spot any. They stopped at Warren’s office, where von Both left them and Theo told Warren to send an immediate cable to Lord Oakford mentioning the word ‘today’. Theo was uncomfortable about involving Warren in the plot, but it was clear that Warren thought that the message referred to Conrad’s escape from the Gestapo and nothing more.

Theo drove on to a rendezvous with General Beck by the Landwehr Canal. Half an hour later the BMW was barrelling along the new autobahn towards Hamburg and then Wilhelms­haven, where the Storch would be waiting for them.

That morning, 24 September, Chamberlain returned to London from Bad Godesberg. It had been a much tougher meeting than he had expected. There was no doubt that Herr Hitler was a tricky negotiator, but Chamberlain was convinced that he and the German Chancellor had built up a personal rapport. At one point Hitler had said: ‘You are the only man to whom I have ever made a concession.’ It was going to be exceedingly difficult winning over the Cabinet and the Czechs, but Chamberlain was still certain that his concept of personal diplomacy was working. Peace was in his grasp.

The Cabinet met at five-thirty that afternoon to discuss the negotiations. At the end of the previous day’s discussion in Bad Godesberg, Hitler had produced a document outlining his new demands. These were that the Czech government should begin evacuation of the Sudetenland on 26 September, only two days away, and complete it by 28 September. This document had been circulated to the ministers around the long table.

Chamberlain spoke for an hour. When he had finished des­crib­ing what had happened on the banks of the Rhine, he looked around the table to ensure he had the attention of the whole Cabinet. He did.

‘I admit that I was shocked initially by the hardening of Herr Hitler’s position. The German Chancellor has a narrow mind and he is violently prejudiced on certain subjects. But Herr Hitler has certain standards: he will not deceive a man whom he respects and I am sure that Herr Hitler respects me. I am confident that he is speaking the truth when he says Germany has no more territorial ambitions in Europe once the Sudetenland question is settled and that such a settlement will be a turning point in Anglo-German relations.’

He cleared his throat. ‘This morning, I flew up the river over London. I imagined a German bomber flying the same course, and I asked myself what degree of protection we can afford to the thousands of homes I saw stretched out below me. At that moment I felt we were in no position to justify waging a war today in order to prevent a war hereafter. I believe we should accept Herr Hitler’s terms, and we should persuade the Czech government to do so as well.’

There followed a few minutes of aimless discussion until Duff Cooper spoke. One of the youngest ministers around the table, he was First Lord of the Admiralty and a friend of Winston Churchill’s. Chamberlain had expected trouble from him.

‘Prime Minister, I must object most strongly to the course of action you suggest. It appears to me that the Germans must still be convinced that under no circumstances will this country fight. There is one method, and one method only, of persuading them to the contrary, and that is by instantly declaring full mobilization. I am sure that public opinion will eventually compel us to go to the assistance of the Czechs. Hitherto, we have been faced with the unpleasant alternatives of peace with dishonour, or war. I now foresee a third possibility: namely a war with dishonour.’

 Duff Cooper’s words made an impression. Hore-Belisha, Lord Winterton, Oliver Stanley, Lord de la Warr and Walter Elliot all supported him. But, crucially, Sir John Simon, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary, did not. The Cabinet was bad-tempered as it broke up, agreeing to discuss the matter the following morning when everyone had had a chance to read through Hitler’s terms again.

Later that evening Halifax was driven home from Downing Street, where he had dined with the Prime Minister, by Alec Cadogan, the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office. Cadogan was incensed by Hitler’s proposals; he felt that the British government was in danger of behaving with dishonour, and he spent the short car trip haranguing Halifax with these views. Halifax ignored him.

Cadogan dropped Halifax off at his house at 88 Eaton Square and bade him goodnight. It was ten-thirty, and Halifax was tired, but he took the memorandum of Hitler’s terms with him into his study.

Half an hour later, his butler interrupted him. ‘Lord Oakford is here, my lord. He wishes to speak to you.’