diff --git "a/data_all_eng_slimpj/shuffled/split2/finalzzrkud" "b/data_all_eng_slimpj/shuffled/split2/finalzzrkud"
new file mode 100644--- /dev/null
+++ "b/data_all_eng_slimpj/shuffled/split2/finalzzrkud"
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{"text":"\n\nFirst Vintage Books Edition, January 1983  \nCopyright \u00a9 1974 by Gitta Sereny  \nAll rights reserved under International and Pan-American  \nCopyright Conventions. Published in the United States  \nby Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in  \nEngland by Andre Deutsch Limited, London, and in the  \nUnited States by McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 1974.\n\nLibrary of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data  \nSereny, Gitta.  \nInto that darkness.  \nOriginally published: London : Deutsch, 1974.  \nBibliography: p.  \n1. World War, 1939\u20131945\u2014Prisoners and prisons, German.  \n2. Concentration camps\u2014Europe.  \n3. Stangl, Franz.  \nI. Title.  \nD805.G3S456 1982 940.54\u203272\u20324304355 82-40049\n\neISBN: 978-0-307-76106-4\n\nv3.1\nTo Don  \nand to our children Mandy and Chris,  \nand to Elaine\nEverywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness...\n\nThomas Carlyle (1795\u20131881)\n\nThe power of choosing between good and evil is within the reach of all.\n\nOrigen (c185\u2013254)\n\n# Contents\n\n_Cover_\n\n_Map_\n\n_Title Page_\n\n_Copyright_\n\n_Dedication_\n\nAcknowledgments\n\nPreface\n\nThe People Who Speak\n\nPART I\n\nPART II\n\nPART III\n\nPART IV\n\nPART V\n\nPART VI\n\nEpilogue\n\nList of Principal Works Consulted\n\nIllustrations\n\nPlans\n\n Sobibor Extermination Camp\n\n Treblinka Extermination Camp\n\n_About the Author_\n\n# Acknowledgments\n\nI am indebted to many people and organizations for their help in the preparation of this book.\n\nOf the latter I must thank first and foremost the German judicial authorities who gave me access to D\u00fcsseldorf prison and Franz Stangl, and particularly the Governor of the prison, Herr Eberhard Mies and his wife, for their kindness throughout those strenuous weeks. I am grateful too to the Polish authorities for their help in Poland, and the Austrian Ministries of the Interior and Justice for their assistance in Vienna.\n\nChief Prosecutor Adalbert R\u00fcckerl, Director of the Central Authority for Investigation into Nazi Crime, in Ludwigsburg, and his colleagues have spared no effort to assist me ever since my first research into this subject for a series of articles on the Nazi crime trials for the _Daily Telegraph Magazine_ in 1967.\n\nThe Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, and in particular Dr Lothar Gruchmann from whose work on Euthanasia in the Third Reich I quote in this book, provided a wealth of documentary material. I also thank the West German Bundesarchiv in Koblenz.\n\nI am particularly indebted to the Wiener Library in London and to their extraordinarily knowledgeable staff. I don't think any serious book on National Socialism could be undertaken without the help of this unique institution.\n\nThe two men in West Germany who I believe know more than anyone else now about specific Nazi crimes are Chief Prosecutors Alfred Spiess and Kurt Tegge. Kurt Tegge has spent years on the Einsatzgruppen trials in Hamburg, and Alfred Spiess prosecuted both in the Treblinka trial and the Stangl trial in D\u00fcsseldorf. I am grateful to both of them for so liberally sharing their knowledge with me. No formal expression of gratitude could possibly do justice to the amount of practical help and advice I had from Alfred Spiess. Neither of these men, of course, necessarily share my opinions or my evaluation of the individuals I discuss in this book.\n\nI thank Count Eduard Raczynski, former Foreign Minister of the Polish Government in Exile; Mr Adam Ciolkosz, former Socialist Member of Parliament in Poland; and M. Kazimierz Pap\u00e9e, former Polish Ambassador to the Holy See, for their interest in this book and for their considerable help. Equally I thank Vienna City Counsellor Herr Hubert Pfoch for allowing me to quote his extraordinary wartime diary and the use of the photographs he took as a courageous young man in Poland.\n\nA special word of thanks to Horst M\u00fcnzberger who permitted me to gain insight, and briefly to share with him, a staggering human conflict.\n\nI also want to thank in this particular section of the acknowledgments a number of men and women who consented to talk to me but asked not to be quoted, or for whom it would obviously have been damaging to be named.\n\nI owe thanks to many of my friends for their concern for me during the years I worked on this book.\n\nAbove all perhaps to Ruth Alice and Klaus von Bismarck and their (many) children and young relatives. Theirs is the new Germany which I love and trust: it is my luck to have them as my friends.\n\nTo Catherine Valabregue for sunny breaks in France and for our home from home in Paris. To M\u00e4di and Hansibert T\u00f6rring for their ever-open door and the lovely peace of Seefeld on so many occasions. To Sally and Philip Dowson for the constant reassurance of their friendship. To Ronald Preston for his unstinting help. To Amador Aguiar in Brazil, whose interest reinforced my belief in the universal application of the problems this book is concerned with.\n\nMy gratitude (again) to John Anstey, Editor of the _Daily Telegraph Magazine_ , for his unfailing receptiveness to complex and often controversial ideas.\n\nTo Nina van Pallandt and to Enrique Arias for their encouragement after ploughing through a rough draft; and to Paul Neuburg at the same stage for his particularly valuable criticisms, every one of which was justified.\n\nTo Alice Hammerstein Mathias for her research in poetry \u2013 and for finding exactly the right words in Carlyle and \u2013 above all \u2013 Origen.\n\nI want to thank my old and dear friend Paul Palmer for his faith in a very young writer years ago: this, I think, may be the book he meant.\n\nDiana Athill edited _Into That Darkness._ She has lent it \u2013 and me \u2013 her warmth, her intelligence, her literary fluency, and a quality of involvement I had little right to expect. I am grateful that she has become my friend. And I also thank my American editor, Berenice Hoffman, whose perspicacity saved me from serious blunders.\n\nThe stability of both my children in the face of considerable odds, and the gaiety and happiness of my daughter Mandy throughout, were my most valuable support during the past three years.\n\nAnd, above all, I thank my husband, Don Honeyman, who has contributed to and is part of every aspect of the work on this book.\n\nGitta Sereny Honeyman\n\nLondon, June 1973\n\nThe photographs of Franz Stangl in prison and talking to the author are by Don Honeyman. The photograph of Treblinka now is from the collection of Alexander Bernfes.\n\n# Preface\n\nMy dialogues with Franz Stangl, Kommandant of Sobibor and Treblinka, which were published in an abbreviated version in October 1971 in the _Daily Telegraph Magazine_ in England (and subsequently in magazines throughout the world), represent the framework upon which this book is constructed: its focus. But they are finally only a small part of it.\n\nI originally conceived the idea of talking with Stangl when, attending his trial in Germany in 1970 (as, in the course of journalistic work, I had attended other Nazi crime trials), I realized that whatever else he might have been, he was, unlike many others I had observed under similar circumstances, an individual of some intelligence.\n\nHe was the only Kommandant of an _extermination_ camp who had been brought to trial. There were, extraordinarily enough, only four men who specifically filled that function: one is dead, and two have managed to disappear from sight. I had felt for many years that, despite the great number of books and films on the Nazi era, there was a whole dimension of reactions and behaviour we had never yet understood and which yet is deeply relevant to the pressures and perils which beset us now and may threaten us in the future.\n\nI thought it essential, before it became too late, to try at least once, as far as possible unemotionally and with an open mind, to penetrate the personality of a man who had been intimately involved with the most total evil our age has produced. It was important, I thought, to assess the circumstances which led up to his involvement, for once not from our point of view, but from _his._ It was a chance, I felt, to evaluate, through examining his motivations and reactions as he described them rather than as we wished or prejudged them to be, whether evil is created by circumstances or by birth, and to what extent it is determined by the individual himself, or by his environment. Stangl was the last and ultimately the only man of that particular calibre with whom such an experiment could be attempted.\n\nThe seventy hours I talked with him \u2013 in German \u2013 provided a beginning of the answers I sought. But others were needed to complete the picture; not only because his words \u2013 those of a profoundly troubled man who frequently revealed extraordinary manifestations of a dual personality \u2013 needed to be evaluated against the historical records and the memory of others who had known him, but also because \u2013 I came to recognize \u2013 no man's actions can be judged in isolation from the external elements that shape and influence his life.\n\nI spent another eighteen months studying records, and seeking out men and women in several corners of the world who were involved in one way or another with the story Stangl told.\n\nSome were intimately involved, like his family in Brazil who continue to love him; some appallingly, like the SS personnel who worked under him and who are now back in society after serving prison sentences, and like high Nazi officials, at one time his administrative superiors; some tragically, like the camp survivors who, after miraculously escaping, have now remade their lives in different countries; some marginally, as diplomatic observers, or as innocent witnesses to the catastrophes in German-occupied Poland. And lastly there were the priests who helped people like Stangl escape from Europe after the Third Reich ceased to exist.\n\nMy talks with such priests, and others who were bent on justifying the actions of Pope Pius XII and his advisors, faced me with a disconcerting moral conflict, for I am very conscious of the value to society of the continuity \u2013 the stability \u2013 which the churches provide, and of their present vulnerability. In the final analysis, however, despite my reluctance to add to the polemics about the record of the Vatican and Pope Pius XII during the Nazi period, the sombre facts, previously unpublished, which emerged during my research could not be ignored. It seemed essential to pinpoint responsibility, if for no other reason than to demonstrate how many men of the Church did _not_ share the Vatican's attitude.\n\nAs far as it is possible for any thinking individual who was intensely involved, like most young people in Europe at the time, in the events of World War II, I approached the research for this book with a minimum of prejudice and with determination to question but not to hurt.\n\nThe truth is however, that most of the men and women who agreed to relate and examine, with extraordinary honesty and at considerable sacrifice to their peace of mind, the most intense experiences of their lives, ended by revealing themselves deeply, not really for this book but out of their own need to explore the past. I have deleted a few things which appeared likely either to distress them, or cause damage to third persons. None the less, the journey between self-discovery at this level of intensity, and seeing one's thoughts and anguish reproduced in print is a long one, and unfamiliar to most people. I can only hope that the book will contribute to the understanding of all those who helped it come into being, and not cause them embarrassment or pain.\n\nIt is through all of them that the theme of this book evolved and crystallized. It is not intended to be primarily an account of horror, though horror is unavoidable, nor is it only an effort to understand one man who was uniquely implicated in the greatest tragedy of our time. It is a demonstration of the fatal interdependence of all human actions, and an affirmation of man's responsibility for his own acts and their consequences.\n\n# The People Who Speak\n\nWhile researching this book I talked with many more people than those I quote. Here, for the reader's convenience, I list under six headings only those whose words provide a major contribution to the actual text.\n\n## _The main story._\n\nFRANZ STANGL, Police Superintendent of the Euthanasia Institute, Schloss Hartheim, November 1940 \u2013 February 1942; Kommandant of Sobibor, March 1942 \u2013 September 1942; Kommandant of Treblinka, September 1942 \u2013 August 1943. Interviewed in D\u00fcsseldorf Remand Prison where he was awaiting the result of appeal against a life sentence, in April and June 1971.\n\nTHERESA STANGL, his wife, interviewed at her home in S\u00e3o Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.\n\nHELENE EIDENB\u00d6CK, his sister-in-law, interviewed at her home in Vienna.\n\n## _Former SS men who worked with Stangl._\n\nFRANZ SUCHOMEL, who worked in the Euthanasia Programme \u2013 photographic section \u2013 1940\u20132, and later at Treblinka. Interviewed at his home in Altotting, Bavaria.\n\nOTTO HORN, who worked in the Euthanasia Programme in 1941, then in Russia and as of September 1942, in Treblinka. Interviewed at his home in West Berlin.\n\nGUSTAV M\u00dcNZBERGER, who worked in the Euthanasia Programme and as of August 1942 at Treblinka. Interviewed at his son's home in Unterammergau, Bavaria.\n\n## _Survivors of the extermination camps Sobibor and Treblinka._\n\nSTANISLAW SZMAJZNER, who was at Sobibor, to whom I talked in Goiania, Brazil, where he is an executive in a paper factory.\n\nRICHARD GLAZAR, who was at Treblinka, to whom I talked at his home near Berne, in Switzerland, where he works in an engineering firm.\n\nSAMUEL RAJZMAN, who was at Treblinka, to whom I talked in Montreal, where he runs his own lumber company.\n\nBEREK ROJZMAN, who was at Treblinka, to whom I talked in Warsaw where he works in a factory. He is the only Treblinka survivor still living in Poland, and he accompanied me when I visited the camp-site.\n\nJOSEPH SIEDLECKI, who was at Treblinka, to whom I talked at his home in Upper New York State where he is _ma\u00eetre d'hotel_ at a large resort.\n\n## _External witnesses of events connected with Sobibor and Treblinka._\n\nWLADIMIR GERUNG AND HIS WIFE. Wladimir Gerung is chief forester of Sobibor and custodian of the camp-site. His wife lived within twenty miles of the camp while it was in operation.\n\nHORST M\u00dcNZBERGER AND HIS WIFE. Horst is the son of Gustav M\u00fcnzberger and helped me understand what it is like to be the son of a man who was in charge of the gas chambers at Treblinka.\n\nHUBERT PFOCH, now a Vienna City Councillor, who as a young soldier in transit, on August 21, 1942, witnessed the arrival of a transport at Treblinka and who has kindly allowed me to quote from the diary he kept at the time, and to reproduce photographs he took.\n\nFRANCISZEK ZABECKI, who was traffic controller at Treblinka (town) station from May 1941 until after the camp was demolished. A member of the Home Army (the Polish resistance), his undercover job was reporting German troop movements, but it enabled him to keep a detailed \u2013 and unique \u2013 record of all the transports coming through his station on the way into Treblinka camp.\n\n## _In connection with the Euthanasia Programme._\n\nDIETER ALLERS AND HIS WIFE. Dieter Allers is a lawyer who in December 1940 was appointed chief administrative officer of T4, which administered the \"General Foundation for Institutional Care\" (the euphemism for the Euthanasia Programme), and later \u2013 although Herr Allers contests this \u2013 the \"Final Solution\". Sentenced to two years' imprisonment in a recent euthanasia trial, he is now back home in Hamburg where I spoke to him and his wife. Frau Allers did her war service as a secretary for 'T4' (and briefly at the Euthanasia \"Institute\", Schloss Hartheim). She and her husband met and married during that period.\n\nALBERT HARTL, who left the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1934, joined the SS (Sturmbannf\u00fchrer \u2013 Major), and in 1935 was appointed Chief of Church Information at the Reich Security Office: a position enabling him to be uniquely well informed on the relationship between the National Socialists and the Churches with reference to the Euthanasia Programme. _In connection with the escape network provided by the Catholic Church in Rome, and the relationship between the Vatican and Nazi Germany._\n\nMONSIGNOR KARL BAYER, Director of the International Caritas in Vienna, who held a similar position in Rome during the period discussed in my book.\n\nDR EUGEN DOLLMANN, who was Hitler's interpreter in Rome and now lives in Munich.\n\nMADAME GERTRUDE DUPUIS, who has held an important position in the International Red Cross in Rome since before World War II.\n\nHIS EXCELLENCY, MONSIEUR KAZIMIERZ PAP\u00c9E, Polish Ambassador to the Holy See from July 14, 1939, to December 1948, who still lives in Rome.\n\nFATHER ANTON WEBER, a Palatine priest at the St Raphael Society in Rome, who was closely concerned with providing aid for refugees and escapees.\n\nBISHOP JAKOB WEINBACHER, Auxiliary Bishop of Vienna, who in 1952 took over as Rector of the Anima in Rome from Bishop Alois Hudal (now dead) from whom Stangl obtained a Red Cross passport and funds to enable him to escape to Syria.\n\nFATHER BURKHART SCHNEIDER, SJ, head of the team of Jesuit historians working on the Vatican publication _Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge relatif \u00e0 la Seconde Guerre Mondiale._\n\n# **Part I**\n# 1\n\nI FIRST met Franz Stangl on the morning of Friday, April 2, 1971, in a little room which was ordinarily used as a waiting and rest room for lawyers visiting the D\u00fcsseldorf remand prison. The room was the same size as the cells in the prison's modern block, the block in which Stangl was detained. It had the same barred windows, the same dreary view of the paved inside yard, and the same kind of minimal furnishings in blond polished pine. It was impersonal, neutral, with nothing in it to please or edify, but equally nothing to distract the eye or mind: the right place for the particular seventy hours I was to spend with this particular man.\n\nWhen, on December 22, 1970, the D\u00fcsseldorf court sentenced Stangl to life imprisonment for co-responsibility in the murder of 900,000 people during his tenure as Kommandant of Treblinka, \"Nazi-hunter\" Simon Wiesenthal, who had played a part in his capture, told reporters that Stangl's conviction by the Germans was at least as important as Adolf Eichmann's by the Israelis. \"The Stangl case\", he said, \"provided West Germany with their most significant criminal case of the century. If I had done nothing else in my life but get this evil man, I would not have lived in vain.\"\n\nIt was difficult to associate the quiet, courteous man the prison governor presented to me that morning, with that description.\n\nSixty-three years old, Franz Stangl was tall, well built, with receding grey hair, a deeply lined face and red-rimmed eyes. He was wearing grey flannel trousers, a white shirt, a tie and a neat grey sweater. When I met him he had been in prison four years and two weeks, virtually all of this time in solitary confinement. During the three years of the preparations for the trial, the prison also accommodated several of his former subordinates and the strictest precautions were taken to prevent them from communicating with one another. But even after these men, their sentences confirmed, were moved to a penal institution, he remained in isolation in his six- by twelve-foot cell because several young prisoners had muttered threats against his life. Only a few days before I met him, his increasing depression had decided the prison authorities to allow him a daily period of exercise in the prison yard and some contact with selected prisoners. \"But even now he hardly talks to anyone,\" one of the prison officers told me later. \"He is a loner.\" Most of his day was spent in his cell reading and listening to the radio, his prison possessions arranged around him in pristine symmetry.\n\nDespite his totally sedentary life Stangl was muscular, straight-backed and to all appearances both relaxed and controlled.\n\nHe and the prison governor, Herr Eberhard Mies, a former lawyer, shook hands and bowed to each other. Presented to me, Stangl bowed again \u2013 both times it was a gesture of courtesy, not deference or even respect. Herr Mies inquired after his health. Speaking quietly and conversationally in the soft German of his native Austria, in the semi-formal way it is taught in Austrian provincial schools, Stangl replied that he was feeling better. \"I have signed up for the chess club,\" he said, \"and I think I'll attend some classes when they start again after Easter. Literature, I think; it will be interesting. They are going to have them twice a week, aren't they?\" Unexpectedly, it seemed an encounter between equals. Stangl, very different from the \"small man\" I had been told I would find, gave the disquieting impression of an imposing and dominant personality in full control of himself and his environment.\n\nThis impression persisted up to a point, and despite his obvious apprehension about our impending talks, throughout that first morning. After we had been left alone, he immediately began to rebut various accusations made during his trial. The arguments, the phraseology, the very words he used were gratingly familiar from his and other trials for Nazi crimes: he had done nothing wrong; there had always been others above him; he had never done anything but obey orders; he had never hurt a single human being. What had happened was a tragedy of war and \u2013 sadly \u2013 there were tragedies of war everywhere: \"Look at Katyn,\" he said, \"look at Dresden, Hiroshima and now Vietnam.\" He was sorry, yes sorry for that young American lieutenant who, like him, had done no more than obey orders in Mai Lai and was now having to carry the can.\n\nI listened to him all morning, almost without interrupting. His sentence was on appeal and it was clear that he had been advised, or had convinced himself, that these \"interviews\" would enable him \u2013 he may even have thought they were intended to enable him \u2013 to state his case once more in the only way the cases of people like himself had ever been stated. The precedent had been established at Nuremberg where the arguments proposed by the defence for some of the accused were sometimes close enough to a kind of truth to throw at least some doubt on the _quality_ of their guilt. It was a technique which, for want of anything better, had subsequently been adopted by all who followed the Nuremberg accused into the dock, whatever their standing, whatever their past involvement. But polemics was not what I had come for.\n\nShortly before breaking off for lunch \u2013 when, I had been told, I would have to give him as much time as he wanted for his meal and rest \u2013 I told him that having listened to him for two and a half hours I thought I had better explain what I really wanted. He could then think about it and let me know after lunch whether he wanted to go on. I said that I knew inside out all the things he had said that morning; all of them had been said before by any number of people. And I didn't wish to argue the right or wrong of any of this; I felt it was pointless. What I had come for was something quite different: I wanted him really to talk to me; to tell me about himself as a child, a boy, a youth, a man; to tell me about his father, his mother, his friends, his wife and his children; tell me not what he did or did not do but what he loved and what he hated and what he felt about the things in his life which had eventually brought him to where he was sitting now. If he didn't want to do this, but preferred to go on in the vein of that morning's recital, then I would listen to him, I said, to the end of that afternoon, go back to England, write a little something about the interview, and that would be the end of it. But if, after thinking about it, he decided to help me delve deeper into the past ( _his_ past, because things had happened to and inside him which had happened to hardly anyone else, ever) then perhaps we could find some truth together; some new truth which would contribute to the understanding of things that had never yet been understood. If this could be done I would be prepared to stay in D\u00fcsseldorf as long as he liked; days or even weeks. I told him, too, that he had to know from the start that I abhorred everything the Nazis had stood for and done, but that I would promise him to write down exactly what he said, whatever it would be, and that I would try \u2013 my own feelings notwithstanding \u2013 to understand without prejudice.\n\nWhen I'd finished he didn't say anything, only nodded. And when a moment later the guard came to take him back to his cell, he left the room with nothing but a small formal bow. I was not at all sure I'd see him again.\n\nI lunched that day in the canteen and talked to several members of the prison staff. It was evident at once that they _liked_ Stangl. \"If only they were all like Stangl,\" they said, \"our life would be a bed of roses.\" Some of them said \"like _Herr_ Stangl\". I remarked on that \"Herr\" to one of the older guards, who shrugged and said, \"That's what we are supposed to call them now. 'Herr' indeed!\"\n\nPrison staff in West Germany are well trained (including 200 hours of lectures on psychology), and almost all the officers I spoke with that day, and in the ensuing weeks, appeared to me to be articulate and compassionate men who were intensely interested in what my conversations with Stangl would produce. They spoke freely about the complicated conflicts his presence in the prison brought to their minds. Many of them questioned \u2013 as do most people in Germany \u2013 the continuation of the Nazi crime trials so many years after the events, and several of them brought up the same worn-out arguments: nobody in Germany had known anything of the horrors, and no one who had not lived under a dictatorship could understand or presume to judge. At the same time almost all of them \u2013 though there were exceptions \u2013 agreed unhappily that as long as any of the men who were involved in these terrible deeds were alive, it would be immoral to do nothing. One of the men I spoke with on that first day was twenty-four \u2013 he hadn't even been born at the time of Treblinka. \"Stangl\", he said thoughtfully, \"impresses us like a _man_ \u2013 you know what I mean? An intelligent human being, not a brute like Franz.\" (Kurt Franz, a former cook, was Stangl's notoriously brutal adjutant, who briefly commanded and then liquidated Treblinka after Stangl was relieved, and is now serving a life sentence in West Germany.) \"Perhaps...\" he went on, \"now at long last one of them is going to have the courage to explain to my generation how any human being with mind and heart and brain could... not even 'do' what was done \u2013 it isn't our function to say whether a man is 'guilty as charged' or not \u2013 but even see it being done, and consent to remain alive.\"\n\nStangl looked indefinably different when he was brought back to the little room on the second floor at 2 p.m. He had taken off his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, but he still looked spruce \u2013 that wasn't it. He was as well shaved as he had been in the morning \u2013 had probably shaved again \u2013 yet he no longer looked quite clean-shaven, nor was his skin as taut and young-looking as before. Earlier I had noticed and been slightly surprised by his broad red hands because they had seemed so much in contrast to the rest of his appearance and bearing, but now it flashed through my mind that they fitted him, or at least some part of him.\n\n\"I've thought about what you said,\" he told me at once, his voice slightly unsteady. \"I hadn't understood before \u2013 I hadn't understood what you wanted. I think I understand now... I want to do it. I want to try to do it....\"\n\nThere were tears in his eyes before we even began to speak of his childhood. \"I thought you just wanted \u2013 you know \u2013 an 'interview',\" he said, emphasizing that loaded term. I had some English cigarettes and he took one \u2013 he was, I soon saw, a chain-smoker. \"My childhood,\" he began, shaking his head several times, \"I'll tell you....\"\n\nHe was born in Altm\u00fcnster, a small town in Austria, on March 26, 1908. His only sister was then ten, his mother still young and pretty, but his father was already an ageing man.\n\n\"He was a nightwatchman by the time I was born, but all he could ever think or talk about were his days in the Dragoons [one of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial \u00e9lite regiments]. His dragoon uniform, always carefully brushed and pressed, hung in the wardrobe. I was so sick of it, I got to hate uniforms. I knew since I was very small, I don't remember exactly when, that my father hadn't really wanted me. I heard them talk. He thought I wasn't really his. He thought my mother... you know....\"\n\n_\"Even so, was he kind to you?\"_\n\nHe laughed without mirth. \"He was a Dragoon. Our lives were run on regimental lines. I was scared to death of him. I remember one day \u2013 I was about four or five and I'd just been given new slippers. It was a cold winter morning. The people next door to us were moving. The moving van had come \u2013 a horse-drawn carriage then, of course. The driver had gone into the house to help get the furniture and there was this wonderful carriage and no one about.\n\n\"I ran out through the snow, new slippers and all. The snow came half-way up my legs but I didn't care. I climbed up and I sat in the driver's seat, high above the ground. Everything as far as I could see was quiet and white and still. Only far in the distance there was a black spot moving in the whiteness of the new snow. I watched it but I couldn't recognize what it was until suddenly I realized it was my father coming home. I got down as fast as I could and raced back through the deep snow into the kitchen and hid behind my mother. But he got there almost as fast as I. 'Where is the boy?' he asked, and I had to come out. He put me over his knees and leathered me. He had cut his finger some days before and wore a bandage. He thrashed me so hard, his cut opened and blood poured out. I heard my mother scream, 'Stop it, you are splashing blood all over the clean walls.' \"\n\nHe said that when he was eight, two years after the beginning of World War I, his father died of malnutrition. \"He was thin as a rake; he looked like a ghost, a skeleton.\"\n\nA year later his mother married a widower who also had two children. \"One was a boy exactly my age: we became inseparable. He was killed, in 1942.\"\n\n_\"Did your stepfather treat you like his own son?\"_\n\n\"He was all right\" \u2013 he paused. \"Well, of course I wasn't his son, was I?\" He paused again. \"I remember, sometimes I felt jealous of my stepbrother.\"\n\nWhen the two boys were fourteen, Stangl's stepfather wanted them to leave school and go to work in the local steel mill where he worked himself. \"He wanted us to earn money \u2013 he always thought of money. Wolfgang \u2013 my stepbrother \u2013 he didn't mind: he was very happy-go-lucky; he didn't mind anything. But I had my eye on working for the nearby textile mill \u2013 that's what I always wanted to do, and for that I had to be fifteen. So I got my mother and the school principal to say I had to stay in school another year.\"\n\n_\"Did you have many friends?\"_\n\n\"No, but I had taught myself to play the zither and I joined the zither club.\" He began to cry quietly and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. \"Excuse me....\"\n\nHe left school at fifteen and became an apprentice weaver.\n\n\"I finished my apprenticeship in three years,\" he said. \"When I was eighteen and a half I did my exams and became the youngest master-weaver in Austria.\" He was still proud of this achievement. \"I worked in the mill and only two years later I had fifteen workers under me. I earned two hundred schillings a month, and gave four-fifths of it to my parents.\"\n\n_\"Is that all you kept for yourself? At twenty, was that enough?\"_\n\nHe smiled. \"I was making twice that by giving zither lessons at night.\"\n\n_\"Did you have more friends by then?\"_\n\n\"No. But I had the zither. On Sundays I built myself a Taunus \u2013 a sailboat.\" Again he began to cry and continued for a long time. \"Excuse me....\"\n\n_\"What is it that makes you cry when you remember this?\"_\n\n\"It was my happiest time.\" He shook his head again and again with a gesture of helplessness.\n\nBy 1931 \u2013 at twenty-three \u2013 five years after becoming a master-weaver, he had come to realize that he was at a dead end. \"Without higher education I couldn't get further promotion. But to go on doing all my life what I was doing then? Around me I saw men of thirty-five who had started at the same age as I and who were now old men. The work was too unhealthy. The dust got into your lungs \u2013 the noise.... I had often looked at young policemen in the streets: they looked so healthy, so secure \u2013 you know what I mean. And so clean and spruce in their uniforms....\"\n\n_\"But you hated uniforms?\"_\n\nHe looked surprised. \"That \u2013 that was different.\"\n\nLooking back at Austria during the early thirties, when following the years of depression there was violent conflict between the Socialists and the Austrian Nationalist \u2013 and devoutly Catholic \u2013 Chancellor Dollfuss, I could see that there might be something in this \"difference\". It was a place of constant turbulence, alarming headlines, hostile crowds, street fighting, police sirens, shootings, barriers; and, perhaps in contrast to the anarchy in the air \u2013 I remembered from my own childhood memories \u2013 uniforms _did_ seem attractive.\n\nStangl applied to join the police and went for an interview. \"It was quite difficult,\" he said, \"quite an exam, you know.\"\n\nSeveral months later, when he had already more or less given up hope, he was notified that he was to report within days to the Kaplanhof \u2013 the police training barracks in Linz \u2013 for basic training.\n\n\"I went to see the owner of the mill and explained why I had made that decision. He said, 'Why didn't you come and talk to me about it rather than do it secretly? I intended to send you to school, in Vienna.' \" He cried again.\n\n_\"Couldn't you have changed your plans when he told you that?\"_\n\nHe shook his head. \"He didn't ask me.\"\n\nThe Austrian police training was tough. \"They called it the 'Vienna School',\" he said. \"They were a sadistic lot. They drilled the feeling into us that everyone was against us: that all men were rotten.\"\n\nHe stayed at the school for a year, then became a \"rookie\". Working first as a traffic policeman and then on the riot squad, he graduated in 1933. \"Even then we had to go on living in barracks. But it didn't matter to me: my girl friend, who I had met in '31, had gone to Florence to work as a nanny for the Duca di Corsini. I had nothing to do except work. So I volunteered for special duties, evenings and weekends.\"\n\n_\"What sort of special duties?\"_\n\nHe laughed, \"Oh, you know, just flushing out villains here and there. It was all good experience and I knew it wouldn't hurt my record. During the Socialist uprisings in February 1934 there were terrific street battles in Linz. In one of them the Socialists entrenched themselves at the Central Cinema and we had to fight for hours to get them out. I was the one who flushed the last ones out that night at 11 p.m. \u2013 after well over twelve hours. I got the silver Service Medal for it.\"\n\nThrough the weeks to come, however terrible the stories he was telling, Stangl was constantly to fall back into police jargon. _\"Der war ein Strolch_ \" \u2013 \"he was a villain\" \u2013 he would say, applying this almost affectionate description indiscriminately to a whole range of people across the years: first Austrian politicians and crooks, then Germans and Poles, Christians and Jews.\n\nIn July 1934 the Austrian Chancellor, Dollfuss, was assassinated. \"Of _course_ the Nazis killed him,\" Stangl said, in a tone which made it quite clear that, as an Austrian police officer, he had automatically condemned such an act. A few days after the assassination, Stangl found a Nazi arms cache in a forest; a feat which three months later earned him a decoration \u2013 the Austrian Eagle with green-white ribbon \u2013 and a posting to the cid school.\n\n\"That was the beginning,\" he said grimly. This medal and the reason for it, he said, hung over him like a sword of Damocles for years. The training at the CID school was \"fantastically intensive\", he said. \"Twenty-one lecturers for nineteen students. But for me, I know this now,\" he said heavily, \"it was the first step on the road to catastrophe.\"\n\nIn the autumn of 1935 he was transferred to the political division of the CID in the town of Wels, thirty minutes by train from Linz (the capital of the province), and at that time, three years prior to the Austrian Anschluss \u2013 the German annexation of Austria in March 1938 \u2013 a hotbed of illegal Nazi activities. \"I was just getting married,\" he said. \"Wels was a very nice place to live. And the assignment was considered a great plum for a man not yet thirty.\"\n\n_\"What were your duties in your new assignment?\"_\n\n\"Well, you know what Austria was like then. We had to ferret out anti-government activities by anyone: Social Democrats, Communists _and_ Nazis.\" As a Kriminalbeamter \u2013 a CID officer \u2013 he wore civilian clothes.\n\n_\"But perhaps seeing it was Wels, and the way many of you felt privately about the Nazis, perhaps you acted a little less severely, did you, against the Nazis than the others? A little differently in your manners?\"_\n\n\"Among the eighteen men in that department there were certainly some who favoured the Nazis,\" he answered in a reasonable tone of voice. \"But in general, you know, the Austrian police was very professional. Our job was to uphold the law of the land. And on the whole that's what we did, never mind who was involved.\"\n\n_\"But surely, for an intelligent man, in the midst of the political turmoil of Austria at that time, it was impossible not to form his own ideas? What did you yourself feel about the Nazis then?\"_\n\nStangl had a curious habit, which was to become very familiar as our talks went on, of changing from the semi-formal German he usually spoke to the popular vernacular of his childhood whenever he had to deal with questions he found difficult to answer. This was manifestly not a conscious act; nor did it necessarily mean that at those moments he was lying. In fact it was often, on the contrary, when he was telling a very difficult truth that he took this instinctive refuge in the \"cosy\" language and mannerisms of his childhood.\n\n\"You know,\" he said, \"outside, of course, of doing my job properly, I wasn't really very interested. You see, I had just got married. I had, for the first time, a home of my own. All I wanted was just to close the door of my house and be alone with my wife. I was mad about her. I really wasn't political you see. I know it sounds now as if I should \u2013 or must \u2013 have been. But I wasn't. I was just a police officer doing a job.\"\n\n_\"But a job you liked?\"_\n\n\"Oh yes, I liked it. But there was nothing heinous or even very dramatic about it then. It was just a job one tried to do as correctly \u2013 as kindly, if you like \u2013 as possible. Though, it is true, the _way_ one did one's job could not be quite isolated from circumstances.\"\n\n_\"Circumstances?\"_\n\n\"Well, you see, until early 1937, the Minister of the Interior was a confirmed anti-Nazi, Dr Bayer. But in the early spring of 1937 \u2013 just a year before the Anschluss \u2013 he was sacked and there were changes all the way down the line. Our new Director of Police was a man called Rubisch and he let it be known immediately \u2013 at the very first meeting all of us attended \u2013 that from that moment on the attitude of the police towards the Nazis had to change. And of course a year later, in March 1938, everything changed.\"\n\n_\"Had you known in advance that the Germans were coming in on that day?\"_\n\n\"Oh no,\" he replied immediately. \"I suppose there were people amongst our lot who knew. But I didn't. You have no idea, though, how organized they were, nor how frightened we became at once.\"\n\nIn his account of these times, Stangl manifested a prodigious memory. By the time he had reached the Socialist uprisings of February 1934 he had mentioned sixteen names, mostly of people who had only briefly crossed his path. By noon of the third day, my list of names he had remembered had grown to fifty-four, and I stopped counting.\n\n\"What affected us a lot though,\" he went on, \"was Cardinal Innitzer's call to Catholics to co-operate. And of course the fact that Schuschnigg [who succeeded Dollfuss as Chancellor] threw in the sponge at once. What _I_ felt above all was fear. You remember that medal I'd been given \u2013 the Eagle? Well, five people had received that at that time. The Nazis took over on March 13; on the 14th they arrested two of those five and a few days later a third. That left only my friend Ludwig Werner and myself. Meanwhile in Linz they had shot two of the chiefs of our department. People we'd seen just a few days before. No trial, nothing \u2013 just shot them. Another one, also a friend of mine, was arrested too. And Dr Bayer \u2013 the former minister \u2013 he was sent to a concentration camp. I helped to get him out of Buchenwald later.* One of our chiefs used to make open remarks against the Nazis. We all used to wonder amongst ourselves how we could stop him. But how could we take it upon ourselves to warn a superior? I remember, one of the other men in my section \u2013 his name was Schlammer \u2013 he said to me, 'You'd better let your Eagle fly out of the window'.\u2020 Ludwig Werner and I were becoming frantic. We had all been given a questionnaire to fill out. One of the questions \u2013 the most important one, we thought \u2013 was whether we had been illegal Nazi Party members. Werner said we had to _do_ something \u2013 we couldn't just sit and wait for them to take us. We decided that the first thing to do was to get rid of our file cards; we had this index, you know, with an annotated card for each person in our district who had been suspected of Nazi, Sozi [Socialist] or Communist sympathies. So the first thing we did was to flush the cards down the lavatory.\"\n\n_\"All the cards?\"_\n\n\"No, just the ones referring to Nazis. And then Werner remembered a lawyer who had been an illegal Nazi and whom he, I and another colleague had helped a bit not long before....\"\n\n_\"What do you mean helped?\"_\n\n\"It's the sort of thing one was able to do at times before '38 \u2013 just warn someone who was under suspicion to watch his step.\"\n\n_\"Nazis?\"_\n\n\"Not necessarily. Anybody nice \u2013 decent, you know.\"\n\nThis was not a very likely explanation. But I had felt from the beginning that, except on the rarest occasions, it would be essential to let him develop his story in his own way, without showing obvious scepticism or interrupting with critical comments.\n\n\"Werner thought,\" he said, \"that we could ask this lawyer \u2013 Dr Bruno Wille was his name \u2013 to say that he knew we had been illegal members.\"\n\n_\"Diditmdrk?\"_\n\n\"Yes. Werner went to see him and he said he'd arrange for our names to appear on the illegal Party lists for the previous two years. So after that we filled out the questionnaire and said that we'd been Party members since 1936.\"\n\n_\"And that wasn't true?\"_\n\nHe shook his head. \"No.\"\n\nThe question of whether or not he had been an illegal Party member had been the subject of considerable discussion at Stangl's trial; and what was particularly discussed was the prosecution's contention that before the Anschluss he had contributed to a fund for the aid of Nazi detainees, and that this went a long way to prove his illegal Party membership.\n\n_\"How about these contributions you are supposed to have paid to a Nazi aid-fund?\"_\n\n\"Well yes, I did contribute to an aid-fund. The first week I was transferred into the cm the chief came around one day with a young girl and introduced her to Werner and me as someone who was collecting for the relatives of political prisoners.\"\n\nLudwig Werner, questioned in Austria in 1968, shortly before he died of natural causes, was evasive regarding the extent of his \"friendship\" with Stangl and his knowledge of his opinions or actions. He himself, he said, had been relieved of his duties on October 22, 1939, and was arrested on November 14 and accused of being an opponent of the Nazi Party and of having had illegal financial dealings with a Jew. He was sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and kept there until April 1941, when he and his family (as was the custom for political unreliables) were compulsorily moved to Bohemia where he worked in a civilian job until he was called up in 1943 for service on the Eastern front. He was a prisoner of war in Russia from 1944 until 1948, after which he again worked as a CID officer in Leoben, Austria, until his retirement in 1965. He would not say that he had been a friend of Stangl's, but neither had they been enemies. He had no memory whether he and Stangl had ever discussed political matters. Therefore he couldn't say what Stangl's attitude towards National Socialism had been. \"All of us, though,\" he said, \"at that time \u2013 just before the Anschluss \u2013 sympathized with the Nazi Party. I don't mean just the participants of that police course, but the population in general.\"\n\nRegarding the questionnaire, many officials, he said, \"wrote more than was strictly true. Because one was afraid of being sacked.\" Yes, he remembered Dr Bruno Wille. \"He was a member of a legal firm,\" he said tersely, and refused to be drawn beyond that. Regarding the aid-fund, he couldn't say whether Stangl had paid contributions to such a fund. Nor did he even remember if such a fund had existed, so he was unable to comment on whether or not it was for the purpose of supporting political detainees who were Nazis, or detainees of other political persuasions.\n\n\"I went home that day after we got that business organized with Dr Wille,\" Stangl said, \"you know, terrifically relieved. I was so grateful to Ludwig Werner for finding that solution \u2013 you have no idea. Anyway, the moment I got home, I told my wife: I thought she'd be as relieved as I....\" Suddenly he began to cry again, but differently this time: the deep sobs of a man reliving a pain long suppressed.\n\n_\"What happened?\"_\n\n\"She hated them you see,\" he finally went on. \"We are Catholics of course, and she is very devout, always was. She was so terribly, terribly angry. 'You betrayed me with these swine,' she said, and I suddenly realized that she didn't believe me. She thought I really had been an illegal Nazi. Oh my God....\" He went on crying for many minutes.\n\n_\"Did you end up by convincing her?\"_\n\n\"A long time \u2013 it took a long time.\" It was clear he was still not sure that he had ever convinced her.\n\nAnd he had not. It was not only the D\u00fcsseldorf court thirty-two years after the event who disbelieved Stangl's assurance that he had not been an \"illegal\" Nazi. Months after I had first seen Stangl, his wife, in Brazil, was to repeat to me that she had not believed him.\n\n\"No, of course I didn't tell them that when I had to testify at his trial \u2013 how could I have?\" she said. \"If my husband hadn't told you about it himself, perhaps I wouldn't have admitted it to you either. But as it is, _because_ he told you \u2013 and the way he told you \u2013 today is the very first time that I feel perhaps he did tell me the truth then \u2013 perhaps he wasn't an illegal after all.\" And she too cried.\n\nFrau Stangl's sister, Helene Eidenb\u00f6ck, who lives in Vienna, had no doubts. \"Oh yes,\" she said, \"I think he was an 'illegal' \u2013 they all were, you know, in that part of Austria. If he hadn't been, he wouldn't have got on so fast. And that's what they wanted, both of them \u2013 to get on.\"\n\nAnd former ss Franz Suchomel, who worked under Stangl at Treblinka, and now, after four years in prison, lives in southern Germany, said, \"Stangl told me himself that he had been an 'illegal'. He wore on his uniform jacket the chevron of the 'Old Fighters', which wasn't that easy to obtain.\"\n\nNeither of these last two opinions is necessarily proof that Stangl was lying, since obviously if his story to me was true, the fact that his name had been entered on the \"illegal\" list would have allowed him to establish his membership as part of his record and would thus automatically have given him the privileges that went with such a record; while he could conceivably have told Suchomel that he had been an \"illegal\" because he wanted to secure his position by getting this piece of information around. What it does prove, however, is that both his family and his \"troops\" had believed him to be not a \"conscripted\" but a \"voluntary\" Nazi.\n\nThe deeper he went into his story, the clearer emerged the picture of the fatal fusion between his own character, and the sequence of events.\n\n_\"What,\"_ I asked, _\"was your first specific contact with the Jewish situation in Austria after the Anschluss?\"_\n\n\"At that time they said that what they wanted was to force the Jews to emigrate \u2013 you know, just to leave.\"\n\n_\"That's what you thought the policy was?\"_\n\n\"It _was_ the policy. They had set up a special section of the Gestapo for 'Jewish Action' \u2013 Section IIB2 \u2013 where they established a register of Jews and their property.\" (In Vienna this department was headed by Eichmann. All the research into this subject tends to confirm that the 'Final Solution' \u2013 the physical extermination of the Jews \u2013 was not proposed, and probably not even considered except, possibly, in private conversations between Hitler and Heydrich, until 1940.)\n\n_\"What did you have to do with Section IIB2?\"_\n\n\"In principle nothing. I was in the political section, 2C. But you see, I think they knew how I felt. You know, that I wasn't really with them. Because after the Austrian Kristallnacht* the Gauleiter \u2013 Eigruber \u2013 called me in and advised me to keep my mouth shut and help IIB2 whenever I was asked.\"\n\n_\"Didn't that sound sufficiently ominous to you to indicate that this was the moment to get out?\"_\n\n\"But you see, it wasn't ominous then, and it wasn't a question of 'getting out': if it had only been as simple as that! By this time we heard every day of this one and that one being arrested, sent to a KZ [concentration camp], shot. It wasn't a matter of choosing to stay or not stay in our profession. What it had already become, so quickly, was a question of survival.\"\n\n_\"So what finally was your first direct contact with whatever it was they were doing about the Jews?\"_\n\n\"It was after the Sudeten thing:* I was ordered to accompany the chairman of the Jewish Council to Bohemia. They wanted us to check how many Jews were still living there and what they owned in property. Four of us went: myself and one of my juniors, Hirschfeld the chairman \u2013 a very nice fellow \u2013 and his secretary, a young chap called Hunger.\"\n\n_\"How did you travel?\"_\n\n\"Oh, by car.\"\n\n_\"But presumably you had to stay somewhere overnight. How was that organized?\"_\n\n\"We stayed together, in a hotel. We ate together. How can I explain? It was all quite ordinary and friendly. As I said, Hirschfeld was a nice man. He had a very difficult job. You see, every Jew who wanted to emigrate forfeited his property. But they also each had to pay a certain sum \u2013 it was called a 'tax' \u2013 in order to get the exit permit. It was Hirschfeld who had to find this money for poorer Jews who didn't have enough. On that trip he told me lots of stories of the trouble he was having getting rich people to give him money for poorer ones. After that trip, for a long time he'd always come to me when he needed help, because he knew I'd do what I could.\"\n\n_\"Do you know what happened to him later?\"_\n\n\"I am not sure,\" he said vaguely. \"I think somebody said he'd gone to America.\"\n\nMax Hirschfeld, it is true, went to America in December 1939, and lives in San Francisco. He refused to come to Germany to testify at Stangl's trial and his testimony was taken in San Francisco (this happened in several cases when a witness was unable or unwilling to go to Germany). Mr Hirschfeld confirmed the car trip to Bohemia; or rather, he said there were two such trips, each of them lasting only one day. \"We all had lunch together,\" he said. \"I paid the bill for everybody without being asked.\" Mr Hirschfeld denied that he had visited Stangl in his office. He said that Stangl was subordinate to two other officials, Botke and Greil, and that Greil had also been along on the trips to Bohemia. Stangl himself, said Mr Hirschfeld, had no authority, but received his orders from these two. \"His office was next to Botke; it was he I went to see and Stangl could hear what I discussed with him.\"\n\nIt was suggested by the defence that Mr Hirschfeld had written Stangl a postcard from the USA, but Mr Hirschfeld said that was not true, although he _had_ sent a postcard to Greil with whom he \"had good contact\" and who had repeatedly helped him. He also said, however, that \"Stangl was not impolite to me. He addressed me as 'Hirschfeld', but that was the custom; he said neither _'du'_ nor 'Jew' to me. Eichmann was different \u2013 he always addressed me in the third person.... To describe my relationship with Stangl as 'amicable' is certainly exaggerated. I would say, however, that I could converse with him more freely than with other officials of that department.\"\n\nIn January 1939, shortly after the political, i.e. security, branch of the police had been absorbed into the Gestapo, that section of the Wels police department was transferred to Gestapo HQ in the provincial capital, Linz. \"But we had our lovely flat in Wels,\" Stangl said, \"so I commuted every day. Our chief now was a German, a terrible reactionary from Munich, Georg Prohaska. I hated him at once. Soon after we were transferred, some man came from Berlin and 'in the name of the F\u00fchrer' [he said it derisively] read out our new ranks. Me, 'in the name of the F\u00fchrer', they appointed Kriminalassistent. But I wasn't having it: that was a demotion, not a promotion. In Austria a Kriminalbeamter \u2013 which is what I had been \u2013 is a permanent position; it gives you the right to a pension. A Kriminalassistent in the German police hierarchy is nothing \u2013 just a temporary.\"\n\n\" _Was this ever rectified?\"_\n\n\"Oh yes, a few weeks later. They acknowledged they'd made a mistake and confirmed my status of _Beamter auf Lebenszeit_ [established civil servant]. And they promoted me to Kriminal-oberassistent, the German equivalent of what my next promotion would have been in Austria.* But Prohaska,\" he continued, \"had found out that I wasn't somebody who'd allow himself to be pushed around, and he hated me from that moment on and made my life a misery. It was only very shortly after this that I was ordered to sign a paper certifying that I was prepared to give up my religion.\"\n\n\" _What exactly did it say on the paper?\"_\n\n\"It said that I affirmed that I was a _Gottgl\u00e4ubiger_ [believer in God] but agreed to break my affiliation to the Church.\"\n\n_\"How did you feel about signing that? How strongly did you feel about the Church?\"_\n\n\"Well... of course I've always been a Catholic....\"\n\n\" _But?\"_ He didn't answer. _\"Were you a regular church-goer?\"_\n\n\"My wife and children always go.\"\n\n\" _Yes, but you?\"_\n\n\"No,\" he finally said. \"I always went at Christmas, of course, and Easter....\"\n\n\" _So signing this document wasn't really all that difficult, was it?\"_\n\n\"I didn't like to.\"\n\nFor a man of Stangl's character, whatever his religious attitude, the Church has a tremendous significance as a symbol of respectability and status. Equally, any official document is something of the greatest import. There is no doubt therefore that signing this document was a decisive step in the gradual process of his corruption. Frau Stangl was later to confirm its importance.\n\nI asked Stangl whether he had seen it as a compromise he had to make in order to keep his job.\n\n\"Not just my job,\" he said. \"Much more than that \u2013 as I told you before. By then I had heard that I had originally been on a list of officials to be shot after the Anschluss. And not only that; at that very moment, a disciplinary action had been started against me because I had approved the arrest of a poacher who turned out to be a high Party member.\"\n\n\" _How did that come within the province of the political police?\"_\n\n\"Because the local police of G\u00fcsen \u2013 that was the place \u2013 had informed the State police that a number of people in the town had accused this area leader of large-scale poaching, and that, as he was a Party member, they didn't feel competent to act against him. What they meant of course was that they were scared stiff. Anyway, I went over to talk to him and have a look around his house and I found all the paraphernalia \u2013 you know, traps and all that: so I arrested him. And immediately found myself in hot water over it with Prohaska in Linz. He had me on the carpet: how dare I accuse a Party member? I told him that for me a villain was a villain, whoever he was. And so they started this disciplinary action against me. It was all Prohaska \u2013 he hated my guts....\" He often left sentences incomplete, allowing his tone of voice to indicate his feelings.\n\nSubstantiating evidence for the key role attributed to Prohaska by Stangl is meagre. Frau Stangl clearly remembers that \"in Linz there was, of course, right away this Prohaska with whom he had trouble from the word go\"; but Stangl's \"friend\" and colleague, Ludwig Werner, while saying that he had disliked Prohaska, who was \"a coarse, rough Bavarian\", could not recall whether he had harassed Stangl. A witness for the defence at Stangl's trial \u2013 a woman called Helene de Lorenzo who, when in trouble with the Nazi authorities in Linz in 1938\u20139, had found Stangl helpful \u2013 had formed \"the best impression\" of him, and _was_ aware that Prohaska was known in Linz as a particularly dreaded member of the Gestapo. Prohaska himself, who at the time of the trial was working in Munich as a commercial traveller, had a (not uncommon) partial failure of memory, and would only say, \"I cannot state with certainty today whether the accused was my subordinate in the police. I know I didn't like him because he was unreliable.\"\n\n\"After we moved to Linz,\" Stangl said, \"the whole atmosphere in our offices and in all relationships changed.\"\n\n_\"What was it? Distrust of one another? Jealousy?\"_\n\n\"All that and more. Constant alarmist rumours. Always 'this one has been arrested, that one shot, this one put on the black list, that one's walking a tight-rope'. I myself was absolutely certain that they were still plotting against me because of the Eagle. And then \u2013 the way people talked, it was \u2013 it had become...\" he floundered. \"How can I explain it to you...?\"\n\n_\"Well, how did it differ from the way they had talked before?\"_\n\n\"Differ? It was like....\" Words failed him. \"Before, we had been civil servants and we talked and spoke like civilized people. Now, with the arrival of all these _Piefkes_ [Austrian slang equivalent of _Krauts_ ] all one heard was the gutter language of the barracks. And you see, the people they would discuss in those terms weren't criminals; they were men we had looked up to, respected. And now, suddenly...\" he still sounded bewildered about this \"... they were dirt. There was one time I remember, they were talking about Dr Berlinger, one of our chiefs before the Anschluss [later he was to say he wasn't sure of this name]; they'd arrested him and one of them \u2013 in the duty-room \u2013 was describing how he'd been interrogated....\" He stopped, embarrassed.\n\n_\"They hurt him?_ \"\n\nHe looked away from me. \"They laughed and said, 'He pissed all over himself.' \" He turned back to me. \"Imagine, _Dr Berlinger_. I hate... I hate the Germans,\" he suddenly burst out with passion, \"for what they pulled me into. I should have killed myself in 1938.\" There was nothing maudlin about the way this was said; he was merely stating a fact. \"That's when it started for me. I must acknowledge my guilt.\"\n\nThis, on the second day of our talks, was the only time Stangl acknowledged guilt in a direct way until almost the end. In his mind the later events in his life \u2013 which we were approaching \u2013 were inseparable from these beginnings. When he volunteered an acknowledgment of guilt for his comparatively harmless failings at this stage of his life, it was \u2013 I felt \u2013 because he wanted and needed to say \"I am guilty\" but could not pronounce the words when speaking of the murder of 400,000, 750,000, 900,000, or 1,200,000 people (both official and unofficial figures vary, depending on the source). Thus he sought to find an acceptable substitute for which he could afford to admit guilt. Except for a monster, no man who _actually participated_ in such events (rather than \"merely\" organized from far away) can concede guilt and yet, as the young prison officer in D\u00fcsseldorf put it, \"consent to remain alive\".\n\n* I have been unable to confirm this claim. G.S.\n\n\u2020 After Stangl's death I found a piece of paper in his cell on which he had noted a correction: the man's name was not Schlammer, but Hermann Treidl.\n\n* The \"Night of Broken Glass\" in the autumn of 1938 when Jewish shops all over Germany were smashed and synagogues were burnt.\n\n* October 1938, when the Germans marched into the Czech border province, the Sudetenland.\n\n* This would appear to indicate that the rank they had originally given him _was_ in fact the equivalent of his Austrian rank at the time, and it is interesting to note that in spite of this, his protest was effective.\n\n# 2\n\nCAN ANY man \u2013 or his deeds \u2013 be understood in isolation from his childhood, his youth and manhood, from the people who loved or didn't love him, and from the people he loved or needed? Stangl had said that \"all he wanted\" was to be alone with his wife; and his first deep tears came when he recalled their first serious discord, when she thought he had deceived her about joining the \"illegal\" Nazi Party. After this, any mention of his wife \u2013 and there were many \u2013 brought-on helpless tears. There can be no doubt whatever of his deep love for her and need for her love and approbation in return; no doubt at all that he, whatever he became, was capable of love.\n\nTheresa Stangl is small, blonde and attractive. She was sixty\u2013four years old when I visited her in Brazil but looked far younger; her figure had widened a bit but was still trim. She speaks \"proper\" Austrian\u2013German rather than the colloquial language of her province. It is the speech of a considerably \"better than ordinary\" provincial school. My first visit to her, on October 7, 1971, coincided with her thirty-sixth wedding anniversary, and her house in Sao Bernardo do Campo, about thirty kilometres from S\u00e3o Paulo, was full of roses which her children \u2013 three girls \u2013 had given her that morning.\n\nS\u00e3o Bernardo, a tiny Detroit, is Brazil's automobile town. Mercedes, Rolls-Royce Parts and several other plants are there, but above all Volkswagen SA \u2013 it is their biggest factory outside Germany, and the place where Stangl worked during part of the time he spent in Brazil before his capture.\n\nDespite the rich industries it houses, and full employment, S\u00e3o Bernardo is shabby and still has the air of a pioneering town. The Stangls' little pseudo-villa, which they built with their own hands and which is perhaps slightly more solid than most of its neighbours, is one of thirty-odd such houses on a virtually unpaved street. In this working-class neighbourhood, where people range in colour from black through coffee, yellow and cinnamon to white, Frau Stangl \u2013 I watched her repeatedly talking with her neighbours \u2013 is obviously popular and considered a good neighbour.\n\nThe house has three and a half small bedrooms, a narrow living room, a primitive but functional bathroom, a dining room and a kitchenette. The loft of a small building across the courtyard, which Stangl built as a weaving workshop, has been made into a little flat where Renate, the middle daughter, sleeps. The house, pink and white, with bright flowers in the yard, is incongruously reminiscent of the Austrian countryside, and the life the Stangls live in it is simple. They cook with butane gas, purify their water by means of a filter installed on the roof, heat both house and water with difficulty, and their furniture is no more than adequate. There is a television set and two radios, and half a dozen shelves housing about two hundred books. Some of these are in Portuguese, which Frau Stangl and her daughters speak fluently, but most of them are good conventional reading in German: Dumas, Lawrence's _The Seven Pillars of Wisdom,_ Sonderstr\u00f6m, Thomas Mann. There are no political books, although Frau Stangl was to tell me that her husband \"was always reading all the books that have been written about camps and all that. He read everything.\" There are a number of German magazines on a coffee table in the living room. There is a silver-framed photograph of Stangl there, and another, taken in prison a week before he died, for the _Daily Telegraph Magazine_ , in Frau Stangl's bedroom. In front of both pictures are flowers and candles. On the wall of the living room hangs a pleasant painting of an Austrian landscape; on the TV stands a vase of dried Alpine flowers. Most of the furniture, carpets and books stem from \"home\". But aside from a small baroque gold-framed mirror there are no objects of value. It is a well cared-for but frugal upper-working-class household \u2013 the house of their beginnings in Brazil.\n\nTheresa Stangl, born Eidenb\u00f6ck in 1907, was the oldest of five children, three boys and two girls, whose parents at the time of her birth ran a well established family business \u2013 a _Parf\u00fcmerie_ \u2013 in Steyr, a beautiful town in the province of Upper Austria (Ober\u00f6sterreich). \"The shop had always done very well,\" Frau Stangl said, \"but my father soon ran it into the ground.\"\n\nThea (as her husband called her \u2013 she was \"Resl\" to her family) was closest to her eldest brother Heine, four years her junior. Her sister Helene, two years younger than she, was \"different\" from her, she said. And her two younger brothers came much later \u2013 in 1920 and 1922. \"My father was a very good-looking man,\" she said. \"He took after his French grandfather. But he was a dreamer, a megalomaniac; he 'invented' things, took out patents for innumerable ideas none of which ever worked. He didn't have the technical qualifications ever really to work out any problems. He began to drink heavily. And one day, in a drunken stupor, he signed papers selling the business. By this time he had already sold part of our big house and we lived in the back. Drink turned him into a brute: he was unspeakable to my mother. When he came home drunk, she had to kneel down and ask him to forgive her, God knows for what \u2013 _she_ never knew \u2013 and then he cuffed her into bed. He beat me too.\"\n\nAfter a while his only earnings were from selling cards, sewing thread and that sort of thing \"from inn to inn\". Even so, there must have been a little money left, because Thea's mother, feeling that her eldest daughter was particularly gifted, entered her as a pupil in the Ursuline convent in Linz. \"My upbringing was mainly influenced by this exclusive boarding-school and by my grandmother \u2013 a wonderfully distinguished woman.\" It would appear, however, that she did not remain at this school for the customary length of time, up to matriculation at eighteen. By the time she was seventeen she had already graduated from a commercial college, had a secretarial post at the Steyr car-works and was helping to support the family.\n\n\"It was a very cold winter,\" she recalled. \"Father had been off on one of his dates with one of his many paramours. I had bought myself an anorak. He came home from his fling in the middle of the night and saw the anorak hanging on a peg in the hall, so he realized that I hadn't handed over all my money. He dragged me out of bed in my night-clothes, stood me up in front of a window and lunged at me with a bayonet he was always fooling around with. Thank goodness, by that time terrified, I had dropped to the floor, and he was so drunk, he wasn't steady on his feet: he went through the window with his bayonet and wounded himself. I ran away, out into the icy night in my night-dress and ran to our neighbours. They were shoemakers and their daughter was a schoolfriend. He beat up my mother instead of me, till she was black and blue, but I never went back. I rented a room in Steyr and continued to work at the Steyr works until I was twenty. In 1927 I went to Vienna and got a job at the patent office. I was theatre-crazy; I spent all my money on theatre tickets rather than food or clothes. And I sang in the church choir.\n\n\"Weaknesses? Yes, I had weaknesses, but it's only now I realize what they were: I was proud of being clever in school, of always having the best marks; the teacher used to say to my mother, 'I can't measure her by the class average \u2013 it doesn't apply to her.' Aside from that, already in school I sang and acted \u2013 my mother paraded me around and showed me off to everybody.\"\n\nFrau Stangl's sister Heli \u2013 Frau Helene Eidenb\u00f6ck, whom I visited, unannounced, in Vienna in 1972 \u2013 was obviously equally aware of the \"differences\" between the two of them. A woman of transparent integrity and great charm, her answers to questions are simple and direct; there is no doubt that in her time she has felt bitter about her sister \u2013 not to speak of her sister's husband \u2013 and she certainly remembers this pain. But later she said that they are closer now \u2013 better friends than they had been.\n\nHeli Eidenb\u00f6ck worked for many years as a cook in a big restaurant near Vienna's City Hall. Her husband \u2013 of rather late years \u2013 a construction engineer who died in 1968, was a Jew. \"My mother doted on Resl and my eldest brother,\" she said. \"I and the younger boys were closer to our father. Yes, perhaps he _was_ rough on Resl sometimes: I think he was fed up with my mother's mooning over her. She was given all kinds of opportunities we never had. My mother thought she was so clever, so pretty. She went to boarding-school you know, a convent. She really became quite different to the rest of us. We had nothing to say to each other....\"\n\n\"After two years in Vienna,\" said Frau Stangl, \"in 1928, it was the beginning of the Depression and people were being sacked everywhere. But I had felt anyway for some time that I must do something else, something I could get _involved_ in, and I had thought of social work. I applied to the School of Social Work in Linz and they took up my references. People in Steyr said the school would be mad to take me; that I didn't have a thought in my head except dancing and theatre. But the principal called me in for an interview and she said she didn't believe it and that I was to take a test. That was the first 'test' I took, the first time I heard that word. It took all day, but I sailed through and they accepted me. I went to the school for two years, from March 1930 on, and I loved it. We had terrific fun and learned so much: it was a wonderful course.\n\n\"One of the things we had to study was midwifery. And one day, in the door of the Women's Clinic in Linz, my friend Anna Vockenhuber introduced her cousin Franz to me, a tall handsome man. The moment I saw him I said to myself, here is someone I like. I liked his looks, his manners, just everything about him. Though when we got talking, although I fell in love with him, I think I felt as much compassion or pity for him as love: he told me about his awful childhood; how alone he had been; his terrible father; his jealousy of his stepbrother Wolfgang \u2013 it was sad.\n\n\"By the time I met him he was already doing well in the police and I thought it was wonderful how hard he worked. We saw a lot of each other. Whenever he had a free moment he came up to see me at the Riesenhof [her school]. We went to concerts, theatres and wine-cellars \u2013 it was a glorious time.\n\n\"When I graduated in 1932, the principal called me in and told me that the princely family of Corsini in Florence were looking for a governess. She said she couldn't think of anyone she was willing to recommend as highly as me, and did I want to go. Well, I told Paul \u2013 I always called him Paul \u2013 and he was very upset. But I thought to myself, we can't marry yet and what shall I do? I must admit, it was _very_ tempting anyway. I so much wanted to see something of the world before I settled down, and I was dying to get to know the 'princely' life. So I went, in the early summer of 1932. It was wonderful, just wonderful. They were wonderful to me. They had two little girls of four and six. There were of course staff who did everything domestic; a nursery maid to do their laundry and all that, and servants to do the cleaning. I was only there to speak German and some French to them and to do their 'nursery-kindergarten' work with them. The Corsinis had castles all over the place; I travelled with them wherever they went. And whenever I could I haunted the Florence museums. They used to send a manservant to look after me, wherever I went. I ran the poor man off his feet. I stayed with them for two and a half years. Paul wrote to me every day, or almost every day. I wrote him once a week.\"\n\nLater it turned out that at that time Frau Stangl still called her husband Franz, not Paul. This emerged when she showed me a wooden jewellery box he had carved for her while he was in the SS internment camp after World War II: it was inscribed _In lieber Treue und stiller Sehnsucht, Dein Franzl_. \"That's what I called him in my first love,\" she said then. \"Later I told him that everybody around where we lived was called Franz \u2013 'I'll call you Paul'. And that's what I remember him as: Paul.\"\n\nThere is a split in Frau Stangl's attitude to her husband; on the one hand she \"stands by him\" romantically, honourably and conventionally. On the other hand, she seeks _small_ ways to emphasize her individuality, her separateness from him. Her renaming of him is in some subtle way connected with this. At the time when she changed from Franz to Paul, the split was not so marked, but she probably felt even then, perhaps unconsciously, a need to emphasize her intellectual and moral superiority over her husband. If, for example, she says now, \"He wrote to me every day, or almost every day; I wrote him once a week\", this, one may infer, is a way of indicating that she is and always was a separate and different kind of person, more needed by him than he was needed by her. How, indeed, in the context of the present, _could_ she allow herself to be seen as needing him (as in a human way she doubtlessly does), considering what he became?\n\n\"After two and a half years,\" she continued, \"Paul wrote he couldn't stand my being away any more, so I went back \u2013 in May or June 1935. He had a flat in Linz then, where I stayed. He stayed at the police barrack,\" she added quickly. They had not slept together during their courtship, she said. \"We got married in Wels, in October 1935 \u2013 it wasn't a formal wedding; the verger was our witness. Paul had borrowed a motorbike and we went on a short honeymoon to Mittenwald.\" After that they moved into a flat they had prepared \u2013 the one Stangl was later to describe nostalgically as \"my first real home\". Later they moved to another one, just as small, but with a garden, at Weiradenhausstrasse 4 in Wels. And that remained their home until Frau Stangl joined him in Syria in 1949.\n\n\"The flat at Roseggerstrasse,\" she said, \"was very small, but nice. I got pregnant at once and I was completely concentrated on Paul, my home and the baby I was carrying. The only people we ever saw socially were one other young couple in the same house, but even them very rarely: we were sufficient to ourselves.\" She met none of his colleagues in the police and knew little about his work except that he was constantly being promoted, praised and even decorated for this and that achievement. \"I was very proud of him.\"\n\nShe said she was soon aware of his wild ambition. \"It lasted until the end of the war.\" But it is likely that she didn't learn to understand until much later that this ambition was a weakness in him rather than \u2013 as it seemed first \u2013 a sign of strength.\n\n\"Was he vain?\" I asked.\n\n\"Vain? No, I never thought of him as vain \u2013 just incredibly tidy.\"\n\nIn our discussions Frau Stangl's memories of the pre-Anschluss time in Austria were mostly of this warm married life; obviously a refuge for both these young people with unhappy childhood backgrounds. But in letters a year after our talks she wrote slightly differently about her childhood \u2013 after this passage of time she sought safety, perhaps, in clich\u00e9s: \"My father was a prosperous man from a highly reputable and distinguished family,\" she now said. \"At that time Austria was beset by severe economic crises and he had to sell his business and began to drink. As he had no head for alcohol, he was at that time often drunk. But he took himself in hand later and was a wonderfully good father to me then and loved by everyone.\"\n\nIt was not only about her own childhood that she changed the emphasis upon reflection. \"I don't think that my husband's difficult childhood had any influence on his development,\" she wrote in the same letter. \"You see, the boy was only eight years old when his hard old jealous dragoon of a father died. And he had his young incredibly industrious and loving mother who one year later, married again. And his stepfather, who still today at ninety-four or ninety-six I think, is going strong, was an exemplary, good and much loved father to him....\"\n\nIn S\u00e3o Bernardo, at the time when we met, Frau Stangl remembered vividly the day, very soon after the Anschluss, when her husband came home from work and, the moment he entered the house, said, \"It's all right now \u2013 I've fixed it \u2013 we don't have to worry any more: they can't do anything to us now.\"\n\n\"I asked him what he had done,\" she said. \"I had of course known how worried he had been \u2013 with all those people being arrested, shot....\" Oddly enough, however, she does not appear to have known in detail about the _Adler_ \u2013 the \"Eagle\" decoration he had received before the Anschluss and on which, in his talks with me, he blamed so much of what he subsequently did or submitted to. Nor does she appear to have known about his having been on \"a blacklist of police officials due to be executed\" as he told me.\n\n\"He told me then,\" she said, \"that his friend Ludwig Werner had 'organized' with Dr Bruno Wille so that Paul's and Werner's names would be inserted into a list of illegal Nazi Party members. I remember very well that this Dr Wille was a _friend_ of Werner's....\" But she didn't believe her husband's story. \"It was a terrible blow to me,\" she said. \"It was as if this man I had so respected, so admired, suddenly fell off the pedestal I had put him on. 'You betrayed me with these swine, these gangsters,' I told him. 'You who I thought an honourable man, working for his country.' \" And these were the very same words Stangl had used to describe this incident to me. Certainly they would not have been in communication about this specific question between the time he told the story to me in D\u00fcsseldorf prison, and the time he died \u2013 nineteen hours after I saw him last \u2013 when in fact he had no idea that I would go to see his wife in Brazil.\n\nI asked Frau Stangl why she had said this to him, why she hadn't believed his story.\n\n\"I've always had a feeling for truth,\" she said, \"a kind of hunch if you like, even about future events. I just knew that day that he wasn't telling me the truth. And the thought that he had lied to me all this time, he who I had believed incapable of lying, was terrible for me. There were so many factors involved: how can I put it? You see, I was an Austrian, with all my heart and soul. And then, I was devout \u2013 I always have been. What I believed in happened to be the Catholic Church; it was the Church of my country and I was brought up in it. But mainly I just believed in God. And to think \u2013 oh, it was a terrible blow, just a terrible blow. My man... a Nazi....It was our first real conflict \u2013 more than a fight. It went deep. I couldn't... you know... be near him, for weeks, and we had always been so close; this had always been so important between us. Life became very difficult.\"\n\nEven though the way her husband had told _me_ about this, caused her to waver for a moment while I was there, it is clear that although she heard him tell this story and testify about it many times, she never really believed him. But none the less, she also said that he never gave the impression of being a Nazi, never even showed the slightest sympathy for them. \"And he never said anything against Jews,\" she said. \"I never heard him say a word like that. There were _always_ people coming to our house who knew he was in the police and wanted to ask him for help. I even said to him once, I remember, 'Can't you see them somewhere else, a caf\u00e9 or something?' But he said, how could he....\" (There is no evidence that any Jews ever came to Stangl's house, and he himself did not claim it.)\n\nShe remembered well his telling her about the chairman of the Jewish Council in Linz, Herr Hirschfeld. \"He said\", she recalled, \"that he was glad Hirschfeld himself was going to be able to get out. And then one day he came home and said Hirschfeld had told him something extraordinary. He'd said he was going to go to Australia if he could; because if he went anywhere closer, like the us, there'd be Jews, and wherever there were groups of Jews there would be pogroms. He said Hirschfeld said that the character and personality of Jewish group-living made that almost inevitable. I remember Paul saying, 'Isn't it extraordinary that he should say that about his own people?'\n\n\"Very soon after that, his whole department was moved to Linz but he still came home to Wels every night \u2013 oh, he wouldn't have stayed away. And in Linz, of course, there was at once this Prohaska with whom he had trouble from the very beginning.\n\n\"I remember the day he came home with that form and said, 'Now they want me to sign this,' and it said on it \u2013 I can't quite recall the exact wording, but something about his affirming that he was a 'believer' but that he renounced his allegiance to the Catholic Church. I said, 'Of course you aren't going to sign it.' That was the second awful blow for me: finally we couldn't talk about it any more, he wouldn't talk about it: and in the end I never knew whether he had signed it or not, but I really thought he hadn't. Are you sure he did? This was when he began to say from time to time that he wanted to get out of the police. But then you see, the war started and he was given an 'indispensable' rating and then, of course, he had to stay....\"\n\n# 3\n\nIN NOVEMBER 1940 Stangl, by now again promoted, was ordered to report to Berlin for instructions.\n\n\"The order was signed by Himmler,\" he said, a tone of awe in his voice even now. \"It said I was transferred to the General Foundation for Institutional Care (Gemeinn\u00fctzige Stiftung f\u00fcr Heil und Anstaltspflege) and that I was to report to Kriminalrath Werner at the Reichskriminalpolizeiamt Berlin, Werd'scher Markt 5. Kriminalrath Werner told me\", he continued, \"that it had been decided to confide to me the very difficult and demanding job of police superintendent of a special institute which was administered by this Foundation, the HQ of which was Tiergartenstrasse 4 in Berlin.\"\n\n_\"Did you know then what Tiergartenstrasse 4 was?\"_\n\n\"I had no idea. I had heard it vaguely referred to now and then as T4, but I didn't know what their specific function was.\"\n\nThis was no doubt true at that time. For Tiergartenstrasse 4 was the hub of what was for years the most secret operation in the Third Reich: the administration first of the \"mercy-killing\" of the mentally and physically handicapped in Germany and Austria, and later of the \"Final Solution\": the extermination of the Jews.\n\nThe building which housed T4 \u2013 as it was called for camouflage purposes \u2013 was an inconspicuous villa in Berlin-Charlottenburg, one of Berlin's exclusive suburbs. The planning and orders came from the F\u00fchrer Chancellery in the building of the Reichs Chancellery in the centre of Berlin, a special department Hitler had created to administer his private affairs and consider petitions addressed to him personally. The F\u00fchrer Chancellery was a comparatively small and very exclusive organization headed by Philip Bouhler whom Gerald Reitlinger has described as the most \"shadowy figure the National Socialist hierarchy produced\", and who exerted considerable influence on Hitler's thinking and actions.\n\nMen like Bouhler, Brack and Blankenburg* (now dead) and a few others, and the medical \"luminaries\" who eventually lent their names to these activities, particularly the psychiatrists Professors Nitsche, Heyde and Dr Mennecke, were the so-called \"desk-murderers\". None of them, nor their staff in the offices of T4, ever actually committed murder. And some of them \u2013 at least at the start of these appalling events \u2013 seem to have believed sincerely that a \"merciful\" Euthanasia Programme was justified: a belief shared by the many perfectly honourable people who today propose legalizing euthanasia on demand. But once the euthanasia \"institutes\" came into being, no one either in the Fh\u00fcrer Chancellery or T4 could continue to harbour illusions; it was abundantly clear that what was happening was not \"assisted suicide\", or the \"mercy-killing of grievously suffering patients upon their own or their relatives' request on therapeutic grounds\", but legalized murder, undertaken for starkly economic \u2013 and later political \u2013 reasons... and even at that, its \"legality\" was only a pseudo \u2013 legality. The F\u00fchrer-order on which the programme was launched was never officially recognized by the Reich Ministry of Justice, which in fact, within the limitations imposed by its members' fear of the consequences, opposed Hitler's order in this instance all along as \"unconstitutional\".\n\nThe planners and administrators of these \"programmes\" were, of course, mainly bureaucrats functioning in offices hundreds of miles away from where their ideas and orders were put into practice. During the first and decisive years, 1938 and 1939, they were physically, and therefore psychologically, far removed from the terrifying reality of their activities. They were thus enabled to convince themselves \u2013 as all those who lived to testify in trials were to claim \u2013 that they were simply administering the \"public health\" of the nation and were in no way directly concerned with violence or horror.\n\nBut for those who were actively involved it was very different.\n\nWhen Stangl, in his conversations with me, began to speak of his transfer to the Euthanasia Programme, I noticed for the first time an alarming change come over his face: it coarsened and became slack and suffused. The veins stood out, he began to sweat, and the lines in his cheeks and forehead deepened. This was to happen repeatedly in the days and weeks to come when he had to speak about a new and terrible phase in his life.\n\n\"Kriminalrath Werner said that both Russia and America had for some considerable time had a law which permitted them to carry out euthanasia \u2013 'mercy-killings' \u2013 on people who were hopelessly insane or monstrously deformed. He said this law was going to be passed in Germany \u2013 as everywhere else in the civilized world \u2013 in the near future. But that, to protect the sensibilities of the population, _they_ were going to do it very slowly, only after a great deal of psychological preparation. But that, in the meantime, the difficult task had begun, under the cloak of absolute secrecy. He explained that the only patients affected were those who after the most careful examination \u2013 a series of four tests carried out by at least two physicians \u2013 were considered absolutely incurable so that, he assured me, a totally painless death represented a real release from what, more often than not, was an intolerable life.\"*\n\n_\"What was your first reaction, your first thought when Kriminalrather Werner said these things?\"_\n\n\"I... I was speechless. And then I finally said I didn't really feel I was suited for this assignment. He was, you know, very friendly, very sympathetic when I said that. He said he understood well that that would be my first reaction but that I had to remember that my being asked to take this job showed proof of their exceptional trust in me. It was a most difficult task \u2013 they fully recognized it \u2013 but that I myself would have nothing whatever to do with the actual operation; this was carried out entirely by doctors and nurses. I was merely to be responsible for law and order.\"\n\n_\"Did he specify what he meant by law and order?\"_\n\n\"Yes. I would be responsible for maintaining the maximum security provisions. But the way he put it, almost my main responsibility would be to ascertain that the protective regulations regarding the eligibility of patients would be adhered to, to the letter.\"\n\n_\"But the way you are telling about it, now, you were obviously not ordered to do this. You were given a choice. Your own immediate reaction, quite properly, was horror. What made you agree to do it?_ \"\n\n\"Several times during this talk, he mentioned \u2013 sort of by the way \u2013 that he had heard I wasn't altogether happy in Linz. And then, he said, there was this disciplinary action pending against me. That would of course be suspended if I accepted this transfer. He also said I could choose either to go to an institute in Saxonia, or one in Austria. But that, on the other hand, if I chose to refuse the assignment, no doubt my present chief in Linz \u2013 Prohaska \u2013 would find something else for me to do.\"\n\n_\"And that decided you, did it?\"_\n\n\"The combination of things did; the way he had presented it; it was already being done by law in America and Russia; the fact that doctors and nurses were involved; the careful examination of the patients; the concern for the feelings of the population. And then, it is true, for months I had felt myself to be in the greatest danger in Linz from Prohaska. After all, I already knew since March 13, 1938, that it was simpler to be dead in Germany than anywhere else. I was just so glad to get away from Linz.\"\n\n_\"So what happened?\"_\n\n\"I reported to Tiergartenstrasse 4, I think to SS Oberf\u00fchrer Brack who explained what my specific police duties would be.\" (When Stangl said this, and for some time after, it seemed significant that he, at that point a police officer of comparatively minor formal rank, should have been interviewed and instructed by SS Oberf\u00fchrer Victor Brack, who was one of the top officials of the F\u00fchrer Chancellery. Since then, however, I have learned from Dieter Allers, former chief administrative officer of T4, that Brack interviewed and instructed personally _all_ personnel assigned to T4 \u2013 \"He even interviewed the chars,\" said Allers.)\n\n\"I said I'd try to do it, and that I would like to stay in Austria where I would be nearer my family. He said that, to be effective in my new job, I had to be superior in rank to the local police chief of the nearest police authority, Alkoven \u2013 it was a man called Hartmann \u2013 and I would therefore be transferred to the uniformed branch with the rank of lieutenant.\"\n\n_\"Were you to wear uniform?\"_\n\n\"Yes, the green police uniform [which he continued to wear until Christmas 1942, when \u2013 in Poland \u2013 he became assimilated to the SS and was given the grey SS field uniform worn by all German SS at Treblinka]. He gave me the name of a village not too far from Linz, and a telephone number; I remember, it was Alkoven 913. I was to return to Linz, pack and tell nobody where I was going. I was to go to an inn on the outskirts of Linz \u2013 the Gasthaus Drei Kronen it was, on the Landstrasse \u2013 and phone that number. And I'd be given instructions.\"\n\n(\"Yes, of course I remember when he was first called to Berlin,\" said Frau Stangl thirty-one years later in Brazil. \"He told me he had to report to Tiergartenstrasse 4. He said, 'I wonder what _that_ is.' \")\n\n\"I only stayed at home for a day, I think,\" Stangl continued, \"and then did what they had told me to do: you know, I went to the Drei Kronen and called Alkoven 913. A man answered, I told him my name and he said, 'I'll come and get you' \u2013 and about an hour later a kind of delivery van drove up \u2013 the driver was in civvies, a grey suit. When I asked him where we were going he wouldn't say \u2013 he just said, 'In the direction of Everding.' And after an hour we got to Schloss Hartheim.\"\n\n_\"How did it look?\"_\n\n\"Oh, it was big you know, with a courtyard and archways and all that. It hadn't been a private residence for some time: they'd had an orphanage in it I think, and later a hospital. Almost the first person I saw \u2013 it was such a relief \u2013 was a friend: a colleague from the police, Franz Reichleitner.\"\n\nIt would appear that Reichleitner,* whose subsequent career paralleled Stangl's, if on a slightly lower level, was equally glad to see him. \"He said they'd told him I was coming and he'd been waiting for me near the entrance. He had arranged for us to share a room. He'd show me around later, he said, but first he had to take me to meet the doctors in charge and Hauptmann [Captain] Wirth.\"\n\nThis was the first appearance of Stangl's next _b\u00eate noire_ , the notorious Christian Wirth \u2013 the \"savage Christian\", as he was to be called. It was Wirth who carried out the first gassing of Germans certified incurably insane, in December 1939 or January 1940 at Brandenburg an der Havel. According to Reitlinger's _The Final Solution,_ \"Wirth's name does not occur in any of the surviving correspondence concerning euthanasia.\" It would now appear from Stangl's account, which is confirmed by one of his former subalterns, Franz Suchomel, that in mid-1940 Wirth was appointed as a kind of roving director or inspector of the dozen or so institutions of this kind in \"Greater Germany\". Suchomel says that he came to Hartheim as a _\"L\u00e4uterungs-Kommissar_ because the place was an undisciplined pigsty\". A little over a year later he was appointed Kommandant of Belsec, the first of the three principal extermination camps to be installed in occupied Poland between March and May 1942. And later again \u2013 according to surviving documents\u2013in August 1942 he was designated supervising \"Inspector\" of these three camps, Belsec, Sobibor and the largest \u2013 Treblinka.\u00a7 This sequence of appointments reconfirms the preparatory role played by the Euthanasia Programme for the \"Final Solution\". (In practice, if apparently not, as has also been claimed, as a formal training.)\n\n\"Wirth was a gross and florid man,\" Stangl said. \"My heart sank when I met him. He stayed at Hartheim for several days that time, and came back often. Whenever he was there, he addressed us daily at lunch. And here it was again, this awful verbal crudity: when he spoke about the necessity for this euthanasia operation, he wasn't speaking in humane or scientific terms, the way Dr Werner had described it to me. He laughed. He spoke of 'doing away with useless mouths' and said that 'sentimental slobber' about such people made him 'puke'.\"\n\n_\"What about the other people there? What were they like?\"_\n\n\"There were the two chief medical officers: Dr Renno* and Dr Lohnauer.\u2020 And fourteen nurses; seven men and seven women. Dr Lohnauer was a rather aloof sort of man, but very correct. Dr Renno was very nice, friendly.\"\n\n_\"In the weeks and months to come, did they ever talk to you about what was being done there?_ \"\n\n\"Often, very often, especially Dr Renno. You know...\" he suddenly said, sadly, \"you have no idea what the patients were like who were brought there. I had never known there _were_ such people. Oh my God \u2013 the children....\" (Dieter Allers said later that he couldn't understand this reference to children: \"No children were killed at Hartheim,\" he said. \"There were special places for that\"; and the Ludwigsburg Central (judiciary) Authority for Nazi Crimes confirmed that if there were children who were killed at Hartheim, it could only have been isolated cases.)\u2021\n\n_\"But didn't it ever occur to you to think 'what if my mother or my child were in this position'?\"_\n\n\"Ah,\" he answered at once, \"but they had told us immediately that there were four groups who were exempt: the senile; those who had served in the armed forces; those who had been decorated with the _Mutterkreuz_ [a decoration for women designed to glorify motherhood], _and_ relatives of Euthanasia Aktion staff. Of course, they had to do that.\"\n\n_\"But aside from that then, did you have any more scruples?\"_\n\n\"For a long time. After the first two or three days I told Reichleitner that I didn't think I could stand it. By then I'd heard that the police official who'd had the job before me had been relieved upon his request because he had stomach trouble. I too couldn't eat \u2013 you know, one just couldn't.\"\n\n_\"Then it was possible to ask to be relieved?\"_\n\n\"Yes. But Franz Reichleitner said, 'What do you think will happen if you do the same? Just remember Ludwig Werner.' He knew of course about my friend Werner's being sent to the KZ.* No, I had very little doubt of what would happen to me if I returned to Linz and Prohaska.\"\n\n_\"You say you saw your wife quite frequently: it must have become obvious to her that you were under strain \u2013 it must have shown up somehow. Didn't she ever ask you again what you were doing? That's very unlike a wife, isn't it?\"_\n\n\"She asked, but only casually you know. She was used to my not being able to discuss service matters.\"\n\n_\"Do you think the patients at Hartheim knew what was going to happen to them?\"_\n\n\"No,\" he said immediately, with assurance. \"It was run as a hospital. After they arrived they were again examined you know. Their temperatures were taken and all that....\"\n\n_\"Why would anybody want to take the temperature of people who were mentally sick?\"_\n\n\"I don't know. But that's what they did. They had two tables in a sort of hall the patients were taken to when they arrived; at one of them sat the doctors and at the other nurses. And each arriving patient was examined.\"\n\n_\"For how long?\"_\n\n\"Oh, it varied; some just a minute, others a bit longer.\"\n\n_\"One has read of patients in these 'institutes' trying to run away in terror, with nurses or guards pursuing them along the corridors....\"_\n\n\"I don't think that ever happened,\" he said, sounding genuinely surprised. \"I have certainly never heard of such a thing. You see, even Wirth said, 'The people must not be allowed to realize that they are going to die. They have to feel at ease. Nothing must be done to frighten them.' \"\n\n_\"Were there any wards? Did it ever happen that any of them stayed \u2013 a night, or more?\"_\n\n\"Oh no, never.\"\n\nThat patients were sent to these institutions only to die without delay was confirmed by Franz Suchomel. He, a Sudeten German, was mobilized into the SS \u2013 he says he doesn't know why (Dieter Allers was to tell me later more about the method of recruiting for T4), and was first sent to the \"institute\" at Hadamar as an assistant in the photographic laboratory. Or so he said at our first meeting: later, in one of several letters replying to specific additional questions, he changed this and said that he had been assigned to work at T4 in Berlin. (The truth is that he worked in both these places.) \"The institutes\", he said, \"were designated from A to F. Hartheim was C; Hadamar was E; Sonnenstein, also called _die Sonne_ , was F. They gave me a dark-room and told me to develop photos for the archives. In the four institutes where gassings took place patients never stayed for more than a few short hours. Certainly nobody ever got out.\" (There were in fact six where gassing took place, but only four were operational at any one time. And this does not take into account the eleven \"special\" hospitals where children were \"put to sleep\" by injections.)\n\nSuchomel said at his first meeting with me that the psychiatrist Professor Heyde had his office next to his dark-room at Hadamar. This man, who was sentenced to death _in absentia_ by a German court in 1946, escaped and practised in Flensburg in Germany under the name of Sawade until 1959, when he gave himself up. He committed a slightly mysterious suicide: he was found strangled, lying on the floor, with a noose attached to the central heating pipes \u2013 in Limburg prison in 1963. According to Suchomel, \"He was the head of the whole thing, he developed it.\" In a subsequent letter he says, \"Heide [ _sic_ ] had a flat at Tiergartenstrasse 4, next to my office. He was the top expert in the mercy-killing business. He only stayed at his flat when he had official business in Berlin. He was, I was told, an authority in his field.... I know that there was a research institute into mental illness in Strasburg; he may have run that. That's where the brains of selected mental patients were sent for research purposes.\" And Dieter Allers too talked a great deal about the scientific purposes of the Euthanasia Programme. \"People have completely misunderstood: now it is constantly being misinterpreted. Just look at the world now: don't you think something very much like this will have to happen?\"\n\nStangl was in fact intellectually and emotionally considerably more affected by the whole euthanasia issue than the other people I have talked to who were directly involved with the programme.\n\n_\"You were speaking earlier about having many doubts and many discussions about the rights and wrongs of the euthanasia programme. Can you elaborate a little on this?\" I asked him._\n\n\"Strangely enough,\" he said, \"you see there was somehow more freedom to talk there than I had had in Linz. Of course, we couldn't talk to anyone outside, but amongst ourselves we discussed the fors and againsts all the time.\"\n\n_\"And did you get to the point where you convinced yourself you were involved in something that was right?\"_\n\n\"Of course, I wasn't 'involved' in that sense,\" he said quickly. \"Not in the operational sense.\"\n\nI reformulated my question. _\"Did you get to the point where you convinced yourself that what was being done was right?\"_\n\n\"One day,\" he said, \"I had to make a duty visit to an institution for severely handicapped children run by nuns....\" (\"What the devil,\" said Allers, \"was he doing going to a place like that? He had no business going to any of the hospitals: his job was death certificates.\") \"It was part of my function,\" said Stangl, \"to see that the families of patients \u2013 afterwards \u2013 received their effects: clothes and all that, and identity papers, certificates, you know. I was responsible for everything being correctly done.\"\n\n_\"What do you mean by 'correctly done'? How were the families notified?\"_\n\n\"Well, they were told the patient had died of a heart attack or something like that. And they received a little urn with the ashes. But for our records, as I told you, we always had to have these four attestations, otherwise it... it couldn't be carried out. Well, in this case the mother of a child who had been brought from that particular institution had written to say that she hadn't received a candle she had sent the child as a present shortly before it died. That's why I had to go there: to find the candle. When I arrived, the Mother Superior, who I had to see, was up in a ward with the priest and they took me up to see her.\n\n\"We talked for a moment and then she pointed to a child \u2013 well, it looked like a small child \u2013 lying in a basket. 'Do you know how old he is?' she asked me. I said no, how old was he? 'Sixteen,' she said. 'He looks like five, doesn't he? He'll never change, ever. But they rejected him.' [The nun was referring to the medical commission.] 'How could they not accept him?' she said. And the priest who stood next to her nodded fervently. 'Just look at him,' she went on. 'No good to himself or anyone else. How could they refuse to deliver him from this miserable life?' This really shook me,\" said Stangl. \"Here was a Catholic nun, a Mother Superior, and a priest. And they thought it was right. Who was I then, to doubt what was being done?\"\n\n_\"If these people in this mental hospital for children knew what was happening to their patients, then others must have known too: it was known, wasn't it?\"_\n\n\"This was the only time I heard anyone 'outside' speak of it,\" he said stiffly.\n\nAccording to a letter dated May 16, 1941, from the County Court in Frankfurt to the Minister of Justice, G\u00fcrtner (actually to his deputy), the Euthanasia Programme had become common knowledge. The children of Hadamar, where one of the \"institutes\" was located, were in the habit of shouting after the blacked-out buses, \"Here are some more coming to be gassed.\" \"The patients are taken to the gas chamber in paper shirts,\" the letter continues. \"The corpses enter the furnace on a conveyor belt, and the smoke from the crematorium chimney is visible for miles. At night, Wirth's experts, picked by the Berlin Gestapo... drink themselves to oblivion in the little Hadamar Gasthof where the regular customers take care to avoid them.\"\n\nFrau Stangl too \u2013 on the whole a woman of exemplary honesty \u2013 confirms that she had been aware of what was going on. \"I read \u2013 or I may have heard in Church \u2013 Graf Galen's sermon, and I remember even talking to my husband about it when he came on leave. But at that time of course, I neither knew he was stationed at Hartheim, nor, even if I had known, would it have meant anything to me. I never knew that Schloss Hartheim was one of those places until after the war. I can't remember what my husband replied when I discussed Graf Galen's sermon with him, though I can recall that he never initiated any talk about that. But then, of course, he wouldn't have; it was simply part of his personality, his discipline, never to discuss at home things to do with the service. After the war he told me what he told you too now; about the nun, the priest, and the poor little sixteen-year-old idiot boy in the little basket.\"\n\nWe cannot possibly know now how many nuns and priests, perhaps particularly affected by the sadness and hopelessness _many_ people feel who work continuously in mental institutions, came at that time to agree \u2013 quite possibly in an agonizing conflict of morals \u2013 that euthanasia represented a release, the chance of an eternal and far happier life for these particular patients. But we do know now that at least some of their superiors did not share the attitude of the nun and priest Stangl had met. The protests of various Protestant and Catholic bishops in 1940 and 1941 reached a climax in the Galen sermon on August 3, 1941, at the St Lambert Church in M\u00fcnster.\n\nIt was during that summer too that Hitler, in the course of a trip through Hof, near Nuremberg, where his train was held up when some mental patients were loaded on to trucks, is said to have had the novel experience of being jeered at by an outraged crowd. Whatever the reason, on August 24, 1941, Dr Karl Brandt (as he was to testify later) received verbal instructions from Hitler at his HQ to stop the Euthanasia Programme. There is no written record of the order. Brandt transmitted it to Philip Bouhler by telephone.\n\n* Philip Bouhler, Reichsleiter NSDAP, head of the F\u00fchrer Chancellery, died, believed suicide, in prison camp at Emmerich, Bavaria, between May 18 and 21, 1945 (according to death certificate).  \nViktor Brack, SS Oberfh\u00fcrer, Chief of Section II of the Fh\u00fcrer Chancellery, executed at Landsberg, June 2, 1948.  \nWerner Blankenburg, SA Oberfh\u00fcrer, Brack's second-in-command; escaped prosecution by changing his name to Bielecke; died in Stuttgart in November 1957.\n\n* Although the \"medical commission\" did travel to some institutions, such careful medical examinations were by no means the rule. Most decisions of life or death were much more routinely made at T4, purely on the basis of a questionnaire which had been sent out by \"Amt IVg\" \u2013 subsection for institutional care \u2013 of the Ministry of the Interior to all mental institutions, asking for details on all patients who were senile, retarded or suffering a variety of other mental debilities: criminally insane, under care for five years or more, of foreign or racially impure extraction, incapable of work or capable of only routine mechanical tasks such as peeling vegetables. This was sent out on the pretext of gathering information to assist in economic planning (and apparently only two men in the Ministry were informed of the real purpose) but photocopies were then turned over to T4 \"medical staff\", who marked each case with a plus or minus sign: Life or Death.\n\n* Killed by partisans in Trieste in 1944.\n\n\u00a7See this page\u2013this page for additional history of the camps in Poland and 111 for Stangl's description, which contradicts the August date in the documents.\n\n* Excused from euthanasia trial because of ill health; now living in the Black Forest.\n\n\u2020 Committed suicide.\n\n\u2021\"Child-euthanasia\" was, on the whole, a separate programme, which began earlier and ended long after the general euthanasia _Aktion_.  \nIt was claimed by various defendants in euthanasia trials \u2013 and Dieter Allers repeated this to me \u2013 that \"parents were asked to authorize 'mercy-death' \" for their children. What actually happened was that parents were informed that _Kinderfachabteilungen_ \u2013 Special Sections for children \u2013 were being established all over the country. They were asked to sign an authorization for their severely disabled children to be transferred to these wards and were told that, as these were in fact intensive-care units where highly advanced experiments would be carried out, this represented a unique chance for their children's possible recovery. _This_ was how the Nazis obtained authorizing signatures \u2013 which were subsequently paraded in the trials. Eleven Special Sections were involved; each of them had between twenty and thirty beds. What _is_ true, however, is that unlike the adults \u2013 children were kept in these wards for a period of observation lasting between four to eight weeks. But none of my informants was able to recall any case of a child who was returned to an ordinary hospital, or to its parents, once it had been taken to a \"Special Section\". The children were \"put to sleep\" with injections and, from all accounts, were not aware of their fate.\n\n* Werner was sent to a concentration camp, the legal record shows, not for asking to be relieved but for \"having had financial dealings with a Jew\".\n\n# 4\n\nTO UNDERSTAND how the Euthanasia Programme was practicable in a theoretically Christian country in the twentieth century, we must further examine the history of its development. We must also at least consider a disturbing story which has never been publicly aired and which rests on personal and circumstantial evidence. This evidence, however, has a disconcerting relevance because, if, as I believe, it is to be trusted, it would appear to prove that the Catholic Church, including the Vatican, knew of Hitler's euthanasia plans before the programme ever began.\n\nAccording to a careful analysis, _Euthanasia and Justice in the Third Reich_ by Lothar Gruchmann, political scientist at the Munich Institute for Contemporary History, the question of euthanasia \u2013 the \"destruction of unworthy life\" \u2013 arose as early as 1933, in the course of government discussions regarding the proposed changes in the German criminal code. At that time the German Catholic Church declared uncompromisingly that any kind of legally sanctioned euthanasia was incompatible with Christian morality. Two years later, in 1935, Dr Franz G\u00fcrtner, Reich Minister of Justice, was to reject outright a proposal for legal sanction of euthanasia made by the Prussian Ministry of Justice. But a first compromise could be sensed in the _formulation_ of his rejection: his report (on the work of the criminal law commission) said that \"a (judicial) sanction of the destruction of unworthy life was out of the question\", but that the National Socialist State was \"already providing against these degenerations in the nation's body by measures such as the law for the prevention of hereditary disease in coming generations, which means that these degenerations are in effect in the process of decrease.\"\n\nThe draft law G\u00fcrtner was referring to, for compulsory sterilization of men and women suffering from hereditary diseases, was originally discussed in a meeting of the Reich cabinet on July 14, 1933 \u2013 six days prior to the projected signing on July 20 of the Concordat between the Nazi government and the Holy See which was negotiated by Cardinal Pacelli and signed by Pius XI. On this occasion the then Vice-Chancellor, Franz von Papen, objected to the draft law as proposed, on the grounds that Catholic dogma opposed sterilization. The compromise he suggested was that sterilization should only be authorized upon the voluntary decision of a patient or, as an alternative, the \"detention\" of such patients might be considered. Hitler however opted for the original draft, but agreed that the publication of the law should be delayed until after the signing of the Concordat on July 20, 1933. The law accordingly was made public on July 25 and immediate reactions from a number of Catholic clergy were to prove that von Papen's anxiety about the reaction of the Catholic Church was well founded.\n\nFather Robert Leiber, SJ, Father Confessor and long-time friend of Eugenio Pacelli (Papal Nuncio in Germany 1917\u20131929; Cardinal Secretary of State at the Vatican 1930\u20131939; and Pope Pius XII 1939\u20131959), addressed a long letter to Cardinal Pacelli on August 17, 1933, in which he expressed his deep disquiet over many facets of the National Socialist government.\n\nIn view of the many doubts raised during and since World War II over Pope Pius XII's attitude toward the Nazis (which necessarily figures in many places in this book) Father Leiber's well-known anti-Nazi convictions must in all fairness be registered, particularly as there is documented proof* that Eugenio Pacelli, at least in the earlier years, fully shared these apprehensions.\n\nIn the August 17, 1933, letter, Father Leiber said that he was \"particularly anxious over the ideological confusion that had been brought into the minds of German Catholics. The National Socialists\", he said, \"are doing everything they can to convince the Catholic population that an ideological agreement has [also] been reached between the Nazis and the Church. Already for six months now, Catholic authorities no longer dare (nor are given the opportunity) to expose and emphasize the ideological differences between the Party and the Church. Indeed,\" he continued, \"a number of professors at Catholic theological faculties have already come around to that point of view and are teaching that it is not the function of the State to serve the people, but the people to serve the State.\" He continued to say that these particular theologians were attributing Catholic origins to the principles of the totalitarian state, and were using out-of-context quotations from, among others, Thomas Aquinas to substantiate their claim; and even that falsely, said Father Leiber, as the quotations were in fact from Aristotle, whose \"concept of the relationship between man and State was totally antique-heathenish\".\n\nFather Leiber went on to say that although the final clause of the Concordat assured the Catholic Church the right freely to disseminate its ideology, he had found no one in Germany who believed that this privilege could in fact be exercised. Already, he said, it was impossible to get ideas or articles contrary to the opinion of the Party into even _Catholic_ publications. If they included such an item, the Catholic editor was removed and replaced with a National Socialist, but the publication continued to appear as if under Catholic auspices (thereby obviously lulling the reader into a false security). Amongst several examples he cited, Father Leiber enclosed a cutting of a case in point from the magazine _Germania_ (published by von Papen) of Sunday August 13, 1933, with an article by Professor Dr Josef Mayer, professor in moral theology at the University of Paderborn.\n\nProfessor Mayer (who in 1927 had already published a highly controversial work on the sterilization of the insane) was here, said Father Leiber, cleverly propagandizing the new German law on eugenics on the pretext of interpreting the formal Catholic point of view. \"Such articles,\" wrote Father Leiber, \"are even more harmful than openly advocating this law.\" (The mention here of Professor Josef Mayer is, as will be seen shortly, of great relevance to later events.)\n\nThe 1933 law for compulsory sterilization of those suffering from hereditary disease was followed two years later, on October 8, 1935, by the _Erbgesundheitsgesetz_ \u2013 the law to \"safeguard the hereditary health of the German people\". This expanded the original law by legalizing abortion in cases of pregnancy where either of the partners suffered from hereditary disease.*\n\nReichskommissar for Health and Hitler's personal physician, Dr Karl Brandt,\u2020 testified at Nuremberg that euthanasia had long been on Hitler's mind. As early as 1935 he had told the then Minister of Health, Gerhard Wagner, a notorious advocate of euthanasia, that \"if war came, he would take up and resolve this question, because it would be easier to do so in wartime when the Church would not be able to put up the expected resistance\".\n\nSo Hitler and those around him, at least in these early years, were well aware of the fundamental opposition of the Catholic Church to euthanasia. Equally, there can be no doubt whatever that Hitler \u2013 nothing if not realistic \u2013 was, and in fact remained until the very end, perfectly aware of the power of the Catholic Church in Germany. If he had not been so aware of it, he would not have felt it necessary to exercise such stringent controls, particularly on the educational activities of the Church and \u2013 as Father Leiber pointed out \u2013 on the dissemination of its ideology.\n\nAnd yet, despite this well justified misgiving regarding the potential reaction (and influence on the population) of the Catholic Church, Hitler, in the early autumn of 1939, took the fateful step towards \"legalized\" murder. A signed note from Hitler to Philip Bouhler was found after the war in the files of the Ministry of Justice. It bears no date, but according to the testimony of Dr Karl Brandt, it was made a secret decree at the end of October 1939 and was backdated to September 1. \"Reichsleiter Bouhler and Dr Brandt are charged with the responsibility for expanding the authority of physicians who are to be designated by name, to the end that patients who are considered incurable in the best available human judgment after critical evaluation of their condition can be granted mercy-killing.\"\n\nIt is true that the war had begun, providing the camouflage under which Hitler had predicted in 1935 he would \"resolve this question\". But even the war could not have been considered sufficient to deflect the attention of the Churches from this dark undertaking which could not in the long run remain hidden. And indeed, as it turns out, the Nazis quite realistically _didn't_ think they could hide it and therefore took the only step open to them: they sought out ways to \"feel the pulse\" of the Churches and then acted in accordance with what they found.\n\nI have discussed the evolution of the Euthanasia Programme with a number of people in Germany who were involved in it (and others who deplored it); particularly with two men who were disastrously and closely connected with it at different periods and in different functions, but both at a high level.\n\nOne of them is Herr Dieter Allers who, as a young lawyer, on January 1, 1941 (a relatively late stage of the operation \u2013 two months after Stangl was assigned to T4) became chief administrative officer of T4 and who, after having been convicted of \"psychological collaboration\" in a recent euthanasia trial in Frankfurt, was sentenced to two years' prison (considered served while awaiting trial). He is now back home, living with his family in Hamburg. Herr Allers \u2013 and incidentally his wife, who also worked at T4 \u2013 gave me information on a variety of administrative points which appears in relevant places throughout this book. And in an attempt to explain his own feeling about the acceptability of euthanasia, he advised me to see Herr Albert Hartl who, he said, would be able to tell me about an extraordinary sequence of events in which he had been involved.\n\nThe story told to me subsequently by Albert Hard concerns one short and specific period of vital importance to the evolution of the Euthanasia Programme: between March 1938, when Hitler moved into Austria, one of the traditional strongholds of the Catholic Church in Central Europe, and the autumn of 1939 when war began, and Hitler signed his secret decree which enabled the murder of the mentally and physically handicapped to commence.\n\nI met Albert Hartl in the small town on Lake Constance where he teaches the history of art in a girls' school, and lives with his wife, also a teacher, in a charming flat full of modern paintings and ancient pottery. He was then sixty-six. As a young man of twenty-one \u2013 son and grandson of teachers \u2013 Hartl became a priest. He had severe doubts even then about his vocation and about the dogma of the Catholic Church. \"Just before I was ordained,\" he said, \"I went to see a Jesuit _Domkapitular_ I much admired and told him of my doubts. This old and venerable priest knelt down, took my hand in both of his and said, 'Believe me, my son, you are meant to be a priest: all of us have these doubts; they always come; but they will pass. Once you are ordained, once you wear the cloak of the Church \u2013 they will pass.' And so I became a priest.\"\n\nHe remained a priest for five years, most of that time teaching at a Catholic boarding-school in Freising. \"My doubts were never resolved; on the contrary, they increased and strengthened. My whole concept of morality \u2013 my whole philosophy of life, as it developed, was inconsistent with the dogma. So, after five years, around 1933\u20134, I left the priesthood, and the Church.\"\n\nBefore he took this step, Hartl, presumably searching for other ideals, had joined the National Socialist Party. He had been instrumental \u2013 however haplessly, as he now says \u2013 in the arrest and conviction for anti-Nazi statements of the headmaster of his school, a man called Rossberger. Hartl was a witness for the prosecution when Rossberger was tried and sentenced to three months in prison.\n\nAfter leaving the Church, Hartl joined the SS and in 1935 was given the job of Chief of Church Information at the Berlin headquarters of the SD \u2013 the Reich Security Services.* It is not entirely clear what his functions were, but he has always maintained \u2013 and was never shaken during years of interrogation, first by the Americans, then by German courts \u2013 that his role was always in \"intelligence\" and was never \"operational\" \u2013 or executive. His position as head of one of the most important sd intelligence departments was, nevertheless, one of unique significance. And the fact that, despite these years of interrogation, he was never charged with any crime and in all the trials he took part in, was only heard as a witness, must speak for itself, and for the authenticity of the things he now says.\n\nRegarding the beginning of the Euthanasia Programme, he says that in the second half of 1938, he received an order from Heydrich to report to Brack in the F\u00fchrer Chancellery for a meeting involving a secret matter of State. Brack told him that many requests had been reaching the F\u00fchrer Chancellery from near relatives of people with incurable mental diseases, asking Hitler to permit the mercy-deaths of these patients. It was therefore being considered, said Brack, whether the State should take action in this matter. But Hitler was opposed to it for the time being, especially because, having just received considerable support from the Catholic Church in Austria on the occasion of the Anschluss, he did not wish to provoke any conflict with them now. For this reason Brack wanted to have the question cleared up whether in fact there was or would be fundamental opposition from the Church to euthanasia of the incurably insane by the State.\n\nHartl says that Brack asked _him_ to write an Opinion on this question, but that he refused, on the grounds that he did not feel competent to do this. In his view, he had told Brack, such an Opinion had to be written by a practising priest who understood something of Catholic moral doctrine. Instructed to find such a man, he addressed himself first to the canon of the St Kajetan Church in Munich, Dr August Wilhelm Patin. Hard does not deny that one of the reasons why he first went to Dr Patin was that Patin \u2013 a practising priest at the time \u2013 was Himmler's cousin. \"But Dr Patin,\" said Hard, \"finally seemed to me to take this matter much too lightly: he just said he didn't think there would be fundamental opposition and gave some primitive reasons for his opinion. It was useless. That's what finally made me suggest to Brack that we should commission a professor of moral theology to write a real expert Opinion.\n\n\"The man I was thinking of was Professor Dr Josef Mayer, who was teaching moral theology at the Catholic philosophical-theological University of Paderborn, of which he had, in fact, been Rector for a time. He was therefore a man of considerable standing and, having produced a substantial work on the sterilization of the insane in 1927, was already known to be concerned with, and open to argument about, these questions.\n\n\"I went to see Professor Mayer, I think it was in the beginning of 1939 \u2013 but I can't remember the exact date. I told him exactly what Brack had told me: that Hitler wanted an Opinion on the attitude of the Catholic Church towards euthanasia. I don't think I knew Professor Mayer before this meeting \u2013 although I saw him repeatedly in later years: we travelled to Rome together in 1944; we stayed at the Hotel Felipe Neri... our trip then was for the purpose of finding out what possibilities there might be to change the course of the war at the last moment; to establish contact through the Vatican with the Western powers and join with them against the Bolsheviks. But that was much later....\n\n\"In 1939, as I say, I don't think I knew him personally. Yes, I had warned him of my coming \u2013 not through someone else: I did it myself. I was always very careful when seeing theologians or priests. And I never met them in uniform: it would have been embarrassing for them. I visited the professor two or three times I think, in his flat: it was in a university annexe. I think I saw two rooms, everything full of books. I ate with him, but I never stayed overnight. On that day, when I went the first time, I told Professor Mayer he would be paid a fee, obviously not depending in any way on what he said. What was required was a real expert Opinion. All he was going to be paid for was his time and expenses. Professor Mayer accepted the commission and, as I recall, worked on it for at least half a year.\"\n\nHard says that at the end of that period, he himself went to pick up the paper in Paderborn. \"I remember I went to the flat, and something or other \u2013 typing or correction \u2013 wasn't quite done. The secretary still had it or something like that. Anyway, he finally brought it to me, to the train.\"\n\nThe Opinion, says Herr Hartl, consisted of approximately one hundred pages, typewritten, on thin manuscript paper, average size and double-spaced. There were five copies of it, each bound in a blue folder. He left Paderborn on an afternoon train, spent the five hours of the journey reading, reached Berlin in the late evening and finished reading the manuscript that night.\n\nProfessor Mayer's Opinion, he says, was an academic paper: but there _was_ a feeling, there were indications, that he himself was sympathetic to euthanasia. Going at great length into historical precedents and quoting a number of moral arguments for and against, Professor Mayer suggested that the whole problem of the mentally ill suffered under the error of Christ that the mentally ill were possessed by the devil. It was because of this that, particularly in the Middle Ages, they were whipped, tortured and burned. He said that a subsequent period of relative enlightenment led to more humane treatment and the setting up, at least in some places, of asylums. But these times did not last and there was a return to the medieval practices and superstitions. Only in relatively modern times, Professor Mayer wrote, had a large number of theologians totally rejected euthanasia of the mentally ill, and even they not unanimously. These objections could not, therefore, be considered a categorical moral condemnation. As proof of this lack of decisive unanimity, Professor Mayer cited the Jesuit moral system of probability ( _Probabilismus_ ). This system, he said, claims that \"there are few moral decisions which are from the outset unequivocally good or bad. Most moral decisions are dubious. In cases of such dubious decisions, if there are reasonable grounds and reasonable 'authorities' in support of personal opinion, then such personal opinion can become decisive even if there are other 'reasonable' grounds and 'authorities' opposing it.\" Mayer referred specifically to Thomas Aquinas and finally, concerning the killing of the incurably mentally ill, presented his conclusion: as there were reasonable grounds and authorities both for and against it, euthanasia of the mentally ill could be considered \"defensible\".\n\nAlbert Hartl says he brought the five copies of the Opinion to Brack at the F\u00fchrer Chancellery the next day. \"About four weeks later Brack called me in and told me that, since the Opinion indicated clearly that a unanimous and unequivocal opposition from the two Churches was not to be expected, Hitler had withdrawn his objections and had ordered the Euthanasia Programme to be started.\"\n\nHartl says, however, that even then _he_ was not convinced. \"I suggested to Brack that considering what was at stake, I thought we should inform the representatives of both Churches of what the Opinion said, and of Hitler's decision.\" Brack, it appears, agreed and Hartl was told to inform Josef Roth, a former \u2013 and officially never lapsed \u2013 priest who was in charge of the Catholic section of the Reich Church Ministry.* Reichsleiter Bouhler himself, Brack said, would inform Bishop Wienken, the official liaison man between the Fulda Bishops' Conference (the German Episcopate) and the government.\n\nHartl says he informed Josef Roth \u2013 who then received a copy of the Opinion from Brack \u2013 and that he asked Roth to inform the Papal Nuncio, Cesare Orsenigo, as well as the Archbishop of Osnabr\u00fcck, Bishop Berning, who was very influential in Prussia. \"When I told Roth, he didn't voice any objection,\" Hartl says. \"He just listened. He told me later that he had informed both Berning and Orsenigo.\" Berning apparently commented that \"some pages of this Opinion\" were \"highly embarrassing to the Church\", while Orsenigo, Roth claimed, had apparently pointedly withheld all comment and merely remarked that he took \"informal\" cognizance of the information.\" (In diplomatic language, this would mean that while an _official_ acceptance of information would have entailed an official transmission of the information to the Vatican, _informally_ accepted information entailed no such official obligation \u2013 in a situation like this, one would think, a pointless diplomatic distinction, as there could surely be no doubt what the Nuncio's obligation was.)\n\nBrack apparently told Hartl that Bishop Wienken had expressed \"considerable understanding for the planned measures\" but had remarked that \"one had to realize there were some 'hotspurs' amongst the German Bishops who were likely to use this matter to deepen the controversy between Church and State.\"\n\nHartl claims that on the Protestant side, the Pastor von Bodelschwingh \u2013 especially suitable as he was head of an institution for the mentally ill \u2013 was informed. Here again, Brack is quoted as saying that von Bodelschwingh said neither yes nor no, but merely insisted that his own institution was to be exempted. (According to Lothar Gruchmann's _Euthanasia and Justice in the Third Reich_ the Pastor von Bodelschwingh, together with Pastor Braune, another high-ranking Protestant minister, also director of an institution for the mentally sick, became particularly articulate in their protests _against_ euthanasia, certainly as of the spring of 1940.)\n\nHartl says that shortly after these initial steps, he was instructed to meet with a small group of doctors and lawyers \u2013 about eight to ten people \u2013 and tell them about the Opinion. Later he was to address two more such groups. The first one included the psychiatrist Professor Werner Heyde who was to become the medical director of the programme. \"I talked for about half an hour,\" said Hartl. \"There were no questions afterwards, and no discussion. They were quiet.\"\n\nIf this account, as given by Hartl, is true it opens yet another dimension to the already existing doubts about the moral leadership of the Holy See during the period of the Nazi rule in Germany.\n\nThe credibility of this whole sequence of events seemed at first to depend to a large degree on the personality and motivations of this one man, Albert Hartl.\n\nI was \u2013 to be blunt \u2013 originally disposed to distrust him: a priest who had given away to the Gestapo another cleric to whom, at the very least, he owed professional loyalty; a man who upon leaving the priesthood joined the SS and whose functions, furthermore, seemed to presuppose a readiness to deliver to the Nazis former brothers in faith; and a man who had eventually (as I learned from him) been sent to serve in Russia and had later been imprisoned in Nuremberg while under interrogation for his possible part in the _Einsatzgruppen_ murders.* (He was in fact cleared of this in 1949.) It did not seem to me, initially, that this was a man whose word one could accept on an issue of such magnitude, without corroboration.\n\nIn addition, this was such an extraordinary \u2013 in journalistic terms such a sensational \u2013 story; how was it, how indeed _could_ it be that no newspaper, no magazine had ever picked it up, even when it was apparently finally aired in Germany at two euthanasia trials, first in 1965 and then again in 1967? Indeed, why had it never been brought up in Nuremberg when Brack, after all, was on trial for his life, and when surely proof that the Churches had known about euthanasia before it began and had tacitly sanctioned it \u2013 by calculated silence \u2013 would have helped his case?*\n\nThe fact that Herr Dieter Allers told me that Brack had told him, too, about Professor Mayer's Opinion when he first met him in January 1940, and that he had added that the \"Vatican knew about it too\" did not necessarily add to my faith in the authenticity of this story.\n\nBut then, in anticipation of meeting Herr Hartl, I obtained records and transcripts of a Frankfurt euthanasia trial in March 1967 at which not only Albert Hartl, but also Professor Josef Mayer had appeared as witnesses. And simultaneously I received a copy of a circular sent on March 6, 1967, by Johann Neuh\u00e4usler, Auxiliary Bishop of Munich, to all archepiscopal and episcopal authorities in Germany, Austria and all countries formerly occupied by the Germans. I also received two more photocopies: one a brief extract, in Latin, from the _Diocesan Gazette_ for the W\u00fcrttemberg Diocese of Rottenburg dated March 24, 1941; the other a copy of a circularized Pastoral letter, _Mystici Corporis_ , from Pope Pius XII, dated _June 29, 1943._\n\nImportant though Herr Hartl's personality was to start with, it now became almost irrelevant, and so did any other doubts. The documents speak for themselves.\n\nIn the 1967 Frankfurt euthanasia trial, the transcripts show, Herr Hartl told his story \u2013 just as, according to another transcript he had done in 1965 and as he was to do again, in 1973, when talking to me \u2013 without hesitation and remaining totally unruffled despite an obvious atmosphere of scepticism in the court, and aggressive cross-examination. He spoke briefly, clearly, factually and without any attempt to magnify or for that matter to justify his own part in the events.\n\nProfessor Josef Mayer, for whom \u2013 even reading the transcript \u2013 one could feel instant compassion since he was eighty-one years old and very obviously under desperate strain,* denied at first all knowledge of Herr Hartl, and an Opinion such as he had described. In the course of cross-examination however, every one of his denials and arguments collapsed and what emerged in the end was that Professor Mayer _had_ been commissioned by Hartl to write the Opinion, _had_ done this work in full knowledge of \"all his friends and colleagues\" (and one must remember that he was, in 1938\u20139, professor at a Catholic university and thereby under the eyes and the authority of the Church), _had_ had the Opinion typed by a secretary and _had_ delivered the copies himself to Hartl at the railway station. It would take too much space to reprint here the details of this testimony. But in essence Professor Mayer thus confirmed every claim Hartl had made. This is particularly important as every trace of this document has disappeared; it has never been produced at any of the euthanasia trials; all Catholic authorities in Germany deny ever having seen it; the superbly equipped Institute for Contemporary History in Munich and the Ludwigsburg Central Authority (for the prosecution of Nazi crime) searched all its relevant files without finding a copy, or even a mention of it in any documents of the period. And the West German _Bundesarchiv_ in Koblenz which now houses the more or less complete documentation of the period including the documents recently returned by the National Archives in Washington, although aware of its existence, was also unable to find it. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the total disappearance of this historical document is probably more indicative of the importance assigned to it by those most closely affected by its content and significance, than would have been its ready availability for inspection.\u2020\n\nProfessor Mayer also presented to the Frankfurt court upon request, the letter circularized by Bishop Neuh\u00e4usler.\n\nIn this letter the Bishop (an inveterate opponent of the Nazis who spent most of the war years in Dachau concentration camp, and whose own political integrity is beyond question) requested all those to whom it was addressed to search in their pastoral archives for evidence of pronouncements by the Church on the question of euthanasia, be it in pastoral letters, sermons by bishops, protests to any authorities whatever or directions to the clergy or to Catholic (medical) institutions.\n\nAfter describing, with asperity, the personality and record of Albert Hartl, and implying that the persons who were allegedly informed of the planned euthanasia were all, or nearly all, lapsed priests,* Bishop Neuh\u00e4usler wrote that Professor Mayer totally denied that he had ever pronounced himself in favour of euthanasia. In a tone bordering on despair, he then cited all the German bishops who had spoken up against euthanasia. Beginning with Cardinal Bertram and Cardinal Faulhaber in 1934 \u2013 both of whom he quoted at length _verbatim_ \u2013 he went on to Archbishop Gr\u00f6ber in 1937. He next mentioned, briefly, the Vatican's correspondence with the German government as reported in the Vatican \"White Books\" of 1934 and 1935 \u2013 when the Vatican \"already rejected sharply the small evil of sterilization. Unfortunately there were no more 'White Books' in the following years, and we cannot ascertain at present,\" the Bishop's letter continues, significantly enough, \"whether the Holy See pronounced itself on the subject, when large-scale euthanasia began in 1939. We are requesting information from the Vatican about this today.\"\n\nBishop Neuh\u00e4usler then returns to the further protests from German bishops... after a long and fatal pause of three years: Cardinals Bertram and Faulhaber in August and November 1940; Archbishop Gr\u00f6ber and Bishop Bornewasser von Trier, the Bishop of Limburg and of course the infinitely courageous Bishop of M\u00fcnster, Count Galen \u2013 all in 1941; and finally a pastoral letter from all the German bishops, dated September 12, 1943, and certainly remarkable for the period, in which the bishops protest not only against euthanasia but against the murder of \"innocent hostages, prisoners of war or penal institutions, and human beings of foreign race or extraction\".\n\n\"After this flood [of proof) of protests by the bishops against euthanasia,\" wrote Bishop Neuh\u00e4usler, \"I was asked by one of the defending counsel [present at a meeting on March 3, 1967, when the Bishop was consulted for five hours about the attitude of the Catholic Church towards euthanasia during the relevant period] why the bishops had been silent for so long after their initial protests in 1934. I was able to say that, after all, one could not shoot at rabbits which were either not there or at the very least not visible. There was no destruction of unworthy life in 1938 to 1939, at least not on a large scale, certainly not with knowledge of the public.\" He was, however, to add (a remark of sad significance) \"I myself made an effort to 'bring light into this darkness' by sending, around 1939, a _Domkapitular_ to the two places at which one suspected euthanasia was being carried out: Grafeneck and Hartheim: both in vain. No one around these towns knew anything or dared to say anything. It was only when whole buses of patients were fetched at night from hospitals and asylums [in 1940] that one had grounds for protest.\"\n\nThis is a valid argument only if protest by the Churches against acts incompatible with morality or human rights is to be determined by the extent to which these acts are _public knowledge._ Although \u2013 Bishop Neuh\u00e4usler is right \u2013 these appear to be the standards that have been applied, at least during the 1939\u201345 period we are concerned with in this book, it is difficult to see how they can be justified on any moral grounds.\n\nThe argument has been made to me that the Mayer Opinion, even if it was presented to the Papal Nuncio and several bishops, was merely taken \"cognizance of\", not \"approved\"; and that this in no way committed the Catholic Church to Mayer's interpretation of doctrine or attitude. This is of course true; there is no proof that either Bishop Wienken, Bishop Berning, Cardinal Orsenigo, or even Drs Roth or Patin necessarily agreed with all or any part of Professor Mayer's Opinion. But this argument by-passes the crucial point: that this Opinion was commissioned and then made known to these authorities for one specific purpose: to find out if the Church would _actively_ oppose a Euthanasia Programme by the State. The answer was clear enough to Hitler; there would be no immediate and concerted action. And indeed there _was_ none. The record is deplorably clear; the killing of mentally \u2013 and incidentally, physically \u2013 sick German and Austrian children began in the late summer of 1939, even before the infamous Hitler order was signed. And by October the complete programme was in full swing.\n\nAccording to all the evidence now on hand, whether knowledge was official or unofficial, obtained through fair means or foul, transmitted through practising or lapsed priests, it was literally impossible for the Church \u2013 which has what has been called the \"best information service in the world\" at its disposal \u2013 to have been in ignorance. And whichever way one looks at it there is that appalling hiatus between the summer of 1939 and the spring of 1940 when no one in the German Churches raised their voice.\n\nThe first to speak up was the Protestant Bishop of W\u00fcrttemberg, Theophil Wurm, who on March 19, 1940, addressed an outraged letter of protest to the Minister of the Interior, Dr Frick. Even then \u2013 and by this time tens of thousands must have been dead \u2013 the Vatican did not speak. (The Pope was merely to refer months later, on December 15, 1940, to \"the courageous letter from W\u00fcrttemberg\" in a letter to Konrad von Preysing, Bishop of Berlin. Nor was the Holy Father heard from when his own German cardinals, Bertram and Faulhaber, at last protested in letters to Reich Minister of Justice G\u00fcrtner, in August and November 1940.)\n\nOn November 27, 1940, one year and two months after the official beginning of the Euthanasia Programme, the Holy Office met in conclave and made its first official statement on the subject of euthanasia. But even this, the mildest of pronouncements, stating that the \"extinction of unworthy life by public mandate [was] incompatible with natural and divine law\", was only mentioned once, in Latin, on the Vatican radio (December 2), and in the _Osservatore Romano_ (December 6), equally in Latin, of course. It remained virtually unheard in Germany.\n\n\"Virtually\" because, extraordinarily enough, one German bishop, Preysing, Bishop of Berlin, on March 9, 1941, read it from the pulpit of St Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin.\n\nIt has always seemed puzzling to me that, while the famous sermon of the Bishop of M\u00fcnster, Count Galen, on August 3, 1941, has generally been credited with forcing Hitler to stop the Euthanasia Programme, not a single book I have read has mentioned this sermon delivered by the Bishop of Berlin.* Even the \"Letters to the German Bishops\", Volume II of the six volumes published so far by the Vatican of documents and letters pertaining to World War II, only mentions this remarkable sermon in a long footnote.*\n\n\"With the same devotion to principles,\" said Bishop Preysing, \"with which the Church protects matrimony, the moral focus of the people, she also protects the individual's right to life. We know that nowadays exceptions are claimed in theory and practice, to the holy right of the innocent to life and protection. These exceptions are being justified on medical, economic, yes even eugenic grounds.... The law of God proclaims that no earthly power, including the State, has the right to take the life of the innocent. This divine law is irrevocable....\" The Bishop continued to say that the Pope had \"very recently\" decreed that the law of the Church which states that \"there is no justification and no excuse to take the life of the sick and weak for any reason whatever... be once again confirmed.\"\u2020 Following which the Bishop read out the Holy Office pronouncement.\n\nThe occasion for this sermon was a mass in commemoration of the coronation of Pius XII. The Pope's only reaction to this sermon \u2013 which subsequently was so mysteriously fated to be forgotten by all historians \u2013 was to thank the Bishop (on March 19, 1941) for his letters \u2013 \"of 10, 11, and 17 January; 8, 15 and 22 February, as well as of 6 March [in which the Bishop had included a draft of the sermon] of which We have taken careful cognizance, especially too of your sermon on the occasion of the coronation mass at St Hedwig's. We welcome every honest word with which you bishops defend the right of God and of the Holy Church in public....\"\n\n(\"Nobody cared about what those fellows said in church,\" said Dieter Allers, when I asked him how the population reacted to the sermons by Preysing, Galen and others. \"Hardly anybody went to church anyway,\" he said. \"All we cared about was our crust of bread and getting the war over and done with.\" I believe that Herr Allers underrates the effectiveness of word-of-mouth information. Nevertheless, he may of course be right; in which case one would have thought that it was even more essential \u2013 now that the Churches had begun to admit to the knowledge about euthanasia \u2014 that their information, and particularly the stand finally taken by the Holy Office, be disseminated in print, whatever the risk.)\n\nThe only place in Germany, however, where the pronouncement of the Holy Office was seen in print, was in one single paper, the little _Diocesan Gazette_ of the little town of Rottenburg, in W\u00fcrttemberg (significant, if one remembers that the first churchman to speak out was the Protestant Bishop of W\u00fcrttemberg) on March 24, 1941 \u2013 in Latin. By now the Euthanasia Programme had become a public scandal and courageous Churchmen all over Germany did protest against it. Five months later, whatever the reason, Hitler ordered it stopped.\n\nPope Pius XII himself only spoke out against euthanasia \u2013 clearly and succinctly \u2013 in his Pastoral Letter _Mystici Corporis_ which appeared on June 29, 1943. By then it was irrelevant to the 60,000\u201380,000 children and adults, many of them no doubt incurably insane, many others merely handicapped, with illnesses for which cures have since been found, who had been murdered.\n\nFor many years now the general assumption has been that Hitler's order to stop the Euthanasia Programme was a direct result of pressure by the Churches and the public.\n\nBut Dieter Allers was to tell me that when Brack and Blankenburg discussed his new assignment with him, which was to begin as of January 1, 1941, they said specifically that it was \" _for half a year_ \". \"We expect to finish by latest July,\" Allers quotes Brack as saying.\n\nA similarly puzzling remark was made to me by a spokesman for the Vatican, Father Burkhart Schneider, SJ \u2013 a historian of considerable reputation \u2013 who, commenting on the Galen sermon, said that it was of negligible importance.* \"The Programme was almost finished anyway,\" he said, \"they had more or less killed all those they had intended to kill. And in some respects, in fact, it continued....\"\n\nWhat Professor Schneider was referring to here was what was done in several of the euthanasia institutes _after_ the Programme was \"officially\" stopped, when under the code name \"14 f 13\", thousands of concentration-camp prisoners, politicals, \"habitual\" criminals and Jews were certified as \"incurable\" (in German: _invalid_ \u2013literal translation\u2013patient) and gassed.* Every one of the former T4 people I discussed this development with professed to deplore it now, but to have been in total ignorance of it at the time.\n\n* For instance, a letter from Ivone Kirkpatrick, British Minister to the Holy See, to Robert Vansittart, Under Secretary of State to the Foreign Office, August 19, 1933.\n\n* Separate from the Nuremberg law enacted a week later, directed against the Jews.\n\n\u2020 Condemned to death on August 28, 1947.\n\n* The SD, headed by Heydrich, was composed of the Security Police, which included the Gestapo or SIPO \u2013 or Secret Political Police; the KRIPO \u2013 the criminal investigation department; and the information branches. The SS, which began as Hitler's bodyguard, became over the years a vast empire within the State, served by its own troops and headed by Himmler. After the death of Heydrich in 1942, the SD was assimilated into the SS, but even prior to this the two organizations complemented each other with exchanges of personnel and information.\n\n* Joseph Roth died, in the summer of 1942, ostensibly by drowning in the River Inn.\n\n* The _Einsatzgruppen_ \u2013 action groups of the Security Police \u2013 were employed for killing civilians in occupied Eastern territory.\n\n* A possible answer to this legitimate question was provided by Herr Hartl, who told me in 1973 that Brack, apologizing for his silence, had told him while in prison in Nuremberg that he had returned to the Catholic faith in anticipation of the death sentence. \"He said,\" claimed Herr Hartl, \"that in return for his silence the Church had promised to look after his family.\"\n\n* He died later that year.\n\n\u2020 Subsequent to the original English publication of this book \u2013 and before its announced publication in three predominantly Catholic countries \u2013 Father Robert A. Graham S.J., one of the four editors of _Les Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge relatif \u00e0 la Seconde Guerre Mondiale_ , acknowledged \u2013 if grudgingly \u2013 in the March 1975 issue of _Civilta Cattolica_ that the Mayer Opinion, the existence of which had heretofore been denied by all Catholic authorities, was in fact written.\n\n* Incorrect: Drs Josef Roth and Wilhelm Patin were still priests when these events occurred and the people allegedly \"informed\" included a number of bishops and at least one cardinal.\n\n* Nor did Bishop Neuh\u00e4usler mention him in his circular naming those who protested.\n\n* this page, Vol. II, _Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge relatif \u00e0 la Seconde Guerre Mondiale._\n\n\u2020 Subsequent to the English language publication of this book, the author learned that Bishop Preysing's sermon was quoted on this page of _The Nazi Persecution of the Churches_ by John S. Conway (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1968).\n\n* Father Schneider, introduced to the author through the good offices of a Bishop in the Vatican Secretariat of State as the Editor in Chief of the team compiling _Les Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge relatif \u00e0 la Stconde Guerre Mondiale_ and a \"spokesman for the Vatican in this matter\", now wishes it to be known that he is not the Editor in Chief and that he is not and never was a spokesman for the Vatican.\n\n* This development is fully described in Reitlinger's _The Final Solution_ , this page.\n\n# 5\n\n\"AT HARTHEIM,\" Stangl said, \"the winding up process ran very smoothly, but not everywhere.\" In October 1941 he was sent to Bernburg near Hanover, an 'institute' where the doctor in charge was Dr Eberl (another figure, like Wirth, who was to reappear soon afterwards in Poland, and in Stangl's life).\n\n\"There were all kinds of things which had to be settled properly in the institutes,\" Stangl said rather vaguely about his \"tour\" at Bernburg. \"I had to look after property rights, insurance and that sort of thing. After all, some of those who died left children who had to be properly provided for. Bernburg was a _mess._ \"\n\nPerhaps: but according to the records it was Bernburg as well as Hartheim which, from November 1941, were used for the gassing of political prisoners whose \"eligibility\" for euthanasia was certified on the \"14 f 13\" forms issued by a committee of psychiatrists, primarily Professors Heyde and Nitsche and Dr Fritz Mennecke \u2013 all now dead.\n\n\" _You had no idea_ ,\" I asked Stangl, \" _that political prisoners from concentration camps were being gassed in the institutes by then?_ \"\n\n\"No, not within my experience. At least I never knew this.\"\n\nFranz Suchomel, however, did know it; of course, as he was then stationed at T4 in Berlin, he can better afford to admit knowing it. \"Hartheim existed until the end of the war,\" he said. \"They brought people there from Mauthausen; I don't know whether from other places too. But I have even heard tell that they were still gassing at 'C' [Hartheim] when the 'Amis' [Americans] were already on the Rhine.\"\n\nIn view of these facts on record regarding events at Bernburg and Schloss Hartheim while Stangl was still there, his assertion that he knew nothing about them certainly throws doubt on his veracity in this instance. It is, however, just possible \u2013 and not out of keeping with his personality \u2013 that, as he rarely actually _saw_ the victims but limited himself to his function of checking the \"lunacy certificates\" issued by the commission, it may not have occurred to him to question the signatures on certificates of eminent specialists such as Heyde, Nitsche and Mennecke. He could conceivably have accepted these papers as genuine and never have realized that these particular patients were in fact healthy men and women.\n\nWhile I remain sceptical on this point, I am convinced that Stangl managed to keep his wife in complete ignorance of what he was involved in at Schloss Hartheim. It was not only the secrecy rule that would have prevented him from telling her; it was also because he was profoundly dependent on her approval of him as a husband, a father, a provider, a professional success \u2013 and also as a man. Even if he persuaded himself that the Euthanasia Programme was justifiable ( _all_ of these men did) and even if an occasional remark she made (as she did later to me) could have given him reason to think that at least theoretically she might not totally disagree with this opinion, he could not possibly be sure that she would react with anything but horror to the idea that he himself was actively involved, and he would certainly not have risked the consequences of such a reaction.\n\n\"Yes,\" Frau Stangl said to me in Brazil. \"Of course I remember when he was called to Berlin. He didn't know [what T4 was]; certainly it seemed to me at the time that he had no idea what was wanted of him. When he came back he merely said he'd been transferred to a special job, but not far away and that he would be able to see us quite often. He said that his assignment was an official secret, and that he couldn't say anything, so I didn't ask further. I did see him every two weeks after that: I saw no change in him during that time. But then, when he came home, he only stayed for a few hours, a night perhaps. No, I had no idea there was anything wrong \u2013 I suspected nothing.\"\n\nIn February 1942, after \"cleaning up the mess in Bernburg\", Stangl returned briefly to Schloss Hartheim, \"really only to say goodbye and collect the rest of my gear. It was all over with there: the staff was still there, but everything was empty and quiet \u2013 no patients. I was told to report to T4 in Berlin to get new orders. I went and my briefing was very short; I was told that I could either return to Linz and put myself at the disposal of Prohaska, or, alternatively, I could elect a posting east, to Lublin.\" (\"He left, I think in March,\" said Frau Stangl, \"from Linz. I remember I went to the station in Wels when he came through \u2013 we must have prearranged my coming to the station, though I don't remember doing that. But I remember, there were other people on the train who knew him. And I remember he got off the train and hugged me very hard. He didn't say where he was going except to get his marching orders in Berlin. All I had was his APO number.\")\n\n\" _What did they tell you you'd be doing in Lublin?_ \" I asked Stangl.\n\n\"Something was murmured about the difficult situation of the army in Russia, and anti-partisan action, but this was never elaborated on. Anyway, for me it wasn't a difficult decision: I was prepared to fight partisans any day rather than Prohaska in Linz. I was told to proceed to Lublin and to report to the SS Polizeif\u00fchrer, Brigadef\u00fchrer Globocnik.\"\n\n# 6\n\nTHE QUESTION of the role of the Euthanasia Programme as a preliminary to the extermination of the Jews, and of how the people who operated both came to be selected, has never been fully developed.\n\nI believe this to be a point of primary importance in relation to evaluating individual responsibility. And it was largely to discuss this question that I sought out Dieter Allers.\n\nWhen World War II broke out, Herr Allers \u2013 a young lawyer \u2013 was working in the department of education of the Reich Ministry of the Interior. Mobilized, he was sent to Poland as a sergeant training recruits. \"I was scheduled to go to officer's training school,\" he said, \"but then, in November 1940, my mother met Werner Blankenburg in the street in Berlin. When she told him what I was doing he said, 'That's ridiculous. There is an opening in my department for a lawyer. I'll fix it.' And that's how I got into T4. When Brack and Blankenburg instructed me about my job a month later,\" he continued, \"they said specifically that the assignment would be for about half a year. I thought I'd be a soldier again in July or August.\"\n\n\"Of course they told you what it was about; how did you yourself feel about the moral side of it?\"\n\n\"Well, as far as I myself was concerned, the idea of euthanasia was not new to me; I had read quite a lot about it. Good heavens, it's been discussed, and on the cards, for centuries. What was intended at the time has been completely distorted since.\"\n\nHerr Allers, like so many others who held high position in the Nazi administration, is an intelligent man. Intelligence, of course, is not necessarily equated to morality; indeed can become perilous if applied to nefarious purposes. My four talks with Herr Allers and his wife \u2013 who was always present \u2013 were amongst the most difficult I had in the course of preparing this book. As a man and a German, Herr Allers is totally unrepentant. While one can have an inverted kind of respect for someone who has the courage, or stubbornness, to admit to ideals which many others so rapidly disclaimed after the Nazi defeat, it is at the same time frightening when a man of intelligence is so blind to the reality of the past.\n\n\"You ask how did people generally get into T4,\" he said; \"not the administrators, but those who then worked in the institutes and so on. Well, I was always of the opinion that most people got in through connections. They would hear of the job as being 'attached to the F\u00fchrer Chancellery' and that sounded good. Then of course these jobs carried extra pay; and it meant not having to go to the front.\"\n\n\"That's right,\" said Frau Allers. \"After all, that's how I got into it.\" She, like her husband, was in T4 until the end. \"I was working in a fashion boutique and I was desperate to do something more useful for my country. A friend told me she thought she might be able to help me get into the F\u00fchrer Chancellery where she was working as a secretary. 'Secret work,' she said. Well, that sounded very exciting, so I went. And got in. I had no idea what it was until I was in there.\"\n\n\"There was this tailor from Bohemia,\" said Herr Allers, \"let's not mention names. But he suddenly wound up in T4 as a photographer. The way that happened, no doubt at all, was because he had a pal from his home-town who was already in there as a photographer and they fixed it between them.\" (Franz Suchomel, who told me he had \"no idea how I came to be posted to T4\".)\n\n\"On the other hand,\" Herr Allers continued, \"you have somebody like Christian Wirth. Everybody now is on about how he was the arch-villain, how awful he was....\"\n\n\"He _was_ awful,\" Frau Allers interrupted; she did a short tour of duty \u2013 six weeks \u2013 as a secretary at Schloss Hartheim. \"After that I asked to be transferred back to Berlin,\" she said. \"I couldn't stand it. But Wirth was awful to the men; he was a vulgar horrible person.\"\n\n\"He is dead,\" said her husband, \"so it's easy to say that now....\"\n\n\"You didn't see him with his men: he _was_ horrible....\"\n\n\"He was an officer in World War I [non-commissioned]. He was decorated with the very rare golden Military Cross. He was a good soldier. When this business here started, he was a police officer in W\u00fcrttemberg. You don't know the W\u00fcrttembergers,\" he said both to his wife and to me. \"They _are_ like that: a rough lot who use coarse gestures and language. But I am sure that when Grafeneck [the first euthanasia institute] was opened up and they needed a couple of police officers to put in charge, whoever was the chief of police in that district simply said 'You and you' \u2013 and one of them was Wirth. Perhaps it was because he was a tough sort of man his superiors thought capable of doing a difficult job; but it wasn't a matter of careful or scientific selection of these people. Stangl, for instance \u2013 I think he got into it because he had connections; how do _I_ know with whom? Perhaps Eigruber, the Gauleiter. A lot of Austrians were in it, as you know. Anyway, somebody from down there recommended him. It certainly wasn't that he was known in Berlin; how would _they_ have known him? His story of being interviewed by Ministerialrath Werner,\" he said, \"that's phoney for a start. Ministerialrath Werner was the second-highest ranking official of the Reichssicherheitsamt; you don't think a man like that would have bothered to see a mere Kriminalassistent, do you? Oh yes, Brack saw him, that's for sure; he saw everybody, including the chars.\"\n\nAs it happens, I looked into this with some care and according to the records it was indeed Kriminalrath Paul Werner (later promoted, now retired) who instructed Stangl.\n\nWe discussed at some length the claim made by Simon Wiesenthal in his book _The Murderers Are Among Us_ ,* that the euthanasia institutes, in particular Hartheim, Hadamar, Sonnenstein and Grafeneck were used as formal \"schools for murder\". (\"Hartheim,\" Herr Wiesenthal writes, \"was organized like a medical school \u2013 except that the 'students' were not taught to save human life but to destroy it, as efficiently as possible.\")\n\nThe fact that not only Herr Allers, but four of the SS men I discussed these infamous places with at great length were all rather nonplussed at this idea, and all said that they certainly hadn't been \"schools\" is not of decisive importance: the statements of former SS personnel who administered, or worked in these places, and later in the extermination camps in Poland, must be taken with the utmost caution. However willing they may be now to speak with relative frankness, there must always be an element of self-protection. But what _is_ important is that it is hard to see in this instance what they have to gain by denying that they had been \"schooled\" for murder at the euthanasia institutes, if that in fact was what happened. They would surely appear in a slightly less terrible light if they could claim that they had been scientifically conditioned \u2013 brainwashed \u2013 to death-camp work, rather than assigned to it because their natures seemed particularly suited to such activity.\n\n\"I'd give anything to understand,\" said Horst M\u00fcnzberger, whose father was in charge of driving people into the gas chambers in Treblinka. \"If I could only know why they chose just him, just my father.\"\n\nGustav M\u00fcnzberger, who when I talked with him in 1972, was sixty-eight and just out of prison after serving a twelve-year sentence for his part in the murders of Treblinka was loth to discuss anything to do with Treblinka but had little hesitation in talking about his time at Sonnenstein. But the idea of the place being used as a \"training centre, with students\" seemed genuinely new to him. Shedding for a moment the pose of senility which he affected for most of our conversation, he became reasonably alert and articulate. \"I can't think that it was,\" he said in the tone of someone having a stimulating intellectual discussion. \"If it had been, we in the kitchen would have known\" \u2013 he was on kitchen duty throughout, he says \u2013 \"because of the rations, you see. One time there was a big meeting, with doctors from everywhere and officials from Berlin. We catered for that \u2013 I remember that very distinctly. But students \u2013 no, there weren't any; no outsiders at all, just the permanent staff.\"\n\nAnd the permanent staff, according to Stangl, Franz Suchomel and all remaining documentation, was very small. Simon Wiesenthal in his book had quoted an Austrian photographer as admitting having taken photographs of the victims in their death agony. All the former SS men agree that photographs were taken. \"I don't think, though,\" said Suchomel, who seemed sincerely interested in clearing up this point, \"that there were ever any photographs taken of people actually being killed. You see I would have seen them; because later my work included filing all the photographic material. And as for 'schooling' or 'training' \u2013 what would they have taught anybody? What is true, of course, is that the people who were involved in the actual killing process in the institutes, those who worked in the crematoria \u2013 we called them _die Brenner_ [the burners] \u2013 became calloused, inured to feeling. And they were the ones who were afterwards the first to be sent to Poland.\" This sounds to me convincing \u2013 except for the attempt to limit the conditioned callousness to a few. There _was_ no need for training in the sense of formal schooling for anything. What indeed could they have been taught? But the work at the euthanasia institutes, as Suchomel says, did \"inure\" _all_ of them to feeling and thus prepare them for the next phase.\n\n\"The photographs,\" Herr Allers said, \"were taken for the record \u2013 for each patient's file. This was usually done in the Zwischeninstituten [intermediate institutes] most of them were sent to for a while.\"* He shook his head. \"This is all part of the distortion I mentioned before: all this was really just the beginning of a very wide and long-term research programme to improve the public health of the nation.\"\n\n\"One thing I can testify to personally,\" said Frau Allers, \"and you can quote me: as far as Schloss Hartheim was concerned, there wasn't any possibility of taking photographs of people while they were dying. There was nothing in the door but a tiny peep-hole, like one has on a front door. You put one eye to it to see, but you couldn't take a photograph through it.\"\n\n\"You saw this tiny peep-hole yourself?\"\n\n\"Yes, I did.\"\n\n\"That was just there to allow the doctors to confirm when it was over,\" said her husband. \"There _was_ one person who was sent to Hartheim for a week or two to see how it worked, I remember that; that was Dr Gorgass who later worked at Hadamar. But as far as I know, that was the only time that happened.\"\n\nI asked Herr Allers whether the personnel files at T4 showed evidence that the psychiatrist Professor Heyde had a hand in evaluating the T4 personnel. He said there _were_ no personnel files at T4; he claimed the men's records were kept at their home-stations. (This is not true: T4 personnel were paid, either entirely or certainly their supplements, by the T4 office. When pressed on this point, Herr Allers conceded that there might have been \"file cards\" for each man, for \"administrative purposes\", but no personnel files.) He also said that as far as he knew, Professor Heyde had nothing to do with the evaluation of personnel.\n\nHe then came back once more to how people got into T4. \"None of them, except those they later called the burners, could have got in without their own doing,\" he said again. \"You mentioned M\u00fcnzberger: for heaven's sake, he was a _carpenter_ ; why on earth should anybody recruit just _him_ for this work \u2013 unless, as he no doubt did, he put in a request for what sounded like a cushy job, just like all of them did. Except the burners \u2013 that was perhaps different; they were strictly the troops. They were ordered there, by numbers. Some sergeant picked them out 'you and you and you'. And you can take my word for it that the sergeant didn't know what he was picking them out for. When the Euthanasia Programme finished...\" he said, and I interrupted.\n\n\"But of course, it didn't _really_ finish then, did it? Then came '14 f 13', didn't it?\"\n\n\"Up to now,\" he said angrily, \"we have talked sensibly; if you are now going to bring that up, there is no use in continuing.\" However, he did continue. \"I don't know much about this \u2013 only what I've read. But I do know one thing from following the 'doctors' trials': as far as I can remember, Professor Nitsche, who was a wonderful old man [\"A lovely man,\" said his wife] only went to Dachau once; he testified about that in his trial; he had not found anyone there he considered mentally ill, and he had said so at the time. I can't say the same about Professor Heyde, or Dr Mennecke; they and some others were SS medical officers; they may have had to go there more often. But certainly both Nitsche and Heyde believed in euthanasia, not as Nazis, but as responsible physicians.\n\n\"What I was going to say: when the Euthanasia Programme ended, almost all of the personnel \u2013 don't forget, there were four hundred of them \u2013 were sent to Russia. You tell me now that Wirth and a group went to Chelmno-Kulmhof:* well, I promise you, this is the first I've heard of it. I know Dr Eberl went to Russia for a while as a medic and I certainly always thought all of them did.\n\n\"They all had a piece of red paper in their paybooks signed by the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht),\" continued Herr Allers, \"saying they were not to be employed at the front. This was a F\u00fchrer command: he didn't want any of them caught by the Russians.\" (The same notation was in the paybook of all members of the _Einsatzgruppe_ 1005.)\n\nThe fact that Herr Allers claims \u2013 I believe in good faith \u2013 that he didn't know until now \"that Wirth and a group\" had gone to Chelmno, is not as surprising as one might think. The extent of interdepartmental intrigues and personality feuds in the Reich administration was quite extraordinary and often resulted in people who were theoretically closely involved with events, in practice not knowing anything about them. The apparently minor point Herr Allers has raised here is in fact an interesting and significant illustration of these conditions, and his information about the transfer of the T4 personnel to Russia may possibly allow a new view of the famous letter Dr Fritz Mennecke wrote to his wife on January 12, 1942. \"Since the day before yesterday,\" he said, \"a large delegation from our organization, headed by Herr Brack, is on the battlefields of the East to help in saving our wounded in the ice and snow. They include doctors, clerks, nurses and male nurses from Hadamar and Sonnenstein, a whole detachment of twenty to thirty persons. _This is a top secret._ Only those persons who could not be spared were excluded. Professor Nitsche regrets that the staff of our institution at Eichberg had to be taken away so soon.\"\n\nThis letter \u2013 quoted in all histories of the period \u2013 has always been interpreted as referring to the transfer of euthanasia personnel to _Poland_ for the extermination programme. It had seemed to me for some time that neither the description of this group, nor the dates, fitted this description; Chelmno _was_ set up\u2013by Wirth\u2013but in the early summer of 1941, several months _before_ this particular group went 'East'. And what's more: for reasons which remain obscure, Chelmno did not come under the authority of T4 but was always under the immediate supervision of RSHA ( _Reich-sicherheitshauptamt_ ). However, as it was originally planned as a euthanasia institute, it may well at first have been staffed with doctors and nurses. But when Chelmno, in December 1941, became the first of the extermination camps for Jews\u2013at that point possibly only intended for the Jews of the new (Germanized) province \"Warthegau\"*\u2013there can be little doubt that the medical staff would have been withdrawn. Except for the terrible Dr Eberl who was first director of the Bernburg institute and later briefly commanded Treblinka, no SS doctors or SS _female_ nurses are known to have worked in any of the extermination camps in Poland. So it is indeed possible, and even probable, that \"most of the four hundred personnel from T4\" _were_ sent to Russia, to be used as medical personnel behind the front lines while being kept in reserve for the expanded Euthanasia Programme already in the planning stage for the rest of Europe. Only ninety-six of them\u2013the sum total of German SS to be actively involved\u2013were picked out of these four hundred to run the three camps of the _Aktion Reinhard:_ the extermination of the Jews in Poland.\n\nOne might well be sceptical of Herr Allers' opinion \u2013 though he should know \u2013 that none of these men were chosen on the basis of specific qualities or qualifications; that in fact they either volunteered or were assigned to these tasks by chance. And disbelief appears to be supported by the case of Otto Horn, an SS man at Treblinka who was acquitted at the Treblinka trial in D\u00fcsseldorf but who, none the less, appears to me particularly significant from the point of view of establishing whether or not these people were simply assigned because they happened to be available, or whether they were carefully selected.\n\nThe details of Horn's story are presented somewhat differently by him and by his former colleague at Treblinka, Suchomel. Both versions, however, point to a definite pattern of selection.\n\nHorn, a professional male nurse originally from eastern Germany, who says his war-record has prevented him from ever getting a job since, is a small man with white hair, a firm trim body and a smooth and rested face. He lives by himself in a neat first-floor flat in a pleasant, generously heated block on a tree-lined street in the centre of Berlin. The living room is well furnished, with silver, glass, knick-knacks and a beautiful radio-record player; it is the home of a comfortably established man.\n\nHorn became a nurse as a very young man, working mostly in mental hospitals. \"Until I was called up,\" he said, \"in 1939. Then of course they put me in the medical corps. Political? No, I wasn't ever political. When it [the Nazis] started, I just ignored it. I had an interesting profession \u2013 what did I care about their politics? But, of course, in Germany nurses are civil servants \u2013 and because of that, later on I had to join the Party, otherwise I couldn't have kept my job. But it was only a formality. And then, when we were called up, what did _we_ know of what they were doing in Berlin? I was in Kiev when I was suddenly told I was transferred. Those things happened \u2013 one didn't ask why \u2013 one just went. In fact, it was funny because I was actually discharged; I had my discharge papers and was told to go home and report to my unit in Dresden. At my home station later I was notified to report to \u2013 I think Berlin. And then they sent me to Sonnenstein (the institute at Pirna) and then to Poland.\n\n\"I stayed only a few days at Pirna,\" he said. \"Four, I think. I don't know what they wanted of me there. I wondered too. By that time \u2013 September 1942 \u2013 there was nothing and nobody left there \u2013 just a few men....\" He then mentioned some names of other euthanasia and Treblinka men. \"And oh yes, I met a friend from home, also a medic and we just stuck together. We didn't do anything there \u2013 exercises, I think, and otherwise we just lay about \u2013 for eight or fourteen days [he had forgotten that he had earlier said 'four']. No, they didn't tell us anything.... Oh well, yes, we did hear that they had killed people there. What did I think? Well \u2013 that that won't do...\" the sentence trailed off. \"No, we didn't talk about it much. My chum and I, we said something now and then, but on the whole we didn't discuss it.\n\n\"And then we went to Poland \u2013 twenty of us. No, nobody told us where we were going and why \u2013 oh yes, finally somebody said it was a resettlement camp for Jews....\"\n\nFranz Suchomel's version is so different that it requires mentioning: \"Horn,\" he says, \"was at the _Sonne_ much earlier. It was from there he came to the photo-section in Berlin [where he was himself] in the early winter of 1941. [That would have been around November.] And from there he was sent to Russia as part of the _OT-Einsatz_ \u2013 a purely T4 organization. Then he came back to Berlin to the photo-section, and then to Poland.\" Suchomel adds that Horn had the reputation in Treblinka of being a decent man who never hurt anyone, and this was in fact confirmed by a number of survivors.\n\nNone the less, Horn's transfers \u2013 it emerges clearly both from his own evasions, and from Suchomel's quite precise account \u2013 were by no means as haphazard or casual as he (and Herr Allers) claim. When telling me his story, he made a very special point of his having travelled back from Russia by himself. \"Oh yes,\" he said, \"I had travel orders and all that. But nobody had given me any schedule: they just said, 'Go on home.' \"\n\nThis already points to a very exceptional position; as we know, the German army didn't operate this casually.\n\nWhat emerges from these two accounts is: Otto Horn, a young male nurse, a citizen of Silesia, in Germany proper \u2013 i.e. the _Altreich_ \u2013 was recruited, or assigned, we cannot know which unless he (or Herr Allers) tells us the truth, to T4 probably in early 1940 when he was sent to the euthanasia institute Sonnenstein. From there \u2013 presumably when the Euthanasia Programme officially ended \u2013 he was temporarily transferred to the photo-section at T4 in Berlin (also rather mysterious, for what was a nurse doing in a photo-section?) and was then sent to Russia, probably as part of the general transfer of T4 personnel that Herr Allers spoke of. The significant point however is that, according to his own description, he \u2013 by himself \u2013 was \"suddenly told\" in Kiev that he was transferred back to Germany. Why, out of several hundred personnel, would _one_ man, who had already been sent all the way East, to the Ukraine, be picked out to go back to Germany, in order \u2013 as he claims, although Suchomel's story differs \u2013 to be sent back East again, to Poland, just a few weeks later?\n\nThe only convincing explanation is, in fact, that Otto Horn \u2013 and all the others who were picked for the _Aktion Reinhard_ \u2013 were individually selected on the basis of evaluation of their previous record in the Euthanasia Programme.\n\nHerr Allers claims to know very little about individuals attached to T4, or indeed about the expansion of the Euthanasia Programme into the _Aktion Reinhard._ However, this personnel, wherever they were, and whatever their assignments, were administered from the offices of T4 in Berlin. Herr Allers continued as administrative director until May 1944, when a high-powered administration in Berlin obviously became superfluous and he was transferred to Trieste \u2013 incidentally, to take the place of Wirth who had been killed. (This information comes from judiciary authorities in Germany, not from Herr Allers himself.) Considering his situation, Herr Allers and his wife showed some courage in talking with me at all; but considering the extent of his unique knowledge of matters we know far too little about, and on which all records have disappeared, one could wish that he had shown even more.\n\nAlthough prepared up to a point to discuss euthanasia, Herr and Frau Allers were less ready to talk about T4 and the Jews.\n\n\"When did you first hear about what was happening to the Jews in Poland?\" I asked, and there was a long silence.\n\n\"Oh, some time in '14,\" Frau Allers finally said.\n\n\"Is that what you remember too?\" I asked her husband. By 1943 millions of Jews had already been killed, and the SS men who directed the killing were paid, issued papers and sent on frequent leave by the Berlin T4 office which also, as Herr Allers was to concede later, looked after a special leave-centre on the Attersee in Austria, for T4 personnel and their families.\n\n\"How would we have known?\" he said.\n\n\"Well, how did you feel about it when you _did_ hear?\"\n\n\"Can you ask us that?\" Frau Allers said. \"Can you sit here, in this room with us, and ask us that question?\"\n\n\"Well, yes I can,\" I answered. \"You were there; you didn't leave T4 when the Euthanasia Programme in Germany ended. You stayed. You knew.\"\n\n\"Well of course terrible, awful,\" she said. \"We had nothing against Jews. I used to go to school with Jews. Only the other day I found a photo of myself in a Jewish kindergarten in Berlin....\"\n\n\"Yes,\" added Herr Allers, \"when I went to school, there were fifty boys in my class, forty of them Jews. That wasn't right, was it \u2013 in Charlottenburg... But how did we feel? How could we feel? It goes without saying \u2013 terrible. But what could one do?...\n\n\"But, this whole miserable business about the Jews,\" he said later. \"Do you know the _real_ history of it? Nobody here thought of extermination; if you had said to somebody in Germany, a man in the street _or_ an SS officer 'We are going to kill the Jews', he would have said 'The man is mad: have him locked up!' Originally what they wanted to do was put into practice an old Polish plan. You can find it outlined in one of Pilsudksi's books; one-third to be killed; one-third re-settled somewhere; and one-third to be allowed to assimilate. According to this they first planned to create a Jewish state in Madagascar. It was to be included in the treaty with the French. And when that didn't work out they thought of establishing it in the province of Lublin. I think it was only when nothing else worked out that they decided....\" He stopped.\n\n\"Are you sorry about it now? Do you regret what was done?\"\n\n\"Well yes, that goes without saying. But, on the other hand, if one realizes what the situation was in Germany in the early 1930s: I remember when I said I wanted to study law, somebody in my family took me to the Ministry of Justice in Berlin. We walked along a corridor and he told me to read the names on the office doors we passed. Almost all of them were Jews. And it was the same for the press, the banks, business; in Berlin all of it was in the hands of Jews. That wasn't right. There should have been _some_ Germans.\"\n\n\"Of course, they _were_ Germans, weren't they?\"\n\n\"Well yes, but you know what I mean.... I was thinking some more,\" he said later, \"about what Stangl said to you, remember? About when he came to T4 and was given the choice of either going East, or back to his home station; I've never wanted to harm those people who went to Poland, so I've never said this: I think it is quite possible that Stangl \u2013 as he told you \u2013 and others too, did not know what they were going to do in Poland. But, if they had any suspicions [Stangl said he had learned later that \"some of the men knew\"] then, after all, they didn't _have_ to go; just like Stangl, they _were_ asked. There _was_ an element of choice....\"\n\n* Heinemann, London, 1967.\n\n* The method of \"intermediate institutes\" was adopted for camouflage purposes when the public first began to be suspicious about the destination of the blacked-out buses which fetched patients from mental hospitals.\n\n* Chelmno was the first of the \"death-camps\" to be set up in occupied Poland but appears to have been originally intended as a euthanasia institute. On May 1, 1942, the Gauleiter Artur Greiser proposed to Himmler that 25,000 tubercular Poles from the \"Warthegau\" should be admitted to Chelmno for \"special treatment\".\n\n* See Martin Broszat _Hitler und die Genesis der Endl\u00f6sung_ in the _Vierteljabresbefte fur Zeitgeschichte_ , 4\/1977.\n\n# **Part II**\n# 1\n\nHISTORICAL RECORDS in the public domain prove beyond any doubt that the Nazi extermination of the Jews, and concurrently of large numbers of gypsies, was intended as only the first step in a gigantic programme of genocide of all the so-called \"inferior races\" of Europe. A beginning was made both in Russia, where the Nazis are said to have killed about seven million civilians between 1941 and 1944, and in Poland where the reported figures vary, depending on the source, from between 800,000 to 2,400,000 Poles other than Jews.\n\nIn view of these monstrous figures, and of the fact that genocide in one form or another has existed as long as human history is recorded \u2013 not least in our time, and also perpetrated by nations other than the Germans \u2013 it is not altogether surprising that the question \"What is so different about the Nazi murder of the Jews?\" has been asked time and again, and often by enlightened people.\n\nPerhaps because so much has been written, over so many years, about the highly emotive subject of the Nazis and the Jews, many people now manifest a weary \u2013 and wary \u2013 resistance to it. Hard facts have become blurred and some indeed have never been accepted.\n\nUsing \u2013 or misusing \u2013 the perspective of history, some chroniclers of the time will have us believe that the extermination of the Jews was almost an accidental development, somehow forced upon the Nazis by circumstances. Dieter Allers' \"Nobody here thought of extermination\" has been said to me dozens of times in Germany, and by people far less implicated than Herr Allers.\n\nBut the truth is that the record does not bear out that defence. The ways and means towards achieving this enormous act of murder only evolved with time, but the intention was there almost from the start. On January 30, 1939, Hitler said in the course of a speech to the Reichstag: \"Today I will once more be a prophet. If the international Jewish financiers inside and outside Europe should again succeed in plunging the nations into a world war, the result will not be the bolshevization of the world and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation [ _Vernichtung_ ] of the Jewish race throughout Europe.\"\n\n**SOBIBOR EXTERMINATION CAMP**  \nas remembered by Stanislaw Szmajzner\n\n1. Anti-escape trench\n\n2. Barracks housing the shoe-maker, tailor, jeweller, and hat-maker (exclusively for German Officers); also living quarters for workers\n\n3. Barracks for all workers in Camps 1 and 2\n\n5. Tailor and shoe-maker for Ukrainian guards; bakery, painters\n\n6. Machine-shop and blacksmith\n\n7. Carpentry shop\n\n8. Area for selections\n\n9. Officers' recreation room\n\n10. Officers' baths and barber\n\n11. Officers' quarters, \"The Birds' Nest\"\n\n12. Sentry box\n\n13. Garage\n\n14. Two-storey building for officers\n\n15. Railway platform\n\n15A. Small rail line to Camps 2 and 3\n\n16 and 17. Living quarters for Ukrainian guards\n\n18. Kitchen stores, Ukrainian guards\n\n19. Water-tank, with garden round it\n\n20. Wooden observation tower\n\n21. Victims' belongings\n\n22. Communication corridor with Camp 2\n\n23. Deposit for gold and valuables\n\n24. Electrical workshop, stables, depository for tinned goods\n\n25. Store-rooms for clothes, utensils, etc\n\n26. \"Himmelstrasse\" \u2013 access to \"baths\" and hair-cutting\n\n27. Hair-cutting\n\n28. Gas chamber\n\n29. Crematorium, and quarters for workers\n\n31. Woods\n\n32. Munitions deposit for material from the Russian front (sorting and repair)\n\nIt is true that the so-called \"Madagascar Plan\" \u2013 conceived by the Poles in 1937 and briefly considered by the French as a solution to the voluntary resettlement of 10,000 of the many thousands of Jewish refugees who had been given sanctuary in France between 1936 and 1938 \u2013 was taken quite seriously by at least some of Nazi leadership for a short time. Eichmann is said to have been busy for a year working out the details. When the idea of eventually shipping four million people to Madagascar was defeated by its own lack of realism, the same faction of Nazi administrators who had entertained it as a possibility turned to the idea of setting up a Jewish reservation in the province of Lublin (Lublinland, it was to be called). But these were only pipe-dreams, quite possibly encouraged by those few really in Hitler's confidence in an effort to mislead the others.\n\nOn March 13, 1941, an ambiguous F\u00fchrer order was communicated to the army command in Russia. \"By order of the F\u00fchrer, the Reichsf\u00fchrer SS has been given special tasks, arising from the conclusive and decisive struggle between the two opposing political systems. Within the limits of the set tasks, the Reichs-F\u00fchrer SS acts independently upon his own responsibility.\" The fact that this F\u00fchrer order, which was to cover the execution of a wide category of \"undesirable elements\" in conquered Eastern territories, referred primarily to the Jews was never to be put into words, or on paper.*\n\nThe Nazi plans for the \"Final Solution\" in terms of mass murder had crystallized as the plans for invading Russia were made. The armies advancing into Russian territory in June 1941 were closely followed by the infamous _Einsatzgruppen_ (Action Groups) who carried out faithfully the F\u00fchrer order for the execution of \"Jews, gypsies, racial inferiors, asocials and Soviet political commissars\".\n\nOne of the SS signals concerning these \"actions\" was found amongst _Einsatzgruppen_ records after the war. Addressed to the security police, Riga, from the commander of the security police (and SD) Eastern zone, and entitled \"Executions\", it requests \"immediate mediate information regarding number of executions categorized as _(a)_ Jews; _(b)_ Communists; _(c)_ Partisans; _(d)_ Mentally ill; _(e)_ Others. (The signal also requested the information: \"Of the total, how many women and children?\")\n\nThe reply, addressed to Group A in Riga, states that executions up to February 1, 1942 were: _(a)_ Jews, 136,421; _(b)_ Communists, 1,064 (amongst them 1 Kommissar, 1 Oberpolitruck, 5 Politruck\u2013presumably Communist Party titles); _(c)_ Partisans, 56; _(d)_ Mentally ill, 653; _(e)_ Poles, 44; Russian POWS, 28; gypsies, 5; Armenian, 1. Total: 138,272; of which, women, 55,556; children, 34,464.\u00a7\n\nBy early 1942, behind the front from Riga and Miusk to Kiev and the Crimea, they had killed well over 500,000 Jews \u2013 two-thirds of them, as we can see from the signal, women and children, and nearly all by shooting in previously dug mass graves.\n\nAlbert Hartl, the former chief of the Church Information Service at the Reich Security Office, who had been sent to Russia in January 1942 with a commission from Heydrich to \"report on the cultural and spiritual condition of the population\", told me of the day he was invited to dine at the _dacha_ \u2013 the weekend villa outside Kiev \u2013 of Brigadef\u00fchrer (Major-General) Max Thomas, the higher SS and police leader who was his nominal superior. \"I was going with Standartenf\u00fchrer (Colonel) Blobel,\" he said. \"I hardly knew him but he was invited to dinner too, so we went together. It was evening and just getting dark. At one moment \u2013 we were driving past a long ravine. I noticed strange movements of the earth: clumps of earth rose into the air as if by their own propulsion \u2013 and there was smoke: it was like a low-toned volcano; as if there was burning lava just beneath the earth. Blobel laughed, made a gesture with his arm, pointing back along the road and ahead of us, all along the ravine \u2013 the ravine of Babi Yar \u2013 and said, \"Here lie my 30,000 Jews.\"* (Hartl, a few months after that, had, or faked, a nervous breakdown, was first hospitalized in Kiev and then sent for six months to a convalescent home in the country. After this he was returned to Germany and, by request, invalided out of active, including administrative, service with the SS.)\u2020;\n\nBut in spite of its hideous effectiveness in Russia, shooting was soon rejected as inefficient for what Himmler was to call \"the enormous task ahead\" in Poland. It was also too dangerous, in that too many German soldiers from the ranks of the Wehrmacht as well as from the SS had to be involved. New techniques were called for, and here the euthanasia personnel (some of whom had already been involved in the \"work\" in Russia) found a new role.\n\nWhat was different, and of unprecedented horror, in the Nazi genocide of the Jews as it now developed, was the concept and organization of the \"extermination camps\". Even today there is still widespread misunderstanding about the nature of these very special installations of which there were only four,* all of them on occupied Polish territory and all of them existing for only a short time.\n\nEver since the end of World War II these extermination camps have been confused in people's minds with \"concentration camps\", of which there were literally dozens, spread all over Greater Germany and occupied Europe, and which have been the primary subject of descriptions in fiction and films.\n\nThere are two main reasons for the persistent confusion between these two kinds of Nazi installations; the first is that appallingly few people survived the extermination camps, and those who did are neither necessarily particularly articulate, nor anxious to relive their horrifying experiences. The second reason \u2013 far more subtle \u2013 is a universal reluctance to face the fact that these places really existed.\n\nThere is a somewhat similar confusion \u2013 in the sense of one concept being marginally more acceptable than the other \u2013 between \"War Crimes\" and \"Nazi Crimes\". (Although the misinterpretation, or misapplication, of _these_ two terms is far more deliberate and politically motivated.) For the truth is that \"Nazi Crimes\" (\"NS Crimes\" in Germany), although their perpetration was facilitated by war, had in their origins nothing whatever to do with the war.\n\nIn _Mein Kampf_ , written in 1923, Hitler had already committed himself to a concept of a new Europe based on racial theories according to which the whole of Eastern Europe was to become a \"service population\" for the benefit of the \"superior races\" (in addition to Germany: Scandinavia, Holland, some of France, and Britain). Even if there had been no war, or if Germany had won the war after the fall of France in 1940, the conditions under which this programme could have been implemented would have had to be created. It would still have been found necessary to kill, or at best sterilize, all those in Eastern Europe most likely to resist: the intellectuals and the social and religious \u00e9lite. Racially \"pure\" children would still have been shipped to Germany in infancy and brought up by German foster-parents or in German institutions. (A beginning to this particular phase was in fact made during the war, when 200,000 Polish infants were forcibly removed from their parents. A large number of them were returned to Poland through the efforts of UNRRA in 1945\u20136, but by no means all of them were found.)*\n\nHitler's new Europe was entirely based on this concept of superior and inferior peoples. Whether by annexation or by war, he was determined to create machinery for putting into practice the decimation of Eastern Europe. Equally, war or no war, as no other practical solution offered itself, he would eventually have had to find ways of physically exterminating the Jews; the only logical conclusion of the psychological defamation campaign on which most of his programme was built.\n\nThe \"concentration\" camps were originally set up as extended prison services to deal with those resisting the New Order, and to eliminate them, with bogus legality, as \"traitors\" or \"spies\" if their \"re-education\" proved impossible. From 1941, most of these camps became vast slave-labour markets, but even then they still varied a good deal in severity, largely depending on the nationality of the prisoners they catered for. And even in the worst of them, however terrible the conditions, they offered at least a slim chance of survival.\n\nThe \"extermination\" camps offered no such chance. They were created for the sole purpose of exterminating primarily the Jews of Europe, and also the Gypsies. There were four of these installations, planned _exclusively_ for extermination; first, and as a testing ground, Chelmno (Kulmhof), set up in December 1941. Then, following the Wannsee Conference of January 1942 which, chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, put the official seal of approval on the extermination programme, Belsec (March 1942), Sobibor (May 1942), and the largest of them, Treblinka (June 1942). All were within a two-hundred-mile radius of Warsaw.\n\nThe decision to place all of them on Polish soil has been attributed widely to the well-known anti-Semitism of large segments of the Polish population. Although this fact may have marginally influenced the choice, it is more reasonable to assume that it was mainly prompted by tactical considerations. Poland's railway system covered all of the country, with stations in even the smallest towns; while large tracts of the Polish countryside, densely forested and very thinly populated, made isolation possible. In this sense \u2013 and this sense only \u2013 the war did contribute to making this huge and sinister operation possible, for it is unlikely that it could have been attempted in any other region of Europe.\n\nNone of the extermination camps existed for longer than seventeen months when, one after the other, they were totally obliterated by the SS. The official Polish estimate \u2013 the most conservative, and not universally accepted \u2013 is that approximately 2,000,000 Jews and 52,000 gypsies (children made up at least one\u2013third of this total) were killed in these four camps during that period.\n\nThe concentration camps too had gas-vans, gas chambers, crematoriums and mass graves. In them too people were shot, given lethal injections, gassed, and apart from being murdered, hundreds of thousands died of exhaustion, starvation and disease. But \u2013 even in Birkenau, the extermination section of Auschwitz (where 860,000 Jews are believed to have been killed)* \u2013 there was in all of them a chance of life.\n\nIn the extermination camps, the only people who retained this chance from day to day were the pitifully few who were kept as \"work-Jews\" to operate the camps. Eighty-seven people\u2013no children among them\u2013survived the four Nazi death-camps in Poland.\n\nBut it was not only the policy behind the Nazi murder of the Jews which distinguished it from other instances of genocide. The methods employed, too, were unique and uniquely calculated. The killings were organized systematically to achieve the maximum humiliation and dehumanization of the victims before they died. This pattern was dictated by a distinct and careful purpose, not by \"mere\" cruelty or indifference: the crammed airless freight-cars without sanitary provisions, food or drink, far worse than any cattle-transport; the whipped-up (literally so) hysteria of arrival; the immediate and always violent separation of men, women and children; the public undressing; the incredibly crude internal physical examinations for hidden valuables; the hair-cutting and shaving of the women; and finally the naked run to the gas chamber, under the lash of the whips.\n\n_\"What did you think at the time was the reason for the extermination of the Jews?\"_ I was to ask Stangl.\n\n\"They wanted their money,\" he replied at once. \"Have you any idea of the fantastic sums that were involved? That's how the steel was bought, in Sweden.\"\n\nPerhaps he really did believe this, but I doubt it. Globocnik's final accounting disclosed that the _Aktion Reinhard_ (named after Heydrich) netted the Third Reich DM 178,745,960. To one man, in relation to his monthly wage, this may seem a lot of money. But what is it in the context of a nation's normal income and expenditure, in war or in peace? It is a trivial sum.\n\n_\"Why,\"_ I asked Stangl, \" _if they were going to kill them anyway, what was the point of all the humiliation, why the cruelty?\"_\n\n\"To condition those who actually had to carry out the policies,\" he said. \"To make it possible for them to do what they did.\" And this, I believe, was true.\n\nTo achieve the extermination of these millions of men, women and children, the Nazis committed not only physical but spiritual murder: on those they killed, on those who did the killing, on those who knew the killing was being done, and also, to some extent, for evermore, on all of us, who were alive and thinking beings at that time.\n\n* As Reitlinger says in _The Final Solution,_ page 85, \"Even those to whom it was passed were not all informed at the same time.\"\n\n\u00a7 A further document, from the same source, now establishes that _Einsatzgruppe_ 3 (EK 3, for _Einsatzkommando_ , in official language) began their executions on July 4, 1941, and, carefully listing places, dates and number of victims, allows the conclusion that this one killing-command murdered at least these 138,272 people in seven months.\n\n* The movement of the earth was caused by the thaw releasing the gases from the corpses.\n\n\u2020; \"Anybody who really wanted to, could get out by faking a nervous breakdown,\" Hartl told me.\n\n* Five if we include Birkenau, the extermination section of Auschwitz \u2013 which, however, also functioned partly as a labour camp. See map at front of book.\n\n* When working as a child-tracing officer for UNRRA in Germany in 1945\u20136, I found that numerous German foster-parents were honestly unaware that their adopted children had been stolen from Poland as infants.\n\n* Reititlinger, _The Final Solution_ , pages 500\u2013501, estimates that of the approximately 851,200 Jews deported to Auschwitz, probably some 700,000 were gassed and cremated in Birkenau.\n\n# 2\n\nWE BEGAN on the Polish part of Franz Stangl's story on the morning of the fourth day. Everything he had told me up to now had led up to this moment. His description of his childhood and youth had frequently been interrupted by deep emotion and tears, so the prospect of having to begin the account of his work in the Nazi death-camps would, I was sure, be even more daunting to his spirits. I too was apprehensive about the coming hours.\n\nI waited for him outside the door and watched him walk down the long corridor towards me. He smiled from far away and the closer he came the more noticeable was a subtle \u2013 and yet not all that subtle \u2013 change in his bearing; where before there had been a mixture of eagerness and slight diffidence in his morning greeting, there was now a curious kind of bland composure, and when he bowed from the waist, an overdone _bonhomie_.\n\nWhen seated at the table, he began instantly, without being urged or requestioned, to talk about his arrival in Poland in the early spring of 1942. He sounded brisk and confident, speaking like an objective observer who can describe macabre and terrifying events with feeling and yet fluency and detachment.\n\n\"There were twenty of us travelling together,\" he said, \"all from the Foundation. I was put in charge.\"\n\n_\"And none of you knew what awaited you in Poland?\"_\n\n\"Later I found out that three or four of them had known, but at the time they said nothing \u2013 they didn't let on.\n\n\"I reported to the SS HQ Lublin,\" he went on, \"as soon as I arrived. It was very strange. The SS HQ was in the Julius Schreck Kaserne \u2013 a kind of palace surrounded by a large park. When I gave my name at the gate, I was taken through the building into the park. They said the general would meet me there.\" (This was Gruppenf\u00fchrer (Lieutenant-General) Odilo Globocnik, who directed the extermination of the Jews in Poland and who was to commit suicide on June 6, 1945, when about to be arrested by a British patrol in Carinthia.)\n\n\"It was a beautiful spring day,\" Stangl remembered. \"The grass was very green, the trees in bud and there were new flowers everywhere. I came upon Globocnik sitting by himself on a bench about ten metres away from \u2013 and with his back to \u2013 the building. There was a lovely view across lawns and trees to buildings far away.\n\n\"The general greeted me warmly. 'Sit down,' he said, patting the space next to him. 'Tell me all about yourself.' [Once again Stangl had fallen into the provincial Austrian vernacular which from then on, except when talking about his wife, he was to use whenever he quoted conversations or described particularly disturbing events.] He wanted to know all about my training in the police, my career, my family \u2013 everything. I realized that this was in the nature of a 'test' to ascertain whether I was really suitable for whatever assignment I was to have.\"\n\n\" _You mentioned, of course, your work in the Euthanasia Programme?_ \"\n\n\"I said that I had been attached to the 'Foundation for Institutional Care',\" he said tersely.\n\n\" _Who else was there?_ \"\n\n\"I saw no one at all. The park seemed empty too. It was very quiet and very beautiful. When I finished he said that no doubt I knew that the army had just had some major setbacks in the East. The SS was going to have to help. It had been decided, he told me, to open a number of supply camps from which the troops at the front could be re-equipped. He said that he intended confiding to me the construction of a camp called Sobibor. He called an aide \u2013 who must have lurked somewhere nearby \u2013 and told him to bring the plans.\"\n\n\" _To the bench?_ \"\n\n\"Yes,\" he shook his head. \"It really was very odd. The plans arrived and he spread them out on the bench between us and on the ground in front of us. They showed a design for a camp: barracks, railway tracks, fences, gates. Some of the buildings \u2013 bunkers they were \u2013 were crossed out with red ink. 'Don't worry about those,' he said, 'concentrate on getting the rest done first. It has been started but they've got Poles working there. It's going so slowly I think they must be asleep. What the place needs is someone to organize it properly and I think you are the man to do it.' And then he said he'd arrange for me to leave for Sobibor the next day \u2013 that was all.\"\n\n\" _How long did this conversation last?_ \"\n\n\"About three hours.\"\n\n\" _And during those three hours \u2013 all on that bench in the park \u2013 did he ever hint at what the real purpose of Sobibor was? Did he mention the Jews?\"_\n\n\"Not with one word. I had no idea whatever. He did ask me whether I'd like to go and visit Christian Wirth. But I said, 'Brigadef\u00fchrer, excuse me for saying so, but Wirth and I don't exactly see eye to eye. I'd just as soon not see him any more than necessary.' \"\n\n\" _Did he say where Wirth was and what he was doing?_ \"\n\n\"No, only that he was stationed not far away.\"\n\nThere appeared to me to be two improbabilities raised by this story: first, was it likely that a comparatively junior officer would have been received so informally by the general, and second, would Stangl still have been left in ignorance of the purpose of the work to which he was being assigned (given that he _was_ ignorant) at this stage?\n\nOn the first point Franz Suchomel, who read my conversations with Stangl in the German newspaper _Die Zeit_ , was highly sceptical. He wrote me saying, \"It sounds like a fairy tale. Globocnik was _General of the Police and SS Obergruppenf\u00fchrer_ [his emphasis] \u2013 there could never have been such a comradely tone between them except possibly during a drinking session.\" On the other hand, Dieter Alters, better qualified, I think, to evaluate this encounter, sees the interview as \"quite possible\". Since, however humble Stangl's rank then was, he was being appointed to a key job at the start of a very difficult operation, it was, he thought, not unreasonable to assume that the man in charge would want to assess his calibre personally (just as Brack had previously done with all new T4 personnel).\n\nIn March 1972 I succeeded in finding the building in Lublin Stangl had described to me. It is now being used as a school for domestic science. Although it has none of the style and grandeur of \"a palace\", it is a big place and could well have looked imposing to him. The young headmistress sent for older colleagues likely to be better informed about that period than herself, and they confirmed that during the occupation the whole neighbourhood had been strictly off-limits to anyone but the ss; and three of them, who had lived nearby at the time, said that the building was definitely \"Governor Globocnik's seat\". They said that the garden used to be quite big and that thirty years ago the view from near the house over a vista of trees and lawns was probably unimpeded. And near the house, at just the distance described by Stangl, there _was_ a wooden bench, facing away from the house, which looked as though it could have been there for decades. My visit coincided with the time of year of Stangl's interview with Globocnik, and it seemed far too cold for sitting out of doors; but my informants said that the coming of spring in that part of Poland varies a great deal from year to year, and that it was perfectly possible that in 1942 (which was to turn into one of the hottest summers on record) the trees could have been in bud and flowers could have been in bloom.\n\nSuchomel's scepticism, significantly enough, referred to the \"comradely\" tone of the interview, and not to the other points of doubt: Stangl's description of where this conversation had taken place and his claim that he was not told the true purpose of the camp he was to construct. The D\u00fcsseldorf court certainly did not believe Stangl on this, but I consider it at least possible that he was telling the truth, and not only because I questioned him about it closely and repeatedly, and found him always consistent in his replies however I turned and changed the questions.\n\nIn the early spring of 1942 the planned physical extermination of the Jews was known to comparatively few people even amongst the highest party echelons, and the population of Germany \u2013 there can be no doubt of this whatever now \u2013 was at that time, though not later, in total ignorance of these intentions. Victor Brack testified at his trial in Nuremberg that when he was originally requested to send euthanasia personnel to Lublin and put it at the disposal of Globocnik, neither he nor Bouhler had \"any idea\" that they were to be used in the mass extermination of Jews. He claimed that it was only in June 1942 that Globocnik took Philip Bouhler (chief of the F\u00fchrer Chancellery) into his confidence, whereupon, according to Brack, Bouhler protested that if his men worked on \" _such an inconceivable assignment_ \" they would not be fit to be employed subsequently in mercy-killing.\n\nBrack, according to the record, was involved in the planning of the death-camps in the East as early as the autumn of 1941, so it is unlikely that his denial of knowledge on behalf of himself and Bouhler corresponds to the truth. But Bouhler's expression of anxiety as to the effect of the work on the \"staff\", as he quoted it, rings true as an indication of the nervousness felt by those administering the extermination programme. There must have been considerable uncertainty about the men; even for the Nazis there must have been an enormous difference between the \u2013 as they claimed \u2013 carefully controlled mercy-killing of the incurably and often miserably sick, and the systematic and brutal murder of thousands upon thousands of healthy men, women and children. There must inevitably have been some doubt as to whether the men sent to Poland to launch the project would, when it came to it, be capable of carrying it through. And such doubts may well have suggested that a policy of gradual initiation \u2013 or perhaps sudden initiation, but _at their actual place of work_ \u2013 would be wiser than giving them full information from the start. There was also the very real danger of leaks. No one who has gone into these matters can continue to believe that SS men never told their wives about their activities.\n\nOne example of this is Gustav M\u00fcnzberger, who was at the Sonnenstein euthanasia institute before he went to Treblinka. \"Well,\" Frau M\u00fcnzberger told me, \"I knew after a while what he was doing. He wasn't supposed to say of course, but you know what women are,\" and she smiled comfortably. \"I probed and probed and finally he told me. It was awful of course,\" she added, just as comfortably, \"but what could _we_ do?\" The fact is that by no means all German women would have been so accommodating, particularly not if they had known the nature of their husband's work _before_ they were involved in it. For the Nazi hierarchy the spreading of information in this way could have been a very real danger. And the possibility that wives would stop their husbands from accepting such assignments was another.\n\nThere is the further point that the administration needed to have a strong hold over these men. To order a man to some nebulous \"strictly secret duty\" in the East was one thing; to keep him at it once he realized what was involved was possibly quite another. I do not believe that these particular men were not carefully evaluated before they \u2013 just _they_ out of the 400 T4 personnel \u2013 were offered the assignment to Lublin. But it is quite likely that it was decided to keep the majority of them in relative ignorance of exactly what this assignment entailed until they actually reached their final destination, _saw_ what it was, and by seeing became implicated and aware of the danger their knowledge represented.\n\nI did not readily believe Stangl's account of his introduction to his death-camp commands; I shall always have my doubts about it. But like many other things which would not have happened under normal conditions and to normal people \u2013 it is not impossible that it was true.\n\nStangl told me about his first visit to the Sobibor site on two occasions, a month apart. During our second series of talks I repeated several questions (all on matters about which I had doubts). His story started the same way both times, but differed slightly in some respects later on.\n\n\"I spent that first night in an officers' billets in Lublin,\" he said.\n\n\" _Did you go sightseeing?_ \"\n\n\"No, I was tired. I was going to make an early start the next day and went to bed early. The next morning a car with a driver picked me up and we drove first to Cholm [Chelm \u2013 but he always called it either Cholm or Colm] where Globocnik had said I was to introduce myself to the surveyor, Baurath Moser, who was in charge of the materials I would need for Sobibor.\"\n\n\" _Did this Baurath Moser tell you anything about Sobibor's ultimate purpose?_ \"\n\n\"No. But then, I didn't ask him; it never occurred to me. Globocnik's instructions had been quite clear: Sobibor was a supply camp for the army. The surveyor and I only discussed materials.\"\n\n\" _How far was Chelm from Sobibor? And Sobibor from Lublin?_ \"\n\n\"Colm was about thirty kilometres from Sobibor: Sobibor about no kilometres from Lublin [about forty-five and 160 in fact]. Baurath Moser suggested we make a round of the camps he supplied in the district. The first camp I saw was about half-way between Colm and Sobibor, a farm called Griechhof [this camp was actually called Kirchhof]. It employed two to three hundred Jewish women, mostly German or at least German-speaking. I went in there to look around. There was nothing \u2013 you know \u2013 sinister about it: they were quite free, if you like; it was just a farm where the women worked under the supervision of Jewish guards.\"\n\n\" _What do you mean by 'Jewish guards'?_ \"\n\n\"Well, I suppose you could call them Jewish police. As I say, I looked around and the women seemed quite cheerful \u2013 they seemed healthy. They were just working, you know.\"\n\n\" _Were these 'guards' armed?_ \"\n\n\"They were armed with _weissen Schlagmitteln_ [a really extraordinary word, in literal translation meaning 'white implements for beating'].\"\n\n\" _What do you mean by that? Clubs? Whips?\"_\n\nHe shrugged his shoulders: it was a question he wouldn't answer. \"We got to the village of Sobibor around supper-time. In the middle of the village there was another work camp. The man in charge carried a gun and wore a blue uniform I wasn't familiar with; he took me to a barrack where we had supper \u2013 Jewish girls served us. During the meal he described the work that was being done there: it was mostly drainage.\"\n\n\" _And who was doing the work?_ \"\n\n\"Jewish prisoners.\"\n\n\" _Well, had you expected to find all this? Or did you now begin to ask questions?_ \"\n\n\"No, I didn't. It was just a work camp in the middle of a Polish village using Jewish labour. There wasn't anything special about this: foreign labourers were being used everywhere.\" It was confirmed to me in Poland that these two camps were indeed labour camps for Jewish women, mostly from Czechoslovakia and Austria, who apparently lived there under comparatively humane conditions and worked on drainage projects.\n\nFrom this point on, for reasons I never quite understood, Stangl presented two different versions of his first sight of Sobibor camp.\n\n\"I asked where the Sobibor camp-site was,\" he said on the first occasion, \"and they wouldn't tell me, they just said it was too late to go there that night and that we would spend the night in the village. We went the next morning \u2013 it turned out to be only six kilometres away.\"\n\nDuring our second series of talks he mumbled something about a bridge having come down and a river flooding, and said they went back to Chelm for the night and he returned to Lublin in the morning, going to Sobibor three days later with six other men including his friend Michel, who had been stationed with him at Hartheim. He told me later that Michel \u2013 about whom he gave me three different stories \u2013 had fled to Egypt at the end of the war and was presumably still there.\n\n\" _What did the camp look like when you got there?_ \"\n\n\"It was just the Sobibor railway station. The station building and acroSS from it the forester's hut and a barn, that's all; just those three wooden buildings.\"\n\n\" _And who did you find at Sobibor?_ \"\n\n\"That was a surprise for me,\" he said the first time, \"because there were several people there I already knew: they'd been in the....you know... the Euthanasia Programme. Especially one \u2013 Michel, he'd been the head nurse at Hartheim.\"\n\n(He repeated this answer on a second occasion, but when I asked him the same question yet again, six weeks later, he suddenly said that Michel had actually travelled to Sobibor with him.)\n\n\" _Weren't you a bit surprised to see Michel there? What did you think a nurse was doing at this supply camp site?_ \"\n\n\"Well, I didn't really think about it. I knew of course that as the _Aktion_ was over, the staff had become available \u2013 _something_ had to be done with them. Also, it was very nice for me to have a friend there.\"\n\nIt was of course quite clear at the time that the story of his beginnings in Poland and of some of the euthanasia phase, was at least partly fabrication, partly rationalization and partly evasion. But having pressed him about this repeatedly \u2013 on each occasion when we went through it again \u2013 I hoped that if I didn't press him too hard, he would find it possible later on to revert to telling me the truth about the rest of it, however difficult.\n\nHe went on to describe the Polish workers, whom he found a \"lackadaisical lot\". \"They lived in the neighbourhood and went home at night \u2013 no doubt to get drunk on their _slivowitz._ Anyway, they always arrived late in the morning.\"\n\nWithin two or three days he obtained a Jewish \"work-commando\" of twenty-five men, he said, and some Ukrainian guards from a nearby training camp, Trawniki. \"At that time we really had nothing, no amenities for anybody,\" he said. \"Those first weeks we all bunked in together.\"\n\n\" _What do you mean 'all together'? The German staff, the Ukrainian guards and the Jews?_ \"\n\n\"At first we just used one hut while we were working on the others: _we_ slept on the floor in the kitchen, and the others in the loft. Everything had to be built from scratch.\"\n\n\" _When did you first find out what the camp was really for?_ \"\n\n\"Two things happened: when we'd been there about three days, I think, Michel came running one day and said he'd found a funny building back in the woods. 'I think there is something fishy going on here,' he said. 'Come and see what it reminds you of.' \"\n\n\" _What did he mean, 'in the woods'?_ \"\n\n\"It was about ten or even fifteen minutes' walk away from the railway station where we were building the main camp. It was a new brick building with three rooms, three metres by four. The moment I saw it I knew what Michel meant: it looked exactly like the gas chamber at Schloss Hartheim.\"\n\n\" _But who had built this? How could you possibly not have noticed it before? Or seen it on the plans?_ \"\n\n\"The Poles had built it \u2013 they didn't know what it was to be. Neither Michel nor I had had any time yet to go for walks in the woods. We were very busy. Yes \u2013 it was on the plans, but so were lots of other buildings...\" the sentence trailed off.\n\n\" _All right, you hadn't known: but now you knew. What did you do?_ \"\n\nHis face had gone red. I didn't know whether because he had been caught out in a lie or because of what he was about to say next; it was much more usual for him to blush in advance than in retrospect.\n\n\"The second thing I mentioned happened almost simultaneously: a transport officer, a sergeant, arrived from Lublin \u2013 he was drunk \u2013 and said, to _me_ [he sounded angry even now] that Globocnik was dissatisfied with the progress of the camp and had said to tell me that 'If these Jews don't work properly, just kill them off and we'll get others'.\"\n\n\" _What did that indicate to you?_ \"\n\n\"I went the very next day to Lublin to see Globocnik. He received me at once. I said to him, 'How can this sergeant be permitted to give _me_ such a message? And anyway, I am a police officer: how can I be expected to do anything like that?' Globocnik was very friendly. He said I had misunderstood: I was just overwrought. He said, 'We'd better get you some leave. You just go back for the moment and get on with the building. You are doing fine.' And then he said, 'Perhaps we can arrange to have your family come out for a bit.' So I went back. What else could I do?\"\n\n\" _Did you ask Globocnik about the gas chambers?_ \"\n\n\"There was no opportunity,\" he said firmly. \"I went back to Sobibor and talked it over with Michel. We decided that somehow we had to get out. But the very next day Wirth came. He told me to assemble the German personnel and made a speech \u2013 just as awful, just as vulgar as his speeches had been at Hartheim. He said that any Jews who didn't work properly here would be 'eliminated'. 'If any of you don't like that,' he said to us, 'you can leave. But under the earth,' \u2013 that was his idea of being humorous \u2013 'not over it.' And then he left. I went back to Lublin the next morning. Sturmbannf\u00fchrer (Major) H\u00f6fle,* Globocnik's aide then, kept me waiting in the office all day, and again the next morning. Then he finally told me that the General would not be available for me. I went back to Sobibor. Four days later a courier came from Lublin with a formal letter from Globocnik informing me \u2013 in ice-cold language \u2013 that Wirth had been appointed inspector of camps and that I was to report to him at Belsec forthwith.\"\u00a7\n\nWirth had by then commanded both Chelmno and Belsec, a much larger establishment. At Chelmno it was found that the method of gas-vans was impracticable for the huge task on hand, and he claimed to have invented the Jewish _Sonderkommandos_* (probably falsely, as this idea, reverting to the legend of the Pharaonic tombs, seems more likely to have emanated from Heydrich's fertile intellectual brain). At Belsec the first large-scale exterminations with engine exhaust gas in gas chambers were begun in March 1942.\n\n\"I can't describe to you what it was like,\" Stangl said; he spoke slowly now, in his more formal German, his face strained and grim. He passed his hand over his eyes and rubbed his forehead. \"I went there by car. As one arrived, one first reached Belsec railway station, on the left side of the road. The camp was on the same side, but up a hill. The Kommandantur was 200 metres away, on the other side of the road. It was a one-storey building. The smell...\" he said, \"Oh God, the smell. It was everywhere. Wirth wasn't in his office. I remember, they took me to him... he was standing on a hill, next to the pits... the pits... full... they were full. I can't tell you; not hundreds, thousands, thousands of corpses... oh God. That's where Wirth told me \u2013 he said that was what Sobibor was for. And that he was putting me officially in charge.\"\n\nAlthough I have never doubted that Stangl's first experience of a death-camp in operation was \u2013 as he claimed \u2013 that day in Belsec, he did give me, here too, two versions of this experience, although they were only marginally different. (His giving different versions of events is not too important from the point of view of facts. It is, however, of psychological relevance, for the gradual decrease in evasions, embellishments, and anxiety to project a favourable image of himself reflects significantly and accurately the intensity of his emotion, and possibly the psychological changes these conversations produced in him.)\n\nThe second time I asked him to tell me this story, he said: \"Wirth wasn't in his office; they said he was up in the camp. I asked whether I should go up there and they said, 'I wouldn't if I were you \u2013 he's mad with fury. It isn't healthy to go near him.' I asked what was the matter. The man I was talking to said that one of the pits had overflowed. They had put too many corpses in it and putrefaction had progressed too fast, so that the liquid underneath had pushed the bodies on top up and over and the corpses had rolled down the hill. I saw some of them \u2013 oh God, it was awful. A bit later Wirth came down. And that's when he told me....\n\nThe historical record provides a number of horrifyingly graphic descriptions of Wirth's Belsec where the installations constantly broke down, causing unimaginable suffering to the deportees who were either left waiting, naked and without food or water, in the open, sometimes for days, or else were crammed into railway cars the floors of which had been covered with lime and were left to suffocate on sidings only a few hundred metres from the camp. These conditions \u2013 the beginnings of which Stangl obviously saw in April 1942 \u2013 have been described by Jan Karski in _The Story of a Secret State_ ,* and by Kurt Gerstein. Both men visited Belsec. Gerstein did so in his official capacity as Obersturmf\u00fchrer (Lieutenant) in the SS Health Department and his description of the gas chambers is probably the most terrible that has emerged from approximately that period. Gerstein's somewhat ambiguous but undoubtedly tortured personality has been amply described in the literature (although his death, in Fresnes prison on July 17, 1945, remains clouded in mystery). Karski (now professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.) who was an indomitable courier for the Polish government in exile, spent a day at Belsec disguised as a Ukrainian guard. Karski's description of the extermination of the Jews in Poland reached London and Washington as early as October 1942 (presumably, at least through the diplomatic post, also the Vatican in Rome). Although the fact of the physical extermination of the Jews in Poland was by then thoroughly known to the Allies \u2013 and to the Vatican \u2013 Karski's detailed description to the world press, MPS, Members of Congress and religious leaders in London and Washington, and his meetings with Anthony Eden and President Roosevelt, provided the first testimony of an eye-witness. If previously there had been any doubt, after meeting Karski or reading his report, the Allied leaders knew precisely what was happening in Poland.\n\nI had no doubt whatever of Stangl's sincerity when he described his reaction to Belsec. Nor could one doubt that this was the real moment of decision for him: the time when he might have braved what he certainly considered the deadly dangers of taking a stand... and didn't because it wasn't in him to do so.\n\n\"I said [to Wirth] I couldn't do it,\" he said. \"I simply wasn't up to such an assignment. There wasn't any argument or discussion. Wirth just said my reply would be reported to HQ and I was to go back to Sobibor. In fact I went to Lublin, tried again to see Globocnik, again in vain: he wouldn't see me. When I got back to Sobibor, Michel and I talked and talked about it. We agreed that what they were doing was a crime. We considered deserting \u2013 we discussed it for a long time. But how? Where could we go? What about our families?\" He stopped. He stopped at that point, when he told me about it, just as he and Michel must have stopped talking about it at that point; because, if there was nothing they could or dared do \u2013 there was nothing else to say.\n\n\" _But you knew that day that what was being done was wrong?_ \"\n\n\"Yes, I knew. Michel knew. But we also knew what had happened in the past to other people who had said no. The only way out that we could see was to keep trying in various and devious ways to get a transfer. The direct way was impossible. As Wirth had said, that led 'under the earth'. Wirth came to Sobibor the next day. He ignored me; he stayed several days and organized everything. Half the workers were detailed to finish the gas chambers.\"\n\n\" _While Wirth was organizing, what were you doing?_ \"\n\n\"I just went on with other construction work,\" he said wearily. \"And then one afternoon Wirth's aide, Oberhauser, came to get me.* I was to come to the gas chamber. When I got there, Wirth stood in front of the building wiping the sweat off his cap and fuming. Michel told me later that he'd suddenly appeared, looked around the gas chambers on which they were still working and said, 'Right, we'll try it out right now with those twenty-five work-Jews: get them up here.' They marched our twenty-five Jews up there and just pushed them in, and gassed them. Michel said Wirth behaved like a lunatic, hit out at his own staff with his whip to drive them on. And then he was livid because the doors hadn't worked properly.\"\n\n\" _What did he say to you?_ \"\n\n\"Oh, he just screamed and raved and said the doors had to be changed. After that he left.\"\n\n\" _And after he was gone, what did you do?_ \"\n\n\"The same thing; I continued the construction of the camp. Michel had been put in charge of the gassings.\"\n\n\" _Put in charge by whom?_ \"\n\n\"By Wirth.\"\n\n\" _So now the exterminations had really started; it was happening right in front of you. How did you feel?_ \"\n\n\"At Sobibor one could avoid seeing almost all of it \u2013 it all happened so far away from the camp-buildings. All I could think of was that I wanted to get out. I schemed and schemed and planned and planned. I heard there was a new police unit at Mogilev. I went again to Lublin and filled out an application form for transfer. I asked H\u00f6fle to help me get Globocnik's agreement. He said he would do what he could, but I never heard of it again. Two months later \u2013 in June \u2013 my wife wrote that she had been requested to supply details about the children's ages: they were going to be granted a visit to Poland.\"\n\n* Hans H\u00f6fle, Deputy Director of the _Aktion Reinhard_ , hanged himself in the Vienna remand prison in August 1962 while awaiting trial.\n\n\u00a7 The timing reported here by Stangl is contradicted by documents on record, in particular Christian Wirth's personnel file which states that he was Kommandant of Belsec until August 1942, when he was appointed _Inspektor_ for the Sonderkommando (special command) _Einsatz Reinbard._\n\n* The system of forcing physically stronger Jews to despoil and bury their own people before they in turn were killed.\n\n* Hodder, London, 1945.\n\n* Josef Oberhauser was sentenced on January 21, 1965 in Munich, to 4 1\/2 years of imprisonment. Following his release, he was said to be working in a Munich wine cellar where my request for information about him, however, met with blank refusal.\n\n# 3\n\nTHE EXACT date on which Sobibor became fully operational is not quite certain; it was either May 16 or May 18, 1942. It is certain, however, that in the first two months, the period when Stangl was administering the camp, about 100,000 people were killed there. Soon after that, the machinery broke down for a while and exterminations did not recommence until October.\n\nI drove to Sobibor by way of Lublin on a cold Friday in March 1972, and we passed the camp-site before we realized what it was. It is marked by a light-brown stone monument, ten feet tall, on which are engraved the words: \"In this place from May 1942 until October 1943 there existed a Hitler extermination camp. At this camp 250,000 Russian, Polish, Jewish and Gypsy prisoners were murdered.* On the 14th of October 1943 an armed rebellion took place, with several hundred prisoners taking part who, after a battle with the Hitler guards, escaped.\" Facing the monument is Sobibor railway station. The station building has probably been improved, but the forester's cottage \u2013 built of timber and painted green and dark brown \u2013 in which Stangl lived, appears to be unchanged. It is now inhabited by the families of two foresters, and the little room in which Stangl worked and slept is still a bedroom. It overlooks the railway track, which was known in the camp as \"the ramp\". Transports may have halted slightly further back rather than directly opposite his window, but it would still have been impossible for Stangl to avoid seeing them.\n\nThe site \u2013 about 160 acres of forest \u2013 is quiet. The big clumps of pines and other trees are thick enough even in March to hide all open spaces. It is dark in the woods, with a musty, damp smell. \"In Sobibor,\" Franz Suchomel had said, \"one couldn't do any killing after the snow thawed because it was all under water. It was very damp at the best of times, but then it became a lake.\"\n\nThere is a road about thirty feet wide, still in good condition, stretching from the railway track into the woods. It was constructed under either Stangl or his successor Reichleitner, and the SS called it the _Himmelfahrtsstrasse_ \u2013 the Road to Heaven. The area adjoining the disembarkation ramp, no larger than a medium-sized football ground, was called Camp II. Cunningly divided by means of blind fences into squares and corridors, with many narrow \"doors\" from one square into another, it allowed the systematic separation of the arriving deportees, usually without arousing their suspicion. From the arrival point at the ramp, all that was visible were the fences, tightly camouflaged with evergreen branches, the distant trees, and \u2013 to the left \u2013 the small cluster of barracks (now a bare and open space) known as Camp I where the SS staff, the Ukrainian guards and the \"work-Jews\" lived and worked. This was all the 250,000\u2020 who were killed in Sobibor ever saw.\n\nI walked along the road they had to take \u2013 except that now there was complete solitude and silence. After perhaps half a mile it ends in a large tract of open land. In the centre, facing the road, is a huge mound of earth, an artificial hill thirty feet high, the bottom half of which is faced with glass laid over millions of tiny pebbles. Inset in the middle is a small square filled with dried wild flowers. This mound, now overgrown with grass and bushes, marks the place where the three gas chambers stood and symbolizes the grave of those who died there.\n\nThe air is clear and clean. There is the sound of birds, the occasional whistle and clatter of a train, the far-away clucking of chickens; familiar sounds which, thirty years ago, must have offered momentary illusions of reassurance. But the earth round the mound is dark and terribly fine while the soil over the rest of Sobibor is a light brown sand which gives underfoot. And one is jolted out of any effort at detachment by the sickening shock at realizing that \u2013 even these three decades later \u2013 one must be walking on ashes.\n\nThe custodian of the site is Wladzimier Gerung, head forester of the region, who lives with his wife in a new house on the other side of the railway, about twenty-five yards from the station. We went to see them, unannounced. The Gerungs, tall, easy-moving people with open faces and quietly courteous manners, came to Sobibor eighteen years ago. But as a girl, throughout the war, Pani Gerung lived near Chelm. \"Oh yes,\" she said, \"people in Chelm knew what was going on in Sobibor \u2013 how could they not? They could smell it \u2013 the air was rancid even though it was twenty miles away. And the sky lit up in the night with their terrible fires.\"\n\nI asked whether she and the people who lived around her had feelings against the Jews. She shook her head. \"No \u2013 it was just... there was nothing one could do. Except, I think sometimes, what our neighbours did.\"\n\nThe neighbours \u2013 farmers \u2013 had taken in two children of a Jewish pedlar when their parents were put into a ghetto; a girl of five and a boy of fourteen. The boy, on hearing that his parents and all the rest of the ghetto \"had been taken away\", had disappeared, but the farmer adopted the girl legally and kept her as his own child. The little girl, said Pani Gerung, looked very Jewish, and to start with both children had to be passed from one house to another to keep them hidden: \"Relatives and friends, everyone took them,\" said Pani Gerung. \"The little girl's name was Elisabetta. In 1947 relations turned up and took her to Israel. She wrote to the farmers for several years. Then the letters stopped. Now they are old and deaf. They missed her terribly.\"\n\nAny Pole who, during the occupation, was found assisting or hiding a Jew was summarily shot; the _Sondergerichte_ \u2013 special courts \u2013 who tried such people accepted no pleas in defence. The penalty was automatic. None the less, in spite of the strong anti-Semitism of large sections of the population, there are a number of documented examples of families \u2013 like the one quoted by Pani Gerung \u2013 who did extend such help. And there were also some Jewish children who were hidden by nuns in convents although the Catholic Church in Poland was immeasurably more pressured than anywhere else in Europe; ninety-five per cent of the priests held in concentration camps were Poles. In the government-sponsored _History of Help to the Jews In Occupied Poland_ , the Polish writer Wladyslaw Bartoszewski (who is by no means only wedded to the party-line) cites a number of examples; the account he gives is, perhaps, made all the more convincing because the figure he finally has to cite for the number of Polish Jews actually rescued by his compatriots is so pitifully small that it heavily underlines the heroism of the relatively few who were willing or felt able to take the risk.\n\nIt was difficult to remember Polish anti-Semitism when talking to these two people who belonged to the very region \u2013 the extreme east of Poland \u2013 where it was most rampant. Their manner of speaking, their caring for the Sobibor Memorial and their protectiveness of the mementos they have collected (two flags, some documents, a map of the camp, and the visitors' book with its pathetically few signatures) has a reverent, tender quality.\n\nAt Stangl's trial, his activities at Sobibor were, for administrative reasons, not included in the prosecution's case. But even so, his behaviour and attitude while there became part of the trial record and one of the matters brought up by each of the few Sobibor survivors who came to D\u00fcsseldorf as witnesses, was the fact that he often attended the unloading of transports \"dressed in white riding clothes\". It was when he tried to explain this to me that I became aware for the first time of how he had lived \u2013 and was still living when we spoke \u2013 on two levels of consciousness, and conscience.\n\n\"When I came to Poland,\" he said, \"I had very few clothes: one complete uniform, a coat, an extra pair of trousers and shoes, and an indoor jacket \u2013 that's all. I remember, during the very first week I was there, I was walking from the forester's hut \u2013 my quarters \u2013 to one of the construction sites and suddenly I began to itch all over. I thought I was going crazy \u2013 it was awful; I couldn't even reach everywhere at once to scratch. Michel said, 'Didn't anybody warn you? It's sandflies, they are all over the place. You shouldn't have come out without boots.' [This would appear to indicate that Michel _was_ there ahead of him.] I rushed back to my room and took everything off \u2013 I remember just handing all the stuff to somebody out of the door, and they boiled and disinfected everything. My clothes and almost every inch of me was covered with the things; they attach themselves to all the hair on your body. I had water brought in and bathed and bathed.\"\n\nIt was difficult at that point not to recall that in these camps the prisoners retained as \"work-Jews\" had to stand at rigid attention, caps off, whenever a German passed. Anyone who moved, for any reason whatever \u2013 cramps, itches or anything else \u2013 was more likely than not to be hit or beaten with a whip, and the consequences of being struck could go far beyond momentary pain: any prisoner who, at the daily roll-call, was found to be \u2013 as they called it \u2013 \"marked\" or \"stamped\", was a candidate for immediate gassing.\n\n\" _These sandflies must have been an awful problem for the prisoners, weren't they?_ \" I asked.\n\n\"Not everyone was as sensitive to them as I. They just liked me,\" he said, and smiled. \"Anyway, what I wanted to tell you, with all this wear and tear, and the heat \u2013 it was very hot you know \u2013 my clothes fell apart. Well, one day, in a small town not far away, I found a weaving mill; I was interested in it because, you remember, that had been my profession once. So I went in. They were making very nice linen \u2013 off-white. I asked whether they'd sell me some. And that's how I got the white material; I had a jacket made right away and a little later jodhpurs and a coat.\"\n\n\" _But even so, how could you go into the camp in this get-up?_ \"\n\n\"The roads were very bad,\" he explained blankly. \"Riding was the best mode of transport.\"\n\nI tried once more: \"Yes, but to attend the unloading of these people who were about to die, in white riding clothes...?\"\n\n\"It was hot,\" he said.\n\n* In _They Fought Back_ (survivors' recollections edited by Ury Suhl, Crown, New York, 1967) Alexander Pechersky, a Russian prisoner at Sobibor and former officer in the Soviet army who led the October rising, contested this figure. He said that more than half a million people were murdered at Sobibor between May 1942 and October 1943. Accounts by survivors also deny that any non-Jewish Poles were killed there.\n\n\u2020 The official Polish figure.\n\n# 4\n\nOF ALL the survivors of Treblinka and Sobibor who were brought to Germany by the prosecution (or defence) to testify at Stangl's trial, perhaps the only one Stangl really identified \u2013 who he remembered clearly as an individual and whose testimony, as he said to me, \"hurt him deeply\", was Stanislaw Szmajzner, like the Stangls an immigrant to Brazil. Stangl appeared almost to feel that Szmajzner had betrayed him.\n\n\"My family,\" Stangl said to me, \"were never anti-Semitic: remarks against Jews were unknown in our house. But after Szmajzner's testimony, first to the police in Brazilia, to the Brazilian press, then his book \u2013 he wrote forty pages about me \u2013 and then in D\u00fcsseldorf at the trial, they did feel rather bitter.\" (Actually there are only two pages directly concerning Stangl in Stanislaw Szmajzner's book _Hell in Sobibor: the Tragedy of a Jewish Adolescent._*)\n\nFrau Stangl, too, always emphasized to me how friendly she and the girls felt about the Jews \u2013 and indeed, how friendly Jews had been to them, in Brazil. At one moment during the week I spent with her, she pointed at some particularly splendid flowers that had arrived that morning, orchids I believe, on the table in her living room \u2013 this was the day after her family had celebrated her thirty-sixth wedding anniversary \u2013 and said, \"These were sent to us by Jews.\" And she, too, repeatedly referred bitterly to Szmajzner.\n\nStan Szmajzner, slight in build, with an expressive face, firm wiry hands, intelligent eyes and a warm smile, lives now in Goiania, a thriving industrial town in Central Brazil. He was a boy of fifteen when he broke out of Sobibor in October 1943; so he was still only forty-three when we met. (It was the second uprising in a death-camp, just as extraordinary as the first one, in August in Treblinka. Four hundred to five hundred people managed to get out but only thirty-two survived.) Stan Szmajzner has succeeded in creating for himself a new life on a new continent, in a new language and amongst people who could not possibly be further removed from his native environment but have accepted him as one of their own. He has married a Brazilian, has a child, and his closest friends, almost his adoptive parents, are one of the best-known liberal families in Brazil. Senator Pedro Ludovico was Governor of the province of Goi\u00e1s until a fairly recent government change, and founded the city of Goiania. My meeting with Stan Szmajzner was at the Senator's house; the Senator referred to Szmajzner at lunch repeatedly as his \"extra son\", and Stan works, in a position approaching that of a partner, in a paper factory owned by the Senator's son. Stan's book, with a preface by Senator Ludovico, sold 10,000 copies \u2013 a considerable achievement in a country so far removed from Europe's troubles.\n\nThe reason why Stangl remembered Stanislaw Szmajzner so well is that, fourteen years old at the time and looking even younger, Start had worked in Sobibor as a goldsmith. \"I went almost every day to watch him work,\" Stangl said. \"He was a wonderful goldsmith and a nice boy.\"\n\nSzmajzner was born in Pulawy on the Vistula in Poland, the middle child of a prosperous orthodox Jewish family. His father was a fruit exporter, dealing principally in the export of strawberries to, surprisingly enough, Germany. Stanislaw went to a Hebrew school.\n\nFor a child from an orthodox Polish Jewish family, he appears to have been exceptionally independent from a very early age. \"I didn't really like school very much,\" he told me. \"It worried my parents a lot because in our family boys were traditionally good scholars. But school work bored me. What fascinated me, from very early on, was the craft of working with gold. There was a remarkable master-goldsmith in Pulawy \u2013 his name was Herzl \u2013 and I used to watch him whenever I could. When I was ten, I made a bargain with my father: I said that if he would allow me to take lessons from Pan Herzl, I would promise in return to work hard at school. Well, he said, all right, it was a deal, and that's how I became a qualified goldsmith by the time I was twelve \u2013 the year the Germans invaded Poland. It saved my life.\"\n\nFor two and a half years after the German invasion of Poland, the Szmajzner family moved from one town to another in an effort to ameliorate their lot. Six months after the invasion, Stan, his brother-in-law, Josef, and the goldsmith Herzl slipped across the Russian frontier in the hope of greater safety in Soviet territory; but the Hitler-Stalin pact was still in force and the Russians promptly shipped all Polish Jews back to the Germans in Poland. A second attempt was more successful. Josef decided to stay in Russia; Herzl and Stan worked for a while at their craft until homesickness and anxiety about his family drove Stan back to Pulawy.\n\nAlthough still only thirteen years old, Stan often took the initiative, not only in trying to save himself but also in advising his parents how to cope; unlike most of the Jews in this part of the world, he appears to have felt instinctively that safety lay in individual and unconventional action, not in remaining with the \"group\". None the less, circumstances always forced them back into the ghettos. \"For a whole family, it was impossible to do otherwise,\" said Stan. \"By the autumn of 1941 we were living in the ghetto of Wolwonice. Conditions had deteriorated to the point where people were literally dying of hunger and my father decided to try to 'pass' as a Catholic and beg for food in the streets 'in the name of Jesus'. But it brought him more shame than food; he cried every night because he had been driven to commit such sacrilege. And the greatest risk was being found out by a Pole; they were always ready to denounce Jews to the Germans. Even in these terrible times \u2013 terrible for the Christian Poles too \u2013 anti-Semitism was so virulent, the Jews were as afraid of the Poles as they were of the Germans. My young brother, Moize, volunteered to work for the Germans as a servant, in our old home town, Pulawy, because my father wanted to know what had happened to our belongings; he had left everything in the care of Polish neighbours. [Polish Jews always refer to non-Jewish Poles as \"Poles\" and to themselves as \"we\" or \"Jews\".] Moize went to see them and they told him that every single thing we owned had been taken by the Germans and that there was nothing left. But it wasn't true; it was they who had taken everything and there was nothing we could do about it, nothing at all.\"\n\nWhile the family, especially Stan, Moize and their little nephew Jankus went from ghetto to ghetto, always trying to make themselves as useful to the Germans as possible, the deportation (or \"resettlement\" as it was called) of the Jewish population proceeded. Their turn came half-way through 1942. I have listened in many places around the world to men and women speaking of these awful memories. But in no place, perhaps, was it quite so extraordinary as this hot October day in a pioneering town ten thousand miles away from Poland's pine forests in the middle of Brazil.\n\n\"After a night in a barbed-wire enclosure near the station at Malenzow,\" Stan said, \"early next morning they put us on a freight train, a hundred or a hundred and fifty in each car; so many that we had to stand up one against another. There were no windows, no sanitary facilities, there was no light, no air. People urinated, defecated and vomited. A few, the weakest, died standing up and had to stay standing up \u2013 there was no room to do anything else with them.\"\n\nStanislaw, his parents, his twelve-year-old brother, Moize, his older sister and her eleven-year-old son, Jankus, a cousin aged twenty and several more distant relatives arrived in Sobibor on May 24, 1942.\n\n\"When the door of our car was pushed open,\" he said, \"all we could think of was to get out into the air. What I saw first was two guards with whips \u2013 later we found out they were Ukrainian SS. They immediately began to shout, ' _Raus raus_ ,' and hit out blindly at those who stood in front. Of course, this made everyone move quickly; those in the back pushed towards the front, and those in front, the immediate target of the Ukrainians' whips, jumped off as quickly as they could. It was all perfectly planned to get us out of the cars with no delay. They only opened three cars at a time \u2013 that, too, was part of the system. When I jumped down with my family, I immediately caught hold of my brother's and little nephew's hands. I even shouted 'We must stick together'. My older cousin also managed to stay with us but we immediately lost sight of my father. We looked around desperately, but the hurry, the noise, the fear and confusion were indescribable; it was impossible to find anyone once one lost them from sight. About twenty metres away, across the 'square', I saw a line of SS officers and they were shooting. I especially noticed Stangl,\" Stanislaw said, \"because he wore a white jacket \u2013 it stuck out. He was shooting too. I can't say whether he killed anyone, or in fact whether anyone _was_ killed by these shots or not, but they were certainly shooting. No, I can't say whether Stangl shot into the crowd or above it \u2013 they were all shooting. The purpose was to get us all to run in one direction; through a gate and a kind of corridor into yet another square.\"\n\nStanislaw Szmajzner is as impressive a man now as he was without doubt a remarkable boy at fourteen. His testimony \u2013 very nearly the only one that linked Stangl directly to a personal act of violence \u2013 weighed heavily at Stangl's trial. There is no doubt that SS officers in the camps carried guns. (\"German officers and enlisted men carried the same arms,\" said Franz Suchomel. \"German 'Walther' pistols, for which there was never enough ammunition; and 'Nagans' from Russian stocks, with lots of ammunition, and aside from that each enlisted man had an infantry rifle for emergencies. Non-commissioned officers also had submachine-guns for emergencies, but neither of these last were carried ordinarily. The Ukrainians were first issued looted guns but later they were also given German rifles. To be honest, all guns were of Czech origin, Mausers \u2013 Model 24 \u2013 with the stamp of the Slovak army. The submachine-guns were Finnish, because they too were better than the German ones. The German staff _had_ to carry whips \u2013 I myself was often taken to task by Franz and K\u00fcttner for not having one. For Stangl the Jews made a small riding-crop, but he rarely carried it. When transports arrived the Ukrainian guards had whips too. Amongst the Jews, the Kapos and the 'camp elders' had whips, and also the men from the 'Blue Command' [who assisted at the arrival of transports]. The whips were made of leather, but they didn't have anything 'in' them as has now been claimed....\")\n\nAnd Richard Glazar, a highly intelligent Czech survivor of Treblinka, who has even less reason than Suchomel to defend Stangl, says, \"They all carried guns and whips [at Treblinka] except for Stangl. He only carried a small riding-crop.\"\n\nIn the final analysis it is, of course, irrelevant whether or not Stangl carried a gun, and indeed \u2013 considering everything else he stood for in these camps \u2013 whether or not he actually used it. Even so, as a matter of principle, in this evaluation of what he said to me \u2013 and he maintained throughout, and throughout his trial, that he never shot into any crowds \u2013 one must at least pose the question: is it possible that time and memory can have played a not uncommon trick and blurred an impression of many years ago? _Could_ a small boy, in the horror of this arrival, intent on keeping hold of his even younger relatives, trying to see what was happening to his mother and sister and desperately searching the crowds for his father \u2013 could this youngster really see over or through a tight-packed crowd of jostling, gesticulating people, which SS officer, twenty metres away and whether wearing a white jacket or not, was actually holding and using a gun? Stan Szmajzner, I know, will be the first to understand the motives of this question and to know that it is not in the slightest degree meant to reflect on his integrity.\n\nStangl, insisting that he had never shot into a crowd of people, appeared to be more indignant about this accusation than about anything else, and to find irrelevant the fact that, whether he shot into the group or not, these very same people died anyway, less than two hours later, through actions ultimately under his control.\n\nThis may appear to be a marginal matter, but I believe it to be peculiarly significant in representing a profoundly mistaken emphasis accepted \u2013 perhaps of necessity \u2013 by the courts, and also by the public and by the individuals involved: a concept whereby responsibility has been limited to momentary and often isolated actions, and to a few individuals. It is, I think, because of this universal acceptance of a false concept of responsibility that Stangl himself (until just before he died), his family and \u2013 in a wider but equally, if not even more, important sense \u2013 countless other people in Germany and outside it, have felt for years that what is decisive in law, and therefore in the whole conduct of human affairs, is what a man _does_ on isolated occasions rather than what he _is._\n\nTo Stanislaw Szmajzner, the shooting incident was merely a tiny part of an enormous and horrendous panorama of memories. He seemed almost surprised at the importance ascribed to it. And he and many other survivors \u2013 far more than people who were only later or indirectly involved in these matters \u2013 came much closer to evaluating men like Stangl for what they _were_ rather than for what they _did_ on isolated occasions. The detached humanity and wisdom of some of the survivors is perhaps the most astounding thing to evolve out of these events.\n\n\"At the exit of the corridor into the second square,\" Stan continued his story, \"two more Ukrainians divided the arrivals into two groups: women and small children to the right, men and boys to the left. The women were immediately lined up in rows of four \u2013 my mother and sister too \u2013 and marched off through another gate at the right, we had no idea where to. Then they lined us up in fours too. That's when I first saw Gustav Wagner, a very tall man, slightly malformed, who walked with a looped sort of movement of his body. He bellowed, 'Carpenters, tailors, mechanics \u2013 step out.' This was when we became certain it was a labour camp. I still don't know today what made me step forward. But I got out of the line, stepped up to him and said \u2013 in German of course \u2013 'Don't you need a goldsmith?' Well, of course, I was just a little boy \u2013 he looked down at me and said, 'You? Are you telling me you are a goldsmith?' I said yes, I was, and so were my two brothers and my cousin, and I pointed at them. Of course they weren't, but I just said they were because it seemed the thing to do. I quickly opened my rucksack and brought out some of my tools \u2013 that's all I had in there \u2013 and showed them to him and also showed him something I had made. God knows what inspiration had made me bring it. Well, he told us to step out of the line and waved us to a corner. 'Go and sit there,' he said, and a bit later he sent another boy \u2013 a sign-painter he was. And we sat there, for hours I think, until everyone else from the transport had gone through that same gate on the right \u2013 we still didn't know where. And then he came back and took us to yet a third courtyard in which there was an old wooden hut which he unlocked and pushed us into. It was empty except for an older man who rushed towards us and asked whether we were Jews. He said he was a sign-painter too, and had arrived the day before and that he had been put in that hut with ink and brushes and told to paint signs 'Camp I, Camp II, Camp III'.\n\n\"We waited a long time \u2013 it was already dark when the door was unlocked again and Wagner told my brother and me to bring along a tin that was standing there, to fetch coffee and bread from another hut. When we got back we realized that the tin had contained petrol before and we couldn't drink the coffee. But we had the bread. And afterwards we lay down on the ground and slept. The very next morning Wagner came with Stangl. So I was a goldsmith, they said. I sat down then and there and made something for them from a little bit of metal I had brought. They watched for a while and later I gave them what I had made. But anyway, that was the beginning. They brought me gold to work with that very afternoon.\"\n\nIn his book Szmajzner described this first meeting with Stangl in greater detail: \"He dressed impeccably and appeared vain although his eyes seemed kind. He had a soft voice, good manners and was extremely polite. He looked like a young university professor...\" and he went on to say that Stangl had said repeatedly that he was amazed to find a boy of his age capable of making good jewellery.\n\n\"Stangl seemed so friendly when they brought the gold in the afternoon,\" he told me. \"I felt encouraged to ask about my father. I told him that I'd like to go and see my father. 'Where is he, please?' I asked. 'You are much better off here,' Stangl answered in a very friendly way. 'This is a much better place to work. Don't worry about him. He is all right.'\n\n\"They assigned my brother to work with me; my little nephew was eventually made bootboy for the officers; he also had to run their baths and that sort of thing. And my twenty-year-old cousin was appointed Platzmeister: he had to tidy up the square where transports arrived \u2013 organize the belongings into lots and so on. [The Szmajzner family obviously arrived before the camp was completed and the work organized. Later the workers were grouped into Kommandos, each performing different functions.]\n\n\"We still had no idea what happened to all the people. The six of us \u2013 us four and the two sign-painters \u2013 were the only people in Camp I for several days. Wagner was responsible for us and we saw Stangl every day \u2013 he appeared to come just because he enjoyed watching me. Every time he came I'd ask him about my father, and he always said the same thing: not to worry, just to work and that I'd be all right. The Ukrainians were not allowed to enter the 'gold-hut', but other SS officers came, of course, as soon as they realized we were working there, and all of them ordered things.\n\n\"It was on the seventh day after we arrived that a Ukrainian guard came [presumably to the window of the hut] and said he had a message for me, which he would give to me if I gave him some gold. I said I'd give him the gold the next day. The note was from another cousin who was \u2013 he wrote \u2013 in Camp III [the gassing and burial camp]. He wrote that I was to say the _kaddish_ for my father. 'Here no one remains alive,' he said. 'Pray for them.'\n\n\"Then we knew. And we learned too that out of every transport they kept fifty strong men and boys and made them clean up after a transport had been killed. The corpses weren't burnt then \u2013 they were buried in lime-pits. And when they had finished cleaning up, they too were killed. This happened every day in the beginning. It was only later that semi-permanent Kommandos were formed who did this work for weeks, months and \u2013 a few of them \u2013 throughout the whole existence of the camp. But from that moment on the awareness of the proximity of death never left me. Though \u2013 it is true \u2013 deep inside me I never believed that I \u2013 _I_ \u2013 would die.\n\n\"I still saw Stangl every day. He seemed fascinated by my work. And he talked to me; you know \u2013 he chatted, almost as if we were normal people, I the craftsman, he the customer.\n\n\"For a long time after I had received the note from my cousin in Camp III I didn't ask him any more about my father. But one day, just to see what he would say, I said again, 'How is my father?' This was weeks later, but he said again, 'He is fine; don't worry about him: just do your work.'\n\n\"I knew that work was the only security we had. I worked day and night. The trick was to make oneself indispensable. And they _all_ wanted gold things. Oh yes, I am sure I made things for Stangl. I can't remember what, but all of them ordered things; like decorations or monograms for handbags for their wives and girl friends. There was _so_ much gold, so much money, so many things: we lacked nothing for our day-to-day life. As long as the rich transports arrived, we had all the food in the world, everything we could imagine.\n\n\"One day, fairly early on, we were told to stay in our barracks; if we showed ourselves outside, we'd be shot on sight. There was great commotion and from the window we could see a line of cars arrive. Later we found out that it was Himmler; and he came again some months afterwards. The very day after his visit, construction was stepped up and only too soon afterwards there were new buildings, new facilities, and the number of transports and people being killed increased tenfold.\n\n\"Soon we had company in our barrack: three young women, Eda, Esther and Bagle, who came to work as cooks. Then two shoemakers, two bakers, five tailors, one milliner \u2013 more and more arrived and finally they split us up into groups living in different barracks. I was made 'block-eldest' of my group, which included laundresses, cooks, bricklayers, bakers and us goldsmiths.\"\n\nIn his book Stan tells of a short love-affair with the cook, Bagle. She had arrived at the camp with her husband, who was killed at once. \"I had made love once before,\" Stan wrote, \"to a young girl of about fifteen in the ghetto at Wolwonice where we were all sleeping very cramped. But I felt terribly inexperienced. I liked Bagle. One day I went to the kitchen. She said Eda and Esther, who worked there with her, were out having a wash. I thought the opportunity right and kissed her face and told her I wanted her. She smiled and said I was too young for her. 'Esther is nearer your age,' she said. But I told her I didn't like Esther \u2013 I liked _her._ And I told her I'd never had an apple, and didn't like to experiment with a green one. And then I saw she was actually proud that I wanted her instead of the younger girl, and she came to me.\"\n\nOne of the things on which I questioned Stan Szmajzner closely was a matter he had testified about to the Brazilian police and later at the trial: a great deal had been made of it in the press in Brazil. He said that Stangl was in the habit of bringing him sausages on Friday night and that he would call loudly, \"Here's some sausage for you to celebrate the Sabbath.\" The implication was clearly that Stangl, in a particularly outrageous way, was tormenting this young boy from an orthodox Jewish background by tempting him, when he was presumably starving, to eat pork. In October 1970 I was present on the last day of Stangl's trial when Stan testified to this effect, and certainly I \u2013 like the court, the newspapers and before this, the Brazilians \u2013 gained the impression that this was what he was intending to convey.\n\nStangl, in his conversations with me, was to refer repeatedly and bitterly to this part of Szmajzner's testimony. \"That business with the sausage,\" he said, \"was deliberately misinterpreted.... It's true I used to bring him food and probably there was sausage. But it wasn't to taunt him with pork; I brought him other things too. It was because we received our food allocations on Fridays and \u2013 there was a great deal of food in the camp much of the time \u2013 we had food left over. I _liked_ the boy.... He testified in Brazil \u2013 and you should have seen how the papers there _ate_ it up, what they made of it \u2013 that I used to stand in front of the window of the barrack where he worked and shout tauntingly, holding up the sausage. But I never did such a thing....I don't _know_ what the sausages \u2013 if sausages there were \u2013 were made of. But you know, during the war pork sausage was a luxury; I honestly don't think it could even have been pork; it was most probably a mixture of beef and breadcrumbs.\"\n\nIn Brazil Stan told me that he hadn't really meant to convey that Stangl had taunted him, and that he himself didn't know what the sausages were made of. I asked him whether he realized the interpretation that had been given to what he had said \u2013 he had repeated the same thing three times and it was interpreted three times the same way.\n\n\"I don't know that I did know,\" he said. \"I didn't really mean it that way, though; I think he _was_ perhaps just doing me a good turn; it's perfectly true that he seemed to like me; that he made a sort of pet of me. Perhaps he really did want to help me. Still,\" he added thoughtfully, \"it was funny, wasn't it, that he always brought it on a Friday evening?\"\n\nI am not absolutely convinced that Stangl was incapable of this sort of playful cruelty; it is just possible, in the context of the change that (as we will see later) came over him quite soon after his arrival in Sobibor. And it is equally possible that, if he did do it, he would deny it later not only to others but to himself. As our talks progressed, it became clear that what he was most concerned about (until the last two days) were what one might call the lesser manifestations of moral corruption in himself; once again, what he _did_ rather than what he _was._ It was his \"deeds\" \u2013 his relatively mild deeds \u2013 he was at great pains to deny or rationalize rather than his total personality change.\n\nStan Szmajzner also said in court, and to me, that Stangl had ordered him to make a monogram for a handbag. On re-examination in court he had also said that whether for a whip, handbag or ring, he was sure that he had made _something_ for Stangl. He explained that on Wagner's and Stangl's orders he made rings for all the SS men\u2013silver ones with germanic symbols\u2013 _Runen_ \u2013inset in gold:   stood for life and   for death, both of which, as Wagner told him, the SS controlled.* Stangl, he said, had no need to make a secret of bringing him small quantities of gold to melt down. \"All of them brought gold\u2013later it was gold fillings with the flesh and blood still on them, the way they had been torn out of people's mouths....Stangl,\" he testified, \"was always cheerful and treated me with kindness. I didn't have the impression from him \u2013 of being in a camp. [But] I certainly thought that the gold he brought was for his personal use. He had no need to send other people, or to hide.\"\n\nIn court Stangl insisted that he had never told Szmajzner or anyone else to melt down gold. \"I merely watched him work,\" he said. \"I told him once to cut the oakleaves out of a silver one \u2013 Mark coin and to insert my monogram in gold and silver \u2013 that's all.\"\n\n\"Szmajzner's testimony,\" Frau Stangl told me, \"was obviously very important to us because he lives here [in Brazil] as we do. When he testified before the police in Brazilia, it was all over the papers \u2013 it did Paul a lot of harm. He was very hurt by it, he told me, because Szmajzner was just a boy in Sobibor and Paul really liked him.\"\n\nSzmajzner allowed press photographers to take pictures of him with Frau Stangl after the hearing ended in D\u00fcsseldorf. I remember being amazed at seeing this survivor of Sobibor pose with Stangl's wife for smiling pictures, and I asked Stan about it in Goiania. \"I agreed to it,\" he said \"because I had nothing against Stangl's family and I was aware of how hard all this was on them. I thought if I showed my own goodwill towards them by posing for pictures with Frau Stangl for the Brazilian press, this might reflect on the public attitude here towards Stangl's family.\"\n\nThroughout our long conversation Stan Szmajzner was fair and tolerant. Indeed, I felt, almost too anxious to give credit where he could, to a man whose family \"who had nothing to do with all this\", was also living in _his_ chosen country. This was in sharp contrast to his attitude on hearing from me that Gustav Wagner was still alive and was probably in Brazil, information which I had from Stangl. On hearing this, Stan cried. \"It is the worst, the most terrible shock you could have given me,\" he said. \"That man. Here in Brazil. To think that I am now breathing the same air as he \u2013 it makes me feel terribly, terribly ill....I would not know how to find words to describe to you what a terrible \u2013 a truly terrible man that is. Stangl \u2013 he is good by comparison, very good. But Wagner \u2013 he should be dead....\" He begged me to find out where Wagner was, because, he kept on repeating, \"I must do something.\" It took most of the day, off and on, to calm him and persuade him that vengeance ought not to be his.\n\nI asked Stan Szmajzner how it was, in his own opinion, that he had managed to survive. What sort of person did you have to be, to survive these camps? What were the special qualities needed?\n\n\"I understand your question,\" he said. \"Yes, we too were corrupted, of course: life was everything. I remember how furious we used to be when the transports came from the East rather than the West. Those coming from Germany, Holland, Austria, Hungary\u2013they brought clothes and above all, food; we could go and choose anything we liked. The ones from Poland and points east had nothing, and then we went comparatively hungry. It is true, you see, if there hadn't been gold, we wouldn't have lived. So, in a sense, their death meant our life.\n\n\"I never saw Stangl hurt anyone,\" he said at the end. \"What was special about him was his arrogance. And his obvious pleasure in his work and his situation. None of the others \u2013 although they were, in different ways, so much worse than he \u2013 showed this to such an extent. He had this perpetual smile on his face....No, I don't think it was a nervous smile; it was just that he was happy.\"\n\n* Edition Bloch, Brazil, 1968.\n\n* These same symbols were used by _Lebensborn_ , the Nazi breeding institutes for racial improvement, where thousands of \"racially superior\" young girls were mated with members of the SS and where their offspring \u2013 property of the state, without parents \u2013 were then brought up An indeterminate number of such small children were found in these institutes, or places connected with them, at the end of World War II, quietly removed and discreetly placed with fosterparents.\n\n# 5\n\n\" _Did you want your family to come to visit you in Poland?_ \" I asked Stangl.\n\n\"I wanted to see them, of course. But don't you see what the fact that they were allowed to come meant? Globocnik had said to me, months before, that I needed leave. But they weren't going to let me go home, like other people. I was in danger, it was quite obvious. And they were making damn sure I knew about it.\"\n\nStangl's wife and two little girls, six and four, arrived very soon after his wife had written to tell him of the forms she had filled out, and they all went to stay with the surveyor, Baurath Moser, in Chelm, twenty miles or so from the camp.\n\n\" _Were you officially on leave then, or did you have to go to Sobibor during that time?_ \"\n\n\"While we were in Colm, I was on leave.\"\n\n\" _Did your wife ask you what you were doing in Sobibor? What sort of camp it was?_ \"\n\n\"Very little then: as I told you she was used to my not being able to speak to her of service matters. And we were so glad just to be together. The funny thing was, though, that I heard nothing from Lublin, or from Wirth. I didn't have any official instructions how long my leave was to be, how long the family would be allowed to stay, or anything. After about three weeks I went to see H\u00f6fle and asked him. He said, 'Why make waves? If nobody's said anything to you, why not just keep them here for a while? Find a place to stay nearby, and don't worry'.\"\n\n\" _What did you think that meant?_ \"\n\n\"I was so glad to have them there, you know; it was such a relief, I just decided not to think, just to enjoy it. I found rooms for us on an estate just a few kilometres from Sobibor camp, near the village. It was a fish-hatchery belonging to Count Chelmicki [he said 'Karminsky', but Frau Stangl corrected this later].\"\n\n\" _How far exactly was that from the camp?_ \"\n\n\"Five kilometres.\"\n\nPan Gerung, the custodian of Sobibor, remembered the fish-hatchery well thirty years later; it had been demolished a year before I visited Poland. But he and his wife were dubious about the Stangl family having stayed there. \"You are probably confusing it with a big white house the Germans built as a kind of country club for their officers, on the other side of the lake. They used to go there for weekends, for the fishing \u2013 and other days too, in the evenings. An enormous amount of drinking went on there, and other things. Poles weren't allowed in.\"\n\nI replied that I was sure it was the fish-hatchery the Stangls had stayed at \u2013 no doubt they had requisitioned rooms there because the other place was unsuitable for small children.\n\n\"But the fish-hatchery was four kilometres from the camp, through the woods,\" said Pan Gerung. \"If he really rode through these woods, on his own \u2013 why, anyone could have shot him, any time.\" This Polish inhabitant of a different Sobibor, in a different age, sounded honestly puzzled, even amazed. And what he said was true: everyone in those parts knew what Sobibor was; everyone knew Stangl was the camp's Kommandant; anyone \u2013 if for no other reason than a gesture \u2013 could have shot him on those almost daily rides through the woods. But no one did.\n\n\" _The Chelmickis_ ,\" I said to Stangl, \" _must have known or guessed what was going on at Sobibor, However secret an operation it was, there must have been rumours. Did your wife still not know?_ \"\n\n\"The Chelmickis were very nice. But I don't think they would have dared to talk about it even if they had heard rumours.\" (\"... The Jews who worked in the fish-hatchery,\" Frau Stangl was to write to me later, \"were all treated very well. And so was I....\")\n\n\"But my wife _did_ find out, though not from them,\" Stangl said. \"One of the non-coms, Unterscharf\u00fchrer Ludwig, came by once while I was out. He had been drinking and he told her about Sobibor. When I got back she was waiting for me. She was terribly upset. She said, 'Ludwig has been here. He told me. My God, what are you doing in that place?' I said, 'Now, child, this is a service matter and you know I can't discuss it. All I can tell you, and you must believe me: whatever is wrong \u2013 _I_ have nothing to do with it.' \"\n\n\" _Did she believe this, without further questions or arguments?_ \"\n\nHe shrugged. \"She spoke of it sometimes. But what else could I say to her? It did make me feel, though, that I wanted her away from there. I wanted them to go home. The school term was about to start for the older of the girls anyway....\" the sentence trailed off.\n\n\" _It was too difficult having them there now that she knew. Wasn't that it?_ \"\n\nHe shrugged his shoulders again and for a moment buried his face in his hands. \"Just about then I had a message that I was to come to Warsaw to see Globocnik \u2013 by this time he had two offices, one in Warsaw, the other in Lublin. Now it seemed even more urgent to me to get the family home. I got hold of Michel and said that I entrusted my family to him; for him to get them out as quickly as possible. Then I said goodbye to my wife and children and went to Warsaw.\"\n\n\" _When did they leave?_ \"\n\n\"Later I found that Michel got them out in four days. But I only found that out after they had gone. And I didn't know what awaited me in Warsaw. I thought that this was probably it \u2013 that I was finally for it. But when I got to Globocnik's office, he was nearly as friendly as he'd been the first time we met. I couldn't understand it. He said, almost as soon as I came in, 'I have a job for you; it is strictly a police assignment.' I knew right away there was something wrong with it, but I didn't know what. He said, 'You are going to Treblinka. We've already sent a hundred thousand Jews up there and nothing has arrived here in money or materials. I want you to find out what's happening to the stuff; where it is disappearing to.' \"\n\n\" _But this time you knew where you were being sent; you knew all about Treblinka and that it was the biggest extermination camp. Here was your chance, here you were, face to face with him at last. Why didn't you say right there and then that you couldn't go on with this work?_ \"\n\n\"Don't you see? He had me just where he wanted me; I had no idea where my family was. Had Michel got them out? Or had they perhaps stopped them? Were they holding them as hostages? And even if they were out, the alternative was still the same: Prohaska was still in Linz. Can you imagine what would have happened to me if I had returned there under these circumstances? No, he had me flat: I was a prisoner.\"\n\n\" _But even so \u2013 even admitting there was danger. Wasn't anything preferable by now to going on with this work in Poland?_ \"\n\n\"Yes, that's what we know now, what we can say now. But then?\"\n\n\" _Well, in point of fact, we know now, don't we, that they did_ not _automatically kill men who asked to be relieved from this type of job. You knew this yourself didn't you, at the time?_ \"\n\n\"I knew it _could_ happen that they wouldn't shoot someone. But I also knew that more often they _did_ shoot them, or send them to concentration camps. How could I know which would apply to me?\"\n\nThis argument, of course, runs through all of Stangl's story; it is the most essential question at which, over and over, I found myself stopped when talking with him. I didn't know when I spoke with him and I don't know now at which point one human being can make the moral decision for another that he should have the courage to risk death.\n\nHowever, my reactions to some of the things Stangl said in this part of his account changed slightly subsequently, as a result of my conversations with his wife. These demonstrated very clearly that \u2013 if nothing else \u2013 he had manipulated events, or his memory of events, to suit his need to rationalize his guilt, his awareness of his guilt or (at that point in our talks) his need to avoid facing it.\n\n\"He had written to me soon after he got to Poland saying he was 'constructing',\" said Frau Stangl, \"but he didn't say what. And all I could think of was how glad I was he wasn't at the front. And then, when he'd been there for a long time without leave [it was interesting that she considered two months 'a long time'], he wrote to say that they were going to let us come to visit him as he was not going to be allowed on leave away from the East at all. And shortly afterwards a Wehrmacht officer arrived with travel papers for us.\n\n\"The two children and I travelled out in June. I remember we missed the connection in Cracow; you can imagine what it was like travelling with two small girls in the middle of the war.\n\n\"No, I knew nothing \u2013 nothing whatever. He met us off the train, and, of course, we hadn't seen him in months, it was just wonderful to see him again. Once again, that was all I could think of. We went to stay in Chelm in the house of the chief surveyor, Baurath Moser. In a way I suppose that was the first time I came into contact with anything to do with Jews [in Poland] because he had two young Jewish girls there, as domestic servants. They were called the two _Z\u00e4useln_* \u2013 I don't really know why. They were nice girls, helped me with the children and all that. Although I hadn't any notion of the true situation, there were things that made me wonder: you see, the walls of the house were very thin and I would hear Baurath Moser in the room next to ours when I was in bed. He had both the girls \u2013 the _Z\u00e4useln_ \u2013 in there and... well... he did things to them, you know. It would start every night with his telling them what to take off first and then what next and what to do and so on... it... it was very embarrassing. And I didn't like what he did to the girls; but, you know, I mainly asked myself, 'Why do they do it? Why don't they just give notice?' That's how little I knew.\" (Later, in a letter, Frau Stangl mentioned these girls again \u2013 and this time slightly differently: \"The two _Z\u00e4useln_ in Chelm,\" she wrote, \"were always merry, had good food, and were very neat.\")\n\n\"But I was very glad when Paul told me he had arranged for us to move to the fish-hatchery \u2013 it would be better for all of us, and I was glad to get the children away from that house. No, while we were in Chelm, Paul was on leave; it was when we moved to the fish-hatchery that he had to go back to work.\n\n\"And one day while he was at work \u2013 I still thought constructing, or working at an army supply base \u2013 Ludwig came with several other men, to buy fish or something. They brought schnapps, and sat in the garden drinking. Ludwig came up to me \u2013 I was in the garden too, with the children \u2013 and started to tell me about his wife and kids; he went on and on. I was pretty fed up, especially as he stank of alcohol and became more and more maudlin. But I thought, here he is, so lonely \u2013 I must at least listen. And then he suddenly said, ' _F\u00fcrchterlich_ \u2013 dreadful, it is just dreadful, you have no idea how dreadful it is.' I asked him 'What is dreadful?' \u2013 'Don't you know?' he asked. 'Don't you know what is being done out there?' \u2013 'No,' I said, 'What?' \u2013 'The Jews,' he answered. 'The Jews are being done away with.' \u2013 'Done away with?' I asked. 'How? What do you mean?' \u2013 'With gas,' he said. 'Fantastic numbers of them [ _Unkeimliche Mengen_ ].'\n\n\"He went on about how awful it was and then he said, in that same maudlin way he had, 'But we are doing it for our F\u00fchrer. For him we sacrifice ourselves to do this \u2013 we obey his orders.' And then he said, too, 'Can you imagine what would happen if the Jews ever got hold of _us?_ '\n\n\"Then I told him to go away. I could hardly think. I was already crying. I took the children into the house. I sat there, staring, staring into an abyss \u2013 that's what I saw; _my_ husband, my man, my good man, how could he be in this? Was it possible that he actually saw these things being done? I knew about Wirth \u2013 Paul had talked about him from the moment I arrived, even at the station \u2013 but that wasn't what I was thinking of then....My thoughts were in a whirl; what I needed above all was to confront him, to talk to him, to see what he had to say, how he could explain....\"\n\nShe left the children playing in their room and went out along the path in the forest she knew he would have to take to ride home. \"I walked for a long time and sat down on a tree-trunk to wait for him. When he rode up and saw me from afar, his face lit up \u2013 I could see it. It always did \u2013 his face always showed his joy the moment he saw me. He jumped off his horse and stepped over \u2013 I suppose to put his arm around me. But then he saw at once how distraught I was. 'What's happened?' he asked. 'The children?'\n\n\"I said, 'I know what you are doing in Sobibor. My God, how can they? What are _you_ doing in this? What is your part in it?' First he asked me how I'd found out, but I just cried and cried; and then he said, 'Look, little one, please calm down, please. You must believe me, I have nothing to do with any of this.' I said, 'How can you _be_ there and have nothing to do with it?' And he answered, 'My work is purely administrative and I am there to build \u2013 to supervise construction, that's all.' \u2013 'You mean you don't see it happen?' I asked. 'Oh yes,' he answered. 'I see it. But I don't _do_ anything to anybody.'\n\n\"Of course, I didn't know he was the Kommandant: I never knew that. He told me he was the _H\u00f6chste Charge._ I asked him what that meant and he said again he was in charge of construction and that he enjoyed the work. I thought, 'My God.'\n\n\"We walked back to the house, me crying and arguing and begging him over and over to tell me how he could be in such a place, how he could have allowed himself to get into such a situation. I am sure I made no sense \u2013 I hardly knew any more what I was saying. All he did, over and over, was reassure me \u2013 or try. That night, I couldn't bear him to touch me \u2013 it was like that day in 1938 when I had kept away from him for weeks... weeks and weeks, until I finally felt sorry for him... but that night in Sobibor-Salovoce he seemed to understand. He just kept stroking me softly and trying to quiet me. Even so, it was several days before I... let him again. And that was only just before he was called to Lublin to see Globocnik. I finally allowed myself to be convinced that his role in this camp was purely administrative \u2013 of course I _wanted_ to be convinced, didn't I? But anyway \u2013 I can't quite remember the sequence of events, but I know I wouldn't have parted from him in anger.\n\n\"We were rowing on the lake with the children that day when Michel arrived on the shore. This was the only time I saw him. No, _he_ never did anything for us after Paul left. I don't know what Paul meant when he told you it was Michel who 'got us out'. Michel called to us across the lake and said that a message had come through to say that Paul was to report to Globocnik. We rowed back to the shore and Michel said, 'They mean now, at once; you have to come with me right away.'\n\n\"We went back to the house and I remember, I helped him get changed and then he left.\n\n\"After he had gone that day I got terribly depressed: you see, although I had allowed him to convince me that he wasn't really part of what was happening, I couldn't forget it; how could I have? That night Countess Chelmicki found me crying. In my terrible need to talk to somebody I told her what I had found out.\n\n\" 'Don't you think we know?' she asked. 'We've known about it since the beginning. But you must calm yourself; it is dreadful, but there is nothing to be done. We are convinced that your husband is a decent man.' She really cared. She spoke to me \u2013 you know \u2013 like a friend, intimately and warmly. I was very comforted by her kindness.\n\n\"The next day Paul came back, just for a day, or even less. He said he was being transferred, to Treblinka \u2013 a place, he said, that was in a terrible mess, where the worst _Schweinereien_ were being done, and where it was necessary to make a clean sweep with an iron broom. I said, 'My God, I hope not another place like this one here,' and he said no, he didn't think so \u2013 for me not to worry. I said I wanted to go home.\"\n\nI asked Frau Stangl whether it had not been her husband who told _her_ he wanted them to go home.\n\n\"No, I told _him._ And, well... then he left. I'd told him I wanted to leave as quickly as possible \u2013 I didn't want to impose on the Chelmickis a moment longer than necessary. Anyway, the next day Reichleitner came to the fish-hatchery.\"\n\nFranz Reichleitner, who had been with Stangl at Hartheim, took over as Kommandant of Sobibor after Stangl left. \"He said he wanted to have a look around the fish-hatchery,\" Frau Stangl continued. \"Well, of course I knew him, you know, because he had married my friend Anna Baumgartner from Steyr and so I felt I had something in common with him; I trusted him you know, so I said, 'You know, if I thought that my Paul had anything to do with the awful things which are being done at Sobibor, I wouldn't stay with him another day.'\n\n\"He answered quite spontaneously, you know, not thinking it over at all. He said right away, 'My God, Frau Stangl,' he said, 'but your husband has absolutely _nothing_ to do with that. That's all Wirth. You don't think, do you, that he would allow anyone to rob him of the pleasure of doing away with the Jews? You know how he hates them. Your husband's part in this is purely administrative.' \" (Before Frau Stangl told me this, she had already testified at the trial, that after the war, in Brazil, Gustav Wagner had also told her that her husband had had nothing to do with the extermination of the Jews in Sobibor.) \"Well,\" she went on, \"to be truthful, that really did relieve my mind and lighten my spirits. After all, unless Paul and Reichleitner had carefully planned it together \u2013 and to tell the truth, the possibility did occur to me \u2013 the fact that they told me exactly the same thing, in the same words, had to mean it was true. Why otherwise should Reichleitner have bothered to tell me?\"\n\nIt didn't occur to Frau Stangl then or now that Reichleitner, who had just taken the job over from Stangl, could have found this conversation with his friend's wife awkward on his own account, and might conceivably have been indirectly stating, or justifying, his own case.\n\n\"I left a very few days after that,\" she said. \"I think it was Reichleitner who brought me the travel documents signed by Globocnik \u2013 it may have been just two or three days after Paul left. I think Reichleitner also drove us to the train in Chelm. And so I went home. I had a letter from Paul soon after, but it said nothing about Treblinka; he had told me I must _never_ mention Treblinka nor anything about it, or make any of my 'remarks' in my letters \u2013 he knew me so well \u2013 as all letters were censored.... I didn't see him after that for months....\"\n\n\"Resl and the two girls came to stay with me overnight on their way back from Poland,\" said Helene Eidenb\u00f6ck in Vienna. \"I went to meet them at the East Station. No, she didn't seem very depressed, not that I remember. She said they'd been staying at a fish-hatchery and I saw all their photographs... was it then or later, I am not sure \u2013 of him too, yes, in that white jacket, with the children, and a big dog too I remember....Later, of course, when we read what he was \u2013 I thought of that photo and thought, 'It only needed the riding crop and there he was, just as they described him at the trial....' \"\n\n* Probably best translated as \"tousle-heads\".\n\n# 6\n\nBY THE time Stangl left Sobibor a lot of information about the Nazi death-camps in Poland was beginning to reach the outside world.\n\nIn July 1942 the Polish government in exile in London, in an officially released report from underground sources, had detailed the massacre of 700,000 Jews since the German invasion, including the use of gas-vans at Chelmno. Szmul Zygielbojm, a leader in the Jewish Socialist Bund, who escaped from Poland after his wife and children had been killed and after fighting in the defence of Warsaw, broadcast on the BBC, world-wide, to bear witness to the awful facts and to beg the world, \"to ponder over the undiluted horror of the planned extermination of a whole people.... The governments of Great Britain and America,\" he said, \"must be compelled to put an end to this mass murder. For if we do not try to find a means of stopping it, we shall bear part of the moral responsibility for what is happening.\"\n\nOn July 17 the Berlin radio announced the round-up of 18,000 Jews in Paris, saying they would \"all be deported to the East, as previously announced\". German radio, throughout the war, was minutely monitored by the Allies and this announcement must certainly have been noted. On July 22 began the \"resettlement\" of the 380,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, and again the. Allied Governments were informed by the Polish Government in exile.\n\nA detailed account of American and British reaction to these events has been given by Arthur D. Morse in _While Six Million Died._* Here there is only space to mention that on August 1, 1942, Gerhart Riegner, in Switzerland for the World Jewish Congress, learned from a leading German industrialist with access to Hitler's immediate circle that many months earlier Hitler had ordered the extermination of all the Jews in Europe. Mr Riegner sent a cable to Rabbi Wise in the United States, via the us State Department: \"Received alarming report... plan all Jews in countries occupied or controlled by Germany numbering from three and a half to four million excluding Jews in the Soviet Union [a significant sentence showing the extent of the informant's knowledge] should after deportation and concentration in East be exterminated at one blow to resolve once and for all the Jewish question in Europe....\"\n\nThis cable was apparently suppressed by the State Department \u2013 the first of many similar political decisions \u2013 and only reached Rabbi Wise, via the British Foreign Office and the London branch of the World Jewish Congress, on August 28. And Dr Wise was persuaded by Sumner Welles to refrain from any public announcement of the extermination order until \"official confirmation\" could be obtained. Myron Taylor, the President's Special Envoy to the Holy See, was asked to check these allegations with the Vatican.\n\nBetween August 4 and September 14 the governments of Brazil (who initiated this step), Great Britain, Belgium, Poland, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and the United States all sent notes to the Vatican Secretary of State calling the attention of the Holy See to the \"cruel and inhuman treatment by the Hitler forces of the civil population in areas occupied by the Germans\", and suggesting that \"a similar condemnation of these atrocities by the Holy Father would have... a helpful effect... in bringing about some check on the unbridled and uncalled-for actions of the forces of the Nazi regime.\"\n\nThis \u2013 in line with diplomatic custom \u2013 was still in fairly general terms. On September 26 Myron Taylor delivered a far more explicit note to Cardinal Maglione, communicating information received by the Geneva office of the Jewish Agency for Palestine from \"two reliable eye-witnesses (Aryans),\"* one of whom came on August 14 from Poland:\n\n\"(1) Liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto is taking place. Without any distinction all Jews, irrespective of age or sex, are being removed from the ghetto in groups and shot. Their corpses are utilized for making fats and their bones for the manufacture of fertilizer. Corpses are even being exhumed for these purposes.\u2020\n\n\"(2) These mass executions take place, not in Warsaw, but in specially prepared camps for the purpose, one of which is stated to be in Belsec....\"\n\nThe letter ends, after making three more points, by asking for any confirmation or additional information the Vatican might have, and for suggestions \"as to any practical manner in which the forces of civilized public opinion would be utilized in order to prevent a continuation of these barbarities\".\n\nThis communication was not to be answered until October 10 when Harold Tittman, the American Representative at the Holy See, transmitted the following reply to the State Department:\n\n\"Holy See replied today to Mr Taylor's letter regarding the _predicament_ of the Jews in Poland in an informal and unsigned statement handed me by the Cardinal Secretary of State. After thanking Ambassador Taylor for bringing the matter to the attention of the Holy See, the statement says that reports of _severe measures_ taken against non-Aryans also reached the Holy See from other sources but that, up to the present time, it has not been possible to verify the accuracy there. However, the statement adds, it is well known that the Holy See is taking advantage of every opportunity offered in order to mitigate the sufferings of _non-Aryans_....\"*\n\nLate October finally saw the formation of a War Crimes Commission in the United States; but the official statement announcing it included the President's exemption from guilt of all but the Nazi leadership.\n\nThis was followed on December 17 by an official condemnation by all the Allied nations of the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis. The Allies served notice that those responsible would not escape punishment, reaffirming \"their solemn resolution to insure that those responsible for these crimes shall not escape retribution and to press on with the necessary practical measures to this end.\"\n\nOn Christmas Eve, 1942 \u2013 when what Richard Glazar was to call the \"peak period\" of the extermination of the Jews in Poland was already past and more than a million had been killed in the four extermination camps in Poland \u2013 Mr Tittman sent Secretary of State Hull another cable. He had had \u2013 no doubt at one of the Vatican's Christmas receptions \u2013 another conversation with the Cardinal Secretary of State in which Cardinal Maglione, with reference to the mass extermination of the Jews, said that \"although deploring the cruelties that have come to his attention, the Holy See was unable to verify Allied reports as to the number of Jews exterminated....\"\u2020\n\n* Seeker and Warburg, 1968.\n\n* Myron Taylor's brackets; as other us and British documents of the time prove, information obtained from Jews was considered unreliable.\n\n\u2020 This information was not exact in detail. They were, as we know, not \"shot\"; and the universally accepted story that the corpses were used to make soap and fertilizer is finally refuted by the generally very reliable Ludwigsburg Central Authority for Investigation into Nazi Crimes. The Authority has found after considerable research that only one experiment was made, with \"a few corpses from a concentration camp. When it proved impractical the idea was apparently abandoned.\"\n\n* Author's italics.\n\n\u2020 The extent of the Vatican's knowledge of the facts by December 1942 is documented on this page\u2013this page.\n\n# **Part III**\n# 1\n\nTHE MAIN impression I had carried away from Sobibor was one of beauty: the quiet, the loneliness, above all the vastness of the place, which left everything to the imagination. Treblinka was different.\n\nThe Poles have spared no effort to reconstruct the whole of the camp as a national monument which, while adequately portraying the horror, can also leave one with some feeling of human dignity. But it doesn't work. All one can think of is the terrible smallness of the place.\n\nWe _know_ that more than a million human beings were killed and lie buried in these few acres, but it cannot be believed. The main reason why it is so difficult to visualize lies in nature itself: where there used to be huts, barbed wire, tank traps and watch-towers, there are now hundreds of bushes and young pine trees which the Germans planted to camouflage the site when, having accomplished what they set out to do, they obliterated the camp at the end of 1943. The trees have grown to a respectable height and lend a misleading air of normalcy and space. There were, of course, some trees while the camp was in operation \u2013 carefully left standing where they could deceive the eye, or decorate the staff's living quarters. But, unlike Sobibor with its massive forests, in Treblinka the means of camouflage were mostly man-made: tall fences of barbed wire interwoven with branches of pine and evergreen which shut off the four sub-sections of the camp from view, but certainly not from hearing. What they called \"the tube\" which led from the \"undressing barracks\" in the lower camp \u2013 Camp I \u2013 to the gas chambers in the upper camp \u2013 Camp II \u2013 was a fenced-off path no more than a hundred yards long, with a right-angled turn near the end. And the earthen wall and ten-foot fence between the two main parts of the camp again created only a visual barrier \u2013 no more than that. Not a single soul in the place could have been oblivious of the monstrous carnage which took place here most mornings of that year.\n\nTREBLINKA EXTERMINATION CAMP\n\nRECEPTION CAMP\n\n(i) The ramp (station platform) where \"Blue Command\" worked, (1a) Line to Treblinka Labour Camp, about 2 kilometres away \u2013 a separate installation, its prisoners mostly Christian Poles, not Jews\n\n(2) Large sorting barracks for goods, eventually disguised (on side facing railway) as a station, with (2a) fake clock and (2b) fake ticket windows. (2c) Sliding doors used only after victims had been removed\n\n(3) Sorting Square, where \"Sorting Command\" worked. (3a) Latrine\n\n(4) _Lazarett_ (fake hospital). (4a) Pit for burning bodies, (4b) low earth bank, and (4c) shelter for guard\n\n(5) Pit for corpses from transports\n\n(6) Undressing barracks, where \"Red Command\" worked, for men and (6a) women. (6b) Cash-desk, (6c) hair-cutters, (6d) notice-board displaying instructions\n\n(7) Main entrance. (7a) Entrance for guards. (7b) Gate leading to (7e) \"The Tube\". (7d) Storage for bottles, pots, pans etc.\n\nDEATH-CAMP\n\n(8) \"The Tube\" led directly to (8), new gas chambers, entered through small doors (8a) from a central passage, emptied of bodies through larger doors (8b). The engine room (8c) supplied carbon monoxide, exhaust fumes\n\n(9) Old gas chambers. (9a) Engine room\n\n(10) Burial pits, first used with lime, then emptied and refilled with ashes, the bodies having been burnt on \"the Roast\".\n\n(11) \"The Roast\". (11a) Pit used for burning experiments. (11b) Unused pit\n\n(12) Living quarters for Jews working in Death-camp. (12a) Women, (b) doctors, (c) Kapo, (d) showers, (e) latrine, (f) men, (g) kitchen and (h) outside laundry\n\nLIVING CAMP\n\n(13) _Appelplatz_ (square for roll-call)\n\n(14) Living quarters for work-Jews. (14a) Gold-Jews, (b) women, (c) joiners, (d) tailors, (e) shoemakers, (f) Kapos, (g) sick-bay, (h) laundry, (i) kitchen, (j) sleeping quarters, (k) barred windows, and (1) latrine\n\n(15) Stables\n\n(16) Textile store\n\n(17) Bakery\n\n(18) Coal pile\n\nSS AND UKRAINIAN AREA\n\n(19) Living quarters and mess for SS. (19a) Munitions, (b) showers, and (c) petrol pump\n\n(20) Building containing (a) air-raid shelter, (b) sick-bay, (c) dentist, and (d) barber\n\n(21) Domestic staff, (a) Polish girls, and (b) Ukrainian girls\n\n(22) Zoo\n\n(23) Building which became workroom for Gold-Jews\n\n(24) \"Max Bielas Barracks\" \u2013 living quarters for Ukrainian guards. (24a) Sleeping quarters, (b) doctor, (c) barber, (d) kitchen, (e) mess and (f) day-room\n\n(25) Potato cellars\n\n(26) Exercise area for Ukrainians\n\n(27) Cellar, use unknown\n\n(28) Kommandant's quarters\n\nThe camp was surrounded by an inner fence of barbed wire camouflaged with branches, 3\u20134 metres high, a space with tank obstacles, 40\u201350 metres wide, and an outer fence of barbed wire.\n\nThe single railway track laid from Treblinka town station into the camp is now represented by great beams of wood laid along its course. I walked along it, trying to visualize what the people in the freight-cars would have seen. The snow from the night before had frozen on the ground and on the trees; it was not unlike the approach to a ski resort, quiet, clean, green and white. Of course, most of the trains had no windows, but there would have been cracks between doors, or holes in walls. Did the view reassure them? Did they allow themselves to believe that this little track, running between these lovely trees \u2013 for here the trees were left standing \u2013 couldn't lead to anything too bad?\n\nWhether their illusion of reassurance (if they felt it) was prolonged or destroyed upon reaching the 'ramp' \u2013 the arrival platform \u2013 depended on when they arrived and who they were.\n\nIf they were Western Europeans, their arrival was at no time grossly alarming; and after the ramp had been disguised as a railway station complete with flower-beds, in the second half of the year, it became even more deceptive. Richard Glazar, a survivor who was one of a preferential Czech transport and came on a passenger train, said, \"We all crowded to look out of the windows. I saw a green fence, barracks, and I heard what sounded like a farm tractor. I was delighted.\" Medical orderlies were lined up to \"care for\" the old and sick; polite voices bade them disembark at their leisure, but in an orderly fashion, please; and, except by an oversight, there was not a whip to be seen\u2013a whole macabre fakery. These people might well have been confirmed in the belief that they had reached a resettlement centre where they could rest before being assigned to places of work and residence.\n\nBut if they were Eastern Europeans, whether during the first or the second half of the year, then the moment the train stopped they saw the Ukrainian guards with their whips lining the platform, the SS drawn up behind them; all this deliberate, to provoke instant dread and foreboding. They were literally whipped out of the trains, and hurried and harried until the moment of their death.\n\nThese were the images which pressed on the mind when I entered what had been the camp proper and began to walk along the path to the gas chambers \u2013 the tube; as in Sobibor, the SS called it the \"Road to Heaven\".\n\nFour people had come with me to Treblinka; a driver and an intelligent young interpreter, Wanda Jakubiuk; sixty-five-year-old Francizek Zabecki, former member of the Home Army* and traffic superintendent of Treblinka (village) railway station, and Berek Rojzman, sixty years old, who lost his whole family in Treblinka and is the only survivor of the camp still living in Poland.\n\nIt was a bitingly cold day \u2013 in spite of fur-lined boots my feet were soon freezing. After thirty minutes or so of walking around on our own Wanda and I came face to face among the trees. \"The children,\" she burst out, with exactly the words which were dominant in my mind: \"Oh my God, the children, naked, in this terrible cold.\" We stood for a long moment, silent, where they used to stand waiting for those ahead to be dead, waiting their turn. Often, I had been told, their naked feet had frozen into the ground, so that when the Ukrainians' whips on both sides of the path began to drive them on, their mothers had to tear them loose....Standing there, it was unbearable to remember, yet both Wanda and I felt that this deliberate effort to visualize the reality of a hell none of us can really share was what we had to do \u2013 it was the least we had to do.\n\nThe memorial built by the Poles on the site of the death-camp is a fine one: thousands of granite slabs, the different sizes representing the number of people killed from different cities and towns in Europe. The natural rock is scattered in what seems to be a random way, stones representing tiny villages next to larger ones standing for towns and cities, and all of them dwarfed by the huge rugged rock which stands for the more than three hundred thousand people from Warsaw who died here.\n\nFranciszek Zabecki's work during the war as traffic supervisor of Treblinka station \u2013 an important junction for German military traffic to the East \u2013 and as a vital informant for the Polish underground, makes him a unique personality from the historical point of view: the only trained observer to be on the spot throughout the whole existence of Treblinka camp. He was placed there originally to report on the movement of troops and equipment. He lived with his wife and their three-year-old son in the first-floor flat of the station building. His duties were the registration of all trains and way-bills and the counting of the carriages of all military trains, carried out round the clock with the help of an assistant traffic-controller also working for the Home Army. He was thus a witness of all the transports that passed through the station on their way into the camp.\n\nPan Zabecki began working for the railway in 1925, when he was eighteen. After a brief spell as a prisoner of war in 1939, he was manoeuvred by the underground into the vacant job at Treblinka station in May 1941. He spent the first year consolidating his position in the district, collecting the required data for the underground on the Germans' development of the important line between Kossov, near Treblinka, and Malkinia, a staging-point for troops and material travelling east, and making contacts, including some with German railway personnel.\n\nIn the early spring of 1942 the Germans established a small labour camp for Poles near a stone quarry deep in the woods, about four kilometres from the station. \"The first inkling we had that something more was being planned in Treblinka,\" Pan Zabecki said, \"was in May 1942, when some SS men arrived with a man called Ernst Grauss who \u2013 we found out from the German railway workers \u2013 was the chief surveyor at the German District HQ. They spent the day looking around and the very next day all fit male Jews from the neighbourhood \u2013 about a hundred of them \u2013 were brought in and started work on clearing the land. At the same time they shipped in a first lot of Ukrainian guards.\"\n\nThis whole eastern district of Poland \u2013 in a triangle of which were placed three of the four extermination camps \u2013 lies very close to the Russian border.\n\n\"Many of the Ukrainians had friends near here in the village closest to Treblinka, a hamlet of two hundred inhabitants called Wolga-Oknaglik. It's a tiny place, no school or church \u2013 the children go to school six kilometres away in Kossov. But it was from there we began to hear rumours. We heard that a large area of wooded land had been fenced in and some of it was being cleared; a barrack was being built, we were told, for German personnel, and another for the workers. And a well had been sunk for water. Within an incredibly short time we heard that not only had a camp been set up, but we also saw them lay tracks from our main line into the fenced-off area.\n\n\"It is difficult to describe to you now the atmosphere of that time. When I say we heard rumours, I mean a whole series of unconnected and contradictory wild-sounding interpretations of events. Some things, of course, we saw for ourselves. Others we felt sure were only guesses or inventions about what went on behind those fences.\n\n\"It was said that it was to be another labour camp; a camp for Jews who would work on damming the River Bug; a military installation; a staging or control area for a new secret military weapon. And finally, German railways workers said it was going to be an extermination camp. But nobody believed them \u2013 except me.\"\n\nThe extermination camps at Belsec and Sobibor had by then been functioning for some time, \"But we hadn't heard of them at all,\" said Zabecki. \"You see, from the point of view of the Home Army, for instance, Sobibor was in the district of Lublin; each district was autonomously administered and there was no communication between the districts. However, I had vaguely heard of Auschwitz \u2013 I didn't really know _what_ went on there, but I told my colleagues that _I_ believed what the German railway workers said. [There was no extermination installation at Auschwitz at that time, so it was indeed rumours he had heard.] Of course one had no conception of what 'extermination camp' really meant. I mean, it was beyond \u2013 not just experience, but imagination, wasn't it?\n\n\"On July 23, 1942,\" he continued, \"my colleague, Josef Pogonzelski, was traffic superintendent for the day. The day before we had had a telegram announcing the arrival of 'shuttle trains' from Warsaw with 'resetters'. This wire was followed by a letter-telegram giving a schedule for the daily arrival of these shuttle trains as of the following day, July 23. We were waiting for them as of the early morning, wondering what they were. At one moment two SS men came \u2013 from the camp I think \u2013 and asked 'Where is the train?' They had been informed by Warsaw that it should already have arrived, but it hadn't. Then a tender came in \u2013 the sort called a railway-taxi \u2013 with two German engineers, one was called Blechschmied, the other, his assistant, Teufel. They had been sent ahead to guide the first trains along the new track, into the camp.\n\n\"When the first train arrived \u2013 it was 9.30 a.m. \u2013 we could hear it from far away. Not because of the noise of the train, but because of the cries of the people, and the shooting.\n\n\"There were guards sitting on the roofs of the cars, with their sleeves rolled up, holding guns. They looked as if they had killed; as if they had had their hands in blood and then washed before arriving. The train was very full \u2013 incredibly full it seemed. It was a hot day but, bewildering to us, the difference in temperature between inside the cars and out was obviously such that a kind of fog came out and surrounded the train. There were chalked figures on each car \u2013 you know the Germans with their methodical ways \u2013 that's why I know exactly how many people were killed in Treblinka. The figures on each car varied between 150 and 180. We didn't know what was happening, but we began to note down the figures that very first day, and we never stopped for a year, until it was over. The train had left Warsaw the night before \u2013 it had travelled almost twelve hours... at least that's how long the people had been in there \u2013 the trip ordinarily only takes about two hours.\n\n\"The people called out of the trains that they were being taken to work on farms or in factories, but we didn't think so. We drew our own conclusions; a transport this carefully guarded, with so much shooting....\n\n\"We had been told that the track to the camp could only take twenty cars at a time. One train usually had at least twenty cars, and sometimes in the weeks and months to come, three trains would arrive together. So everything except twenty cars would just stay in our station until they finished with each lot of twenty.\n\n\"But that first day \u2013 as I said before, it happened I was not on duty, and I wanted to know what was going on. We had been warned that the approaches to the camp were strictly off-limits and guarded. But actually there was a road of sorts that passed the perimeter of the camp \u2013 you see, there were fields all around it belonging to peasants who... oh yes... continued to work their fields throughout the existence of the camp. So it wasn't as off-limits, or as guarded as all that \u2013 ever.\"\n\n(\"Oh yes,\" said Berek Rojzman, \"they worked there all right.\" \u2013 \"But then, they saw everything that was going on?\" I asked. Both he and Pan Zabecki seemed surprised at my surprise. \"Of course they did,\" they answered. \"They were there all day.\")\n\n\"Anyway,\" Zabecki went on, \"I took a bicycle and cycled a stretch up the road and then got off, pretending that my chain had slipped, in case somebody saw me. I heard machine-guns, and I heard people screaming, praying to God and \u2013 yes \u2013 to the Holy Virgin....I cycled back and I wrote a message to my [Home Army] section chief \u2013 we used to leave our messages under the arms in the statue of the saint in the square in Kossov \u2013 I informed my chiefs that some disaster was happening in my district....\n\n\"After that the trains arrived every day. Within two weeks people began to try to escape, sometimes as many as one hundred out of one transport. There were times when whole cars arrived empty \u2013 at that initial period there were three specific occasions when this happened, and on each of these the guards were executed. The Germans who worked at the station told us that there was a punishment cellar in the camp: that's where the [Ukrainian] guards were taken.\"\n\n(The day before, in Sobibor, Pan Gerung, the forester, had taken me to see a brick construction, not much larger than a pillbox, three or four yards away from the old forester's cottage which had been Stangl's billet and office. \"You look at it,\" he had said. \"We don't know what it was for. Tell me what you think.\" The door opened on to about eighteen steps leading down into total darkness. It smelled dank and mouldy and something \u2013 indefinable \u2013 else. At the bottom was a small room, about six foot square, ventilated by two tiny slits almost at ceiling level. The floor was earth, the thick walls and the ceiling of rough reddish stone. And into the ceiling were driven four huge hooks. Stangl had never mentioned this room to me. Whatever its purpose, it was a place of horror.)\n\nAt the time of my visit to Poland, in 1972, everyone I met officially was very reluctant to discuss the question of past or present anti-Semitism, and Pan Zabecki, although a transparently honest man, was no exception to this rule. Except that \u2013 because he was so honest \u2013 his evasions were the more obvious.\n\n\"No,\" he said, looking embarrassed, \"I don't think one can say that people around here were anti-Semitic. The Germans had set up ghettos in all the towns and I remember that in the smaller places the people took food to the ghettos and gave it to the Jews.\"\n\nIt is certain \u2013 as I have already said \u2013 that many people in Poland, on many occasions and at tremendous risk to themselves, did try to help Jews. But other informants, less inhibited by official presences, told me that if Christian Poles took food to Jews, particularly in Eastern Poland, it was more often than not in order to sell it. \"In the barbed-wire enclosure near Malenzow,\" said Stanislaw Szmajzner, \"we had no food or drink, and a few Poles came and offered water in exchange for gold rings or money. Nobody had much left, but whoever did, gave these traders their valuables to get a sip of water.\" And Richard Glazar said \"... the going rate for two white rolls, three-quarters of an ounce of sausage and a third of a litre of vodka was between ten and twenty us dollars \u2013 often more.\"\n\nNone the less, some of the details Pan Zabecki gave from his own experience did confirm the existence of individual acts of compassion such as that described by Pan Gerung in Sobibor.\n\n\"When people realized that not only adults but babies were being killed,\" Pan Zabecki said, \"they felt pity. It manifested itself first by their bringing water to the trains. It really is very difficult to describe adequately what it was like and what we all felt,\" he said again. \"I myself couldn't do anything \u2013 I couldn't allow myself to be seen exchanging one word with people on the transports or make one gesture towards them; it would have jeopardized the work I was doing for the underground. It is difficult to show to you in words how pitiful it was, the kind of compassion people felt, and yet the little \u2013 the terribly little they _could_ do: you see, even the German railway workers tried at first to help \u2013 the engineer in charge ordered the huge canisters from the engine to be used to shuttle drinking water to the trains as they stood in our station. And at first the train supervisors allowed this. But after a few days it was stopped. But even then, people continued to bring water, until the Germans began to shoot to keep them away from the trains.\n\n\"The population was horrified \u2013 not only because of what they saw; they were paralysed with fear and horror, and then quite soon they became physically ill from the terrible smell that began to emanate from the camp. But then too, you see, everybody became terrified for themselves; they were _seeing_ all this and one became more and more convinced that anyone who witnessed these unspeakable horrors would have to be eliminated too.\n\n\"There was a railway family sharing our accommodation in the station house, and they had children of ten and twelve. For days these children went with their parents to take water to the Jews; but the children reacted so strongly, the parents became afraid they were being made ill by it, and they sent them away, to relatives in Pruszukow. My wife, too, had been taking water to the Jews every day and I finally said to her, 'You mustn't go any more: you have a small child, I don't want you to risk it.' Anguish on behalf of the Jews,\" he said, \"turned very quickly into this sharp fear for ourselves. But, you must imagine what it was like living here: every day, as of the early morning, these hours of horror when the trains arrived, and all the time \u2013 after the very first days \u2013 this odour, this dark foggy cloud that hung over us, that covered the sky in that hot and beautiful summer, even on the most brilliant days \u2013 not a rain-cloud promising relief from the heat, but an almost sulphuric darkness bringing with it this pestilential smell.\n\n\"There was a period \u2013 in the beginning \u2013 when my wife could no longer function at all; she could no longer do anything around the house; she couldn't cook, she couldn't play with the boy, she couldn't eat and hardly slept. She had a sort of complete nervous breakdown. When I was a pow she had managed, but now she broke down completely. This extreme condition she was in lasted for about three weeks, then she became pathologically indifferent; she did her work, moved, ate, slept, talked \u2013 but all of it like an automaton....\n\n\"Of course there was no question of a normal sexual life; we felt we lived in a cemetery; how could one feel joy there?\n\n\"Of course, for many of us men it was different \u2013 we had more of a purpose; we were so involved in our activities for the 'Conspiracy'*, it gave us an outlet for our emotions, for our hate. We were very very busy, you know \u2013 we not only did our ordinary jobs, and collected and delivered information, but we also did partisan training in the woods. For us, in the final analysis, it was a very full life. But I could see that my friends' wives reacted just like my wife did.\n\n\"I know a great deal has been said about the brutality of the Ukrainians,\" he said, \"but actually the Lithuanians who mostly guarded the trains were much worse than the Ukrainians; they really were sadists; they used to shoot at people, blind, through the windows of the cars, when they begged for doctors, water and to be allowed to relieve themselves. They did it as a sport \u2013 they laughed and joked and bet while they did it. Amongst the Ukrainians there were several who we knew wanted to get away. But you see, that too was dangerous; they were in just as much danger as everybody else. One of the Ukrainian guards did escape, with the help of his Polish girl friend from that little village near us. Stangl himself came to the village then and asked the village chief \u2013 the mayor I suppose you'd call him \u2013 who this Ukrainian had visited. First he refused to say but then they beat him and he told. Then they went to the father of this girl and took him to the camp. His old mother hanged herself that night; actually the man was allowed back home the next day.\n\n\"And then there was the other side of the coin: the Ukrainians began to have a great deal of money. And they wanted more and more women. One farmer forced his twelve-year-old daughter to sleep with Ukrainians. The Conspiracy learned of this and a group went one night and beat him up. Then there was the case of two Polish girls who came from somewhere, got a room and 'received' Ukrainians; the Conspiracy shaved the head of one of them and executed the other.\n\n\"As time went on there were more and more violent incidents of one sort or another and people were more and more afraid. One of my colleagues at the station, an engineer who was helping me count cars, Tadeuz Kancakowski, was seen by the Germans putting a note with figures on a spike; two German civilians came and took him to an office in Malkinia. He was sent to Majdanek [the concentration camp near Lublin] and never returned. And in the autumn, we suddenly heard that twenty cars were being readied for something in our own station. People became absolutely frantic \u2013 they thought that now it was our turn. About two hundred people packed up that very night and left; that was about the time, too, when all the children, and most of the women went away. After that there were almost only men left in the region.\n\n\"No,\" he said, \"I didn't consider sending my wife and boy away. I was too busy; I didn't want to stay by myself \u2013 the cooking and everything \u2013 it would have been impossible. I convinced her that she had to bear it just as I had to. After that she slowly became better....\"\n\n* Underground organization directed by the Polish government in exile in London.\n\n* The Polish Resistance.\n\n# 2\n\nI HAVE already mentioned the extraordinary metamorphosis in Stangl's face, which I first saw when he began to speak about his work in the Euthanasia Programme, and which had recurred whenever we reached a point in his story which was really intolerable. He underwent this change again when we began to speak of what he found when he arrived at Treblinka. His voice became slurred and again his face thickened, coarsened and turned dark red.\n\n\"I drove there, with an SS driver,\" he said. \"We could smell it kilometres away. The road ran alongside the railway. When we were about fifteen, twenty minutes' drive from Treblinka, we began to see corpses by the line, first just two or three, then more, and as we drove into Treblinka station, there were what looked like hundreds of them \u2013 just lying there \u2013 they'd obviously been there for days, in the heat. In the station was a train full of Jews, some dead, some still alive... that too, looked as if it had been there for days.\"\n\n\" _But all this mas nothing new to you? You had seen these transports constantly, in Sobibor?_ \"\n\n\"Nothing like _this._ And in Sobibor \u2013 I told you \u2013 unless one was actually working in the forest, one could live without actually seeing; most of us never saw anybody dying or dead. Treblinka that day was the most awful thing I saw during all of the Third Reich\" \u2013 he buried his face in his hands \u2013 \"it was Dante's Inferno,\" he said through his fingers. \"It was Dante come to life. When I entered the camp and got out of the car on the square [the _Sortierungsplatz_ ] I stepped knee-deep into money; I didn't know which way to turn, where to go. I waded in notes, currency, precious stones, jewellery, clothes. They were everywhere, strewn all over the square. The smell was indescribable; the hundreds, no, the thousands of bodies everywhere, decomposing, putrefying. Across the square, in the woods, just a few hundred yards away on the other side of the barbed-wire fence and all around the perimeter of the camp, there were tents and open fires with groups of Ukrainian guards and girls \u2013 whores, I found out later, from all over the countryside \u2013 weaving drunk, dancing, singing, playing music....\"\n\nI was given a somewhat different account by SS sergeant Franz Suchomel who was posted to Treblinka before Stangl, on August 20. I spent a day talking to him at his house in Bavaria, and after that we communicated by letter because he suffers from a heart condition and said it was too taxing for him to _talk_ about it (he did in fact have a second heart attack some time later). After reading the Stangl interviews in the German newspaper _Die Zeit_ he wrote to say that it was not true that there were corpses outside the camp, or tents nearby with whores. \"It's true there was a lot of garbage lying about, possibly also paper money, but never gold, diamonds, etc. True enough, thousands of stacked corpses....\"\n\nAgainst this, however, there is the extraordinary eye-witness account recorded at the time by Hubert Pfoch, then a member of the illegal Austrian Socialist Youth Organization, and now president of the Vienna City Council. As a young soldier moving up to the Eastern front, he saw a transport to Treblinka on August 21, 1942. The photographs he took \u2013 at considerable danger to himself (see this page of illustrations)-were part of the evidence at the trial often former Treblinka guards in D\u00fcsseldorf in 1964.\n\n\"Our infantry company is en route from Vienna to Russia, via M\u00e4hrisch Ostrau, Kattowitz, through the Upper Silesian industrial region to Radom, Lukow and Siedlce where we arrive in the evening and are given soup,\" he wrote (he gave me photocopied pages from his wartime diary). \"From time to time we can hear shooting, and when I got out to see what was going on, I saw, a little distance from our track, a loading platform with a huge crowd of people \u2013 I estimated about 7,000 men, women and children.\n\n\"All of them were squatting or lying on the ground and whenever anyone tried to get up, the guards began to shoot.\n\n\"The night was sultry, the air sticky and we slept badly.\n\n\"Early next morning \u2013 August 22 \u2013 our train was shunted on to another track, just next to the loading platform, and this was when we heard the rumour that these people were a Jewish transport. They call out to us that they have been travelling without food or water for two days. And then, when they are being loaded into cattle cars, we become witnesses of the most ghastly scenes. The corpses of those killed the night before were thrown by Jewish auxiliary police on to a lorry that came and went four times. The guards \u2013 Ukrainian volunteer ss, some of them drunk \u2013 cram 180 people into each car [\"I counted,\" Herr Pfoch told me] parents into one, children into another, they didn't care how they separated families. They scream at them, shoot and hit them so viciously that some of their rifle-butts break. When all of them are finally loaded there are cries from all cars \u2013 'Water,' they plead, 'my gold ring for water.' Others offered us 5,000 zloty [2,500 Reichsmark] for a cup of water. When some of them manage to climb out through the ventilating holes, they are shot the moment they reach the ground \u2013 a massacre that made us sick to our souls, a blood-bath such as I never dreamed of. A mother jumps down with her baby and calmly looks into a pointing gun-barrel \u2013 a moment later we hear the guard who shot them boast to his fellows that he managed to 'do' them both with one shot through both their heads.\"\n\nHubert Pfoch told me when I met him in Vienna in 1972 that he and his friends asked their officer \u2013 a young first lieutenant \u2013 to intervene with the SS officer in charge.\n\n\"He agreed to do it,\" said Herr Pfoch, \"but when he suggested to the SS officer that this outrageous spectacle was unworthy of Germany and German honour, the SS bellowed that if our officer and the rest of us 'Ostmarkler' ( _Ostmark_ was the Nazi term for Austria as a province of the Third Reich) didn't like it and didn't shut up about it, he'd be glad to 'add a special car to the train for us, and we could join the Jews and warmongers and get to know Treblinka.' \" The next part of the entry in the young Pfoch's diary would seem to prove Stangl's memory quite correct.\n\n\"When at last our train leaves the station,\" Pfoch wrote, \"at least fifty dead, women, men and children, some of them totally naked, lie along the track. We saw the Jewish police remove them \u2013 all kinds of valuables disappeared into their pockets, too. Eventually our train followed the other train and we continued to see corpses on both sides of the track \u2013 children and others. They say Treblinka is a 'delousing camp'. When we reach Treblinka station the train is next to us again \u2013 there is such an awful smell of decomposing corpses in the station, some of us vomit. The begging for water intensifies, the indiscriminate shooting by the guards continues....Three hundred thousand have been assembled here,\" Pfoch continued [and we must remember that this diary was written in _August 1942_ ]: \"Every day ten or fifteen thousand are gassed and burned. Any comment is totally superfluous....\" And then he adds, obviously in a mild attempt to make his diary a trifle less perilous if found: \"They say that arms were found in the ghettos and that is the reason for these counter-measures.\"\n\nCommenting to me on the photograph on this page of the illustrations, Herr Pfoch said that seconds after he had taken it, the tall Ukrainian soldier in the background hit out so hard at the children who were \"slow to move\" that he split the butt of his rifle in two. Stangl told me that on that first visit to Treblinka he was shown round the camp by Dr Eberl, the Kommandant. \"There was shooting everywhere... I asked him what was happening to the valuables, why weren't they being sent to HQ. He said \u2013 he said in the face of all the stuff we were wading through \u2013 'The transports are ransacked before they ever leave Warsaw.'\n\n\"I went straight back to Warsaw and told Globocnik that it was impossible: no order such as he had given me could be carried out in that place. 'It's the end of the world,' I said to him, and told him about the thousands of rotting corpses. He said, 'It's supposed to be the end of the world for them.' And he told me to stay in Warsaw that night, that he would call Wirth in for a meeting....\n\n\"I had heard that the new police chief of Warsaw was a man from my wife's home town in Austria. I went to see him as soon as I left Globocnik and I begged him to help me get a transfer.\"\n\n\" _Did you tell him about Treblinka?_ \"\n\n\"No, no, you don't understand: it would have been madness; the secrecy regulations were absolute.\"\n\nThis was, of course, ridiculous when, as he had put it \"whores from Warsaw\" had congregated around the camp, not to speak of what we have learned since. But equally, there is ample evidence in the records of rigorous, if obviously fairly futile, security regulations.\n\n\"But he said anyway he'd help; he'd try to get me into an anti-partisan unit. He wrote everything down \u2013 I really thought this time it would work. But it didn't. I never heard from him again. Of course, any transfer required Globocnik's signature \u2013 without that it couldn't be done. And I know now it was stupid of me ever to hope. Globocnik could never have let me go....\n\n\"Wirth came the next morning. And after his meeting with Globocnik we went back to Treblinka. We went into a long meeting with Eberl as soon as we arrived. I went to the mess for some coffee and talked to some of the officers. They said they had great fun; shooting was 'sport'; there was more money and stuff around than one could dream of, all there for the taking; all one had to do was help oneself. In the evening, they said, Eberl had naked Jewesses dance for them, on the tables. Disgusting \u2013 it was all disgusting.\"\n\nSuchomel, who is nothing if not a meticulous witness and always eager to \u2013 as it were \u2013 \"defend\" the Jews, had his own comments to make on this. \"There were never nude Jewesses dancing on tables,\" he said, \"that's untrue. What is true is that once Eberl, when he was drunk, made a dancer dance naked in the kitchen. He ordered her to undress \u2013 which she did most unwillingly. When Wirth heard of this later, he had the poor girl shot. August Hengst had played the pimp on that occasion.\"\n\nSuchomel had another remark to make about Stangl's arrival in Treblinka. \"The first suggestion I heard Stangl make after he arrived,\" he said, \"was to put buckets in the tube for the women. They all defecated you know, while they ran, or stood there, waiting. Stangl said he had put buckets in the tube in Sobibor and it had proved helpful. Wirth answered 'I don't care a damn what you did with the shit in Sobibor. Let them beshit themselves. It can be cleaned up afterwards.' \" Apparently two men were then assigned to \"cleaning up\" the road to the gas chambers between transports.\n\n\"That night at dinner,\" Stangl continued, \"Wirth announced that Eberl and four of his staff had been recalled for an important mission and that he, Wirth, would be staying for a while. Eberl and the others left the next morning. Wirth stayed for two weeks or so and reorganized the camp. He tidied it up \u2013 I will say that for him. He rang Warsaw and stopped all transports until the place could be cleaned up.\"\n\nThis whole timetable, as Stangl described it to me, is open to doubt, and not merely because of the slight discrepancy between how his wife remembered the sequence of events, and how he did. The trial evidence appears to prove that Globocnik had been made aware of the breakdown situation at Treblinka \"some time in August\" \u2013 well before the time Stangl describes \u2013 and had gone there himself with his aide Oberhauser, who testified to this effect at the trial, and Wirth. According to this account, Globocnik relieved Eberl then and there, put Wirth in charge and himself gave the orders how the camp was to be reorganized. (Suchomel, too, told me that \"Eberl was gone by the time Stangl arrived\".) Oberhauser also testified that it was at Treblinka, \"leaning against a door [of a barrack] in the square\", that Globocnik decided on Stangl as the replacement for Eberl, and said he would \"organize all that from his office the next day\" \u2013 also Stangl's replacement (Reichleitner) for Sobibor. It is probable that Stangl altered the sequence of these events for my benefit so as to convey as much as possible the impression that his reassignment to Treblinka had been \"a surprise\" to him and that, once again, he \"didn't really know\" what his function was to be, a myth he kept up throughout his trial and only relinquished in his conversations with me at the very end.\n\n\" _What were you doing during the time Wirth was 'reorganizing the camp_ '?\" I asked him.\n\n\"Well, of course I had my specific orders: to find out about the valuables and the money. On the fifth day I was there, a courier \u2013 Felke was his name, I think \u2013 came from Sobibor and Lublin. He said that Michel sent his best regards and that my family had left. After that I felt better. I'd got a funny feeling that something fishy had been going on between Wirth and Eberl\" \u2013 he now spoke with the animation and interest characteristic of the dedicated police officer. \"It seemed to me, the chaos \u2013 the complete breakdown in security \u2013 might almost have been deliberate, so as to make control impossible and enable somebody to by-pass HQ in Poland [Globocnik] and send things straight to the F\u00fchrer Chancellery in Berlin.\" He sounded secretive about this even now, indeed to such a degree that what he said became believable. He went on, in this same secretive manner, to mention names of people such as Blankenburg whom he claimed always to have suspected of illegal dealings in Jewish property.\n\n\" _But wasn't there a common interest involved here?_ \"\n\n\"Oh, you have no idea of the rivalries and intrigues between different departments, sections, ministries and individuals. There were enormous \u2013 fantastic \u2013 sums involved and everybody wanted a piece of it, and everybody wanted control.\"\n\nAlthough the booty from the extermination camps was not, as I have said, so enormous as Stangl seemed to think it, this last claim of his is borne out by the record, which provides a wealth of documentary proof of the greed and jealousies between different departments of the Nazi administration regarding the spoils of the \"Final Solution\". One interesting account \u2013 later confirmed to me by Suchomel \u2013 speaks of a messenger arriving from Berlin with \"a suitcase\" and orders, from Blankenburg, to return with one million marks. \"We crammed a million into it,\" said Suchomel, \"and he went off with it to Berlin.\" Equally, the record speaks on many occasions of Globocnik's financial unreliability because of which, after being involved in currency speculations, he was originally removed from his job as Gauleiter of Vienna, reduced in rank and only reassigned to his position in Lublin because of his well-known virulent anti-Semitism and his friendship with Himmler (who called him 'Globus' \u2013 Globe in English).\n\nStangl, however, quite clearly admired Globocnik and was soon to become \"his man\". He had moved into Eberl's quarters and Wirth, for the two weeks which, according to Stangl, he spent there, had the guest room next to him. One evening during those two weeks in September, Wirth told Stangl that Kurt Franz, whose reputation for ruthlessness had preceded him, was going to arrive shortly \"to get this heap moving\". \"I went back to see Globocnik,\" Stangl said, \"and told him that I believed Eberl and Wirth to have conspired about routing the Treblinka valuables to Berlin instead of to the HQ in Poland. Globocnik said, 'Ah, the villains', as if this had finally explained something that had puzzled him all along. I told him that I was prepared to see that all material as of now would be safely delivered to his office.\"\n\nHere again the dates are wrong; for it is known that both Stangl and Kurt Franz (and not Wirth) were in Treblinka on September 11 when an SS man (whose name is variously reported as Max Biala or Bielas) was killed by a prisoner \u2013 an event rare and heroic enough to be remembered very precisely by a number of people. But dates are only marginally relevant. What the court considered important in the Stangl trial was motivation; and the prosecution later contended that Stangl's offer to Globocnik was not motivated \u2013 as he was attempting to establish \u2013 by his desire to limit his function in the camp, but rather, when he learned that Kurt Franz was to arrive (whenever that was), by a wish to protect his superior position in the hierarchy. And this contention seems supported by Stangl's own confirmation to me, during our second series of conversations nine weeks after the first, that it was from then on that Globocnik considered him \"one of his men\", on whose loyalty he relied completely.\n\n\" _But if you made this offer to Globocnik,\" I said, \"it means that you actually volunteered your collaboration, doesn't it?_ \"\n\n\"All I was doing,\" he replied sharply, his face once again undergoing that now familiar change, \"was to confirm to him that I would be carrying out this _assignment_ as a police officer under his command.\"\n\n\" _But you and Michel, months before, had acknowledged to yourselvesthat what was being committed here was a crime. How could you, in all conscience, volunteer, as you were doing now, to take any part in this crime?_\"\n\n\"It was a matter of survival \u2013 always of survival. What I had to do, while I continued my efforts to get out, was to limit my own actions to what I \u2013 in my own conscience \u2013 could answer for. At police training school they taught us \u2013 I remember, it was Rittmeister Leitner who always said it \u2013 that the definition of a crime must meet four requirements: there has to be a subject, an object, an action and intent. If any of these four elements are missing, then we are not dealing with a punishable offence.\"\n\n\" _I can't see how you could possibly apply this concept to this situation?_ \"\n\n\"That's what I am trying to explain to you; the only way I could live was by compartmentalizing my thinking. By doing this I _could_ apply it to my own situation; if the 'subject' was the government, the 'object' the Jews, and the 'action' the gassings, then I could tell myself that for me the fourth element, 'intent' [he called it 'free will'] was missing.\"\n\n\" _Except as far as administering the valuables was concerned?_ \"\n\n\"Yes. But having established the possibility of illegal trafficking this had become a legitimate police activity.\"\n\n\" _But these valuables which you were proposing \u2013 or agreeing \u2013 to administer wouldn't have been there but for the gassings. How could you isolate one from the other? Even in your own thinking?_ \"\n\n\"I could, because my specific assignment from the start had been the responsibility for these effects.\"\n\n\" _What if you had been specifically assigned to carry out the actual gassings?_ \"\n\n\"I wasn't,\" he said drily, and added in a reasonable and explanatory tone: \"That was done by two Russians \u2013 Ivan and Nicolau, under the command of a sub [Gustav M\u00fcnzberger].\"\n\n# 3\n\nTHE CAMP was between forty and fifty acres (six hundred metres by four hundred) and was divided into two main sections and four subsections. The \"upper camp\" \u2013 or Camp II \u2013 included the gas chambers, the installations for the disposal of the corpses (limepits at first, then huge iron racks for burning, known as \"roasts\"), and the barracks for the _Totenjuden_ , the Jewish work-groups. One of the barracks was for males, another, later, for females. The men carried and burned the bodies; the twelve girls cooked and washed.\n\nThe \"lower camp\" or Camp I was subdivided into three sections, rigidly separated by barbed-wire fences, which, like the outer fences, were interwoven with pine branches for camouflage. The first section contained the unloading ramp and the square \u2013 _Sortierungsplatz_ \u2013 where the first selections were made; the fake hospital (the _Lazarett_ ) where the old and sick were shot instead of gassed; the undressing barracks where the victims stripped, left their clothes, had their hair cut off if they were women, and were internally searched for hidden valuables; and finally the \"Road to Heaven\". This, starting at the exit from the women's and children's undressing barrack, was a path ten feet wide with ten-foot fences of barbed wire on each side (again thickly camouflaged with branches, constantly renewed, through which one could neither see out nor in), through which the naked prisoners, in rows of five, had to run the hundred metres up the hill to the \"baths\" \u2013 the gas chambers \u2013 and where, when, as happened frequently, the gassing mechanism broke down, they had to stand waiting their turn for hours at a time.\n\nTo the left of this part of the camp, separated from it by barbed wire, were the living and working quarters of the _Arbeitsjuden_ \u2013 the Jewish workers who staffed this lower part of the camp: the joiners, carpenters, shoe-makers, tailors and goldsmiths, doctors in the clinic, laundry workers, kitchen hands and the _Kapos_ \u2013 the ghetto administrators and police. To the right of this so-called ghetto complex was the _Appelplatz_ \u2013 the yard where roll-call was taken twice a day. The yard was also used for other purposes, such as concerts, Kurt Franz's ideas of \"sport\" (running races and boxing matches which ended when the losers were dead), punishments (the whipping-block was in almost daily use at the evening roll-call) and executions (usually by hanging, frequently upside down). \" _Did the workers have any kind of social life?_ \" I asked Stangl. \"Of course, of course,\" he replied. \"At the end of the working day they went for walks.\" \u2013 \" _Walks? Where?_ \" \u2013 \"On the _Appelplatz;_ or they sat about in groups and chatted.\" (Another subtle idea of SS-fun was the ghetto-latrine which the work-Jews could only visit for a precise number of minutes controlled by a prisoner guard with a big clock, whom the Germans dressed comically as a rabbi and called the \"shit-master\". \"He was a quiet gentle man, I think an engineer or designer from Warsaw,\" one of the survivors told me. \"He used to lie on his bunk at night and cry.\")\n\nTo the left again of this central area, beyond yet another fence, were the quarters of the eighty Ukrainian guards. Forty yards or so west began a small side-street which led into the \"Kurt-Seidel Strasse\", a two-lane cement road built on Stangl's orders and named after the SS officer in charge of its construction. South-east of this road, along which in the spring of 1943 flowers and evergreen shrubs had been planted, were Stangl's quarters containing his bedroom, a guest room, his office and the offices of his two senior administrative assistants, the orderly Stadie, and the book-keeper M\u00e4tzig. There was also a clinic for the staff, a dentist, barbers \u2013 and a zoo. \"We had any number of marvellous birds there,\" Stangl said, \"and benches and flowers. An expert from Vienna designed it for us \u2013 of course, we were able to have experts for anything.\"\n\nFinally, across the street were the SS living quarters; forty SS men were assigned to Treblinka at one time or another, but only twenty were stationed there at any time. The cleaning of the SS quarters was done by Jewish girls, the cooking however, by Polish \u2013 non-Jewish \u2013 women. I have not seen this fact mentioned in any of the histories of the period. \"Oh yes,\" said Suchomel, \"there were three Polish girls working in the German mess; and they lived there too. Of course they had their days off and could go and see their families. Their names were Janina, Sofia and Genjia \u2013 that's short for Eugenia. Oh yes, they all survived.\"\n\nIf the mind boggles at the idea of people having a \"job\" at Treblinka from which they had \"days off\" to go and see their families in the surrounding villages, this is perhaps a deficiency in our imagination. For the car-entrance to the camp, and the section where the Germans \u2013 and Ukrainians too \u2013 lived was, it would appear, anything but forbidding. The street, the mess, the barracks, Stangl's house, the munition depot, the garage and petrol \"station\" \u2013 all of it was banked with flowers. \"It is difficult,\" said Stangl, \"to describe it adequately now, but it became really beautiful.\"\n\n\u2022 \u2022 \u2022\n\nIn this exploration of how the weaknesses and fears of men such as Stangl can be exploited to operate a death-machine like Treblinka, his own account of his daily life there, and the way he deliberately manipulated and repressed his moral scruples (which unquestionably existed) is particularly illuminating.\n\nThroughout the three days of this part of his story he manifested an intense desire to seek and tell the truth. This need, strangely enough, was emphasized rather than belied by the extraordinary callousness of many of his explanations and tales. He was telling the truth as he had seen it twenty-nine years ago and still saw it in 1971, and in so doing he voluntarily but unwittingly told more than the truth: he revealed the _two_ men he had become in order to survive.\n\n\"I got up at dawn,\" he began. \"The men used to be livid because I made my first round at 5 a.m. It kept them on their toes. I first checked the guards \u2013 the British were supposed to have dropped parachutists in the region and I had had to secure the camp against the outside; we had put up a second outer fence of steel anti-tank obstacles. And then I went up to the _Totenlager._ \"\n\nFranz Suchomel would have none of this, although in fact he ended by confirming Stangl's description. \"Five o'clock?\" he said. \"Nonsense. Why _should_ he get up that early? He had other people who could do that for him. At least, _I_ never saw him at that hour and I was often around then. Yes \u2013 he probably came to breakfast some time around 7; anyway, that's when breakfast was served. I don't think he often started work at 8. If he really got up early, it was only to check that everything was properly prepared in the gas chambers. That was his main concern, because, after all, he had to reckon with new transports every hour.\"\n\n\"Stangl?\" said SS man Otto Horn, who worked for a year in the upper camp supervising the burning of the bodies. \"I only saw him in the upper camp twice in all the time I was at Treblinka. He told you he came there twice a day?\" He laughed. \"Impossible. Of course,\" he then added quickly, \"I shirked as much as possible \u2013 I always volunteered for night-duty so as to avoid the other things, so he may have come when I was off. But _I_ only saw him there twice. When I was on duty at night I used to go and just sit behind one of the barracks and snooze. I didn't _want_ to see anything. Yes, I think several people felt like I did. But that was the most positive thing one could do \u2013 you know, play possum....\"\n\n\u2022 \u2022 \u2022\n\n\" _What were you doing at the_ Totenlager _at_ 6 _a.m.?_ \" I asked Stangl.\n\n\"It was a _round;_ I went everywhere. At 7 I went in to breakfast. After a while I had them build our own bakery. We had a wonderful Viennese baker. He made delicious cakes, very good bread. After that we gave our army-issue bread to the work-Jews. Of course.\"\n\n\" _Of course? Did everybody?_ \"\n\n\"I don't know. I did. Why not \u2013 they could use it.\"\n\nThis bakery is a good example of how variously things are remembered by different people, something I was to find time and again while researching this book. Suchomel and Richard Glazar both remembered the baker and his name (Reinhard Siegfried \u2013 \"Lovely name for a Jew, isn't it?\" said Glazar). And both said he came from Frankfurt, not Vienna. But Glazar thought that although he was supposed to start work in the SS bakery, the bakery never actually materialized because \"this was only just before the uprising\" (August 2, 1943). Suchomel, on the other hand, had, so to speak, two versions of the baker, which he gave me on two different occasions. In the first story Siegfried worked in the SS bakery, \"but there was no question of giving army-issue bread to the work-Jews,\" he said. When, however, in reply to a question, he wrote about it a few months later, he wrote, \"Kapo Siegfried... baked _only_ for the Jews.\"\n\n\"I tried other ways to get them food too,\" said Stangl. \"You know the Poles had ration books which allowed them an egg a week, so much fat, so much meat. Well, it occurred to me that if everybody in Poland had the right to ration tickets \u2013 if that was the law \u2013 then our work-Jews were in Poland too and also had the right to ration tickets. So I told M\u00e4tzig the book-keeper to go to the town council and request a thousand ration books for our worker-Jews.\"\n\n\" _What happened?_ \"\n\nHe laughed. \"Well, in the surprise of the moment they gave him a thousand rations for that week. But afterwards the Poles \u2013 the town council \u2013 complained to somebody at HQ and I was hauled over the coals for it. Still, it was a good try and we did get something out of it; they had a thousand eggs that week.\" (\"Oh yes, certainly,\" said Suchomel. \"M\u00e4tzig got out of the Polish authorities what he could; he was a decent bloke. He got the Jews cereal and marmalade \u2013 that I remember clearly. A thousand eggs? Well, I don't know anything about that \u2013 but it's possible.\")\n\n\" _Getting back to your daily routine, what did you do after breakfast?_ \"\n\n\"At about 8 I'd go to my office.\"\n\n\" _What time did the transports arrive?_ \"\n\n\"Usually about that time.\"\n\n\" _Didn't you attend their arrival?_ \"\n\n\"Not necessarily. Sometimes I went.\"\n\nAccording to Suchomel, Stangl was usually there, \"though he always avoided any transports from Germany or Austria, which were accompanied by German police. When that happened, the police officers were quickly taken to the mess so that they couldn't see anything, and then they were pushed off again on the same train when it went out (after it was cleaned).\" According to Treblinka survivor Joe Siedlecki, Stangl was \"often, always on the ramp in his white suit, often on horseback, very elegant\". (But Siedlecki's account is another example of how misleading memory can be, because although Stangl didn't arrive at Treblinka until September, at the earliest late August he said, \"He was there when I arrived....I arrived in July. He _must_ have been there \u2013 he was the Kommandant.\")\n\n\" _How many people would arrive on a transport?_ \" I asked Stangl.\n\n\"Usually about five thousand. Sometimes more.\"\n\n\" _Did you ever talk to any of the people who arrived?_ \"\n\n\"Talk? No. But I remember one occasion \u2013 they were standing there just after they'd arrived, and one Jew came up to me and said he wanted to make a complaint. So I said yes, certainly, what was it. He said that one of the Lithuanian guards (who were only used for transport duties) had promised to give him water if he gave him his watch. But he had taken the watch and not given him any water. Well, that wasn't right, was it? Anyway, I didn't permit pilfering. I asked the Lithuanians then and there who it was who had taken the watch, but nobody came forward. Franz \u2013 you know, Kurt Franz \u2013 whispered to me that the man involved could be one of the Lithuanian officers \u2013 they had so-called officers \u2013 and that I couldn't embarrass an officer in front of his men. Well, I said, 'I am not interested what sort of uniform a man wears. I am only interested in what is inside a man.' Don't think _that_ didn't get back to Warsaw in a hurry. But what's right is right, isn't it? I made them all line up and turn out their pockets.\"\n\n\" _In front of the prisoners?_ \"\n\n\"Yes, what else? Once a complaint is made it has to be investigated. Of course we didn't find the watch \u2013 whoever it was had got rid of it.\"\n\n\" _What happened to the complainant?_ \"\n\n\"Who?\"\n\n\" _The man who lodged the complaint?_ \"\n\n\"I don't know,\" he said vaguely. \"Of course, as I said, usually I'd be working in my office \u2013 there was a great deal of paper work \u2013 till about 11. Then I made my next round, starting up at the _Totenlager._ By that time they were well ahead with the work up there.\" He meant that by this time the 5,000 to 6,000 people who had arrived that morning were dead: the \"work\" was the disposal of the bodies which took most of the rest of the day and during some months continued during the night. I knew this, but I wanted to get him to speak more directly about the _people_ , and asked where the people were who had come on the transport. His answer continued to be evasive; he still avoided referring to them as \"people\".\n\n\"Oh, by that time of the morning everything was pretty much finished in the lower camp. A transport was normally dealt with in two or three hours. At 12 I had lunch \u2013 yes, we usually had meat, potatoes, some fresh vegetables such as cauliflowers \u2013 we grew them ourselves quite soon \u2013 and after lunch I had about half an hour's rest. Then another round and more work in the office.\"\n\n\" _What did you do in the evenings?_ \"\n\n\"After supper people sat around and talked. When I came first they used to drink for hours in the mess. But I put a stop to that. Afterwards they drank in their rooms.\"\n\n\" _What did_ you _do? Did you have any friends there? Anyone you felt you had something in common with?_ \"\n\n\"Nobody. Nobody with whom I could really talk. I knew none of them.\"\n\n\" _Even after a while? A month?_ \"\n\nHe shrugged his shoulders. \"What's a month? I never found anybody there \u2013 like Michel \u2013 with whom I felt I could speak freely of what I felt about this _Schweinerei._ I usually went to my room and went to bed.\"\n\n\" _Did you read?_ \"\n\n\"Oh no. I couldn't have read there. I was too unquiet.... The electricity went off at 10 \u2013 after that everything was quiet. Except of course when the transports were so big that the work had to continue in the night....\"\n\n\"I can't think what he was talking about when he said the lights went out at ten,\" said Suchomel. \"That's nonsense. They stayed on all night; after all, we had to guard the place \u2013 how could we have done that without light? People went to bed anyway \u2013 they were so _tired._ It's quite true,\" he said, \"there was a great deal of drinking in the rooms. The decent ones among the men liked Stangl \u2013 because he wasn't such a swine as most of the others. But he boozed too, but not so much in the camp \u2013 outside. Most of us never went out; I remember, about three of the men had women somewhere, but on the whole going out was not encouraged. It was too dangerous anyway, with all the partisans there were around. But Stangl had this friend, Greuer he was called \u2013 he was political officer in Kossov; that's where he drank. I remember, once they brought him back to the camp totally, speechlessly drunk. There _were_ books,\" he said. \"In fact it was Stangl himself who told me once that several books for the staff had arrived from Berlin, sent by Reichsleiter Bouhler. And those could be borrowed any time.\"\n\nOne of the most extraordinary things about delving into this period now is the different interpretation given to individual events by different people. This is less the result of failing memories or deliberate manipulation, than because most people now represent these events and their part in them with a view to seeming \u2013 to themselves even more than to others \u2013 what they would have _liked_ to have been, rather than what they were. And this applies to Germans as well as Poles, Christians as well as Jews, West as well as East Europeans. A few \u2013 a _very_ few \u2013 of those I met showed no wish to hide, embellish or change the past in any way: Franz Suchomel, for example. Even fewer \u2013 and for very different reasons \u2013 had no need to do so.\n\n# 4\n\nA MAN of Richard Glazar's integrity is rare anywhere. That he should have survived Treblinka and be in a position to chronicle it for us is hardly less than a miracle.\n\nHe lives with his wife and their children in a sixteenth-century farmhouse in the tiny village near Berne, in Switzerland, where Emmenthaler cheese is made. Their house stands on a path in a meadow, and has gables, dormer windows with geraniums in window-boxes, small warm rooms and a wide view over fields and mountains. \"This is how we chose \u2013 how we want to live,\" said Richard when I went to stay with him and his family in the late autumn of 1972.\n\nHe was then fifty-three years old, a slender man of medium height with long, tapering hands, brown hair and perceptive brown eyes. He has the kind of face that doesn't alter much over the years; give and take a bit of hair, he probably looked very much as he does now when he was a boy. His Czech wife who, incidentally, is not Jewish, is an attractive woman with a quick smile and a firm mind who works in an office in Berne. Their pretty twenty-year-old daughter, who recently married a nice young Austrian who also works in Berne, is a computer programmer; the young couple live with the Glazars. Their twenty-one-year-old son is studying in Germany.\n\nRichard Glazar was born in Prague. His father, a financial consultant who worked first for a bank and later on his own, had served in the Austrian army during the First World War, and had been wounded. In 1932, when Richard was twelve, his parents were divorced. Four years later, his mother remarried. Her second husband was a wealthy leather-merchant, Adolf Bergmann. Richard loved his stepfather and his two stepbrothers, Karl (who was to be killed in the concentration camp Mauthausen) and a younger boy (who was to be saved by the Danish Red Cross evacuation scheme for Czech-Jewish children under fourteen). \"It was a marvellous time,\" he said. \"I spent my holidays with my maternal grandparents in the country; that's where I learnt how to make things, how a wheel is made, how a calf is delivered, how one works the land.\" He matriculated in March 1939 and was accepted at the University of Prague in June. \"I wanted to study philosophy,\" he said, \"but by that time there was already an unofficial quota* and I couldn't get into that course; but they did offer me a place to read economics. My stepfather was very aware of the dangers around the corner. At Christmas 1938, after the annexation of the Sudetenland, he had managed to get a permit to travel to England to see friends. And he had arranged that we would all emigrate to England. When I think that we might have done that \u2013 but we didn't. In the end he didn't have the courage to leave everything he had built up at home and start again, abroad.\n\n\"But in Czechoslovakia the measures against Jews started very gradually; first it was just signs on shops \u2013 'Jews Unwelcome', or sometimes a bit sharper 'Forbidden to Jews', but otherwise not much happened for a while.\"\n\nThere was no real anti-Semitism in Czechoslovakia, compared to other Central and Eastern European countries, partly because of a young but very strong democratic tradition, and more perhaps because most Czech Jews were assimilated middle-class people in business or the professions, with a distinct German-Austrian orientation. The men had often served as officers in the Austrian army; the children went to German or Czech schools; and segregation or taunting of Jewish children, common in Poland and Rumania for instance, was unknown. To envisage in this atmosphere the full or even partial extent of the future horrors was all but impossible, even when the first signs of it were apparent.\n\n\"On November 17, 1939,\" Richard went on, \"after several students had been executed,* the students demonstrated and all universities were closed. After this I worked for my stepfather until, in 1940, my family sent me to the country near Prague to work for a farmer \u2013 safer, they thought. In 1941, Jews were ordered to wear the Star of David on their clothes, but I didn't register as a Jew and nobody bothered me.\"\n\nSome time during 1940 Richard's father, who had fled the Nazis to Russia, died there \u2013 of pneumonia, so they were told. In the autumn of 1941 his mother telephoned him from Prague to say they were being \"moved\" to Lodz in Poland. \"She cried,\" Richard said, \"and she said to hold on as long as I could and however I could. My stepfather \u2013 we were not religious, but he blessed me in Hebrew. I learned later that in Lodz Mother went to work in a laundry and my stepfather fell very ill and was taken away. Later my mother was sent to Auschwitz and later still to Bergen Belsen where she worked in a munition factory \u2013 and, thank God, survived.\n\n\"The farmer where I stayed was nice enough in the beginning \u2013 later a bit less, but his wife was always nice. They had two very nice daughters; I became great friends with the older one. The younger one was small. Later, after I escaped from Treblinka, I wrote to the peasant's wife, you know, from Germany, under my assumed name. I had to let somebody know that I was alive. I addressed them in my letter as 'Dear aunt and uncle' \u2013 it was a risk for her, a real risk. But she answered at once and sent me clothes and other things I had left there.\"\n\nOn September 2, 1942, Richard, in spite of not having registered as a Jew, received a notification to report to the _Mustermesse_ \u2013 a huge exhibition hall in Prague. \"When I left the farm they were both upset \u2013 she cried,\" he said. \"I had no idea at all what to expect or what was expected of me.\" None of them knew, but Richard in particular had been isolated from rumours and for that matter from other Jews for more than a year. \"Not far away from the farm there was a pub where the farm labourers went and I too had gone there sometimes,\" he said. \"Not long after my parents were deported they were talking at the bar and a man who worked at 'our' farm said that he'd heard it was pretty bad in Lodz. I remember saying sort of flippantly, 'Well, they can't cut their heads off,' and he answered, 'I heard they shoot people there.' I said, 'Nonsense.' That's how little I knew.\"\n\nWhen he left the farm, he carried a knapsack and two bags. \"I wore boots, two pairs of trousers \u2013 dungarees or jeans and over them flannels \u2013 a sweater and a sports coat. In my rucksack I carried a suit, some shirts, a pair of flannel pyjamas, sport shoes and black shoes, underclothes, handkerchiefs and towels. And in the bags I had food: lard with onion, biscuits, and tins of this and that.\n\n\"By the time I got to Prague it was already 'Jew-free' as they called it. We stayed at the _Mustermesse_ two or three days and waited; they distributed food and there were sinks to wash in. We slept on the ground. Of course there were a great many rumours of every kind and there was this fear of uncertainty, but there was no physical fear.\n\n\"One morning they counted us and we went to a nearby station and travelled to Theresienstadt, a village around a fortress north of Prague built in the time of Maria Theresa, which had been turned into a huge internment camp.\"\n\nTheresienstadt was intended to be the Nazis' \"model\" internment camp for Jews, housing Czechs, Germans and Austrians who had served in the armed forces and been wounded, and elderly people of means and influence. Quite a few of them had important connections abroad, able to make large payments for them in us currency. This camp, under Eichmann's personal supervision, was later to be exhibited on three different occasions to Red Cross delegations, one from Germany, one from Denmark and one from the International Red Cross, and convinced several of the delegates that it was indeed, as Himmler was to say: \"Not a camp in the ordinary sense of the word, but a town inhabited and governed by Jews, in which every manner of work... is done. This type of camp was conceived by me and my friend Heydrich, and this is what we had intended all camps to be.\" None the less, between November 1941 and 1942, 110,000 people were crammed into this \"town\" which formerly housed 7,000, and by the end of 1942 there were only 49,392 left. Sixteen thousand had died of illness and starvation, and 43,879 had been \"shipped East\" in that one year.\n\n\"I was assigned quarters in a stable,\" Richard Glazar said. \"Two cousins found me there; they were in an attic.\"\n\nRichard stayed in Theresienstadt for a month working in a garbage disposal unit. He found his maternal grandfather and his paternal grandmother \u2013 they had been there for several months. His grandmother lived in a room with a dozen other old women, sleeping on blankets on the floor. \"She seemed very small,\" said Richard. \"I used to bring her chocolate, whenever I could scrounge some, but she always said 'No, thank you, keep it for yourself. But then one day I brought her a pot of lard and she accepted that. My grandfather was in an old people's ward: that was really terrible. He was almost blind; he had tried to cut his veins.\"\n\nAfter a few days in the stable, Richard had moved into a large hall, with friends. This is where he met another Czech, Karel Unger, who was to become his closest friend, and who survived and escaped from Treblinka with him and now lives in the us.\n\n\"After a month in Theresienstadt I was notified that I was to leave the next day for another camp, in the East. I ran to see Hannah, my cousin \u2013 she said grandfather had just died; it was that day too.\n\n\"We, our Czech transport, travelled on a passenger train; later I was to find out how rare that was; only transports from the 'West' \u2013 Germany, Austria, Holland, etc \u2013 travelled on passenger trains with their comparative comfort; everybody else went in cattle trucks. The people supervising our transport were police \u2013 in green police uniform. They appointed some of the young men as monitors and gave them armbands. It wasn't particularly rough, or frightening. True enough, the police officer in charge expressed himself rather oddly. 'I am to bring a thousand pieces,' he said, 'and a thousand pieces I am going to bring. So anybody who puts his head out of the window is going to have it blown off; we shoot.' We thought he was being unnecessarily crude; no need, we thought, to frighten the women and children that way; but we didn't really give it a second thought. We left Theresienstadt on October 8 and we travelled two days. First we thought we were going in the direction of Dresden, but then the train turned and we went East. During the nights it stood more than it moved. The last morning we saw in the distance the outline of a city; it must have been Warsaw. We got to Treblinka at 3.30 p.m. We all crowded to look out of the windows. I saw a green fence, barracks and I heard what sounded like a farm tractor at work. I was delighted. The place looked like a farm. I thought, 'This is _prima_ [marvellous]; it's going to be work I know something about.'\n\n\"The transport we had come on was numbered BG 417 \u2013 Karel Unger, who was travelling with his whole family, had been assigned to a different set of numbers, BU. But we had arranged that I'd keep a lookout for him the day after or whenever, and reserve bunk-space for him next to me and all that, so that we could continue to stick together.\n\n\"I saw men with blue armbands on the platform, but without insignia. One of them carried a leather whip \u2013 not like any whip I'd ever seen, but like something for big animals. These men spoke very strange German. There were loud announcements, but it was all fairly restrained: nobody did anything to us [the prescribed pattern for transports arriving from the West]. I followed the crowd: 'Men to the right, women and children to the left', we had been told. The women and children disappeared into a barrack further to the left and we were told to undress. One of the SS men \u2013 later I knew his name, K\u00fcttner \u2013 told us in a chatty sort of tone that we were going into a disinfection bath and afterwards would be assigned work. Clothes, he said, could be left in a heap on the floor, and we'd find them again later. We were to keep documents, identity cards, money, watches and jewellery with us.\n\n\"The queue began to move and I suddenly noticed several men fully dressed standing near another barrack further back, and I was wondering who they were. And just then another SS man (Miete was his name) came by me and said, 'Come on, you, get back into your clothes, quick, special work.' That was the first time I was frightened. Everything was very quiet, you know. And when he said that to me, the others turned around and looked at me \u2013 and I thought, my God, why me, why does he pick on me? When I had got back into my clothes, the line had moved on and I noticed that several other young men had also been picked out and were dressing. We were taken through to the 'work-barrack', most of which was filled from floor to ceiling with clothes, stacked up in layers. Many of the clothes were filthy \u2013 we had to tear them apart by force, they stuck together with dirt and sweat. The foreman showed me how to tie the things together into bundles, wrapped up in sheets or big cloths. You understand, there was no time, not a moment between the instant we were taken in there and put to work, to talk to anyone, to take stock of what was happening... and of course, never forget that we had no idea at all what this whole installation was for. One saw these stacks of clothing \u2013 I suppose the thought must have entered our minds, where do they come from, what are they? We _must_ have connected them with the clothes all of us had just taken off outside... but I cannot remember doing that. I only remember starting work at once making bundles, I _thought_ as the foreman had told me, but then he shouted, 'More, more, put more in if you want to stay around.' Even then I didn't know what he meant; I just put more in. Even though stuff was being carried in from outside, the very clothes the people who had arrived with me had taken off minutes before, I think I still didn't think; it seems impossible now, but that's how it was. I too went outside to pick up clothes and suddenly something hit me on the back \u2013 it was like being struck by a tree-trunk: it was a Ukrainian guard hitting me with one of these awful huge whips. [\"Yes,\" said Stangl, \"I think there may have been umbrella wire in the whips.\" \u2013 \"No,\" said Suchomel, \"there was nothing in the whips except leather \u2013 they just say that now.\"] 'Run,' he screamed, 'run' \u2013 and I understood from that moment on that all work in Treblinka was done at a run.\"\n\nLater somebody whispered the truth about Treblinka, \"But carefully, carefully,\" Richard said.\n\nLife in Treblinka was always incredibly dangerous, always hung on a thread, but perhaps the most dangerous time was each morning, after the arrival of the transports, while the queues were moving up through the tube towards the death-camp and while the gas chambers were in operation.\n\n\"There was an incredible rivalry amongst the SS men,\" Richard said. \"You see, they weren't just an amorphous mass, as people now like to imagine them; they were, after all, individual men, with individual personalities. Some were worse, some better. Almost every one of them had their prot\u00e9g\u00e9s amongst the prisoners, whom they played off against each other. Of course, one can't look at this in the same way one might consider other 'organizations' where heads of sections have their favourites. Obviously, no ordinary standards of emotion or behaviour can apply; because all of existence, for us especially, and up to a point, at least by reflection, also for them, was reduced to a primeval level: life and death. Consequently all ordinary reactions became special, or at least very different. Perhaps some SS men developed a kind of 'loyalty' to one prisoner or another \u2013 though one hesitates to call it that; there really was almost invariably another, and usually nefarious, reason for any act of kindness or charity. One must always measure whatever they did against the deep fundamental indifference they felt towards all of us. It was of course more than indifference, but I call it that for want of a better word. Really, when one wants to evaluate how they behaved and what they were, one must not forget their incredible power, their autonomy within their narrow and yet, as far as we were concerned, unlimited field; but also the isolation created by their unique situation and by what _they_ \u2013 and hardly anyone else even within the German or Nazi community \u2013 had in common. Perhaps if this isolation had been the result of good rather than evil deeds, their own relationships towards each other would have been different. As it was, most of them seemed to hate and despise each other and do anything \u2013 almost anything \u2013 to 'get at' each other. Thus, if one of them selected a man out of a new transport for work, in other words to stay alive at least for a while, it could perfectly easily happen \u2013 and often did \u2013 that one of his rivals, and make no mistake about it, in one sense or another they were all rivals, would come along and kill that man just to spite him [send him into the queue to be killed] or else 'mark' him, which was tantamount to death [anybody 'marked' went with the next transport]. All this created a virtually indescribable atmosphere of fear. The most important thing for a prisoner in Treblinka, you see, was not to make himself conspicuous. To this, too, there were degrees \u2013 which I will tell you about later. But basically it meant, first of all, not to do anything 'wrong' \u2013 the 'wrongest' thing being to work at anything remotely less than one's top capacity. And there were a hundred and one other arbitrary 'wrong' things, depending only on who saw you. Of course, I am not talking about any kind of insubordination; I mean in the context of our lives that would have been impossible \u2013 simply unthinkable. What one had to do was to develop to a fine art one's understanding of how to remain alive.\n\n\"All this applied much more during the first six months than the second. The whole Treblinka time needs to be divided into four phases. The first one was the months under Dr Eberl [before Glazar himself \u2013 or Stangl \u2013 arrived]. The second one, already under Stangl, but in the beginning of his rule, was still a period of utter arbitrariness where one SS might select a man for work and an hour later, he might be dead, sent 'up' by another. Phase three \u2013 after the beginning of 1943 \u2013 was one of comparative stability: there were less transports; the SS by then knew their comparatively safe jobs far from the shooting war _depended_ on their proving themselves indispensable by running efficient camps, so they began to value useful workers. And by that time, too, the prisoners had become individuals of sorts to them. They had, so to speak, 'tenure' in their jobs; there was a terrible kind of communality of basic purpose between the murderers and the victims \u2013 the purpose of staying alive.\n\n\"Finally phase four was the two, three months before the uprising in August 1943 \u2013 a period of increasing insecurity for the Germans when the Russians were approaching and the SS had begun to realize what it would mean if the war was lost and the outside world learned of what had been done in Treblinka, and that they were in fact individual men, individually accountable. And that it followed that they might, eventually, be able to make use of individual prisoners [to speak in their defence].\n\n\"However, these are generalizations; the reason why, the morning of our arrival, it was fifteen or thirty minutes before somebody managed to whisper to us what Treblinka was for, was that this was phase two of the camp's existence and fear dictated every move.\"\n\nRichard Glazar, as I had learned to understand by then, has an extraordinary capacity for recall, and for relative detachment \u2013 essential if this particular story is to be bearable \u2013 and, in a wider sense, of value.\n\n\"How can one say how one reacted?\" he said. \"What I remember best about that first night is that I decided not to move; to... how can I say it... stand, sit, lie very very still. Was it already an unconscious realization that the main thing was not to be noticed? Did I instinctively connect being 'noticed' with 'movement'? I don't know. I told myself, 'Swim along with the current... let yourself be carried... if you move too much, you'll go under....'\n\n\"That night I wasn't hungry. I mean, there _was_ food \u2013 there was always food after the arrival of 'rich' [Western] transports \u2013 but I couldn't eat. I was terribly terribly thirsty, a thirst that continued all evening, all night....\n\n\"I remember, that evening in the barrack, the others watching us new ones. 'How are you going to behave?' they wondered. 'Are you going to scream, shout, sob? Are you going to go mad, hysterical, melancholy?' All these things happened; and from the next night on, when I myself was one of the 'old' ones, I watched the 'new' ones in exactly the same way. It was not curiosity \u2013 nor was it compassion. Already we were beyond such simple feelings; we did it in response to a need within ourselves; we needed to prove to ourselves, over and over, that everyone was the same as oneself, with the same fears, the same aggressions \u2013 perhaps not quite the same capacities. There was a kind of reassurance in both these things, and watching the new arrivals became a kind of rhythm, every night....\"\n\nRichard spoke a great deal about \"relationships\" and how important they were to survival. \"My friend Karel arrived in a transport the day after I had come. His whole family were killed at once but he was twenty-one years old and strong like me, so he too was among the lucky ones to be selected for work. From that moment we were never apart until 1945 when we returned to Prague together \u2013 they used to call us the twins.\" (Karel Unger now lives in the state of Washington and refused to come to Germany to testify at the Treblinka trial, and later at Stangl's trials.) \"He cannot understand how I can send my boy to Germany to study,\" said Richard sadly. \"Our feelings about some things may be very different now.\" (A year later Richard told me that Karel and his wife had come to stay with them in Switzerland a few months earlier, \"and our feelings _weren't_ different,\" he said happily. \"It was as if we had said goodbye a week before; we are still twins.\")\n\nThe small Czech contingent of which Glazar was a part, so important in the life of the camp, is even today spoken of by other survivors, and by former SS men too, with a kind of awe. \"They were special,\" said Samuel Rajzman, who lives in Montreal and is, in terms of wisdom and achievement, a rather \"special\" man himself. \"They had a special kind of strength, a special life force.\" \"The Czechs?\" said Suchomel. \"Oh yes, I remember them very well. They _were_ a special group: Masarek, Willie F\u00fcrst\u2013they worked in the tailor shop under me. And then there was Glazar. Those lads slept on and under feather comforters. They were tidy \u2013 really tidy.\" And Berek Rojzman in Poland, also mentioned the Czechs. \"I slept next to them. They were \u2013 they were a sort of elite group. Masarek,\" he said with awe, \"and of course Glazar. I knew them all.\" It is gratifying to him to speak of them.\n\nRichard says they were aware of this feeling in the other prisoners. \"At the time,\" he said, \"it was shaming for us. They seemed to feel we were superior to them. One of the Poles, David Bart, said once, ' _You_ must survive; it is more important than that we should.' But there were very few of us. At the 'peak period' of the camp \u2013 autumn and winter of 1942 \u2013 there were a thousand work-Jews, eighteen of them us Czechs. Two of us survived, that's all.\" (Altogether about 250,000 Czech Jews were killed during the \"Final Solution\".)\n\nAt the beginning of what Glazar called phase two, the SS (Stangl, no doubt, with his talent for organization) decided they could use certain professionals and people with qualities of leadership to improve efficiency. With few exceptions (one of them a woman, and an informer who was later \"executed\" by the revolt committee) the members of this \"\u00e9lite\" were Warsaw Poles over forty; doctors, engineers, architects and financiers. They were given the best, and slightly segregated accommodation, and armbands with the word _Hofjude_ \u2013 \"Court Jew\" (derision even in privilege) \u2013 the main purpose of which was to protect them from some SS man's murderous whim. (Of the Czechs, only Rudolf Masarek \u2013 much younger than the others \u2013 was eventually to be appointed a \"Court Jew\".)\n\n\"Later, when we were in phase three,\" said Richard, \"the armbands became unnecessary; they took them off then because they found it embarrassing to flaunt them before the rest of the slaves when they came back at night, half dead from exhaustion.\"\n\nSix of the young Czechs, all arriving within days of each other, became close friends; but even within the six, they paired off in twos. \"There was Karel and me,\" said Richard. \"We worked from October until March in the warehouse, more specifically in 'men's clothing' \u2013 they called us 'Karel and Richard from Men's Better Overcoats'. The one who arrived next was Robert Altschuh, a twenty-seven-year-old medical student, and after him thirty-two-year-old Hans Freund; he'd worked in textiles in Prague. Five days after us Rudi Masarek arrived; he was twenty-eight, tall, blond, blue-eyed; his family had owned one of the most exclusive men's shirt shops in Prague....\" (When Suchomel first saw Masarek, he said, \"What the hell are _you_ doing here? You aren't a Jew, are you?\")\n\n\"Rudi was a sort of 'golden youth',\" said Richard. \"You know what I mean? His had been the world of sports-cars, tennis, country-house weekends, summers on the Riviera. He was a half-Jew; there really was no reason for him to be there.* Except that in 1938, after the Austrian Anschluss, he had fallen in love with a girl from Vienna who was Jewish. He married her the day before the regulation came into effect that Jews had to wear Stars of David on their clothes. Of course, he didn't have to wear it, but the day after his wedding he had the Star sewn on all his suits and coats. When she (though not he) was ordered to Theresienstadt, he went with her. And when she (not he) was ordered to Treblinka, he came with her there too. She was killed immediately. Rudi was an officer, a lieutenant in the Czech army, and he was later of decisive importance in the planning and execution of the revolt. But after his wife was killed it was three weeks before he would speak to anyone; he had been assigned to work in the tailor shop under Suchomel, who, by comparison to some, was relatively decent,\" Richard shrugged his shoulders. \"That doesn't mean Suchomel didn't beat us; all of them beat us.\n\n\"The last arrival of our particular group, ten days or so later, was Zhelo Bloch \u2013 a photographer in ordinary life. He too was a Czech officer, also good-looking, with brown hair, a strong square sort of face and a muscular body. He was the military brain behind the planning for the uprising \u2013 for a long time. Both he and Rudi \u2013 and Robert too in other ways \u2013 were immensely important to us and to the camp as a whole. Zhelo and Robert became inseparable; and Rudi Masarek and Hans Freund. All of us had great respect for Galewski, the Polish camp-elder; he was an engineer of note, in his forties I think, tall, slim, with dark hair. He looked and behaved like a Polish aristocrat, a very remarkable man.\n\n\"Our daily life? It was in a way very directed, very specific. There were various things which were absolutely essential to survival: it was essential to fill oneself completely with a determination to survive; it was essential to create in oneself a capacity for dissociating oneself to some extent from Treblinka; it was important _not_ to adapt completely to it. Complete adaptation, you see, meant acceptance. And the moment one accepted, one was morally and physically lost.\n\n\"There were, of course, many who did succumb: I have read more or less everything that has been written about this subject. But somehow no one appears to have understood: it wasn't _ruthlessness_ that enabled an individual to survive \u2013 it was an intangible quality, not peculiar to educated or sophisticated individuals. Anyone might have it. It is perhaps best described as an overriding thirst \u2013 perhaps, too, a _talent_ for life, and a faith in life....\"\n\nI understood what Richard had meant when I met Berek Rojzman who came to Treblinka with me when I visited the camp.\n\n* Limiting the number of Jews.\n\n* For anti-German activities.\n\n* Western European half-Jews were often able to escape the rigorous laws applied far more relentlessly to half-Jews in the East.\n\n# 5\n\nLIKE HIS father and his grandfather before him, Berek Rojzman was brought up to be a butcher. Nowadays he works in a factory in a Warsaw suburb; a solidly built man, six foot two, married to a widow \u2013 a gentile \u2013 with two children.\n\nHis family, in which there were six children, lived in Ejrodzisk Maz, a medium-sized town in Eastern Poland. He was the second eldest and went to a Jewish school. \"But they taught us Polish,\" he said. Yes, he was aware of anti-Semitism. \"The Polish children called us 'Jew-Jew',\" he said. (The present government in Poland is \u2013 rightly \u2013 determined to obliterate this use of \"Polish\" for \"Christian\"; it is arguable that this use of language may have originated quite as much with the Jews themselves as with the Christians in Poland, where Jews, particularly in Eastern Poland, always felt themselves to be \u2013 and appeared to wish, or had to remain \u2013 a separate ethnic entity within the country.)\n\n\"Nationalists came and stood in front of our shop and said, 'Don't buy. Jews, go to Palestine.' There were often fights between Jewish and non-Jewish boys. Our parents said, 'Pretend not to see, pretend not to hear.' \" And if the same situation arose now, he says, he would do the same. \"The best way with hooligans is to ignore them.\"\n\nBerek Rojzman finished school at fifteen and started working in his father's shop. He met his first wife when he was seventeen, and married her when he was twenty-eight. People in Poland, perhaps unused to this kind of journalism in connection with these events, were usually puzzled if I asked about anything other than the horrors they had lived through, and when I asked Berek Rojzman what their relationship had been all those years, he smiled shyly and answered with a joke. But he finally gave me to understand that it was near-platonic. The engagement was so long because \"my mother died, and I had to help my father with my smaller brothers and sisters.\"\n\nWhen I remarked at one point during our conversations that his family sounded very strong, he agreed. \"My grandmother,\" he said, \"lived fifteen kilometres away from us, on her own. When she was 115 years old, she came to see us, on foot, for a drink. And when she'd had her drink she refused to be driven home in the cart \u2013 she said she'd walk, just as she had come. We had suggested repeatedly that she should come and live with us. But Babka said, no, she wouldn't, she might disturb us. She was about 120 or 121 when she died, still living fifteen kilometres away, still on her own.\"\n\nWhen Berek finally married in 1938, he continued working for his father for a year and then bought his own shop in a Warsaw suburb. In pre-war Poland it was rare for any but upper-class, artistic or academic Jews to make friends with non-Jews, but the young Rojzmans made friends with \u2013 as he put it again \u2013 a \"Polish\" couple.\n\n\"This couple,\" said Berek Rojzman, \"were enlightened people. They felt, as we did, that they believed in God and that God is God however one happens to pray to him. My wife,\" he said, \"was killed by the Germans in Treblinka. The husband of this friend was killed by the Germans in Warsaw. After the war she and I met again and we married.\"\n\nBerek had joined the army on August 24, 1939, and for the short time he was a soldier, before he was captured by the Germans, he worked as a medical orderly. Clearly he was one of those soldiers who are never at a loss, a born fixer, using his enormous physical strength and his cunning to improve the lot of his comrades, his officers and obviously \u2013 his own. He likes to crack jokes. \"When they sent me on patrol,\" he said, \"I always took food and vodka along with me, and I always managed to find some treat to take back to the officers. I was giving them the strength to fight!\"\n\nWhen he got home after escaping from a pow camp, the Germans wouldn't let him reopen his shop. \"I butchered secretly,\" he said.\n\nAt the end of 1939, when the Germans decreed that all the Jews of Warsaw were to move into the ghetto, the Rojzman family decided that there would be safety in numbers; that in this city within a city life could be made reasonably normal, with homes, work, clinics, help for the old and, above all, schools for the children. They bought a flat in the ghetto and the whole family moved into it. Berek and his father opened shop again as butchers.\n\nThere was an interlude of a few months when they were given a cottage on his estate by a Polish landowner, Janusz Rogulski (\"I had a lot of connections in the countryside, of course,\" said Berek, \"but he was good; he wanted to help us. We just lived there. We didn't even have to work.\") By the spring of 1942, back again in Warsaw, they had decided that they would be safer in a smaller place. They got away by train (which Jews were not entitled to use) and on foot to Biota Rawska, where again they bought a place to live in the ghetto. Other Jews in Poland at that time \u2013 hundreds of thousands of them \u2013 were creeping into the nearest hole to hide: the Rojzmans bought houses and flats. Others accepted whatever work they were given and starved on ghetto rations: the Rojzmans practised their trade, fought, bartered, sold this and that, and none of them lacked food, clothes or shelter. Others who escaped from the Warsaw ghetto lived rough in the forests or were sheltered by heroic Christians: the Rojzmans took a scheduled train to the town of their choice.\n\nBut for all the vitality and ingenuity, in November 1942 they were shipped to Treblinka. Berek was selected for work, all the others died within the hour.\n\n\"My older son had died as a baby; but they killed all the rest of my family, including my wife, of course, and my two-year-old boy.\n\n\"I got selected for work because one of the men in the 'Red Command' [who worked in the undressing barracks] was a former friend. When he saw me \u2013 and two other young men he knew \u2013 he told us to stay in the undressing barrack and if necessary hide under clothes \u2013 there were mountains of them on the floor \u2013 and he ran to see the Jewish camp chief, Galewski, and told him that he knew us, that we were strong young men and could work. First Galewski said only I could stay \u2013 but finally he said all right for all three of us. I worked in the Red Command all that winter. After that I was assigned to agricultural work \u2013 gardening and the planting of vegetables.\"\n\nIt emerged very clearly that Berek Rojzman continued in Treblinka the same survival techniques which had already proved themselves outside. \"I traded,\" he said, with a smile. \"Mostly with the Ukrainians. They were _in business_ : they wanted gold, clothes, objects and food. On the other hand, when we were short, they could get food from the peasants for gold and money and bring it to us. It worked,\" he said. \"It worked well. They were just like anybody; they traded.\"\n\n\"If I speak of a thirst, a talent for life as the qualities most needed for survival,\" said Richard Glazar, \"I don't mean to say that these were deliberate acts, or even feelings. They were, in fact, largely unconscious qualities. Another talent one needed was a gift for relationships. Of course, there _were_ people who survived who were loners. They will tell you now they survived _because_ they relied on no one but themselves. But the truth is probably \u2013 and they may either not know it, or not be willing to admit it to themselves or others \u2013 that they survived because they were carried by _someone_ , someone who cared for them as much, or almost as much as for themselves. They are now the ones who feel the guiltiest. Not for anything they did \u2013 but for what they didn't do \u2013 for what... and this cannot be any reflection on them... for what simply wasn't in them to be.\"\n\nIt was quite clear that Richard did not mean to say that people died because they didn't have these qualities. To be chosen to live even for an extra day was nothing but luck, one chance in a thousand: it was only that if they had this incredible luck, then these qualities, he thought, gave them a chance to survive longer.\n\nJoe Siedlecki, who is now a _ma\u00eetre d'h\u00f4tel_ at Grossinger's Hotel in Upper New York state, is a strikingly good-looking man of six foot three, who looks eminently capable of taking care of himself, and others. He was a soldier in the Polish army at the start of the war \u2013 \"in some of the worst battles,\" he said \u2013 and then a prisoner of war. His wife is a lovely thirty-two-year-old German, Erika, who converted to the Jewish faith in order to marry him. She comes from Kiel where her family still lives. \"My father and mother said I must take his religion,\" she said. \"A wife must be the same religion as her husband, they said. And I wanted to anyway. My family, they love Joe. No, they were never religious; my father left the Church forty-six years ago to become a _Gottgl\u00e4ubiger_ \u2013 no, I don't know why, but,\" she laughed, \"perhaps the fact that in Germany we have to pay a church tax had something to do with it.\"\n\nThe Siedleckis have an enchantingly pretty daughter, five when I met them \u2013 an almost classic example of a much-loved child growing up in freedom and security \u2013 and live in a particularly nice modern flat in a Grossinger staff-house; a sunny, golden place, flower-filled and beautifully equipped, almost like something out of an American ad-man's dream. Its atmosphere is Erika's creation and represents very vividly her personality. \"Some people ask Joe how he could marry a German,\" she said when Joe had gone off on an errand. \"After all he's been through \u2013 they just can't understand. He gets very angry sometimes. It happened at the hotel just the other night, when one of the guests had the temerity to ask him. He told him it was none of his business. But on the other hand, he himself often used to tell people I was Italian or something, and he doesn't want me to speak German to the little one. But in that I think he is wrong. I think I owe it to her to teach her. Later, when she goes to college, she'll get credits for it; it'll help her get on. And anyway, I can't help it, I _am_ German you see; if something nice happens like Willie Brandt getting the Nobel Prize or something \u2013 I feel proud. I do speak German to her \u2013 I sing German songs and read German fairy tales to her. First in German and then I translate them for her. I do that every evening for an hour, from 7 to 8... when Joe is not here.\"\n\n\"The Germans?\" said Joe. \"What shall I tell you? When I was over there to testify, they treated me like a king; a king I tell you. And my wife's family, they respect me. In Treblinka, some of them were animals, but some of them were good too. I tell you, the Poles were worse, much worse than the Germans, and so were the Ukrainians. There was one SS, if I saw him today, if there was anything he needed, I'd give it to him; Karl Ludwig. He was a good good man. The number of times he brought me things, the number of times he helped me, the number of people he probably saved, I can hardly tell you. I don't know where he is now, but I wish I did.\n\n\"Then of course there were terrible ones; Kurt Franz, K\u00fcttner, Miete, Mentz; animals, sadists. But there were such people amongst the Jews too: the _Judenrath_ in Warsaw, the Jewish Gestapo; and then in Treblinka, the Kapos, the squealers, some of them again better than others, but on the whole I was as scared of them as of the Germans.\n\n\"My parents and my twenty-year-old sister were sent to Treblinka a week before me. I had got married six weeks earlier. Not a love match \u2013 a sort of 'arrangement'; she had money \u2013 our families arranged it. Her mother, sisters and brothers \u2013 she no longer had a father \u2013 were also shipped to Treblinka a week before us. But she and I had been sent to the SS HQ to work \u2013 we were both young and strong. The day we were ordered to the _Umschlagplatz_ [the square from which the transports departed], the HQ officers said they didn't want to lose their workers. There was a lot of discussion and finally it was decided that all bachelors could stay but married couples had to go. An announcement was made that 'anyone who wants a divorce could have one, right away'. Well, it was a choice between life and death. [Earlier he had said that they had no idea where the trains were going; a little later, \"Perhaps we didn't know for certain, but we had a good idea what it was\"; this was in July 1942, at the very beginning of the camp.] I saw men who had been married for thirty-four years ask for a divorce then and there. My wife \u2013 well, I told you, it wasn't love between us but \u2013 she said, 'I am going to be soap anyway, so ask for a divorce, save yourself.' But I thought to myself, 'I have no family, nobody left. She has nobody. We'll stay together.' So both of us went.\n\n\"As soon as we got to Treblinka I was selected to work. They called me _Langer_ [long one] because I was so big and tall. I said to the SS who picked me out, that she was my wife and could she work too. And he \u2013 I can't remember who it was, Miete or K\u00fcttner \u2013 he said, 'Don't worry, she is going to work in the laundry in Camp II.' But of course, it wasn't true; they killed her right away. I never saw her again.\n\n\"They put me first in the Red Command \u2013 we had to superintend the undressing in the undressing barracks. We had to call out, ' _Ganz nackt, Schuhe zusammenbinden, Geld und Dokumente mitnehmen._ ' [He called it out for me, to show me how: 'Strip, tie your shoes together, take along money and documents.'] That's how they fooled people. They thought they were going to bathe and be disinfected and that they were being allowed to keep their valuables and documents with them for their own protection. It reassured them. Some German Jews-you know, they were more German than the Germans \u2013 were very authoritarian, very much the _Herren_ [the gentlemen \u2013 or masters]. 'Keep an eye on my shoes will you, till I come back,' they'd say condescendingly, you know, to us of the Red Command. Of course, ten minutes later they were dead.\n\n\"Later I was appointed to the disinfection room, probably one of the worst places to be in; it was between the hairdressers who chopped off the women's hair, and the 'tube' which led up to the gas chambers. We would have to disinfect the hair, you see, right away, before it was packed up to ship \u2013 they used it in Germany to make mattresses.\n\n\"Stangl?\" he said. \"I never saw him kill or hurt anyone. But why should he have? He didn't have to. He was no sadist like some of the others, and he was the Kommandant. Why should he dirty his own hands? It's like me now in my job; if I have to fire somebody, _I_ don't do it \u2013 why should I? I tell somebody else to tell the person he is fired. Why should I do the dirty job myself? Stangl never beat anybody either,\" he said. \"Why should he? Oh, he was there when it was done of course... well...\" \u2013 he retracted, as he was to do in almost every instance when he mentioned Stangl's being present at or taking part in anything \u2013 \"He _must_ have been there; they were all there. And he was the Kommandant. I tell you exactly the way it was; _I_ was there for a year, and I know. Anyone tells you differently, anyone tells you Stangl beat or killed anyone, or anyone tells you Stangl _talked_ to them \u2013 they are lying. He didn't talk to any Jews \u2013 why should he?\n\n\"Did I have friends? Yes, of course I had friends. All right, yes, I had friends. But how could one have friends there? I never did any harm to anyone. I kept myself to myself \u2013 it was better. But they liked me \u2013 the others. On my birthday, I remember, I was going to have a bit of a party and I managed to buy some ham off a Ukrainian and the Germans found it. They lined us up and asked whose it was... nobody budged... but then one of my pals said it was his. So I said no, it was mine. They marched us to the _Lazarett_* and told us to undress. Only shortly before, we had taken a friend of mine who was very ill there \u2013 to be killed; nobody went there for any other reason. But when we were carrying him, on the stretcher, he asked me and I told him that no, we weren't taking him to the _Lazarett_ \u2013 he was going to the _Revier_ \u2013 the sick room. Anyway, when we were pushed in there ourselves, Hansbert, this friend, was still burning in the pit. And then they began to shoot our group. One, then the next, the third, the fourth\u2013I was fifth and last, and by that time I was lying on top of the others [he must have fallen forward] waiting to be shot. I turned around, looked up and said, 'Hurry up, why don't you. Shoot, for God's sake.' And then, whoever it was... I think it was Miete who had come... said for me to get up and get dressed. Well, they must have liked me \u2013 otherwise they would have killed me too.\" (It was probably Miete who had originally picked him out for work, in which case he was possibly now seeing him to some extent as his prot\u00e9g\u00e9.)\n\n* The _Lazarett_ was nothing but a shell of a small building \u2013 about twelve metres by twelve, with a Red Cross painted on the front. There was no roof. Immediately inside the door was a weather-shelter for the SS guard, and a small table and bench. Just beyond was an earthen wall running almost the length of the building with a pit on its other side. Victims were helped to undress, then had to sit on that wall, were shot in the neck and dropped into the permanently burning pit.\n\nFranz Stangl in the Remand Prison at D\u00fcsseldorf, having prepared himself for the photographer\n\n_Left_ The photograph of Franz Stangl issued by the Jewish Documentation Centre at Vienna at the time of his arrest in Brazil  \n _right_ Franz Stangl in conversation with the author\n\nThree of the photographs of a transport bound for Treblinka, taken secretly at Siedlce Station, on August 22, 1942, by an Austrian soldier, Hubert Pfoch\n\nFranz Stangl at Treblinka, talking to his adjutant Kurt Franz. He is wearing the white jacket often referred to at his trial\n\nThe grab used to transfer bodies from the burial pits to the \"roasts\". Photograph from Kurt Franz's album, its title-page inscribed \"Happy Days\"\n\nThe house built at Treblinka after the camp had been demolished, in which a Ukrainian farmer was to be installed. If questioned, he would claim that he and his family had lived there for years\n\nTreblinka now\n\n# 6\n\n\"IN OUR group,\" said Richard Glazar, \"we shared everything; and the moment one of the group ate something without sharing it, we knew it was the beginning of the end for him. _Food_ was uppermost in our minds; for a long time eating was an end in itself; we'd be given tin plates of soup at lunchtime, and bread and coffee. While the Western transports went on, there was so much food around, we used to throw the soup and bread away. There was a huge mountain of mouldy camp bread around [confirming what Suchomel had already told me, and contradicting Stangl's story]. We only drank the coffee. No, they didn't mind our taking food from the transports [presumably as long as they didn't know]\u2013there was so much, you see. Of course, the SS and the Ukrainians had first choice, but there was much much more than that. We stole it, and we bought it too. That is, the Ukrainians would help themselves to most of it and then sell it back to us for gold, American dollars or jewellery. They had no means of getting at the valuables \u2013 they guarded the outside work details and the camp itself, but the work camp, inside, was worked by Jews, and guarded by the SS. The group who actually worked on registering the valuables \u2013 millions in money and stones \u2013 were called the 'gold-Jews', SS-man Suchomel supervised them too; he did that and the tailor-shop.\"\n\nTo be given several SS assignments was a proof of efficiency. \"It was Wirth who originally appointed me as chief of the gold-Jews,\" said Suchomel, \"not Stangl. But Stangl was very careful about the valuables. I remember the day Eichmann came....\" For some reason hard to fathom, when I asked Stangl about this he always denied that Himmler or Eichmann visited either of the camps under his command. \"Oh, he lied about that,\" said Suchomel. \"It was most certainly Eichmann who came that day with an SS group from Berlin. He told me himself; he said Eichmann and Globocnik were coming and to put everything in order, first in the tailoring shop and then I had to run over and make sure about the gold-Jews' shop too. 'Mark all the trunks and cases exactly as to content and description,' he told me. 'He is going to want to see it looking exactly right. And when they are here, you come up to us and make a report in proper military style.'\n\n\"Of course,\" he said, \"one was able to help sometimes, too. One morning one of the young Poles who worked under me came, distraught. He said, 'Chief, please help me. My sister Broncha has arrived; she is already in the undressing barrack.... please save her.' I went in there and asked which was Broncha. There she was, naked, trembling from head to foot and crying. I said, 'Stop trembling. You _are_ a seamstress, are you?' And she \u2013 would you believe it, she said, trembling, 'No, I can't sew.' So I said, 'Don't be stupid, you are a seamstress; just remember that and I'll get you out.' Then I told the barrack Kommando to hold her back \u2013 not to let her get into the tube or they'd have to answer to me for it. And I went over to see Stangl and told him that I just didn't have enough workers in my shop \u2013 I had to have more. He said Wirth had ordered there was to be no more recruiting. 'Everything has to go,' he said. But I said I just had to have at least one more girl; so finally he said, 'Well, in God's name then,' and gave me a chit for her \u2013 to show K\u00fcttner. If there wasn't an official chit from Stangl, then, although K\u00fcttner might have agreed to let somebody stay if we asked him, Franz was almost bound to push them in again, just because they hated each other. Anyway, that's how Broncha got out. She survived, you know; she is in Israel.\"\n\n\"Later in the autumn,\" Richard Glazar went on, \"we were allowed a thirty-minute lunch break when we could talk, and everybody would ask each other, 'What have you \"organized\" today?' And that always referred to gold, money and food. After a while we did begin to think that we must _do_ something; plan something, resist. But the work and the unremitting tension made us fearfully tired, just tired you know, and one used to say to oneself, or to close friends, 'We _must_ think \u2013 we _must_ plan,' but then we'd add, 'We'll think tomorrow, not today.'\n\n\"Did we become hardened, callous to the suffering, the horror around us? Well, one can't generalize; as with everything in life, people reacted differently. One did, I think, develop a kind of dullness, a numbness where the daily nightmarish events became a kind of routine, and only special horrors aroused us, reminded us of normal feelings; sometimes this would be connected with specific and special people, sometimes with special events.\n\n\"There was the day when Edek arrived \u2013 he was a small fourteen-year-old boy. Perhaps he arrived with his family, perhaps alone, I don't know; when he got off the train and stood on the ramp, all one could see of him was his head and his shoes; in between was the accordion he'd brought, and that was all he brought. An SS saw him and said right away, 'Come, come,' and from that day on he played for them. They made a kind of mascot of him; he played everywhere, at all hours, and almost nightly in their mess. And just about the same time a famous opera singer arrived \u2013 a young one, from Warsaw \u2013 and somebody drew him to the attention of the SS and he too was pulled out. It wasn't long after that that they started the fires; we saw them for the first time in December, one night, through the barred window of the barrack; the flames rose high, high above the camp, flames in all colours: red, orange, blue, green, purple. And in the silence of the camp, and the terrible brightness of the flames, one heard nothing except little Edek playing his accordion and the young singer singing _Eli Eli._\n\n\"Robert Altschuh said later that night \u2013 and that was the first time we had thought of it that way \u2013 'They are trying to find ways to hide the traces; they are burning the corpses. But they aren't going to find it so easy \u2013 even one corpse doesn't burn easily, and hundreds of thousands of corpses...?'\n\n\"So you see, that night, on the one hand we had allowed ourselves to be emotionally overwhelmed by this 'special event' \u2013 the fires. But then, only minutes afterwards, it was in a way cancelled out \u2013 and perhaps, although we may not have realized it, deliberately so \u2013 by Robert's scientific consideration of the problem of how to burn hundreds of thousands of corpses. He had a lot of ideas on it; he analysed the human body for us, what burned and what didn't burn; who would be easier and who more difficult to burn. And we listened, you know \u2013 with interest.\n\n\"Secrecy? Good heavens, there was no secrecy about Treblinka; all the Poles between there and Warsaw must have known about it, and lived off the proceeds. All the peasants came to barter, the Warsaw whores did business with the Ukrainians \u2013 it was a circus for all of them.\" (Both Zabecki and Berek Rojzman had already spoken of the peasants who tended their fields which adjoined the camp. \"And many others,\" said Rojzman, \"came to the fence to barter, mostly with the Ukrainians, but with us too.\" Stangl was to talk about this too.)\n\nSuchomel, in this context, also spoke about the \"whores\" Stangl had said were grouped about the camp. \"They weren't 'whores' in that sense,\" he said. \"We called them _Spekulantinnen._ They were women who came from all over \u2013 Warsaw too, I expect \u2013 to do business with the Ukrainians. They may have fucked with them \u2013 I suppose they did \u2013 but mainly they were around to 'shop'. After Wirth came, he had twelve of them picked up at random, brought into the camp and had them whipped. Afterwards he shipped them to the labour camp...\" (the Polish labour camp near a stone quarry about two kilometres above the extermination camp, which Zabecki had described as having been built first). Suchomel paused. \"Did you know,\" he said then, in a tone signifying scientific interest, \"that all Jewesses have dimples in their buttocks? This was confirmed by the racial scientists.\"\n\n\"No I didn't,\" I said. \"But what has this to do with your _Spekulantinnen_ story anyway? _They_ weren't Jewish, were they?\"\n\n\"No,\" he said, not understanding my meaning, or his own _non sequitur._\n\n\"You can't really believe this nonsense anyway, can you?\" I asked. \"Have you ever seen the backside of a fat Christian woman? A German for instance?\"\n\nHe didn't answer.\n\nI asked Richard Glazar whether there were girls among the \"work-Jews\" and he said \"Yes, there were girls. They worked in the kitchen and the laundry, in both the lower and upper camps. Of course, anyone who was sent to work in the upper camp, girls or men, knew they'd never come down again.\" (There is one single case on record \u2013 the carpenter Yankiel Wiernik \u2013 of someone moving back and forth between both parts of Treblinka. And although several people from the \"upper camp\" survived the August uprising, an authentic escape from there before then is unknown and considered impossible.)\n\n\"Yes,\" said Richard, \"of course most of the \u2013 few \u2013 girls who were there paired off with somebody. Love? It's hard to say; relationships, strong friendships, yes \u2013 and yes, perhaps love; Kapo Kuba was in love \u2013 or lived with, if you like, a girl called Sabina. All the girls who were there were young and attractive; they only picked young and attractive ones, many of them blondes or redheads. Anyway, Sabina was found in bed, I think, with Kuba once, or something like that, and K\u00fcttner, one of the very bad SS men, said, 'We can't have all this whoring about,' and sent her up to work in the laundry at the death camp. Well, Kapo Kuba volunteered to go up too, to be with her. They didn't let him. But what would you call that? Not love? [Kuba is dead; \"Sabina\" is one of the two girls who survived, and lives in Israel.*]\n\n\"Then there was Tchechia. She was in love with Rakowski, the former camp elder. And he, they said, was in love with her. Stadie shot him when he discovered (through an informer) that he had planned an escape for himself and Tchechia, and found gold on him. Perhaps Tchechia slept with other men afterwards. But can you wonder? Did it really matter?\"\n\n(\"Tchechia Mandel was the only real red-blonde in the camp,\" said Suchomel, whose assiduous memory of individuals and events is remarkable. \"She was a really intelligent distinguished girl, very proud and courageous. She was one of the few Jews all of us Germans addressed as ' _Si_ ' rather than ' _Du_.' Steiner [Jean-Franfois Steiner, author of the controversial book _Treblinka_ ] in his book said she slept with Germans \u2013 but never never did she do that. She was Kapo Rakowski's girl friend \u2013 he was the chief Jew of the camp and she became pregnant by him and had an abortion. Tchechia was the daughter of an industrialist in Galicia \u2013 she was extremely well educated. I was told later how she died; I didn't see it myself; it happened after I left Treblinka. It was quite a while after the revolt; only a few girls were still there waiting on the remnant of the German personnel who were liquidating the camp. The Unterscharf\u00fchrer who was in charge \u2013 he got up after lunch that day and apparently said to the three girls, 'Well girls, it's your turn now' [ _jetzt muss esja einmal drari gehen_ ].\u2020 And Tchechia laughed and said, 'Aha, I never did believe your fairy-tale promises, you pigs. Go ahead, kill us. Just do me a favour and don't ask _us_ to undress.' One of the girls, she was also called Tchechia \u2013 'little Tchechia' they called her \u2013 she cried, and Tchechia said, 'Don't cry, don't do them the favour. Remember, you are a Jewess.' She was really something \u2013 _somebody_ , you know.\" The position Suchomel has adopted as an admirer of the Jews is as remarkable as his memory, and psychologically interesting.)\n\n\"Escapes?\" said Richard Glazar. \"Yes, there were a few, three I think which were successful, all in phase two; afterwards it became impossible.\n\nHe was to tell me later that two young men \u2013 \"they were twenty-four and twenty-five, I think,\" he said \u2013 were smuggled out of the camp in the very first train to be sent out of Treblinka with the victims' clothes and other belongings. \"It was the last two days of October or the very first of November. We helped to hide them; it was all very carefully organized to get the news out to Warsaw.\n\n\"At the end of November, beginning of December, seven men from the Blue Command tried and were caught. Kurt Franz shot them in the _Lazarett_ and then called a special roll-call and said that if anybody else tried, particularly if they succeeded, ten would be shot for each one who escaped.\"\n\n\"I wouldn't have cared if any of them had run away,\" said former SS male nurse Otto Horn, who was in charge of the \"roasts\" in the upper camp but, generally described as \"inoffensive\", was acquitted at the Treblinka trial. \"I sometimes wondered why they didn't. Once Matthes (who commanded the upper camp) sent me to take a detail out to look for branches: six men and a Ukrainian guard. We were no sooner out of the camp than the Ukrainian was off; they were always foraging in the villages for food and drink. Never a day passed that they didn't come back with roast chicken, _slivovitz_ , etc....Anyway, here I was with the six men. I thought to myself, This is their chance. All they have to do is caper off.' There wasn't anything I could have done and, as I say, I wouldn't have cared. No, I don't think anything would have happened to me. It wouldn't have been my fault. They were looking for branches all over the woods \u2013 that's what they were supposed to be doing and I was alone with them and they were out of my sight for long periods \u2013 how could I have kept count of them? It was impossible. But \u2013 in the end they all came back.\" He shook his head. \"I couldn't understand why.\"\n\nAnd Suchomel says, \"A few days before the revolt I advised Masarek and Glazar to break out, but I said they should do it in small groups. And they said they couldn't do that, because if they did, there would be terrible reprisals. That's really something, if you come to think of it, isn't it? And then they say the Jews aren't courageous. I tell you, I got to know the most extraordinary Jews.\"\n\n\"I know nothing about advice from Suchomel to break out,\" said Richard. \"But the revolt was being planned from November 1942. Very very few people knew about it, and even fewer were actually on the planning committee. It was headed of course by the camp elder, Galewski, and until March, when catastrophe struck us, Zhelo Bloch was the military expert on it.\n\n\"The period between late October and the beginning of January was the peak period \u2013 that was when most of the transports arrived, sometimes six of them \u2013 20,000 people a day. At first mostly Jews from Warsaw and the West, with their riches \u2013 above all enormous quantities of food, money and jewels. It was really incredible how much and what we ate; I remember a sixteen-year-old boy who, a few weeks after his arrival, said one night he'd never lived as well as here in Treblinka. It was \u2013 you know \u2013 very very different from the way people have written about it.\n\n\"You see, we weren't dressed in striped uniforms, filthy, liceridden, or, for much of the time, starving, as the concentration camp inmates mostly were. My own group \u2013 the Czechs \u2013 and the 'court-Jews' dressed extremely well. After all, there was no shortage of clothes. I usually wore jodhpurs, a velvet jacket, brown boots, a shirt, a silk cravat and, when it was cool, a sweater. In hot months I wore light trousers, shirt and a jacket at night. I shone my boots once or twice every day until you could see yourself in them, like in a mirror. I changed shirts every day and of course underclothes. _We_ had no body-lice ourselves, but there were of course vermin all over the barracks \u2013 it was inevitable with all that was brought in by the transports. I'd wear a pair of pyjamas for two nights or so and then they'd be full of bloodspots where I had killed bugs that crawled up on us in the night, and I'd think to myself, 'Tomorrow I must get new ones; hope they are nice silk ones; they are still on the way now.' That sounds terrible, doesn't it? Well, that is how one became. One was very concerned with the way one _looked;_ it was immensely important to look clean on roll-call. One thought of small things all the time, like, 'I must shave; if I shave again, I have won another round.' I always had a little shaving kit on me. I still have it. I shaved up to seven times a day. And yet, this was one of the most torturing uncertainties; one never knew how the mood of the Germans 'ran' \u2013 whether, if one was _seen_ shaving or cleaning one's boots, that wouldn't get one killed. It was an incredible daily roulette; you see, one SS might consider a man looking after himself in this way as making himself 'conspicuous' \u2013 the cardinal sin \u2013 and then another might not. The _effect_ of being clean always helped \u2013 it even created a _kind_ of respect in them. But to be seen doing it might be considered showing off, or toadying, and provoke punishment, or death. We finally understood that the maximum safety lay in looking much \u2013 but not _too_ much \u2013 like the SS themselves and the significance of this went even beyond the question of 'safety'.\n\n\"At the beginning of winter the huge transports from the East started coming,\" Richard said. \"The [Eastern] Polish Jews; they were people from a different world. They were filthy. They knew nothing. It was impossible to feel any compassion, any solidarity with them. Of course, I am not talking about the Warsaw or Cracow intellectuals; they were no different from us. I am talking about the Byelorussian Jews, or those from the extreme east of Poland.\"\n\n* This is not now her name.\n\n\u2020 The shocking callousness of this phrase is untranslatable.\n\n# 7\n\nTHE WORK-JEW slaves hated their jailer-masters from the depth of their souls. And yet \u2013 and this is probably the most complex aspect of these awful events \u2013 as time went on, a terrifying kind of link developed between them. The origin of this link which, I believe, the Nazis recognized and used to the utmost extent, was the incompatibility between the two worlds of European Jewry; the Eastern and the Western. The generally highly educated, sophisticated Western Jews found themselves confronted by an appalling moral and emotional conflict on not only being identified by the Germans with the Jews from Eastern Poland and Russia, but even more on realizing _in themselves_ a moral obligation \u2013 and a moral and emotional pressure \u2013 to accept this identification. But for many of them this was impossible; being Jewish had become a matter of religion, not race; their allegiance was to the country of their birth, be it Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Holland, France or for that matter, Germany. And it was thus, tragically, almost easier for them to identify with the Germans, whose way of life had been so like their own, than with the vast numbers of \"different\" Jews whom many of them encountered now for the first time in their lives.\n\nThe hundreds of thousands of Eastern Jews, who had always, by choice as well as by necessity, lived apart from the mainstream of the population, felt themselves exclusively as Jews. Their religious, racial and national feelings were all combined in this one identity. It determined their way of life and all their allegiances, and outside it there was nothing except fear: the traditional and ingrained fear of pogroms which had been their lot for centuries.\n\nIt is this fear, combined with a measure of fatalism about the fact of racial persecution, that represented the widest gap between them and Western or assimilated Jews who knew, theoretically, about vicious pogroms but had never experienced them. It was the retrospective misunderstanding of this fatalism \u2013 its interpretation as some kind of mystical death wish \u2013 which allowed the victims of the \"Final Solution\" to be seen by some, in shocking distortion, as \"sheep who allowed themselves to be led to slaughter\".\n\nThe fact is that at the time neither the Eastern nor the Western Jews could conceive that what they appeared to be facing was true, and the Nazis displayed terrifying astuteness in their understanding of the essential differences between the personality of the two groups; an \"achievement\" which can hardly be attributed to men like Stangl and Wirth, but probably originated either with Heydrich or the \"medical\" chiefs of T4 \u2013 the psychiatrists Professors Heyde and Nitsche. They recognized the capacity of the Western Jews individually to grasp the monstrous truth and individually to resist it, and therefore ordered that great pains be taken to mislead and calm them until, naked, in rows of five and running under the whiplash, they had been made incapable of resistance.\n\nBy the same token they realized that these precautions were unnecessary with the Eastern Jews who \u2013 up to a point \u2013 expected terror. All that was needed here was to create mass hysteria. \"They arrived, and they were dead within two hours,\" Stangl said. And these two hours were filled with such an infinity of carefully devised mass violence that it robbed these hundred thousands of any chance to pause, or think.\n\n# 8\n\nAT CHRISTMAS 1942 Stangl ordered the construction of the fake railway station. A clock (with painted numerals and hands which never moved, but no one was thought likely to notice this), ticket-windows, various timetables and arrows indicating train connections \"To Warsaw\", \"To Wolwonoce\" and \"To Bialystock\" were painted on to the fa\u010dade of the \"sorting barracks\"; all for the purpose of lulling the arriving transports \u2013 an increasing number of whom were to be from the West \u2013 into a belief that they had arrived in a genuine transit camp. \"It is possible,\" Stangl agreed at his trial, \"that I ordered the construction of the fake station.\"\n\n\" _You've been telling me about your routines_ ,\" I said to him. \" _But how did you_ feel? _Was there anything you enjoyed, you felt good about?_ \"\n\n\"It was interesting to me to find out who was cheating,\" he said. \"As I told you, I didn't care who it was; my professional ethos was that if something wrong was going on, it had to be found out. That was my profession; I enjoyed it. It fulfilled me. And yes, I was ambitious about that; I won't deny that.\"\n\n\" _Would it be true to say that you got used to the liquidations?_ \"\n\nHe thought for a moment. \"To tell the truth,\" he then said, slowly and thoughtfully, \"one did become used to it.\"\n\n\" _In days? Weeks? Months?_ \"\n\n\"Months. It was months before I could look one of them in the eye. I repressed it all by trying to create a special place: gardens, new barracks, new kitchens, new everything; barbers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters. There were hundreds of ways to take one's mind off it; I used them all.\"\n\n\" _Even so, if you felt that strongly, there had to be times, perhaps at night, in the dark, when you couldn't avoid thinking about it?_ \"\n\n\"In the end, the only way to deal with it was to drink. I took a large glass of brandy to bed with me each night and I drank.\"\n\n\" _I think you are evading my question._ \"\n\n\"No, I don't mean to; of course, thoughts came. But I forced them away. I made myself concentrate on work, work and again work.\"\n\n\" _Would it be true to say that you finally felt they weren't really human beings?_ \"\n\n\"When I was on a trip once, years later in Brazil,\" he said, his face deeply concentrated, and obviously reliving the experience, \"my train stopped next to a slaughterhouse. The cattle in the pens, hearing the noise of the train, trotted up to the fence and stared at the train. They were very close to my window, one crowding the other, looking at me through that fence. I thought then, 'Look at this; this reminds me of Poland; that's just how the people looked, trustingly, just before they went into the tins....' \"\n\n\" _You said 'tins_ ',\" I interrupted. \" _What do you mean?_ \" But he went on without hearing, or answering me.\n\n\"... I couldn't eat tinned meat after that. Those big eyes... which looked at me... not knowing that in no time at all they'd all be dead.\" He paused. His face was drawn. At this moment he looked old and worn and real.\n\n\" _So you didn't feel they were human beings?_ \"\n\n\"Cargo,\" he said tonelessly. \"They were cargo.\" He raised and dropped his hand in a gesture of despair. Both our voices had dropped. It was one of the few times in those weeks of talks that he made no effort to cloak his despair, and his hopeless grief allowed a moment of sympathy.\n\n\" _When do you think you began to think of them as cargo? The way you spoke earlier, of the day when you first came to Treblinka, the horror you felt seeing the dead bodies everywhere \u2013 they weren't 'cargo' to you then, were they?_ \"\n\n\"I think it started the day I first saw the _Totenlager_ in Treblinka. I remember Wirth standing there, next to the pits full of blue-black corpses. It had nothing to do with humanity \u2013 it couldn't have; it was a mass \u2013 a mass of rotting flesh. Wirth said, 'What shall we do with this garbage?' I think unconsciously that started me thinking of them as cargo.\"\n\n\" _There were so many children, did they ever make you think of your children, of how you would feel in the position of those parents?_ \"\n\n\"No,\" he said slowly, \"I can't say I ever thought that way.\" He paused. \"You see,\" he then continued, still speaking with this extreme seriousness and obviously intent on finding a new truth within himself, \"I rarely saw them as individuals. It was always a huge mass. I sometimes stood on the wall and saw them in the tube. But \u2013 how can I explain it \u2013 they were naked, packed together, running, being driven with whips like...\" the sentence trailed off. (\"Stangl often stood on the earthen wall between the [two] camps,\" said Samuel Rajzman in Montreal. \"He stood there like a Napoleon surveying his domain.\")\n\n\" _Could you not have changed that?_ \" I asked. \" _In your position, could you not have stopped the nakedness, the whips, the horror of the cattle pens?\"_\n\n\"No, no, no. This was the system. Wirth had invented it. It worked. And because it worked, it was irreversible.\"\n\nSuchomel remembered Stangl telling the SS personnel that an order had come from Hitler that nobody was to be beaten or tortured. \"But then he said, 'It's impossible. But when the bigwigs come from Berlin you must hide the whips.' \"\n\nAt the Treblinka trial Richard Glazar testified that the beatings often had distinctly sexual overtones and Suchomel's account seems to confirm this, if confirmation were needed. \"When Kurt Franz beat them,\" Suchomel recounted, \"it was on their bare buttocks [the crasser German word he used was _Hintern_ ], They had to drop their trousers and count the blows of the whip. The others didn't insist on that, though.\"\n\nJoe Siedlecki too talked about Kurt Franz's beatings. \"He'd give them fifty strokes,\" he said. \"They'd be dead at the end. He'd be half dead himself, but he'd beat and beat. Oh, some of the others, they were just weaklings \u2013 two strokes and _they'd_ collapse; but Franz and Miete and some of them \u2013 they could go on and on.\"\n\n\"Stangl did improve things,\" Suchomel said later. \"He alleviated it a bit for people, but he could have done more, especially from Christmas 1942; he could have stopped the whipping post, the 'races', 'sport', and what Franz did with that dog, Bari \u2013 he was Stangl's dog originally. He could have stopped all that without any trouble for himself. [The dog, originally harmless, had been trained to attack people, and specifically their genital regions, on command.] He had the power to do that \u2013 and he didn't. I don't think he cared \u2013 all he did was look after the death camp, the burning and all that; there everything had to run just so because the whole camp organization depended on it. I think what he really cared about was to have the place run like clockwork.\"\n\nGustav M\u00fcnzberger, who was more incriminated than Suchomel, put it differently. \"Do I think that Stangl could have done something to change things at Treblinka?\" he said. \"No. Well, perhaps a little, the whipping post and all that; but, on the other hand, if he had, then Franz would have told Wirth, and he would just have countermanded it. So what was the use?\"\n\n\" _What was the worst place in the camp for you?_ \" I asked Stangl.\n\n\"The undressing barracks,\" he said at once. \"I avoided it from my innermost being; I couldn't confront them; I couldn't lie to them; I avoided at any price talking to those who were about to die: I couldn't stand it.\"\n\nIt became clear that as soon as the people were in the undressing barracks \u2013 that is, as soon as they were naked \u2013 they were no longer human beings for him. What he was \"avoiding at any price\" was witnessing the transition. And when he cited instances of human relations with prisoners, it was never with any of those who were about to die.\n\n\" _But were there never moments when this wall you built around yourself was breached? When the sight of a beautiful child perhaps, or a girl, brought you up against the knowledge that these were human beings?_ \"\n\n\"There was a beautiful red-blonde girl,\" he said. \"She usually worked in the clinic but when one of the maids in our living quarters was ill, she replaced her for a time... It was just around the time when I had put up new barracks with single rooms for quite a few of the work-Jews,\" he said (a claim confirmed by Suchomel but put in doubt by Richard Glazar who says that only just before the revolt were two couples, both stooges for the SS, given single rooms).\n\n\"This girl \u2013 I knew one of the Kapos was her boy friend... one always knew about things like that....\"\n\n\" _What nationality was she?_ \"\n\n\"Polish, I think. But she spoke German well. She was a \u2013 you know \u2013 a well-educated girl. Well, she came to my office that day to dust or something. I suppose I thought to myself, 'What a pretty girl she is and now she can have some privacy with her boy friend.' So I asked her \u2013 just to say something nice, you know \u2013 'Have you chosen a room for yourself yet?' I remember she stopped dusting and stood very still looking at me. And then she said, very quietly you know, 'Why do you ask?' \"\n\nHis tone of voice even now reflected the astonishment he felt twenty-nine years ago when this young girl responded to him not as a slave to her master, but as a free human being to a man she rejected. Not only that; she responded as to a social inferior, and the wording and tone of his reply confirm that he was immediately aware of this. \"I said, 'Why shouldn't I ask? I can ask, can't I?' And again she just stood there, very straight, not moving, just looking right at me. And then she said, 'Can I go?' And I said, 'Yes, of course.' She went. I felt so ashamed. I realized she thought I'd asked because \u2013 well, you know, because I wanted her myself. I so admired her for facing up to me, for saying 'Can I go?' I felt ashamed for days because of the way she had misunderstood.\"\n\n\" _Do you know what happened to her?_ \" I asked this question each time he spoke of any of the prisoners in individual terms. But each time the answer was precisely the same, in the same tone of detachment, with the same politely aloof expression in his face.\n\n\"I don't know.\"\n\nIn this case I persisted. \" _But here was a girl who had enormously impressed you. Didn't you ever want to find out what happened to her?_ \"\n\nHe looked uncomfortable. \"I heard something about her having been transferred to the _Totenlager._ \" (The life expectancy of prisoners working in that part of the camp rarely exceeded two months.)\n\n\" _How did that happen?_ \"\n\n\"I am not really sure. You see, when our usual maid returned \u2013 I was on leave at that time \u2013 this girl went back to her work at the clinic. The doctor \u2013 I can't remember his name \u2013 had a run-in with Kurt Franz. It was never very clear what had happened. But the doctor killed himself \u2013 he took poison. And the girl was there when this happened and Franz sent her up to the _Totenlager._ \"\n\nLater, when I tried to identify the girl Stangl had talked about, no one could say for certain who she was.\n\n\"Why don't you ask Otto Horn?\" said Gustav M\u00fcnzberger. \"He was always larking about with the girls in the laundry in Camp II.\"\n\n\"Yes, I sometimes went into the laundry and talked to the girls,\" said Horn. \"But I don't know of any red-blonde girl who was sent up to the upper camp by Franz. There was one amongst the six in the laundry who had red hair. But I don't know what her name was. All the girls spoke German. What did they do when they weren't working? I don't know. They had their own barracks and were locked in there at night. Later on, I sometimes let them out on a Sunday to go for a walk in the wood behind the camp; it was fenced in, you know....\"\n\nBut the last word, as often, was Suchome's, for whom recalling the details of Treblinka has become something of a passion.\n\n\"The only red-blonde was Tchechia who had been Kapo Rakowski's girl friend,\" he said, \"a very proud and courageous girl. It would certainly have been her who would have said no to Stangl. But she was never sent up to the _Totenlager._ Otherwise, there was Sabina \u2013 but she was sent 'up' much earlier on, by K\u00fcttner, not by Franz \u2013 after her affair with Kapo Kuba; it can't have been her. And it can't have been Irka, the doctor's assistant; she was dark. No, it was Tchechia Mandel from Lemberg. But she never worked at the clinic; she always worked in the kitchen....\"\n\nIt has been generally agreed that although Stangl drank heavily at Treblinka, women, other than his wife, played no part in his life. Therefore, although we will never know for sure who this exceptionally brave and proud young girl was, it is probable, and corresponds with the overall impression he gave me, that his description of his impulsive attempt to communicate with her was accurate.\n\n\" _Couldn't you have ordered her to be brought back?_ \" I asked him.\n\nHe shook his head. \"No.\"\n\nI spent a good deal of time investigating this sequence of events, interesting for several reasons but particularly as this was the first instance of Stangl reacting personally or emotionally to any of the Treblinka inmates. As often happened, each of the people I questioned gave a different version of what happened.\n\nThe circumstances surrounding the death of the doctor, Dr Choronzycki, sadly misrepresented in at least one much-discussed book on Treblinka, are in general agreed on by all those who were in Treblinka at the time \u2013 prisoners or guards \u2013 though there is a curious difference of opinion concerning Dr Choronzycki's medical speciality (not to speak of the spelling of his name). Stangl told me that this physician had been a \"famous Warsaw internist\". In Steiner's book _Treblinka_ Dr Choronzycki is described as \"the doctor of the Germans\". Suchomel says: \"Of course, I remember him well; he was a nose and throat specialist. I talked with him many times; my son was physically handicapped you know, and Dr Choronzycki often advised me about him. He was a converted Jew, you know. He wore a golden necklace with a cross. He said his Polish colleagues in the hospital in Warsaw had given him away....\" Richard Glazar says: \"Choronzycki was a dentist, or at least that is what he claimed to be in Treblinka. That is why the SS picked him out of the transport for their own so-called SS _Revierstube._ This SS dental clinic was almost exactly opposite the room of the gold-Jews. The money for the revolt was to go from one of the gold-Jews via Choronzycki....\"\n\nAll the survivors I spoke to agreed on the essential part the doctor was playing in the preparations for the revolt. But Suchomel said, \"Dr Choronzycki had nothing to do with the revolt. That was just invention, like the book by Jean-Fran\u010dois Steiner.\"\n\nOn the other hand, Suchomel agrees that Kurt Franz surprised the doctor in possession of gold, and that after the doctor attacked Franz with a surgical knife (surely an extraordinary act of courage) and the latter fled out of the window, he had time to take poison before being apprehended.\n\n\"Stangl was away,\" Suchomel says. \"Franz sent for me and said, 'Get that woman doctor on the double.' \" The woman doctor, Dr Choronzycki's assistant, was Dr Irena (Irka) Lewkowski.\n\n\"I ran,\" said Suchomel. \"The old bitch pretended she couldn't walk quickly. Anyway, when we got there, the doctor's eyes were still open \u2013 he was still alive \u2013 she pumped his stomach out. Then Franz told me to assemble all the gold-Jews. The doctor could no longer speak. Franz was wild....\"\n\n\"Kurt Franz kept beating him with his whip even when Choronzycki was quite obviously dead,\" said Glazar. \"He had him dragged to the _Lazarett_ \u2013 all the gold-Jews had been brought there; he told them they'd be shot, one after the other, unless they told where the doctor got the gold. I remember, Willie F\u00fcrst was there \u2013 he was a hotel owner from Slovakia; and little Edek, the accordion player \u2013 they'd picked him up too. After a while Edek\u2013I was told \u2013 cried and begged the others to tell what they knew. 'I don't want to die,' he is supposed to have cried. Well, none of them told anything \u2013 the doctor was dead \u2013 and in the end Franz let them all go; he knew perfectly that they were the most valuable specialists they had, more important to them than anyone else in the camp.\"\n\n\"I didn't actually hear the end,\" said Suchomel. \"I went out. Though before leaving the _Lazarett_ I called out in Czech telling the gold-Jews that Franz was faking, he wasn't going to kill them, and for them not to tell....\"\n\n\"I have never heard _anything_ about Suchomel calling out something like that to the gold-Jews,\" said Glazar.\n\n\"I _did_ have contact with the work-Jews,\" Stangl said. \"You know, quite friendly relations. You asked me a while ago whether there was anything I enjoyed. Beyond my specific assignment, that's what I enjoyed; human relations. Especially with people like Singer and Blau. They were both Viennese: I always tried to give as many jobs as possible to Vienna Jews. It made for a lot of talk at the time, I know. But after all, I _was_ Austrian.... Singer I had made the chief of the _Totenjuden_ ; I saw a lot of him. I think he was a dentist in Vienna. Or perhaps an engineer,\" he reflected. \"He was killed during the revolt; it started in the upper camp you know.\" (He was wrong about Singer, who was a German, not a Viennese, and a businessman, not a dentist; and also about the revolt, which started in the lower camp.)\n\n\"Blau was the one I talked to most; he and his wife. No, I don't know what his profession had been; business I think. I'd made him the cook in the lower camp. He knew I'd help whenever I could.\n\n\"There was one day when he knocked at the door of my office about mid-morning and stood to attention and asked permission to speak to me. He looked very worried. I said, 'Of course, Blau, come on in. What's worrying you?' He said it was his eighty-year-old father; he'd arrived on that morning's transport. Was there anything I could do. I said, 'Really, Blau, you must understand, it's impossible. A man of eighty....' He said quickly that yes, he understood, of course. But could he ask me for permission to take his father to the _Lazarett_ rather than the gas chambers. And could he take his father first to the kitchen and give him a meal. I said, 'You go and do what you think best, Blau. Officially I don't know anything, but unofficially you can tell the Kapo I said it was all right.' In the afternoon, when I came back to my office, he was waiting for me. He had tears in his eyes. He stood to attention and said, 'Herr Hauptsturmfuhrer, I want to thank you. I gave my father a meal. And I've just taken him to the _Lazarett_ \u2013 it's all over. Thank you very much.' I said, 'Well, Blau, there's no need to thank me, but of course if you _want_ to thank me, you may.' \" \" _What happened to Blau and his wife?_ \"\n\nThat same vagueness \u2013 \"I don't know.\"\n\nThis story and the way it was told represented to me the starkest example of a corrupted personality I had ever encountered and came very near to making me stop these conversations. I broke off early that lunchtime and went to sit for nearly two hours in a pub across the street, wrestling with the most intense _malaise_ I'd ever felt at the thought of listening further to these disclosures.\n\nI think the reason I finally did return to the little room in the prison was because I came to realize \u2013 perhaps as a result of the intensity of my own reaction \u2013 that for a man whose view was so distorted that he _could_ tell that story in that way, the relatively simple terms \"guilt\" or \"innocence\", \"good\" or \"bad\" no longer applied; what was important was that he had found in himself the need \u2013 or strength \u2013 to speak. Even as I acknowledged my own apprehension at continuing with these talks, I also knew for certain, at that moment, that if I did he would end by telling me the truth.\n\nAll the Treblinka survivors I talked to affirmed \u2013 with the fatalistic lack of vehemence of those who have come to terms with the inevitability of human failings in everyone, themselves included \u2013 that \"Blau\" was an informer. But it was Suchomel, in his chosen role of an objective observer, who put this into cogent words.\n\n\"Oh, Blau,\" he said. \"He was _Oberkapo_ at first. You see, he had known Stangl in Austria; he told me himself. No, I don't think he was lying. Stangl made no secret of having known him previously. He was Austrian, but by origin I think Polish and I think he had been sent from Vienna to a Polish ghetto. He told me about his arrival in Treblinka; apparently he got off the train and saw Stangl standing there. He said, 'I threw my arms around him.' In Austria he had been a cattle- or horse-trader. He said Stangl had said to him, 'Listen, I am going to appoint you Chief Kapo; you help me now and I'll see that you survive this. And after the war I'll get you a farm in Poland.' That's how Blau became _Oberkapo._ When he arrived he had a big stomach \u2013 he was a big fat man; in two weeks he had shrunk by half. Yes, he was hated, of course he was; he certainly 'collaborated', so naturally they feared and hated him. He didn't just carry an ordinary whip \u2013 he had one of the long ones and he'd stand there swinging it and shouting in his broad Viennese, 'You pigs, you shit sows, get on with it, let's see how quick you can learn to be.' He behaved as if he wanted to outdo the worst of the Ukrainians. I suppose he did it to survive; who am _I_ to accuse or blame him? He stayed Kapo till early spring, I think. Then he asked Stangl to relieve him on medical grounds. He complained of heart flutters or something and Stangl made him and his wife cooks for the Jews. Old Frau Blau, she was a good cook; she cooked many a meal for me. I hated the food in our mess, so quite often she'd cook me something special. After the revolt, they were amongst the hundred or so who were left over, and who were evacuated to Sobibor \u2013 I went there too.\n\n\"One day I heard they were going to shoot these hundred the next day. So I went to see old Blau and warned him. I just asked him whether he had some poison and he understood. He and his wife took poison and so did a doctor and his wife who had been in this group; they had helped to put out the fire in the Ukrainian barracks after the revolt. Well, they too died that day. It was better that way than being shot.\"\n\n\" _In the midst of all the horror that surrounded you_ ,\" I said to Stangl the afternoon of the day he told me the story about Blau, \" _and of which you were so aware that you drank yourself to sleep each night, what kept you going? What was there for you to hold on to?_ \"\n\n\"I don't know. Perhaps my wife. My love for my wife?\"\n\n\" _How often did you see her?_ \"\n\n\"After that first time in Poland they let me go on leave quite regularly \u2013 every three or four months.\"\n\n\" _Did you feel close to your wife \u2013 when so much had to remain hidden, remain unsaid between you?_ \"\n\n\"The little time we had together, we usually talked about the children and ordinary everyday things. But it is true, things changed between us after that time when Ludwig told her about Sobibor. There was tension. And I knew she was terribly worried about me....\"\n\n\"The first time I saw Paul again after Sobibor,\" said Frau Stangl, \"was five months later when he came home for Christmas. It was so wonderful to see him, and at Christmas too. In Austria, at home, what with Christmas and everything, what I knew was happening in Poland seemed utterly unreal. I asked about Treblinka of course, but he said he was only responsible for the valuables, construction and discipline. No, he didn't pretend then that it wasn't the same sort of place as Sobibor, but he said that he was doing everything he could to get out. He stayed home for eight or ten days, but he'd only been there a couple of days when he said he'd run over and see Fraulein Hintersteiner [in Linz] who had been a secretary at Hartheim and who afterwards worked for a man called Kaufmann who went out to the Crimea as police chief. Paul wanted her to help him get a transfer to the Crimea. When he came back from seeing her, he was very happy and said it was all right \u2013 all he had to do now was wait to be notified of the transfer. So we had a good Christmas after all: I can still see his happy, relieved face....\"\n\n# 9\n\n\"THINGS CHANGED very much towards the middle of January,\" said Richard Glazar. \"That was the beginning of phase three: fewer and fewer transports; less food and of course no new clothes. This was when the plans for the uprising were being worked on very intensely. And then, in the very beginning of March 1943, real catastrophe struck us.\n\n\"K\u00fcttner smelled something \u2013 there is no other way of putting it. He sensed that something was going on, and with perfect instinct he picked on the one person who was almost irreplaceable for us: Zhelo Bloch, the revolt committee's military expert. What K\u00fcttner took as a pretext was that some men's coats had disappeared, and Zhelo was in charge of them. He came to our barracks and raged; two men were shot on the spot, several were beaten. And Zhelo was sent up to Camp II.\n\n\"It was the most terrible blow to our morale, an anti-climax which is indescribable now. It wasn't only, you see, that he was so necessary, in a planning sense; it was that he was loved. Contrary perhaps to some of us, he was very much one of the people. Don't misunderstand me, I only mean that, of all of us, he was the one person who could talk to anybody, give anybody a sense of faith in himself and his capacities; he was a born leader, of the best kind.\n\n\"The evening he went was the end of hope for us \u2013 for a long time. I remember that night so clearly; it was the one time in all those months that we nearly lost control; that we gave way to emotion. It could have been the end for us.\n\n\"Robert Altschuh cried like a child. Of course, he had been closest to Zhelo; they needed each other. Zhelo was essential to Robert because he was a _doer_ , but Robert was just as essential to Zhelo because he was an intellectual; they complemented and reassured each other. Zhelo had relied utterly on Robert intellectually. It was Robert who was the 'psychological' planner; who would explain the Nazis' psychology to us; he who advised us when to lie low and when to make ourselves noticed. He had an unfailing instinct for what was the right approach, and when. On the other hand, he was physically frail, and Zhelo of course was very strong. Without Zhelo's physical strength, Robert collapsed. Hans Freund, too, despite his closeness to Rudi Masarek, somehow couldn't recover from the psychological blow of Zhelo's going. It took some weeks before Rudi came into his own as a leader \u2013 by that time much of Hans's effectiveness had gone.\" (\"Freund and Altschuh,\" he was to write later, \"were still alive at the time of the revolt. But in all probability they died in the course of it.\")*\n\n\"The evening of the day Zhelo was sent up to Camp II, I remember we were lying on our bunks; it was not quite dark. It was very very quiet. And suddenly Hans Freund said, 'We aren't human beings any more....' It was something we had ceased to \u2013 or never did \u2013 think about. Certainly we had never talked about it; regret for the loss of one's sensitivity and compassion was something one just couldn't afford, just as one couldn't afford remembering those we had loved. But that night was different....\n\n\" 'I can only think of my wife and boy,' said Hans, who had never, with a word, spoken of his young wife and small boy from the day he arrived. 'I never felt anything that first night after we had come. There they were \u2013 on the other side of the wall \u2013 dead, but I felt nothing. Only the next morning, my brain and stomach began to burn, like acid; I remember hearing about people who could feel everything inside but couldn't move; that was what I felt. My little boy had curly hair and soft skin \u2013 soft on his cheeks like on his bottom \u2013 that same smooth soft skin. When we got off the train, he said he was cold, and I said to his mother, \"I hope he won't catch a cold.\" A cold. When they separated us he waved to me....' \"\n\nDuring the many many hours Richard and I talked, he never faltered; this was the only time. It was late at night, his family had gone to bed; his house is so deep in the country, there wasn't a sound except the occasional shuffle or wheezing from a cow in a nearby field. We sat in his living room which was dark except for a lamp on his desk. He hid his face in his hands for long minutes. I poured some coffee his wife had made before she went to bed. We drank it without talking. \"Did you see this?\" he asked then after a while, pointing to something behind me. I turned around. In a cabinet, on a shelf by itself, a beautiful small Bristol-blue glass jar. \"How lovely,\" I said. He shook his head, stood up, walked over, picked it up and handed it to me. \"What do you think it is?\" There was half an inch or so of something in the bottom of the jar. I didn't know. \"Earth,\" he said. \"Treblinka earth.\"\n\n\"Things went from bad to worse that month of March,\" he went on. \"There were no transports \u2013 in February just a few, remnants from here and there, then a few hundred gypsies \u2013 _they_ were really poor; they brought nothing. In the storehouses everything had been packed up and shipped \u2013 we had never before seen all the space because it had always been so full. And suddenly everything \u2013 clothes, watches, spectacles, shoes, walking-sticks, cooking-pots, linen, not to speak of food \u2013 everything went, and one day there was nothing left. You can't imagine what we felt when there was nothing there. You see, the _things_ were our justification for being alive. If there were no _things_ to administer, why would they let us stay alive? On top of that we were, for the first time, hungry. We were eating the camp food now, and it was terrible and, of course, totally inadequate [300 grammes of coarse black bread and one plate of thin soup a day]. In the six weeks of almost no transports, all of us had lost an incredible amount of weight and energy. And many had already succumbed to all kinds of illness \u2013 especially typhus. It was the strain of anxiety which increased with every day, the lack of food, and the constant fear of the Germans who appeared to us to be getting as panic-stricken as we were.\n\n\"It was just about when we had reached the lowest ebb in our morale that, one day towards the end of March, Kurt Franz walked into our barracks, a wide grin on his face. 'As of tomorrow,' he said, 'transports will be rolling in again.' And do you know what we did? We shouted, 'Hurrah, hurrah.' It seems impossible now. Every time I think of it I die a small death; but it's the truth. That is what we did; that is where we had got to. And sure enough, the next morning they arrived. We had spent all of the preceding evening in an excited, expectant mood; it meant life \u2013 you see, don't you? \u2013 safety and life. The fact that it was their death, whoever they were, which meant our life, was no longer relevant; we had been through this over and over and over. The main question in our minds was, where were they from? Would they be rich or poor? Would there be food or not?\n\n\"That morning, all of us stood around everywhere, waiting. The SS did too; for once they didn't care whether we worked or not. Everybody was discussing where they would be from; if only it were from somewhere rich like Holland.\n\n\"When the first train pulled in, we were looking out through the cracks in the wall of our barrack, and when they got out, David Bart called to one of the Blue Command, 'Where are they from?' and he answered, 'The Balkans.' I remember them getting off the train, and I remember Hans Freund saying, 'Ah yes, you can see they are rich. But they won't burn well, they are too fat.' This was a very, very special transport of rich Bulgarians who had lived in Salonika \u2013 24,000 of them. They had already spent some time in a camp together; they were organized and disciplined, and they had equipped themselves with a special supply-car for the long journey. When the Blue Command opened those doors, we nearly fainted at the sight of huge pieces of meat, thousands of tins with vegetables, fats and fish, jars of fruit and jams, and cakes \u2013 the black earth of the ramp was yellow and white with cakes. Later, after the Bulgarians had been taken away, the Ukrainians fought us for the food; we managed 'accidentally-on-purpose' to drop some of the big wooden chests in which the jams were packed. They burst open, the Ukrainians beat us with their horrible whips, and we bled into the jam. But that was later; oh, the SS were very, very careful with this transport; if the Bulgarians had had the slightest idea what awaited them, they wouldn't have stood still for it. It would have been a bloodbath. But they hadn't a clue; even then, in March, almost April, 1943 \u2013 with nearly a million already killed in Treblinka [so Richard thought, and Zabecki agreed], three million or so by then in all the extermination and other camps in Poland \u2013 they were as full of illusions as we Czechs had been six months before. They still didn't know. The mind just boggles \u2013 with all the hundreds, the thousands of people who by then knew \u2013 how could they not have known? Marvellous-looking people they were; beautiful women, lovely children; stocky and strong-looking men; marvellous specimens. It took three days to kill them all. And ten days later we had processed all their belongings. Imagine, at fifty kilograms a person \u2013 that's what each was 'allowed' to bring for this 'resettlement' \u2013 there were 720,000 kilograms of _things_ ; incredible, how the machine proved itself in those ten days.\n\n\"This is something, you know, the world has never understood; how perfect the machine was. It was only lack of transport because of the Germans' war requirements that prevented them from dealing with far vaster numbers than they did; Treblinka alone could have dealt with the 6,000,000 Jews and more besides. Given adequate rail transport, the German extermination camps in Poland could have killed all the Poles, Russians and other East Europeans the Nazis planned eventually to kill.\"\n\n* Although the lists of survivors of Treblinka and Sobibor are believed to be complete, it is impossible to place accurately the circumstances of the deaths of those who perished during or after the revolts.\n\n# 10\n\nIN APRIL\u2013MAY 1943 a new wave of transports began which would continue throughout the summer. Some brought survivors of the desperate rebellion of the Warsaw ghetto. Others were from the Russian and Polish ghettos which were being cleared of the remnants of their populations as the Germans began the long retreat from Stalingrad. Others came from Holland, from Vienna, and even from Germany.\n\nThe threat of \"practical measures\" announced by the Allies in their combined statement of December 17, 1942, had turned out as time went by to mean not rescue projects but the pursuit of Allied victory. This, both the British and the American governments had become persuaded, was the only real solution to the catastrophe of the Jews in Europe. In retrospect it can, of course, be appreciated that the magnitude of the events seemed at the time to defy any large-scale solution; yet it is impossible not to think that there were things which could have been done if the will had existed more generally, up to the highest level.\n\nIn America, Britain, Switzerland, Sweden and some of the Latin American countries there were certainly individuals, and some newspapers, who tried their utmost to pressurize or to inspire governments into action; but for reasons outside the scope of this book they were unable to fire a sufficiently strong general will.\n\nTo take first some cases where this will did, in particular instances, exist. Early in 1943, when the Germans had ordered that the 25,000 Jews of Sofia be deported to Poland, one man \u2013 Monsignor Angelo Roncalli, Apostolic Delegate to Turkey, later Pope John xxiii \u2013 acted without thought of political expediency or of what the Nazis might do. \"When Monsignor Roncalli found out about this,\" said Luigi Brescani, a confidential servant of Roncalli's, \"he wrote immediately a personal letter to King Boris. I had never before seen Monsignor Roncalli so disturbed. Before I carried this missive to a certain person able to put it personally into the hands of King Boris, Monsignor Roncalli read it to me. Even though calm and gentle as St Francis de Sales come to life, he did not spare himself from saying that King Boris should on no account agree to that dishonourable action... threatening him among other things with the punishment of God.\"*\n\nAs we know from Richard Glazar's story, 24,000 Bulgarians \u2013 those who had been in Salonika \u2013 did die in Treblinka in the spring of 1943; but there can be little doubt that the 25,000 Jews of Sofia were saved by the intervention of the future Pope and the courage of a king.\n\nThere is also the action taken by the Danish underground when, with the official sanction of the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Christian G\u00fcnther, they spirited 7,000 people (seven-eighths of the country's Jews) from Denmark to Sweden, where they lived safely till the end of the war. By that time Sweden had already admitted approximately 35,000 Jewish refugees; and after the war the Swedish government waived the repayment of a thirty-million kroner loan which they had made to Denmark and Norway for the support of their Jewish co-citizens in Sweden.\n\nLater, in 1944, there were to be other successes. Ira Hirschmann, President Roosevelt's appointee on the War Refugee Board (finally formed in January 1944) managed to persuade the Rumanians that the war was lost and that it was in their interest to stop the Germans from killing those who remained of the 185,000 Rumanian Jews. In March 48,000 people were returned to their homes.\n\nAnd in June 1944, after hundreds of thousands had been deported from Hungary, there was the action of the heroic Swede, Raoul Wallenberg, who went to Budapest with stacks of so-called \"protective Swedish passports\" and issued them to anyone who could provide any semblance of a family or business connection with Sweden. Moreover he persuaded the Hungarian authorities to lease him apartment houses in Budapest which were then put under the protection of the Swedish embassy and where these people were housed. This crash programme is said to have saved some ten thousand people. (By this time, of course, the situation had changed somewhat in that Himmler, aware that the war was lost, had begun to co-operate with certain Jewish agencies. In addition to those saved by Wallenberg's initiative, and others who were hidden by non-Jewish compatriots, many with the connivance of German officials, a further 20,000 were taken out of Hungary, some to a \"tolerable\" camp in Vienna and some to Switzerland.)\n\nBut for 1942\u20133 the figures tell their own story. It was all but impossible to escape, certainly from anywhere in Eastern Europe. The hope of both the Western and the Eastern Jews was focused chiefly on America \u2013 traditional haven of the oppressed \u2013 and Great Britain, because of Palestine. But even if these countries had opened their borders \u2013 and although this step was urged by many liberals in both countries, there was no question of either government's agreeing to it \u2013 a refugee's first step had to be an attempt to escape to one of the neutral countries: Spain, Portugal, Sweden or Switzerland.\n\nIn November 1942 it was announced over the Swiss radio that 14,000 refugees had managed to make their way into Switzerland.* In August 1942 the Swiss government had invoked an emergency law which had been passed in October 1939, under which anyone crossing the frontier illegally was to be expelled. \"About 100,000 people,\" said Councillor von Steiger, Minister of Justice at the time, \"were trying to escape to Switzerland from France, sometimes a hundred a day.\" The traditional right to sanctuary, he said, was not a right in the juridical sense. The mass entry of refugees represented a danger to the security of the State. To which a pastor in Basle replied: \"If these people clamouring for admission were politically oppressed, prisoners of war or deserters they would and could be accommodated. It is the fact that they are Jews that excludes them from receiving the traditional sanctuary of our country.\"\n\nFrom 1939 to 1941 30,000 European Jews reached the United States by way of Italy, Spain and Portugal. In 1940 4,400 Polish Jews escaped from Lithuania to Japan, the United States and \u2013 a few hundred of them \u2013 Palestine. Between 1940 and 1944 from 31,000 to 41,000 Jews escaped from France to Spain and Portugal. In 1942 a number of Polish Jews managed to leave the USSR with the Polish Anders Army, including 850 children, mostly orphans. These children were admitted into Palestine in 1943.\n\nIn May 1939 a British White Paper on Palestine had restricted Jewish immigration to 75,000 over the next five years. From September 1939 to the spring of 1941 about 12,000 were, in fact, brought in illegally. Immigration to Palestine in late 1942 and 1943 was limited to 350 Jews from Europe. One of the blackest memories for many of the people in Britain who were struggling to help the Jews was the government's refusal in January 1942 to admit to Palestine 769 refugees without British permits who had come from Rumania on the freighter _Struma._ This vessel, which was not seaworthy, was towed out to sea by the Turks on February 24, and Sank with the loss of all on board: 70 children, 269 women and 428 men.\n\nOn April 19, 1943, began the British-us conference on refugees, in Bermuda. It ended on April 30 and was described by Myron Taylor in a memorandum to Cordell Hull as \"wholly ineffective [as] we knew it would be\". On May 19 a debate on refugee problems in the British House of Commons laid bare both the despair of concerned individuals and the position taken by the government.\n\nEleanor F. Rathbone, MP for the English universities, who had recently produced a heartrending pamphlet entitled _Rescue the Perishing_ , advocated passionately a twelve-point programme for immediate rescue measures. These included the supply of blocks of unnamed visas to British consuls in neutral European countries; the offer of guarantees and financial aid to neutral countries, to encourage them to admit more refugees; the provision of transport facilities; admission to Palestine by cancelling the conditions set out in the White Paper of May 1939; pressure on German satellites and appeals to the people of enemy and enemy-occupied countries; the examination of the possibility of exchanging civilian internees with Axis sympathies for Jewish and other potential victims of the Nazis; and the setting up of refugee camps in distant places. Point Twelve was the adoption of the principle that, whatever other nations might do or leave undone, \"the British contribution to the work of rescue should be the speediest and most generous possible without delaying victory.\"\n\nIt was to this last point that the government mainly addressed itself in its reply, given by Mr Peake, Under-Secretary for the Home Department, and by Anthony Eden, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. In the prevailing circumstances, they said, nothing but the most minimal rescue attempts was possible. Almost everything the government had tried \u2013 including saving a number of children for whom visas to Palestine were available \u2013 had failed as a result of German determination to block such attempts. The only solution \u2013 the one thing to be aimed for \u2013 was military victory by the Allies.\n\nA week before that day the Swedish government had agreed to ask Germany to release 20,000 Jewish children who would be cared for in Sweden until the end of the war, provided the United States and Great Britain agreed to share the cost of their food and medical supplies, and would place them in Palestine or some other haven when the war was over. The British Foreign Office indicated its approval of this imaginative proposal on May 19, the day of the above-mentioned debate, and transmitted it to the State Department.\n\nAlmost precisely the same argument as had taken place in the House of Commons that day, had raged in America for months. Here too the desperate requests of innumerable public figures, Christians and Jews, left unmoved the State Department which controlled the issuing of life-saving visas. For a variety of political and emotional reasons, the American government \u2013 perhaps even more than the British \u2013 was wary of seeming to fight \"a war for the Jews\". In 1940, when France fell and Britain stood alone, it took the State Department only eight days, from July 6 to July 14, to decide to admit 10,000 English children to the us on visitors' visas, waiving all regulations. The Swedish proposal, on the other hand, received no reply from Washington for five months. Then, on October 11, the State Department suggested that the project should not be limited to Jewish children, and that it should be channelled through the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (a thoroughly ineffectual body). The British hastily revamped the project to include some Norwegian children. But by the time the changed plan reached the Swedes in January 1944, Sweden had more or less burnt its boats with Germany by welcoming many Danes and Norwegians, and the plan was dropped.\n\nIt is, of course, questionable whether the Germans would have entertained such a project \u2013 they had already refused to allow Norwegian children into Sweden. But Sweden's position was undeniably \"special\" (\"That's where they got their steel from,\" Stangl was to say); it is unlikely that as many as 20,000 children would have been let go, and probably none from the East. But at least some might have been saved, from some of the Western countries. As it was, in the eight months it took to kill this plan, many more than 20,000 children had been slaughtered in Treblinka and elsewhere.\n\nOn May 12, 1943, in London, Smul Zygielbojm had committed suicide in protest. \"By my death,\" he wrote in a farewell note addressed to the President and Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile, \"I wish to make my final protest against the passivity with which the world is looking on and permitting the extermination of the Jewish people.\"\n\n* Quoted from _While Six Million Died_ , Arthur D. Morse.\n\n* According to _Encyclopedia Judaica 1972_ , page 907, 11,000 Jewish refugees entered Switzerland between 1942 and 1944.\n\n# 11\n\n\"THAT APRIL,\" said Richard Glazar, \"the main preoccupation of the SS was to keep the camp going, to keep us occupied, to justify their own positions there. This is when, with again almost no transports arriving, Stangl ordered the camp 'street' to be built, new fences to be put up, the forest cleared, a 200 installed, the famous railway station made to look totally genuine; with a false clock, everything painted in beautiful, garishly bright colours; the 'petrol station', again with flowers around it; wooden benches dotting the landscape like a luxury spa \u2013 it was not to be believed. And during all those weeks, the preparations for the uprising continued, the military part now firmly in Rudi Masarek's hands. In the course of that month there was the business with Dr Choronzycki, a very popular man; another blow when he died....But, there were other doctors....\"\n\nIt was also in the spring that a new method was evolved for the burning of the dead. Two enormous iron racks were constructed (the second one only after the first had proved itself efficient). \"They sent us out into the countryside to forage for disused rails,\" said Glazar. These racks, called \"the roasts\", each held several hundred stacked-up bodies, and were used from then on not only for the incoming transports, but also to burn thousands of partly decomposed corpses dug up by excavators and either thrown into \"the roasts\" by the machine or carried on stretchers by two men at the double. \"We always had to run,\" said one of the very few survivors of this death-camp detail, in trial evidence in Germany (and also in Poland), \"and we had to be careful never to carry just one adult corpse, but always to add a couple of children \u2013 otherwise it would have looked as though we were shirking.\"\n\nIn the upper camp \u2013 the death-camp \u2013 there was no whippingpost or roll-call, but equally there was no possibility of stealing food to supplement the camp rations, and the least infringement of the rules meant being shot on the spot. And the rules became ever more stringent as the ss, with the inexorable advance of the Russians, became increasingly desperate to hide the evidence of the slaughter.\n\n\"In May,\" said Richard Glazar, \"Karel and I were transferred to a special 'camouflage' unit: our job was to bring in huge branches from the forest to camouflage the new fences. Our foreman was Heinrich Kleinmann, a former Czech civil servant \u2013 a quiet, polite, bespectacled man, a curious choice of foreman for our tough little gang of dare-devils.\n\n\"We were called the 'smugglers' because, being the only people who were ever allowed out of the camp, we made full use of our many opportunities to smuggle things in. As weeks went by and transports were a rarity, it was increasingly important to bring in food for those who were particularly essential to us, some of whom were ill and dangerously weak. Of course, we had nearly unlimited supplies of money; the Ukrainians we paid and paid and paid. And the Poles-well, in May 1943 the going rate for two white rolls, three-quarters of an ounce of sausage and two-thirds of a litre of vodka was between ten and twenty dollars \u2013 often more.\n\n\"We knew that Zhelo was still alive, because some time in the late spring, one of the ss, a man called Poltzinger who worked up at Camp II, came to our shop and asked which were 'Karel and Richard', and when we said it was us, he said he'd brought a message from Zhelo: he was ok and would we like to send a message back to him. We always thought the SS up there were better than ours, probably because, after all, they had to live through the same unspeakable horrors as the slaves up there. If our latrines smelled pretty bad, this was nothing by comparison to the ever-present sweetly sick smell of the burnings. If we found it hard to bear it down where we were-imagine what it was like for the people who lived up there....\"\n\n# 12\n\nAS IT happened, two of the former SS men I met had worked \"up there\": Otto Horn, in charge of the incineration of the bodies, and Gustav M\u00fcnzberger, in charge of the gas chambers. \"M\u00fcnzberger?\" said Otto Horn (who had also testified to this effect at the Treblinka trial in 1965). \"One of his jobs was to stand at the door to the gas chambers and drive them in. He had a whip of course. He did that, day after day. He was drunk most of the time. What else could he do? Could he have got out of that job? I don't know. I think finally he no longer cared \u2013 he drank.\"\n\nOberammergau, famous for its passion-play festival every ten years, lies two hours south of Munich, deep in a lovely valley surrounded by pine-clad hills and friendly rather than forbidding mountains. Unterammergau, one station \u2013 four minutes \u2013 earlier on the single-track railway line, is tiny by comparison: the station, a road, two streets, a general store, an inn, and perhaps fifty houses, all of them brilliantly white, with brilliantly green or striped shutters, window-boxes, scrubbed children who smile and say \" _Gr\u00fcss Gott_ \", and the smell of tar, manure, meadows, pine trees and freshly cut timber.\n\nGustav M\u00fcnzberger, sixty-eight when I met him in the spring of 1972, is a big man who often looks ten or fifteen years older. He sits at the kitchen table, his body slack, his head bowed. He is clean-shaven but looks stubbly; he is immaculately dressed, but looks as if he cannot button his own shirt.\n\nSentenced to twelve years in prison in 1965, he came out, with the usual remission for good behaviour, in July 1971. His son Horst \u2013 a master cabinet-maker \u2013 and Horst's wife, had meanwhile built up a workshop in Unterammergau and divided their house into two self-contained flats, downstairs for themselves and their three children, upstairs a kitchen\/living room, bedroom and bathroom for Horst's parents.\n\n\"What else could we do?\" said Horst. \"They are my parents; he is my father.\" His wife's father, an old socialist, really _was_ a known anti-Nazi during the Third Reich and the family had a rough time of it. Even so she agrees. \"We had to have them. There was no other way.\"\n\nThe M\u00fcnzbergers came originally from a town in the Sudetenland, the border of Saxony.\n\n\"Where we lived in 1938,\" said Horst's mother, \"we knew nothing, we heard nothing about politics.\" She is a big woman, with a flowered dress, an apron, and big bare arms. \"Of course, we were Germans in Czechoslovakia, that's true. But no, we never heard any of their propaganda. My husband \u2013 he was just interested in the gym society, that's all.\"\n\n\"I don't like contradicting you, Mother,\" said Horst gently, \"but young as I was, I remember that time. I remember on my way to music school when I was eight, I had to pass the synagogue. And I remember that, after the _Kristallnacht_ it was destroyed. So we weren't all that untouched by their 'propaganda', were we?\"\n\nLater, when we were alone, Horst said thoughtfully: \"At home, in the Sudetenland, my father was... well... a joiner, neither very good, nor bad-you know. But I can remember when he got that black SS uniform: that's when he began to be 'somebody' I suppose, rather than just anybody. And then, in Treblinka \u2013 it is inconceivable, isn't it, what he suddenly was: the scope, the power, the uniqueness, the difference between himself and all those others \u2013 imagine.... No, it is unimaginable.\n\n\"I wish he would speak to you. For me it was like lightning when they came to arrest him. Oh, I had an idea that everything hadn't been as it should have been. And when he was arrested, of course, the wildest rumours went about. But I didn't know anything. I wish he had prepared me, talked to me, told me the truth....Yes, I know now what he was accused of and sentenced for; I read the indictment. But I don't know it from _him._ Now I just wish, for his sake, that he could ease his mind by talking about it....\"\n\nM\u00fcnzberger, a non-commissioned officer in the SS, came to Treblinka after having served in the euthanasia institute at Schloss Sonnenstein in Pirna \u2013 also called _Die Sonne._\n\n\"After he was called up,\" said Horst, \"he often came on leave, very often. But never in uniform. I never saw him in uniform again \u2013 always in civvies. We had very good holidays, yes, we had it very good, I remember. Yes, I think people at home knew about him. I remember the father of a school friend saying to me once, 'You wait. Your father \u2013 we'll get him one day.' He was a Czech. At the time, of course, I didn't know what he meant, but I think he knew. But my mother didn't say anything....\"\n\n\"Well, I knew after a while what he was doing,\" said the old Frau M\u00fcnzberger. \"He wasn't supposed to say of course, but you know what women are. I probed and probed and finally he told me. It was awful of course, but what could _we_ do?\"\n\n\"My mother and I visited him in Pirna,\" said Horst. \"There was a special building, with 'common rooms', you know, for the staff, where we saw him. I remember, there were a lot of Baits around in the grounds, women and children too.\"\n\n\"The Baits,\" said the old man as if he was only just coming to. \"Oh, they were just _Umsiedler_ [resettlers] \u2013 they had nothing to do with what was being done at Pirna. It was so big you see \u2013 they just used part of the grounds as a reception centre for these Baltic-Germans. Did I think what they were doing at Pirna wrong? I don't know,\" he said wearily. \"Some of them, the people who were brought there were so... it was so dreadful \u2013 it really was a mercy for them to die. Did I try to get out of it? Away from Treblinka later? When they sent me to Treblinka there was some administrative mix-up I think, and they gave me two different postings you know, two different pieces of paper. So I went to Wirth when I got to Treblinka and showed them to him and said could I please request permission to go to the other posting. But he sent me packing in no uncertain terms. He said the posting to Treblinka was more important than anything else \u2013 it overrode any other orders.\n\n\"We up at the _Totenlager_ ,\" he said, \"we didn't have any whipping-posts or anything like that. I was just glad every night when I could go down to my room and have peace. Oh yes, our quarters were down in the lower camp. What did I do at night?\" He shrugged his shoulders and made the gesture of lifting a bottle to his lips. His wife smiled sympathetically. \"I worked for years for the Steins,\" she volunteered. \"Jews in our home town. And Gustav, he had many Jewish customers.\"\n\n\"Anyway, before the war a quarter of the population were Jews,\" he interposed.\n\n\"We had nothing against them,\" his wife continued. \"In my school I sat cheek by jowl with I don't know how many Jewish girls. What did we know, what did we care? They went to the synagogue, we went to church, that's all....\"\n\nGustav M\u00fcnzberger's face changes from moment to moment, from an old man's ever-present, ever-running tears, to resignation and to weariness. And then \u2013 as if by some sleight of hand \u2013 there is a sudden momentary glimpse offeree, of what he may have been like in the past. This is physical, not moral or spiritual strength. He was, no doubt, a tall broad-shouldered man, with a fine head and blue eyes, the sort of man a woman like Horst's mother, in that small Sudetenland town, would have fallen in love with. But, even though there sat a man who by the very fact of still being alive sullied all he touched \u2013 he was a \"small man\", one of the proverbial cogs in the wheel.\n\n\"Did I have any personal contact \u2013 relationships you ask, with the people at Treblinka?\" he said in his broad Bavarian-Sudeten accent and in a slightly quavering voice. \"With those naked ones? How? Oh... you mean the work-Jews? No, they had their Kapos, _they_ organized them....\"\n\n\"And then there were your Ukrainians, weren't there, didn't you say?\" his wife prompted quickly.\n\n\"Yes, the Ukrainians too. _We_ didn't have to do anything. There wasn't really anything for us to do. Yes, we just had to be there; that's right; that's all.\"\n\n\"When they informed us that he was to be released from prison,\" said his wife, \"I said I'd take the train to M\u00fcnster to get him. But Horst, he said, 'Stay home, get things ready for Father \u2013 I'll get him.' Without Horst, I don't know what we would have done. He has given us everything. Built us our rooms here, given his father work \u2013 that's what's keeping him going now \u2013 working. The nights are hard for him: no sleep before two or three, and even then, never without pills.\"\n\nHorst M\u00fcnzberger is thirty-eight but looks thirty. His wife, although they have three young children, the oldest \u2013 when I met them \u2013 eight, the youngest three, looks like a young girl. Their house, at the end of the road from the village, is a gem of traditional Bavarian craftsmanship, inside and out.\n\n\"I think\", said Horst later, downstairs in their living room, \"one can make someone weaker than he is, by telling him all the time he is weak and tired. That is what my mother does. I think my father is much stronger than he seems. You know, these tears he sheds, they are not all that new. I remember when I was a boy and he spanked me; he cried more than I did; he really did. I remember it well.\n\n\"Of course, he was always a very thorough man; thorough in his work and in his habits. Did they _select_ people because of special qualities, or perhaps special vulnerabilities? I don't know. I wish I did. I can't really imagine that they chose them at random. In our village, for instance, they took two for this awful thing \u2013 my father and a neighbour. Two out of \u2013 I think there were twenty of that age and of the same status. Why just them? Why, too, did so many of the men who worked these terrible places come not from Germany proper, but from one of the annexed states \u2013 Austria, the Sudetenland, Ukrainians, Lithuanians?\n\n\"My father \u2013 I can quite imagine that he would have approached Treblinka with the same thoroughness with which he approached his carpentry at home: it was his principal quality as a craftsman.\"\n\nThe fact that many of these men were not from the _Altreich_ was also emphasized by Dieter Allers, former administrative director of T4, who continues to insist that the men had not been deliberately picked for these jobs, that the majority of them had not been drafted into T4, but had volunteered. _His_ purpose \u2013 conscious or unconscious \u2013 was to convey that it was these morally inferior semi-outsiders who competed for these assignments, not \"real\" Germans. I am inclined to take a different view. Although, at least as far as the original recruitment for the Euthanasia Programme was concerned, I think he may be telling the truth in claiming that many of the people who joined did so voluntarily, for the additional benefits and the chance of not having to go to the front; and although the number of Austrians who occupied leading positions in just this area of Third Reich policies cannot be ignored; nevertheless I believe that accepting so many \"volunteers\" from outside the _Altreich_ was a deliberate part of the system. Psychologically, these were men who could be expected to feel less secure and therefore could be made to feel more dependent, more anxious to prove their new national allegiance. In a practical sense, therefore, they were more vulnerable to pressure. And when it came to the selection of the ninety-six SS who were to run the _Aktion Reinhard_ in Poland, these men, I am convinced, were chosen very carefully from the ranks of the original four hundred T4 personnel, for specific qualities observed during their \"apprenticeship\" in the Euthanasia Programme. It is of considerable significance here that while the files of German army personnel in general, and most of the SS in particular, did survive the war, the files ( _Kartei-Karten_ as Dieter Allers described them) of these ninety-six men which were kept in the offices of T4, as well as other T4 files have disappeared.\n\nEarlier I had asked Horst's father whether, when he was first ordered to report to T4 in Berlin, he too (like Stangl) had signed a paper renouncing the Church and stating that he was a _Gottgl\u00e4ubiger._ \"No,\" he had replied at once.\n\nHad they ever asked him to do that?\n\n\"No.\"\n\nSupposing they _had_ asked, and had said they'd shoot his family if he didn't, would he have signed?\n\n\"No,\" he persisted. \"I wouldn't give up my faith.\"\n\n\"Gustl,\" his wife nudged him. \"If they threatened your family? Your children?\"\n\n\"I would have given up my faith,\" he said obediently.\n\n\"I don't want to say much,\" said Horst later, \"but about this business of the Church: it's only here, in Unterammergau, that he went back to going to church. After he... after he rejoined the Church.\"\n\n\"Rejoined?\"\n\n\"There was a ceremony. After being a _Gottgl\u00e4ubiger_ he was officially received back into the Church.\" (A priest was to tell me later that this was _not_ an officially prescribed \u2013 or required \u2013 ceremony. \"It would be at the discretion of the local priest,\" he said. \"Ordinarily, all a Catholic who had become a _Gottgl\u00e4ubiger_ would have to do, would be to go to confession, receive absolution and then take communion. It is a matter of choice whether or not it is also made into a festive occasion.\")\n\nI asked Horst M\u00fcnzberger and his wife whether they spent a lot of time with the old people? Did the grandparents have a lot of contact with the children? Was there tension, or did they all get on all right?\n\n\"All right?\" Horst laughed bitterly. \"How can it be all right? We manage, that's all, because we have to manage.\"\n\nHis wife nodded sadly. \"What can we do? They are old.\"\n\n\"Of course there is tension; it is in us all the time,\" said Horst. \"It is especially difficult for my wife.\"\n\n\"Do the old people have any money of their own?\" I asked, and he shook his head.\n\n\"I can't say whether he ever had any money after Treblinka \u2013 I couldn't say yes or no. But certainly he had none at the time of the trial and afterwards. I even went to try to get some help for him....\"\n\n\"Help? From whom? Odessa?\"*\n\n\"No, I don't know 'Odessa'. But somebody told me there was an organization who helped people like him, so I went to them \u2013 hiag I think they were called.\"\n\n\"How did you get their address?\"\n\n\"It was all very hush-hush. I was sent from one place to another \u2013 this one knew and that one too. Anyway, finally I got to this office and they asked all about my father. I asked them for money for my mother \u2013 you know, he was going to prison for twelve years; we hadn't got anywhere much yet with the business; we had so little money. So I thought perhaps they'd want to help look after my mother. But not at all. They said he had no right to their help....\"\n\nAs HIAG is the SS equivalent of the British Legion or of American veterans' organizations, an organization primarily designed to keep up contact with, and give assistance to, members of former SS _fighting units_ (of whom there were many more than those who have become so familiar to the world through films and novels, as concentration camp personnel) it is a little puzzling why so much mystery should have been made of _hiag's_ whereabouts. They advertise their existence quite openly in the SS magazine _Der Freiwillige_ , published by the Munin Verlag, in Osnabr\u00fcck. It is true that this paper is obtained by subscription and is sent out under plain cover; but it is not by any means a clandestine publication. What is more understandable is that they refused Horst's request. They are very anxious to establish the ss, in retrospect, as a purely fighting unit and are therefore, no doubt, loth to contribute financial assistance to those members of the SS who they are most anxious to repudiate.\n\n\"But now it's not a question of money, of course,\" said Horst. \"The business is doing well. It isn't that. And I am glad to let him work here \u2013 he does small simple things; it helps him.... Yes, I still love him \u2013 I suppose. I suppose loving one's father is like living \u2013 one just does. About what he has done... I could not even tell you \u2013 I could not find the words to tell you how terrible, how beyond everything terrible I think it is. And that it should be _my_ father....\"\n\nThere was silence in the beautiful small sitting room full of beautifully made things \u2013 all made by Horst himself. Next door, in the big kitchen, the children played and laughed. They are very attractive with that gay and clear-voiced beauty of small German children.\n\n\"The worst of it,\" Horst continued, \"is the children. You see, my wife and I, we know very well that one day, not long from now, Christian [the oldest boy] will ask us questions; he is eight now. When he is ten or so, they'll be getting modern history at school. I don't know how much that school teaches them \u2013 but they can't just not tell them about these horrors. And then \u2013 you know what villages are \u2013 some other child is bound to say to him, 'Yeah Christian, your grandpa was in this.' And he'll come home and say to us, 'What did Grandpa have to do with that?'\n\n\"That's what my wife and I wanted to talk to you about. That's what we wanted to ask: How shall I tell my son?\"\n\n* The name of a possible Nazi escape network, much discussed in recent years.\n\n# 13\n\n\" _At the trial_ ,\" I said to Stangl, \" _it was said over and over that you had the reputation of being superb at your job. The prisoners called you a_ Burgherr _Napoleon'. When you appeared they said, everyone, including your own staff, worked harder, faster. And, in fact, you received an official commendation as the 'best camp commander inPoland', didn't you? Would it not have been possible for you, in order to register some protest, if only to yourself, to do your work a little less 'superbly'?_\"\n\nOne couldn't help but remember the evidence at his trial given by three survivors who were described by the prosecutor, Herr Alfred Spiess, as \"particularly unemotional, balanced and reliable\". They affirmed that he was present at floggings and hangings, although he denied that he ever had been. Four of the witnesses, Glazar, Unger, Strawczynski and Samuel Rajzman, and five of the SS men, Rum, Matthes, M\u00fcnzberger, Miete and Horn, confirmed that at least seven hangings took place at Treblinka during Stangl's tenure \u2013 several of them hanging men upside down \u2013 and that Stangl, if he did not attend them, as was claimed by some of the prisoners, must \"at least\" have known about these events, which were, of course, noted in the official camp reports \u2013 the logbooks. One of the survivors testified that he particularly remembered a hanging which took place in the presence of the Kommandant on May 8, \"because that happened to be my birthday\".\n\nThis question about his dedication to his work was one of the few during our meetings that made Stangl angry. \"Everything I did out of my own free will,\" he answered sharply, \"I had to do as well as I could. That is how I am.\"\n\nFrau Stangl, with good reason, had very definite memories about the month of May 1943. \"That's when I saw him again for the first time since Christmas,\" she said, \"when he came on his way through from Cracow to Linz on an official trip; but he only stayed one night. It was the only time I saw him until July, so that was when we started our youngest, Isolde. She was an eight-month baby, born on January 5, 1944. Later, at the trial, a witness said Paul had attended an execution \u2013 a hanging \u2013 on May 8; he said he remembered it was May 8 because it was his birthday. I thought and thought about that; for a while I wasn't absolutely sure whether he had been home on May 3 or May 8, but then later I realized it couldn't have been May 3 because I had my period that day. So he was home on May 8; so he couldn't have attended an execution in Treblinka that day, could he?\"\n\nIt was never quite clear why it couldn't have been on May 5 or 6 he was at home; equally, it was never quite clear why \u2013 considering that he was involved in the death of hundreds of thousands, his wife thought it so vital to prove that he had not \"attended\" _one_ execution, except of course that to her, disproving any horror he was accused of, must be a comfort. \"That day in May,\" said Frau Stangl, \"I hardly asked him about anything. He did tell me that he was still trying to get out; to get a transfer to an anti-partisan unit in the East. But of course that night I was only happy \u2013 it was such overwhelming happiness just to be together for these few unexpected hours. But even on that brief stop-over I remember he went again to see Fr\u00e4ulein Hintersteiner in Linz.\"\n\nFr\u00e4ulein Hintersteiner had worked as a bookkeeper-secretary at the Schloss Hartheim euthanasia institute and her testimony at Stangl's trial, like that of other witnesses called by his defence, bore out the old saying about sinking ships. She said she had met Stangl at Hartheim; that the work there was under the seal of secrecy on the penalty of death; that she had been a member of the Nazi Party only since the Anschluss but, yes, that she had \"sympathized with them\" before the Anschluss. She said she knew what was happening at Hartheim but couldn't remember whether she had ever discussed this with Stangl, though it was possible. There were ten to fifteen people working in the office there \u2013 a community bound by secrecy \u2013 who lived, worked and took their recreation together. Was she an intimate friend of Stangl's? No, just \"colleagues\" as with all the others. She knew \"Kaufmann and his wife\" through her brother; they were neighbours of theirs at home. She could not recall whether or not she had told Stangl that Kaufmann was being posted to the Crimea, but it was possible; Kaufmann had told her after the beginning of the war against Russia that he was being posted there, though she couldn't remember in what capacity. She didn't know whether Stangl and Kaufmann knew each other. She could not recall that Stangl had asked her to use her influence with Kaufmann to obtain a posting for him as Kaufmann's aide. She could not remember whether or not she had \"put in a good word for Stangl\" but she rather thought not, as her acquaintance with Kaufmann was not \"this close\". Nor could she remember whether Stangl had reminded her of such a request and consequently she couldn't remember either whether she had transmitted such a request. In short, Fraulein Hintersteiner's memory \u2013 like that of many others \u2013 was so impaired that all she could remember precisely were details of what so conveniently she didn't remember. It is quite extraordinary how the the memories of the people who lived through hell \u2013 and this applies in different ways to men like Glazar as well as to Stangl \u2013 remained intact, while those so infinitely less imperilled broke down.\n\n\"We were now going into phase four,\" said Richard Glazar, \"and life did become somewhat better. Partly I suppose it was that we were completely conditioned to it. Partly because we were more secure. Robert Altschuh had heard an SS tell Suchomel in the tailor-shop that Stangl had said 'too many Jews had been sieved through': if the transports increased again, he said, and the camp was reactivated, there were no longer sufficient workers to operate it efficiently. That sounded to us as if they were unlikely to kill any of us experienced personnel. But, it was also because, with our minds focused on the revolt, we were by now almost hysterically alive; we were reckless to the point of insanity.\n\n\"In June the remnant of the Warsaw ghetto arrived; they were a terrible sight, more dead than alive. And in July there were a few more very poor transports....\"\n\nFrom what Richard Glazar and the other survivors say, the enormous importance that was attached by the prisoners to every word and every move of Stangl's emerges very clearly; and equally the extent to which whatever he said or did affected their spirit \u2013 their spirit being what kept them alive.\n\n\" _You have said all along, you hated what was happening_ ,\" I had asked Stangl. \" _Would it not have been possible, I ask you again, to show some evidence of your inner conflict?_ \"\n\n\"But that would have been the end,\" he said. \"That is precisely why I was so alone.\"\n\n\" _Supposing for a moment it_ would _have been the end, as you say. There were people in Germany who stood up for their principles; not many, it is true, but some. Yours was a very special position; there were less than a dozen men like you in all of the Third Reich. Don't you think that if you had found that extraordinary courage, it would have had an effect on the people who served under you?_ \"\n\nHe shook his head. \"If I had sacrificed myself,\" he said slowly, \"if I had made public what I felt, and had died... it would have made no difference. Not an iota. It would all have gone on just the same, as if it and I had never happened.\"\n\n\" _I believe that. But even so, don't you think somewhere, underneath, it would have affected the atmosphere in the camp, would have given some others courage?_ \"\n\n\"Not even that. It would have caused a tiny ripple, for a fraction of an instant \u2013 that's all.\"\n\n\" _What did you think at the time was the reason for the exterminations?_ \"\n\nHis answer came at once: \"They wanted the Jews' money.\"\n\n\" _You can't be serious?_ \"\n\nHe was bewildered by my reaction of disbelief. \"But of course. Have you any idea of the fantastic sums that were involved? That's how the steel in Sweden was bought.\"\n\n\" _But... they weren't all rich. At least 900,000 Jews mere killed in Treblinka \u2013 more than 3 million altogether on Polish soil during the existence of the extermination and concentration camps. There mere hundreds of thousands of them from ghettos in the East, who had nothing_...\"\n\n\"Nobody had nothing,\" he said. \"Everybody had _something._ \"\n\n(\"Even those from the extreme East of Poland, the poorest, brought something,\" said Richard Glazar. \"I remember working on their clothes: they wore padded tunics, very much like coolies', in China. They were awful to handle, full of lice \u2013 _white_ with lice along the seams. One time I was just about to put one of them into a bundle I was making up and somebody said, 'Wait.' He ripped it open and there, glued together inside the padding, were dozens and dozens of hundred dollar bills. Another day, one of the SS came in with a basket full of food. 'Pull up your sleeve,' he said to me, 'and put your hand in all the way.' I did. It was full \u2013 elbow deep \u2013 of gold dollars.\")\n\n\"That racial business,\" said Stangl, \"was just secondary. Otherwise, how could they have had all those 'honorary Aryans'? They used to say General Milch was a Jew, you know.\"\n\n\" _If the racial business was so secondary, then why all that hate propaganda?_ \"\n\n\"To condition those who actually had to carry out these policies; to make it possible for them to do what they did.\"\n\n\" _Well_ , you _were part of this: did_ you _hate?_ \"\n\n\"Never. I wouldn't let anybody dictate to me who to hate. Anyway, the only people I could ever hate would be those who were out to destroy me \u2013 like Prohaska.\"\n\n\" _What is the difference to you between hate, and a contempt which results in considering people as 'cargo'?_ \"\n\n\"It has nothing to do with hate. They were so weak; they allowed everything to happen \u2013 to be done to them. They were people with whom there was no common ground, no possibility of communication \u2013 that is how contempt is born. I could never understand how they could just give in as they did. Quite recently I read a book about lemmings, who every five or six years just wander into the sea and die; that made me think of Treblinka.\"\n\n\" _If you didn't feel an overriding sense of loyalty to the Party or its ideas, what did you believe in during that time in Poland?_ \"\n\n\"Survival,\" he said immediately. \"In the midst of all that death \u2013 life. And what sustained me most was my fundamental faith in the existence of just retribution.\"\n\n\" _But you knew your own position. You were so afraid of a few men like Globocnik, Wirth, Prohaska. How is it that you were not as afraid of this 'just retribution' you were certain existed and which, when it came, was bound to include you?_ \"\n\n\"It was all part of the way I construed it for myself; I am responsible only to myself and my God. Only _I_ know what I did of my own free will. And for that I can answer to my God. What I did without, or against my free will, for that I need not answer.... Yes, I knew the day would come when the Nazis would go under and that I'd probably go under with them. If it did happen, it just couldn't be helped. At the time of the worst degradations in the East,\" he said (wording it rather ambiguously, I thought, leaving me in some doubt as to whether he was referring to his own sentiments in connection with Treblinka, or to the rout of the German army in Russia), \"I went on leave and we spent it at a priest's house: Pfarrhof Klaus in the Steyrthal, with Father Mario, a friend of my wife's family. We went to Mass every morning....\"\n\n# 14\n\n\"I DIDN'T see Paul again until July,\" Frau Stangl said. \"And that was a terrible time \u2013 he stayed almost a month. By that time I had thought more about Treblinka. Of course I was pregnant, that probably also influenced my state of mind. At Christmas, you see, he had told me again that he was the 'highest ranking' officer in Treblinka and I had asked him \u2013 again \u2013 what that meant. Because he'd never mentioned being Kommandant \u2013 never. He answered that it meant everyone had to defer to him, and do what he said. I said, 'But then... my God, Paul, then you are _in charge?_ ' But he answered, 'No, Wirth is _in charge._ ' And again I had believed him, I suppose because I needed to \u2013 I _had_ to believe. How could I have gone on otherwise? As it was, I often looked at him and thought to myself, 'Who are you? Oh my God, what are you that you can bear even to _see_ this? What \u2013 oh God, _what_ are you seeing with these eyes which look at me?' Still, that Christmas I had still believed him: he said so often, so firmly that he wanted only to get out, that he could ask for nothing better. And even when _I_ said, 'If you are really doing only administrative things and nothing bad, well, at least you are not at the front' \u2013 because, yes, I did say that \u2013 he answered, 'No, no, I must get out of it.'\n\n\"It is true, you know, although I cried, oh so many times when I thought of those people they were killing, I never never knew there were children too, or even women. I, too, rationalized it I suppose; I told myself, I suppose, that we were at war and that they were killing the men; men, you know: enemies. I suppose I thought \u2013 or told myself \u2013 that the women and children were being left at home. I know it isn't logical, but I suppose I just didn't dare to think further. What I did know and did think was already more than I could bear. But it's true, I also said to myself many times: if he did refuse, if he did just run away, throw away his life and ours, it would still go on. There would not be just hundreds, there would be thousands only too happy to take his place. Well, that's how I thought until July. Because until then I still kept believing that he was trying to get out, as he told me, and that he would succeed in getting a transfer.\n\n\"But by the time he came on leave in July I had ceased to believe; it had been too long. Arid now I began to see the terrible change in him. No one else saw this. And I too had only glimpses; occasional glimpses of another man, somebody with a different, a totally changed face; someone I didn't know; that face that you too saw later, in the prison \u2013 red, suffused, swollen, protruding veins, coarse \u2013 he who was never coarse or vulgar, who was always loving and kind. That was when I began to nag him \u2013 at least he called it that. I asked him again and again, 'Paul, why are you still there? It's a year now, more than a year. All the time you said you'd manage it, you'd wangle a transfer. Paul,' I'd say, 'I'm afraid for you. I am afraid for your soul. You _must_ leave. Run away if must be. We will come with you, anywhere.' \u2013 'How?' he said. 'They'd catch me. They catch everybody. And that would be the end for all of us. I in a concentration camp, you in _Sippenhaft_ [detention for compromised relatives of unreliables] \u2013 perhaps the children too; it's unthinkable.' That's what he said. Well, you understand, I wasn't thinking of Germany's victory or defeat, I was only thinking of him, my man, and what was happening to him inside, and I went on nagging him. He'd get terribly angry, quite out of character for him. 'Is this what my whole leave is going to be like?' he'd shout. 'Aren't you ever going to stop pestering me?'\n\n\"I... I could no longer be with him... you know... near him. It was quite terrible, for both of us. We were staying in the mountains with this friend of my mother's, a priest, Father Mario; she had arranged for us to stay there, for our holiday. And one day I couldn't stand it any longer; I no longer knew where to turn, I _had_ to talk to somebody. So I went to see Father Mario. I said, 'Father, I must talk to you. I want to talk to you under the seal of the confessional.' He is dead now. I can tell you about it. And I told him about Treblinka. I said, 'I know you won't believe it but there is this terrible place in Poland and they are killing people there \u2013 they are killing the Jews there. And my Paul,' I said, 'my Paul is there. He is working there. What shall I do?' I asked him. 'Please tell me. Please help us. Please advise us.'\n\n\"You see, I thought \u2013 I suppose \u2013 the priests had ways; there were convents up in the mountains where one could disappear, hide \u2013 I had heard things.\n\n\"He gave me such a terrible shock. I remember, he brushed his face with his hand and then he said, 'We are living through terrible times, my child. Before God and my conscience, if I had been in Paul's place, I would have done the same. I absolve him from all guilt.'\n\n\"I walked away like a zombie, in a dream, in a nightmare. How could he? Then I told myself, he is old, perhaps he is senile; it was the only explanation. But afterwards... I don't know... after all, he was a priest... I had carried this awful thing around with me for a year, I had thought and thought and cried and worried myself sick over what would happen to my Paul, if not on earth, then after his death... and then he, a priest, had taken it so... not calmly, but, well, matter-of-factly. I don't know. I could no longer think at all. And that night, I told Paul that I had told Father Mario and what he had answered. All Paul said was, 'You took a terrible risk telling him.' He wasn't angry, he didn't rave at me like I thought he might. I think I was grateful for that. I had been so lonely and so frightened.... Well, his leave came to an end soon after that. And then, of course, as you know, it was all over within a few days after his return to Treblinka....\"\n\n# 15\n\nIT IS very difficult to assess now to what extent the prisoners at Treblinka (or later at Sobibor) really believed an uprising could succeed. What is mostly likely is that although it was carefully planned, the most intelligent amongst them \u2013 in fact the planners themselves \u2013 in the final analysis believed least in the possibility of success. It was, however, they who were most determined to see that at least _some_ would escape, even if not they themselves; that a maximum of damage would be done to the installations, and that \u2013 and this was part of the plan they failed to bring off \u2013 the three worst murderers amongst the SS, Kurt Franz, Miete and Mentz (significantly enough _not_ Stangl), would be \"executed\" by the insurgents. The details of the uprising vary greatly in the memories of different survivors, which may explain why there is hardly any reliable record of what must be one of the most heroic efforts of the war-time years in East or West: a revolt undertaken by people who had virtually no contact with any underground movement \"outside\", no hope of help from the Poles or the Western Allies, virtually no arms except what they might hope to capture at the moment of the uprising, and who bore the responsibility for a large group of men and women only a very small minority of whom were considered capable of being \"active insurgents\".\n\n\"The revolt was planned for the late afternoon of August 2,\" said Richard Glazar, \"so as to give people the maximum chance to escape in the dark. The Saturday before, we of the camouflage unit were ordered out to gather juniper branches; light and good for camouflage. There were twenty-five of us in this unit, all terrifically disciplined, and organized into three groups each with its own foreman; he held the money \u2013 the gold \u2013 with which we bribed the Ukrainians to bribe the Poles to allow us to pay them for food! And when food was obtained, only he, the foreman, could distribute it. One of our lot, a Pole, did all the talking to the Ukrainians. That day he told them that he wanted enough food for everybody to eat their fill. Oh yes, there was an SS with us \u2013 there always was. But he didn't care \u2013 he was all right. The Ukrainians said, for forty dollars in gold they'd get us all the food we could eat. So we gave them forty dollars in gold. And they came back with a peasant who was leading a horse and cart, and it was full, absolutely chock-a-block full with food \u2013 ham and sausage, salami, bread \u2013 all kinds of bread; cream and vodka. The Poles tell you now there was no food; but of course there was, in the country. And there was nothing you couldn't buy for gold. That peasant with his horse and cart; the field and the woods; and the multi-coloured food \u2013 it looked like a Breughel, you know; anyway, we ate ourselves stupid. The SS didn't say anything much; he got some ham and vodka and ate too. Only at the end he called one of the three foremen over and said he had no objection to our eating, but not this amount, ever again. It didn't mean anything, he just said it to show how good he was being to us. Of course by then the SS had changed; they saw the writing on the wall.\n\n\"Of course the Ukrainians hadn't always been so accommodating either. Ordinarily, on these forages all they did was get drunk and even meaner than usual. I remember once \u2013 long before that day \u2013 one of them brought a whore into the forest and told Kuba \u2013 there were three Kubas at Treblinka; this one was a big chap \u2013 to... well, you know what. Kuba couldn't make it and they laughed themselves sick. That's the kind of joke they appreciated. Many of us young men ceased to have any sexual feelings whatever; Karel and I, during all the time we were in Treblinka, and for long afterwards, were men in name only.\"\n\n(By the same token, many women in camps ceased to menstruate. The rumour was that in _concentration camps_ something was put in the food. But it is unlikely that this happened in places such as Treblinka; the number of girls kept alive didn't warrant such precautions, and anyway this particular aspect of life only afforded the Ukrainians and the SS one more opportunity for sadistic humour. There were, of course, no sanitary napkins, or even newspapers, and the girls used large leaves \u2013 burdock leaves if they could find them \u2013 to protect themselves. But any blood showing on a dress meant death; it was unaesthetic, and the SS were very keen on aesthetics.)\n\n\"August 2,\" said Stangl, \"was a very hot day. A Monday. Mondays were always days of rest \u2013 because of course on Sundays nobody worked in Warsaw, so they didn't load transports.* Kurt Franz had taken a swimming party of twenty down to the River Bug straight after lunch; four Germans and the rest Ukrainians. I had a visitor, a Viennese. He was an army political officer who was temporarily stationed in Kossov, six kilometres away. He had rung to say hello and ask whether he could drop by.\"\n\n(\"On the day of the revolt,\" says Suchomel, \"drinking had been going on in Stangl's quarters since mid-morning. M\u00e4tzig was in on it too. Stangl's guest was his old friend Greuer, the lieutenant from a Vlassov unit in Kossov. Franz was not in Treblinka that day \u2013 that's true enough \u2013 but neither was he swimming, though perhaps Stangl thought he was. In fact he was with his tart in Ostrow. By the time the revolt started in the afternoon, Stangl and his friend were both drunk as lords and didn't know which end was up. I remember seeing him stand there, just stand and look at the burning buildings...\")\n\n\" _Was it usual for you and the other officers_ ,\" I asked Stangl, \" _to receive visitors in the camp?_ \"\n\n\"Not while I was there. I would never have permitted it. Of course, even I wouldn't take a visitor into the camp; just my quarters, or the SS mess.\"\n\n\" _Even so \u2013 it meant he saw what was going on, didn't it?_ \"\n\n\"In the lower camp \u2013 which is what he could see through the barbed wire \u2013 as I told you, after eleven or so in the morning, nothing really went on except routine work in the work-shops. Of course up in the top camp they'd have their fires \u2013 they'd burn what was left over; there was always something going on there,\" he shrugged his shoulder. \"But anyway, by this time everybody knew what was going on.\"\n\n\" _Did they? Even during your trial any number of people denied having known anything at all about these things._ \"\n\n\"I know,\" he said bitterly. \"None of them knew anything, saw anything, guessed anything. But hundreds of soldiers and civilians used to come up to our gate, stand along the fences, gawk, and try to buy things off us because it was known that there was all this stuff around. For a while we even had planes circling around overhead and flying low so that they could watch what was going on. I rang through to HQ about that finally and they told us to shoot at them. So we did, and that stopped that. But we never could stop the others \u2013 not quite, ever. They saw dead Jews on the ground and being carried away from the station. They photographed them. The whole place stank to high heaven from kilometres away. For two weeks after coming through there \u2013 or 'visiting' there \u2013 many used to say they couldn't eat. But no, they saw nothing and knew nothing. Of course....\n\n\"Anyway, this officer from Kossov was sitting in my room with me that Monday after lunch. My windows looked out on to the street \u2013 that's the street I had them build you know, 800 metres, all bordered with flowers. And to the right was the guards' house we built, in Tyrolean style. I tell you, I had the best carpenters in the world \u2013 everybody envied me. It was all done in wood \u2013 stylistically perfect. Of course we built all these things to create work,\" he said, without undue emphasis. \"The more people we could legitimately employ at useful work, the more survived, at least for a while. Anyway, that's where the shooting began, at 2 p.m., at this blockhouse. My batman, Sacha, he was Ukrainian, he came running. Looking out of my window I could see some Jews on the other side of the inner fence \u2013 they must have jumped down from the roof of the SS billets and they were shooting. I told the fellow from Kossov to stay put and took my pistol and ran out. By that time the guards had begun to shoot back but there were already fires all over the camp....\"\n\n\"At 2 p.m.,\" said Richard Glazar, \"an order came through from the committee that from that moment no Jew would be allowed to die; if there was any threat from anyone, the balloon would have to go up earlier than planned. At ten minutes to four Kuba said something to K\u00fcttner and shortly afterwards K\u00fcttner started to beat a young boy. That was what started it \u2013 at three minutes to four, probably about two hours early....\"\n\nIn a subsequent letter Richard confirmed these timings and \u2013 replying to my question what it was that had prematurely triggered off the revolt \u2013 said, \"Probably none of us can know what Kuba said to K\u00fcttner. But\", he added, \"this Kuba was the 'barrack-elder' of Barrack II and an informer like Blau, and that was quite enough to convince us [that something wrong was going on].\"\n\nSuchomel has another idea about what started the uprising prematurely. \"There was a man called Salzberg,\" he said. \"He had two sons. Both the boys were cleaners in our barracks. Father Salzberg was storekeeper in the tailor-shop, therefore under me. He was very intelligent and worried about his boys. He told me his wife had died in Kielce before he came to Treblinka. Salzberg was on the so-called 'committee', and it was upon his urging that the revolt began an hour earlier than planned, and thus insufficiently prepared. The reason why Salzberg insisted on this may be because his older boy, two days before the revolt, had done something \u2013 I don't know what \u2013 that annoyed K\u00fcttner. I had pleaded with Kurt Franz for the boy's life and it seemed all right, but Salzberg was still afraid that K\u00fcttner would take him. That boy was fifteen\u2013that's what his father told me \u2013 the younger one was twelve and his name was Heinrich. He was a nice boy. The older one I didn't know because he worked in the other barrack.\"\n\nRichard Glazar too had written to me about Salzberg, but spoke of him as only having one son, sixteen years old. \"The only case,\" he said, \"where father and son were selected together from a transport. The young Salzberg\", he said, \"worked as a cleaner in the SS barracks with Edek, the accordion player. I hear he is supposed to have survived and be living somewhere in Spain.\"\n\n\"My main memory of the revolt\", Richard said, \"is one of utter confusion; the first moments were of course madly exciting; grenades and bottles of petrol exploding, fires almost at once, shooting everywhere. Everything was just that much different from the way it had been planned, so that we were thrown into utter confusion....\"\n\n\"Of course, we were on the telephone,\" Stangl said, \"and in an emergency like that my first duty was to inform the chief of the external security police. By the time I'd done that, our petrol station blew up \u2013 that too had been built just like a real service station, with flower-beds round it. Next thing the whole ghetto camp was burning, and then Matthes, the German in charge of the _Totenlager_ , arrived at a run and said everything was burning up there too. Later we found out that they'd begun earlier than planned \u2013 probably because Franz and twenty men were out of the camp and they thought it was the best moment to get at our munition dump. But actually the shooting lasted only about another ten minutes \u2013 perhaps half an hour altogether. By that time there was hardly anybody left....\"\n\n(Kurt Franz, by all accounts the most viciously sadistic killer of the lot and now serving a life sentence in West Germany, had _his_ say at Stangl's trial about his own part in these events and made a most extraordinary and ludicrous claim. \"On August 2,\" he said, \"I arranged that, as a result of the absence of two-thirds of the guards \u2013 who with the permission of the accused [Stangl] had gone swimming \u2013 the revolt could take place at all. I sensed what the work-Jews were planning and what was ahead of us, and it is for this reason that I left my submachine-gun in my quarters....\")\n\n\"Within minutes,\" Glazar said, \"it was more or less each man for himself. There were groups who escaped together as planned, but of each group only a few made it. Of the twenty-five of us in the camouflage unit who had planned to stay together, six, possibly eight, got out. Only four of us are alive today....\"\n\n* A curious slip, because by that time there _were_ no more Jewish transports from Warsaw; there were no more Jews.\n\n# 16\n\n\"OH YES,\" said Berek Rojzman during our visit to Treblinka, \"I knew the revolt was being planned, but I wasn't one of the planners. There were just a few [and he used the word for 'gentlemen'] on the committee. I was assigned to get rid of the Ukrainian guard on one of the watch-towers near where I worked.\"\n\nHe showed it to me; it was at the extreme eastern end of the camp (adjoining the fields, some of which were worked by Polish peasants, others by prisoners like himself, for the SS staff) and overlooking the _Totenlager._\n\n\"The man on duty on that watch-tower that day was called Mira,\" he said. \"He was sitting on the tower dressed only in his shorts, getting the sun. When he heard the first shots from the lower camp and realized there was trouble, he jumped down, in his shorts. I ran up to him and said, 'Mira, run, the Russians are coming.' I took his gun away from him and he didn't make a move to stop me. 'You run,' I said, 'but I must have the gun.' He ran.\"\n\nRojzman had made an arrangement with a cousin for the escape \u2013 all the prisoners had made individual arrangements like this; the cousin was to carry their funds. He had been given a large sum; he was not to participate in the fighting so as not to jeopardize these funds. They had arranged a meeting-place just inside the perimeter of the camp, and until they met there at a prearranged time just after the revolt had started, the cousin was to remain in hiding. In fact the cousin never appeared; Rojzman still thinks he went off with the money, although he admits he's never heard of him being seen since. (This is highly unlikely as all the survivors are known to the Polish and West German judicial authorities \u2013 and of course, to each other. No doubt the cousin died in the revolt.)\n\nRojzman finally left with several other men, one of them a young prisoner called Leon who said he knew \"a Pole\" who lived in a cottage deep in a forest; he wanted to get to this man because he trusted him and he thought he would be willing to take a message to his wife in Warsaw who was a gentile and who would bring him clothes and perhaps false papers.\n\nBefore they reached the cottage, they were several days in the woods, hiding first from the security police and their dogs, then from Ukrainians and Poles who continued the chase even after the Germans had given up. The man, Staszek, when they got to him, _was_ willing to help. \"When we asked him to go and get Leon's wife,\" said Rojzman, \"some of our group weren't all that sure of him. Of course, we had a _lot_ of money. Staszek had a little distillery going next to his cottage. I asked him how much his distillery was netting him and told him I'd double that sum if he would really go to Warsaw and bring Leon's wife. Some of the others still thought he wouldn't, but Leon trusted him and so did I. I'd given him half the money and said he would get the other half when he came back. I bet the others he'd be back by the next day, Saturday. And he was, and brought Leon's wife who had the suit, hat and papers for Leon. They went and that left just six of us in the forest.\"\n\nThey stayed in the forest for a year. \"We built a very nice shelter underground, not far from Staszek's cottage,\" he said. \"Staszek was cooking for us \u2013 in the evenings we'd often go and drink with him in the cottage. One night I got drunk and said something silly like 'I could kill you all'. The youngest of our group got scared and ran away into the woods. He came back late that night and asked the others whether I was asleep before he dared come in.\"\n\nBerek Rojzman's story about this year in the forest is full of such examples of tension within the group and of his dominance, and their fear of him. \"We often argued about money,\" he said. \"We were buying food and clothes through Staszek. Two of the group didn't have money; I didn't mind, but the others said they weren't going to feed them if they couldn't contribute, and told them to get out.\n\n\"We used to go to the village to buy things. I had grown a long moustache and looked like a Polish farmer. One day we were stopped by a group of young boys; they wanted our guns, but we didn't let them take them; we said we were partisans. There was a lot of curiosity about us.\"\n\nHe said Staszek, too, had become \"too curious\", always asking where their shelter was. \"But we didn't think he should know. After that we cooked for ourselves. We had serious arguments about who should do the cooking. In the end I assigned the duties; there would be those who would cook and those who would stand guard and I was going to decide who would do what, when.\n\n\"We got to know from people around that the Germans were sending Ukrainians who pretended to be partisans, into the woods to look for Jews. No, we didn't actually _do_ anything as partisans \u2013 our purpose was to survive. After about a year we learned from people in the village that the Russians were approaching. That day, while we were foraging around for food, Janiek [one of the group] had been left to guard the shelter, and when we got back we found he had taken it apart searching for money. He didn't find it. I gave him a good beating.\"\n\nShortly after this they left the shelter and made their way to the town of Otwock. Rojzman said no more about the man Staszek, thanks to whom they had survived. The implication was that he was paid for what he did. (He probably was, but considering the risk he had taken, one did wonder whether _that_ degree of help could ever be paid for in money.)\n\n\"When we got to Otwock,\" Rojzman said, \"we'd been walking for a long time and my feet hurt. I asked Janiek to help me take my shoes off. But he said, 'In the woods I _had_ to do it. Now I don't.' So I said, 'In the woods we _had_ to live together \u2013 here we don't. So get out.'\n\n\"We had 400 dollars left amongst the four of us and we divided them equally and parted. In Otwock I met again the wife of that Polish couple who had been our friends in Warsaw. The Germans had killed her husband and she was left with two children. She was trading a little and I was trading too, so we became good friends and later I married her....\"\n\nRichard Glazar broke out of Treblinka in what he described as a frenzy of elation, carrying nothing except his old shaving kit, a soap-box with two small remnants of soap (he still has it, and the soap, all cracked and mouldy), money and a few pieces of jewellery: some gold rings and two small diamonds. \"Two of the Czech gold-Jews gave Karel and me these things the evening before the uprising \u2013 in case we got out. Both of us still have the diamonds; we held on to them throughout our escape and until now.\"\n\nJoe Siedlecki told me that although he was not on the committee, he too knew about the revolt. \"I had arranged to go with another man and a bag full of diamonds,\" he said.\n\nI asked him about a girl friend I had heard he had in the camp.\n\n\"Well, girl friend in a manner of speaking,\" he said. \"There were nine girls for fifteen hundred men [actually the work force consisted of a thousand men, but by the time of the revolt it had been reduced to about eight hundred]. The one you mean, I talked with her, but I didn't sleep with her. No, she didn't escape with me, she escaped with Samuel Rajzman. I saw her later in the forest, though. No, I don't know what happened to her.\"\n\n(Samuel Rajzman, who also spent a year hiding in the forest, told me that one day, when he returned from a nearby village where he had gone to get food for his group, he found them all dead, including Joe Siedlecki's \"girl friend\", killed \u2013 he said \u2013 by Polish partisans.)\n\n\"There were two men who wanted to go with me,\" Joe continued, \"but one of them looked very Jewish. Like a rabbi, he looked. I said, 'What do you want of my life? Do me a favour, you go that way, I this.' He had diamonds and gold and offered me a share if I let him go with me \u2013 the other one too. In the end we did go together, and only separated when we reached Warsaw.\"\n\nLike several of the Treblinka and Sobibor survivors \u2013 those whose appearance made it possible \u2013 Joe Siedlecki spent the rest of the war passing as a gentile. \"I got into a Polish construction unit attached to the German army,\" he said. \"We got army rations, billets, travel passes.\" He spent a year with this unit, in Wehrmacht uniform (presumably in Germany). \"Finally everybody was going on leave. I had passed it up several times, but people were becoming suspicious, so in the end I too had to go to Poland on leave.\"\n\nWhen he got back to Poland, a Polish woman let him bunk in her kitchen. \"Then I found out that she was hiding four Jews,\" Joe said. \"They'd been there for two years, and were paying her. She, her children and I slept in the kitchen, the hidden Jews in the bedroom. Not long after I came, their money ran out. And then she sold them to the Gestapo, for 100 zloty each.\" After the liberation, he told the authorities that she had turned Poles over to the Gestapo. \"I just said 'Poles'; if I had said Jews, they probably wouldn't have cared. But that way they took care of her,\" he said, \" _I_ had nothing to do with it.\"\n\nIt had all been planned so carefully, said Richard Glazar, \"but all the plans came to nothing in this fantastic, really indescribable confusion when none of us finally knew where or in which direction to go. All we knew was that we had to run....\" (\"We climbed the anti-tank barriers round the camp,\" said Charles [Karel] Unger in his statement for the trial, \"and got to a pond. We waded in and stayed there for hours with only our heads above water. While we were standing in the water, we could hear the posses and the dogs, jeeps and cars....\")\n\nRichard and Karel were to spend two years as foreign workers in Germany. They worked their way across Poland into Czechoslovakia, then to Mannheim where they lived among Germans and worked in a German factory. Richard remembered \"sitting in a bloody German cinema, seeing _Baron M\u00fcnchhausen_ with Hans Albers \u2013 it was ridiculous, just ridiculous after Treblinka. We went quite mad.\"\n\nTheir madness manifested itself in recklessness, \"cocking a snook at the Germans\", he said, making \"a sport out of challenging them\", laughing aloud in public at the reports of military defeats, walking through the streets and smiling broadly during air-raid alerts. Once, by a truly shattering irony, the Mannheim welfare service offered them coats which were unwrapped in front of their eyes from appallingly familiar \"bundles tied up in sheets\". \"We thought we were going mad,\" Richard said again, but in a different way.\n\nBut there is a great deal more to the story of Richard Glazar's escape, and I feel it should be left to him to tell it in print one day. Equally, he may perhaps publish the \"Open Letter\" he wrote to Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Steiner after the publication of _Treblinka,_ in which he expressed the \"profound dismay felt by all the survivors at the politically or personally motivated misrepresentations [in that book] of real events and real people, most of them now dead and unable to defend themselves.\"\n\n\"No one at all could have got out of Treblinka,\" Richard said to me, \"if it hadn't been for the real heroes: those who, having lost their wives and children there, elected to fight it out so as to give the others a chance. Galewski \u2013 the 'camp elder'; Kapo Kurland who had worked in one of the most tragic places in this tragic place \u2013 the _Lazarett_ \u2013 an extraordinary man and the senior member of the revolutionary committee, to whom we prisoners swore an oath on the eve of the uprising; Sidowicz and Simcha from the carpentry shop; Standa Lichtblau, one of our Czech group, a mechanic by profession who worked in the garage and blew it up with the petrol tanks \u2013 the biggest, most important fire of the uprising; he died in it. And of course Zhelo Bloch who survived four hellish months to lead the revolt in the upper camp and who died in it. And finally Rudi Masarek; tall blond Rudi who of all the men in Treblinka would have had the best chance of getting away; he looked more German than the most 'Aryan' of the SS; he was better looking than their most carefully selected \u00e9lite soldiers. He had his mother in Czechoslovakia and could have gone back, eventually, to a life of ease and plenty. He had come to Treblinka, deliberately, because he loved someone else more than himself. He died, deliberately, for us.\"\n\n# 17\n\nWHEN STANGL described the steps he took to put down the revolt, he spoke without animosity and only in terms of strategy; one could in fact, detect in him, and in several of the former SS men I spoke with a measure of admiration for the insurgents.\n\n\"At the moment of the revolt,\" he said, \"we had about 840 Jews in the upper and lower camp. When the shooting stopped, after about ten minutes, we called out that those who wanted our protection were to assemble outside my quarters.\"\n\n(\"When it started,\" said Suchomel, \"Tchechia \u2013 you remember, the good-looking red-blonde \u2013 was working in the kitchen. SS, cleaners and kitchen-girls were all lying together on the floor in the passageways because they were shooting in, from outside. Tchechia was lying quite near me. I don't know whether she had known about the revolt in advance. I know that Wirth sometimes boasted that he had even got the Jews to kill each other. Well, I was there and I have never heard or seen one single instance of such a thing happening. Except, of course, there were Jewish informers, employed by K\u00fcttner, and Jews died because of them \u2013 that is true. But perhaps even there not many. But I do know that the notorious 'Kappowa' Paulinka gave away at least six Jews to K\u00fcttner. After the revolt she was found, with her head shattered, on the path where she had tried to escape to the upper camp. And they dealt with one other informer too; but those were the only cases I know of....\")\n\n\"More than a hundred reported to us when we called them,\" said Stangl. \"Meanwhile the security troops had surrounded the camp at a distance of five kilometres. And of course, they caught most of them.\"\n\n_\"Did they bring in the ones they caught?\"_\n\n\"Oh no, they shot them. Towards the end of the afternoon the figures began coming in. I had somebody sitting by the telephone taking them down and adding them up. By 5 or 6 o'clock it looked as if they had already caught forty more than ever escaped. I thought, 'My God, they are going to start shooting down Polskis next' \u2013 they were shooting at anything that moved....\"\n\nFranciszek Zabecki, the traffic controller at Treblinka station, was, of course, a witness of the uprising. He says that it began exactly at 3 p.m.\n\n\"I heard shooting and almost at the same time saw the fires. They burned till 6 p.m. The SS came to the mayor and told him that anyone who helped escapees would be shot at once. There were hundreds of troops around, almost immediately; people were so afraid to be taken for Jews, almost everybody stayed locked up in their houses. The troops shot on sight at anything that moved. One woman, Helen Sucha, hid a Jew: they took her up to the labour camp and she was never heard of again.\"\n\n\"Did Poles join German posses, as all the survivors have claimed they did?\"\n\n\"I think,\" said Zabecki, \"that people were far too afraid to be mistaken for Jews to venture out at all, but of course there may have been some; I myself didn't know any. I only know how happy we of the 'Conspiracy' were that the Jews were at last rebelling....\"\n\n\"I gave the order to stop shooting as soon as I realized they were shooting wildly at anything that moved,\" said Stangl. \"Yes, I remember exactly now: we had 105 left \u2013 that's right. I also gave the order at once that none of these 105 were to be killed. We had to stop these reprisal measures; they were what had made us hated by everybody. So nobody else was killed in Treblinka \u2013 certainly not while I was there....\"\n\n_\"The record appears to claim that the exterminations continued after the revolt? Perhaps after you left?\"_\n\n\"I don't think so. How could they have? Everything \u2013 all the facilities \u2013 had been burned down....\"\n\n(\"After the revolt and all the fires, of all things the gas chambers remained intact,\" said Suchomel. \"They were of brick. And Stangl said to me, 'The fools, why didn't they burn those down?' You know,\" he said, a little regretfully, \"Stangl was going to put the work-Jews to work outside the camp, in the peat bog; the new programme was to start on August 3, one day after the revolt. He intended to rebuild Treblinka, better than ever; he was going to have brick houses for the work-Jews. He already had building material lying there all ready when the order came to obliterate the camp \u2013 and then of course the decision to reassign most of the staff....\")\n\n\"They left me stewing for three weeks,\" said Stangl, \"before Globocnik sent for me. It was my hardest time. I was sure I'd get all the blame. But as soon as I entered the office, Globocnik said, 'You are transferred as of immediately to Trieste for anti-partisan combat.' I thought my bones would melt. I had been so sure they'd say I had done something wrong, and now I had on the contrary what I had always wanted; I was going to get out. And to Trieste too \u2013 near home.\n\n\"I went back to Treblinka, but I only stayed three or four days, just long enough to organize transport. The last day I had all the work-Jews who were left fall in, because I wanted to say goodbye to them. I shook hands with some of them. I heard about _that_ later too....\"\n\n(\"He assembled everybody\", said Suchomel, \"and told us that we were to go to Italy. He was overjoyed. You could see it....\")\n\n\"Paul wrote me right after the uprising,\" said Frau Stangl, \"although he didn't tell me there had been a revolt; he just said it was all over now. And later he wrote to say that he'd been transferred to Italy and how happy, how relieved he was to get out of there at last. I only heard about the revolt later....\"\n\nFranciszek Zabecki, who continued to make notes of everything that went in and out of Treblinka station, knows exactly what happened after that.\n\n\"After the revolt there were still transports from Bialystock. Thus, on August 18, 1943, came 'Pj 202' consisting of thirty-seven cars. The last transport for Treblinka came on August 19: 'Pj 204' from Bialystock with thirty-nine cars... \" Pj stood for transports of Polish Jews.\n\nThis was the point when the _Aktion Reinhard_ ended in Treblinka. All the buildings were demolished, lupins and pine trees were planted all over the site and a small farm was built from the bricks of the dismantled gas chambers.\n\n\"A Ukrainian called Strebel was put in the farmhouse,\" said Pan Zabecki. \"He received permission to send for his family from the Ukraine and they all lived there until the arrival of the Russians.\"\n\nGlobocnik confirmed the real function of the Ukrainian \"farmer\" in a report to Himmler dated Trieste, January 5,1944. \"For reasons of surveillance,\" he wrote,\" a small farm has been built on the sites of each of the [former] camps, the farm to be occupied by an expert to whom a regular income must be assured so as to enable him to maintain the farm.\"\n\n\"After the liquidation of the camp,\" said Pan Zabecki, \"five [railway] cars with prisoners [Jews] left Treblinka on October 20, 1943, for Sobibor\" (where they were to be killed soon afterwards).* The last twenty-five or thirty work-Jews in Treblinka \u2013 amongst them the three girls Suchomel spoke of \u2013 were killed a few days later. And shortly afterwards the remaining SS personnel left the camp-site in two lorries.\n\nThere have been conflicting reports of the number of people who were killed in Treblinka. The Polish authorities finally adopted the figure of 750,000. The West Germans raised their official estimate in early 1971 when new evidence emerged, to 900,000; and Stangl was sentenced on the basis of this new figure. Franciszek Zabecki has insisted from the very beginning that the numbers were much higher. I myself have always felt that the deeds and the numbers were so monstrous, the figures have become almost irrelevant: however many there were, each individual represents equally the crime, and the loss. But, even so, for the record I feel we should allow the last word to the man who is the only one still amongst us who was there from the very first day to the last.\n\n_\"I_ know,\" Franciszek Zabecki said to me, \"the others guess. There _were_ no German papers on which to base these estimates except those I rescued and hid \u2013 and they are inconclusive. But I stood there in that station day after day and counted the figures chalked on each carriage. I have added them up over and over and over. The number of people killed in Treblinka was 1,200,000, and there is no doubt about it whatever.\"\n\n* The uprising at Sobibor took place on October 14, so there, too, the killing continued after the revolt.\n\n# **Part IV**\n# 1\n\nMY CONVERSATIONS with Franz Stangl were in two parts \u2013 the first, seven days during April 1971, and the second, nine weeks later, in June. This gave me time to work on what he had told me in April and to see what else I would need, and allowed him to reflect \u2013 and to rest. By the time I left him in April, just before the Easter weekend, promising to return a few weeks later, I knew that in a curious way \u2013 and I say this with reflection \u2013 I had become his friend. It was, of course, a completely one-sided relationship. He knew nothing about me except my name and would never have dreamed of presuming to ask me any personal question. As he did not know my married name, he never even knew that it was my husband who came with me when I returned to D\u00fcsseldorf, to take the photographs for the article that was to appear in the _Daily Telegraph Magazine_ (some of which are reproduced in this book).\n\nDuring the nine weeks that had intervened, I had been as conscious of the possibility that he might choose to withdraw from these conversations, and even disavow what he had already said, as I was of the enormous emotional and physical strain they had put on him. And I had sent him several messages through the prison governor, Herr Eberhard Mies, to say that I would indeed be coming back quite soon. Herr Mies, his wife and, it seemed to me, all the officers of the prison (and many other people in Germany) had become intensely interested in what these conversations would produce, and the governor, who is not ordinarily in personal touch with individual prisoners, had made a point of making sure that Stangl received my messages. None the less, Stangl's first words to me in June \u2013 reassuring to me in the context of my interest, but indicative of his state of mind \u2013 were, both in wording and tone of voice, a reproach.\n\n\"I've been expecting you every day; I've waited for you,\" he said at once \u2013 instead of bowing or saying _\"Gr\u00fcss Gott_ \", as had been his custom. We needed to make sure that the cell was suitable for photography so it was there that we met at nine o'clock that Monday morning. He was wearing a suit and a meticulously laundered white shirt, but no tie \u2013 it was obvious he hadn't quite finished dressing. He bowed. \"I'll be ready in five minutes,\" he said and withdrew into his cell.\n\n\"He's been cleaning, tidying his cell since six this morning,\" said the officer who waited with us in the corridor.\n\nThe photography, to which he had of course agreed, and which was essential for the magazine presentation, had worried me a good deal \u2013 the relationship I had established between Stangl and myself was both subtle and exclusive, and very vulnerable, I feared, to intrusion.\n\nThe photographer would have to photograph him as neutrally \u2013 as basically unemotionally \u2013 as I was trying to _talk_ with him, and would also need the ability to make himself totally unobtrusive.\n\nStangl, for whom \u2013 as for many other people \u2013 being photographed had a kind of status significance, was determined to \"pose\" for these photographs in his well-cared-for grey suit; it was only after a few such photographs had been taken, and with a good deal of persuasion, that he agreed to a less artificial approach, exchanged the coat for a cardigan and \u2013 later still \u2013 took off his tie.\n\nThat day was an important stage within this experience as a whole, not only because the photographs turned out to be extremely revealing, but also because it was to be the only opportunity I had to see Stangl's bearing with and towards his fellow-prisoners.\n\nConfirming the prison officers' opinion that despite his new opportunities to associate with others, he was a \"loner\", he had already told me that the only other prisoner he sometimes talked with \u2013 had anything to say to \u2013 was the man in the cell next to his. Like himself, this man was a long-term inmate awaiting appeal, also there because of, as Stangl put it, \" _NS-Sachen_ \" (Nazi-crime things). But he had shown little interest even towards this man (who, when asked the day after Stangl's death whether he would be willing to talk to me about Stangl, sent a message that he \"really hardly knew him, had hardly talked to him and felt he had nothing to contribute\").\n\nOn our way to the interview room, after finishing the photographs in and in front of his cell, we passed several working parties. Some of the men, waving their brooms or whatever implements they carried, made jocular or snide remarks. \"Why don't you come and photograph back there in the shithouse where _we_ live \u2013 that would be edifying for the good citizens\" \u2013 \"How much do you pay for posing? I'll pose for you any time.\" \u2013 \"What one obviously has to do to get photographed for the papers,\" one man murmured darkly under his breath as I passed, \"is to murder half a million Jews.\" Others, with a great show of hilarity, called out to Stangl in a variety of dialects, \"You looked _great_ \u2013 cute \u2013 very elegant\" \u2013 \"Make them pay through the nose \u2013 these newspaper people are all moguls ( _Bonzen_ )\" \u2013 \"Going to have caviar and champagne now? Have some for me.\"\n\nIt was interesting to see that the rather lofty attitude he usually displayed towards at least some of the prison officers \u2013 the younger ones \u2013 gave way to a forced, almost ingratiating kind of camaraderie, born, one felt immediately, of a mixture of fear and need; so much so that when we reached the room there was a set smile on his face, so stiff and determined, it was several minutes before his face returned to normal.\n\nBy the end of the seven hours we spent talking that day, we had re-established and indeed deepened our original \"contact\". He had repeated \u2013 in a slightly modified tone \u2013 his question why I hadn't come back sooner, and I had explained, and then read to him, translating as I went along, a good deal of the first draft I had already written. Above all \u2013 without making any concessions to him \u2013 every single thing he had said on the most sensitive subjects: his parents, his wife and children, the Euthanasia Programme, Sobibor and Treblinka. He readily recapitulated many of the points I raised, and although photographs were taken throughout, he became unaware of the photographer's presence.\n\n\"There is so much \u2013 there are so many more things we need to talk about,\" he said that afternoon. \"I have done nothing but think while I was waiting for you to come back.\"\n\nMy professional interest notwithstanding, it had been important to me not to persuade or fatigue this man into disclosing more about himself than he wished to. If the sum total of what he could tell, and possibly teach us, was to be valid and of real value, I felt he had to offer it freely, and in full possession of all his faculties.\n\nHe had brought a book from his cell, and his hands, holding it \u2013 for the first time since I knew him \u2013 trembled. \"This woman came to see me while you were away,\" he said. \"She sent a message that she was from the Red Cross and could she talk to me, so I said, 'Certainly, why not?' She had apparently looked after witnesses who came from abroad to testify at my trial and she brought this book; she wanted me to read it and let her know what I think of it. She said the author, Janusz Korczak, who wrote it when he was twenty-eight \u2013 had been a very talented pediatrician in Warsaw. His real name, she said, was Henryk Goldszmidt or something like that. She said that shortly after he had written this book, he gave up his lucrative practice and dedicated the rest of his life to the children of the Warsaw Jewish orphanage. She said he came to Treblinka with the two hundred orphans \u2013 he was seventy-five years old then \u2013 and died there with them. She asked me, 'What did you feel when you saw these children?' I said I didn't remember any two hundred children. She said, 'You _must_ remember them \u2013 you can't have forgotten two hundred children. Didn't you _feel_ anything \u2013 how could you not feel anything?' \" he looked distraught. \"I thought and thought about it,\" he said, \"but I just don't remember a group of children like that \u2013 a school \u2013 an orphanage....\"\n\n# 2\n\nSAMUEL RAJZMAN, the Treblinka survivor who lives in Montreal, told me about this visitor who had caused Stangl to question himself about the children. Frau Kramer, a remarkable German woman who has worked for years in D\u00fcsseldorf for the Society of Christians and Jews, and for the Red Cross, acting as hostess to the survivors who are brought to Germany for the NS trials, has become a friend to numerous people who never thought they would ever again wish to call a German a friend.\n\nThe Rajzmans, obviously prosperous and well established in Canada, live in a quiet residential district of Montreal; a wide tree-shaded street, large cars, nice brownstone houses. Mr Rajzman, who was the only Treblinka survivor to testify at Nuremberg, at the Polish Treblinka trial, and subsequently at the Treblinka and Stangl trials in D\u00fcsseldorf, conducts his flourishing lumber business from an office in his Montreal flat. He and his wife are a quiet gentle couple who found each other after the war during which they had both lost everyone they loved. The story he told about his own little girl illustrated hauntingly how utterly helpless parents were to protect their children.\n\nIn July 1942, he, his first wife and their twelve-year-old daughter lived in the Warsaw ghetto. \"I knew what was happening,\" he said. \"Many people knew, but most of them wanted to pretend they didn't. I knew for certain because, only ten days before I was finally taken [August 27, 1942], a young man called Friedmann came back from Treblinka hidden under rags.* His escape had been carefully arranged so as to have somebody come back to bring us the truth; to warn us. But nobody believed him. It was perfectly extraordinary. But I _did._ \" (Another source tells how this young man besought the ghetto elders to believe him and how finally they said he was overwrought and needed a rest which they would arrange for him in the ghetto clinic. The President of the Jewish Council in the Warsaw ghetto, Dr Adam Czerniakow, had in fact killed himself one month earlier when the number of Jews he had to make available for \"resettlement\" was increased from six to seven thousand a day. In view of the terrible posthumous criticism to which the Ghetto Council officials have been subjected, one should, I think, question just what action was open to them apart from rejection of reality.) \"My wife and I,\" said Samuel Rajzman, \"had only one thought: to hide our little girl. In the street where both my wife and I worked at a factory, was a cellar. And in that cellar was a coal-bunker. We took about twenty children and hid them in there and locked the door. Even though we were considered essential workers, the Gestapo came the next day and we were all driven to the assembly square.\" After two days \u2013 the transports were frequently kept waiting \u2013 Mr Rajzman managed to get away and immediately went to the cellar where they had left the children. \"The door was open and the children were gone. A neighbour said the Germans had come the day before and taken them.\"\n\nHis one thought now was to get back to the square. \"After all, it was possible the children could still be there.\" He had a \"Polish\" friend, he said \u2013 obviously a man who held some kind of official position \u2013 and this man went with him to help. The miracle happened \u2013 the children were still on the square. \"We managed to get my little girl and a boy whose parents were friends of ours out, and we took them back to our factory. They stayed hidden there for some days \u2013 but in the end they took them anyway.... Since that day\", said Mr Rajzman, \"I cannot bear to look at a child \u2013 above all, I cannot bear to look at German children. It is not their fault \u2013 I know \u2013 but when I was in Germany to testify, every time I saw a little girl \u2013 I thought of mine. I will never go there again. I cannot understand Jews who survived Treblinka,\" he said, \"and then married non-Jewish women... even Germans. That is why it is so extraordinary for us to feel as we do about Frau Kramer. When we met her we were as suspicious of her as all the others; but she convinced us; she gave us back something we had lost; we really love her; she is a valuable \u2013 a really valuable human being....\"\n\nThey showed me a letter they had received from Frau Kramer in which, after writing at length about her own family, she reports on the visit she paid to Stangl in prison.\n\n\"I went to see him\", she wrote, \"with this beautiful book by Janusz Korczak. I told him that we'd seen each other so often across the courtroom, I wanted at last to speak to him.\" She said that she had asked after his health and his family and that she had told him she wanted to talk to him as a human being, to tell him how someone like herself \u2013 who had had nothing to do with it, no axe to grind either way \u2013 had felt about Treblinka and to ask him to tell her how he could have done what he did. \"He said nothing,\" she wrote, \"but his colour changed and he bowed his head. Just then \u2013 at a most unfortunate moment \u2013 the prison chaplain [who was present because she was not allowed to see Stangl alone] no doubt meaning well, intervened, and this, I think, gave Stangl the opportunity to get a hold of himself and then he recited once again all the justifications we have heard so often. I left,\" she said. But she thought she had left behind a badly shaken man....\n\n* This was evidently before trains packed with the victims' effects were sent out of Treblinka. The first of these, according to Richard Glazar, left at the end of October. There is no authenticated escape from Treblinka except this young man, in August, and the two others mentioned by Glazar, two months later.\n\n# 3\n\nTHE MAIN reason why Frau Kramer's approach to Stangl failed (although, as we can see, she did succeed in shaking him) was because her information was incorrect. She tackled him not on his general conduct or attitude, but specifically about Janusz Korczak and his orphans, and in fact Stangl was not at Treblinka when they reached the camp on August 4 or 7 1942. (There are so many stories about Dr Korczak and his little orphans \u2013 so many of them contradicting each other as far as bare facts are concerned \u2013 that the exact date when he and these children were killed cannot be ascertained. What appears certain is that Stangl wasn't there, and therefore couldn't possibly have known about this.)\n\n\"There was no specific 'children-transport' after I got to Treblinka,\" said Suchomel, who arrived there on August 24. \"What is true,\" he said, \"is that towards the middle of October K\u00fcttner picked out ten or twelve boys from a transport and assigned them as orderlies for the ghetto camp; they had their own Kapo. However, when this boy was caught giving gold coins to a Ukrainian, K\u00fcttner sent all the boys into the gas \u2013 they weren't in the camp more than three weeks.\"\n\nThe above affair, as well as another involving children, was laid at Stangl's door by two imaginative novelists. One of them described Stangl (by name) as \"playing with these children by the hour\", dressing them up, getting them special delicacies and, when they \"no longer amused him, with total indifference and a wave of the hand\" ordering them into the gas chamber. In another novel, a similar situation was invented with similar irresponsibility, although not involving Stangl. This time the passing passion for a group of little boys was ascribed to a homosexual (the previously named Max Biele or Bielas*) who, according to the author, had a special miniature barrack with miniature beds, night-tables and candlesticks built, in a special rustic setting and kept the boys as a personal harem until he, too, got tired of them and had them killed. It does seem extraordinary that novelists find it necessary to invent such tales when the appalling truth is surely far more \"dramatic.\"\n\nStangl's non-involvement in this particular sort of horror is confirmed by the most credible of witnesses, Richard Glazar, who says, briefly: \"Stangl had no boy orderlies.\"\n\nStangl claimed that Frau Kramer had told him that people in Germany weren't buying Janusz Korczak's book (with which he had obviously become fascinated) and that she couldn't understand why not, and would be interested to know what _he_ thought the reason was. \"I've studied it,\" he said, opening the big book with its lovely illustrations at a page he had marked with a piece of paper torn out of a notebook. \"I know why they don't want to buy it. Now listen to this...\" and he read aloud from the fairy tale in the book. \"... 'When a soldier gets an order, he must obey it. He must not ask questions, he must not hesitate, and must not think: he must obey.' \" He closed the book. \"Of course parents here don't want their children to read this. I told that woman that if I liked the book I might even buy it myself as a present for my grandson in Brazil. But I am not buying it. I don't want my little grandson to read this either. That is exactly the sort of thing they must not read, ever again.\"\n\n(Interestingly enough \u2013 although I was at a loss to find an explanation for it \u2013 Frau Kramer told me later that she had never asked him what he thought the reason was for people in Germany not buying the book. Perhaps he had invented her request \u2013 possibly, we thought, to justify an intellectual exercise for himself; or else, more likely, he had misunderstood something she said, although she couldn't imagine what it might have been.)\n\nAfter we had gone over several of the points we had previously discussed, Stangl said he wanted to tell me about Trieste. He had obviously looked forward to recounting this inoffensive part of his story, and during the first forty-eight hours of that week spoke so quickly that at times I had difficulty following the innumerable details. It was as if he wanted to compress the whole time of the war into the time he had spent in Italy and Yugoslavia; as if by crowding ever more words at ever greater speed into this part of his story, he could force out of existence all the other words he had spoken, all the awful scenes he had relived.\n\n\"I went there in convoy,\" he said \"with Globocnik, Wirth and 120 other men, ten of them from Treblinka; five non-commissioned officers, and five Ukrainians, and it was to be a very different life.* Also in part, because I had finally managed to get rid of the sword of Damocles that Prohaska and Linz represented to me: in the spring of that year [1943] I had applied to Blankenburg at the F\u00fchrer Chancellery [significantly enough, no longer to T4], requesting that my home station be changed from Linz to Vienna. And in September, very soon after I arrived in Trieste, I heard that this request had been granted and that as of September 1 I was attached to Kripo HQ (CID), Vienna. [One must assume that this manoeuvre was not to escape from Prohaska, but was a considered, and rather intelligent, move to alter the record which established him as belonging to the Linz Gestapo.]\n\n\"My first assignment in Trieste and for the first three months, to December, was 'Transport Security'. I realized quite well,\" he said, \"and so did most of us, that we were an embarrassment to the brass: they wanted to find ways and means to 'incinerate' us. So we were assigned the most dangerous jobs \u2013 anything to do with anti-partisan combat in that part of the world was very perilous. Our new baby,\" he said, \"was born the first week of January, and I was granted compassionate leave. Reichleitner, who had been on leave over Christmas, was to take over my functions while I was away. I drove from Udine with Franz H\u00f6ldl (a name which \u2013 again quite significantly \u2013 was to crop up later in Frau Stangl's account) and met Reichleitner briefly in Wirth's office in the Via Martine in Trieste, in the afternoon. I was leaving the next morning. But in the middle of the night someone routed me out of bed with the news that Reichleitner had been killed on a patrol that evening and my leave was cancelled.\n\n\"I got twenty-five men and we scoured the whole valley all night. There wasn't any sense to it: it poured, it was pitch-dark, there could have been a partisan behind every tree and we wouldn't have known or found them. In fact the next morning we heard that at 8 o'clock the night before, partisans had marched singing through a village; everybody hid them \u2013 they were safe as houses.\"\n\nIn February \u2013 by this time he was stationed in Fiume \u2013 it appears that Globocnik called him to HQ in Trieste and told him that he was approving a two-week home leave for him. \"He said, 'I've found the best car for you; go home and look after your wife. But the condition is that you go and visit my fianc\u00e9e in Klagenfurt.' She was a big blonde,\" said Stangl, \"she worked at the hospital. 'I've already ordered roses and all that for you to take,' said Globocnik. I left at once. It was snowing....\"\n\nAnd it would appear that Globocnik, for this very special private commission, provided Stangl with more than \"the best car\" and roses.\n\n\"Paul came home on leave at the end of February, beginning of March 1944,\" said Frau Stangl. \"It was very cold. My baby had been born in January and I'd had a very difficult time \u2013 I was in bed. He came, and he brought along a lorry full of things \u2013 from the General, he said: priceless things like blankets, down comforters, linen \u2013 it was like Christmas in March.* Paul stayed about a week, I think. I really don't know what his work was in Italy, though he told me they had ordered him to be on the lookout for Jews there, too. But he said to me he wouldn't do it. 'What do they think I am?' he said. 'A headhunter? They can leave me out of this now.' [And Suchomel, who was also by then in Trieste, quotes Stangl as saying the same words to him.] No,\" said Frau Stangl, \"I don't think he had anything more to do with this Jewish business. After that leave, he didn't come back for a year \u2013 he was very ill for a while in Trieste \u2013 they sent him to hospital. He had big blue spots all over \u2013 they didn't know why.\" (Later it was found that whatever else he had at that time, he had also had a first heart attack.)\n\nDuring the two full days Stangl talked about his activities in Italy, he only mentioned the death of Wirth in passing. \"I saw him dead,\" he said. \"They said partisans killed him but we thought his own men had taken care of him.\" (All histories of the time refer to Wirth as \"presumed dead\"; Stangl's statement, therefore, must be considered the only one made by an eye-witness.)\n\n\"My biggest and longest assignment in Italy,\" he said, \"was as special supply officer for the _Einsatz Poll._\u2020 I was responsible for getting everything; shoes, clothes, food. I was the only one who went about in civilian clothes. Everybody, army and SS, had to help me. I carried a paper signed by the General stating that 'Hauptsturmf\u00fchrer Stangl is authorized to act in uniform or civvies and all services are requested to give him every assistance in the execution of his command'. Globocnik told me, 'Buy whatever you need; money is no object.' I had a man with me who had nothing to do except carry trunks with cash... millions....\"\n\nSuchomel confirms all this. The _Einsatz Poll_ he says, \"was the camouflage-name for the fortification of Istria \u2013 the workers were Italians under German command. And the whole thing was under General SS Globocnik whose main job was to provide everything needed in the way of materials. Whatever couldn't be obtained legally, as for instance petrol, tyres, fabrics for uniforms, etc, was bought on the black market.\" Suchomel talked about this part of Stangl's activities with particular reference to Stangl's later escape. \"Through his activities in Udine and especially in Venice-Mestre and Treviso, Stangl had many contacts amongst Italians,\" he said. \"As I know myself and can testify, he helped a great many people in Italy for which activities in fact a disciplinary action was brought against him [Stangl told me about this]. Stangl and his _Einsatz Poll_ staff had a lot of Italian touts, including people from the Italian nobility. In the end practically everything there had to be done through the black market. And he may well have used these connections later to get out. After all, he was aware for a long time before it actually happened that the war was lost. And it's quite possible that he and Gustl Wagner, with whom he was very close, were already looking into possibilities for hiding out or getting away....\"\n\n* Who did exist, and \u2013 a unique case \u2013 was killed by a prisoner on September 11, 1942.\n\n* All the members of the Aktion Reinhard were transferred to Trieste \u2013 their third and last transfer as a group.\n\n* Later she was to write denigrating these gifts.\n\n\u2020 Strategic construction project in the Po valley involving 500,000 workers.\n\n# 4\n\nIT IS mostly from Frau Stangl that I learnt about their two years following the end of the war. Stangl himself (although I had intended to question him a little further on this subject, the only one I felt we had not sufficiently discussed) was not particularly interested in talking about this period; especially not about the weeks before he was finally imprisoned by the Americans as an SS officer.\n\n\"I had moved with the children to the mountains,\" said Frau Stangl. \"To Lembach \u2013 that was in August 1944 when the bombings got very bad in Wels. We stayed there with the headmaster of the school \u2013 they had been friends of ours. Well, we _thought_ they were friends; most of our 'friends' remained our friends only so long as Paul had a 'position' \u2013 they changed faces pretty quickly when he was out in the cold.\n\n\"Anyway, it was towards the end of the war that Paul had fallen so ill \u2013 you remember, I told you, he had fever and these blue or black spots all over his body* and the doctors didn't know what it was. This illness often hit people who had been in the _Afrika Korps._ He was in the field hospital in Trieste or Fiume and when he recovered was given orders to report to Berlin. When he got there, there was nobody left in the Reichssicherheitshauptamt [Main Reichs Security Office] to report to; things were in an unholy mess. He finally managed to get a lift to Hof [on the border between Germany and Czechoslovakia] and then came on foot to Austria \u2013 he got to us in Lembach at the last moment, with the Americans and Russians almost upon us. He said he would try to get himself reassigned to the police in Linz \u2013 and he went there. But they didn't want to know \u2013 they said his whole section had been transferred to Vienna and that's where he now belonged. So he made his way to Vienna, but there too everybody had gone, fled, everything was in disarray. So \u2013 believe it or not \u2013 he went back to Berlin; he thought if at least he could get an official paper saying that he belonged to the Vienna police.... He didn't go to T4 \u2013 he went straight to the CID offices, but there wasn't anybody there either. So he came back to Lembach....\"\n\n(It seems unlikely that Stangl would have made such desperate attempts to get some sort of valid document \u2013 and would have been so naively convinced that such a document could save him \u2013 if he had prepared his retreat in advance with the help of some individuals or organization, as has generally been assumed.)\n\n\"Our flat in Wels\", said Frau Stangl, \"had been bombed and afterwards burgled, and we had very little left of our possessions. But I said, 'Get out of this uniform; get into a pair of the headmaster's trousers \u2013 put on civvies and stay here. Here we can hide you: it would be best.' But he said no, if he took the uniform off, the Gauleiter would find out and he'd be hanged as a deserter even at this late date. Yes, the Gauleiter was still sitting in Linz. Anyway, Paul went off and we stayed in Lembach. Later I found out that he had gone to Ebernsee near Salzburg, to his mother. And from there he went to stay with a man in a village on the Attersee \u2013 a police officer we had sometimes stayed with on holidays. It was there he was denounced to the Americans. Perhaps not by that policeman himself \u2013 though I thought it was probably him \u2013 but he claimed it was one of his underlings who told the Americans that there was an SS officer at the house. And they came to get him right away. But I knew nothing of this at the time. I was just terrified at the thought of what might be happening to him. One night somebody came and said there was an SS officer lying buried down in the valley. There was shooting everywhere, but I slipped out in the night, through the woods, down to the place that had been described, and I dug and dug in the earth until I reached that corpse and I felt his face and hair. It was pitch dark, I had no light, and anyway I wouldn't have dared light even a match. But I knew \u2013 my hands knew it wasn't Paul. So I covered him up again and climbed back up to the little house where we were staying. A couple of weeks later I couldn't stand it any more and I decided to go look for him. By that time we knew that the Americans had started to gather people up in camps \u2013 some for ordinary soldiers, some for SS; and then others in Polish dp [Displaced Persons] camps. I decided just to go from camp to camp, making my way in the direction of where his mother lived, because I did think he just might be there.\n\n\"It was quite something; I left the children with the teachers in Lembach and started out, on foot of course \u2013 there wasn't anything else. I walked from camp to camp; some of the Americans were nice, others less. In the end I never did dare to go to the Polish camps, although I had heard that there were soldiers hiding out in those too. Anyway, one day I got to Bad Ischl [near Salzburg] and went to the CIC [US Counter-Intelligence Corps] there; there weren't any Americans in there, only Austrians. I said that I was looking for my husband who had been an SS officer and that his name was Franz Stangl. And the man I was talking to said at once, 'Oh yes, he's here. We'll get him for you' \u2013 just like that. I thought I'd faint. Anyway, then he came. We couldn't talk much, but at least he was alive. The prison where he was, was awful. I never saw it, but he told me \u2013 it was a real cage. But never mind, at least I knew where he was. I went back to Lembach and not long after that he was transferred to the huge camp at Glasenbach. Then the Russians were getting very close to where we were and I took the children back to Wels....\"\n\n\"Glasenbach,\" Stangl told me, \"was really a conglomeration of six different camps with different categories of prisoners, 18,000 to 20,000 altogether. Some were housed in barracks, others in former 'boat-houses', still others in temporary buildings. It was pretty rough, for a long time. I was in Barrack XVI, with 2,000 men. [Frau Stangl said Barrack xviii.] From July 1945 to May 1946 we slept on the floor \u2013 there were neither bunks nor blankets. Then in May we got permission to build wooden frames with planks, and we lay on those. In the winter of 1946 we built sort of wooden chests in which we slept; in the spring of 1947 we were able to build a stove and after that it really did get better \u2013 we got bunks, blankets and were allowed parcels....\"\n\n\"It was a long time before I could begin bringing anything to Paul in Glasenbach,\" said Frau Stangl. \"When we first got back to Wels and to our house, our neighbour opened her door and shouted that I wasn't allowed in \u2013 the 'Amis' [Americans] she said, had locked it up and requisitioned it. And anyway, they'd taken out everything that was in it. So I took the children to a friend and went right away to the American HQ. They said they certainly had not requisitioned our home, nor did they have the key. It was just as I'd suspected. That woman had always wanted my flat. I asked the Americans to send a soldier back with me and they did \u2013 in a jeep. The soldier went to the neighbour and all he said was one word, _'Schl\u00fcssel'_ [key], and off she went to get it.\n\n\"It was true enough, there was practically nothing left; bare bedboards, a couple of chairs, that was about all. But we managed. First we slept on the floor, then friends lent us blankets, and then, one day not long after, the neighbour's door happened to be open when I passed by, and I saw my carpet on the floor. Before she had time to shut the door I was in; I went through that flat with a fine-tooth comb; I found our eiderdowns, our bed linen, pots and pans, and all our china. She screamed at me. She said, 'You can't take any of that; the Americans gave it to me.' Well, maybe they did, but I didn't believe it, and anyway, I didn't care. You know, that woman \u2013 the day the Nazis marched into Wels, she had run out of her house, knelt on the ground, opened her arms wide towards the soldiers marching past and screamed, 'Oh, my F\u00fchrer, my F\u00fchrer.' The whole of Wels had reacted like that. Of all the women I knew, I was the only one who had refused to join the Frauenschaft and the Party. In my situation now, you know, it really makes no difference whether I was or wasn't a Nazi. One way or the other I stand and fall with the man I loved, whatever he did. I don't even want it any other way. But that was the truth. And I wasn't going to let that woman rob me and my children for whom I was now entirely responsible.\n\n\"After this we had a very very hard time; we had terribly little money, only the little I had saved. We got very hungry. I used to go out to pick apples and hike around the farms to scrounge what I could from the peasants. But things went from bad to worse, and it was absolutely essential for me to find work. I finally managed to get an office job in a distillery, Bartl & Co. Hinterschweigergasse, in Wels. In fact it was quite interesting \u2013 I ended up doing quite a bit of their fruit-buying. I didn't earn vast sums, but at least enough to eat modestly, though even then we were often hungry. The children's health had begun to suffer \u2013 they were ten, nine and just under two years old. They'd come every afternoon to pick me up at work and almost every day my heart would sink when I saw them at the gate, looking pale, wan and often freezing cold. Paul tried to help; he made slippers and bags out of old military coats \u2013 God knows how he got hold of them, but the finished articles were very good; he'd send them to me in a big package once a month and I sold them. It turned into quite a thriving little business. The wives of other men who were with him in Glasenbach heard from their husbands that Paul was making these things, and they came to me, from as far away as Vienna, to buy them. It really helped.\n\n\"As soon as the trains worked again, I went to Glasenbach every week to bring him food parcels; I was so regular with my visits, other wives who couldn't go so often, gave me parcels for their men. [The round trip took about six hours.] But I never saw Paul in the two and a half years he was in that camp. I didn't see him until after he was handed over to the Austrians and sent to prison in Linz. After that I was able to see him every week. At first only in the presence of a guard \u2013 the Austrians, as you know, were always more Catholic than the Pope about their attitude towards Nazis \u2013 _after_ the war; they were frightfully strict in that prison.\"\n\n* Not unknown as a symptom of intense emotional stress.\n\n# 5\n\nIT APPEARS that the Americans interned Stangl simply because he had been a member of the SS. The routine examination revealed his anti-partisan activities in Italy and Yugoslavia, and he was asked no questions about any other war or prewar assignments.\n\nMuch has been written since then about the American occupation authorities and their investigation of Nazi criminals and crimes, a great deal of it critical in one way or another. And it is true that the political attitude of some of the American _civilian_ authorities, reflecting as it did that of important factions in the State Department, was often neither consistent nor, to go even further, morally defensible. It is equally true, however, that the occupation authorities were faced with problems of such magnitude as to be almost insuperable (not unlike those confronting the International Red Cross and, to some extent, the Vatican).\n\nAs I saw for myself when working for UNRRA in Germany from the spring of 1945, the American fighting troops who first took over, while naturally inexperienced in the complexities of European history and politics, lacked nothing in moral indignation at what they found in Germany and elsewhere and were determined to \"lock 'em up first and ask questions later\". They were, however, faced with an incredible medley of potential prisoners of war, many of them disguised as civilians, and of displaced persons of all nationalities. To make sense of the stories they were told, they would have needed literally thousands of meticulously trained investigators fluent in many foreign languages and commanding a wide knowledge of recent European political history. In such an intractable situation, any high degree of efficiency was unobtainable, however strong the will to see justice done.\n\nA few months after the end of the war, additional conflict was introduced by a shift in the situation which had been neither foreseen nor guarded against. The fighting troops were very soon replaced by occupation personnel, men who had not experienced the discoveries made by the armies that had actually entered German-held territories at the end of the war. These men, on the whole, had a different attitude towards the Germans, towards other Europeans, whether in Germany or elsewhere, and towards displaced persons, whether Christians or Jews, former slave-workers or concentration-camp prisoners. There were, of course, some specialists among them \u2013 mostly of European origin \u2013 who were extremely well informed and dealt fairly with all concerned (or not, depending on the extent of their prejudices), but on the whole the US personnel soon felt considerably more sympathy for the Germans than for their victims. For the latter they often manifested a condescension bordering on insolence, and a distrust in their individual and collective integrity which \u2013 not surprisingly \u2013 made many perfectly honourable displaced persons resort to the very behaviour which they knew they were suspected of anyway.\n\nTo the demoralization of the displaced persons was added with the passing of time the \"amoralization\" of the occupation personnel, whose black-market activities in cigarettes, medical supplies, food and transport were soon nothing short of staggering.\n\nThe moral quagmire was even more complex in Austria than it was in Germany. There the psychological difficulties of the occupying forces were increased by the fact that Austria, manifestly an \"enemy\" in the war, had been declared a \"liberated country\" \u2013 a triumph for the Austrian Nazis, which caused bitter disillusionment for those who had suffered at their hands, and total bewilderment for the occupying troops.\n\nIn such circumstances anyone who wished to draw a veil over his Nazi activities could do so without the least difficulty, and Stangl's belief that some sort of last-minute documentation from Berlin, Linz or Vienna might save him turned out to be not quite as na\u00efve as it had appeared. Even without such documentation, there was still the touching faith displayed by the occupation forces in questionnaires, which could be filled in with convenient dishonesty by anyone able to put pen to paper.\n\nIn a letter to me written after our conversations in Brazil, Frau Stangl says: \"I remember now that in the autumn of 1945 two men from the CIC came to see me; one was very ugly with bad teeth, the other was quite nice. The ugly one said, 'I know your husband from Lublin; he was in Sobibor and Treblinka; I have reported it; he is as good as dead.' And then they searched the house and took everything there still was belonging to my husband, and left. They knew my husband was at Glasenbach \u2013 I think they were looking for some sort of proof and because they didn't find anything, they just went away and I never heard from them again.\" There was, of course, no reason for Frau Stangl to invent this incident, which therefore indicates either that people could pose as CIC officials and get away with it,* or \u2013 even worse \u2013 that the American authorities, or some individuals working for them, knew in 1945 that they were holding in Glasenbach the former Kommandant of Sobibor and Treblinka.\n\nIt is quite possible that if Stangl had not originally been posted to Schloss Hartheim, he would never have attracted attention (even though, by 1947, Treblinka had come up repeatedly during the Nuremberg trials). The Austrians began their investigation of the Euthanasia Programme at Schloss Hartheim and discovered, as a result of a circular to Allied prisoner-of-war camps that Stangl was at Glasenbach. In the late summer of 1947 they requested he be handed over to them for trial and he was transferred to a civilian prison in Linz.\n\n* A letter from Frau Stangl shortly before this book went to press confirms her story about the CIC. \"I examined their papers,\" she writes. \"I have no doubt whatever that they were genuine.\"\n\n# 6\n\n\"BY THIS time our situation in Wels had also somewhat improved,\" said Frau Stangl. \"A young Hungarian girl, Maritza Rubinstein, had been billeted on me a few months before. [Later Frau Stangl corrected this name. \"Maritza's name,\" she wrote, \"was Lebovitch or something like that \u2013 her mother's maiden name was Rubinstein. I remembered this after you left.\"]\n\n\"First they were going to send me a rabbi, but I went to see the priest and begged him to intercede for me; I was quite prepared to have any number of women, but a man, in that small flat with the four of us, it just seemed impossible. Anyway, they relented and sent me Maritza \u2013 and she saved our lives I think. She worked at the US library in Wels and had UNRRA ration tickets; so she gave them to us and herself ate at the US officers' mess; that's how I was able to feed the children that terrible year. Even so, the two older ones got TB; the little one, thank God, sailed through it all healthy as a cricket. Later I got her into a kindergarten. Maritza \u2013 I wish I knew where she is now, she used to call me _Muttilein_ \u2013 she was a wonderful, wonderful girl. Yes, I told her that my husband had been in the SS and in a camp. She had been imprisoned, at Mauthausen I think. When I told her, she said, 'Show me his photograph. Then I'll know whether I've met up with him.' But she hadn't. And we became friends....\"\n\n(The fact that Maritza Lebovitch who was billeted on Frau Stangl worked at the US library is incidentally interesting because it throws light on the origin of one item of misinformation concerning Frau Stangl that has appeared in print. On page 313 of Simon Wiesenthal's _The Murderers Are Among Us,_ he says, \"After her husband's escape, Frau Stangl had found a job \u2013 at the local American Library.\"\n\n\"I have never in my life worked in an American library,\" Frau Stangl commented on this. \"How could I have? I can't speak English.\")\n\n\"But after Maritza had lived with us for a year or so, the arrangement became impossible; if I was to continue working \u2013 and I _had_ to work \u2013 I had to have help with the children. So I found a maid and Maritza moved out.\n\n\"It wasn't long after that, that the Hartheim trial began, in Linz. And one day I read in the paper that it was said at the trial that Franz Stangl had been police chief at Hartheim, and of course what had been done there. I went to see Paul, with the paper in my hand. By this time he had been moved to an open prison and was working in a construction gang. In this prison many prisoners \u2013 Paul too \u2013 had single rooms and they allowed us to be alone for as long as we liked. It really _was_ 'open' \u2013 we could go for walks and everything. He could have walked out of there any time he chose. Anyway, I showed him the paper and said, 'Is this true? But then, why didn't you tell me? Didn't you know I'd stand by you?' He said, 'I didn't want to burden you with it.'\n\n\"Well, I must tell the truth: however really terrible I felt about the people they killed in Treblinka and Sobibor, I didn't feel like that about Hartheim. He told me all about it that day; who they were, how ill they were; how nobody could be killed without the four certificates from the doctors. I never knew exactly how these killings were done \u2013 not in Poland either; I somehow thought they assembled people and then exploded a gas-bomb. I thought at Hartheim they had given them injections. But I often imagined how I would have felt if I had had a baby who was so terribly abnormal; I know I would have loved it as much, perhaps even more than my normal children and yet...no, I cannot say in all honesty that I felt as badly about Hartheim....\n\n\"Not long after this talk with Paul, I asked my boss for a day off and went to the Hartheim trial. I was lucky because just that day they heard testimony from a man \u2013 I think his name was Hartl or H\u00f6ldl who had been a driver at Hartheim [the same H\u00f6ldl, no doubt, who Stangl said drove him in Trieste]; I remember, he had a finger missing on one hand. And someone, one of the prosecutors I think, asked him, 'And what about Franz Stangl? What did he do at Hartheim?' And he answered, 'He had nothing to do with the killings; he was only responsible for police matters.' I can't tell you how relieved I was. After all, it was only a coincidence that I was in court that day. Nobody, not even Paul, knew I had gone there. And here this man had exonerated him. I was so happy....\"\n\n(It is a further indication of self-protective thinking that Frau Stangl is able \u2013 even now \u2013 to remember this testimony with such relief, even though in the context of Stangl's later activities, which she honestly deplores and is deeply ashamed of, it is irrelevant whether or not this witness \"exonerated\" him in court for his actions at Hartheim.)\n\n\"But this driver got four years, you know,\" she said. \"That's when I went back to Paul and told him that it couldn't go on like this. 'If this driver gets four years,' I said to him, 'what will you get, having been police superintendent of that place?' I told him that he must get away, at once. 'We've got my savings,' I said, 'my jewellery....' That, I thought, would at least get him started. I had a cousin in Merano who I knew would help him, and my former employers, the Duca di Corsini in Florence, I thought they would help too. Paul argued and hesitated for a long time \u2013 he really thought he should stay. But finally I told him I couldn't take any more; I said if he didn't get out, get himself a job abroad and send us money to live, the children and I would end up dead. I said I was at the end of my strength. So finally he agreed.\n\n\"No, I never thought for a moment he was in danger of being sentenced to die \u2013 not that. Why should they? He had never killed anybody. In Treblinka? As far as I knew \u2013 or at least had rationalized and accepted \u2013 in Treblinka too he was never responsible for anything but the valuables. No, it never occurred to me for a moment that he was in that kind of danger.\"\n\n\"What about justice?\" I asked. \"Do you not feel and did you not feel then that 'crime', or if you like 'sin', requires retribution?\"\n\n\"All I could think of then was the children. But anyway, you see, in the period between July 1944, after that traumatic experience of confessing to the priest, and the time we are now talking about \u2013 1948 \u2013 I had managed to persuade myself that what had happened, what Paul had been involved in was part of the war... that awful awful war. And it was over. There was a really horrible institution in my home town, Steyr, a real antideluvian sort of prison; and I had visions of Paul being sent there, languishing perhaps for years and years in that... that dungeon, because that's what it really was. You see, I never thought about Treblinka at that time \u2013 I suppose I... I had put it \u2013 forced it \u2013 out of my head. I thought of his being tried for Hartheim, and of his being sent to this dreadful prison \u2013 Garsten I think it was called. And so, you see, my only thought was that he had to escape.\n\n\"I gave him my savings, not much; I can't remember how much exactly but I think it was less than 500 schillings. And I gave him a watch I had, a ring the Duchessa had given me and a necklace I had inherited from my grandmother.\n\n\"He went with another man \u2013 I can't remember his name [later she remembered it \u2013 Hans Steiner]. They walked out of the prison a few days later carrying a rucksack with provisions; I think they took mostly tinned food. The next day an Austrian police officer came to see me. He asked whether my husband was in the house. I said no, he wasn't and asked him to search the flat and he said, very politely, 'No, no, that isn't at all necessary,' and left, just as quickly as he had come. Aside from this no one ever came to ask me anything; either from the Americans or from any newspapers.\"\n\n\"Of course I only heard the details about Paul's escape much later. But they certainly didn't have much money \u2013 they didn't even have enough to take a train \u2013 they walked, first to Graz; there he sold the jewellery, for terribly little. And it was also there he met up with Gustav Wagner.... They were walking past a construction site \u2013 a house that was being pulled down \u2013 when a man ran out and shouted 'Herr Hauptsturmf\u00fchrer' \u2013 and it was Wagner who was working on that site. When they told him they were on their way to Italy, Wagner begged them to let him come and he came then and there, more or less as he was; he had no money, nothing....\"\n\nSimon Wiesenthal, widely credited with Stangl's \"capture\" twenty years later in Brazil, was very sceptical of Frau Stangl's statements to me. \"I am afraid she led you by the nose,\" he said. Herr Wiesenthal's theory has always been that the escapes of people such as Stangl were carefully organized and aided by organizations such as the mysterious \"Odessa\" (often referred to in novels and popular journalism), the existence of which has never yet been proved. The prosecutors at the Ludwigsburg Central Authority for the Investigation into Nazi Crimes who know precisely how the postwar lives of certain individuals now living in South America have been financed, have searched all their thousands of documents from beginning to end, but say they are totally unable to authenticate \"Odessa\". Not that this matters greatly: there certainly were various kinds of Nazi aid organizations after the war \u2013 it would have been astonishing if there hadn't been. But we should not allow the seductiveness of various theories of conspiracy to prevent us from examining with an open mind the identities and motivations of the individuals who \u2013 now an established fact \u2013 really did help people like Stangl to escape.\n\nI have spent a great deal of time seeking documentary evidence which would support or contradict the Stangls' story of how they, and others like them, escaped from Europe; and the real facts, it turns out, are neither dramatic nor unequivocal; they are complex, ambiguous and merely prove again that in the final analysis, history is not made by organizations, but by individual men, with individual failings, and individual responsibilities.\n\n\"What nonsense,\" Simon Wiesenthal said to me with reference to the Stangls' claim that he \"just walked out of Austria\". \"How could he have, without papers, passport \u2013 what about the frontier? It's all lies; he obviously had papers provided for him by Odessa.\"\n\n\"My husband,\" said Frau Stangl, \"had his identity card in four languages. All Austrians had these cards from the end of the war.* He told me later that they were challenged by a policeman in Styria. They showed him their identity cards and asked him directions to the next village and he let them pass. My husband was a very good mountaineer and knew the Tyrolean mountains well from his youth. I think he said he found a way across to Italy behind the Brenner \u2013 or did he say Bolzano? \u2013 I am not quite certain. But I do remember that he said they crossed in the night and that it was very difficult for the two others, but that he managed to get them across. I don't know myself how far they finally went on foot; I do know that they took a train from Florence to Rome. I had a cousin in Merano whose address I had given Paul \u2013 but I didn't know at the time that he had emigrated to North America long before. I can of course prove this by my cousin's letters....\"\n\nStangl had told me a little of this himself, although he did not mention his companions (he had referred to Wagner, but in another context).\n\n\"I escaped from the Linz prison on May 30, 1948,\" he said. \"Originally we had intended to ask my wife's former employer, the Duca di Corsini, to help us. But then I heard of a Bishop Hulda at the Vatican in Rome who was helping Catholic SS officers, so that's where we went.\"\n\nStangl had the name wrong. He meant Bishop Alo\u00efs Hudal, Rector of the Santa Maria del Anima, and priest-confessor to the German Catholic community in Rome (who died there in 1963).\n\n_\"Was there any Protestant helping SS officers?\"_ I asked.\n\n\"Oh yes. He was in Rome too; Probst Heinemann.\" That, too, was a mistake. There was a Kurator Heinemann at the Anima with Bishop Hudal, but Pastor Dahlgr\u00fcn was the Protestant pastor in Rome who helped escapers. (Like the Catholics, the Protestants gave legimate aid to all kinds of refugees.)\n\n_\"Did you have money?\"_\n\n\"Very little. Just some my wife had saved. She had a cousin in Merano \u2013 I tried to find him but he wasn't there any more. I got caught in Merano, by the _carabiniere_ \u2013 I think just because I was walking in the street, you know, and I suppose I looked foreign. Anyway, I talked myself out of it; I told them about my family and they let me go....\"\n\nFrau Stangl enlarged on this incident \u2013 and I must emphasize again that when I saw Stangl, he had no idea that I would visit his wife in Brazil, and that neither of them knew in advance the questions I would ask. Again she mentioned his companions, while he didn't, but the discrepancy is in their favour rather than not, underlining that this story had not been \"prepared\".\n\n\"They went first to Merano,\" she said, \"where Paul looked for my cousin while the other two waited for him in the woods. When he couldn't find my cousin, he went into a church \u2013 probably to have a rest \u2013 he wasn't a church-goer otherwise. Anyway, when he came out, the _carabiniere_ arrested him \u2013 I am not too sure for what but probably just because he looked like a German and they were supposed to arrest Germans. They put him in a car and were going to take him I don't know where, but he showed them a picture of me and said how poor I was and how I needed him to earn money for us so that we could survive the next winter \u2013 he always _could_ talk the hindlegs off a donkey \u2013 so finally they let him go. Next he and the two others went to Florence, but the Duca and his family were away on one of their estates, so they went on to Rome....\"\n\n* I queried Frau Stangl later about this card as I finally felt it unlikely that anyone who had been at Glasenbach would have had such an identity paper. \"I don't know where he got it from,\" she replied, \"but I vaguely remember something about a comrade who came to the prison later than he did, and who gave him his card. Paul replaced that man's photograph with his own.\"\n\n# 7\n\nTHE ODYSSES of various \"wanted\" Germans have been described in dramatic detail in many books. There may, indeed, have been a few adventurous escapes of top Nazis \u2013 though reason suggests that since large sums of money, false papers and connections abroad were easily available to such men and it is indeed a known fact that high Nazi administrators were issued with false papers weeks before Germany's defeat, they were probably the ones least likely to be involved in subterfuge and drama. However that may be, examination of published material, together with what is now some years spent discussing this subject with people connected and involved with it, has led me very seriously to doubt that the majority of these men benefited from any sophisticated conspiratorial organization \u2013 be it \"Odessa\", \"Die Spinne\", \"Die Schleuse\", \"Kreis Rudel\", \"Stille Hilfe\", \"Bruderschaft\", \"Verband Deutscher Soldaten\" or \"Kamaradschaftswerk\".\n\nAs defeat approached, the Germans \u2013 as did the people of the various countries of Europe they defeated in 1940 \u2013 obviously prepared various means of underground resistance, and aid organizations. Some of these were, no doubt, political, others social, others strictly aid organizations. Some \u2013 the Ludwigsburg Zentrale Stelle der Landesjustizverwaltungen* has quite precise (though \"restricted\") information on this \u2013 were well supplied with carefully channelled funds. But there is ample \u2013 and _real_ \u2013 evidence that most of the published accounts vastly exaggerate their importance and their practical effectiveness.\n\nIt cannot, however, be questioned that escapers such as Stangl (and for that matter Eichmann, certainly a \"bigger fish\" administratively if not morally) did in the final analysis receive important assistance from two organizations which \u2013 to put it very mildly \u2013 allowed themselves to be grievously misused in aiding the escapes of individuals so dreadfully implicated: the International Red Cross, and the Vatican.\n\nI believe that as far as the International Red Cross is concerned, it was entirely due to the organization's not being equipped to carry out the rigorous individual screening that would have been required to deal with this complicated problem. This however is an explanation, not an excuse. It was obvious that the problem would present itself, and precisely in the place where it did \u2013 the International Red Cross office in Rome. That office ought, therefore, to have been enabled to cope with it.\n\nAs far as the Vatican is concerned, the same explanation applies to some extent, but far less convincingly. The Holy See's record in the war years was so questionable that it \u2013 above all other organizations \u2013 was morally obliged to take a stand as far as escaping Nazi criminals were concerned. As it happened, the Vatican did take a stand, but it would seem that it was the precise opposite from the one that was required.\n\nIt is impossible to discuss the matter of the assistance given in Rome to escaping Nazis without devoting some thought to the larger subject of the whole attitude of the Catholic Church towards National Socialism.\n\nWhen undertaking this project, I had no wish \u2013 indeed no thought \u2013 of devoting part of it to yet further discussion of the personality and motivations of Pope Pius xii. When Stangl had brought up the details of his escape through Rome, I realized that the matter would have to be touched on, but believed at first that, as he personally had been involved with only one particular cleric in Rome, Bishop Alo\u00efs Hudal, examination could be limited to this one man, who is now dead. Unfortunately this proved impossible. The structure, the special discipline and the essential paternalism of the Catholic Church make it virtually impossible for a Catholic priest (or other religious) to take any action of consequence without the knowledge of his confessor and his superior in the hierarchy. Which is why \u2013 to take an example we examined earlier \u2013 it would have been highly improbable for the Catholic hierarchy to remain in ignorance of the Nazi plans for euthanasia, once a Catholic theologian had been officially commissioned to present an Opinion on potential Catholic reactions to euthanasia. It is equally improbable \u2013 although not, of course, impossible \u2013 that individual priests in Rome could help Nazi criminals escape overseas without the knowledge of their superiors.\n\nIf we wish to put into perspective the actions of certain individual priests during and after the war, and instead of generalizing, attribute responsibility for attitudes and actions only where it belongs, the consideration of the \"Vatican Escape Route\", which certainly existed, cannot be divorced from consideration of the Vatican's attitude to the extermination of the Jews and Gypsies, the murder of millions of Russians, the martyrdom of the Polish Catholics \u2013 in fact of the whole atmosphere of the Holy See at the time, which if it did not induce the events which have thrown a shadow over the whole of the Catholic Church, certainly allowed them to take place. The resulting self-questionings and accusations may have been out of all proportion to the reality of the situation and the number of priests involved. It is to establish a more accurate perspective that we must again examine the attitude of Pope Piusxii, and of his inner circle.\n\nI believe that there were four reasons for Pope Pius xii's conduct in the fateful years 1939\u201345.\n\nThe first and foremost, as has been established beyond doubt, was his dread of Bolshevism as the arch-enemy of the Church. This rejection was so total that it led him virtually to hold the vast majority of Russians, who supported this system, to be unworthy of concern. (The Pope's attitude was reflected in the reply Monsignor Godfrey, the Apostolic Delegate in Britain, gave to the Foreign Minister, Lord Halifax, when in the spring of 1939 the latter suggested that it seemed regrettable the Russians were not being included in a list of great European powers the Pope was inviting to attend a peace conference. Monsignor Godfrey replied that \"in no circumstances would it be possible for the Pope to consider such an approach.\")*\n\nWe have heard a great deal of the Pope's silence regarding the martyrdom under the Nazis of the Catholic Poles, and of course the extermination of the Jews. But very little has ever been said about his even greater silence. For on several occasions he did in fact address words of comfort, however conventional and ineffectual, to the starving and dying Poles. And on one notable date, December 24, 1942, he actually pronounced seven words which, however obliquely and obscurely, were intended to refer to the Jews (although it is doubtful whether anyone outside professional religious circles noticed them).*\n\nI have thoroughly studied the five volumes of documents, published by the Vatican between 1967 and 1972. In letter after letter, in document after document, the Pope deplores the outrages of war, especially the aerial bombardment of innocent civilians. But not in one single place does he utter a word concerning the murder of millions of Russian civilians.\n\nThe editors of the Vatican publication have printed the heartrending letter to the Pope of August 29\u201331, 1942, from Archbishop Szeptyckyj of Leopol in Ruthenia (southern Ukraine). Not only does he tell the Pope that 200,000 Jews had already been murdered by then in that small province \u2013 and describe in some detail how \u2013 but he also speaks of the death of \"hundreds of thousands of Christians\".\n\n\"Liberated by the German army from the Bolshevik yoke,\" he writes, \"we originally felt a certain relief, which however lasted no more than one or two months. Little by little, the government has instituted a truly unbelievable r\u00e9gime of terror and corruption.... Today the whole country feels that the German r\u00e9gime is if anything worse, almost diabolically worse, than the Bolshevists.\"\n\nThis saintly man who three years earlier had asked the Pope's permission to take his own life as a gesture of protest against the hardships imposed on the Catholic clergy and faithful by the Communists, thanks the Pope in this letter for having refused his permission. \"The last three years,\" he says, \"have persuaded me that I am not worthy of this death which would have had less meaning before God than a prayer spoken by a child.\"\n\nIn another letter, two weeks later, the Archbishop thanks the Pope for two letters he had meanwhile received from him; one sent on July 25, the other on August 26, the first to congratulate the Archbishop on the fiftieth anniversary of his entry into the priesthood; the second to commiserate with him on the suffering of the \"pastors\" in his territory. But in neither letter did the Pope mention with one word the suffering of the Russian people under the Nazi conqueror, nor does he appear to have replied to the Archbishop's letter of August 29\u201331.\n\nThe Pope was certain \u2013 as indeed, up to a point, had been his predecessor Pope Pius xi (who was, however, _much_ more critical of the Nazis) that the Germans under Hitler represented the main bulwark against Bolshevism in Europe. And this conviction \u2013 unshaken by the Russo-German pact which, with his diplomatic experience, he must have recognized as a stop-gap manoeuvre \u2013 determined the majority of his actions and inactions in the war years.\n\nThe second important influence on the Pope's conduct seems to me to have been his fear that the Nazis intended to wipe out Catholicism in Germany. Imposing restrictive measures on Church organizations (both Protestant and Catholic), and constantly attempting to recondition the minds of the young by abolishing Catholic schools and publications, they moved carefully and gradually, but they moved. Although in fact very few German or Austrian priests and _not one Catholic bishop_ in all Western Europe was ever arrested or harmed by the Nazis (unlike the great number of Polish clerics imprisoned), the measures the Nazis took from 1934 on were a clear indication of the direction in which they were moving.\n\nThe gravity of this threat is vividly illustrated by one of the last of the five hundred-odd books, reports, pamphlets and documents I read in the three years of preparing this book.* It contains a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 of a letter from Martin Bormann to Gauleiter Dr Meyer of M\u00fcnster, dated June 6, 1941; a letter that seems to go a long way towards further explaining Pius xii's silence in the face of Nazi horrors, and indeed even towards justifying some of his most deeply felt fears.\n\nIt existed in two forms: as Bormann first wrote it, apparently on his own initiative; and as subsequently edited (probably in the autumn of 1941) and sent out as a circular to all Gauleiters. Testimony at the Nuremberg trials indicated that these two versions, which differed slightly in wording, were both finally withdrawn and ordered to be destroyed.\n\nIt seems to have been an illegal copy of this letter made when a leaflet was being prepared, to be dropped by air, which was accepted in evidence by the court (Nuremberg Document D\u201375).*\n\nThe letter, entitled \"Relationship between National Socialism and Christendom\", is a careful and clever analysis of all forms of Christian dogma, and a recommendation for the total abolition of all established religions, based on logic, patriotism and a kind of pantheism likely to appeal to many wavering minds. It is \u2013 to my knowledge, at least \u2013 the most outspoken denunciation of organized Christianity to emanate from any Nazi leader (and indeed, as we have seen, was considered premature and was withdrawn). However secret and restricted this letter was, there can be no doubt that it reached the Vatican. Equally, there can be no doubt that the Vatican already knew, long before it reached them, that the opinions it expressed were current among the Nazi leadership; the letter must therefore have heavily underlined the appalling danger to Catholicism in Germany.\n\nDesperate concern about the very real danger to one of the most important Catholic strongholds in Europe therefore seems to me the second major reason for the Pope's attitude. And fatally connected with this fear for Catholicism in Germany, there was also his evaluation of public opinion and mood among German Catholics.\n\nJaques Maudaule, in an article for _L'Amiti\u00e9 Jud\u00e9o-Chr\u00e9tienne_ (December 1949), wrote that \"... it is almost impossible for the Pope to express an opinion unless he is forced to it by a kind of great _movement_ of opinion arising in the masses and communicating itself to the priesthood from the faithful.\" Because, he says, \"... (essentially) the Church is a democracy.\"\n\nThis explanation is of crucial importance. If the German and Austrian episcopate were persuaded that Catholic opinion in Greater Germany was predominantly in favour of National Socialism, then according to this thesis the Pope's possibilities of action, determined by this public opinion, would have been limited. We might argue \u2013 we would certainly wish to argue \u2013 that if this were so, the Pontiff was all the more obliged to influence attitudes tending finally towards the total abandonment of morality \u2013 but this argument would be bound to fail.\n\nIt would fail because German \u2013 Catholic or non-Catholic \u2013 sentiment in favour of National Socialism was by no means initially or primarily dictated by anti-Semitism or any other objectionable motivation. It was essentially the affirmation of a new political and economic system which \u2013 the vast majority of Germans believed \u2013 offered a \"new order\" representing integrity, national self-respect, and economic parity. Its pseudo-mystical elements were introduced to the masses only gradually, and primarily for the benefit of the young. The Vatican, theoretically, had no more right to interfere with the internal politics of Germany than it would have to interfere with the political organization of Great Britain, the USA or France.\n\nIf we connect this \"great movement of opinion\" which indicated to the Pope that the German Catholics accepted National Socialism, with his knowledge of the measures taken by the Nazis against the Church and of what these measures portended, then the Pope's refusal to condemn Nazi atrocities becomes not more justifiable or palatable, but easier to understand.\n\nThe Pope's attitude was thus determined first by his fear of Bolshevism and secondly by his fear of the Nazis' plans eventually to abolish the Church. He must have felt that in view of the fundamental acceptance of National Socialism by virtually all Germans, and particularly of the unbounded enthusiasm of the young, _anything_ he said in criticism of Nazi policies or actions would tend to alienate the Catholic Germans, and would add immeasurably to \u2013 and even precipitate \u2013 the long-range danger to the Church. (It will be remembered that the Pope waited to issue an encyclical condemning euthanasia until June 1943, by which time he was obviously assured that \"the great movement of opinion\" amongst German Catholics was definitely against euthanasia.)\n\nThese then, were the main reasons for the Pope's attitude. But there were two others. One of them was quite simply that he had come to love Germany. It was in Germany \u2013 as he often said \u2013 that he had spent his happiest years, and it was with Germans that he had in his youth, and continued to have to his death, the closest emotional ties. Having known so many \u2013 and so many excellent \u2013 Germans, he must have found it almost impossible to believe the terrible stories he began to hear from the time when the Germans invaded Poland.\n\nBut well within a year, it was no longer just \"stories\"; he was sent detailed reports, painfully authenticated letters and documents, and this is where we have to accept the last \u2013 and most obnoxious \u2013 reason for his silence.\n\nAnyone who has read Pius xii's letters to the German bishops (and in the original German the phraseology is even more significant) must find it difficult to doubt that the Pope was anti-Semitic. I do not say that this determined his conduct; it is plain enough what his main motivations were. But this perhaps instinctive anti-Semitism must at least have contributed to his passivity on the many occasions when \u2013 as he used to say when referring to the Nazi atrocities, and as was no doubt true \u2013 he felt \"deeply troubled\".\n\nHaving examined again the reasons for the silence of Pope Pius xii, and disregarding for a moment the indisputable moral obligation, we must ask the tragic question whether, if the Pope from the very beginning had taken a decisive stand against euthanasia, against the systematic debilitation by forced labour, starvation, sterilization and murder of the Eastern European populations, and finally against the extermination of the Jews, this could have affected the conscience of individual Catholics who were directly or indirectly implicated in these matters, enough to force the Nazis to change their policies.\n\nI have deliberately put this question into a chronological sequence, because it can only be answered by considering one development after another.\n\nWe have seen in the preceding pages, on the basis of documents and events, how aware Hitler was of the importance of Catholic opinion. And we have seen in the statements of individuals concerned, such as Stangl and his wife, how much the tacit approval of the Church contributed to the pacification of their conscience. I think there is a valid comparison to be made between Stangl's (one individual's) and the Vatican's (fundamentally another individual's) step-by-step acquiescence to increasingly terrible acts. The very first failure to say \"No\" was fatal, each succeeding step merely confirming the original and basic moral flaw.\n\nIt is tragically true that by the time the extermination camps were ready for the murder of the mass of Polish Jews (the great nations of the world, one must not forget, having plainly shown their unwillingness and incapacity to come to grips with this monumental catastrophe) a Papal protest, while still imperative from a moral point of view, could have had no practical effect.\n\nBut there can be no doubt that a fully publicized, unequivocal moral stand, beginning with the first whisper of euthanasia, and accompanied by a threat of excommunication for anyone participating in any wilful act of murder, would have established the Vatican as a formidable factor to be reckoned with and would have had at least some \u2013 and perhaps a profound \u2013 effect on the events to come: the murder of millions of Russian civilians, both Christians and Jews; the martyrdom of the Polish Catholics; and finally of the Polish Jews.\n\nThe question of the Pope's attitude unhappily also has a bearing on postwar events. For it is impossible to avoid the thought that it must have influenced the self-justifications and the actions of the priests in Rome who extended substantial aid to escaping Nazis.\n\nI approached with considerable scepticism claims that priests could knowingly have aided men who were accused of such monstrous crimes to escape secular justice. Such conduct was contrary to everything I had seen myself in occupied France, where almost all the clergy, from archbishop down to the humblest village _cur\u00e9_ and the youngest convent novices, gave constant proof of the highest moral principles and humanity. It was also contrary to what I had learned immediately after the war from many displaced persons, including Jews of all nationalities whose lives were saved by priests and nuns. It is of course true, and often forgotten or minimized, that in the final analysis, everything that is done is done by individual men and women with individual powers of decision. Whatever religious faith a priest, pastor, monk or nun belongs to, he or she remains an individual person and \u2013 an essential point \u2013 a national of his or her country of origin. It is true that many priests \u2013 particularly from Poland \u2013 died in concentration camps for their _religious_ convictions, their martyrdom unrelated to their nationality. There have been saintly beings like this throughout the ages. But during the period we are discussing here, many more religious acted against the Germans at least in part for reasons of personal patriotism. Great numbers of the heroic French, Belgian, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Polish and other priests and pastors who hid Allied airmen, aided underground organizations, operated radio transmitters and helped anti-Nazi Germans to hide amongst the local populations, were acting above all for the sake of their countries, rather than for their Church. Many of them have readily said so. Throughout Europe Jewish children were hidden in convents by nuns. In occupied France I came across several of these noble women, and more than once, when I remarked on their courage, I received the answer: _\"Mais je suis Fra\u00e7aise, \u00e0 la fin.\"_\n\nExceptions that, extraordinarily enough, only prove this rule are those German and Austrian religious who, in time of war, acted _against_ the laws of their country. I have talked to some of them, too, and each of these admirable men and women spoke of battles of conscience, and a decision made as an individual who could not accept \"that\" government and \"its\" laws as representing the country's true interests. Thus they, too, were acting primarily as morally outraged nationals of their countries who happened to be priests, nuns and pastors.\n\nIf, of course, we accept such national loyalties within the Churches as inevitable and right in such circumstances, then it must follow that it was no less right for German and Austrian priests to help Germans and Austrians in general who were in dire straits after the war. So we come back to the central question, the one that appears to raise its head in all these polemics concerning the attitude of the Catholic Church during that period: how much did they know?\n\nWe have been told the Church did not know about the Nazis intention to institute euthanasia in 1939, even though a moral theologian, active at the time as Professor at a Catholic university (of which he had previously been Rector), worked for six months on an officially commissioned Opinion.\n\nWe have been told the Pope could not protest against the extermination of the Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland, because \u2013 although he had heard rumours of these horrors \u2013 he didn't really _know_. And we are told that, although it is admitted that after Germany's defeat leading Nazis escaped abroad through Rome, their identities were unknown to those who helped them.\n\nI was open to be convinced on all these claims, but on all of them the proof to the contrary is overwhelming.\n\nAs far as the escapes are concerned, even if one discounts all or most of the dramatic stories, and even if one is prepared to ascribe most of the aid given in Rome to perfectly legitimate humanitarian motives,* we are still left with a number of incontrovertible facts which establish that, apart from the genuinely charitable activities of the Roman clergy, there was, on the part of some amongst them (almost all Germans and Austrians), a deliberate effort to aid specific individuals who were particularly implicated in Nazi crimes.\n\nIn the interest of fairness, however, one further point needs to be made: in all of wartime Europe, Rome \u2013 primarily because of the Vatican \u2013 was the city most protected from _overt_ acts of terror by the Germans. I do not wish to minimize the deportation of the Roman Jews in 1943\u20134,* but there was never in Rome the continuous and unabating horror that existed elsewhere. People in Rome, priests included, were to some extent spared the dreadful lessons learnt by those who lived in the midst of terror, so that at least a measure of psychological exoneration may be conceded to those who now plead general \u2013 if not specific \u2013 ignorance.\n\nEqually \u2013 and this again seems to me a crucial element when evaluating these events \u2013 much of the initiative and final responsibility for escape and for their subsequent lives overseas rested in the individuals themselves. The best proof of this lies in the comparatively modest lives led in the countries they escaped to, by those men we really know about now (rather than have heard or read dramatic rumours about).\n\nIt appears to me that Stangl's escape \u2013 and the events preceding it \u2013 as described by himself, by his wife, and by a number of other people directly or indirectly involved, provides a significant example against which to measure other, and perhaps less well authenticated reports.\n\n* Central Authority for Investigation into Nazi Crimes.\n\n* Telegram from Halifax to Sir Francis d'Arcy Osborne, British Ambassador to the Holy See, May 5, 1939.\n\n* See this page.\n\n* Friedrich Zipfel, _Kirchenkampf in Deutschland 1933\u20131945_ (de Gruyter, Berlin 1965) page 511.\n\n* The Nuremberg document is, of course, on record, but I have been unable to trace such a leaflet through the Imperial War Museum or the RAF Museum.\n\n* Before the German defeat such help was extended equally readily to nationals of Allied countries.\n\n* 2,091 Roman Jews were deported; 102 of them survived. Italy was, throughout the war, in the forefront of the countries who protected their Jewish citizens, and five-sixths of all Italian Jews survived the war, many of them having been hidden in convents and monasteries in the provinces.\n\n# Part V\n# 1\n\n\"IT WAS too strange, you know,\" said Stangl. \"I had no idea how one went about finding a bishop at the Vatican. I arrived in Rome and walked across a bridge over the Tiber and suddenly found myself face to face with a former comrade: there, in the middle of Rome where there were millions of people. He'd been in the security police in France and they wanted to put him on trial there. He'd been extradited from Glasenbach by the French and escaped in the Tyrol when on the way to France. Anyway, he said at once, 'Are you on your way to see Hulda?'* I said yes, but that I didn't know where to find him. So he told me, but he said not to go until the next day and he told me where I could go for the night. But I didn't see why I shouldn't go at once, so I did \u2013 it couldn't have taken me more than half an hour to get there. The Bishop came into the room where I was waiting and he held out both his hands and said, 'You must be Franz Stangl. I was expecting you.' \"\n\n_\"What did Bishop Hudal do for you?\"_\n\n\"Well, first he got me quarters in Rome where I was to stay till my papers came through. And he gave me a bit more money \u2013 I had almost nothing left. Then, after a couple of weeks, he called me in and gave me my new passport \u2013 a Red Cross passport.\"\n\n_\"Did it actually say 'Red Cross Passport'?\"_\n\n\"Yes. It was a whitish booklet and there was a red cross on the cover \u2013 it was the same sort of thing, you know, as the old Nansen passports. [He had seen those when he was in the police in Linz.] They'd reversed my name by mistake; it was made out to Paul F. Stangl. I pointed it out to the Bishop. I said, 'They made a mistake, this is incorrect. My name is Franz D. Paul Stangl.' But he patted my shoulder and said, 'Let's let sleeping dogs lie \u2013 never mind.' He got me an entrance visa to Syria and a job in a textile mill in Damascus, and he gave me a ticket for the ship. So I went to Syria. After a while my family joined me and three years later, in 1951, we emigrated to Brazil....\"\n\n\"Paul wrote me from Rome sounding very depressed,\" said Frau Stangl. \"The other man who had escaped with him \u2013 his name was Hans Steiner or something like that \u2013 had given up; he returned to Austria and surrendered to the Americans.\" (Frau Stangl didn't tell me then where Gustav Wagner went \u2013 she was always reticent about him \u2013 but it seems that he too obtained papers for the Near East, and later for South America.) \"Paul was billeted at the Germanikum,\" she said. \"I don't know how long it was before I heard from him again \u2013 perhaps not very long, but to me it seemed an eternity. Then suddenly I had a letter from Damascus. He said Bishop Hudal had found him a job in a textile mill and that he had a room in an Arab house and had found friends who had got there ahead of him, and soldiers too \u2013 and there were some generals who had come there from Egypt. His letters began to sound quite different: relaxed, calm, liberated....\"\n\nI spoke to many people in Rome and elsewhere about Frau Stangl's saying that her husband was billeted at the Germanikum, and they all considered it very unlikely. The Germanikum is the Jesuit hostel for German theological students and is usually full. German priests in Rome said that he might have stayed at one of several monasteries, at a convent, or at Bishop Hudal's own Anima. Stangl himself didn't use the word \"Germanikum\" but simply said \"Bishop Hulda [Hudal] billeted me\", which could mean either that the Bishop found him billets elsewhere, or that he put him up at his own House. No one in Rome denies that Catholic institutions sheltered escapers. What they deny is that any of the priests, and particularly the Vatican, knew the real identity of those of the people they harboured who had \"something on their conscience\". Of course, it still remains odd that Frau Stangl, who doesn't know Rome, should have thought of the \"Germanikum\". However, just before I finished this book, she wrote to say that she had salvaged another name from her memory: \"... the 'Salvatorianerkloster' [convent] in or near the Vatican, but I'm not certain in what connection Paul spoke of it,\" she wrote. \"Could _that_ be where the men slept?\"\n\n\"The many many German civilians slept on mats on the floor in their Vatican quarters,\" she had said in Brazil, \"and in the morning they had to get up at dawn and get out, and they weren't allowed back into the building till the evening; there was a priest who supervised it all. They were given meal-tickets for lunch [at a mess run by nuns, according to priests who were in Rome at the time], but otherwise there was nothing for them to do except run around in the streets and do their utmost not to attract attention by sitting on benches in the Pincio Gardens, where they might be picked up by the _carabiniere_ who took all German and Austrian nationals without Italian documents to the dreaded concentration camp at Frascatti. He wrote that he had run his feet bloody and that he felt totally hopeless about life and about ever being in a position to help me and the children. And then finally he wrote in another letter that he had volunteered to do masonry work for the nuns and that one of the Sisters was giving him extra food. He spoke of crossing St Peter's Square with her, carrying a mason's bucket, and he described going to Mass in the morning in \u2013 I think he said \u2013 a Vatican chapel, and I remember he said there was a nun there who sang so loudly and so dreadfully off-key that his ears kept rumbling all day long afterwards. And he wrote \u2013 and told me repeatedly later \u2013 about his audiences with the good Bishop, who in the end had given him the Red Cross passport. But he never said that anyone questioned him about himself \u2013 still less that he had to fill out any sort of questionnaire....\"\n\nFrau Stangl's remark about a questionnaire referred to a book I had told her about, _Flucht vor N\u00fcrnberg_ (Escaping Nuremberg), written in 1964\u20136 by an unrepentant Nazi, a former chief of the Hitler Youth, Alfred Jarschel, under the pseudonym \"Werner Brockdorff\".* In this extraordinary and partly autobiographical account of, amongst other things, the so-called \"Roman Escape Route\", Jarschel describes how escaping Nazis were welcomed to Italy by members of the Catholic clergy, were often accompanied by them to Rome dressed in monks' habits, were given money, sheltered in convents and monasteries, and finally, after writing a kind of extended _curriculum vitae_ and submitting to an examination by a \"board\" of priests, were issued with International Red Cross passports and means for travelling overseas.\n\nWhile I found some of the more dramatic points impossible to prove \u2013 and this book may indeed be a highly coloured account of events (the author died in 1967, but I have talked at length with his wife and have seen his publisher) \u2013 many other, less vividly written, more factual descriptions, and now my own research, go a long way towards confirming some of the essential details.\n\n* Meaning Bishop Hudal.\n\n* Welserm\u00fchl Verlag, Wels and Munich, 1969.\n\n# 2\n\nIN 1966 THE Vatican began the publication of a series of volumes under the collective title _Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge relatif \u00e0 la Seconde Guerre Mondiale._ Breaking with an age-old tradition of not making public papal documents for a hundred years, these volumes \u2013 six of which are now in print,* with four more to come \u2013 present, in a carefully edited form, many hundreds of reports, memoranda and letters received by and despatched from the Vatican between the years 1939 and 1945.\n\nThis project, compiled at the Vatican by four ecclesiastical historians, was obviously undertaken to counter the polemics concerning Pope Pius XII, and particularly concerning his public attitude towards the atrocities committed by the Germans against the Catholics of Eastern Europe and the Jews. Its significance lies at least as much in the _tone_ of various letters, from the Pope and others, and in the _omission_ of certain documents (some of which I was subsequently enabled to see, and which will be quoted in these pages), as in the material they contain.\n\nFather Burkhart Schneider, SJ, with whom I had two conversations of several hours each at the Gregorian University in Rome where he lives and teaches, has been, for eight years, on the multinational team of Jesuit historians compiling these papers.\n\nFather Schneider made no effort to minimize the importance of the documents as applying to the controversy that has raged since the end of the war about the Pope's attitude towards the extermination of the Jews. He avoided immediate reference to the problem of Pius XII by going back to the Vatican attitude before that Pope's election. \"The Holy See,\" he said, \"made its position towards National Socialism clear as early as 1937. Pius XI's encyclical, _Mit Brennender Sorge_ (\"With Burning Anxiety\"), is part of the record. By an oversight of the Gestapo, who had been informed that it was to be read from the pulpits in German churches but didn't believe it, this particular protest of the Pope \u2013 I assure you, only the first of many \u2013 was allowed to be made but didn't in fact receive wide publicity in Germany. But\", he said emphatically, \"I must call to your attention the fact that, although the Pope gave expression in the clearest possible terms to his profound concern, the 'burning anxiety' with which he had noted the frightening developments in Germany, and although the encyclical was, of course, made public all over the world, his misgivings were evidently not shared by any of the great powers, including France and Poland; they were in fact most pointedly ignored precisely by these two great Catholic nations.\"\n\nIt was Pius XI who concluded the famous Concordat \u2013 negotiated by the Papal Nuncio, Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII \u2013 with Nazi Germany.\n\nIn his 1937 encyclical Pius XI did indeed express his concern about National Socialism and its \"neo-paganism\", and \u2013 although in guarded, or somewhat generalized, terms \u2013 did touch on the subject of racism. \"Whoever takes the race or the people,\" he wrote, \"or the State or the form of the State, or the repositories of power, or any other fundamental value of the human community \u2013 all things which occupy a necessary and honourable place in the earthly order \u2013 whoever takes these notions and removes them from this scale of values, not excluding even religious values, and deifies them through an idolatrous cult, inverts and falsifies the order of things as created and ordained by God. Such a man is far removed from true belief in God and from a conception of life in keeping with that faith....\"\n\nNonetheless, at that point Pius XI's burning anxiety was still mainly caused by the Nazis' claim to total control over the education of the young, which entailed the abolition of church schools. The encyclical contained one direct reference to the Jews (50,000 of whom had already been forced to leave Germany while the outrageous \"Nuremberg Laws\" were being applied against those who remained*); they were mentioned in defence of \"the sacred books of the Old Testament which are revered in common with the Catholic Church\". Unfortunately the sentence ended with an unhappy phrase, in that it referred to the Jews once again as \"the people who were to put Him on the cross\" (a literal interpretation which, I hasten to add, is becoming less and less common in Catholic teaching).\n\nHowever, the fact that the Pope, in 1937, was primarily concerned with the Nazis' recently proclaimed educational reforms seemed perfectly legitimate, if hardly relevant in this discussion with Father Schneider to the question of the later attitude of the Holy See towards the extermination of the Jews.\n\nCertainly, in 1937, the indications of events to come concerning the Jews were by no means clear. It has now been amply proved that at that time, and probably until at least the beginning of the war, the Nazi leadership themselves had not decided what to do about the Jewish question and certainly neither the population of Germany, nor any other, could dream of what would develop. What was then happening to the Jews within Germany was still being largely ignored by all the great powers (many of whose statesmen were to refer openly to the anti-Jewish measures of the Nazis as \"growing pains\") and were not seen as fatally suspicious even by Jews outside Germany \u2013 or for that matter many within it. It would therefore have been truly extraordinary if an encyclical of 1937 had taken issue with these aspects of National Socialism.\n\nFurthermore, it is a fact (which only recently came to public knowledge) that Pius XI \u2013 far more of a humanitarian than his successor \u2013 was to become increasingly concerned with Germany's racist policies. On June 22, 1938 (this would have been just two months after virtually publicly rebuking Cardinal Innitzer for welcoming the Nazis into Austria), he asked the American Jesuit, Father John La Farge, to draft an encyclical, on the basis of principles he had discussed with him in a private audience, denouncing nationalism, racism and anti-Semitism. Father La Farge prepared the draft in collaboration with two other Jesuits, a German, Father Gustav Grundloch, and a Frenchman, Father Gustave Desbuquois, and the paper was delivered (through the Order's customary channels) to the Jesuit Superior General, Wladimir Ledochowski, in Rome, in September 1938. It is believed by many Jesuits that Pius XI was never shown the draft \u2013 that it was withheld by Jesuits and members of the Curia more concerned with the threat of Bolshevism than with the Nazis. Father La Farge was to be told after the death of Pius XI that he was free to publish the paper as a private Opinion, on the condition that it remained totally unconnected with the person of the deceased Pope. The paper remained unpublished.\n\nProfessor Schneider and I next discussed the public protest, in August 1941, of the Bishop of M\u00fcnster, Graf Galen; first against anti-Church measures in Germany and then \u2013 with what has always been considered spectacular effect \u2013 against the Nazis' Euthanasia Programme. But Father Schneider shrugged it off as comparatively irrelevant. \"It didn't do much,\" he said, \"and, in some respects anyway, they didn't stop.\"\n\nWhen I suggested that, quite apart from the historical record, my own talks with some of those who had taken part in the programme appeared to indicate that the specific \u2013 although verbal, not written \u2013 Hitler order which finally stopped most of the euthanasia, did in fact result directly from public pressure after Count Galen's sermon, Father Schneider said, \"Well, it was almost finished anyway; they had more or less killed all those they had intended to kill.\"\n\nThe fact that the Bishop of M\u00fcnster, following his sermons, was never either arrested or even stopped from exercising his functions, has always seemed amazing \u2013 although the same applies to a number of other men of the Churches, certainly to all the Western European bishops.* As far as Count Galen was concerned, the possibility of arresting him _was_ discussed at a meeting of representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Propaganda and Churches, at Himmler's office on October 27, 1941. The unanimous feeling of the participants was that the Bishop _should_ be arrested. But while they agreed that he had laid himself open to a charge of treason, they also agreed that as such a charge would involve a formal trial, where the delicate matter of euthanasia would have to be mentioned in public, it would be preferable to send him straight to a concentration camp. The final decision, however, had to be put to Hitler. Hitler replied that he \"wished to avoid all controversy with the Catholic Church and would await the end of the war to settle [his] account with the Bishop \u2013 to the last mark and pfennig\".\n\nAlbert Hartl, former chief of church information at the Reich's Security Office, told me in addition that he had been informed that Hitler had given Cardinal Faulhaber his promise that no bishop would be arrested. \"They shook hands on it,\" said Herr Hartl.\n\nFather Schneider certainly did not mention any such agreement. His argument, on the contrary, was that all the clerics, high and low \u2013 and indeed including the Pope \u2013 had been in dire peril.\n\n\"Concerning the possibility of later protests by the Pope,\" he said, \"people just don't realize how isolated the Vatican was. It was merely a tiny and comparatively powerless enclave encircled by Fascists and Nazis. Even if the Pope _had_ voiced his doubts and horror later on, how do you think anyone would have learned of it? The Vatican radio station was virtually unheard; certainly by the Germans whose 'people's radio sets' were definitely not capable of picking up foreign stations.\"\n\nI suggested that the Allies \u2013 the BBC particularly \u2013 would presumably have been very willing to communicate any such protest made by the Pope to the population of Germany, many of whom, it was well known, did in fact listen to BBC broadcasts despite the dangers involved.\n\n\"What do you think it did to Galen's reputation,\" replied Father Schneider, \"when the Allies dropped copies of his sermon together with their bombs? Would you call it psychologically apt to present the people of Rhine-Westphalia with this particular double-edged sword? Do you think it was effective? No, if the enemy had used a protest by the Holy See for their own propaganda purposes, and this could undoubtedly have happened, it would have undone any good such a protest might conceivably have done.\n\n\"But anyway, the problems the Vatican is faced with in such a situation are not sufficiently appreciated. After all, we have similar situations now, and they have existed all through history. At this moment the Vatican has to choose between condemning publicly certain governments of new nations that are quite manifestly assuming dictatorial powers, or playing along with them in the hope of maintaining sufficiently normal relations to be able to continue to help those in these countries for whom it feels itself responsible. And that was exactly the situation during the Nazi period.\"\n\nI asked Father Schneider whether the Vatican does not have the wider responsibility of representing certain moral principles before the world of Catholics and others, rather than merely that of trying to protect at any one time any one national group of Catholics.\n\n\"The Vatican\", he said, \"has to be very careful. The Holy See has no bombs, no arms; no 'power' in that sense. If it is to remain effective as the centre and focus of the Church, it must above all remain in touch. Towards that end it must \u2013 as far as possible \u2013 go along with ruling governments. The Holy Father, Pius XII, wrote very openly about this in his _Letters to the German Bishops,_ specifically as I recall [on April 30, 1943] to the Bishop of Berlin, when he spoke about the advisability of leaving to pastors on the spot the decision whether or not it was reasonably safe to lodge protests.\"*\n\nThis often-quoted letter to the brave Bishop Preysing \u2013 the first the Pope had written to him in over a year \u2013 acknowledged a number of letters and communications the Bishop had sent, too many to enumerate here. Once again the Bishop had delivered a heroically outspoken sermon (on November 15, 1942), which once again has been \"forgotten\", as far as I can discover, except for another footnote in the Vatican publication.\u2020 It was on the equality of all souls in the eyes of God. \"This Love\", he said, \"cannot exclude anyone; above all because he speaks perhaps a different language, or is of foreign blood. Every man has in his soul the image of God. Every man has the right to life and love.... It is never permitted to deprive members of foreign races of human rights \u2013 the right to freedom, the right to property, the right to an insoluble marriage; never is it permitted to subject anyone to [such] cruelties....\"\n\nThe Pope thanks him for \"the clear and frank words which, on various occasions, you have addressed to your congregation and therefore to the public. We have in mind, among others, your commentaries of June 28, 1942, on the Christian concept of law; of All Souls' Sunday last November on the right of every man to life and love....\"\n\nOn March 6, 1943, Preysing wrote again to the Pope and begged him to intercede for the Jews. \"Here in Berlin we are even more appalled [than about recent bombardments] by the new wave of deportations of Jews, which began just before March 1. Thousands of people, whose probable fate Your Holiness has indicated in Your Christmas message, are involved here. Amongst the deported are many Catholics. Would it not be possible that Your Holiness make another attempt to intercede for these unhappy innocents? Your intervention represents the last hope of so many and the fervent entreaty of all decent men.\"\n\n\"... it was a consolation for Us\", replied the Pope, \"to learn that Catholics, notably in Berlin, had manifested great Christian charity towards the sufferings of so-called non-Aryans. And We would like, in this context, to add a special word of paternal recognition and warm sympathy to the imprisoned Monsignor Lichtenberg....*\n\n\"So far as episcopal pronouncements are concerned,\" the Pope continues, \"we leave to the [senior] pastors on the spot the task of assessing whether, and to what extent, the danger of reprisals and pressures and, perhaps, other circumstances due to the length and psychological climate of the war, counsel restraint \u2013 despite reasons that might exist for intervention \u2013 in order to avoid greater evils. This is one of the motives for the limitations We impose on Ourself in Our proclamations....\n\n\"For the Catholic non-Aryans as well as for unconverted Jews,\" the Pope then writes, \"the Holy See has charitably done whatever was in His powers, materially and morally. _It has required, on the part of the executive branches of Our relief organization, a maximum degree of patience and self-effacement, to comply with the expectations-one must really say the demands \u2013 of those seeking help, as well as in overcoming the diplomatic difficulties. Of the very great sums which, in American currency, we spent on overseas travel for emigrants, we do not wish to speak; we gave this aid for the love of God and did well not to expect earthly gratitude._\u2020 Still, even Jewish organizations have warmly acknowledged the rescue operation of the Holy See....\"\n\nThus spoke Pius XII in reply to the German Bishop's entreaty for his help for the Jews, and he added that he had said\n\n\"a word about the things that are presently being done to non-Aryans in German-controlled territory in our Christmas message. It was short, but it was well understood.\u2021 It is superfluous to say that Our paternal love and solicitude are greater [than before] towards non-Aryan or semi-Aryan Catholics [whatever that means], children of the Church like the others, when their outward existence is collapsing and they are in spiritual distress. In the present situation we can unfortunately not offer them any effective help outside Our prayers. We are, however, determined to raise Our voice anew on their behalf as circumstances indicate and permit....\"\n\nReturning to the subject of the Pope's threatened position, Father Schneider asked whether I had read General Karl Wolff's recently published claim that he had received orders that, under certain conditions, he was to arrest the Pope and bring him to Germany.* Father Schneider said he had known of this contingency plan for a long time. (Indeed, a statement by Father Robert Graham, one of the three Jesuit historians working with and under Father Schneider on the Vatican documents, had appeared in the press on February 26, 1972, following General Wolff's \"disclosure\", only a few days prior to this conversation. In this statement Father Graham had said that in 1943 Vatican personnel had been advised to keep a packed bag ready for possible departure.)\n\nFather Schneider obviously intended to emphasize \u2013 as did Father Graham in his statement \u2013 that the Pope was under tremendous pressure, in constant personal peril, and never free to act as he would have chosen had he been a free agent.\n\nThere is, of course, a wealth of published material on Pius XII, his personality, motivation, actions and inactions during the war years. One of the two or three most authoritative books on the subject is Carlo Falconi's _The Silence of Pius XII_;\u2020 in which reference is made to the plan described by Father Schneider. \"But if the Nazis avoided open conflict with the local hierarchies,\" says Falconi, \"still more did they avoid attacking the Church in its central stronghold, however great was their secret desire to do so. Proof of this \u2013 besides the evidence of the facts \u2013 can be found in Goebbels' _Diary_ and Hitler's _Table Talk._ In any case, the only period in which such an attack would have been possible was between July 25, 1943 and June 4, 1944. Directly after Mussolini's arrest on the first of these dates, a project for an attack on the Vatican [held co-responsible with King Victor Emmanuel for the arrest], so as to capture the diplomats in refuge there, make a haul of documents and 'take the Pope into safe custody' in Germany;\u2021 was really entertained. But common sense soon prevailed over such a harmful plan.\"\n\nThe entry in Goebbels' diary for October 1943 provides conclusive proof: he writes about a \"momentary idea\" \u2013 following Mussolini's arrest \u2013 to \"include the Vatican\" in the planned arrests of a number of Romans. He reports that Ribbentrop, Himmler and he himself immediately opposed it. \"I don't think it is necessary to break into the Vatican,\" he writes, \"and I also consider that such a step could have fatal effects on world opinion.... Everyone, including the F\u00fchrer, now agrees that the Vatican must be exempted from any measures we will take.\"*\n\nWhen the Germans occupied Rome, the Pope was personally informed by the German Ambassador, Baron Weizs\u00e4cker, that \"the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Vatican will be respected and... that the Germans... undertake to conduct themselves in such a way as to protect the Vatican City from the fighting.\"\n\nThe Vatican City was then ringed by German troops, giving rise to broadcast reports by the Allies that the Nazis were holding the Pope prisoner. On October 29 Vatican Radio broadcast a statement (also published in _Osservatore Romano_ ) to put an end to \"unfounded rumours abroad\" regarding the conduct of German troops towards the Vatican, which, it was indicated, had in fact been above reproach.\n\nOne of the people with whom I discussed this matter was Dr (formerly Standartenf\u00fchrer\u2020) Eugen Dollmann, who was Hitler's interpreter in Italy at the time, and Himmler's representative, and confidant. \"Yes,\" he said, \"I did hear of a half-hearted plan to arrest the Pope and take him to Germany. But it was only one of \u2013 no doubt \u2013 a number of contingency plans. There is not a word of truth in General Wolff's assertion that there were actual orders drawn up to that effect. If there had been, it would have been absolutely impossible that I wouldn't have known about it \u2013 I say this categorically. It simply didn't happen. All communications with the Duce or the Holy See, or regarding either, went through me, except for routine matters. I arranged all Hitler's programmes on all his Italian trips, and attended all official German audiences with the Pope.\"\n\nI asked Dr Dollmann why he thought General Wolff now claimed that such an order had existed.\n\n\"Because he wants to make money,\" he replied coldly. \"I can imagine what the papers paid him for this story.\"\n\nFather Schneider, like everyone else connected with the Church in Rome, was at pains to point out that religious organizations and individuals in Rome during and after the war helped Jews as much as Christians. We then discussed at great length the matter of help given to the particular group of escapers Stangl belonged to.\n\nAsked if he knew whether the money for aid to refugees \u2013 including that particular group \u2013 was contributed from a special fund, or had been centrally administered, Father Schneider said: \"No money came from the Vatican. The Vatican _has_ no money for such purposes. You have no idea how limited the Vatican's resources really are. Whatever was done financially for these people, was done individually, by individual Orders.\"\n\nI asked him whether he meant to say that it was also done upon individual responsibility.\n\n\"Certainly Bishop Hudal had his own convictions and activities,\" he said dryly, raising the suspicion in my mind that the late Bishop was fated to be thrown to the lions by Vatican officialdom.\n\nI suggested that the idea of the Vatican's being poor was novel.\n\n\"Well, of course,\" said Father Schneider, \"if people count paintings by Michelangelo and Raphael as the Vatican wealth... but what does that sort of thing really mean in terms of money? It can't be traded \u2013 can't be sold.\" He laughed.\n\nI asked about the Vatican bank.\n\n\"Well, one has to have a bank,\" he replied. \"It is in fact because of the bank that the Vatican got into the financial side of refugee aid.\" He then added, \"You mustn't forget that the Vatican bank was the only source of foreign currency \u2013 so the refugee funds almost _had_ to go through it.\"\n\nI said that what Father Schneider appeared to be claiming was that individual religious orders paid out of their own funds for people like Stangl \u2013 and there were a large number of them \u2013 to travel to South America and the Near East; gave them money to restart their lives and, of course, provided for their stay in Rome. I asked him whether, looking at it realistically, it didn't seem a trifle unlikely. Taking Bishop Hudal and the Anima as an example: supposing he had helped no more than one hundred SS men to go abroad \u2013 there were, no doubt, many more, but supposing it had been merely one hundred \u2013 what would that have amounted to in actual cash? Did Father Schneider consider $100,000 \u2013 one thousand for each man \u2013 a likely estimate? I understood that the Anima was one of the poorest religious institutions in Rome and that Bishop Hudal had no private means of any consequence, so how had it been possible for him to pay out such a large sum? Not to mention the fact that keeping the men in Rome before sending them abroad would have been a great additional expense \u2013 and that presumably there were in fact many more than a hundred of them. Were there no accounts kept, from which Father Schneider could ascertain these facts for me? Or was it not at least possible to find out how much the Vatican had contributed towards refugee aid _in general_ in any one period?\n\n\"I don't know,\" said Father Schneider, and then repeated: \"But I think there are no such accounts and there were no such contributions. I can only tell you that the Vatican did not provide any money for this purpose; indeed, again, that the Vatican _has_ no money available for such purposes.... People are always going on about the enormous wealth of the Vatican,\" he said a little later. \"The Vatican State Secretariat, with all its vast responsibilities, is probably run with about fifty people. And of course by comparison to what men in positions of similar responsibility are paid in lay life, _no one_ in the Church earns any money \u2013 one must not forget that.\" He paused for a long moment, then said, as if he had arrived at a decision, \"In 1939 three Jewish organizations in New York got together and sent the Vatican $100,000 \u2013 no, $125,000,\" he corrected himself. \"If you saw in the account books how _glaringly_ conspicuous this huge sum is, and with what minute care it was administered....\"\n\nI interrupted to say that $125,000 seemed very little in comparison with what Jewish organizations in the us raised for Polish Jews alone in 1942\u20133.\n\n\"Perhaps,\" he said. \"To the Vatican it was an enormous sum. Proof is that it wasn't just administered by the usual department, but went 'way up to the top'. And every cent of it was considered separately, to be sent to where it could do the most good: $3,000 to the Cardinal of this place; $2,000 to the Archbishop of that; $1,000 to one town; $2,000 to another....\"\n\nIf, I suggested, that particular sum had been so carefully recorded in the accounts, then the same care would presumably have been taken with other sums. Therefore, if the Vatican had indeed contributed no money for refugee aid in the years following the war, the absence of entries in the books would confirm it. Could this be checked? No, he said, it could not. I suggested that I thought his main reason for maintaining that the Vatican had contributed no such funds was because he wished to establish that it had not contributed towards the escape of the SS personnel we were particularly concerned with. I pointed out that I thoroughly appreciated that these men were very few compared with the huge number of other refugees helped by Catholic institutions, and helped with every justification. No one could question in any way the Vatican's motives in giving money towards helping refugees in general \u2013 on the contrary. The controversy lay in the money that appears to have been contributed by the Vatican for the specific benefit of one specific group of men; in the motivations of the priests who distributed these funds; and above all, in the question how much did they know and how much did the Vatican know, about the records of the men on whom such considerable, and it would appear clandestine, efforts were expended, and who received such substantial aid.\n\n\"Bishop Hudal,\" said Father Schneider, \"was not at all close to the Vatican. He was very much on the fringes. And certainly not close to the Holy Father. He was... how shall I put it... even then slightly suspect \u2013 not taken seriously. He desperately _wanted_ to be taken seriously.... Of course, he was not a _Nazi,_ you know. As an Austrian, he had lobbied many years for Austria's federation with Germany \u2013 not an unreasonable proposal, after all. But eventually he went a step further; he thought there was a possibility of collaboration between the Nazis and the Church. And that he might become the means \u2013 the liaison man \u2013 to achieve this collaboration.\" An aspiration, Father Schneider's tone implied, which, to say the least, was na\u00efve.\n\n* As of September, 1973.\n\n* Under these laws the population was divided into two categories, \"Reichs Citizens\", with full civic rights, and \"State Subjects\", whose rights were severely curtailed; and marriage between Jews and Germans (and all other so-called Aryans) was prohibited.\n\n* Subsequent to the English publication of this book, the author learned that Bishop Piquet of Clermont-Ferrand, France, was arrested and sent to Dachau by the German occupation authorities. (See: _The Nazi Persecution of the Churches,_ John S. Conway, page 297, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1968.)\n\n* _Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge Relatif \u00e0 la Seconde Guerre Mondiale,_ vol. II, page 318, \"Lettres de Pie XII aux Ev\u00eaques Allemands, 1939\u20131944\".\n\n\u2020 Ibid, vol. II, page 322.\n\n* Monsignor Lichtenberg had been sent to Dachau for publicly praying for the Jews.\n\n\u2020 Author's italics.\n\n\u2021 The Pope's 1942 Christmas message is quoted on this page.\n\n* General Wolff was Himmler's one-time secretary, who has served a prison sentence and is now free.\n\n\u2020 Faber and Faber, 1970.\n\n\u2021 Luxemburg too was briefly considered for such a contingency.\n\n* Pages 373 and 381. German edition.\n\n\u2020 Colonel in the SS.\n\n# 3\n\nI HEARD more about Bishop Hudal from Bishop Jakob Weinbacher, now Auxiliary Bishop of Vienna, who took over as Rector of the Anima in 1952, on Hudal's retirement. Bishop Weinbacher, now in his late sixties, was Cardinal Innitzer's private secretary at the time of the Anschluss in 1938, and is deeply loyal to the late Cardinal whose attitude towards the Nazis has been a source of considerable controversy.\n\nHe spoke first about Innitzer's appeals to Austrian Catholics; one immediately after the Anschluss in _Die Reichspost_* asking for their loyalty to the new government; and another on March 28, 1938, made together with the Austrian bishops, this one addressed to the population in general, asking them to vote for the Anschluss in the coming elections. In this \"solemn declaration\" in the name of all Austrian bishops (except for the Bishop of Linz, who dissented), and signed by Cardinal Innitzer and Archbishop Waitz (of Salzburg), they said that \"... the thousand-year-old longing of our people is now fulfilled\". Stangl had mentioned the considerable effect these appeals had had on his thinking and that of his colleagues. (On polling day, April 10, Innitzer entered a voting booth saying \"Heil Hitler\"; on April 16 the Cardinal and some of his bishops were received in audience by the Pope, Pius XI, and his then Secretary of State, Eugenio Pacelli.)\n\n\"After that,\" said Bishop Weinbacher, \"the Cardinal was shunned by everybody. They all called him the 'Nazi Cardinal'. In May 1938, there was a convocation in Budapest; bishops from all over the world attended, travelling through Vienna. Not a single one called on Innitzer. And no Austrian cleric was invited to attend.\"\u2020.\n\nThis ostracism, said Bishop Weinbacher, continued until October that year when, following the Cardinal's sermon in St Stephen's Cathedral in which he called on young Catholics to oppose the anti-Catholic laws imposed by the Nazi government, the Hitler Youth stormed the Archbishop's Palace. \"It was carefully organized,\" said Bishop Weinbacher. \"The Police President sat a few blocks away in a coffee house; he looked at his watch and said, 'We'll let them go to it for one hour'; and only when that hour was past did he start giving instructions to the police. By that time the mob had ruined the palace; all the windows were broken and it was only by the grace of God that the Cardinal wasn't killed.\"\n\n(Cardinal Innitzer was not the only high Catholic dignitary whose personal experience of violence no doubt had some effect on his future thinking. Eugenio Pacelli described an experience _he_ had as Papal Nuncio in Munich in 1919 as follows. \"I am one of the few non-German eye-witnesses of the Bolshevik r\u00e9gime that ruled Munich in April 1919. At the head of this 'Soviet' government were native Russians; every idea of justice, freedom and democracy was suppressed; only the Soviet press was available. Even the Nuncio's official residence was part of the battleground between the communists and the troops of the republican government; armed bandits forced their way in here and when I protested energetically against this violation of international law, one of them threatened me with his pistol. I am well aware of the objectionable circumstances under which the hostages were massacred....\"*)\n\n\"After that,\" continued Bishop Weinbacher about Cardinal Innitzer, \"his situation improved; he received letters from the Vatican and the bishops, sympathizing with him, and he was readmitted into the universal fraternity of the Church.\"\n\nBishop Weinbacher, who is an established anti-Nazi and who was consecrated by Pope John in 1962, feels that history has now vindicated Cardinal Innitzer who, he says, no doubt made political errors when the Nazis first took over but retrieved these mistakes later. \"They recently did a comprehensive television show about him here,\" he said (in Vienna), \"and it showed very clearly where he stood and that he was fundamentally not at all pro-Nazi.\"\n\n\"Bishop Hudal\", he said, \"was very close to Pope Pius XII \u2013 there is no doubt of that; they were friends. I talked a lot with him and this certainly emerged very clearly. But he never spoke about the things he did after the war. He was... well, perhaps 'secretive' is too strong a word, but certainly he was very discreet about it; he didn't like to talk about it at all. One knew his political position, of course, so one was careful; he was, after all, an older man. In Vienna, a long time before, I remember he came to my office one day, just after he had written two pro-German articles for the _Reichspost_ \u2013 he wrote them under a pseudonym but everybody knew it was he. He said, 'Well, what did you think of them?' I said, 'eminence, I think priests don't belong in politics.' And he said, 'Ah, yes, yes, you are right; you are probably right.' He was always like that; always wavering in his opinions, always adapting them to whoever he spoke to last, except that he stuck firmly to his pro-German, his 'nationalistic', attitudes.\n\n\"As Rector of the Anima, as you know, he was also Father Confessor to the German community in Rome, and amongst them were certainly Catholics of Jewish descent towards whom he behaved with the utmost correctness. But everybody knew that he later became very involved with getting jobs, passports, visas, etc, for refugees. I _think_ he also helped other people, but there is no doubt that among those he eventually assisted were a great many of the Nazi high-ups. He is supposed to have got Bormann out too, I heard. He had his connections with the International Red Cross, I don't know how, and, of course, he disposed of large sums of money. Yes, it is possible that this money came from the Pope \u2013 certainly the Pope had such sums at his disposal.\" I mentioned that Frau Stangl had told me that her husband said Kesselring had transferred army funds to the Pope, thus enabling him \"occasionally\" to help someone. Bishop Weinbacher had never heard of such funds.\n\n\"The Pope was surrounded by German priests,\" he said. \"They were his private group, his friends. Father Leiber, Father W\u00fcstenberg [now Nuncio in Tokyo, and \u2013 like Father Leiber \u2013 always well known as being anti-Nazi], and Bishop Hudal. He spoke German fluently and in private all the time, with a charming Italian accent. But of course, you know, even if he liked Germans, it didn't necessarily mean that he was pro-Nazi. He had, I believe, spent a very happy time in Germany \u2013 this is where the reasons may lie, far more than in any sinister political motivations.\n\n\"About Hudal,\" he said, \"there are of course two possibilities \u2013 either he helped many people and amongst them some Nazi bigwigs, without knowing who they were. Or, alternatively, he helped _some_ other people, which we know he did, but mainly concentrated on the Nazis and in full knowledge of who and what they had been. Of course, if the latter was the case\" (he smiled gently) \"then one would have to admit that it would seem to have been a bit more than mere neighbourly love.\n\n\"He has written his memoirs you know. They are in the hands of the Stocker Verlag in Graz, who haven't published them yet, I don't really know why. I read them, briefly, but he doesn't mention his activities of the postwar years with a single word; it's just as if none of that had ever happened....\"\n\n* Church newspaper, equivalent to the British _Catholic Herald._\n\n\u2020 This interpretation was not quite correct: it is true that Pope Pius XI disapproved strongly of Innitzer's attitude, and in fact compelled him to issue a public retraction of his appeal. But according to the official British Catholic magazine, _The Tablet,_ of May 21, 1938, the reason why no Austrian \u2013 or German \u2013 clerics attended the Eucharistic Congress was because the _Nazis_ had forbidden them to do so, not the Pope.\n\n* In an interview in the French newspaper, _Le Matin_.\n\n# 4\n\nMY NEXT talk was with Monsignor Karl Bayer, Jesuit Director of the International Caritas in Vienna, who only recently left the same position in Rome, where he had been since the war.\n\nMonsignor Bayer's connection with Rome dates from his youth. A Silesian by birth, he studied for the priesthood in Rome, staying at the Germanikum. During the war he served as an interpreter, not as a priest, in the Luftwaffe (which had no chaplains, he said), and was based in Italy and imprisoned there when the Allies took over. He was on the general staff in charge of billeting and so on, and was also one of Kesselring's interpreters during the meetings which were to decide whether Florence would be declared an Open City. It was he who translated the announcement to the Italian population that the Florentine bridges were to be destroyed. \"I had made friends,\" he says, \"with a family who owned a shop on the Ponte Vecchio \u2013 they sold silk fabrics. The night the announcements were posted \u2013 it was quite late and I knew that as most people stayed home at night in those days, they wouldn't see the announcements in time \u2013 I took a truck and helped that family move their stock out of their shop and into a safe place, in an area which would be under the Open City agreement. They were the only people in the street\", he said with obvious pleasure, \"who didn't lose their shirts when it was blown up next morning.\"\n\nMany months later, this family helped him when he was on his way to Rome after an adventurous escape from the US internment camp at Ghedi, where the forty-five priests interned with him had elected him to intercede with the Vatican on their behalf. The Vatican then appointed him liaison chaplain responsible for the 250,000 German prisoners of war in the north of Italy.\n\nMonsignor Bayer, now about sixty, is tall, slim and fair, and smells agreeably of after-shave lotion. He drives a sporty car with an Italian number-plate, and seems very comfortable in the renovated building not far from Vienna's centre which houses Caritas International. I gathered that he is now mainly concerned with financial administration: he referred often to requests for financial aid from various Catholic communities in the Eastern bloc. Obviously active for refugees from Eastern Europe, he is very knowledgeable about the whole spectrum of refugee aid.\n\nHe told me that the help given in Rome to refugees could be divided into four \"waves\".\n\n\"The first wave\", he said, \"was the Jews [from Germany] in 1933\u20136. The Raphael Society \u2013 Father Weber [about whom more later] and Bishop Hudal were already helping people even then. The second wave came in 1939 when anti-Semitism first raised its head in Italy. It was at the beginning of the war in Europe that the Vatican bank began to handle foreign currency for the benefit of refugees. The third wave came after September 8, 1943, when Italy 'left' the war and Italian fascists began to seek escape. And the fourth wave \u2013 no doubt the largest by far \u2013 came after April\u2013May 1945. This one included nationals of many countries who were in Italy, in POW camps and elsewhere, at the time, and didn't want to return to their communist-controlled homelands; German POWS, some of whom would eventually go home, but many of whom didn't wish to at the time; the Polish Anders army;* the Russian Vlasov army\u2020 (including 10,000 to 15,000 Ukrainians); large numbers of the people fleeing from Yugoslavia, Rumania, Hungary, Austria; and then, of course, the comparatively small group of SS personnel who are the people you are particularly referring to.\n\n\"All along\", he continued, \"there were two 'channels' of help given by the Church or organs of the Church \u2013 one financial, the other more indirect. The money most certainly came from the Vatican. But on the other hand, many individual priests and officials helped many people in different ways, and not necessarily with money. I recall hearing about a case \u2013 a Frau Muschadek, whose husband had been a theologian in Germany lecturing on canon law. Being only half-Aryan, he had left Germany in 1936 and had come to Rome for help. Well, they didn't really know what to do for him, but nice Cardinal Mercati,* he discovered that the Muschadeks were quite keen on the idea of emigrating to Brazil. So he gave them a Vatican _laisser-passer_ and a letter asking the Brazilian bishops to assist them. I don't know what the bishops did or didn't do for him over there, but anyway, it didn't work out very well, because he died. I gather that after his death Frau Muschadek made a great nuisance of herself and finally the Brazilians, no doubt fed up with her, repatriated her to the only place from which she had an identity paper \u2013 the Vatican. She arrived in my office one day with a letter signed by no less than President Vargas of Brazil; it made a great to-do, I remember. Well, she was full of how she was stranded there because of the horrid Nazis and all that. Oh, I can't remember what we did for her. I think we got her some office work or something \u2013 anyway, she was looked after....\"\n\nCommenting on details I raised from \"Brockdorff's\" _Flucht vor N\u00fcrnberg,_ Monsignor Bayer recalled the Croatian theologian Monsignor Krunoslav Draganovic, who was abducted by Tito agents in 1967, taken back to Yugoslavia and executed for collaboration with the enemy. He is said to have been one of the chief administrators of the Genoa branch of the \"Vatican Escape Route\", which functioned specially for the benefit of members of the Ustaca \u2013 the infamous organization which, during the rule of the Nazis' puppet government in Croatia, outdid the Germans in killing not only Jews (although they were rabid anti-Semites) but also, and with even more enthusiasm, many thousands of Orthodox Serbs and Croats (who refused to be converted to Roman Catholicism). \"Oh yes,\" said Monsignor Bayer, \"its quite true that after the war various groups set themselves up to help their own nationals. I remember Draganovic very well. He was head of the Croatian Committee. Yes, it's quite likely that he received support from Cardinal Siri who is now Archbishop of Genoa; there again, you see, one's obligation was simply to help people who were in need of help....\"\n\nHe spoke at length about his own activities for the German prisoners of war. \"The Holy Father opened the Papal Assistance Agency for German POWS and put Sister Pascalena in charge of all the material sent to, or obtained by, the Vatican for refugees.\"\n\nSister Pascalena Lehner, a lay sister of eighteen when she first went to work for Eugenio Pacelli in Munich, never left his service thereafter. It has often been claimed that she had considerable influence on the Pope, which she has always denied. Now old and bitter at the allegations and rumours about her, she has said that she will never again leave her Roman convent or speak to anyone but the Sisters there for the rest of her life.\n\n\"There were warehouses full of stuff,\" said Monsignor Bayer. \"Everything \u2013 clothes, food, toilet articles, cigarettes \u2013 especially cigarettes \u2013 very important to the POWS because there were certain categories to whom the Allies allowed no privileges whatever. All ranks of SS, for instance, and parachutists, couldn't get cigarettes or anything. I remember, there were two and half million cigarettes in Sister Pascalena's warehouses, left by the Brazilian Corps* \u2013 they were called 'Red Birds'. And she gave me the lot for the soldiers....\"\n\nIt has been claimed by some writers that Sister Pascalena had a say in actually selecting men from the POW camps who were to benefit from die \"Vatican Escape Route\".\n\n\"I think that's nonsense,\" said Monsignor Bayer. \"She wasn't that sort of person at all; I don't think she'd have known who to 'select'. Goodness, everybody knows her type; that type of good German nun; she had no political interest, knowledge or influence.\"\n\n\"Did she have influence on the Pope?\"\n\n\"Well, she was in charge of the three nuns who looked after the Pope's household \u2013 the domestic personnel. But I cannot imagine for a moment that she had any 'influence' on the Pope in the sense you mean. He was a highly cultured man, the most sophisticated pope, certainly, of our time....\" (Father Schneider had gone further in his description of Pius XII: \"He was the most remarkable pope of modern times,\" he'd said. \"The greatest political mind.\")\n\nInevitably, the subject of Martin Bormann came up in my conversation with Monsignor Bayer \u2013 and he, like everyone else, expressed doubt about Bormann's supposed survival, and ignorance about his having come through Rome, or having been helped in Rome. (Brockdorff-Jarschel gives a very precise \u2013 indeed, disconcertingly exact description of Bormann's alleged escape through Rome in _Flucht vor N\u00fcrnberg._ In addition, the author's wife was to tell me that her husband had actually met Bormann in a \"conference of international Fascism\" that took place in the Middle East in the late 1950s.)\n\n\"I was in fact very involved with the whole Bormann business,\" said Monsignor Bayer, \"because of the children. You see, Bormann's wife and children were living in the South Tyrol where, as of course you know, Frau Bormann died in 1945. Theo Schmitz, the POW chaplain in Merano, was with her much of the time; he helped her die. But during all that time we were working on finding solutions for the children; they were very young and homes had to be found for them. Well, to me it seems psychologically very unlikely that, knowing his wife and children to be in Merano and her dying, Bormann would have travelled repeatedly between Genoa and Rome at that time \u2013 as the reports claim \u2013 and would not have gone to see them.\"\n\nI said that, assuming he really did survive, I didn't find it all that unlikely; after all, it would have been very dangerous for him; he would have been aware that the Allied intelligence services would have been watching his family day and night in the expectation of just such a move.\n\n\"Yes, that _is_ true,\" said Monsignor Bayer, \"and it is of course also true that their relationship by this time had deteriorated very sharply; they had serious ideological differences; she had finally heard of some of the things he had been involved in. On the other hand, I really think I would have heard if he had been around anywhere; I really _was_ on the lookout for him because of the children. You see, apart from everything selse, there were all kinds of financial problems, all kinds of arrangements needed to be made. You can imagine, had he been available I would have _had_ to get to him. No, I don't know whether Hudal would have told me \u2013 we weren't that close. But I still think I would have heard....\"\n\nWhen I mentioned that Bormann's children are supposed to have said in 1948 that their father was alive, Monsignor Bayer said he'd never heard of that either. He spoke with contempt of Bormann's oldest son, who, having become a priest, has now left the priesthood \u2013 \"and married a _nun_ \", he said.\n\nI asked Monsignor Bayer his opinion of \"Brockdorff's\" claim that the SS escapers in Rome had to go through a kind of screening before being allowed to go abroad.\n\n\"If there was really a screening,\" he said, \"an attempt at detailed research by examining each of the people concerned, it would have required at least a dozen German-speaking priests. I knew them all. There were of course quite a few, but they were incredibly busy \u2013 too busy, I think, for the kind of supervision of the many people he describes in his book.\"\n\nI asked him what sort of questions were put to people who applied for help.\n\n\"Well, of course we asked questions,\" he said. \"But at the same time, we hadn't an earthly chance of checking on the answers. In Rome, at that time, every kind of paper and information could be bought. If a man wanted to tell us he was born in Viareggio \u2013 no matter if he was really born in Berlin and couldn't speak a word of Italian \u2013 he only had to go down into the street and he'd find dozens of Italians willing to swear on a stack of Bibles that they knew he was born in Viareggio \u2013 for a hundred lire.\"\n\nI told him that Stangl claimed to have stayed in a convent or monastery, to have eaten in a canteen, and later to have obtained work from the nuns.\n\n\"There was a special 'Mensa' for foreigners,\" Monsignor Bayer said. \"Each of the National Committees had one; the one in Rome provided lunch and dinner for something like two hundred people. And he may well also have worked there for the nuns. And yes, he may well have stayed in a convent or monastery. As for his story of Hudal knowing he was coming: of course, talking to you he chose to put the emphasis in a certain way; he chose to make it sound as if, when Hudal said, 'You must be Franz Stangl, I've been expecting you,' he meant he had _always_ known about him, knew his record and approved of it, and was still \u2013 or even because of it \u2013 willing to help him. But the emphasis _can_ be put in another way. It seems more likely to me that the 'comrade' Stangl met on the Tiber bridge rang Hudal and said, 'A man I know, Franz Stangl, is coming to see you; I know him, he is all right,' or words to that effect. And that would in fact have helped Stangl \u2013 it happened all the time, to me too. In the absence, very often, of any proof of identity, this sort of recommendation was valuable, and all of us accepted it _faute de mieux_....\n\n\"No, I don't think Hudal could have got him a job, a visa or anything for Syria. Those he'd have had to get for himself.\" (Information I got later from the International Red Cross, and Frau Stangl's confirmation of Stangl's account to me, both contradict Monsignor Bayer on this point.)\n\n\"There were certainly Nazi sympathizers sitting in these Middle Eastern countries preparing the ground for these people, and Hudal may have given him an introduction, or the name of someone in Syria who would be prepared to help him after his arrival in Damascus. We were an aid-committee, you know,\" he said tersely, \"not a labour exchange. And I think it is ridiculous to believe that Hudal handed him the International Red Cross passport. He would certainly have had to queue up for that himself \u2013 hundreds did, for hours each. I don't think I remember one single case where the Red Cross gave _me_ a passport and I handed it to these fellows. I sometimes went with them to the Red Cross, you know, to tell them that the chap was all right....\n\n\"Yes, Stangl would have received money \u2013 which came from the Vatican \u2013 or a ticket to Syria, but rarely both. Perhaps there were some exceptional cases where they were given a ticket _and_ money, but it didn't happen to anyone I helped....\n\n\"As far as we were concerned, these were people who had the right to make their own decisions as to where they wanted to live. [He was referring primarily to the former pows he was in charge of.] For thousands, after all, the choice was whether to live under the Russians or not.\"\n\n\"Do you think\", I asked, \"that the Pope, Hudal, others who were involved in these aid progammes \u2013 you too \u2013 ever wondered whether some of these men didn't have serious, very serious things on their conscience?\"\n\n\"Do you really believe\", he replied, \"that there were more villains and thieves amongst them than amongst the British and Americans?\"\n\n\"I am not really talking about stealing \u2013 I am talking about murder.\"\n\n\"Look here, there were thousands and thousands of men; how could we possibly know?\"\n\n\"Well, perhaps _you_ in your capacity as POW chaplain took care of thousands of men. But Bishop Hudal seems to have handled specifically these SS men. Do you think _he_ wondered what they were fleeing from and whether they should be helped by the Church to escape justice?\"\n\n\"You know, Bishop Hudal helped Jews before he ever helped SS men; he helped more Jews than SS men.\" (Gustav Ren\u00e9 Hocke, correspondent in Rome throughout the war and now for the _Arbeitsgemeinschaft Frankfurter Neue Presse_ and _Die Tat_ of Z\u00fcrich, told me that to his knowledge Bishop Hudal during the war hid a total of sixteen people in the Anima \u2013 Americans, British and Jews.)\n\n\"Those others, they came to me too \u2013 luckily they weren't within my competence as I was in charge specifically of POWS. Still, one or two tried to slip in; now you tell me, how could we have known what they had done? After all, they didn't _tell_ us; they weren't that stupid. And they weren't famous, you know. After all, who knew Eichmann at that time? Stangl? Mengele? Now yes, now we all know their names. But then? I'd never heard Eichmann's name until his trial in Israel.\" (Others in Rome said the names of people like Eichmann, Mengele, Bormann, Rauff and M\u00fcller _were_ known at the time, although not Stangl's nor any of the Polish death-camp men.) \"Of course we knew that many of them had been in the SS. But the SS were also fighting units; one couldn't identify them only with the horrors \u2013 about which, anyway, we knew very little then....\n\n\"Even so, we _tried_ to question them; we asked everyone questions. And the International Red Cross didn't just give these passports to anyone, without proof of identity. They required _some_ assurance of the person's particulars and character. Well yes, it _was_ difficult. All we could \u2013 and did \u2013 do if we suspected a man, was to insist on witnesses, somebody who could vouch for what he said. But of course they all helped each other. I might have phoned the Pastor who was doing the same sort of thing for Protestants, Pastor Dahlgr\u00fcn, and ask him whether he knew about this and that chap; and if he said, 'Yes, that's the one who comes from Leipzig and I've had two others here who said they knew him there...' well, there you are; that was confirmation.\n\n\"Stangl, as his description to you of his months in Italy would indicate, must have known a _lot_ of people there. He was in Fiume, Verona, Venice, the Isle of Rab \u2013 he may well have earned the hatred of some people, but he probably helped others and made friends \u2013 people who then 'owed him a good turn'. So I think myself that the story he told you is quite likely true; obviously he could easily get out of an open prison in Linz \u2013 there is nothing startling about that. No, I don't think he'd have needed money to get away. In fact, if he'd had money, he wouldn't have needed to come to us.\" (Not quite correct; he would still have needed to come for papers \u2013 the proof being that other, far higher ranking Nazis, who were presumably well supplied with funds, also went by the Vatican escape route.)\n\n\"And of course he wouldn't have needed any papers to cross the Austrian-Italian frontier. Anyone who says a man needed papers for that, at that time, just doesn't know what he is talking about. By that time, all those fellows had told each other which little villages on the Brenner or nearby were the best for crossing, which peasants were old Nazis or just friendly, or to be had for money. But there were enough guides anyway \u2013 old hands at smuggling, who took them across for nothing.\n\n\"On the whole his story sounds reasonable to me; he could have talked himself out of being taken by the _carabiniere_ in Merano if they just stopped him in the street. Of course, once he'd actually been processed into prison, he'd have ended up in a camp \u2013 lots of people did. About the passport thing \u2013 well, I told you what I think about that \u2013 but, perhaps I don't know enough about this; perhaps Hudal _did_ get batches of passports for these particular people. And yes, he would certainly have given him money. The Pope did provide money for this; in driblets sometimes, but it did come....\"\n\n* Anti-communist, under the authority of the Polish government in exile.\n\n\u2020 Anti-communist, joined the German invading army.\n\n* Giovanni Mercati was made a cardinal by Pius XI in 1936 and given the post of librarian and archivist for the Vatican; he died in 1957.\n\n* It has frequently been forgotten that there was a Brazilian Corps attached to the Allied armies.\n\n# 5\n\n\"WE HAD no means at the time of knowing where the money came from for these people,\" said Madame Gertrude Dupuis, who has held an important position in the International Red Cross in Rome since before World War II. Slim, elegant and quick, Madame Dupuis, within the limits imposed by her position, was sympathetic to the purposes of this book and frank in her replies to my questions. \"But certainly\", she went on, \"we never doubted that the money came from the Vatican who, after all, had quite legitimately been providing financial help for refugees for years. What Monsignor Bayer told you about people having to apply personally, pick up and sign for the Red Cross paper in this office, is perfectly correct. However, if Bishop Hudal asked for some of the _laisser-passers_ to be made out according to his specifications (I don't myself know whether he did, but he could or might have done), which then lacked only the holder's signature to make them valid, and if he asked for them to be sent to him... well, they probably were. It _was_ comparatively simple for him to achieve this; he was a bishop, don't forget \u2013 that did help. It did have some effect. Certainly, it is highly unlikely that Stangl, or people like him, would have risked... or perhaps that Hudal would have risked for them, or would have allowed them to risk \u2013 formulate it as you wish \u2013 coming down here to queue up with hundreds of people. We had dozens of Jewish camp survivors around. Any of them might have been someone who would have recognized an individual like Stangl. This was well known. So how could he have risked it? Yes, of course, if Hudal enabled Stangl and others like him to avoid the necessity of a personal visit to these offices \u2013 and they obviously did avoid it \u2013 then one is driven to the conclusion that Hudal knew who these people were; or at least knew that they were wanted.... Hudal was always a very questionable personality,\" she said. \"We had none but the most formal relations with him. I myself _don't_ think that he was 'close' to the Pope at all.\" (This was said by everyone I spoke to in Rome. Bishop Weinbacher, Hudal's successor as Rector of the Anima, was the only person who was convinced that the Bishop had been close to the Pope. Although, as he had probably known Hudal for longer, and better, than any of the others and had taken over his office, personnel, and files, he was, one might think, in a unique position to form such an opinion. It is also possible that it was not from files, but from the Bishop's own claims, that he had gained this \u2013 possibly mistaken \u2013 opinion.)\n\n\"It is certainly a fact\", said Madame Dupuis, \"that Hudal helped people \u2013 different people \u2013 before he began to 'specialize'.\"\n\nMadame Dupuis said that during some of that period they issued as many as 500 _laisser-passers_ a day. \"They were never meant to be passports; they were intended to provide a means of identification which at the same time would allow the holder to proceed from Italy to his next and, hopefully, permanent place of residence. You see, what was important \u2013 no, essential \u2013 at the time, was to move the thousands of refugees, to break the bottle-neck Rome had become. Italy had enormous administrative and, of course, economic difficulties of her own at the time, and it was essential to keep this floating population moving. The identity paper usually had a validity of six months. But we know there were people who used them for much longer, particularly in South America where they were accepted as quasi-passports for years; some people are still using them now.... There were of course also instances, possibly more than we realized at the time, of people forging them.\"\n\nShe remembered being called in by the police on one occasion when, the Delegate being away on a mission, she was Acting Delegate. \"I saw some of them lying on the desk as I entered the room,\" she said, \"and I could see from several feet away that they were forged. Not only were they filled out differently from how we do it ordinarily, but my signature was obviously forged. So you see, even though, as I told you, it was simple for Bishop Hudal to get these documents, it is also possible that for some of the SS people they were forged.\"\n\nI asked Madame Dupuis whether they were ever suspicious of some of the people to whom they issued the _laisser-passers._\n\n\"Yes, of course we wondered,\" she said. \"But there was literally nothing to be done about it. There were so many who needed help; the practical difficulties we faced almost defy description. We were, after all, an 'aid' organization, not detectives. In the end, the most important thing was to help the many for whom our help was legitimate... of course, if one had had proper sources and the time and staff to spend on investigation, or even just on thinking about individual cases, there would have been many doubts \u2013 one often talked about it. As it was, we always asked certain questions, but we knew perfectly well that we couldn't really check the replies. So, if there were witnesses, just anybody to corroborate what anybody said, or above all \u2013 as happened many times, particularly in the cases of the sort of people you are talking about \u2013 if their replies were corroborated or guaranteed by a member of the clergy, then this was accepted. How could we refuse to accept the word of priests?\"\n\n# 6\n\nMOST OF the clerics I approached in the course of this research \u2013 and there were more of them than I have found necessary to quote, since several merely confirmed, or duplicated what others had already said \u2013 appeared ready to speak frankly. They recognized, I think, that my purpose was to achieve a more balanced view of the involvement of the Catholic church in these controversial matters. On only one of them did I virtually force an interview \u2013 reluctantly, and only because I felt it was absolutely essential to the full picture. This was Father Anton Weber, a Palatine priest at the St Raphael Society in Rome, who, in the context of the subject we are concerned with, is probably the most vulnerable cleric still active there. It took me several months before I could communicate with him, and when I met him at last, he was convalescing at his brother's house in southern Germany after a serious illness. There can be little doubt that he was deeply involved in assisting SS escapers. But although he appeared still to be trying to convince himself that he had acted rightly, Father Weber also gave me the impression of being a very troubled man.\n\nLike many of the priests with whom I spoke, he was anxious to bring the conversation round to what the Church had done for the Jews.\n\n\"How many Jews did you yourself hide during the war, in your House?\" I asked.\n\n\"Until September 1943,\" he said, \"it was full of Jews; baptized Jews. And don't forget, the Nazis never bothered us \u2013 they bothered none of the monasteries and convents, although they knew perfectly well that we were all hiding refugees.\"\n\n(\"Allowing these few Jews who were in hiding in these places, to survive,\" said another priest who does not wish his name to be quoted, \"was a very small price for the Nazis to pay, to keep the Vatican silent. They knew perfectly well there were decent and outraged men amongst the religious community in Rome \u2013 indeed at the Vatican too \u2013 who were only 'kept at bay' because the convents and monasteries still remained places of safety and could continue to be counted on for hiding people.\")\n\n\"What do you think would have happened to all these Jews,\" said Father Weber, \"if the Pope had been more explicit in his remonstrations?\"\n\n\"If you were so certain of Nazi leniency on this point, would it not have been possible to give refuge to Jews who were not baptized, who were, after all, in even graver danger? Did they never ask you for asylum?\"\n\n\"Oh yes, but I was responsible for baptized Jews only. There was one monsignor in Milan who was very intent upon the argument that in times like that one didn't ask whether a man was baptized or not. He used to compare it to a ship sinking: 'You save whoever you can grab,' he used to say, 'you don't ask him for his identity papers before you pull him out of the water.' \" He laughed.\n\n\"How did you feel about that?\"\n\nHe shrugged his shoulders. \"It wasn't so simple; the Brazilians, for instance, offered us 3,000 visas for baptized Jews; but they had to have been Catholics for at least two years.\" He laughed again. \"Of course, they were all claiming to be Catholics....\"\n\n\"But you didn't believe them?\"\n\n\"I made them recite the Lord's Prayer, and the Ave Maria; that proved in a hurry who was genuine and who wasn't.\"*\n\nHe had told me originally that there were about 20,000 Jews of all nationalities in Rome.\n\n\"Of the 20,000 you say were in Rome...\" I said, and he interrupted: \"Only about 3,000 of those were baptized.\"\n\n\"Of the 3,000 or so who were baptized then, how many did you actually get out?\"\n\n\"Two or three hundred,\" he said. At the very beginning of our talks, however, he had said that two or three thousand people had left Genoa in sealed trains, and that a ship had sailed illegally from Spezia to Barcelona from where they went on to Lisbon.\n\nAsked about Bishop Hudal, Father Weber said he really didn't know him very well. \"Did Bishop Hudal have private means?\" I asked.\n\n\"I don't think so. Though he did buy a villa after he left the Anima \u2013 still, I don't think he had money of his own; not much, anyway.\"\n\n\"About this question of helping SS officers get out of Europe after the war; how was this financed?\"\n\n\"Well, there were funds available for aid to refugees.\"\n\n\"Available from the Vatican?\"\n\n\"That too,\" he said vaguely. \"But of course, we didn't really know who the people were we aided. At least, we knew nothing beyond what they themselves told us.\"\n\n\"I have heard that you are supposed to have got Eichmann out?\"\n\n\"But if a man called Klement came to me and said that was his name \u2013 and had papers to prove it, and you can be certain that _these_ people were the first to have legitimate-looking papers \u2013 and perhaps someone else came with him to corroborate his story, how on earth could I know that he was someone else?\"\n\nI sympathized with that argument. I don't think that \u2013 if he didn't know from the outset who the person who came to him was \u2013 he _could_ have found out. But an hour or so later he mentioned Eichmann again. \"Yes,\" he said, \"someone called Richard Klement came to me. He said he came from East Germany and didn't want to go back there to live under the Bolsheviks, so I helped him....\"*\n\n\"How much did it actually cost to get each of these, people to wherever they were going \u2013 South America or whatever?\"\n\n\"They were usually given a hundred dollars to keep going on, and the journeys cost about two to three hundred dollars. Of course, when they got to where they were going they were helped there \u2013 or looked after themselves. In Chile, for example,\" he said, \"the Palatines gave guarantees for refugees. I had a liaison man in Lisbon, a Palatine, Father Turowski, and he used to get visas from the Uruguayan [honorary] Consul, and with the Uruguay visas they were able to get Portuguese transit visas. The Spanish Consul in Rome also helped with transit visas.\" He had mentioned earlier that the Uruguayans had been \"very good about the Jews\".\n\nA little later, coming back to Bishop Hudal, he suddenly said, \"Did you go to the Anima? Did you talk to the porter?\"\n\nI said that I had talked about the Anima with the Auxiliary Bishop of Vienna, Weinbacher, but that, no, I had not spoken to the porter.\n\n\"Well, how can you expect to find out the truth,\" he said testily, \"if you don't speak to the porter? Of course he is old now. But even so, if Hudal was 'stormed' by thousands of SS people, he would have had to know; he would have let them in.\"\n\nI asked him who had claimed that there had been \"thousands\"?\n\n\"That's what is said, isn't it?\" he replied. Coming back once more to Eichmann, he said that even if Eichmann-Klement had given him his real name, it wouldn't have meant anything to him. \"I never heard that name until much later,\" he said.\n\nI told him that Stangl had told me that he had reported to Bishop Hudal under his real name and that Bishop Hudal, who had appeared to know about him, had obtained papers for him in that name.\n\n\"I can't answer for Hudal,\" said Father Weber, \"though I would doubt that he was aware of the former functions of the people he helped any more than I was.\" Aside from that however, Father Weber's references to Bishop Hudal were anything but friendly. \"He helped Austrians,\" he said, \"not Germans. During the war he had a 'Greater Germany' flag on his car; as soon as the war ended, he was the first to change it \u2013 suddenly his flag was Austrian.\"\n\nBut Father Weber, too, said that Hudal was not part of the inner papal circle, nor did he agree for a minute with those who are, he said, now claiming that Pope Pius XII was pro-Nazi.\n\n\"Do you remember?\" he said, \"when Hitler visited Rome, and the Pope ordered all Catholic museums to close for the day and himself retreated to his summer residence in Castelgandolfo? Does that sound like a man who wished to collaborate with the Nazis?\" (Dr Eugen Dolmann, in his book _The Interpreter,_* says the Pope retreated to Castelgandolfo out of pique \u2013 because he hadn't been asked to receive Hitler.)\n\n\"The Pope liked Germans,\" said Father Weber. \"He had been happy in Germany. But that's a far cry from being pro-Nazi. It's true that the Holy Father's private circle, those closest to him, were mostly German, or German-speaking priests. But no one is going to claim that Father Leiber who was the Holy Father's confessor and closest associate, was pro-Nazi. Nor was Monsignor W\u00fcstenberg, who is now Papal Nuncio in Tokyo....\"\n\nI asked Father Weber whether he knew anything about Martin Bormann's passing through Rome.\n\n\"Nothing,\" he said. \"The only contact I had with Bormann, indirectly, was when I got the Bormann children a special audience with Pius xii in 1950....\"\n\n\"What was the routine when people came to ask for your help after the end of the war?\"\n\n\"The porter would come and say that someone was asking for me. I'd go down into a little reception room we had. Whoever it was would tell me his name \u2013 or what he said his name was \u2013 and a bit of his story, and in all probability I'd tell him that I wasn't the right person to help him; I'd say he must go and see Hudal, or the Caritas people, or the International Red Cross, to get papers.\"\n\n\"You never helped? You never gave them money if they needed it, or found them a place to stay, or put them up yourself?\"\n\n\"If it seemed necessary I might have given them a bit of money, just to tide them over a day or two, and I might have indicated where they could stay; the YMCA you know, or some hostel like that: they were of course all putting people up.\"\n\n\"But you yourself didn't help them with papers and lodgings, etc.?\"\n\n\"I might have helped some of them, if it seemed the right thing to do.\"\n\n\"What was right?\"\n\n\"Men in need,\" he replied irritably. \"That was our function.\"\n\n\"Did you ever suspect any of them? Did you wonder what their real story \u2013 their real past \u2013 might have been?\"\n\n\"Yes, I did sometimes. But there were so many needing help, how _could_ we find out more than just the superficial facts they gave us?\"\n\n\"During the war the Pope entrusted you with assisting baptized Jews, and because you suspected many of those who came of not really belonging in that category, you made them recite the Lord's Prayer and the Ave Maria; and no doubt, if they didn't recite them properly, you didn't help them. Did you ever, after the war, demand similar proof from the men who _then_ came to ask you for your help? Did you ever refuse any of _them_ because you weren't sure they belonged to a 'proper category'?\"\n\n\"I may have \u2013 I don't remember exactly. It's so long ago.\"\n\n\"Let us put the question theoretically,\" I said. \"If you _had_ known, or suspected, about any of the people who came to you for help, that they had been actively involved in the horrors you had by then knowledge of like everybody else; that they themselves had in fact committed or been party to atrocities or murder; that they themselves were wanted by the courts for crimes; would you have felt that the Church had the right, or perhaps obligation, under such circumstances, to save a man from worldly justice? Would you have helped such a man?\"\n\nFather Weber didn't answer for many minutes; he thought about the question for a long time before he finally replied softly and sadly: \"If I had known \u2013 _really_ known \u2013 I think I would have sent them away. I think I would have said, 'Try somewhere else.' I think that is what I would have done.\" And I believed him.\n\nEarlier we had talked about the most fundamental question, which everyone, without exception, had brought up during these conversations; the extent of the Pope's knowledge of the true situation concerning the Jews.\n\n\"Pius did not know the extent of German measures against Jews,\" Father Weber said. \"He knew they were being put into camps and all that, but he didn't know they were actually killing them. There were of course all kinds of rumours, but it would have been unthinkable for the Pope to have delivered an encyclical because of rumours. As long as he couldn't convince himself of the facts, confirm from his own knowledge that they _were_ facts, he couldn't speak.\n\n\"As I know the situation,\" he continued, \"one must remember that, whatever they say now, most of Germany was _with_ Hitler. I think that if the Pope, with his scant knowledge of the situation, had spoken out and repeated these unconfirmed rumours to Germany's Catholics, fifty per cent of them would have been outraged; it would have resulted in bitter anger against the Pope for allowing himself to be used for enemy propaganda.\"\n\n\"You don't think the German Catholics would have believed the Pope?\"\n\n\"No, they wouldn't have.\"\n\n* When Father Weber said this I was moved, yet again, to think of Monsignor Angelo Roncalli, later Pope John XXIII. In August 1944, when immense efforts were being made by all of the civilized world to halt the murder of the Hungarian Jews, the field representative of the War Refugee Board, Ira Hirschmann, had gone to see Monsignor Roncalli, who was still Apostolic Delegate in Turkey. Monsignor Roncalli asked Mr Hirschmann whether he thought the Jews of Budapest would be willing to be baptized \u2013 \"only to save their lives,\" he said, \"not to really convert them, you understand.\" Mr Hirschmann replied that he thought the Jews would welcome the opportunity to live. And two weeks later Monsignor Roncalli confirmed in a letter to Mr Hirschmann that he had sent \"thousands of baptismal certificates\" to the Papal Nuncio in Budapest, Monsignor Angelo Rotta.\n\n* Anyone who has heard Eichmann speak in his pronounced Austrian German, might find it difficult to understand how Father Weber could have accepted this story.\n\n* Hutchinson, 1967.\n\n# 7\n\nDR EUGEN DOLLMANN is one of the rare Germans who has never denied his membership of the Nazi Party \u2013 in fact one feels that he makes quite a point of not apologizing for it. He was seventy-two years old when I met him in 1972 at the exclusive Munich residential hotel Das Blaue Haus, where, a very urbane bachelor, he lives with his beautiful dog for company. Dr Dollmann looks a great deal younger than his age, carries himself \u2013 although he is not tall \u2013 very erect, wears exquisitely well cut clothes, and is well versed in art and antiques.\n\nDuring his period as Hitler's interpreter in Rome, he also interpreted for all the other important Germans who came there \u2013 Himmler, Heydrich, G\u00f6ring, visiting diplomats and SS generals. He attended every major German-Italian conference, in Rome and Berlin, and repeatedly stayed as Hitler's guest at the Berghof. There is no reason for him to deny his adherence to the Party: he clearly never did anything beyond his glamorous job which \u2013 as he appears to have been everybody's confidant \u2013 was both gratifying and challenging. He made it quite plain, both in his book, _The Interpreter,_ and to me, that he was fascinated with this life. \"My book was never published in German,\" he said. \"They didn't dare.\" Reading it, one doesn't quite understand why they wouldn't have dared, except perhaps that it might interfere with the illusions of those who like to think of the Nazi world as rather more hardy. The picture Dollmann paints \u2013 extremely well \u2013 of life in war-time Rome, is certainly different from how it has been described by others, and his portrait of Hitler is unusual, to say the least.\n\n\"Of course,\" he said, \"my life during those years was not very different from my life in peacetime. I really had nothing to complain of: I had my own delicious flat in Rome; I had innumerable equally delicious Italian friends. And amongst the Germans \u2013 well, I _chose_ my friends, as one would do. Obviously, one could only really associate with those who had a sense of humour. As you know, that would limit one rather sharply amongst Germans. Still there were some.\"\n\nIt would appear that even after Germany's defeat, Dr Dollmann's life continued fairly agreeably.\n\n\"When it became sticky\", he said, \"I went into hiding. I hid for a year in a monastery in Milan. Of course, I hadn't _done_ anything \u2013 but, on the other hand, I had worn _that_ uniform. So, on paper, after all, I had been in the SS. And you know what _that_ meant when the Allies came. So I went to stay with the Cardinal in Milan. It was a nice year. He used to come to my room \u2013 my cell \u2013 each evening and say, 'Now let us have a glass of wine together,' and we would talk about art and music and people \u2013 the things that mattered.\n\n\"I am always amused at the nonsense people talk about Hitler,\" he said. \"AH that business about his tantrums, his china-throwing and carpet-chewing sessions, you know. When I finally reported to the Americans, after hiding for that first year-undue haste in reporting wouldn't have paid off \u2013 they listened to my story and later they wrote out a statement and asked me to sign it. I started reading it over and they said that really wasn't necessary. But I said I was certainly going to read anything I signed. At the very end they had written that I had said I'd seen Hitler have these mad tantrums, throw china about, gnaw carpets and all that nonsense. So I said I wouldn't sign. They said they were prepared to pay me a considerable sum in dollars \u2013 but I said I didn't need their dollars, that I had never seen such a thing and that I wouldn't sign. So they said that was certainly to my disadvantage \u2013 but they crossed it out.\n\n\"You see, I never saw Hitler be anything but totally courteous. In fact, on all the many social occasions I spent with him, indeed on which I was there to advise him as a kind of aide \u2013 all heads of state take advice on protocol \u2013 I never once saw him make a false move. Extraordinary, really, for a man with his background. He had a very quiet voice, shy and appealing to Germans, with his soft Austrian accent. [Lord Boothby said the same thing: \"Soft, hesitant and thoughtful,\" was how he described Hitler's voice.]\n\n\"Of course, Mussolini was very different. He was, you know, a real man; an Italian; full of life, charm \u2013 culture too. Yes, he was a warm, a loving sort of man. Hitler was cold,\" said Dr Dollmann. \"The atmosphere around him was ice cold. But he was incredibly receptive to information. He asked, and he listened. He was very clever at social chit-chat, you know. The sort of thing one wouldn't have expected him to enjoy or excel at. You know, when he received Roman socialites, I'd say a few words between each presentation, you know the sort of thing: this is the Principessa something or other, she has a great estate near Florence, husband on the Duce's staff; this is the Contessa X, five children, particularly interested in child welfare, or gardens, or zoology as the case might be. And he'd always catch on at once and converse along those lines. And he had a phenomenal memory \u2013 never forgot anything.\"\n\n\"What did you think of the rumours that Hitler was a homosexual?\" I asked him.\n\n\"Well, I think it's possible,\" he said. \"You know, nobody has ever mentioned, in all the stories and histories of the period, how extraordinarily handsome all the young men in Hitler's immediate circle were. They weren't thugs, you know; they were very well brought up, very well connected young people \u2013 and they looked like young gods.\"\n\n\"What about Eva Braun? Do you think there was a normal relationship between them?\"\n\n\"Certainly not a normal physical relationship. She was nice, you know, but terribly stupid. I used to have to make a programme for her when she came to Rome with him; all she ever wanted to do was see the shops, go and buy clothes and things; she couldn't _wear_ anything, with the Italian sort of elegance, but she bought. At the Berghof \u2013 yes, I stayed there several times \u2013 one could watch her adoring Hitler; she just sat and adored. She had no conversation, no thoughts in her mind, no mind in fact. I expect that's what he liked and sought in her; someone he didn't have to say anything to, who just worshipped at his shrine. He must have needed it more arid more as things got worse and worse for him.\n\n\"The Jews? No, I never heard Hitler mention the word 'Jew' in private, or even in ordinary conversation. He spoke about ' _Staatsfeinde_ ' [enemies of the State], and with that he meant anyone who was against Germany, including the Allies, Russians, etc. But, as I said, never did he mention the Jews in my hearing.... Of course, don't forget that there really was no Jewish problem to speak of in Italy, and of course it was Italian questions that were within my competence as his interpreter. In Italy there were a few people of note who were Jews \u2013 industrialists, scientists, writers, to whom, of course, nothing happened; they left in time, that is, before September 1943 when Italy's status changed from ally to occupied nation. Or else they were hidden by Italians, often in convents and monasteries. So of course there really was no call for Hitler and Mussolini to discuss the Jewish question.\n\n\"I never heard Pius XII mention the word 'Jew' either. But then, of course, he always spoke in very general terms; he spoke of 'suffering humanity everywhere', 'excesses', etc, but he never specified beyond these generalities.... Except once,\" he said later. \"But that was very late, in 1944, on the occasion of the last audience General Wolff had with him; he requested Wolff to arrange at once the release of a young man, the son of a childhood friend \u2013 they were Jews. And this was done immediately. During that same last meeting he demanded that 'all excesses' in Italy must cease forthwith, and they did. General Wolff sent put an order that no one was henceforth to be _touched,_ and that food, etc, should be improved immediately in prisons and camps. But, of course, he could have made a special point of the Jews \u2013 but even then he didn't.\n\n\"No, I certainly did not feel the Pope was pro- _Nazi._ But he was certainly pro-German. In a political sense he was primarily anti-Communist, one mustn't forget that. This was certainly so until the end of '14, beginning of '14. Until that time Germany appeared \u2013 must have appeared to him \u2013 as the main bulwark against Communism. I do think that this was what mainly determined his attitude. Yes, there was \u2013 there always has been \u2013 latent anti-Semitism within the Vatican. After all, it was inherent in traditional Catholic teaching: you know, Christ-killers and all that. Now that is somewhat outmoded. But I think it quite possibly had influence on Pius XII's thinking and actions \u2013 even if only unconsciously. Then, of course, there was fear too; the Vatican, however powerful, was in the middle of Fascist and subsequently Nazi Rome.... However, it would have been impossible to touch the Pope at all until after September 1943; the Duce and the Italians would never have stood for interference with the Vatican.\"\n\nGeneral Wolff's statement to the press about plans to arrest the Pope had been published a couple of weeks before I met Dr Dollmann, and I asked him about it. (At the time I did not know that Father Robert Graham had given a similar statement to the press.) \"There was talk, but it never came to an actual order \u2013 nothing like that could have been planned without my knowledge. It simply didn't happen.\"\n\n\"How much did _you_ know about what was happening to the Jews?\"\n\n\"Well, there were rumours all over the place about the camps. But of course, again, it hardly applied to Italy with its comparatively few Jews. We never knew that Jews were actually being exterminated in the East, we really didn't. I remember, after the war, when I was preparing my book, I went to see Kesselring. I asked him, in all honesty, for the purpose of historical information: had he known about these horror-camps. And he said, 'I swear to you, I had no idea they existed.' Yes, of course \u2013 I know: the army in the East \u2013 soldiers, officers, command \u2013 they _must_ have known; it was inevitable; how could they avoid it? No, I don't understand myself how it could then have failed to become known everywhere. It is perfectly true; they came on leave; they must have talked about it. But the fact remains: _we_ didn't know.\n\n\"I always thought \u2013 as most people did \u2013 that the Pope, like everybody else, didn't have any precise and reliable information on the precise nature of the atrocities against the Jews, or their extent.\n\n\"Of course, if the record now shows \u2013 as you say \u2013 that he did know, if not before, then certainly at the end of 1942, then of course the whole picture changes: then one must really ask oneself what could possibly have stopped him from speaking up....\"\n\n# 8\n\nDID POPE PIUS XII know of the true situation in Poland, and specifically of the extermination of the Jews? We have, of course, discussed this point in various places earlier in this book. But the man best able to inform us fully on this uniquely vital point is Monsieur Kazimierz Pap\u00e9e, Polish Ambassador to the Holy See from July 14, 1939, to December 1958.\n\nAlthough Poland now no longer has an official representative at the Vatican, Monsieur Pap\u00e9e was still listed in the _Annuario Pontificio_ as \"Agent of Embassy Affairs\", when I visited him in March 1972. A small brass plate on the door of his third-floor flat at 7D Via St Pancrazio in Rome announced \"Polish Embassy to the Holy See\".*\n\nKazimierz Pap\u00e9e was eighty-two years old at the time of our meeting and in full possession of his remarkable faculties; a _Grand Seigneur_ from the past, small, thin, impeccably elegant, with an exquisite use of language. He spoke with me in French.\n\n(Carlo Falconi, in _The Silence of Pius XII,_ describes him as \"an outstanding Polish diplomat with a brilliant career behind him at, amongst other places, The Hague, Berlin, Copenhagen, and finally Prague.... Active relations between the Holy See and the Polish government [in exile] depended on the Ambassador in Rome, Casimir Pap\u00e9e. It was probably because it had such a trusted man in Rome that the Vatican sidestepped [throughout the war] appointing a representative in London [to the Polish government in exile].\"\n\nA thin and silent elderly maid, with a face out of a Polish wood carving, dressed in a long creamy-white robe and headcovering, somewhat like a lay nun, opened the door. The large drawing room with its gleaming parquet and furniture, exquisite etchings, signed photographs of statesmen and clerics with household names, and innumerable lovely _objets d'art_ on fragile tables was an accurate representation of the man.\n\nMonsieur Pap\u00e9e's memory covers minutely his activities during the war years and afterwards. His very special position now \u2013 I soon realized \u2013 was delicate: he was, and yet was not, part of the Vatican community. It is unlikely \u2013 and it would not have occurred to me to ask \u2013 that, after the political upheavals in Poland he had retained any personal wealth. The implications of what he said \u2013 and didn't say \u2013 and of what I have learned since about his circumstances, are that his position in Rome (not to speak of his personal integrity) requires considerable discretion.\n\nWe spoke of many things: life in the distant past; great men he has known; fundamental values which he treasures and the disappearance of which I \u2013 much younger than he \u2013 found myself regretting with him.\n\nThe way Monsieur Pap\u00e9e spoke of his beloved Poland, the war years, his own activities on behalf of all the Poles \u2013 Christians and Jews \u2013 and Pope Pius XII, was filled not with anger or resignation, but with pain; the pain felt by a man whose long life has been one of service, and whose efforts in the end proved to be in vain.\n\nHe recounted in detail the steps he took throughout the tragic years 1940\u20134 to inform the Holy See of the situation in Poland; his repeated audiences with the Pope, and his continuous communications by letter and in person with the three Cardinals at the Vatican State Secretariat (Secretary of State Cardinal Maglioni; Second Secretary Cardinal Montini \u2013 the present Pope Paul VI \u2013 and Cardinal Tardini).\n\nLater, as I was about to leave, Monsieur Pap\u00e9e signed and handed me a book. \"If you study it carefully,\" he said, \"it will perhaps answer some of your questions better....\"\n\nMonsieur Pap\u00e9e's book, _Pius XII a Polski 1939\u20131949_ (Pius XII and Poland 1939\u20131949), is a compilation of letters, comments, _aide-m\u00e9moires_ and reports from the Polish government in exile, Polish ecclesiastics in occupied territory and from Monsieur Pap\u00e9e himself, to the Holy See. It was published in Rome in 1954, by Editrice Studium, with the financial help of the Ford Foundation.\n\nWhile many of the papers are of course of great relevance, the \"careful study\" Monsieur Pap\u00e9e so kindly \u2013 and generously \u2013 recommended, revealed that what is perhaps most important to an understanding of that period are not the documents which are published in this volume, but those which \u2013 as Monsieur Pap\u00e9e quietly points out in the preface \u2013 \"remain in the archives until a future date\".\n\nWith the help of (exiled) Polish sources of various political persuasions, I have been allowed sight of some of these documents which are being kept in Polish archives abroad.\n\nIt is essential to mention here that these particular documents, which are of the greatest possible significance in the context of establishing the extent of the Vatican's early awareness of the situation in Poland with particular reference to the extermination of the Jews (and which Monsieur Pap\u00e9e, for very obvious reasons, felt unable to include in his book), have also been excluded from the _Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge relatif \u00e0 la Seconde Guerre Mondiale.*_ This omission, in view of the purpose of the publication and the nature of these papers \u2013 all of which were highly relevant official diplomatic communications \u2013 raises the gravest doubts as to the integrity of the Vatican publications.\n\nConsiderations of space prevent the reproduction of all three of these documents shown to me; but the most incontrovertible proof of the Vatican's complete knowledge of the methods and extent of the extermination of the Jews in Poland at least as of December 1942, is provided by one of them, the letter the Polish Ambassador personally handed to Cardinal Tardini on December 21, 1942:\u2020\n\n\"The Polish Embassy has the honour of communicating to the State Secretariat of His Holiness the following information emanating from official sources:\n\n\"The Germans are liquidating the entire Jewish population of Poland. The first to be taken are the old, the crippled, the women and children; which proves that these are not deportations to forced labour, and confirms the information that these deported populations are taken to specially prepared installations, there to be put to death by various means [while] the young and able-bodied are killed through starvation and forced labour.\n\n\"As for the number of Polish Jews exterminated by the Germans, it is estimated that it has passed a million. In Warsaw alone there were, in the ghetto in mid-July 1942, approximately 400,000 Jews; in the course of July and August 250,000 were taken East; on September 1 only 120,000 ration cards were distributed in this ghetto, and on October 1 40,000 cards. The 'liquidation' is proceeding at the same rate in the other cities of Poland.\n\n\"The Polish Embassy takes this opportunity to assure the State Secretariat of his Holiness of its highest esteem.\n\nVatican, 19 December, 1942.\"\n\n(Here a handwritten remark in Polish: \"Handed personally by the Ambassador to Monsignor Tardini, 21\/11.42\")\n\n(This was the seventh communication on the subject written by, or communicated through the offices of, Monsieur Pap\u00e9e. The first was dated March 30, 1940. Descriptions of other Nazi atrocities and pleas to the Pope to declare his condemnation of them were, of course, received by the Holy See; and many of those are included in the collection of documents published by the Vatican. Apart from some indicative footnotes, however, none of these refers specifically to the Jews.)\n\nThree days after receiving this letter, on Christmas Eve, 1942, Pope Pius XII made public reference to what was happening to the Jews. In full knowledge of the fact that by that night at least a million human beings had been methodically put to death in \"specially prepared installations\" in occupied Poland \u2013 a slaughter unrelated to any act of war \u2013 he made one oblique reference to the fact, almost at the end of a Christmas message more than 5,000 words long, to the Catholics of the world.* By the time he reached this sentence he would have spoken for approximately forty-five minutes, and the sentence itself was part of a repetitive series of injunctions saying that humanity owed\n\n\"... a solemn vow not to rest until, in all people and all nations of the earth a vast legion shall be formed of those handfuls of men who, bent on bringing back society to its centre of gravity, which is the Law of God, aspire to the service of the human person and of his common life ennobled in God. This vow humanity owes to the innumerable dead who lie buried on the battlefields. The sacrifice of their life, the fulfilment of their duty, is an offering to a new and better social order. Humanity owes this vow to the endless, sorrowful army of mothers, widows and orphans, who have been deprived of light, comfort and support. Humanity owes this vow to the innumerable exiles, torn from their motherland by the hurricane of war and scattered on foreign soil, who might join in the lament of the prophet: 'Our inheritance is turned to aliens, our houses to strangers.' Humanity owes this vow to the hundreds of thousands of people who, through no fault of their own, _sometimes only owing to nationality or descent_ , are doomed to death or to slow decline.*\n\nHumanity owes this vow to the many thousands of noncombatants, women and children, ailing and old people, whom aerial warfare \u2013 whose horrors we have repeatedly denounced since the very beginning \u2013 indiscriminately robbed of life, possessions and health, charitable institutions and places of prayer. Humanity owes this vow to the endless stream of tears... etc, etc, etc.\"\n\nCarlo Falconi says, with great precision and presumably with deliberate irony, that the above was \"unquestionably the most courageous denunciation of all the acts of violence against civilians that Pius XII dared to pronounce during the whole war....\"\n\nIn Rome (and in Germany) in 1972 and 1973, priests again and again referred to the Christmas message of 1942 as conclusive proof of the Pope's willingness to take a public stand towards the Nazi horrors.\n\nDid he think, I asked Kazimierz Pap\u00e9e at the end of our talk, that the Pope could have done more to stop the slaughter of the Jews and Christians in Poland?\n\n\"He _was_ in a very very difficult position,\" Monsieur Pap\u00e9e said, unhappily. \"He was \u2013 one must appreciate this \u2013 surrounded by Fascism: he had very little freedom of movement.\"\n\n(A year later I telephoned Monsieur Pap\u00e9e from London to ask him one more question that had troubled me: \"Do you think,\" I said, \"that there is a possibility \u2013 even the most remote possibility \u2013 that the Pope did not _see_ the documents you sent or handed to the State Secretariat? Could they have tried to protect him from this knowledge?\" There was a long pause while he thought. And then, he answered, in the same anguished voice with which he had replied to some of my original questions, \"It is not possible. The Holy Father saw all such communications; it would not have been possible to withhold them from him.\")\n\nAt our meeting in Rome he followed his remark about the Pope's lack of freedom of movement by raising and then dropping his hands in a gesture of despair, and saying, \"It was not only that: I remember when I came to see the Holy Father for... perhaps the tenth time, in 1944; he was angry. When he saw me as I entered the room and stood at the door awaiting permission to approach, he raised both his arms in a gesture of exasperation. 'I have listened again and again to your representations about Our unhappy children in Poland,' he said. 'Must I be given the same story yet again?' I knelt before him and I said, 'Holy Father, however often I have already come, I will come again and again to beg you to do more and yet again more for the Poles.' With which\", Monsieur Pap\u00e9e added to me, \"I meant, of course _all_ the Poles, including the Jews, most of whom, of course, by this time, were dead.\"\n\n* Monsieur Pap\u00e9e has since moved to a smaller apartment.\n\n* As of 1973 when this book originally went into print. The document reprinted on this page has now (1976) been included in one of the latest volumes.\n\n\u2020 Here given in the author's translation from the original French.\n\n* Translated in full in _The Tablet_ , January 2, 1943.\n\n* The italics which pick this sentence out are the author's.\n\n# **Part VI**\n# 1\n\nFRAU STANGL'S sister, Helene Eidenb\u00f6ck, has all the qualities we associate nostalgically with the Austria of long ago \u2013 charm, gentleness, humour, real goodness... it is extraordinary that she of all people, should have lived on the fringes of such infernal events.\n\nShe continued her profession as a cook for a large Vienna restaurant throughout and after the war, and met her husband in 1958, when she was forty-nine. \"We met at a swimming-pool where I used to go a lot,\" she said, her face lighting up as it did whenever she spoke of him. \"He was a construction engineer, and the gentlest man in the world. We talked a few times, at the pool; then one day he came here to see me, and I suppose he never left again. He surrounded me with care and love. He loved music \u2013 he was all music, you know. We went to the opera, to concerts, almost every day. We went to the mountains, the lakes. We stayed with his daughter Hanne and her family on a kibbutz in Israel every year. I love her as if she were my own.\" She brought out photographs of an attractive young couple and two boys in the flowery garden of a whitewashed house. \"I can't talk to the boys,\" she said. \"They only speak Hebrew. But they are wonderful. So clean, so straight, so honest.\" It was evident that when Heli Eidenb\u00f6ck speaks about Jews she is simply speaking about _people_ who happen to be Jews. It would never occur to her to say, \"I don't care what they are,\" because she genuinely doesn't.\n\nHer husband, married to his first wife at the time of the Anschluss, was kept on in his essential job in Vienna until 1939, by which time the United States was no longer issuing visas for Austrian Jews. \"The only place he could get a visa for was Shanghai,\" she said, \"and his wife wouldn't go there. She had a friend in England. She said she'd go there, and she did. He went to Shanghai alone, and worked there throughout the war, and then came back to Vienna. His wife wouldn't come back \u2013 they had grown apart and she didn't want to live with him again. So he was alone, like me.\"\n\nThey were together when the Stangl affair first reached the newspapers. \"No, he'd had no idea,\" said Heli. \"None of us had. He read about it in the papers here in Vienna when it was reported in 1964 that Wiesenthal was looking for him. And then, when it really broke, he hardly spoke for a week. He was totally shattered by it; I suppose it was worse \u2013 even worse \u2013 for him than me, because here he was, with me, loving me, and this man, accused of these awful, awful things was my brother-in-law.... He used to read the papers and then just sit, shaking his head. 'You can't really understand,' he'd say to me. 'Imagine, just imagine it was your child, your baby they took, and slammed against a wall shattering its head. Your child, before your eyes....' Perhaps I didn't understand the way he did,\" she said softly. \"But I felt it; I felt the horror of it all through my body.\"\n\nHer husband died in 1968. \"He lived just long enough to follow the beginning of the trial,\" she said. \"He'd had a heart condition for twelve years but never a tremor since we met. And then \u2013 that awful day \u2013 he was on his way upstairs and he fell, right down here in the entrance to our house. And was dead. For me, the light went out that day. We had had ten years.\"\n\n\"Only ten years,\" I said.\n\n\"Only?\" she repeated. \"It was a lifetime, a whole life for me. Now I go to the cemetery every few days. I stay with him a little. I think of our wonderful quiet days, full of music and his goodness. I go to see his daughter in Israel every year. I still can't speak to the boys, but we look at each other and smile, and that is enough. And he has a cousin in Vienna too \u2013 and I see her quite often. So you see, he has seen to it that I am no longer alone....\"\n\nI asked her what she remembered of the time, in 1947, when Stangl was first imprisoned by the Austrians. \"Well,\" she said, \"it was a case of the mighty falling, wasn't it? But again, you see, we'd had no idea that he had done anything special \u2013 even about Hartheim, we hardly knew about that. Resl kept a very close mouth about it to the family. She told us later that she was going to him \u2013 yes, to Syria \u2013 and that she was taking all their furniture. I remember she wrote later from Damascus that the piano had arrived all in pieces....\"\n\n# 2\n\n\"FROM THE moment Paul arrived in Syria,\" Frau Stangl said, \"he lived incredibly frugally; he saved every penny for one year towards paying for our trip out to join him. And finally, in May 1949, he sent us the tickets and we could go. I had got everything ready on our side; I had applied for a passport \u2013 the children still travelled on mine \u2013 and I had packed up all our things. There was a bit of trouble first about taking the girls to the Middle East; the Austrian authorities were worried that they might fall into the hands of white slavers. It was only when I showed them my husband's letters from Damascus, with his address on them, that they were reassured and believed me that we were really going out to join him. And then they gave us the exit permit.\" (In Austria, with its long tradition of enlightened laws for the protection of minors, the Court of Guardianship is co-responsible for any child living with a single parent.) \"But as you can see,\" said Frau Stangl, \"there was no secret whatever about our leaving; everybody knew we were going to join Paul in Damascus. The packing cases for our household goods stood in the front garden of our house; two men helped me pack \u2013 blankets, mattresses, sewing machine, china, chairs, tables, the bedroom furniture, the piano \u2013 the whole town could see \u2013 and saw \u2013 what I was doing, and everybody saw when we nailed the chests shut and I painted on them big and clear (she wrote it for me) FRANZ PAUL STANGL, SCHUHHADER, HELUANIE 14, DAMASKUS. This was also, of course, the address I gave to the police in Wels when they asked me why I wanted to leave Austria; I told them specifically, 'To join my husband who escaped.' \"\n\nAustrian law requires anyone arriving or departing to fill in a police certificate; with the assistance of the Ministries of Justice and of the Interior in Vienna, I was able to confirm that Frau Stangl's certificate is on the record in Wels, dated May 6, 1949, with the address she gave me, and the annotation \" _Mann gefl\u00fcchtet_ \" (husband escaped).\n\n\"I applied for the Syrian visa,\" she continued, \"and there was no problem about it at all \u2013 though I can't quite remember whether I wrote to Vienna or Linz for it. I know it had to go through a Swiss consulate. Were they representing Syria in Austria at the time? I don't know. Anyway, I was handed it in Wels. And on May 4 or 6, we left by train for Genoa.\n\n\"I remember the children were dead tired when we got there and I took a room at the Excelsior, near the station, and put them to bed. The ship was due to leave the following morning, but the line informed me that it was delayed because of repairs and wouldn't leave for four days. I had no money left whatever; you see, all I had was just enough to get us on to the ship; as Paul had prepaid our trip I hadn't expected to need more cash. Now that night at the hotel, dinner and breakfast were going to exhaust everything I had and I needed more. I had to do something. Of course, I spoke fluent Italian \u2013 from my time in Florence years before \u2013 so I went to the station and offered my services as an interpreter to a group of Germans. I took them to my hotel, got them rooms and spent the next three days showing them around. I earned enough to pay for our stay, and I could even take the children on a boat trip for a day. And finally we got on board and had four really good days crossing \u2013 a rest and good food.\n\n\"When Paul met us in Damascus, I found him to be the happy sweet man he had been years before all the horror. It was _my_ decision not to talk to him again about Treblinka. I felt I had to let him regain his peace of mind; the awful things that had been done were done, and my thoughts now had to be for the children, for our life together, for the future.\n\n\"All that year before we came, Paul had worked at this textile mill \u2013 the job Bishop Hudal had originally obtained for him. But just after we got there, the owner of this business died, the firm collapsed and Paul found himself without a job. It was very hard. He looked desperately for work but it took a long time before he found some. In the meantime we had to live, so I started to work as a masseuse; it was lucky that my training at the school of social work had included quite a bit of what is now called physiotherapy. Anyway, I got quite a few clients quite soon; fat women, you know; I usually started with their heads; they were always losing their hair, so I first massaged their scalps and then worked my way down to their toes.\n\n\"For the first six months we lived in a flat in the rue de Baghdad \u2013 with practically no furniture because it took a long time for our things to arrive from Austria.\"\n\nSeveral of the books describing the Nazi escape network mention an address in Damascus \u2013 22 rue George Haddat. After our talks in Brazil I wrote to Frau Stangl, asking her if she remembered this address. \"I am not sure,\" she replied, \"but that may be the place where we lived for a short time after our arrival in Damascus.* It was a kind of 'pension' where there were other Germans, but I think they used pseudonyms because I can remember them only as 'the Capt'n' or 'Lodz'.\" (This to some extent bears out the description of 22 rue George Haddat given by \"Werner Brockdorff\" in _Flucht vor N\u00fcrnberg_ , who portrays it as a reception centre for refugees arriving from Rome.)\n\n\"In the beginning of December 1949, our luck turned,\" Frau Stangl continued. \"Paul got a job as a mechanical engineer with the Imperial Knitting Company; thank God he had qualifications.\" (He had, apparently, taken a German correspondence course in mechanics in 1935 \u2013 when she was in Florence and he working for the police in Linz.)\n\n\"His salary \u2013 very good for those days \u2013 was 500 Syrian pounds a month. Our furniture had arrived and we moved to a bigger flat, in the old part of Damascus, rue de Youssuff. It was a wonderful old house, and with our things we made the flat into a real home.\" (Later she wrote: \"We were the first German family there to have our own home, and _all_ the Germans visited us.\")\u2020\n\n\"I loved the Middle East; I spent every moment I could at museums, and I even managed to get to Mesopotamia to watch excavations. I wouldn't have missed that period for anything.\n\n\"It was a good time, but after about a year an extraordinary problem arose. The front of the house we lived in belonged to the Police President of Damascus; he lived there with his harem. Well, he became far too interested in Renate \u2013 our middle daughter. She was twelve.... [Renate, born February 17, 1937, was actually fourteen. The mistake is insignificant, except that it does point to a slight tendency on Frau Stangl's part, despite her general honesty, to dramatize events.]\n\n\"She was very blonde and very pretty and he really had his eyes on her,\" she continued. \"Renate could do anything she liked; she could do no wrong as far as he was concerned. We got into a panic about it. What could we do \u2013 foreigners in Syria \u2013 if he took it into his head he wanted her? What could we possibly hope to achieve against the Police President? Father said we'd have to leave. He said I was to go to Beirut and make the rounds of South American consulates \u2013 there weren't any in Damascus \u2013 and we'd accept the first visa offer we got. Well, I went off to Beirut at once; I started with the Venezuelans and then the Brazilians. The Venezuelans were very nice too, but they said it would take some time to get a decision from Caracas. The Brazilian consul asked immediately what Paul could do and when I said he was a mechanical engineer, they said they wanted to see him; so Paul went to Beirut as soon as I got back. And we got the visa very quickly \u2013 a month later I think.\n\n\"When we had it, I went to see the Police President and told him that here we were, offered this great opportunity by the Brazilians, and that we felt we must accept it. We had been afraid of what his reaction might be, but in the end he was really nice about it, and we left very soon afterwards; as soon as Paul's factory found a replacement for him \u2013 an Italian it was \u2013 two months later.\n\n\"I had saved 2,000 dollars; we sold our piano to an Arab for 900-odd Syrian pounds and our bedroom furniture to a German who had brought his girlfriend out from home and got married. And Paul got a leaving-bonus from the firm: he'd done very well there: they gave him a nice reference too.\"\n\nShe showed me the reference, made out to \"Paul Adalbert Stangl\". She believed that they had muddled his and his father's names, having seen him described on his Red Cross _laisser-passer_ as \"Paul F. Stangl, son of Adalbert Stangl\". \"They weren't terribly precise about names over there,\" she said. She told me that she had often handled her husband's Red Cross paper in Damascus. \"It was a white booklet, about six by eight centimetres, with the red cross on the cover and the particulars inside\" \u2013 the particulars, including his nationality, his parents' names and the birth dates of herself and the children. \"I didn't see the Red Cross passport again after he had received or applied for the Syrian _laisser-passer_ ; maybe he had to hand it in at the _S\u00fbret\u00e9_ , but I don't remember.\"\n\nFrau Stangl remembered that their journey to Brazil cost them about 4,000 Syrian pounds, adding, \"We had about 5,000 dollars, so we managed quite well.\" After my conversations with Franz Stangl were first published in the _Daily Telegraph Magazine_ , several people were moved to suggest that such an expensive journey must have been paid for with stolen money, or again money from the Vatican, or from \"Odessa\". The travel agent Thomas Cook confirms, however, that a ticket from Beirut to Santos, Brazil, via Genoa, while it would now cost \u00a3173 sterling, or about $432, would have cost considerably less in 1951; and that it would have been perfectly possible for a couple with three children to manage the journey on about \u00a3400 or $1,200.\n\n\"On the ship from Syria to Genoa,\" said Frau Stangl, confirming a story her husband had told me, \"we met a former British officer who had been imprisoned in Teheran for three years as an agent.\" Like Stangl, this man had been on the island of Rab during the war. But a far stranger coincidence \u2013 one which brought tears to Stangl's eyes when he told me about it \u2013 was that the man had once stayed with relations of Frau Stangl in a place called M\u00fcrzzuschlag. When they met him on the ship, he was on his way back to Austria where, it would appear, he had decided to live.\n\n\"As soon as we knew we were going to Brazil,\" said Frau Stangl, \"we wrote to a young German engineer who had gone there from Damascus before us. He and his fianc\u00e9e met us off the ship at Santos, and we stayed our first night in S\u00e3o Paulo with her parents, who were German-Brazilians. The next day we moved into a boarding-house and Paul started at once looking for a job. Of course, again, we had practically no money; in fact, all we had left was forty dollars. But then, we had every reason to think he'd get a job at once. And sure enough, he came back the evening of our first day and said there was hope of one almost immediately, and that meanwhile we'd keep going on our forty dollars. Well, the most awful thing had happened; because of course I had known we'd have to change that money \u2013 after all, even though it was a boarding-house, still we couldn't hope to manage without cash. Well, a German woman I had met that very morning said she'd get me a good exchange-rate, so, stupidly, I had given her all our money. And then she came back and said she'd given it to a man who'd said he'd get cruzeiros at a good rate and he'd made off with it. I couldn't _prove_ she was lying; after all, it was perfectly possible that she could have been just as stupid as I. Anyway, there was all our money gone and I had to tell Paul.\n\n\"No, he wasn't angry; he was never angry with me, or any of us, in that sense; he never raised his voice, or lost his temper \u2013 until much, much later \u2013 and never never did he strike or spank the children. Anyway, a week later Paul got a job with a Brazilian textile firm. He didn't speak Portuguese but he managed at first with German, Italian and the little English he spoke, and he learned Portuguese fantastically quickly; of course he had this marvellous memory. When they hired him, it was as a 'weaver', but after a very short time he was put in charge of planning \u2013 especially everything to do with the machines. It turned into what was an engineering job more than anything else. He earned 3,000 cruzeiros. He stayed with Sutema \u2013 that's what they were called \u2013 for two years, much of it travelling.\"\n\nThis mention of Stangl's travelling in Brazil reminded me of his story of seeing cattle in pens by a railway, waiting to be slaughtered, and thinking, \"This reminds me of Poland; that's just how the people looked \u2013 trustingly \u2013 just before they went into the tins...\" and I asked his wife if he had spoken to her about this. She said that he never had. \"But you know, he suddenly stopped eating meat at one point; I can't remember exactly when it was, but it was quite soon after we arrived.\"\n\nShe said he changed jobs twice after leaving Sutema, to earn more money. In both his second and third jobs his salary was 8,000 cruzeiros. All the figures given me by Frau Stangl, including these, are confirmed by tax and insurance records she showed me, and which I checked carefully.\n\n\"At the end of 1955 Paul fell ill,\" she said. \"It wasn't anything the doctors could put their finger on \u2013 nothing we could really understand. Much later \u2013 after his coronary in 1966 \u2013 we thought it had probably been his heart all along. But that wasn't diagnosable at the time; he felt weak, had rheumatism, was unable to walk or even stand for any length of time. Perhaps it was finally the reaction to all those terrible years; I have always thought that his coronaries were the result of his terrible mental and spiritual stress.\n\n\"Anyway, once again a way had to be found for us to survive. We had been building our little house out here in S\u00e3o Bernardo do Campo since two months after our arrival in Brazil; we built every single bit of it, we had no professional help except in the end for the electricity. Paul even did the plumbing, and all the children helped with the building and, of course, the painting. We built room after room, first just camping outside, then moving into one room after another, as the house grew. It was finally completed only in 1960 \u2013 it took us nine years to build.\n\n\"But when Paul got ill, I got a job at Mercedes\u2013Benz. I started at the bottom of the secretarial ladder, but after a while was given more responsibility until, in the end, for the last two years I worked there, I was in charge of book-keeping, with seventy girls under me. I stayed with them until 1962; they were very very good to me.\n\n\"Meanwhile, as he'd got better, Paul had started a small workshop in our house. He had bought old machine parts from second\u2013hand dealers, built several weaving machines, hired a few women and was producing elastic bandages for hospitals. At first he did his own selling, but after a while he had to stop; he became very irritable and used to lose his temper dreadfully if the hospitals didn't buy. Finally I took over the selling in my spare time. I remember a hospital matron saying to me, 'Oh dear, that dreadful man is your husband?' She didn't really mean he was dreadful \u2013 I mean, he _wasn't_ dreadful; it was just, I think, that he was very concerned over my working so hard, and desperate to make a success of his venture, so when they wouldn't buy, he'd be miserable and get abusive.\n\n\"In 1957 Renate [their middle daughter] got married to an Austrian called Herbert Havel; and a year later Gitta [Brigitte, the eldest daughter, born on July 7, 1936] also married an Austrian. Paul continued his work at home through 1958, until the summer of 1959. By that time his health had improved tremendously, and when the little workshop died a natural death, I helped him get a job with Volkswagen....\"\n\nA great many writers have either stated outright, or implied, that German firms in Latin America and the Near and Middle East have generally provided employment and \"cover\" for escaped Nazis. While this is obviously true in some specific cases, it is doubtful whether many or indeed any company ever made it a matter of deliberate policy, or that it happened as a result of pressure by powerful post-war Nazi organizations. Once again, when it did happen, it was probably the result of the initiative of a few individuals. A sober look at the facts in general indicates that as far as Latin America is concerned, most of the \"rank and file\" escapers had to rely on their own resources, while the majority of those of higher rank who escaped either to very reactionary Latin American countries or to the Middle East were finally employed not by commercial companies but by various governments eager to take advantage of this sudden supply of \"talent\".\n\nVolkswagen is one of the companies most often mentioned in this connection. Frau Stangl's story \u2013 pedestrian rather than dramatic \u2013 of how her husband got his job with them, appears to me to represent the kind of thing which very likely happened in the great majority of cases.\n\nI have no particular wish or reason to exonerate Volkswagen (the company was, as it happens, somewhat less than helpful in my attempts to investigate this matter in Brazil), but I would like to separate rumour and gossip from fact. And there are two reasons why Frau Stangl's account appears to make better sense than the kind of stories we have been presented with so often.\n\nThe first of these reasons is that it was eight years before Stangl obtained this job at Volkswagen S.A.; eight years of living a more than modest working-class life in a working-class dwelling (just as, incidentally, the Eichmanns did in the Argentine). If he had been able to exploit his Nazi past in order to get a well-paid job with a German firm such as Volkswagen, why did he not do so earlier? And secondly, by October 1959, when he did get the job, it must already have been crystal-clear to anyone that the atmosphere was changing. The old guard in all these companies was nearing retirement age, and the young executives who were arriving from Germany, frequently graduates from American schools of business management, would be unlikely to approve appointments made for reasons of ancient, and now unpopular, political loyalties.\n\n\"Through my work at Mercedes-Benz,\" said Frau Stangl, \"I had met a great many people in the car industry. When Paul had to have a job and there was nothing in his line at Mercedes, I asked one of our neighbours who was head of technical management at Volkswagen \u2013 his name was Jablonski. It was he who got Paul his job. He started as a mechanic but was soon promoted, and ended up in charge of preventive maintenance for the plant, with a salary of 25,000 cruzeiros a year (a large salary in Brazil at that time).\n\n\"Our situation had now really vastly improved, and I thought how nice it would be to move to a different place, and even to have a different and larger house. Where I really wanted to live was 'Brooklin' \u2013 one of the best residential districts of S\u00e3o Paulo; a lot of nice Germans lived there, and diplomats and nice Brazilians. I thought it would be so good for the girls. Of course Paul never had my kind of... I don't know what to call it... initiative perhaps, or cheek if you like, or perhaps just faith, to risk, to plan things, to bring about a change in our life \u2013 actively you know, rather than just passively. I had asked him what would he think of our trying to find some place to live in Brooklin. But all he said was, 'We could never afford that.' Well, I decided to go ahead anyway. I talked to the people at Mercedes-Benz about it. They were extraordinarily nice you know, very paternalistic towards their staff; anyway, they helped me buy a plot of land; it cost 400 cruzeiros (land values were evidently extremely low). I had saved 200 and Mercedes lent me the other 200, and they 'lent' me one of their architects to design the house.\"\n\n(Later, having seen this house, I was to tell Frau Stangl that even so I found it hard to understand how they could have built it with their limited means. She replied in a letter: \"The Mercedes-Benz solicitor was Dr Jairo. He arranged the contract for the purchase of the land for me; and a notary public, Senhor Joaquim, helped me with registering the title. I have all the papers, and all receipts from builders, etc, and the acknowledgment from Mercedes-Benz on repayment of the loan. All of them are at your disposal and you can compare them with my salary slips.\")\n\n\"We built very, very slowly,\" she said. \"It was professionally done but I got everything quite a bit cheaper because of Mercedes. But I paid for all of it \u2013 Paul didn't even want to move, he disapproved \u2013 he finally bought a car when we moved in 1965. I had done countless hours overtime \u2013 whole nights \u2013 but when we moved in, we didn't have one centavos of debts. And I was happier than I'd ever been because I felt that this was really my creation, my gift to my family.\"\n\n(The two-storey house at Frei Gaspar, in Brooklin, stands behind a wrought-iron fence above a small terraced garden full of flowers. There is a two-car garage at street level, big picture windows and the whole thing, with its clean Scandinavian-type modern lines would fit happily into any modern development in Europe or America. It was here Stangl was to be arrested; after that the family moved back to the little house in S\u00e3o Bernardo which had been let. The Brooklin house, now tremendously increased in value, has since been let advantageously to diplomatic families.)*\n\n\"This was a very good time for us; all the children were doing well; Gitta happily married and in her new house in S\u00e3o Bernardo [she was to have a baby soon]; Renate [who later got a divorce] and her younger sister both working at Volkswagen too \u2013 everybody had good jobs and was earning good money and I was looking after them and loving it. The new house had everything: a beautiful kitchen, big living room, bedrooms for all of us, a lovely dining room, and of course the garden which Isolde and I had planted. The terrible times were, if not forgotten, then certainly suppressed; we rarely, rarely spoke of them. If I ever very gently touched upon the subject, Paul would say wearily, 'Are you starting on that again?' and I'd stop. After all, I too didn't _want_ to think about it any more.\n\n\"I was so sorry for the people who had been killed, but I too continued to rationalize: I know this now. I told myself, those men had been killed in those camps like soldiers at the front. They killed them \u2013 I said to myself \u2013 because of the war. Oh, deep down I knew it wasn't so. But that's how I rationalized it for myself. I never never allowed myself to think that women and children had been killed. I never asked him about that and he never told me. [And she must simply have turned off her mind when these facts were mentioned \u2013 as they were, often \u2013 in the Brazilian as well as the German press.] If my thinking \u2013 as I know now,\" she said, \"was illogical, then it was because that was how I wanted, how I needed, how I _had_ to think in order to maintain our life as a family and, if you like \u2013 for I know this also now \u2013 my sanity.\n\n\"Paul was an incredibly good and kind father. He played with the children by the hour. He made them dolls, helped them dress them up. He worked with them; he taught them innumerable things. They adored him \u2013 all three of them. He was sacred to them....\"\n\n* In a recent letter Frau Stangl confirmed that they had definitely stayed at rue Haddat.\n\n\u2020 \"I remember very many Germans,\" she wrote even later, \"from General Count Strachwitz down to Colonel R\u00f6ssler.\" She also said that the flat they rented in the rue Sheik Youssef [ _sic_ ] belonged to people called Husseinis who were relations of the Grand Mufti.\n\n* Since the original publication of this book, Frau Stangl has moved back into the Brooklin house.\n\n# 3\n\n\" _When the war was over_ ,\" I had asked Franz Stangl in Germany, \" _what did you want to do_?\"\n\n\"All I could think of,\" he said, \"was Knut Hamsun's novel _Segen der Erde [Growth of the Soil]_. That was all I wanted; to start from the beginning, cleanly, quietly, with only my family whom I loved, around me.\"\n\n\" _You said earlier you always knew that one day you would have to answer questions about that time in Poland. If you knew, why didn't you just face up to it? Why run away?_ \"\n\n\"I am an old policeman. I know from experience that the first moments are never the right ones. But you know, in Brazil I never hid. I lived and worked there from the beginning under my own name. I registered at the Austrian consulate \u2013 first, because my papers read that way, as Paul Franz Stangl. Later, when I had to get a copy of my birth certificate through them, from Austria, I changed it and it was entered correctly as Franz P. Stangl. Anybody could have found me.\"\n\n\" _Did people \u2013 friends you made in S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 know about your past?_ \"\n\n\"It never came up.\"\n\n\" _But in all these years, have you never talked it out with someone? Your wife? Your priest? A special friend?\"_\n\n\"My wife and I talked sometimes about some of it; but not like this. I never talked to anyone like this.\"\n\n\" _Did your children know_?\"\n\nHis face went scarlet; it was the second time he showed real anger at a question (the first time had been when I had asked him, with reference to his conduct in Treblinka, whether it wouldn't have been possible for him, in order to register his protest, to do his work a little less well. \"Everything I did out of my own free will,\" he had answered, \"I had to do as best as I could. That is how I am.\")\n\n\"My children believe in me,\" he said now.\n\n\" _The young all over the world question their parents' attitudes. Are you saying that your children knew what you had been involved in, but never asked questions_?\"\n\n\"They... they... my children believe in me,\" he said again. \"My family stands by me.\" And he cried.\n\nRenate \u2013 the Stangl's middle daughter, and the younger of the two small girls who had spent a holiday five kilometres from Sobibor in 1942 \u2013 is slim, blonde, with a delicate and vulnerable face that looked, when I met her, much younger than her thirty\u2013three years. \"He was the best father, the best friend anyone could ever have had,\" she said. She was driving me back into S\u00e3o Paulo from S\u00e3o Bernardo do Campo, late on a rainy night.\n\nI knew that none of the Stangl daughters really wanted to talk about these things and \u2013 as I feel very strongly that none of the young can be held in any way accountable for their parents' actions (or inactions) \u2013 I did not intend to press them. The little Renate said, with great effort, she volunteered.\n\n\"All I can say\", she told me that night in the car, almost in a whisper, \"is that I have read what has been written about my father. But nothing \u2013 nothing on earth \u2013 will make me believe that he has ever done anything wrong. I know it is illogical; I know about the trial and the witnesses; and now I know what he himself said to you. But he was my father. He understood me. He stuck to me through thick and thin and he saved me when I thought my life was in ruins. 'Remember, remember always,' he once said to me, 'if you need help, I'll go to the end of the moon for you.' Well, when he died in D\u00fcsseldorf I had just had an operation; but I decided I would be the one to fly over to bring him back here to Brazil \u2013 to us \u2013 for burial. I too would go to the end of the moon for him \u2013 that's what going back to Germany then was for me. I hope he knows it where he is now. I love him \u2013 I will always love him.\"\n\nThe eldest daughter, Gitta, whose health is very fragile, although unfailingly warm and polite on the telephone, was the only member of the Stangl family who felt unable to face the ordeal of talking to me at all. She suffered from one of the debilitating infections common in South America, and became much worse after her father's arrest and trial. The youngest girl, Isolde or Isi, as good-looking as her mother and sisters, is the least oppressed by, or even involved, in these terrible events. Only seven years old when they arrived in Brazil, she has become totally part of this new continent: Portuguese is her language, she has now married a young Brazilian and if she too prefers not to speak of the past, it is not because it worries her, but because, protected by her youth, it is emotionally beyond her; her way of thinking, her concerns are those of a young Brazilian, and she is free of the past.\n\nRenate \u2013 for good reason \u2013 is the one who feels most involved. Her marriage had broken up some time before Stangl's arrest, for reasons quite unconnected with it. But Stangl believed to the end (despite reassurances I was finally able to give him) that his son-in-law, Herbert Havel, had been involved in his capture. I had asked him in April 1971, when it was he had first realized that he was being looked for.\n\n\"In 1964,\" he said, \"when my son-in-law showed me a Viennese newspaper where it said that Wiesenthal was after me.\"\n\n\"You believe, do you, that your son-in-law gave you away to Wiesenthal?\"\n\n\"Renate had left him. When he came to me in 1964, he said that unless I got Renate to go back to him, he would destroy us all.\"\n\nAt the time this belief of Stangl's did not seem surprising to me, because four months earlier, after his sentence to life imprisonment at D\u00fcsseldorf, newspapers all over the world had quoted Simon Wiesenthal to this effect, and I too, meeting Herr Wiesenthal for the first time in Vienna in December 1970, gained a similar impression. To quote the _Daily Express_ of December 23, 1970: \"Sitting in D\u00fcsseldorf High Court today was Simon Wiesenthal, himself a survivor of Nazi camps... today he said, 'If I had done nothing else in life but to get this evil man Stangl, then I would not have lived in vain.' [There follows a brief account of Stangl's life since the end of the war]... Nazi-hunter Wiesenthal kept on the trail and in 1967 paid Stangl's son-in-law \u00a33,000 for information.\"\n\nAfter my first week of talks with Stangl I telephoned Herr Wiesenthal to check once more this particular element in the story of the arrest. Herr Wiesenthal then told me that he had been widely misunderstood; apparently he had just received a letter from Herbert Havel's uncle in Vienna, telling him that Mr Havel intended to sue him for libel. Herr Wiesenthal then said that he was calling a press conference to make it perfectly clear that he had never met or communicated with Havel, had never received any information concerning Stangl from him, and had most certainly never offered him any money or reward. (It should also be pointed out that Herr Wiesenthal states quite plainly in his book _The Murderers Are Among Us_* that the \u00a33,000 \u2013 or $7,000 \u2013 for information about Stangl was paid to \"a seedy character\" \u2013 a former Gestapo man \u2013 who came to see him, he says, at his office in Vienna.)\n\nI am glad that these pages offer an opportunity to repeat these assurances, because it was not only Franz Stangl who believed that Herbert Havel had been in some way instrumental in delivering him to justice. His family, particularly Renate (Mr Havel's former wife), shared this belief.\n\nWhen I repeated Herr Wiesenthal's assurances to Frau Stangl six months later, she said that considering the sequence of events, and the many quotes in the newspapers, she still found them difficult to believe.\n\n\"You see,\" she said, \"when, some time after Renate's marriage broke up and before we moved to Brooklin, Havel came to the house \u2013 it was in February 1964 \u2013 and brought this Viennese newspaper which said that Wiesenthal was looking for Paul \u2013 he _said_ that 'he had sent his Jewish uncle to see Wiesenthal'... and we didn't know whether to believe it or not. But seeing how he felt about us, there really wasn't much reason to doubt what he said. A month later, in March 1964, he phoned Paul and summoned him \u2013 ordered him \u2013 to meet him: there isn't any other way of describing it. Paul went and Havel told him that he had checked a photograph which had subsequently appeared in the Vienna paper and that he now had no doubt: that Paul was the man Wiesenthal was seeking. Paul was fatalistic about it \u2013 as he always had been. 'You see,' he said, 'it's unavoidable. But if it comes to it, I want to give myself up \u2013 I don't want to run away.' He didn't say that just once, he said it a thousand times....\"\n\n(\" _You weren't really surprised_ ,\" I had asked Stangl, \" _when you were caught?_ \"\n\n\"I wasn't surprised,\" he said. \"I had always expected it.\")\n\n\"The Eichmann trial?\" Frau Stangl said. \"Yes, Paul followed it avidly. He sat there [she pointed to an armchair in the little sitting room] and read everything that was said about it in the Brazilian and also in the German papers we got. Yes, he read a great deal about all these things, always: newspaper articles and many of the books that were written. But he never commented on any of them to me \u2013 we never spoke about any of it: it was taboo. After that thing with Havel and the Viennese paper, nothing happened for a long time. We moved to the new house in Brooklin, as you know, in early 1965 and there too, as I said before, we rarely talked about it. But he did say, though I don't remember exactly when it was: 'If that clever man Wiesenthal is looking for me, surely all he has to do is ask the police, or the Austrian consulate \u2013 he could find me at once \u2013 I am not budging.'\n\n\"Herr Wiesenthal's account\", Frau Stangl said, \"of how he found us, as he described it to the press and in his book \u2013 I don't believe it. After all, why all the fuss? As Paul said, anyone could have found us, at any time. We were registered at the Austrian consulate in S\u00e3o Paulo since 1954; I was regularly writing home; everybody had our address. There was no call for all that drama....\"\n\n* Heinemann, London, 1967.\n\n# 4\n\nTHERE DOES indeed seem to have been no reason for \"all that drama\" considering that the Stangls really cannot be described as having \"disappeared\". What is astonishing is not that Stangl was finally \"found\", but that he was ever supposed to have been \"lost\".\n\nThe American CIC appears to have known about his position in Sobibor and Treblinka in 1945, yet they handed him over to the Austrians in 1947 and the Austrians put him in an open prison from which \u2013 of course \u2013 he walked out. When he went to Damascus after being helped in Rome, he immediately informed his wife of his address, keeping up a regular correspondence with her, and when his family joined him there a year later, Frau Stangl gave not only their relatives, but also the Austrian police precise information about their movements, including Franz Stangl's address. When they travelled via Italy to Brazil in 1951, they did so under their own name. When they reached Brazil, they lived and worked under their own name. In 1954 they registered under their own name at the Austrian consulate in S\u00e3o Paulo.\n\nThe Austrian consul there was Herr Otto Heller, who was still holding the same post when I was there in 1971. It is true that he denied having registered Paul F. Stangl, or having subsequently altered that registration to Franz P. Stangl, or that Stangl had ever, to his knowledge, been inside the consulate. But he agreed that Frau Stangl registered, and that she entered on the form the names of her children, and stated that she was residing with her husband, Franz P. Stangl. He produced two files, one for \"Theresa Eidenb\u00f6ck Stangl\", the other for \"Renate Havel Stangl\", and repeated that these were the only Stangls in his records.\n\nFrau Stangl says: \"We went together to register at the Austrian consulate in August 1954. Not for any particular reason, but only because we felt it was right and proper to register at one's consulate, and we had so far neglected to do so.\" (\"Registration\", said Herr Heller, \"is not required by Austrian law. It is in fact accepted by the consulate merely as a courtesy \u2013 a service to Austrian residents abroad.\")\n\n\"We needed nothing from them at that time,\" said Frau Stangl. \"Only much later, in 1957 and '58 when the girls married, they needed a copy of their father's certificate of citizenship or birth certificate \u2013 I don't remember which \u2013 and we asked for it. The consulate never refused anything to either me or the children. As far as I can remember, when we went to register, the clerk told us he was an auxiliary or provisional clerk. He gave us two papers to fill out. My husband was always much slower and more deliberate than I in writing; and somehow he never remembered dates precisely.* So I remember that he was still writing when I finished and handed in my form. But I saw him fill it in, and I saw the clerk take it from him. I did not see what my husband had written. It was not the custom to be given receipts for registration, so we don't have any proof of this.\"\n\n\"Stangl\" is not an uncommon name in Austria, and it is admittedly unlikely that a provisional clerk would have attached any special significance to it. Equally, I thought reasonable Herr Otto Heller's comment to me; \"If Herr Wiesenthal thought Stangl was in S\u00e3o Paulo, why didn't he in fact address himself to us? That would have made us look through the files, and then, sure enough, we _would_ have found his name \u2013 if nowhere else, then on his wife's registration.\"\n\nHowever, the fact remains that during my research in Vienna (for which, incidentally, the Austrian authorities readily gave me all the assistance I requested), I found that from 1961 Stangl _was_ on the official Austrian list of \"Wanted Criminals\" (which is circulated to all embassies and consulates abroad), under the number \"34\/34 Mord: Tatbestand Treblinka.\"\u2020 And in 1964, according to Frau Stangl, his name was conspicuous in the coverage given to the Treblinka trial by the Brazilian and foreign press. So it seems odd, to say the least, that during the six years between the first appearance of his name on the Austrian \"Wanted\" list, and his dramatic arrest, the fact that he was residing openly in Brazil never emerged.\n\nThe very efficient aliens' police (DOPS) must certainly have had his particulars which, on request from Austrian or German government sources, would have been made available; the \"Wanted List\" appears never to have been checked by the Austrian consulate in S\u00e3o Paulo, although, as said above, his name figured prominently in press reports of the trial; and not a single person at Volkswagen apparently felt moved to ask any questions, though both his coworkers and the management at least knew his name and presumably read the papers. In the light of all this, one can only be amazed that it was left to the private efforts of Herr Wiesenthal to discover the whereabouts of this man who was never hidden.\n\n* A fact which had already struck me, considering his extraordinary memory for names.\n\n\u2020 His name was thus listed _thirteen years_ after he escaped from an Austrian prison where he was held to be tried for \u2013 one would presume at least \u2013 complicity in the murders at Hartheim; a fact which, one concludes, must have appeared irrelevant to the Austrian authorities between 1948 and 1960. It appears impossible to ascribe this omission to the well-known Austrian _Schlamperei_ , an endearing quality which, incidentally, is certainly responsible for the fact that Stangl's name was still listed (Consul Heller showed it to me) in 1971 \u2013 when Stangl, after four years' imprisonment in Germany, had already been tried and sentenced, and was dead.\n\n# 5\n\n\"ON THE night it happened, February 28, 1967,\" said Frau Stangl, \"I had seen a lot of cars around. Our street was full of them. But it was only in retrospect I realized that I had noticed this. At the time I thought nothing of it. Renate was already home. Isolde came with Paul \u2013 they had stopped on the way for a beer in a bar. I heard a commotion outside and went to the window. Police cars were drawn across the street, blocking it off on each side; our car was surrounded by crowds of police. Paul was pulled out of the car \u2013 handcuffed \u2013 Isi fell to the ground shouting for us; that's what I had heard, and rushed to the window; but the police car with Paul in it, followed by a string of others, was off before I could even get out of the door. Isi was almost incoherent with shock. She said Paul's face went yellow when it happened.\n\n\"We phoned Gitta and then we went from police station to police station to look for him, but nobody knew anything. Until finally we got to the DOPS. And they said we should be glad they had taken him \u2013 if they hadn't, the Israelis would have picked him up. After that, all we knew was what we read in the papers.\n\n\"In May or so we read that he had been moved to Brasilia, so we went up there. He was in a military prison. He looked \u2013 oh, just terrible, very very bad. And he said it was dreadful. He cried. I asked him about Treblinka; by this time, you know, we had read so much. 'I don't know what pictures you saw,' he said, 'perhaps you saw pictures of other camps....' He was so distraught, all I could think of was to console him. All I wanted then was to be for him someone he could be sure of, someone he could lean on.\n\n\"The children had come up with me, each driving part of the way. He was so wonderful with them, never gave way, never cried while they were in the room, smiled at them, walked them to the gate and waved goodbye to them. But of course, this was the first time it became real to them; seeing him like this, in prison, was a traumatic experience for them. It was after that Brigitte became ill.\n\n\"After that I went up there two or three more times. And on June 22 he was extradited.\n\n\"The two years at our Brooklin house had been our happiest in Brazil. We had had friends \u2013 mostly the children's friends from Volkswagen, but they were friends for us too: Hungarian, Dutch, Brazilians. No, I don't remember any Germans we were friends with. I don't think Dr Schulz-Wenk even knew we existed then,\" she said. [Dr Schulz-Wenk, then Director of Volkswagen, SA, was one of the people about whom it was said that he helped former Nazis.]\n\n\"After Paul was taken to Germany, we moved back to S\u00e3o Bernardo. It was the only sensible thing to do; we had only the money the two girls were earning, and my small pension \u2013 200 cruzeiros. We knew we were going to need a great deal of money, for Paul's defence. If we sublet the Brooklin house and went back to live modestly in S\u00e3o Bernardo, there was a chance of being able to manage. We moved back in October 1967.\n\n\"Everybody drew away from us after this; everybody we knew at Volkswagen and everybody else. Thank God, the girls were allowed to keep their jobs \u2013 we were grateful for that. Dr SchulzWenk is supposed to have said, 'The girls have nothing to do with it'; that's when he knew about us, you know, but not before.\"\n\nIt was about then that Frau Stangl had a visit from the Austrian Gustav Wagner, who had been at Hartheim and Sobibor with Stangl, and had fled with him from Austria. Suchomel had told me that the two men were \"close friends\". When Stangl had told me of his distress at Stanislav Szmajzner's \"forty-page\" attack on him, I had pointed out that in fact only about two pages of the book were devoted to him, whereas Szmajzner wrote with far greater bitterness and horror about Wagner. \"Really?\" said Stangl. \"And yet they live cheek by jowl in Brazil.\" At first Frau Stangl said that she couldn't understand what he had meant by this remark. Later she said: \"Oh, it's because Wagner went for a while with a girl who later married in Goiania [where Stan Szmajzner lives].\" But it would appear that Wagner in fact never lived in Goiania, whereas he did live for a long time thirty kilometres away from the Stangls, in S\u00e3o Paulo.\n\nFrau Stangl was somewhat reluctant to discuss Wagner. This, I think (although I felt differently at first) was primarily because she disliked him and didn't want to be associated in my mind with such a person \u2013 he is by all accounts a particularly nasty piece of work. Finally, however, she admitted that they knew him quite well and that he \"dropped in\" on them.\n\n\"But I didn't like Paul to associate with him,\" she said. \"He is a vulgar man \u2013 we have nothing in common with him.\"\n\nGustav Wagner evidently felt otherwise. \"He came to see me after Paul had been deported,\" said Frau Stangl. \"He wanted money; he said he was down and out and would I lend him money to bury his wife who had just died. I said I didn't have any to lend him. He said, 'Why don't you and I set up house together? I haven't got anybody any longer and as for Franz \u2013 they are going to do him in anyway over there, and you'll be alone too.' \" Frau Stangl said she was outraged and threw him out, and never saw him afterwards \u2013 but she did in fact lend him money which, she wrote later, he had never returned.\n\nAt Stangl's trial she was asked about Gustav Wagner and said that she heard he had gone to Uruguay. Later she wrote to me putting it slightly differently. \"He informed me of his intention to emigrate to Uruguay,\" she wrote. She also told me that she heard, not long before I came to S\u00e3o Paulo in the autumn of 1971, that a woman had seen Wagner in S\u00e3o Bernardo, \"looking like a beggar, with torn clothes and shoes\".\n\n\"I didn't see Paul for three years,\" said Frau Stangl. \"He wrote me once a week. All we did \u2013 all we could do \u2013 was hope. I still didn't believe he had been Kommandant; he denied it to me to the end. I know he admitted it to you \u2013 but never to me. To me he always spoke of the gold, the construction work, and Wirth \u2013 he did that every time, every single time \u2013 in Brasilia too.\n\n\"On May 8, 1968, I received a summons to testify at his trial and I flew to Germany on the 12th; I had been ready because I knew it was going to happen.\n\n\"I went to see Paul at the prison in Duisburg, where he was then; I went with his lawyer, Herr Enders. I found him enormously changed, depressed, terribly controlled.\n\n\"I testified on May 22. I didn't attend the trial because Paul didn't want me to; he was afraid, he said, I'd be attacked or that people \u2013 the public you know \u2013 would be rude to me. I was only in the court three times: when I testified; when Szmajzner testified; and the day of the sentencing. But even though I didn't attend any other day, I went to the building every day and sat outside, just to be near him. I told him, so that he would know while it was going on, that I was there, just outside the door, and thinking of him. I went there, or I went to church.\n\n\"When I first arrived in D\u00fcsseldorf they had arranged for me to stay at a kind of hostel, but it was horribly depressing \u2013 no, not that anyone was unkind to me, it wasn't that: nobody ever was. It was just that it was a kind of institution and I couldn't stand it. But then I went to stay with a wonderfully kind woman in her house and it saved my sanity. In the evenings we talked and she became a friend.\" Frau Stangl also said, in another conversation, that she went to museums and theatres.\n\nFrau Stangl's sister Heli commented on this period too. \"Resl,\" she said. \"Yes, I've seen her, she stayed with me when she came over last [in 1970]. She went to see all the others in the family. We got closer this time than we had ever been. Still, I never could understand how she could bear to go back to Steyr where everybody knew her.\" She shrugged. \"Well, she felt she could \u2013 it is her business. Last time she was here she was quite gay, chipper....\n\n\"Do I think she could have stopped him?\" She shrugged again. \"I think she was ambitious too. You see, my life was good too, even though I was alone for so long. But it was so different \u2013 so very, very different \u2013 it's difficult for me to understand. But Resl always wanted to get to the top. Well, I suppose in a way she did get there....\"\n\n\"My own testimony took two hours,\" Frau Stangl said about the trial. \"I had never been in a court before and I was horribly nervous. Of course I didn't tell them that I hadn't believed Paul's story about the illegal Party membership and how disappointed I was. How could I have told them? If Paul hadn't told you about this himself, perhaps I wouldn't have told you either. They didn't believe that I hadn't known about Hartheim, and yet it was true. Yes, they asked me whether I knew what Sobibor was when I was there. I told them that a drunken SS man told me about it....\n\n\"When I first arrived,\" she said, \"they only allowed me to see Paul twice a week, for fifteen minutes with a guard. Later \u2013 although the guards were always there \u2013 they became much nicer; I could stay longer and sometimes they even allowed me to bring him some beer. What was strange\", she said, \"was that often he would hardly talk to me. He'd sit opposite me at the table in that little interview cell, but he'd chat with the guards, not with me; he'd talk to them about their leaves, their excursions, places he knew, had been to. It hurt me, and sometimes I'd say, 'Don't you want to talk to _me_?\"\n\nThere was good reason for this: Stangl knew that by this time she had read everything about the trial and him. He desperately wanted her there \u2013 she was allowed to kiss and hug him \u2013 but he dreaded her questions and, by this nervous chatter with the guards, was avoiding them at all cost. In my conversations with him it emerged very clearly that in the end the only thing that mattered to him was her and his children's continued loyalty and love; and equally, how aware he was of his wife's profound aversion to what he had done. He was not sufficiently perceptive to realize how thin the line was \u2013 for her too \u2013 between rationalization of what he had done and accepting it, and living up to her own fundamental principles \u2013 and condemning him. He could only think, with real dread, of the possibility \u2013 or, as by that time, he probably knew, the probability \u2013 of her rejecting him.\n\nBasically, it was when he came to terms with the realization that she knew \u2013 that after what had happened, even if he ever got out of prison, life with his family would be impossible \u2013 that he decided to talk to me. I came to understand this in the course of the conversations with him; and he, in a way, confirmed it in letters he wrote to his wife until shortly before he died, about his feelings about these talks.\n\n# 6\n\nTHE LAST time I saw Frau Stangl we talked about causes and effects, reasons beyond reasons.\n\n\"The day he was sentenced,\" she said, \"I know you won't agree with me about this, as you haven't agreed about other things, but I must go on being honest with you: those other Germans who sat in judgment over him, what do you think they would have done in his place? One of the jury-men came up to me later and said, 'I don't want you to think that it was unanimous \u2013 it wasn't.'\n\n\"You see, I can't help thinking that there has to be a reason for everything, even this terrible thing that happened. The universe isn't without reason \u2013 nothing is. My sister goes to Israel every year, to a kibbutz \u2013 she has told me so much about it. I really ask myself, these people who died \u2013 they were heroes, martyrs, wasn't there a reason, a sense in their sacrifice? Could that extraordinary country have been built if it hadn't been for this catastrophe?\"\n\nI could not help but suspect that she and her husband had come to this consoling conclusion together, for he had said something very similar to me. \" _In retrospect_ \" I had asked him, \" _do you think there was any conceivable sense to this horror_?\"\n\n\"Yes, I am sure there was,\" he replied. \"Perhaps the Jews were meant to have this enormous jolt to pull them together, to create a people, to identify themselves with each other.\"\n\nIt is impossible not to feel a sense of outrage at hearing either of these two people, so horrifyingly involved, say this. And yet, the way they both said it, they were, if not honourable, certainly trying \u2013 and meaning \u2013 to search for honesty.\n\nAt the very end of our conversations I told Frau Stangl that I needed to ask her an extremely difficult question which I wanted her to think about deeply before attempting to answer. \"It is the most important question as far as my talks with you are concerned,\" I said, \"and to me, the reply you give me will determine your own position; the degree, if you like, of your own guilt.\" I suggested that, before replying, she should leave me for a while, lie down, think about it.\n\n\"Would you tell me\", I asked, \"what you think would have happened if at any time you had faced your husband with an absolute choice; if you had said to him: 'Here it is; I know it's terribly dangerous, but either you get out of this terrible thing, or else the children and I will leave you.' What I would like to know,\" I said, \"is: if you had confronted him with these alternatives, which do you think he would have chosen?\"\n\nShe went to her room and lay down; I could hear the bedsprings creak as she lowered herself on to the bed. The little house was silent. It was very hot outside and the sun shone into the living room where I sat waiting, for more than an hour. When she came back she was very pale; she had been crying, had then washed her face and combed her hair and, I think, put on some powder. She was composed; she had made a decision \u2013 the same decision her husband had made six months earlier in the prison in D\u00fcsseldorf; to speak the truth.\n\n\"I have thought very hard,\" she said. \"I know what you want to know. I know what I am doing when I answer your question. I am answering it because I think I owe it to you, to others, to myself; I believe that if I had ever confronted Paul with the alternatives: Treblinka \u2013 or me; he would... yes, he would in the final analysis have chosen me.\"\n\nI felt strongly that this was the truth. I believe that Stangl's love for his wife was greater than his ambition, and greater than his fear. If she had commanded the courage and the moral conviction to force him to make a choice, it is true they might all have perished, but in the most fundamental sense, she would have saved him.\n\nThis was not, however, the last word to be spoken between Frau Stangl and me on this trip to Brazil. The next morning I had to leave my hotel at 6 a.m. to fly to the interior, and only returned late in the evening. At the desk they handed me a letter. \"A lady brought it,\" the clerk said, \"early this morning.\"\n\n\"Dear Do\u00f1a Gitta, I want to beg to correct an answer to a question you asked me where I had, at the time of our talk, too little time to ponder my reply.\n\n\"The question was whether my husband, in the end, would have found the courage to get away from Treblinka had I put before him the alternative 'me, or Treblinka'. I answered your question \u2013 hesitatingly \u2013 with, 'He would have chosen me.'\n\n\"This is not so, because as I know him \u2013 so well \u2013 he would never have destroyed himself or the family. And that is what I learned to understand in the critical month of July 1943.\n\n\"I can therefore in all truthfulness say that, from the beginning of my life to now, I have always lived honourably.\n\n\"I wish you, dear Do\u00f1a Gitta, once more all the best,\n\nyour\n\nThea Stangl\"*\n\nI telephoned Frau Stangl late that night.\n\n\"When did you write this letter?\" I asked her. \"It sounds like something written in the middle of the night. This isn't really what you want to say, is it?\"\n\nShe cried. \"I thought and thought...\" she said. \"I didn't know what to do. So finally I wrote it at 3 o'clock in the morning and brought it in on the first bus.\"\n\n\"What would you like me to do?\" I asked.\n\n\"I don't know. I just don't know.\"\n\nI told Frau Stangl that I would put in my book what she had said to me the previous day \u2013 which I thought was the truth. But that I would also add the letter, which only showed what we all know, which is that the truth can be a terrible thing, sometimes too terrible to live with.\n\n* Author's translation from the German.\n\n# 7\n\nPERHAPS IN the end it was easier for her husband to tell the truth because, I think, he knew he would die when he had told it.\n\nThe last day I spent with Stangl was Sunday, June 27, 1971. He had felt faintly unwell much of that week with stomach trouble, and that day I had brought him some special soup in a thermos \u2013 it was an Austrian soup he had said his wife used to make for him when he didn't feel well. When I came back to the prison after a half-hour lunch break, he looked quite different: elated, his face smooth, his eyes fresh.\n\n\"I can't tell you,\" he said, \"how wonderful I suddenly feel. I ate that wonderful soup and then I lay down. And I rested so deeply, somehow like never before. Oh, I feel wonderful,\" he repeated.\n\nAs my time for these talks was running out and I only intended coming back once more \u2013 the following Tuesday for an hour or two, to recapitulate on anything important before flying back to London \u2013 the prison governor had said I could stay later than usual this Sunday. We spent four hours that afternoon, going back over many questions we had discussed before.\n\nHe talked again, at length, about the fairy-tale book by Janusz Korczak; he became fascinated with the subject of what children should, and should never again, be taught. He spoke for a long time in a decisive but thoughtful and quiet manner. Then he turned to stupidity in general. As he warmed to the subject and went back to relating it to his own experiences, as often before during these talks, his personality changed brusquely and startlingly; his voice became harder and louder, his accent more provincial and his face coarse. (\"It happened,\" his wife had said to me. \"God help me; I saw it again here in Brazil \u2013 not for years, but then just in the last two years; it happened most often when he was driving and got angry about other drivers \u2013 stupidity, he called it, and it frightened me to see his face like that.\")\n\n\"In Brazil,\" he said, his voice harsh, his accent almost vulgar, \"at vw, the stupidity of some of the people there had to be seen to be believed. It sometimes drove me wild.\" He gestured with his hands. \"There were idiots amongst them \u2013 morons. I often opened my mouth too wide and let them have it. 'My God,' I'd say to them, 'euthanasia passed _you_ by, didn't it,' and I'd tell my wife when I got home, 'these morons got overlooked by the euthanasia.' \"\n\n\" _Do you think_ \", I finally asked \u2013 it had become very late \u2013 \" _that that time in Poland taught you anything_?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he said, his voice once again calm and pensive \u2013 the increasing abruptness of these repeated metamorphoses becoming ever more disconcerting. \"That everything human has its origin in human weakness.\"\n\n\" _You said before that you thought perhaps the fews were 'meant' to have this 'enormous jolt': when you say 'meant to' \u2013 are you speaking of God_?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\" _What is God_?\"\n\n\"God is everything higher which I cannot understand but only believe.\"\n\nThe awful distortion in his thinking had shown up time after time as we had talked. And now here it was again, as we came to the end of these talks.\n\n\" _Was God in Treblinka_?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he said. \"Otherwise, how could it have happened?\"\n\n\" _But isn't God good_?\"\n\n\"No,\" he said slowly, \"I wouldn't say that. He is good and bad. But then, laws are made by men; and faith in God too depends on men \u2013 so that doesn't prove much of anything, does it? The only thing is, there _are_ things which are inexplicable by science, so there must be something beyond man. Tell me though, if a man has a goal he calls God, what can he do to achieve it? Do you know?\"\n\n\" _Don't you think it differs for each man? In your case, could it be to seek truth?\"_\n\n\"Truth?\"\n\n\" _Well, to face up to yourself? Perhaps as a start, just about what you have been trying to do in these past weeks_?\"\n\nHis immediate response was automatic, and automatically unyielding. \"My conscience is clear about what I did, myself,\" he said, in the same stiffly spoken words he had used countless times at his trial, and in the past weeks, when we had always come back to this subject, over and over again. But this time I said nothing. He paused and waited, but the room remained silent. \"I have never intentionally hurt anyone, myself,\" he said, with a different, less incisive emphasis, and waited again \u2013 for a long time. For the first time, in all these many days, I had given him no help. There was no more time. He gripped the table with both hands as if he was holding on to it. \"But I was there,\" he said then, in a curiously dry and tired tone of resignation. These few sentences had taken almost half an hour to pronounce. \"So yes,\" he said finally, very quietly, \"in reality I share the guilt.... Because my guilt... my guilt... only now in these talks... now that I have talked about it all for the first time....\" He stopped.\n\nHe had pronounced the words \"my guilt\": but more than the words, the finality of it was in the sagging of his body, and on his face.\n\nAfter more than a minute he started again, a half-hearted attempt, in a dull voice. \"My guilt,\" he said, \"is that I am still here. That is my guilt.\"\n\n\" _Still here_?\"\n\n\"I should have died. That was my guilt.\"\n\n\" _Do you mean you should have died, or you should have had the_ courage _to die_?\"\n\n\"You can put it like that,\" he said, vaguely, sounding tired now.\n\n\" _Well, you say that now. But then_?\"\n\n\"That _is_ true,\" he said slowly, perhaps deliberately misinterpreting my question. \"I did have another twenty years \u2013 twenty good years. But believe me, now I would have preferred to die rather than this....\" He looked around the little prison room. \"I have no more hope,\" he said then, in a factual tone of voice; and continued, just as quietly: \"And anyway \u2013 it is enough now. I want to carry through these talks we are having and then \u2013 let it be finished. Let there be an end.\"\n\nIt was over. I got up. Usually a prison guard had come to fetch him; this time, because we had continued much later than usual, the instructions were that he was to come downstairs with me to the entrance of the prison block, from where a guard would take him back to his cell. When we stood up he became suddenly very gay, fatigue appeared to have gone; he helped me pick up my papers and insisted on carrying the coffee cups.\n\nWhen we got downstairs, we stood for a moment near the door which was opened for me to leave the block. He stuck his head out. \"Nice air,\" he said, \"let me smell it a moment. I'll be glad to see the lady out,\" he jested to the officer on duty who smiled and pressed the button that closed the electronic door. When I waved from outside, he smiled and waved back. It was just after 5 o'clock.\n\nStangl died nineteen hours later, just after noon the next day, Monday, of heart failure. He had seen no one since I left him except a prison officer who had taken the food trolley around. On a piece of paper tacked to his wall he had jotted down a name he had been trying to remember. On his table everything was in perfect order. Inside the book of fairy tales by Janusz Korczak, the sheet of paper with which he had marked a page he wanted to show me was no longer blank as I had seen it, but covered with emphatically underlined quotes from the book, each headed by the appropriate page number. The prison library book he was reading at the time of his death was _Laws and Honour_ by Josef Pilsudski.\n\nThe possibility was certainly in everybody's mind \u2013 including mine \u2013 that he might have killed himself, and he was carefully examined at the obligatory _post mortem_.\n\nHe had not committed suicide. His heart was weak and he would no doubt have died quite soon anyway. But I think he died when he did because he had finally, however briefly, faced himself and told the truth; it was a monumental effort to reach that fleeting moment when he became the man he should have been.\n\n# Epilogue\n\nI do not believe that all men are equal, for what we are above all other things, is individual and different. But individuality and difference are not only due to the talents we happen to be born with. They depend as much on the extent to which we are allowed to expand in freedom.\n\nThere is an as yet ill-defined, little-understood essential core to our being which, given this freedom, comes into its own, almost like birth, and which separates or even liberates us from intrinsic influences, and thereafter determines our moral conduct and growth. A moral monster, I believe, is not born, but is produced by interference with this growth. I do not know what this core is: mind, spirit, or perhaps a moral force as yet unnamed. But I think that, in the most fundamental sense, the individual personality only exists, is only valid from the moment when it emerges; when, at whatever age (in infancy, if we are lucky), we begin to be in charge of and increasingly responsible for our actions.\n\nSocial morality is contingent upon the individual's capacity to make responsible decisions, to make the fundamental choice between right and wrong; this capacity derives from this mysterious core \u2013 the very essence of the human person.\n\nThis essence, however, cannot come into being or exist in a vacuum. It is deeply vulnerable and profoundly dependent on a climate of life; on freedom in the deepest sense: not license, but freedom to grow: within family, within community, within nations, and within human society as a whole. The fact of its existence therefore \u2013 the very fact of our existence as valid individuals \u2013 is evidence of our interdependence and of our responsibility for each other.\n\n# List of Principal Works Consulted\n\nAdolph, Walter: _Hirtenamt und Hitler-Diktatur_ , Berlin, 1965.\n\nAllen, William Sheridan: _The Nazi Seizure of Power_ , London, 1966.\n\nArendt, Hannah: _Eichmann in Jerusalem_ , New York, 1963.\n\nBartoszewski, Wladysiaw: _The Blood that Unites Us_ , Warsaw, 1970.\n\nBar-Zohar, Michel: _Les Vengeurs_ , Paris, 1968.\n\nBerg, Mary: _Warsaw Ghetto: a Diary_ , New York, 1945.\n\nBernadotte, Count Folke: _The Curtain Falls_ , New York, 1945.\n\nBiss, Andreas, _Der Stopp der Endl\u00f6sung_ , Stuttgart, 1966.\n\nBrockdorff, Werner: _Flucht vor N\u00fcrnberg_ , Munich-Wels, 1969.\n\nBullock, Alan: _Hitler: a Study in Tyranny_ , London, 1964.\n\nChurchill, Sir Winston S.: _The Second World War_ , London, 1948\u201354.\n\nCiechenowski, Jan: _Defeat in Victory_ , New York, 1947.\n\nCohn, Norman: _Warrant for Genocide_ , London, 1967.\n\nDevel, Wallace R.: _People Under Hitler_ , New York, 1942.\n\nDicks, Henry V.: _Licensed Mass Murder: a socio-psychological study of some SS killers_ , London, 1972.\n\nDollmann, Eugen: _The Interpreter_ , London, 1967.\n\nFalconi, Carlo: _The Silence of Pius XII_ , London, 1970.\n\nFrank, Anna: _The Diary of a Young Girl_ , New York, 1952.\n\nFrank, Hans: _Dziennik Hansa Franka_ , ed. S. Piotrowski, Warsaw, 1957.\n\nFrank, Michael: _Die Letzte Bastion: Nazis in Argentinien_ , Hamburg, 1962.\n\nFriedl\u00e4nder, Saul: _Pie XII et le IIIe Reich_ , Paris, 1964.\n\nFry, Varian: _Surrender on Demand_ , New York, 1945.\n\nGallagher, J. P.: _Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican: Hugh Joseph 0'Flaherty_ , London, 1969.\n\nGilbert, G. M.: _Nuremberg Diary_ , New York, 1947 _The Psychology of Dictatorship_ , New York, 1950.\n\nGoebbels, Josef: _Tageb\u00fccher_ 1942\u201343, ed. Louis Lochner, Zurich, 1948.\n\nGollancz, Victor: _The Case of Adolf Eichmann_ , London, 1961. _Let My People Go_ , London, 1943.\n\nGruchmann, Lothar: _Euthanasie und Justiz im Dritten Reich_ , Stuttgart, 1972.\n\nHausner, Gideon: _Justice in Jerusalem_ , New York, 1945.\n\nHill, Mavis M. and Williams, L. Norman: _Auschwitz in England_ , London, 1965.\n\nHirschmann, Ira: _The Embers Still Burn_ , New York, 1949.\n\nHitler, Adolf: _Mein Kampf_ , Munich, 1933.\n\nHochhuth, Rolf: _Der Stellvertreter_ , Hamburg, 1963.\n\nHohne, Heinz: _The Order of the Death's Head_ , London, 1969.\n\nHolmes, J. Derek: _The Church in Nazi Germany._\n\nH\u00f6ss, Rudolf: _Kommandant in Auschwitz_ , Stuttgart, 1958.\n\nHudal, Alo\u00efs: _Sch\u00f6nere Zukunft \u2013 Gedanken zur Judenfrage_ , June, 1936. _Rom, Christentum und deutsches Volk_ , Innsbruck, 1935.\n\nJoffroy, Pierre: _A Spy for God: the Ordeal of Kurt Gerstein_ , London, 1970.\n\nKarski, Jan: _The Story of a Secret State_ , New York, 1944.\n\nKastner, Rezso: _Der Bericht des j\u00fcdischen Rettungskommitees aus Budapest, 1942\u20133_ , Germany, 1958.\n\nKatz, Robert: _Death in Rome_ , London, 1967.\n\nKempner, Robert M. W.: _Das dritte Reich im Kreuzverh\u00f6r_ , Munich, 1969. _Der Kampfgegen die Kirche, aus unver\u00f6ffentlichten Tageb\u00fcchern._\n\nKogon, Eugen: _The Theory and Practice of Hell_ , London, 1951. _Der SS Staat_ , Berlin, 1947.\n\nKosdorff, Ursula von: _Berliner Aufzeichnungen 1942\u201345_ , Munich, 1962.\n\nLaval, Pierre: _Laval parle (Notes et Memoires redig\u00e9s \u00e0 Fresnes, d'Ao\u00fbt \u00e0 Octobre 1945)_ , Paris, 1948.\n\nLe Chene, Evelyn: _Mauthausen, the History of a Death Camp_ , London, 1971.\n\nLeiber, Robert, SJ: _Pius XII und die Juden in Rom, 1943\u201344_ , Freiburg, 1960\u201361.\n\nLevi, Primo: _If This is a Man_ , London, 1959.\n\nLevy, Alan: _Wanted: Nazi Criminals at Large_ , New York, 1962.\n\nLewi, Guenter: _The Catholic Church and Nazi Germany_ , New York, 1964.\n\nMalaparte, Curzio: _Kaputt_ , New York, 1946.\n\nMann, Thomas: _Deutscher H\u00f6rer! 25 Radiosendung nach Deutschland_ , Stockholm, 1942.\n\nMarshall, Bruce: _The White Rabbit: the Story of Wing-Commander F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas_ , London, 1952.\n\nMitscherlich, Alexander, and Mielke, Fred: _Wissenschaft ohne Menschlichkeit_ , Heidelberg, 1949.\n\nMorse, Arthur D.: _While 6,000,000 Died_ , London, 1968.\n\nMuszkat, Marian: _Polish Charges against German War Criminals_ , Warsaw, 1948.\n\nNalkowska, Zofia: _Medaillons_ , East Berlin, 1968.\n\nNeuh\u00e4usler, Johann: _Kreuz und Hakenkreuz_ , Munich, 1946.\n\nNiem\u00f6ller, Martin: _Die Evangelische Kirche im dritten Reich_ , Bielefeld, 1956. _Herr ist Jesus Christ \u2013 Hitler und die Evangelischen Kirchenf\u00fchrer_ , Bielefeld, 1959.\n\nNiem\u00f6ller, Wilhelm: _Macht geht vor Recht: der Prozess Martin Niem\u00f6ller_ , Munich, 1952.\n\nNovitch, Miriam: _La verit\u00e9 sur Treblinka_ , Paris, 1967.\n\nNyiszli, Miklos: _Auschwitz: a Doctor's Eye-witness Account_ , New York, 1960.\n\nPap\u00e9e, Kazimierz: _Pius XII a Polska, 1939\u201349_ , Rome, 1954.\n\nPapen, Franz von: _Memoirs_ , London, 1952.\n\nPicker, Henry: _Hitlers Tischgespr\u00e4che im F\u00fchrerhauptquartier, 1941\u201342_ , Bonn, 1951.\n\nPoliakov, L\u00e9on: _La br\u00e9viaire de la haine_ , Paris, 1951.\n\nRathbone, Eleanor F.: _Rescue the Perishing_ , Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, May 19, 1943.\n\nReitlinger, Gerald: _The Final Solution_ , London, 1961. _The SS: the Alibi of a Nation_ , London. 1956.\n\nRingelblum, Emmanuel: _Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto_ , New York, 1958.\n\nRoches, Georges, and St Germain, Philippe: _Pius XII devant l'histoire_ , Paris, 1972.\n\nRoosevelt, Eleanor: _This I Remember_ , New York, 1949.\n\nRosenberg, Alfred: _Der Mythus des 20 Jahrhunderts_ , Munich, 1934.\n\nRothkirchen, Livia: _The Destruction of Slovak Jewry_ , Jerusalem, 1961.\n\nR\u00fcckerl, Adalbert: _NS-Prozesse_ , Karlsruhe, 1971.\n\nRussell of Liverpool, Lord: _The Scourge of the Swastika_ , London, 1954.\n\nSchlabrendorf, Fabian von: _Offiziere gegen Hitler_ , Zurich, 1946.\n\nSchoenberner, Gerhard: _The Yellow Star_ , London, 1969.\n\nShirer, William L.: _Berlin Diary_ , New York, 1943. _The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich_ , London, 1960.\n\nSpeer, Albert: _Erinnerungen_ , Berlin, 1969.\n\nStephenson, William: _The Bormann Brotherhood_ , New York, 1973.\n\nSuhl, Yuri: _They Fought Back_ , New York, 1967.\n\nSzmajzner, Stanislaw: _Inferno em Sobibor_ , Rio de Janeiro, 1968.\n\nTenenbaum, Josef: _In Search of a Lost People_ , New York, 1949. _Underground: the Story of a People_ , New York, 1952.\n\nThalmann, Rita, and Feinermann, Emmanuel: _La Nuit de Cristal_ , Paris, 1972.\n\nToynbee, Arnold and Veronica (ed.): _Hitler's Europe_ , London, 1954.\n\nTrevor-Roper, H. R.: _The Last Days of Hitler_ , London, 1947.\n\nVolk, Ludwig, SJ: _Das Reichkonkordat vom 20 Juli 1933_ , Mainz, 1972. ' _Der Bayerische Episcopat und Nationalsozialismus_ ', Essay in _Stimmen der Zeit_ 1964\u201365, Heft 7, Katholische Akadamie in Bayern, Aktionpublicationen Vol. II., 1965.\n\nWiernik, Yankel: _A Year in Treblinka_ , New York, 1945.\n\nWiesenthal, Simon: _The Murderers Are Among Us_ , London, 1967.\n\nWeissberg, Alex: _Advocate for the Dead: the Story of Joel Brand_ , London, 1958.\n\nWeisz\u00e4cker, Ernst von: _Erinnerungen_ , Munich, 1950.\n\nWronski, S., and Zwalakowa, M.: _Polacy Zyszi 1939\u201345_ , Warsaw, 1971.\n\nYahil, Leni: _The Rescue of Danish Jewry_ , Philadelphia, 1969.\n\nZipfel, Friedrich: _Kirchenkampf in Deutschland_ , Berlin, 1956.\n\nMany compilations of records and documents were also consulted, amongst them the following:\n\nTranscripts of the Treblinka trial and the Stangl trial, by courtesy of the State Prosecutors and Administrators of the West German Court at D\u00fcsseldorf.\n\nUnpublished documents of the former Polish Government in Exile, by courtesy of the Administrators of the Polish Archives Outside Poland.\n\nPolish Government and trial documents, by courtesy of the Ministry of Justice, Warsaw.\n\n_Les Actes et Documents du Saint Si\u00e8ge relatif \u00e0 la Seconde Guerre Mondiale_ , ed. Pierre Blet, Robert A. Graham, Angelo Martini and Burkhart Schneider, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican Qty. Five volumes had been published by the spring of 1973.\n\nRitter, Julian: \"Hochland\", _Nachruf \u00fcber Pius XII_\n\n_Documenty i Materialy_ , Central Jewish Historical Commission of Poland, Lodz, 1946.\n\n_German Crimes in Poland_ , ed. Central Commission for War Crimes, Warsaw, 1946\u20137.\n\n_War Years in Poland, 1939\u201345: Scenes of Fighting and Martyrdom_ , a guide by the Council for the Preservation of Monuments to Resistance and Martyrdom, Warsaw, 1964 (English translation 1968).\n\nRoy Publishers: _The Black Book: the Nazi Crimes against the Jewish People_ , New York, 1946.\n\nLeo Baeck Institute: _Yearbook XI, The Jewish Question and Anti-Semitism_ , London, 1966.\n\n_Encyclopedia Judaica_ , Vol. 4B, pages 905\u201310, Jerusalem, 1971.\n\n_Frankfurter Rundschau:_ Sobibor, August 22, 24, 26, 1950; Hirtreiter, November 11, 1950.\n\nTrial Records on microfilm, consulted by courtesy of the Institute for Contemporary History, Munich, and the Central Judiciary Authority for NS Crimes in Ludwigsburg: Case I, no. 205 (Victor Brack to Himmler, Trials of War Criminals I, page 721); Case I, no. 470, no. 3010, affadavits (Dr Gorgass, Trials of War Criminals I, page 803); Case IX, no. 3197 (affadavit, Paul Blobel); Case IX, no. 5384 (affadavit Albert Hard, cross-examination, Transcript 2898\u20132900); Case I, no. 2635 (Mennecke's examination before Landgericht, Frankfurt); Case I, Transcript 2481 (examination Karl Brandt, Mischerlich 118).\n_About the Author_\n\nGitta Sereny is a well-known British journalist who writes for the _Sunday Times of London_ and has contributed many articles to other publications all over the world. She is the author of a novel, _The Medallion_ , and a previous non-fiction book, _The Case of Mary Bell._\n","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaBook"}}
+{"text":"\n\nBegin Reading\n\nTable of Contents\n\nAbout the Author\n\nCopyright Page\n\nThank you for buying this\n\nSt. Martin's Press ebook.\n\nTo receive special offers, bonus content,\n\nand info on new releases and other great reads,\n\nsign up for our newsletters.\n\nOr visit us online at\n\nus.macmillan.com\/newslettersignup\n\nFor email updates on the author, click here.\nThe author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author's copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com\/piracy.\nINTRODUCTION\n\nThis novel is set in communist East Germany, the German Democratic Republic (in German the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR) in the mid-1970s, when the country had one of the highest standards of living of any in the Eastern bloc. At the time, with the Berlin Wall \u2013 or the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier\/Rampart as it was officially known in the East \u2013 firmly in place, few could have predicted the tumultuous events in 1989 which led to its dismantling.\n\nThe DDR has come to be identified with its feared Ministry for State Security, the MfS, more commonly known as the Stasi. But while the existence of the Stasi \u2013 and its network of un-official informers \u2013 was known about at the time, its apparently bizarre methods and the huge number of people who worked for it only fully came to light after 1989.\n\nCriminal investigations were generally the preserve of the People's Police (Volkspolizei or VOPO for short) and in particular its CID division (the Kriminalpolizei or Kripo). If a case had significant political overtones, then it would be taken over by the Stasi, which had its own criminal investigation department, its own forensic teams and so forth. Cases where the Stasi and Kripo worked together on the same team \u2013 such as the fictional one that follows \u2013 were rare, although there would often be liaison at a high level. However, many members of the Kripo were, of course, Stasi informers. And the People's Police was as much an organ of the state as the Stasi: its remand prison at its Keibelstrasse headquarters near Alexanderplatz in Berlin as equally hated as those of the Stasi at, for example, Hohensch\u00f6nhausen.\n\nA possible confusion for English-language readers is the police and Stasi ranking system, based on that of the army. A murder commission or squad \u2013 such as the fictional one here \u2013 would generally be led by a captain (Hauptmann \u2013 the equivalent of the UK's detective chief inspector), or perhaps \u2013 as in this case \u2013 a first lieutenant (Oberleutnant). This rank, that of my character Karin M\u00fcller, should not be confused with the much more senior lieutenant colonel (Oberstleutnant), one rank below colonel (Oberst).\n\nFor the sake of authenticity, I've retained the German ranks, and also the often monotonous communist use of Comrade (Genosse\/Genossin) when addressing colleagues, particularly in the presence of senior officers.\n\nD.Y.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day One.\n\nPrenzlauer Berg, East Berlin.\n\nThe harsh jangle of a telephone jolted Oberleutnant Karin M\u00fcller awake. She reached to her side of the bed to answer it, but grasped empty space. Pain hammered in her head. The ringing continued and she lifted her head off the pillow. The room spun, she swallowed bile and the shape under the blankets next to her reached for the handset on the opposite side of the bed.\n\n'Tilsner!' The voice of her deputy, Unterleutnant Werner Tilsner, barked into the handset and rang in her ears.\n\nScheisse! What's he doing here? She began to take in her surroundings as Tilsner continued to talk into the phone, his words not really registering. The objects in the apartment were wrong. The double bed she was lying in was different. The bed linen certainly didn't belong to her and her husband, Gottfried. Everything was more... luxurious, expensive. On the dresser, she saw photographs of Tilsner... his wife Koletta... their two kids \u2013 a teenage boy and a younger girl \u2013 at some campsite, smiling for the camera on their happy-family summer holidays. Oh my God! Where was his wife? She could be coming back at any moment. Then she started to remember: Tilsner had said Koletta had taken the children to their grandmother's for the weekend. The same Tilsner who was constructing some tall tale at this very moment to whoever was on the other end of the phone.\n\n'I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her since yesterday evening at the office.' His lie was delivered with a calmness that M\u00fcller certainly didn't share. 'I will try to get hold of her and, once I do, we will be at the scene as soon as possible, Comrade Oberst. St Elisabeth cemetery in Ackerstrasse? Yes, I understand.'\n\nM\u00fcller clutched her pounding forehead, and tried to avoid Tilsner's eyes as he replaced the handset and started to get out of bed, heading for the bathroom. She wriggled about under the covers. It had been cold last night. Freezing cold. She'd kept all her clothes on, and her underwear now chafed at her skin under the tightness of her skirt. Before that, Blue Strangler vodka. Too much of it. She and Tilsner matching each other shot for shot in a bar in Dircksenstrasse; a stupid game that seemed to have ended up with them in his marital bed. She could still taste the remains of the alcohol in her mouth now. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened after the bar, but just the fact that she'd spent the night at Tilsner's was something she knew she could never let Gottfried discover.\n\nTilsner was back now, proffering a glass of water with some sort of pill fizzing inside.\n\n'Drink this.' M\u00fcller drew her head back slightly, grimacing at the concoction and its snake-like hiss. 'It's only aspirin. I'll make some coffee while you tidy yourself up.' The smirk on his unshaven, square-jawed face spoke of insolence, disrespect \u2013 but it was her own fault for letting herself get into this situation. She was the only female head of a murder squad in the whole country. She couldn't have people calling her a whore.\n\n'Hadn't we better get straight there?' she shouted through to the kitchen. 'It sounded urgent.' The words reverberated in her head, each one a hammer blow.\n\n'It is,' Tilsner shouted back. 'The body of a girl. In a cemetery. Near the Wall.'\n\nM\u00fcller downed the aspirin and water in one long swallow, forcing herself not to retch it back.\n\n'We'd better get going immediately, then,' she shouted, her voice echoing through the old apartment's high-ceilinged rooms.\n\n'We've time for coffee,' Tilsner replied from the kitchen, clanging cups and pans about as though it was an unfamiliar environment. It probably was, except on International Women's Day. 'After all, I've told Oberst Reiniger I don't know where you are. And the Stasi people are already there.'\n\n'The Stasi?' questioned M\u00fcller. She'd moved in a slow trudge to the bathroom, and now studied her reflection with horror. Yesterday's mascara smudged around bloodshot blue eyes. Rubbing her fingers across her cheeks, she tried to stretch away the puffiness, and then fiddled with her blonde, shoulder-length hair. The only female head of a murder squad in the whole Republic, and not yet in her thirtieth year. She didn't look so baby-faced today. She breathed in deeply, hoping the crisp morning air of the old apartment would quell her nausea.\n\nM\u00fcller knew she had to clear her head. Take control of the situation. 'If the body's next to the anti-fascist barrier, isn't that the responsibility of the border guards?' Despite the reverberations through her skull, she was still bellowing out the words so Tilsner could hear down the corridor. 'Why are the Stasi involved? And why are we \u2013' Her voice tailed off as she looked up in the mirror and saw his reflection. Tilsner was standing directly behind her, two mugs of steaming coffee in his hands. He shrugged and raised his eyebrows.\n\n'Is this a quiz? All I know is that Reiniger wants us to report to the senior Stasi officer at the scene.'\n\nShe watched him studying her as she pulled Koletta's hairbrush through her tangled locks.\n\n'You'd better let me clean that brush after you've used it,' he said. M\u00fcller met his eyes: blue like hers, although his seemed remarkably bright for someone who'd downed so much vodka the night before. He was smirking again. 'My wife's a brunette.'\n\n'Piss off, Werner,' M\u00fcller spat at his reflection, as she started to remove the old mascara with one of Koletta's make-up pads. 'Nothing happened.'\n\n'You're sure of that, are you? That's not quite how I recollect it.'\n\n'Nothing happened. You know that and I know that. Let's keep it that way.'\n\nHis grin was almost a leer, and she forced herself to remember through the hangover muddle. M\u00fcller reddened, but tried to convince herself she was right. After all, she'd kept her clothes on, and her skirt was tight enough to deny unwanted access. She turned, snatched the coffee from his hand and took two long gulps as the steam rising from the beverage misted up the freezing bathroom mirror. Tilsner reached around her, grabbed the mascara-caked pad and hid it away in his pocket. Then he picked up the brush and started removing blonde hairs with a comb. M\u00fcller rolled her eyes. The bastard was clearly practised at this.\n\n* * *\n\nThey avoided looking at each other as they descended the stairs, past the peeling paint of the lobby, and walked out of the apartment block into the winter morning. M\u00fcller spotted their unmarked Wartburg on the opposite side of the street. It brought back memories of the previous night, and his insistence that they return to his place for a sobering-up coffee \u2013 Tilsner seemingly unconcerned about his drink-driving. She rubbed her chin, remembering in a sudden flash his stubble grazing against it like sandpaper as their lips had locked. What exactly had happened after that?\n\nThey got into the car, with Tilsner in the driver's seat. He turned the ignition key, his expensive-looking watch shining in the weak daylight. She frowned, thinking back to the luxurious fittings in the apartment, and looked at Tilsner curiously. How had he afforded those on a junior lieutenant's salary?\n\nThe Wartburg spluttered into life. M\u00fcller's memory was slowly coming back to her. It had only been a kiss, hadn't it? She risked a quick look to her left as Tilsner crunched the car into gear, but he stared straight ahead, grim-faced. She'd need to think up a very good excuse to tell Gottfried. He was used to her working late, but an all-nighter without warning?\n\nThe car's wheels spun and skidded on the week-old snow that no one had bothered to clear. Overhead, leaden grey skies were the harbinger of more bad weather. M\u00fcller reached out of the car window and attached the flashing blue light to the Wartburg's roof, turning on the accompanying strangled-cat siren, as they headed the few kilometres between Prenzlauer Berg and the cemetery in Mitte.\n\n* * *\n\nThe two detectives were still barely on speaking terms as they parked the Wartburg in Ackerstrasse, the street that bisected the two neighbouring graveyards of St Elisabeth's and Sophien parishes \u2013 both abutted by the anti-fascist barrier to the northeast. Tilsner nodded towards the entrance of the former, and M\u00fcller followed him through the gate, with its metal arch overhead. The cemetery, with dark headstones and monuments jutting up from a blanket of white, had a tranquillity at odds with the rest of the city. Green-winged angels guarded some of the graves, their once shining bronze turned verdigris after too many Berlin winters.\n\nThey walked to the area of the cemetery where the body lay. Stasi officers and border guards surrounded the girl's lifeless form, which was shrouded by a canvas cover. A man in a raincoat \u2013 who had been down on his knees, hidden by the headstone of a grave \u2013 raised himself to his full height. Under the coat, M\u00fcller could see a civilian suit, but from his bearing she guessed this was the Stasi officer mentioned in Tilsner's phone call. The man turned and smiled. He looked to be in his mid-forties, with fashionable sideburns and sandy hair worn slightly long. He could have passed for one of the West German newsreaders that her husband Gottfried was so fond of watching, despite her protests.\n\nShe didn't recognise the man, but evidently he knew her.\n\n'Comrade Oberleutnant. Thank you for joining us. Oberst-leutnant Klaus J\u00e4ger. I'm glad we were able to finally get hold of you.' He took her gloved hand in his and gave it a firm squeeze, before doing the same as he introduced himself to Tilsner. There appeared to be genuine warmth in the greeting. 'Please come with me a moment, both of you, and I will fill you in on some of the details.' He placed his hand lightly on her back and guided her and Tilsner towards a snow-topped wooden gazebo, where mourners no doubt sat in quiet contemplation of their departed loved ones. M\u00fcller attempted to look over her shoulder at the body, but J\u00e4ger didn't seem interested in showing it to them just yet.\n\nThey sat in a row on a bench, sheltered under one side of the hexagonal structure, J\u00e4ger flanked by the two Kripo officers. M\u00fcller could smell his aftershave: it seemed to her an expensive, western fragrance. Her own perfume, she suspected, was pure Blue Strangler, forty degrees proof. She hoped he couldn't smell it.\n\nJ\u00e4ger gestured towards the taped-off area, where official photographers and forensic officers were busy at work. 'Nasty business. A girl. Mid-teens, we think.'\n\n'Murdered?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nJ\u00e4ger nodded slowly. 'We think so.'\n\n'Murdered how, Comrade Oberstleutnant?' asked Tilsner. 'And why do you need the help of the People's Police criminal division if the Ministry for State Security is already investigating it?'\n\n'Yes, why is State Security involved?' added M\u00fcller, before the Stasi officer had time to answer her deputy. 'Surely, Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger, as the site is so near the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier, this is a job for the border force?' She looked out beyond the activity around the body, towards the first wall of the barrier. There was rumoured to be a minefield on the other side, before a second wall \u2013 the whole thing stretching for kilometre after kilometre around the western sector. The stems of searchlights sought the heavens, spaced out every fifty metres or so like overgrown sunflowers. In the daylight, with the snow-covered graveyard in the foreground, it looked relatively benign to M\u00fcller, despite the occasional bark of patrol dogs. At night, it took on a very different character. But if its defences deterred Republikfl\u00fcchtlinge \u2013 those who would risk an escape attempt to reach the West rather than stay and build a fairer Germany \u2013 well then, that was just fine by her.\n\nInitially J\u00e4ger failed to fill the silence, but then gave a gentle laugh. 'That's a lot of questions, and I can't answer them all. What I can tell you is that you have been instructed by your superior officer, Oberst Reiniger, to assist me, at my request. And although, officially, I will be in charge, to all intents and purposes you will be the investigating officers. It may be a difficult case \u2013 you will have gathered that already \u2013 but it will be your case. Up to a point. I do not want the Ministry for State Security's involvement widely known.' J\u00e4ger pulled both his raincoat sleeves up slightly, as though readying himself for work. 'What I can tell you is the reason that we are involved. The girl was apparently shot from the West \u2013 possibly by western guards \u2013 while escaping into the East.' The Stasi lieutenant colonel paused and looked directly into M\u00fcller's eyes. 'It is \u2013 I admit \u2013 an unusual scenario.'\n\nM\u00fcller was aware of Tilsner, next to her, whistling through his teeth at this news. In shock, or disbelief?\n\n'So she managed to scale one four-metre high wall,' asked M\u00fcller, 'cross the control strip, evade the dogs and the Republic's border guards, and then scale another four-metre wall \u2013 while being shot at from the West?' She hoped her incredulity hadn't become all-out sarcasm.\n\n'That is the official \u2013 and preliminary \u2013 Ministry for State Security account of events. I have enlisted the help of yourselves, the Kriminalpolizei, to discover the identity of the girl, and to find evidence to support this account.' J\u00e4ger again held M\u00fcller's gaze, with a seriousness that made her give a small shudder. 'Should you find evidence to the contrary, I would suggest you keep such evidence tightly controlled. And bring it straight to me.' M\u00fcller nodded slowly. 'Unterleutnant Tilsner?' he asked, turning to her deputy. 'You too understand what I am saying?'\n\n'Of course, Comrade Oberstleutnant. We will maintain absolute discretion. You can be sure of it.'\n\nSighing, as though already wearied by the case, J\u00e4ger rose to his feet and beckoned them forward. 'I'd better show you the body. I warn you, though: it's not a pleasant sight. For reasons that will become obvious in a moment, identification will prove very difficult.'\n\nM\u00fcller grimaced as she and Tilsner began to follow the Stasi officer. She didn't enjoy examining dead bodies at the best of times. That of a young girl \u2013 where identification would prove 'very difficult' \u2013 sounded particularly distasteful.\n\nIce and frozen snow crunched and popped underfoot as they followed the cemetery path back to the scene of the body, M\u00fcller stamping hard with each stride to work some blood and warmth into her feet. She lagged behind the other two, a sense of foreboding settling over her. Something here was awry.\n\nThe handful of officers from the various ministries parted to let the three of them get in close. J\u00e4ger gave a nod, and one of the men pulled the shroud away.\n\nM\u00fcller looked at the body: a girl, face down in the snow. One leg apparently lacerated \u2013 by the barrier's barbed wire? \u2013 the other at a crazy angle to the rest of her body. Wounds in her back, evidenced by a blood-besmirched white T-shirt, partially showing through a top covering of torn, black material, which looked as though it had once been some sort of cape. She didn't appear to have been dressed for the winter weather. The regular pattern of the injuries suggested automatic gunfire, and the body was facing away from the protection barrier, towards the Hauptstadt. At least that fitted with the official account. She looked back towards the Wall, the searchlights, watchtower and the buildings of the capitalist West on the other side, adorned with their garish advertisements. From where exactly had she been shot? How had she managed to struggle so far?\n\n'Verdammt!' exclaimed Tilsner suddenly, from his vantage point behind the girl's head. M\u00fcller watched J\u00e4ger raise his eyebrows, but there was no formal admonishment. 'There's no way we'll be able to identify that. The face is a complete mess.'\n\nThis time J\u00e4ger did intervene. 'Her face please, Unterleutnant. She wasn't some inanimate object. And someone, somewhere, will be missing her. But yes, unpleasant. The cemetery gardener discovered her at dawn, but a stray dog had apparently got there first.'\n\nM\u00fcller moved around to Tilsner's position, and saw what had provoked his reaction. Skin torn away from her chin to her eye socket. In its place was raw flesh, like a cheap cut of meat on a butcher's slab. The side of her mouth was open, but no teeth \u2013 just bloody, mangled gums. An animal couldn't have done that, could it? The sight \u2013 and the thought \u2013 was too much. M\u00fcller suddenly found herself retching, and quickly moved behind a gravestone, bending out of sight as the remains of last night's meal and vodka made a return journey out of her mouth. To try to hide her embarrassment, she started faking a cough, kicking snow with her boot to cover the evidence.\n\n'Are you quite alright, Comrade M\u00fcller?' asked J\u00e4ger.\n\nShe nodded, avoiding Tilsner's gaze. Steeling herself, M\u00fcller looked back towards the body. It was then that she saw the girl's hand, splayed out in the snow. A teenager's hand, with pure, unlined skin. But what startled the detective were the black nails at the end of each digit. It was clearly supposed to resemble nail polish, but the coating had a matt, streaky appearance. M\u00fcller knelt down. Up close, she could tell the nails had been inked in, like a schoolchild might with a felt-tip pen. It was a sharp reminder of how young she was. Mid- or early teens. Someone's daughter. The same age as her own daughter would have been, if... She stopped the thought. Her throat tightened again, her eyes moistened. She met J\u00e4ger's gaze. Throwing up had been bad enough, but she wasn't going to cry \u2013 not in front of a senior officer from the Ministry for State Security.\n\n* * *\n\nIt took the arrival of People's Police forensic scientist Jonas Schmidt to lighten the mood. He was half-running \u2013 which was about as fast as he could manage \u2013 and panting, his flabby body threatening to burst out of his white overalls, with a brown kit bag swinging over his shoulder. M\u00fcller's stomach spasmed as the Kriminaltechniker stuffed the remains of a sausage sandwich into his mouth, wiping the grease from his face with the back of his hand.\n\n'Many apologies if I'm late, Comrade Oberleutnant,' he spluttered through the food. 'I came as quickly as I could.'\n\nStill not trusting herself to speak after her examination of the girl's body, M\u00fcller simply nodded, leaving J\u00e4ger to make his own introduction. As he did so, Schmidt made a strange little bow towards the Stasi officer.\n\n'I hope we might be able to use the Ministry's own forensic laboratories, should the need arise, Comrade Oberstleutnant. Your facilities are so much better than those of the People's Police. Will there be any State Security forensic officers working with me?'\n\n'No, Comrade Schmidt. This is now a police investigation. You will report to Oberleutnant M\u00fcller as usual. We have already photographed the body, but there are some other photos we need you to take.' J\u00e4ger looked up at the ever-darkening sky. 'And we'd better do it quickly, before it starts snowing again. First, let's go over to the platform.' J\u00e4ger gestured with his head towards a small temporary scaffold with a ladder alongside, which had been built next to the Wall \u2013 presumably by the border guards earlier that morning as part of the initial examination of the incident. They followed him towards it, careful to stay on the gritted tarmac of the pathway, stretching like a ribbon of liquorice through the otherwise pristine whiteness of the cemetery. M\u00fcller smiled to herself. J\u00e4ger might say this was a police investigation, but the way he was acting, only one person was in charge.\n\nJ\u00e4ger, M\u00fcller and Tilsner climbed to the top of the platform, followed a few moments later by Schmidt, now even more out of breath.\n\n'Well... this is a view... you... don't often see,' he said between gasps. 'Not without risk of... getting shot.' M\u00fcller threw Schmidt a withering look, but J\u00e4ger merely smiled.\n\n'Don't worry,' he said. 'The border guards know we're here. We have clearance. No one will be shooting anyone. At least not today. But last night \u2013' J\u00e4ger stopped mid-sentence, and M\u00fcller followed his gaze to a building that looked like a rundown warehouse, on the western side of the barrier. 'Up there.' He pointed. 'Fourth floor. See the broken window?' M\u00fcller nodded. 'That's where the gunmen are said to have been shooting from.' She noted the slight equivocation in his words. He doesn't believe it either, she thought.\n\n'Was it witnessed by our border guards?' asked Tilsner.\n\nJ\u00e4ger gave a small shake of his head. 'No. It's from the calculations of line of sight. And the blood patterns in the snow. Look there.' The Stasi officer pointed to the centre of the anti-fascist barrier's defences \u2013 between the inner and outer wall. 'You can see her footprints.' He gestured between the line of the two walls.\n\n'How did she know that she wouldn't get blown up by a mine?' asked M\u00fcller, shivering as the wind whipped the top of the platform.\n\n'I don't think you would give a lot of thought to that if you were being shot at and running for your life,' said J\u00e4ger. 'In any case, the strip isn't mined \u2013 that's all just an unsubstantiated rumour.' Despite the cold, M\u00fcller felt a blush warm her face.\n\n'And the bullets? Or bullet marks?' asked Schmidt. 'Will I be able to get permission to go inside between the two walls to check there, Comrade Oberstleutnant? Is that why you needed me?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger snorted. 'No, Comrade Kriminaltechniker, it's not, and no, you cannot go inside the restricted zone.' He turned and gestured with his hand towards the side of the cemetery path. 'Your work is here. There are footprints, presumably hers, on this side of the Wall. Bloodstains as well.' Then he lowered his voice, although there was no one else on the platform, and the officers near the body were too far away to hear in any case. M\u00fcller wondered why. 'There are some tyre tracks too. Make sure you take photographs of those. Check them against any vehicle the church gardener uses.'\n\nM\u00fcller was about to ask why, but then met J\u00e4ger's gaze, and received a look that made it very clear he didn't want to be asked.\n\n* * *\n\nWhen they got back down to ground level, Schmidt started busying himself with a Praktica camera, snapping shots of both the footprints and the tyre tracks. M\u00fcller and Tilsner wandered around the various graves together, as though the long-buried dead might give them inspiration about the girl's killing. J\u00e4ger meanwhile had returned to the scene of the body.\n\n'I'm not sure how much of an investigation this is,' said Tilsner. 'It seems it's all wrapped up, and we're an afterthought.'\n\nM\u00fcller shrugged. 'We'll just have to do the best we can. Did it look to you as though she could have been shot from that building?'\n\n'What, the one over in the West? Maybe. It's plausible... at a stretch.' He shaped some snow from the top of a granite headstone into a ball, and then threw it to the ground. 'But then to scale two walls, while injured, without our guards noticing? Were they all asleep? I very much doubt it.'\n\nAfter a few minutes, they heard the breathless wheezing of a man behind them. M\u00fcller knew who it was without looking. Schmidt. 'What is it, Jonas?' she asked, as she turned around to be greeted by his florid features.\n\n'I think... you should come... and look at this, Comrade Oberleutnant.'\n\n* * *\n\nSchmidt ushered them back towards the protection barrier and over to the tracks made by the footprints, some twenty metres or so from the taped-off area of the body. He knelt down in the snow, and gestured for M\u00fcller to do the same.\n\n'Here, Comrade M\u00fcller.' He reached into his pocket, and pulled out an envelope. 'Look at this photograph of the girl's shoes on the body.'\n\nM\u00fcller took the picture from the envelope, and frowned. 'Where did you get that from so quickly?'\n\nSchmidt smiled and pushed the camera that was hanging round his neck towards her. It was smaller than the Praktica he'd been using earlier, and looked altogether cheaper and flimsier. 'It's a Foton. A Soviet instant camera. It might not look up to much but the results are just as good as from those American Polaroids. Anyway, look at the photo. Do you notice anything odd?' The photograph was a close-up of the soles of the girl's training shoes, still on her feet.\n\nM\u00fcller shook her head slowly. 'No, Jonas, I can't say that I do.'\n\nSchmidt passed it along to Tilsner, who held it up to shed more light from the leaden sky, but also shook his head.\n\n'Alright. So you've had a look at the photo. Now look at the actual prints in the snow. Notice anything strange there?'\n\nThe two detectives bent over the line of prints, puzzled. Tilsner gave a long, slow sigh. 'Come on, just tell us. We haven't got time for games.'\n\nM\u00fcller's face lit up all of a sudden. 'Gottverdammt!' Then, in a whisper: 'Have you told Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger yet, Jonas?' The forensic officer shook his head. 'Well, for the moment, please don't.'\n\nTilsner was still bent down, frowning at the prints. 'I don't get it. They just look like footprints to me.'\n\nM\u00fcller pointed at Schmidt's photo. 'Look at her feet in the photo. She's got her shoes on correctly. Left shoe on left foot, right shoe on right foot.'\n\n'Yes,' said Tilsner, the furrow on his brow deepening. 'So what?'\n\nM\u00fcller gestured towards the actual prints in the snow. 'Look at those. Yes they're pointing in the right direction, as though she was shot running away from the Wall. But look at the shapes. The right-hand shoe has made all the left-hand prints, and vice versa. It's all the wrong way round.' She looked up at Schmidt, who was standing now, stroking his pudgy chin. 'What do you think it means, Jonas?'\n\n'Well, I don't really know, Comrade Oberleutnant.' He smiled. 'I was rather hoping you two might tell me.'\n\n'What it means,' said Tilsner, 'is that someone's disturbed the body. She was wearing her shoes the wrong way round when she was killed; maybe she put them on in a hurry if she was being chased. But whoever's disturbed the body hasn't noticed that, and when they put them back on, they put them on the correct way round.'\n\nNow it was M\u00fcller's turn to emit a long sigh. 'That's the most obvious explanation. But not the only one.'\n\n'What, then?' asked Tilsner, meeting her eyes.\n\n'Best not talk about it here,' she hissed, flicking her head towards J\u00e4ger, who by now had noticed their fixation with the footprints, and was walking towards them. When he reached them he cleared his throat, and the two detectives rose from their crouching position.\n\n'Anything of interest, Comrade Oberleutnant?'\n\n'Oh, bits and pieces,' replied M\u00fcller. 'We were just checking the direction of the prints. It appears the preliminary findings are correct, that she was running towards the East, away from the protection barrier.'\n\n'Yes, quite so.' Then he lowered his voice. 'Though I think you'll agree that there are discrepancies, and no doubt you've now noticed some of these. I don't want to go into too much detail here. But we need to meet tomorrow to go over everything.'\n\nM\u00fcller watched Tilsner's face fall at the news his weekend would be disrupted. She wondered what else he had planned for his Saturday and Sunday without the wife and kids.\n\n'Do you want us to come to the Ministry offices at Normannenstrasse?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger shook his head. 'It's better if we meet somewhere quiet.' As he whispered this, he glanced over at the other officers gathered around the site of the body, who seemed to be supervising its removal. 'I'll let you know in due course where that will be. Until then, keep any information strictly between yourselves.'\n\nHe shook hands with the three of them, and then strode towards the cemetery exit. M\u00fcller watched him depart, wondering what sort of a case they'd been handed. One in which a senior Stasi officer wasn't prepared to share information with his own Stasi colleagues. She looked up at the sky, and its ever-darkening clouds, then glanced at Tilsner. His sarcastic smile had been wiped clean: in its place, a look of apprehension, almost fear.\n\nLater the same day.\n\nThe specks of white fell rapidly now. Oberleutnant M\u00fcller watched as the arc lights spaced along the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier periodically highlighted the fall of the tiny frozen flakes, glistening in the shafts of light, before the blackest of nights took hold again. They needed to work fast.\n\nAs she went over the case in her head, her stomach rumbled. Hours without proper food \u2013 just a quarter broiler from the outdoor stand in Marx-Engels-Platz when they'd returned to the office earlier in the day. She could do with a good home-cooked meal. Would Gottfried have one waiting for her? That seemed unlikely after her night with Tilsner, and her failure to return to the marital apartment. At least this case was likely to feature in tomorrow's newspaper \u2013 and the story might give her the cover she needed.\n\nA few paces ahead, Tilsner lifted the red-and-white tape and ducked underneath. The sweep of the searchlights periodically illuminated their path, but when their brightness moved away M\u00fcller was grateful for the torches they had brought. It wasn't the site of the now-removed body they were interested in, but the approach to it. The approach from the wall side of the cemetery, where J\u00e4ger had showed them the footprints and tyre tracks a few hours earlier.\n\nTilsner shone his torch along the path. It had only just started snowing again, so the tracks \u2013 their general outlines at least \u2013 were still relatively clear. And that was enough.\n\nForensic officer Jonas Schmidt had telephoned them at the Marx-Engels-Platz office some thirty minutes earlier \u2013 just as M\u00fcller and Tilsner were about to finally call it a day and return home, separately this time. The chance to delay her showdown with Gottfried had been something of a relief, despite the tiredness that weighed her down.\n\nSchmidt had a theory about the tyre tracks, and needed them to return to the cemetery immediately. Now \u2013 alongside M\u00fcller \u2013 the forensic officer reached into his overcoat pocket.\n\nA rustle of protective cellophane punctured the cemetery's silence, as Schmidt started jabbing his finger at one of the monochrome photos he'd taken earlier in the day.\n\n'Here, Comrade M\u00fcller. It's just as I said on the phone,' he said, spitting the words out in his excitement. He flicked his torch between the photo in his hand and the tyre tracks on the ground. 'It's the pattern in the snow. They certainly don't match any of the tyres that would have been on the cemetery groundsman's vehicle. They're western tyres. Car tyres.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned, concentrating on the flashing torch beam. Why had a car from the West been in the cemetery, near where the girl's body had been found? As she mulled over the peculiarity of the case, she looked up and followed the beam of one of the searchlights. Her eyes tracked its movement to the southwest, along the line of the anti-fascist barrier, towards the entrance to Nordbahnhof S-bahn station \u2013 or at least to what had been the entrance. Now it was walled up, forgotten.\n\nM\u00fcller rubbed her gloved hands together to try to keep the blood circulating in her fingers, and returned her gaze to the tyre imprints. 'We're not going to be able to see much detail now because of the new snow,' she complained to the Kriminaltechniker. 'Have you already checked the photos against the files at the lab? When you say a western car, can you pinpoint a make and model?'\n\n'Yes, I went through all the files, comparing against each tyre pattern we have a record of. It took me several hours. As I say, it certainly wasn't a gardening vehicle. Definitely not a Trabi. Or a Wartburg, or anything from the Republic. Not Soviet either...'\n\nTilsner sighed in exasperation. 'Spit it out, Jonas. My bollocks and every other piece of me are turning to ice, and I don't quite understand why you've dragged us all the way back here if you've already worked out what car it was.'\n\nSchmidt stood now, frowning, and shoved the photographs back inside his coat pocket. 'Well, that's just it. I've a good idea of the make, but not the model. That's why I wanted to come back and for you two to come with me.'\n\nHe got his torch out again and scanned it over the tyre tracks.\n\n'Ah good! I wondered if that might help. Whatever it was, it had a long wheelbase,' he said. He gestured with his arm, sweeping the torch beam in an arc, like a mini-version of a barrier searchlight. 'See. You can tell from the width of the turning circle. In fact, a very long wheelbase. Strange.'\n\n'What, like a truck or a bus?' asked M\u00fcller, conscious of her teeth chattering in the deepening cold.\n\n'No, no. It was a car. Just a very long car. A limousine. And... Hang on a \u2013'\n\nM\u00fcller shone her light at his face. All the colour had drained out of it.\n\n'What, Schmidt? Come on, spit it out!' shouted M\u00fcller.\n\nBut Schmidt just shook his head. M\u00fcller could see the forensic officer was shaking. From the cold? Or from fear?\n\nSchmidt started mumbling to himself. 'It can't be. It can't be. I must have made a mistake.'\n\nTilsner stepped closer. 'What can't it be? What were you about to say?'\n\n'Come on, Jonas,' cajoled M\u00fcller. 'Whatever you know you should tell us. Nothing can be so bad. The truth will out.'\n\nSchmidt looked at the female Oberleutnant with pleading eyes. Then his shoulders slumped.\n\n'The tyre marks are Swedish \u2013 as I said, I looked them up at the lab. A Volvo. They have a very... a very idio... idiosyncratic pattern.' He looked at them with desperate eyes, as if the significance were obvious. 'The car was a long-wheelbase Volvo.'\n\nM\u00fcller was perplexed. 'So, a truck? I thought you said it wasn't a truck?'\n\nSchmidt just stood shaking his head.\n\nBut for Tilsner the penny had dropped. 'Jesus!' he exclaimed. 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!'\n\n'What?' shouted M\u00fcller, stamping her foot in the snow in exasperation.\n\n'Do I have to spell it out, boss? A Volvo... A limousine...'\n\nM\u00fcller suddenly clutched her forehead. Scheisse! The images of official state parades with Volvo after Volvo of party bigwigs played through her head. If Schmidt was correct, it looked like an official car \u2013 a government car \u2013 had been here in the cemetery. Near the body.\n\nTilsner cupped her ear with his hand, lowering his voice. 'Karin, we have to talk to Oberst Reiniger. Immediately. We need to get him to take us off this case.'\n\nM\u00fcller moved back slightly, staring into his electric-blue eyes, and gave an almost imperceptible nod.\n\nDay Two.\n\nSch\u00f6nhauser Allee, East Berlin.\n\nSleep in her own bed came easily to M\u00fcller and the expected dreams featuring the mutilated face of the girl from the cemetery never materialised. But when she woke, she was initially disoriented to find herself alone. Gottfried, unsurprisingly, hadn't been waiting with dinner ready when she'd finally got home the previous evening, and he hadn't come back to share the bed.\n\nNow a door slammed. She could feel his presence in the lounge, hear him banging in the kitchen, the crash of pans and crockery not unlike the din Tilsner had made the day before. These noises, though, had the extra force of anger behind each bang and clatter \u2013 a percussionist building to the climax of a dark musical piece.\n\nM\u00fcller pulled the bedcovers over her head. If he came into the bedroom she would pretend to be asleep, hopefully putting off any confrontation until he was in a better mood. She turned on her side, pulling the blankets and sheets tight to her ears. Then, the sound of a bowl or cup breaking on the floor convinced her that she would have to confront him now.\n\nShe slid out of bed, and into her matching slippers and dressing gown. Her toes luxuriated inside the lilac cotton \u2013 one of her few indulgences from the Intershop. Running her fingers through her hair as a makeshift comb, she moved the few metres through to the living room, sliding the slippers along the wooden-block flooring, too tired to raise her feet. She leant on the side of the doorframe of the galley kitchen, and watched her husband as he fussed around clearing whatever had broken with a dustpan and brush.\n\n'I'm sorry for Thursday night,' she said. 'A particularly nasty murder.' She saw the day's Neues Deutschland lying on the worktop, which he'd brought back on the way from wherever he'd been. 'You might have seen it in the paper.'\n\nGottfried didn't respond or acknowledge her, but threw the contents of the dustpan into the bin, and then resumed his coffee-making, crashing the pan down on the hob.\n\n'It took longer than we expected,' she said.\n\nHe turned towards her, folding his arms across his honey-and-brown striped pullover. The one his parents had bought him for Christmas. The one she hated \u2013 it made him look so old. The one he used to hate too. At the time, they'd giggled secretly with each other about the gift and how awful it was, his elderly parents' lack of fashion sense all too clear. His wearing it now sent its own message to M\u00fcller: a private rebellion.\n\n'You were with him, weren't you?'\n\n'Him? I don't know what you mean.' Faced by his silence, she found herself blabbering. 'It just got so late, I had to sleep over in the office. I didn't want to come back in the middle of the night and disturb you.'\n\nHe advanced towards her, his face red and blotchy. 'I don't believe that for a minute.' His wire-rimmed spectacles had slipped part way down his nose. 'I've seen the way he looks at you.'\n\n'It's not what you think,' M\u00fcller protested, moving her hand towards his shoulder. 'And I'm sorry, I should have phoned. I missed you last night.'\n\nHe pushed her back.\n\n'You do know very well what I mean. You're an attractive woman. Tilsner's always eyeing you up. I bet you finally fell for it. Was it good?'\n\n'That's not \u2013'\n\n'Not what? There's no point lying, Karin. It's obvious something's going on. When did he first get into your knickers? When I was in R\u00fcgen?'\n\nM\u00fcller sighed. It was futile arguing. He was the typical schoolteacher: always certain he knew best. Worse than that, a maths teacher \u2013 inhabiting a world where everything was right or wrong, black or white. She turned around and trudged to the bathroom, slamming \u2013 then locking \u2013 the door, and turned on the cold tap. Cupping her hands under the gushing, icy water, she splashed it over her face. She wasn't sure if she was washing herself, waking herself or trying to get rid of her guilty blush.\n\nShe hung her dressing gown on the back of the door, and slumped onto the toilet seat, head in hands. Where had it gone wrong with Gottfried? She remembered the frisson of excitement when they'd first met, playing 'chocolate kiss' at a family birthday party for his young niece. She just out of police college, trying to forget all that had gone on there, and he a newly qualified teacher. They'd joined in enthusiastically, feeding chocolate marshmallows to each other, until it had turned into an actual full-blown kiss, much to M\u00fcller's embarrassment, and much to the delight of the children present.\n\nIt was true: she had found herself more and more attracted to Tilsner, despite the fact that he had scant regard for his own marriage, and in the workplace was more often than not arrogant and insolent. When Gottfried had been away in R\u00fcgen \u2013 temporarily banished to the reform school after failing to instil his Berlin pupils with enough party zealotry \u2013 she had felt lonely. Drawn to Tilsner with his stubbly, craggy face and well-muscled body. And now Gottfried was back, well, it was no better. The few months in R\u00fcgen had aged him, transforming him from the overgrown student she'd first fallen for into a poor impression of a crusty old professor. And now he'd started attending those infernal meetings at the church. It was all just \u2013\n\nGottfried hammered on the door.\n\n'How long are you going to be in there?'\n\n'I'm just starting my shower \u2013 maybe another ten minutes,' she shouted, above the hiss of the spray. 'Then we should talk.'\n\n'I don't want to talk. I'm going out.'\n\n'Hang on a minute \u2013' M\u00fcller turned off the taps, hurriedly slipped the dressing gown back on and rushed out. She was just in time to see the apartment door slamming closed. She ran and opened it, and shouted down the stairs. 'Don't go, Gottfried. We need to talk.' But the sound of his footsteps continued downwards until the building's front door was crashed shut in turn, and she felt the vibrations in the banister she was gripping.\n\nA door latch clicked to the side. M\u00fcller turned. Frau Ostermann's head peeked out. 'Is everything alright, Frau M\u00fcller?'\n\nM\u00fcller pulled her gown tightly together, threw the woman a weak smile and sighed. 'Yes, yes, Frau Ostermann. Nothing to worry about.' The woman pursed her lips and clicked her door shut again.\n\nM\u00fcller retreated to the sanctuary of the flat and walked to the lounge window, trying to see if she could spot Gottfried up the street. He'd already disappeared from sight. Instead, on the opposite side of the road, she noticed a white Barkas van. Letters on the side spelling B\u00e4ckerei Sch\u00e4fer, a small private bakery near Alexanderplatz. M\u00fcller swallowed as saliva pumped into her mouth. A shower, the one she'd been about to have, then out to buy some fresh Br\u00f6tchen rolls. Maybe the van would be selling some? That would fill her stomach, and cleanse the row with Gottfried from her head.\n\n* * *\n\nThirty minutes later and she was actually out on Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee, but the bread van didn't appear to be selling anything. She set off at a fast walk, hoping the couple of kilometres to the office would energise her, overtaking families ambling along in the winter air. A girl of about ten suddenly bumped into her, dodging her brother's snowball. M\u00fcller smiled, but inside she felt a sharp pang of loss and guilt. Children with their parents, playing happy families, just as the Tilsners had been doing in that pose at the campsite. Something she and Gottfried would never be able to do.\n\nNine months earlier (May 1974).\n\nJugendwerkhof Prora Ost. The island of R\u00fcgen, East Germany.\n\nSomeone near me is crying. Awful sobs that make me want to join with them. Mutti! She has to leave. They're taking her away. I'm trying to pull her back, but I seem to have no strength in my arms, as though I'm just a small child again. I look down at my hands and realise they are a little girl's hands. Still I try to cling on, but her fingers slip through mine. Why are these men pulling her away? She lives with me and Oma, here on the campsite, in our flat above the reception. This is where she belongs, running on the beach, with our matching red hair blowing about in the wind. Don't go! Don't go! I need her. I plead with them. She reaches out for me, but something is holding me down, stopping me from helping. With all my strength, I break free and run out onto the stairs after them. But they've disappeared. And something's wrong. These are the stairs at the Jugendwerkhof, at Prora. Where has our little white campsite house gone? I turn around in panic to get back into the flat, but the same giant men are there and are trying to take me away too. I want to run, but something's holding me down. Covering me. It's heavy and I can't breathe and \u2013\n\nI wake. Sweating. Heart thumping in my chest. I throw the heavy blanket aside, and take deep, deep breaths. The nightmare recedes, but the crying is still there, those same awful sobs. I turn and I realise it's Beate, in the bunk next to mine. I gather my nightdress about me, recoiling from the smell of my unwashed body, and climb from my bed into hers, drawing the blankets around us. I stroke her jet-black hair, sweat-drenched like mine. I try to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake the other girls in the dormitory, but with these triple bunk beds and their creaking metal frames, I know that's unlikely.\n\n'Shh. Shh. Beate, it's OK. It's OK,' I whisper as I wrap my arms around her slight body, my own larger frame dwarfing hers. 'Please stop crying. Every night you are crying. You've been like this ever since the field trip. What's wrong?'\n\n'I can't tell you,' she whispers between her sobs, as I stroke her back, marvelling at the way I can feel the bones under her skin, not covered by the layers of fat that I know hide mine.\n\n'Why not? I'm your friend. I won't repeat it. I won't tell anyone else. What are friends for if we can't share secrets?'\n\nThe noise of Beate's crying and my whispering starts to wake the others.\n\n'Shut up, Behrendt. Just shut up and get back to your own bed!' hisses Maria Bauer, the dorm leader. 'And you, Ewert. Stop your snivelling. Both of you get back to sleep, otherwise we'll all get put on extra work duties.'\n\nBeate quietens, responding to Bauer's bullying threats rather than the comfort of my body next to hers, but I stay there. In her bed. My fingers tracing the indentations of her spine. Counting the bumps. Stroking her hair. Wondering why every night it is like this.\n\nThen suddenly footsteps outside the dorm door. Louder. Closer.\n\nThe bolt of the lock is thrown back.\n\nLight on.\n\nI try to jump back to my own bunk, but too late. Frau Richter's huge frame fills the doorway, her eyes trained on me, as I'm frozen half-in, half-out of Beate's bed, shielding my eyes from the bare electric bulb above.\n\n'What's all this noise coming from here? Jugendliche Behrendt! Jugendliche Ewert! Get back to sleep immediately. Behrendt, get back in your own bed \u2013 and see me in my office tomorrow morning, straight after breakfast.' She clicks the light off again. 'And I do not want to hear another word from this room otherwise it will be even more serious.'\n\nThe door slams shut, the bolt is locked. I climb slowly back into my bunk, turn away from Beate and listen to the waves of the Ostsee below, crashing onto the beach. I think of Mutti. Of Oma. Of better times far away from Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost.\n\n* * *\n\nI do sleep, and when the morning bell rings I almost forget why this overwhelming sense of dread is hanging over me. As the girls start to put on their work clothes, I dawdle and move towards the window. I pull myself up, tensing my arms against the grey-painted iron bars that fill half the frame, and on tiptoes I peer out over the top of the grille to the Ostsee below. The beach stretches to left and right for kilometre after kilometre, but so, I know, does this building. I know it all too well from our anti-fascist lessons. How this was supposed to have been Hitler's seaside playground for his workers. Tens of thousands of them in these grey, forbidding walls. But tens of thousands of them who \u2013 if it had ever been completed \u2013 would have been able to look out on a beautiful seaside scene. To splash in the water, play in the sand, things that are now just memories to me.\n\n'Irma!' shouts Beate behind me. 'Come on. We'll be late. After last night we don't want that. Richter's already got it in for you.'\n\nI turn, retrace my steps to my bed and start pulling on my clothes.\n\n* * *\n\nAs I take my usual place next to Beate at breakfast, I realise that my plate is empty. Everyone else's plate has its usual contents: roll, sausage and cheese. I see bully girl Bauer smirking at me at the head of the table. I look towards Frau Schettler, who's still finishing putting out the plastic cups full of margarine and jam. She will help me. She's one of the few friendly adults. Her and the new maths teacher from Berlin, Herr M\u00fcller. He usually has a kind word for me.\n\nI put my hand up to attract her attention. 'Frau Schettler. My plate is empty.'\n\nShe looks at me apologetically, then raises her eyes to a point somewhere behind me. I turn to follow her gaze, and there is Richter.\n\n'You should know by now,' Richter says, 'that the roll, cheese and sausage are a privilege. A privilege unique to this establishment. A privilege lost for bad behaviour.' She reaches over to the other bread basket, the one with the stale sliced bread in it, and passes it to me. I shake my head. She slams the basket down on the table. 'Very well then, Jugendliche Irma Behrendt. But I fear your strong-willed nature will be your undoing. It is many hours until lunchtime. Many hours of hard work in the workshop. But it's your choice. And remember. My office. Straight after breakfast.'\n\nBauer sniggers at the end of the table. Beate lays her hand gently on my arm to console me. But it will take more than that. I hate this place. And I hate Richter too.\n\n* * *\n\nAs the others head off towards the workshop, I trudge along the corridor towards deputy director Richter's office. I purposely try to walk as slowly as possible. To delay the meeting. To try to rile her. Eventually, though, there is no option but to knock on the obscured rippled glass set into the white-painted metal door.\n\n'Come!' she calls, and as I enter, she gets up. 'Ah, Behrendt. I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long.' She puts on her jacket and straightens herself in the mirror, adding some lipstick and powder to her face. 'I think it's time for a little discussion about you. Follow me!' She marches down the corridor briskly, and I almost have to run to match her strides. I know where we are heading.\n\n* * *\n\nRichter raps on the grey metal door. I hear Director Neumann's voice asking us to wait. There are the sounds of lowered voices inside: his, and a female voice that's familiar.\n\nThe door opens. I gasp as Beate comes out, touching her hair, fiddling with the buttons on her work shirt. I start to ask her why she's here, but Richter grabs my arm and drags me into the office before she can reply. In any case, Beate seems reluctant to meet my eye. Richter virtually hurls me in front of her, and then pushes me forward to stand in front of Director Neumann's desk.\n\n'Jugendliche Behrendt. I'm getting a little sick of seeing you here. What have you to say for yourself?'\n\nI stay silent, looking down at my work shoes. Richter grabs my chin and forces my head upwards so I can't avoid Neumann's ravaged face, feeling that instinct of revulsion I know I shouldn't show as I look down from the black eyepatch to the distorted, blotchy flesh below. 'Answer the Herr Director,' she barks.\n\n'I don't know,' I say, meeting his one-eyed gaze levelly. 'I do not know what I have done wrong.'\n\n'Well, Behrendt, that is simple. You were found by Frau Richter in another girl's bed after lights out. That's against the rules. You know that very well.' Neumann rocks back on the legs of his chair, fiddling with his eyepatch with one hand, while clicking the end of his pen with the other. I let the noise fill the silence for a moment.\n\nClick, click, click.\n\n'Well, girl?' he says finally. 'Have you lost your tongue?'\n\n'No, Herr Director. I was simply comforting Beate. Nothing more. She was crying. I was afraid she would wake up the other girls. I was just doing what any good citizen would.' I hear Richter tut and sigh behind me. Neumann places his pen down on the table and folds his arms across his stomach.\n\n'The thing is, Behrendt, that Frau Richter and I have received reports that this has been going on a lot, that you're in Jugendliche Ewert's bed virtually every night. Is that correct? Is it some sort of perverted teenage love affair?' I wonder who's been snitching. It's not hard to guess. No doubt it had been Bauer. She and Richter are as thick as thieves.\n\nI try to justify myself. 'Herr Director, I just \u2013'\n\nNeumann interrupts me with menace in his voice. 'Is... that... correct?'\n\n'Yes, I've been in her bed sometimes, comforting her, but it's not \u2013'\n\nI'm silenced by Richter slapping her hand over my mouth from behind. I try to bite into her flesh, but she wrenches my arm up behind my back until the pain forces me to relent. She puts her mouth right up to my ear. 'You're an insolent pig. And now you'll learn your lesson.'\n\nNeumann bangs his hand down on the table. 'Stop your insubordination, Jugendliche Behrendt. Bring her here, Frau Richter.' Richter pulls me by my hair, the unruly red mat of curls that I hate so much, and then forces my body down so that my face is pushed flat against Neumann's desk. I hear the sound of Neumann unbuckling his belt. Please God no, not that! I've heard the stories from the other girls, but please, not me! My thighs clench tightly together, as though the muscles are acting on their own. But then another sound, a swoosh of leather sliding against clothing, and I risk a glance upwards as Neumann draws the belt from around his trousers. He wraps the buckle end three times around his wrist, and then flexes the tongue, a gloating expression on his face.\n\n'Jugendliche Behrendt,' says Neumann. 'You will spend the next three days in the bunker in isolation to teach you the error of your ways.' I start to sob, alternately crying out and trying to breathe in as Richter forces my face back down on the notepad. 'After that, you and Ewert will be split up into different dorms. She is a bright girl and obedient. We don't want unruly elements like you leading her astray. Do you understand?'\n\nI continue to cry. 'Answer the Herr Director!' shouts Richter.\n\n'Do you understand?' Neumann asks again. He slaps the belt in a whip-like motion on the table, millimetres from my eyes. It snaps like a bullet shot.\n\n'Yes,' I sob. 'Yes I understand.'\n\nHe lashes the belt against the table again. The tip whips my nose, sending pain shooting into my head. 'Prepare her please, Frau Richter.'\n\nI struggle against their hold, but they're too strong for me. Richter starts to lower my work trousers. 'No, no!' I scream. 'Please don't. I'm having my \u2013'\n\nRichter silences me by cracking the palm of her hand against my cheek. The sting is nothing compared to my humiliation and shame. I screw my eyes shut and push my face into the table, trying not to let them see.\n\n'Five lashes!' shouts Neumann. And then, with his mouth right up against my ear, he hisses: 'This will teach you. And if you cry or struggle, the punishment will be doubled. Understand, Jugendliche Behrendt?'\n\nI repeat the words of a few moments earlier, between my sobs. 'Yes, Herr Director. I understand.'\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Four.\n\nMitte, East Berlin.\n\nThe chief forensic pathologist's office at Charit\u00e9 Hospital felt overcrowded to M\u00fcller. She'd filed in along with Tilsner and Schmidt, following after J\u00e4ger, who \u2013 despite what he'd said in the cemetery \u2013 seemed determined to take control of proceedings and had for some reason postponed his one-to-one meeting with her. M\u00fcller had tried to push for a prompt autopsy, but the Stasi lieutenant colonel hadn't seen fit to disrupt his weekend, so they were only getting underway now, on the Monday morning.\n\nJ\u00e4ger gestured to the three officers to stand at the back of the room while he occupied the chair in front of the desk, behind which sat three men in a line: one in civilian clothes, flanked by two in medical overalls.\n\nIt was the man in the civilian suit that spoke first, eyeballing the Stasi officer opposite him. 'You do realise that this is totally irregular, Oberstleutnant.' He banged his hand down on a fat grey-covered volume on the desk. 'The Order on Medical Post Examinations has been in force since 1949. It makes it quite clear that in cases of suspected unnatural death the only officials present at the autopsy should be myself as the Attorney for the Mitte district of the Hauptstadt, together with the chief pathologist and a certified doctor.'\n\nThe standoff intrigued M\u00fcller. She watched J\u00e4ger nod across the desk at the attorney. 'I'm fully aware of the provisions of the OMPE, Comrade Seiberling,' he replied evenly.\n\n'Well, you'll understand then that the only people I will be allowing into the mortuary room to witness the legal autopsy will be Professor Feuerstein,' the attorney gestured to the grey-haired man to his left and then mirrored the gesture to his right, 'and Doctor Wollenburg, who was on duty at the Charit\u00e9 Hospital when the corpse was first brought in and who was the certifying doctor who performed the initial external examination. The only others present will be myself and the mortuary assistant.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger's answer came after a moment's consideration. 'That's entirely understandable and would be reasonable enough in normal circumstances,' said the Stasi lieutenant colonel. 'However, these are not normal circumstances.' M\u00fcller watched him reach into his inside jacket pocket and draw out an envelope. He opened it, placed the contents on the desk and rotated it for the attorney to read.\n\n'You'll see the signature here.' He reached across the desk and traced his finger under a blue ink scrawl. 'Comrade Erich Mielke. Colonel General Mielke.' He smiled convivially at the attorney. 'I think that will be all the authorisation we will need for me \u2013 and my People's Police colleagues \u2013 to attend your autopsy, don't you agree?'\n\nSeiberling repeatedly flattened out the sheet of paper with the side of his hand, as if stunned that the Minister for State Security had any opinion whatsoever on his autopsy. There was a moment's silence as he considered his options, but M\u00fcller knew he didn't really have any. 'I see,' said the attorney, finally, nodding. 'Comrade Mielke himself.' As J\u00e4ger had a moment earlier, he ran his finger under the signature, almost reverentially. 'That is of course a different matter entirely,' he said, speaking as though to the document rather than J\u00e4ger.\n\n'I'm glad you're in agreement, Attorney Seiberling. Comrade M\u00fcller here,' he gestured towards M\u00fcller, 'is in charge of the investigation on behalf of the Mitte Kriminalpolizei and she will be present, as will her deputies, as will I.'\n\nThe attorney sighed, then M\u00fcller watched him rise from his chair, open a beige metal cupboard and take out protective clothes, masks, gloves and shoe covers. He pushed them over the desk towards J\u00e4ger.\n\n'You'd all better put these on, then,' he said. 'We'll start right away.'\n\n* * *\n\nInside the autopsy room, with its pervasive smell of disinfectant, the mortuary assistant brought the girl's naked body on a wheeled metal trolley from the cooler. Initially, M\u00fcller was surprised that the woman was able to lift the body onto the autopsy table without assistance, then noticed her well-muscled forearms. It was something she was glad to see: women at every level supporting the Republic, something that would never happen in the West.\n\nAs the detective looked down at the girl, she had to fight not to turn her head away. The face had had some of its lacerations partially repaired and displayed a waxier, paler appearance than when M\u00fcller had previously seen it close up, three days earlier in the graveyard. This gave the body a more human touch, but the toothless gums, the empty eye sockets that the dog had presumably attacked first, in its ravenous need for nourishment... M\u00fcller found herself averting her gaze, concentrating instead on the girl's hands, just as she had three days earlier. Unadulterated white skin, and the pathetic attempts to mimic nail varnish.\n\nProfessor Feuerstein clipped a miniature microphone to his apron, and fixed the jack into a small dictation machine which he then slid into his pocket. 'You will all get my full report in due course, but I will make comments and record them as I progress the autopsy, which I will then review at a later stage. But feel free to interrupt and ask questions.' M\u00fcller found the pathologist's tone soothing. He seemed less stuffy and rule-bound than Seiberling.\n\n'Do you have the photographs from the scene?' he asked Schmidt. The Kriminaltechniker handed over a bundle of cellophane-wrapped black-and-white photographs. Feuerstein and Wollenburg busied themselves pinning them to an adjacent noticeboard. The spread of photographs \u2013 images of the girl's body taken from various angles \u2013 reminded M\u00fcller of the things that didn't add up. She found herself thinking about the tyre tracks. The irregular shoeprint patterns in the snow. The apparent intended direction of the girl \u2013 on the surface a failed attempt to cross into the East, but one that M\u00fcller suspected had been staged.\n\nNext to the board, on another table, the girl's bloodstained clothes and shoes had been taken out of evidence bags and laid out on a plastic sheet.\n\nFeuerstein snapped the protective rubber of his gloves and moved across to the autopsy table. He looked down at the girl's face, then at the Kriminalpolizei detective. 'Do you have any further information as to the girl's identity, Comrade M\u00fcller?'\n\nM\u00fcller had been holding her breath for moments at a time, trying to keep the stench of disinfectant from her lungs. 'At present, no,' she replied. 'We will in the coming days cross-check against all reports we have of missing girls of a similar age, but so far we've only made an initial check of the files.' Feuerstein nodded.\n\nThe mortuary assistant placed a body block under the nape of the girl's neck, exposing the underside of her chin and pushing her chest upwards. As the autopsy progressed, Feuerstein made regular comments into the dictation machine, and occasionally bounced questions off Wollenburg, questions that always seemed rhetorical. Seiberling, meanwhile, was being ignored. The exchange in the pathologist's office with J\u00e4ger had \u2013 M\u00fcller surmised \u2013 rendered him as good as impotent.\n\nFeuerstein used a magnifying glass to check the body millimetre by millimetre. To M\u00fcller's untrained eye, he appeared to be paying most attention to the eye sockets of the girl's mutilated face, to her neck and fingernails. The wounds in her back seemed of little interest.\n\nHe gestured to M\u00fcller and J\u00e4ger to look more closely at the neck.\n\n'Do you see these marks? This abrasion here?' Feuerstein traced his finger above the girl's skin, in a slight curve. 'These are most likely caused when the victim tried to prevent some sort of trauma to her neck. The marks are from her own fingernails as she desperately fought for air. And look here.' Feuerstein had gently pulled down the girl's left eyelid, which still remained intact above the ravaged socket. M\u00fcller could see a pattern of tiny red spots. Feuerstein pointed to them with his other hand. 'They are petechiae \u2013 minuscule haemorrhages in the skin.' He pulled the eyelid back again. 'The eyes, of course, are no longer present. And I will comment on that in my final report. If they had been, I would have expected to find petechiae there too, in the conjunctiva.' He then gestured to the girl's neck. 'You would usually, in these cases, see bruising here as well \u2013 but occasionally not, and this is one of those rare occasions.'\n\nM\u00fcller was conscious of Schmidt's belly pressing into her back, the smell of whatever variety of wurst he'd just eaten invading her nostrils.\n\nSuddenly he spoke, a confused note in his voice. 'So you're saying she was strangled. And yet there are no obvious marks on her neck, other than from her own fingernails?'\n\n'Exactly,' confirmed Feuerstein. 'If she had been killed with some sort of ligature then there certainly would have been. But I would deduce she was strangled with someone's forearm. A muscular, but fleshy, forearm \u2013 hence the lack of bruising. By the time we have completed the autopsy, I would expect to have found \u2013 by X-ray and dissection \u2013 fractures to the laryngeal skeleton. In other words, damage consistent with manual strangulation to the cervical spine.'\n\nM\u00fcller's brow tightened in confusion. 'But what about the wounds to her body?' she asked, pointing at the photos on the noticeboard that Schmidt had taken at the scene. These clearly showed what looked like bullet wounds, in a regular pattern, across her back. Feuerstein gestured to the mortuary assistant. The woman and pathologist combined to turn the girl's body over.\n\n'Yes, there are bullet wounds,' Feuerstein said. 'But, Dr Wollenburg, perhaps you can explain to our colleagues why we are certain these were not the cause of death, even before we complete our investigation.'\n\nThe blond doctor stared directly at M\u00fcller as he began his answer. She dropped her gaze back to the girl's body, trying to concentrate on what he was saying, rather than his angular good looks.\n\n'Yes, there are lesions consistent with bullet wounds,' said Wollenburg. 'But even when the body was first brought to me, it was obvious that these were inflicted after death. Several hours after, in fact. There's a lack of haemorrhaging from the wounds. Yes, they were from an automatic, or semi-automatic, weapon. The pattern implies that.' He moved over to her clothes. 'There is a significant amount of blood on her outer clothing, but much, much less on the T-shirt she was wearing under her top. In other words, the blood was applied from the outside.'\n\n'What do you mean, applied?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Well, to put it another way: faked. Very clumsily faked, so I would guess it was something that was done in a hurry. It is a bloodstain. But we've tested it \u2013 it's not human. The pattern is inconsistent with a bullet wound, and inconsistent with having seeped, flowed or pumped from within her body. It was thrown on her top later. The blood is from an animal \u2013 we believe it's feline.'\n\nSeiberling, who'd been standing quietly in the background, now moved forward and addressed J\u00e4ger, who'd been listening to the explanations by the pathologist and doctor without comment. 'So you see, Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger, it doesn't look like she was shot from the West while trying to get into the East at all. That story in Neues Deutschland was obviously wrong. I don't think there is any requirement for you four to be here for the remainder of the autopsy.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger himself said nothing for a moment; M\u00fcller found the silence unnerving. When he did finally reply, it was in the same quiet, measured voice he'd used throughout his exchanges with the attorney. 'I don't think we should jump to any conclusions, Comrade Seiberling.' He turned to M\u00fcller and held her gaze. 'I'm sure that Oberleutnant M\u00fcller will examine all the evidence in her usual thorough fashion, and will arrive at the correct conclusion.' There was no real menace in his tone, yet M\u00fcller understood it as a veiled threat. Then J\u00e4ger turned back towards Seiberling. 'And you're right, of course. We can leave now confident that you will provide us with a full and detailed report. But please don't suggest to us what our conclusions will be. That's not really your job, is it?'\n\nHe then reached across the girl's body on the mortuary table and tapped Professor Feuerstein's miniature dictation apparatus. 'You'll make sure you send me a copy of the recording of your autopsy notes, won't you, Feuerstein? And our other conversations.' Feuerstein clicked the machine off, and M\u00fcller watched Seiberling's face fall as he realised his verbal sparring with J\u00e4ger was all recorded on it.\n\nThe pathologist smiled. 'Of course, Comrade Oberstleutnant. Of course.'\n\nDay Five.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nAn S-bahn train rattled overhead. In the temporary offices of the Mitte Murder Commission \u2013 shoehorned into a railway arch below Marx-Engels-Platz station \u2013 M\u00fcller watched the contents of her overflowing in-tray battle gravity as it shook with the vibrations. She lifted a folder off the top of the pile, opened it and began turning the pages.\n\nOn each page there was the picture of a girl, first name, family name, address, date of birth, height, hair colour, eyes, shape of nose, comments about teeth and then details about other distinguishing marks. She'd been through the entire file at the weekend, and now here she was, starting her day doing the exact same thing again. They had to be seen to be doing something \u2013 and perhaps there was a detail she'd missed. The trouble was that all these girls were missing from the Hauptstadt and neighbouring Bezirke, and none of them seemed to match with the girl whose mutilated face she'd last seen on the mortuary table of Charit\u00e9 Hospital. And, if the official explanation for the case was correct, the girl wouldn't be found in the missing files of the Republic in any case, because she'd come, allegedly, from the West to the East. M\u00fcller sighed, and banged the olive-green folder shut.\n\n'Werner!' she shouted through the side office door. 'Come here a moment.'\n\nThrough the dividing window, she watched her deputy stretch at his desk in the main office, pick up a file of his own and then lope towards her, as though deadlines were something to which Unterleutnant Werner Tilsner didn't have to adhere. All very well for him, the handsome bastard, thought M\u00fcller. But he wouldn't have Stasi Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger or police Oberst Reiniger breathing down his neck and wanting answers every five minutes.\n\n'What can I do for you, Comrade M\u00fcller?'\n\nM\u00fcller felt herself blush at Tilsner's sham subservience. 'Karin. Just call me Karin when it's us two. Or boss if you insist. I've told you that enough times.'\n\n'Of course, Comrade Karin.'\n\n'And you can cut that out too. What's that you're holding?' M\u00fcller pointed at the forest-green file embossed with gold lettering that Tilsner carried in his left hand.\n\n'Missing girls.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned, and tapped her own differently shaded green file. 'But I've already got that file here.'\n\nTilsner placed his file on M\u00fcller's desk, and rotated so she could read the writing on it. The gold-embossed emblem of an eagle \u2013 flexing its wings like some unlikely avian bodybuilder \u2013 told her all she needed to know. It was from the West.\n\n'How did you get this?'\n\n'I didn't. Oberst Reiniger got it for me.' M\u00fcller tried to hide her annoyance \u2013 why had Reiniger given it directly to Tilsner? It should have come to her. Tilsner was unfazed. 'He's on the Inter-Berlin police liaison committee or something. It's his pet project. Willy Brandt started it \u2013 part of his reaching out to the East \u2013' Tilsner rolled his eyes, and smirked.\n\nM\u00fcller began leafing through the file. Other than a few more colour photos and better-quality paper, it was remarkably similar to its DDR equivalent. 'Is this just for West Berlin?' she asked.\n\nTilsner walked round M\u00fcller's desk and drew up a chair next to her. She felt his thigh touch hers. She didn't move her leg away, and found to her annoyance that she could feel the heat rising in her face. 'No,' he replied, with a slight smirk. 'The whole of the Federal Republic.'\n\nM\u00fcller placed the two files side by side and squeezed each in turn between her thumb and forefinger. Then turned and looked questioningly at her deputy. He shrugged. 'Republikfl\u00fcchtlinge. That's why the file for one city is as big as the other for a whole country. Although I'm surprised there are so many. I thought there was some sort of agreement where the younger ones got returned to their parents or guardians back here.'\n\n'Presumably only if that's what the parents want. Anyway, the Federal Republic is not a country \u2013 it's a fascist anachronism.'\n\n'Yes, yes, whatever,' said Tilsner, leafing through the West German file. 'The question is: is she here?' He tapped the open western folder. 'Or here?' He pointed at the olive-green eastern file. Then he turned and eyeballed M\u00fcller. 'Or do we have no record of her at all?'\n\n'We'll just have to go through them all systematically,' said M\u00fcller. 'Let's cross-check her physical details with the entries in each file.'\n\n'I need something to help me along the way first. Elke!' Tilsner shouted out into the main office. Student detective Elke Lehmann looked up from her desk. 'Two coffees, please, for me and Oberleutnant M\u00fcller here. Quick as you can. Two sugars for me, one for the Oberleutnant.' The girl started busying herself with tins and mugs at the side of the room.\n\n'I see you've got her well trained, Werner, but she's supposed to be learning about police work, not making coffee.'\n\nTilsner shrugged and smiled at his superior. 'She's happy to do what I want.'\n\nM\u00fcller glanced at the side of her deputy's face as he began unclipping the pages of missing girls from the West German folder. Strong chin, hint of stubble and fierce blue eyes. I bet she is happy to do whatever he wants, thought M\u00fcller, then chided herself for the ridiculous flash of jealousy.\n\nAnother train went through the station overhead, and Tilsner swore when the pile of papers he'd taken from the file fell to the floor from the table's rattle. 'Scheisse. Can't they get us a proper office?' They collected up the pages and files and moved out together to the outer office. M\u00fcller crossed to the long side table, moving the empty coffee cups and textbooks.\n\n'So where do we start?' asked Tilsner. 'Height? Hair colour? Eye colour?'\n\n'We don't know her eye colour. We can't even check for dental records.' Tilsner grimaced at her reminder. 'Let's take all the pages out, divide them into piles and just work through them like that. We could maybe start with age. We know from the pathologist that she was between thirteen and seventeen years old. Maybe we should add another year's leeway each side and discount any of the girls under twelve or over eighteen?'\n\nTilsner nodded, and they began leafing through the pages of each file, collecting a pile of rejected girls who didn't meet the age criteria.\n\nElke approached with the two cups of coffee. Tilsner took a sip from the one he was offered and recoiled in disgust. 'Elke, what the hell is that?' The girl reddened and dropped her gaze.\n\nM\u00fcller sipped from her own cup. It did taste disgusting, but she simply said, 'Thank you, Elke. Just ignore him. He got out of the wrong side of bed this morning.' She immediately felt a pang of guilt \u2013 his marital bed, the one she had sullied with her presence, clothes on or not. Tilsner grinned at her, as though he knew what she was thinking. Then he pushed his mug to one side and left it there.\n\nThey continued shuffling through the papers until they had been through the whole pile. Evidently teenage girls were the most likely to be reported as missing, because the reject pile was actually smaller than that of those who met their age criteria.\n\n'What next?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'Height?' suggested M\u00fcller. 'How tall was she? About a metre and a half?'\n\nTilsner got his notebook out of his pocket. 'Just over. It says here 1 metre 52. That's what the pathologist put in his report.'\n\n'OK, so she could have grown if she'd been missing a while, and if she was young enough. So we still can't discount girls who were shorter when they went missing.'\n\n'But we can reject taller ones, because she won't have shrunk. Everyone over, say, 1 metre 55 for starters.'\n\nThey divided the pile in two, and worked through it, pulling out the papers of any girls over their height limit.\n\n'That's helped,' said Tilsner. He fanned out the three reports he had left. 'How many have you got?'\n\nShe spread them out on the table. 'Just seven.'\n\nThe details of ten girls to look through. They spread the ten pages out, side by side, along the table. M\u00fcller went along flattening each with a sweep of her hand. Then she returned to her own office and brought back two black-and-white photographs of the girl \u2013 one taken at the scene where the body had been discovered, and the other from the autopsy report. She took the autopsy photo first, showing the girl's face after the pathologist had done his best to repair her injuries; the result didn't look particularly human. She moved it \u2013 left to right \u2013 along the table, pausing above the details of each girl and comparing photographs. None looked like even a distant match. She did the same with the photograph taken at the scene. That was more difficult because of the obvious facial injuries. Again nothing.\n\nShe sighed and turned to look at Tilsner. Her deputy was staring trance-like at the photos.\n\n'What is it?' she asked.\n\nHe took the original photo from M\u00fcller, the one from the cemetery, and held it \u2013 almost reverentially. 'It's this picture. It just makes me so sad. It's how I felt at the cemetery as well. You know \u2013'\n\n'What?'\n\n'That she could be Steffi, my daughter, in a few years' time.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She'd felt the exact same thing at the cemetery and in the autopsy room.\n\n'Steffi's six now. A little curly-haired fireball. Full of energy. I can do no wrong in her eyes. But in less than ten years, well... she could end up like this.' M\u00fcller could see his eyes moistening, his hand shaking slightly. It wasn't the Tilsner she thought she knew. His devil-may-care mask had slipped, if only for an instant.\n\n'You were telling me the other night that family life doesn't agree with you.' She laughed, trying to lighten the mood. 'Or was that just your usual chat-up line?'\n\nTilsner snorted, and tossed the hair back from his forehead. 'No. It wasn't. It's true. I got married too young, didn't I? When Koletta fell pregnant. We'd both just turned twenty. That's no age at all. And then Marius came along straightaway; it just felt we didn't have the time to live our lives. He's the same age as this girl. But it's always the girls, isn't? Always the girls who end up like this.'\n\nHe continued to finger and stare at the photograph. Then his face creased into a frown as he picked up the autopsy photo.\n\n'Hang on,' he said, his voice suddenly animated.\n\n'What is it?'\n\nTilsner put the photo back on the table above girl number six. Then he got some scissors and started cutting round the face of the girl from the autopsy, and then did the same for the report for missing girl number six.\n\n'I hope you know what you're doing, destroying evidence like that,' said M\u00fcller.\n\n'They're only copies. But look!'\n\nHe pointed excitedly at the two photos, placing them side by side, having cut the hair from the picture of each photograph.\n\n'Don't you see? It looks like the same girl. Only the hair is different.' He placed the cut-out faces back in the surrounding frame of hair, making the photos complete again. In the missing report, the girl had a large mass of blonde hair. In the autopsy photo, the hair was dark, short and straight. M\u00fcller examined the photos closely. Tilsner was right, up to a point. There was a resemblance, although \u2013 given the injuries \u2013 she wasn't as sure that it was the same girl.\n\n'East or West?' she asked.\n\nTilsner picked up the piece of paper and read the address. 'East,' he said. 'Friedrichshain.' He read the report on the girl. 'Silke Eisenberg. Suspected of wall jumping \u2013 but, as usual, it was the other way, escaping to the West.'\n\n'Perhaps she could have gone there, but then attempted to return?' suggested M\u00fcller.\n\n'Well, anything's possible \u2013 if pigs had wings,' replied Tilsner in a deadpan voice.\n\nM\u00fcller sat down on a chair next to the table, exhausted, even though it was still early in the day. Checking out this girl's home address was all they had to go on. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.\n\nDay Five.\n\nFriedrichshain, East Berlin.\n\nAs M\u00fcller and Tilsner arrived at the Eisenberg family's apartment block in Friedrichshain, M\u00fcller found herself wanting to shield her ears from the furious clanging and crashing of building noise. The dust and smell of new cement and render made her want to cover her mouth and nose, reminding her of her childhood and the post-war rebuilding of destroyed homes. They picked their way to the block mentioned in the missing persons' file, careful to stay on the wooden duckboard \u2013 the only way of safely negotiating the mess of mud and melted snow between the two buildings.\n\nOpposite the Eisenbergs' block, another concrete high-rise was emerging from the ground, seemingly expanding upwards metre by metre as M\u00fcller watched. It reminded her of her nephew's Pebe toy set: the gift she'd given him at the family Christmas at her mother's guesthouse in Thuringia the year before last. He'd constructed a modernist high-rise from the interlocking plastic bricks in just a few hours, while the adults digested their festive lunch. Now here, grown-up workers from the workers' and peasants' state were building the socialist dream in its full-scale form. But while that filled M\u00fcller with hope for her country's future, the memory of the Christmas gift was a source of guilt. This year, she hadn't been back to the family home in Oberhof \u2013 the Republic's answer to St Moritz \u2013 and she knew her mother, sister and brother would feel she'd let them down. M\u00fcller had claimed she was too busy with work, but \u2013\n\nShe stopped the thought, and hung back as Tilsner rang the entryphone buzzer. He jabbed on the button repeatedly, shouting into the mouthpiece to no avail.\n\nHe turned towards M\u00fcller and shrugged in exasperation, then tried pulling on the locked front door.\n\n'A few months old but knackered already.'\n\nJust then, above the construction din from the opposite block, M\u00fcller simultaneously heard and felt footsteps on the wooden duckboard behind her. An elderly lady approached \u2013 weighed down by shopping bags \u2013 the timber slats wobbling under her shoes. The woman pushed away wisps of pure white hair from her lined and leathered forehead, tucking them under the red-and-white polka-dot scarf that was wrapped tightly round her head.\n\n'Are you from the neighbourhood committee?' she asked M\u00fcller. 'This is what I was talking about.' The woman gestured at the muddy mess underfoot. 'It's no good building us new apartments but not sorting out the roads and footpaths. If I fell off, I'd probably drown in that mud. Still, at least you're here now.'\n\nM\u00fcller withdrew her Kripo identification and showed it to the woman. 'Oberleutnant M\u00fcller. Kriminalpolizei Mitte. We need to get into this apartment block. Do you live here? The entry system doesn't seem to be working.' M\u00fcller pointed to where Tilsner was still pulling at the door and jabbing buttons at random.\n\n'Nothing works properly here,' said the woman. 'That's what I said in my written complaint. I can let you in, but will you try to make sure they do something about it in return?'\n\n'It's not the job of the criminal police to respond to petitions, I'm afraid, Citizen \u2013'\n\n'Keppler. The name's Keppler.' She shuffled towards the door with her bags, placed them down on the muddied wooden boards and then fumbled in her pocket for the door key. 'Who is it you're looking for anyway, dear?'\n\n'The Eisenberg family. Flat 412.'\n\n'Ah yes. Same floor as me.'\n\n'You know them, then?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'I do. And I could give you some interesting information.'\n\nM\u00fcller eyeballed the woman with what she hoped was her best stern expression. 'Then you should. Withholding information from the People's Police \u2013'\n\n'... is a very serious matter. I know that, officer. I hope, in return, you might mention the terrible state of the footpaths.' She waited for some response from M\u00fcller, but the detective continued to fix her with a glare. Eventually the woman continued without any assurance in return. 'Something fishy is going on there if you ask me. She's kept herself very private since her daughter disappeared, and her husband... well you probably know all about him anyway. But she'll be in, there's that at least. She never goes out these days.'\n\n'And what about Silke, the daughter?'\n\n'Well they've reported her missing, haven't they? Look, posters everywhere.' The woman gestured with her eyes to the wall of the lobby, and M\u00fcller saw the exact same photo from the file, this time as the centrepiece of a missing person's poster, offering a 1,000-mark reward. 'They're making out she's been abducted or something, but it's obvious where she's gone.'\n\n'Where?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'Where do they all go? To the West, of course. Watch all their western TV programmes and get silly ideas. She was always a bad one.'\n\n'What do you mean?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nThe woman leant down to pick up her shopping bags. 'I'll tell you on the way up,' she said. 'Can your young man give me a hand with these? There's no point him pressing those buttons, because the lift doesn't work either.'\n\nThe three of them laboriously climbed the four floors, with Tilsner taking both her shopping bags. On the way, in between regular stops to get her breath back, Frau Keppler extolled her theory that Silke Eisenberg had been mixing with the wrong sorts. Having sex with boys. Then men. And then with money changing hands. Frau Keppler's view was that she'd simply crossed the Wall to earn more money in the West's lucrative red-light districts. She divulged the information in an ever-quieter voice. By the time they were at the fourth level she was virtually whispering into M\u00fcller's ear, between regular rasping intakes of air.\n\n'You do realise what you're alleging, Citizen Keppler? Republikflucht is a very serious crime,' said M\u00fcller, matching the elderly woman's whisper. 'Republikflucht and alleged prostitution.'\n\nThe woman gestured with her eyes to the door to apartment 412. 'You'll see, dear,' she whispered. Tilsner handed her the shopping bags. 'Thank you, young man,' she said, this time at full volume.\n\nAs Frau Keppler retreated down the corridor towards her own flat, humming a tune as she went, M\u00fcller rang the Eisenbergs' bell.\n\nThe door opened a few centimetres, and half of a woman's face appeared, bisected by a security chain which prevented the door opening fully. 'Who is it?'\n\nM\u00fcller held up her Kripo ID. 'Kriminalpolizei. We're here about Silke.'\n\nThe woman made no initial move to undo the chain or open the door further. 'What about Silke? She's not here.'\n\nM\u00fcller sighed. 'We know that, Citizen Eisenberg, but we may have some information about her. Could you let us in, please? This is a criminal investigation.'\n\nNow it was the woman's turn to sigh. A strange reaction, thought M\u00fcller, unless what the old woman had alleged was true. The chain jangled as Frau Eisenberg freed it, and M\u00fcller and Tilsner stepped into the brightly painted hallway of the flat. The woman looked out of place amongst its neatness. Mousy hair, unwashed greasy housecoat and, more importantly, a look in her eyes that didn't suggest she was expecting to receive some bad news about her daughter.\n\nM\u00fcller held out her hand. 'Oberleutnant M\u00fcller, Kriminalpolizei Mitte. And this is Unterleutnant Tilsner.'\n\nThe woman wiped her hand on the back of her housecoat, before accepting M\u00fcller's handshake. 'Marietta Eisenberg. I'm Silke's mother.'\n\n'And where's her dad?' asked Tilsner.\n\nThe woman snorted. 'You should know more about that than me.'\n\n'What do you mean, Frau Eisenberg?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'I mean I don't know where he is. He was arrested three months ago, just before Silke went missing, but I don't know where he's been taken. You lot won't tell me anything.'\n\nM\u00fcller looked quizzically at Tilsner. He shrugged. 'We don't know anything about that, Citizen Eisenberg,' she said. 'And if he'd been arrested by the Volkspolizei we would know, I can assure you.'\n\n'It wasn't the police who took him. It was the Stasi.' M\u00fcller frowned. Perhaps they should have checked in with J\u00e4ger before coming here.\n\n'Well then, I'm sure they had good reason.' It was a little cruel, but Marietta Eisenberg had rubbed her up the wrong way. 'I'm sorry for what's happened to your husband. But we're here to talk about Silke \u2013 can we sit down?'\n\nSilke's mother ushered the two detectives into the lounge. M\u00fcller was impressed as she took in the decor. The woman's daywear might have been dirty, but her apartment was spotless \u2013 and full of the latest gadgets. A telephone, television, expensive-looking parquet flooring and a tasteful range of fitted wood-veneer cupboards and bookshelves. It was how M\u00fcller imagined a flat in West Berlin might be furnished.\n\n'I know what you're thinking,' said Frau Eisenberg. 'How does a family whose husband has been arrested by the Stasi afford something like this?'\n\n'It is a lovely flat,' said M\u00fcller, swallowing her curiosity, 'but it's no concern of mine. Shall we sit?' She gestured to the beige corduroy sofa. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tilsner in the kitchen, riffling through cupboards and drawers.\n\nEisenberg kept darting glances towards M\u00fcller's deputy. 'Does he have authorisation for that? For going through my things?' she asked.\n\n'Don't worry about Unterleutnant Tilsner,' said M\u00fcller. 'The fact we're from the Kripo is the only authorisation we need, Frau Eisenberg.' Then M\u00fcller turned more conciliatory, and laid her hand on top of Eisenberg's. 'We simply need to find out as much as we can about Silke. You see, a girl has been found.' M\u00fcller studied the woman's face, watching for her reactions. There was apprehension, perhaps fear \u2013 but no real surprise.\n\n'Really?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, but kept her hand clasped to Eisenberg's. 'But it may not be good news, I'm afraid.' This was the bit M\u00fcller hated: telling a parent that the police believed their child was dead. 'A girl's body has been found.'\n\nEisenberg stared at her in apparent disbelief. At the same time, M\u00fcller was aware of Tilsner now having moved out of the kitchen and the lounge, and towards the bedrooms. She didn't think Frau Eisenberg, in her distressed state, had noticed.\n\n'We're not sure it's Silke. For your sake, I hope it's not. But we need you to look at a photograph to see if it is her. Can you do that for me?'\n\nMarietta Eisenberg looked crushed. Her husband in some unknown Stasi jail. And now her daughter, having been missing for months, was possibly dead. 'Where was the girl's body discovered?'\n\n'In the Hauptstadt. In Mitte.'\n\n'The Hauptstadt?' asked Eisenberg. 'In the East?'\n\n'Yes, of course.'\n\n'But \u2013' The words died in Eisenberg's mouth.\n\n'But what, Citizen Eisenberg? Is there something you want to tell me?'\n\n'N-n-no. I... I... it's just \u2013'\n\n'What?'\n\nFrau Eisenberg held her head in her hands and stared at the floor. 'Nothing,' she mumbled. 'Nothing.'\n\nM\u00fcller started to pull the photograph of the girl from her pocket, when she heard a shout from inside the flat.\n\n'Boss!' screamed Tilsner. 'Come here, now.'\n\nM\u00fcller jumped up from the sofa and hurried in the direction of her deputy's voice. It was obviously a girl's bedroom. Pink everywhere. With posters of western rock groups and pop stars on the wall. M\u00fcller recognised Mick Jagger with his pouting lips, David Bowie with his orange hair. On another wall, Free German Youth and Pioneer certificates and posters, from earlier years when Silke's aspirations had apparently followed the party diktats for model socialist children.\n\nTilsner was at the girl's bed, the drawer of the bedside cabinet open. He held a letter in his hand. 'The mother should have hidden this a bit better. Putting it in the girl's own drawer probably wasn't the most sensible move.' He passed the letter, envelope and enclosed instant-camera photo over to M\u00fcller. M\u00fcller looked at the photo first. It was colour, something hard to come by in the Republic. But what was interesting was it was a self-shot photo of Silke in front of the main entrance of the KaDeWe department store in West Berlin. She looked at the western postmark on the envelope. From just three days earlier \u2013 after the murdered girl's body had been found. She raised her eyes to Tilsner's.\n\n'So she's in the West. And alive. Our body by the Wall is not Silke Eisenberg.'\n\n'No, boss. Not unless someone else posted it after she was killed. And while that's possible, it seems unlikely. So we're no further on.'\n\nThey heard sobbing behind them, and both turned. Standing there in the doorway, Marietta Eisenberg looked both upset and alarmed. As well she might, thought M\u00fcller. Her daughter may not be dead, but she was guilty of Republikflucht. And if Marietta Eisenberg had helped her daughter to flee to West Berlin, then it wouldn't merely be her husband enjoying the hospitality of a Stasi jail.\n\nDay Five.\n\nPrenzlauer Berg, East Berlin.\n\nGottfried M\u00fcller knew that he was breaking a promise to his wife, but justified it by reminding himself that she'd broken an even more important pledge: her marriage vows.\n\nEach of Gottfried's strides up Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee was more like a stamp of frustration. He could have caught the U-bahn but he needed the air and the anonymity of the street, rather than being glowered at by some matron across an underground train carriage.\n\nGottfried could feel his glasses slipping down his nose as he strode on. He pushed them back into place, and then waited at the red pedestrian Ampelmann sign outside Dimitroffstrasse U-bahn station; Wartburgs, Trabants and Ladas poured more of their fumes into the choking night-time smog. Since he'd come back from R\u00fcgen everything had been a hundred times worse than before he went. At first he'd been quite keen on the idea of a few months by the Baltic coast in the reform school. That was until he'd actually seen the conditions. But even there, he'd felt calmer, as though he could actually make a difference, even if it was just a question of trying to cheer up the children and show them some kindness.\n\nGottfried decided to walk up Pappelallee \u2013 it would be quieter. He needed to calm down before he reached the church. Saturday's argument with Karin still rankled. That she'd chosen to stay out all night rankled even more. He could tell she was lying, so he in turn felt no guilt coming here now. All previous bets were off.\n\nWith his head bowed, he almost failed to spot an elderly woman weaving her way through the patches of snow on the pavement. She stumbled, and he reached out to hold her and prevent her falling, thinking how frail and light she felt \u2013 and realising that the left arm of her coat was empty, just fabric hanging down limply. The woman nodded her thanks and carried on her way, but Gottfried stopped a moment. It was a timely reminder there were people worse off than him. He watched the woman's back as she shuffled off, the coat arm flapping as she went. Was she too old for a prosthesis? Or was it her badge of honour? Older citizens with missing limbs from war wounds or bombing injuries had been a common sight when he was growing up in Berlin. That and the huge number of angry single women who'd fly off the handle at the slightest schoolboy provocation. Women widowed and aged before their time by the ravages of war.\n\nHe glanced at his watch, pulled his coat up around his neck and speeded up his strides. If possible, he wanted to be a few minutes early for the meeting. Pastor Grosinski might be able to offer some useful advice on how to avoid the collapse of a marriage. Although perhaps he and Karin would just be better off letting nature take its course.\n\nApproaching the entrance to the church, Gottfried stopped again for a moment. He tilted his head back slowly, letting his eyes pan upwards, admiring the building's red-brick solidity and the green patina of its copper steeple, disappearing through the smog haze into the moonlit sky. It appeared to have survived the war's bombs and bullets better than the old woman he'd almost bumped into.\n\nAs he walked up the steps to the church's front door, some fractional movement or flash in the corner of his eye made him turn and peer up at one of the windows in an apartment block across the road. There was a man in the shadows, holding something. Watching from the second floor. His face looked remarkably like that bastard Tilsner, Karin's deputy. The man moved away from the window. Gottfried wondered for just an instant whether he should run across the road to the apartment and confront him. But then he shook his head, turned and entered the church. It almost certainly wasn't Tilsner, just someone who looked a little like him from a distance. I need to pull myself out of this \u2013 I'm becoming obsessed.\n\nDay Six.\n\nPl\u00e4nterwald, East Berlin.\n\nM\u00fcller pulled the collar of her overcoat up around her ears, and then wrapped one lapel inside the other to try to keep out the cold. The brisk walk from Pl\u00e4nterwald S-bahn station had temporarily increased her internal body heat, but now \u2013 waiting by the unmanned ticket office of the Kulturpark \u2013 the icy morning air seemed to be eating into her bones. Although J\u00e4ger had said he wanted to meet somewhere quiet, she hadn't quite expected it would be the Republic's only amusement park: closed for the winter, empty and covered in snow. The day, time and venue had been in a typewritten sealed note on Ministry for State Security official paper, delivered to her in person at Marx-Engels-Platz by a motorcycle messenger. That was strange enough in itself, but disturbingly J\u00e4ger had also asked her to make sure she wasn't followed. On the S-bahn, she'd thought for a moment that a man in builders' overalls had been doing just that. He'd got on at Marx-Engels-Platz, in the same carriage, and although she'd tried not to look at him, she got the impression that he was occasionally checking on her. But M\u00fcller was the only passenger to alight at Pl\u00e4nterwald, and she chided herself for her paranoia.\n\nShe hitched up her coat sleeve and glanced at her watch. Five past ten: he was five minutes late already. She pulled the sleeve back, dug her hands deep into her coat pockets and then turned, scanning the approaches to the park. No one \u2013 not a soul. Not even the sound of birdsong to disturb the near silence.\n\nThen a clang of metal, from where she hadn't expected, the entrance to the park itself, and there was J\u00e4ger, in casual clothes but carrying a briefcase, accompanied by a man she didn't recognise, wearing the uniform of the VEB \u2013 the state-owned enterprise that ran the park.\n\n'Sorry I'm a little late, Oberleutnant. The caretaker, Comrade K\u00f6hler here, isn't used to visitors at this time of year, and I had to go and track him down. He's going to take us somewhere private for our meeting.' M\u00fcller gave a small nod, as the caretaker gestured to her and J\u00e4ger to follow him through the turnstiles.\n\nAs they entered the park, J\u00e4ger's eyes met hers. 'You look frozen stiff, Comrade Oberleutnant.' He patted the front of his sheepskin jacket. 'This is what you need for weather like this.' Then he pinched the sleeve of M\u00fcller's grey-green overcoat, rubbing it between his finger and thumb. 'Not a People's Police overcoat.'\n\nM\u00fcller laughed. 'I wish I could afford one, Comrade Oberstleutnant. I expect the salary of police first lieutenant is slightly lower that that of a Ministry for State Security lieutenant colonel.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger smiled a knowing smile. Not everything was equal in this socialist state of workers and peasants, thought M\u00fcller, but it was still a fairer world than on the other side of the anti-fascist barrier. She could tell that from Gottfried's infernal western news programmes and their never-ending reports of strikes and workers' disaffection.\n\nThe snow here, on the outskirts of the Hauptstadt, hadn't melted into a muddy morass of sludge like that next to the Eisenbergs' apartment block in Friedrichshain. With colder temperatures overnight, their footsteps crunched along the path, making enough noise almost for a whole column of People's Army soldiers, even though there were just the three of them.\n\nAs they turned a corner, J\u00e4ger pointed to the swan boats lined up on the banks of the lake, out of action for the winter. 'Have you been here at the height of the season, Oberleutnant M\u00fcller? My children love it.'\n\n'I don't have children, Oberstleutnant. And no, I haven't.' The admission was accompanied by a sharp stab of regret, and then the sudden memory of the murdered girl, lying dead in St Elisabeth's cemetery. That girl wouldn't be coming to sample the rides of the Kulturpark anytime soon either.\n\nThey lapsed into silence for the rest of their walk behind the caretaker, J\u00e4ger appearing embarrassed by the exchange. M\u00fcller saw they were heading towards the park's iconic Ferris wheel. When they reached it, the caretaker took a set of keys from his pocket and opened the control room.\n\n'We're going to get a free ride,' said J\u00e4ger. 'I hope you've a good head for heights.' M\u00fcller nodded. She wasn't going to admit that she hadn't. 'Not to mention a sterner stomach than the other day at the cemetery.' Although his teasing was gentle, M\u00fcller felt her cheeks flush at the reminder.\n\nThe electric motor hummed into action as K\u00f6hler started up the mechanism, the groaning grind of un-oiled metal slowly replacing the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. M\u00fcller counted six cabins go past, before J\u00e4ger held up his hand for K\u00f6hler to bring the ride to a stop. The cabin selected by J\u00e4ger swung gently on its hinges as he opened the safety bar and stood to one side to let her in. They sat down opposite one another; M\u00fcller felt her stomach lurch as K\u00f6hler released the brake. As the giant wheel slowly began to turn, M\u00fcller watched the Stasi officer run his fingers along each edge of the cabin, then peer under each bench seat.\n\nJ\u00e4ger raised his head to look straight into her eyes. 'This is my usual meeting spot for quiet talks,' he explained, 'and so our agents have checked it over already. But you can never be too careful, and what we have to discuss is quite... sensitive, shall we say.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, hunching down into her coat as the cabin climbed and the temperature dropped. She risked a glance out at the city, and instantly felt queasy. She shouldn't. She was a mountain girl. Well, if the hills of the Thuringian Forest could really be called mountains. The mountain girl who'd never had a head for heights. Who'd been a promising winter sports athlete at school, until...\n\nShe stopped the thought. Tried to pull herself together, and focus on J\u00e4ger, who seemed oblivious to her fear.\n\n'The full autopsy report has some interesting findings, things I didn't want to discuss in front of Tilsner and Schmidt \u2013 at least not until I've gone over them with you.' He drew out a folder from his briefcase, and then rose to join M\u00fcller on her bench. The cabin rocked with the sudden movement, and M\u00fcller kept her eyes to the floor to avoid reminding herself how high they were. She knew that under her gloves her knuckles would be turning white as she gripped the end of the wooden seat ever tighter. They seemed to have reached the apex of the wheel now. Its forward motion had stopped, and the cabin settled into a gentle swing from the wind and the residual energy of J\u00e4ger's decision to play musical chairs several hundred feet above ground. Was he deliberately trying to unnerve her?\n\nJ\u00e4ger had clearly noticed her look of terror. 'Are you alright, Comrade Oberleutnant? Perhaps this location wasn't such a good idea. I must admit, I usually come here in the summer months. I didn't realise it would be so windy.'\n\nM\u00fcller breathed in deeply. 'I'll be fine,' she lied, her stomach feeling as though it was about to drop out of the bottom of her body.\n\nThe Stasi lieutenant colonel nodded, and opened the folder. 'The pathologist, Professor Feuerstein, has come to some startling and slightly awkward conclusions.' He turned a couple of pages. M\u00fcller found herself once more wanting to avert her eyes from the photograph of the girl's mutilated face, but that was the page J\u00e4ger had settled on. 'You see the smooth, almost shiny, melted appearance of the skin here, right at the side of where much of the face has been torn away?' M\u00fcller squinted at the photo, and to the section J\u00e4ger was tracing with his finger. 'It's the result of coming into contact with a strong acid. In this case sulphuric acid, from a car battery.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'She'd been in some sort of accident, then? Or are you saying this was done deliberately?'\n\n'Feuerstein doesn't comment on that. To be honest, he doesn't have to. He believes the skin came into contact with the acid post mortem.'\n\n'So, deliberate? To hide her identity after she'd been killed?'\n\n'Almost certainly, I would think.' J\u00e4ger nodded.\n\n'And what about the injuries to the rest of her face? Were they caused by a dog, as you were saying at the cemetery?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger shook his head, and gave a slow sigh. 'No. You can probably guess. Her face was deliberately ripped apart, after acid was thrown onto it. And her teeth were pulled out, one by one, with iron pliers.' M\u00fcller gave a small gasp and raised her hand to her mouth. 'Feuerstein found rust residue on her gums.'\n\n'That poor girl. So whoever it was tortured her first?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger again moved his head slowly from side to side. 'No. The teeth were again pulled out post mortem.'\n\n'Someone has gone to great lengths to prevent identification of the body.'\n\n'Exactly,' said J\u00e4ger. 'And that is going to make your job exceedingly difficult. Because that is exactly what you, Tilsner and Schmidt need to do. Find out who this girl was. That's what I want you concentrate on. And we need to be careful not to publicly challenge the official version of how she met her demise.'\n\n'But clearly, Comrade Oberstleutnant, you cannot still believe that she was shot by western guards as she was trying to escape to the East?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger said nothing for a moment, so that all that filled the silence was the screeching of the cabin, as it gently swayed backwards and forwards. Like the screams of a girl, thought M\u00fcller.\n\n'That is still the official account of her death,' J\u00e4ger said finally, a flat note in his voice. He reached into his inside pocket and drew out an envelope, 'This authority for your missing person's search may help you.' He pulled out the sheet of paper and showed it to M\u00fcller.\n\nShe frowned. 'I don't need the approval of the Ministry for State Security for a missing person's search.' And why, if J\u00e4ger didn't want them to be tracking down the girl's killer or killers, was he so keen that the body should be identified at all? Surely the Stasi would be better off drawing a line under everything?\n\n'That's true,' admitted J\u00e4ger. 'But look at the signature.' M\u00fcller saw it had been signed by Erich Mielke, just as the authorisation had been at the autopsy. 'It may prove useful to have this in certain circumstances, Oberleutnant M\u00fcller. It will also serve as a reminder... about the limits of your permitted inquiry.'\n\n'And those limits are?'\n\n'To concern yourselves with the missing person, the girl. Rather than the perpetrators. Though I dare say \u2013'\n\n'What, Oberstleutnant?' prompted M\u00fcller.\n\nAgain the Stasi lieutenant colonel paused, as though for effect. 'I dare say that in searching for the girl, the evidence you uncover may be useful to me. Should we at any stage wish to challenge the official account.' He turned and stared directly into her eyes. 'But that will be for me \u2013 and me alone \u2013 to decide.'\n\nM\u00fcller found herself shivering, as much from the implied threats as from the cold. Now she had become used to the rocking motion of the cabin, she risked a longer view of the Berlin skyline, stretching for kilometre after kilometre but dominated by the television tower in Alexanderplatz, looking from this distance a little like a hypodermic needle. The Fernsehturm: symbol of the Republic's progress. Yes, it was a small country but it was focused on the future, making its mark, not inward-looking and money-obsessed, or reliant on manufacturing cuckoo clocks for tourists like some western states.\n\nShe turned back towards J\u00e4ger, who was still leafing through the autopsy report, and risked another question. 'But presumably my team is at liberty to pursue any and every lead that might help us to identify the girl?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger slapped the autopsy report on his lap, and glowered at her.\n\n'I don't want to have to repeat myself, Karin. There's a good reason why I, as a senior officer in the Ministry for State Security, have been assigned this case.'\n\n'Can you tell me what that reason is?'\n\nThere was a flash of anger in his expression, which he quickly attempted to hide.\n\n'No. Not at present. It's enough for you to know that it's a sensitive inquiry, and for you and your team to respect the limits that I've outlined.'\n\nM\u00fcller turned away again, and fixed her gaze on the dizzying vista of Berlin, far below. She swallowed.\n\n'Did you want to hear what Tilsner and I have discovered so far?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger raised his head, and then shrugged. 'Is it the fact that the vehicle tracks in the graveyard were from Swedish tyres, or that her supposed footprints were so badly faked that whoever did it couldn't tell his left from his right?'\n\nM\u00fcller felt her face burn from a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Was he toying with them? 'It appears that you're already aware of all the discrepancies, Comrade Oberstleutnant. Are you sure you need the help of the People's Police? Tilsner wants us to request to be taken off the case.'\n\nThe Stasi officer held his hands up. 'Sorry. That was unfair of me. You are vital to this inquiry. I chose you personally. I need a competent Kriminalpolizei team to gather and record evidence, and do that independently of the Ministry for State Security. So please, do not think your efforts will be in vain.'\n\nM\u00fcller snorted dismissively.\n\n'I can understand your reaction,' said J\u00e4ger, closing the file. He returned it to the briefcase, and then stood and waved at K\u00f6hler to restart the motor for the downward journey. M\u00fcller tightened her grip on the bench again as the cabin pitched forwards. 'But I'll tell you something that I hope will make you want to continue to help me. Feuerstein says in his report that the girl was sexually active. But also that \u2013 from evidence of bruising around the genital and anal region \u2013 she had been raped and abused before she was strangled to death.'\n\nM\u00fcller slowly exhaled. As J\u00e4ger paused, the memories flooded her brain. Memories from her time at the police university that she had tried again and again to forget.\n\nJ\u00e4ger suddenly reached out with his arm to touch her knee, sensing something was wrong. She felt herself curl away. 'Are you alright, Comrade M\u00fcller? Your face is rather pale.'\n\n'Is it?' she asked, aware of the slightly vacant note in her voice. 'It's probably just the motion of the Ferris wheel.' She forced a laugh. 'Perhaps I don't have a head for heights after all.' The small lie had been found out.\n\nThe cabin was almost back at ground level, and she could see K\u00f6hler's silhouette in the control hut. J\u00e4ger cleared his throat. 'There is one more thing I must tell you; just so you're aware of the kind of person we're dealing with. The nature of the bruises indicate that the final rape was committed at approximately the same time as the bullet wounds were faked in her back, and her face and mouth were mutilated.'\n\n'At the same time?' asked M\u00fcller, incredulously.\n\nJ\u00e4ger slowly nodded. 'Approximately. What is certain, says Professor Feuerstein, is that the last rape was committed post mortem.'\n\nM\u00fcller closed her eyes and let her lungs fill slowly. Now she knew why she wouldn't be supporting Tilsner's attempts to get them moved off the case. Now she knew why she was prepared to search in every corner of the Republic to find the identity of the girl... and \u2013 despite J\u00e4ger's warning \u2013 the identity of her killer.\n\nNine months earlier (May 1974).\n\nJugendwerkhof Prora Ost, R\u00fcgen, East Germany.\n\nI wake with a start, banging my head against the roof, coughing and choking. My second nightmare in as many days fades, and I realise I'm still in the Jugendwerkhof, in the isolation cell nicknamed the bunker. My punishment just for trying to comfort my friend. I don't regret it, don't regret trying to speak up in front of Neumann and Richter, even though my arse still stings from where he beat me, the bastard.\n\nThe bunker is somewhere all of us usually try to avoid \u2013 one of their weapons for keeping us in line. No heating, so it's bitterly cold. No light, so it's in semi-darkness. And not enough space to stand. I'd been dreaming about Mutti, Oma and I having a lovely Grillfest on the beach in front of Oma's little white campsite house. Then Mutti and Oma's faces had transformed into the hated ones of Richter and Neumann. Now, straightaway, I realise that one thing from the dream is real: the smell of burning. Smoke is coming through the narrow slit \u2013 a lousy excuse for a window. I pull off my jumper, banging my wrist on the bunker's roof in my haste, and stuff the woollen material into the gap in an attempt to keep out the fumes. I know what's happened. There is a pile of kindling next to the cell. Some of the girls like to throw lit cigarette butts from the window onto the wood, saying they want to try to set fire to it and suffocate any occupant of the bunker. I'd always assumed it was just a joke. I'd never realised how terrifying it would be to be the girl trapped inside.\n\n'Help me! Please!' I cry. My heart thumps in my chest. Despite the cold in the bunker, I feel sweat pooling under my armpits.\n\nI am lucky, though. Someone does hear my cries. Footsteps. Running. Then a splash and hissing, as someone throws a bucket of water on top of the kindling before the fire can take hold.\n\n'Are you OK, Irma?' says the voice, which I immediately recognise as a friendly one: Herr M\u00fcller, the maths teacher who arrived earlier this year from Berlin. 'I'm sorry for that. It will be OK now. It's out. And I'll have words with Director Neumann and Frau Richter to ensure those responsible are disciplined.'\n\nI stifle a snort.\n\n'You don't believe me?' he asks.\n\n'I believe you will say something, sir. But they won't act on it. They're probably pleased. It's part of the punishment.'\n\n'That can't be right, Irma. Anyway, what are you doing here?'\n\n'What is anyone doing here? In the eyes of the authorities we've all done something wrong.'\n\nI see Herr M\u00fcller's hand now, pushing my woollen jumper aside. He's holding an apple. I grab it eagerly. 'Thank you,' I say, and almost feel like crying at his small gesture of kindness.\n\n'I meant why are you here?' he asks again, lowering his voice in case others are eavesdropping. 'In the bunker?'\n\n'I was caught in bed with Beate in the dorm. Every night she's crying, but she won't tell me what's wrong. I was just comforting her.'\n\n'I understand,' he says. 'You're all here together, but it can still be lonely. And now you're in the bunker, are you alright? It seems a terribly cruel punishment for something so trivial.'\n\nI hold the apple in my right hand, and then rub my wrist with my left where it banged against the bunker roof. 'It's OK,' I lie.\n\n'It's not OK, Irma,' he says, whispering now through the window slit. 'Children shouldn't be locked up like this.'\n\nI realise what he's saying is dangerous for him. If it is a trap, what worse trouble could I get in? Where is worse than the bunker at Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost? 'If you think it's so wrong, why are you working here?' I ask him.\n\n'You think I have a choice?'\n\n'No,' I say. 'I don't suppose you do. I don't think anyone truly wants to work here.'\n\n'Maybe Richter.' He laughs softly. 'But no, I certainly do not want to work here, but they have difficulty attracting staff... I was accused of not giving sufficient weight to political teaching at my school in Berlin. And, as my wife is a leading detective in the Kriminalpolizei, the authorities weren't too impressed. So they sent me here. Temporarily, so they say, as long as I keep my nose clean.'\n\n'You shouldn't be whispering to bad girls in the bunker then.'\n\n'No, probably not.' A pause. 'It would be nice to leave though, wouldn't it?'\n\nIs he trying to trap me again? 'Leave? Leave Prora Ost?'\n\n'Not just that,' he says, his voice still lower so I have to strain to hear.\n\nThis is dangerous talk. I know better than to respond. Maybe Neumann and Richter are outside too, listening to my every answer, and maybe M\u00fcller is on a fishing expedition. Fishing for would-be Republikfl\u00fcchtlinge.\n\n'You know where the furniture from the workshop goes?' he asks.\n\n'No. We're never told. I just assumed it was for government bigwigs. Something like that.'\n\n'It's not. It goes to a new shipping terminus they've built at Sassnitz.'\n\nMost of the girls wouldn't even know where Sassnitz was. But I do. I'm from R\u00fcgen, born right here on the island. Sassnitz is a pretty little town, with a lovely fishing harbour. I remember going on boat trips from there as a child. With Mutti. With Oma.\n\n'And do you know where it goes after Sassnitz?' he whispers. Now I'm sure he's trying to trap me. To get me to say something to incriminate myself. And I thought he was one of the few decent teachers. He ignores my silence and continues his whispering. 'It goes to \u2013'\n\nHe stops abruptly, mid-sentence. I hear two sets of footsteps. His, moving away from the bunker, and another person's, moving towards his. Then I give an involuntary shiver as I hear Director Neumann's voice.\n\n'Comrade M\u00fcller. What are you doing here?'\n\n'I was just taking a short smoking break, Herr Director.'\n\n'Smoking? I didn't think you smoked.'\n\n'I've just taken it up. Stupid habit, really.'\n\nI hear him cough, as though to reinforce his lie. Then I hear Neumann sniffing. 'What's that burning smell?'\n\n'It was my cigarette butt,' Herr M\u00fcller replies. 'I accidentally threw it on the kindling pile here \u2013 nearly started a fire. But it's out now.'\n\n'Yes, well, we don't want any fires, do we? Please keep far away from this area in future. We have had occasions where teachers here have started talking \u2013 or even worse, passing food \u2013 to children in the bunker. I wouldn't follow their example if I were you. That is, if you ever want to get back to your regular job in Berlin.'\n\n'No, Herr Director. Thank you for the advice.'\n\nI hear them both walking away, and curse Neumann's interruption. What had Herr M\u00fcller been about to tell me? Where did the furniture packs from the workshop go? It was almost as though he was deliberately planting something in my head. I try to shake the thought away, and concentrate on counting off the remaining hours in the bunker. I wipe the apple on the sleeve of my top and bite into it, savouring the explosion of juice.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Six.\n\nMitte, East Berlin.\n\nM\u00fcller ran her hand repeatedly through her blonde hair. She was waiting for Oberst Reiniger in her office, having only just got back from the Kulturpark Ferris wheel. Tilsner sat by her side, twirling a pack of Juwel cigarettes and occasionally tapping it on her desk.\n\n'So what did J\u00e4ger say?' he asked.\n\n'I'll fill you in fully later. But basically he wants us \u2013 no, he's instructing us \u2013 to treat the case simply as a missing person's inquiry. He has no interest in us actually finding the killer \u2013 or killers.'\n\n'I doubt very much that it's disinterest,' said Tilsner, pulling one of the cigarettes out, then placing it in his mouth without lighting up. 'Just as we've got someone sitting on us, telling us what to do, it's probably just the same for him.' His words came out half-slurred, almost like a ventriloquist's, speaking as he was with his lips clasped round the filter. She studied him for a moment. He seemed nonchalantly confident about the ways of the Stasi.\n\n'So why are we meeting Reiniger?' he continued.\n\nM\u00fcller shrugged as she watched Tilsner strike a match, put it to the end of the cigarette and then take a long drag. She could not help but notice his abrupt change of topic \u2013 plainly he did not share her dismay. She waved the smoke away. Ever since she'd given up at police college, she hadn't shared his tobacco habit \u2013 and hadn't missed it. 'I didn't ask for the meeting, so I've no idea.'\n\nTilsner exhaled a perfect smoke ring, watched it rise slowly to the ceiling and the S-bahns overhead and then leant back on two legs of the chair. 'Ah. Sorry. That might be my fault. I did get in touch with him this morning with my thoughts. Saying that perhaps he might like to consider taking us off the case. I thought that was what you wanted?'\n\nShe narrowed her eyes at him. 'You should have cleared that with me first. Anyway, I've changed my mind.'\n\n'You've changed your mind? Why? I certainly haven't. The whole case is a mess. The last straw for me was when I took Frau Eisenberg to the mortuary this morning and she confirmed what we already knew. That the murdered girl isn't her daughter. We've got nothing to go on, and we're getting nowhere. I want out.'\n\nM\u00fcller sighed and shook her head. 'It's not your choice, Werner. And in any case, isn't that what detective work is all about? Actually doing the legwork and finding the evidence, even if it's not staring us in the face? What I'd like to know is who's leaking information to J\u00e4ger? He seems to know all about the tyre tracks, and the fact they're Swedish. And about the footprints almost certainly having been faked. Do you think it's Schmidt?'\n\nTilsner shrugged, and tapped the ash from his cigarette into his now-empty coffee mug, the gesture revealing once more his expensive, western-style watch. 'Who knows? It could be anyone. The Kripo is full of unofficial collaborators. My money's on Elke; she makes a bloody awful cup of coffee, and it wouldn't surprise me if she learnt that in Stasi school.'\n\nM\u00fcller mouthed a silent 'ha ha' at her deputy's feeble joke, and then stood to attention as Oberst Reiniger knocked on the glazed door and entered. Schmidt trailed behind him in his ubiquitous white laboratory coat, chewing the remains of one of his regular snacks. Reiniger ushered them to sit, though M\u00fcller noticed that Tilsner had barely made the effort to get up anyway.\n\nLike Schmidt's, the material of Reiniger's uniform stretched and strained around his middle as he sat down and brushed imaginary fluff off each of the three gold stars on his silver epaulettes. As a colonel, he was nominally more senior to J\u00e4ger. But they all knew that J\u00e4ger \u2013 as a leading officer in the Stasi's investigation branch, Department Eight \u2013 held the real power.\n\nHe linked his fingers across his straining midriff, and then rotated his thumbs around one another. 'So, Karin... I think you need to fill me in on what we have so far. Unterleutnant Tilsner here is of the opinion that you don't have enough leads, and that we should leave it in the hands of Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger. Do you agree?'\n\nM\u00fcller shook her head, then cleared her throat of Tilsner's cigarette fumes. 'I don't think that's a choice we have, Comrade Oberst. I admit we don't have much to go on, but Kriminaltechniker Schmidt here has made some significant progress already.'\n\n'But are we any closer to identifying the girl?' asked Reiniger.\n\n'No,' interrupted Tilsner. 'The woman I took to the mortuary \u2013'\n\nReiniger sighed. 'I was asking Oberleutnant M\u00fcller, not you.' M\u00fcller glanced at Tilsner's reddening face and had to stop herself from smiling.\n\n'So, M\u00fcller?' asked Reiniger again.\n\n'No, but I gleaned some extra information this morning from the autopsy report.' The fact that it had been handed to her by J\u00e4ger wasn't anything the other three needed to know. 'The girl was sexually active.'\n\nTilsner snorted. 'Not that unusual for a teenage girl.'\n\n'Go on, Comrade Oberleutnant,' prompted Reiniger.\n\n'Well, not only was she sexually active, but she'd been raped. And not only had she been raped, but she'd been raped post mortem.'\n\n'Scheisse!' exclaimed Tilsner, stubbing his cigarette out angrily in the bottom of the coffee cup, almost as though he wanted to twist it into the face of the killer. It hissed in the dregs. Across the table, M\u00fcller saw Schmidt's face grow suddenly pallid, much as it had that first evening in the cemetery.\n\n'After she'd been killed?' asked Reiniger, as though in disbelief.\n\nM\u00fcller nodded.\n\nTilsner leant his head on his hands, elbows resting on the desk. 'So you're saying we're dealing with a necrophiliac?'\n\nM\u00fcller shrugged. 'Possibly... Or perhaps a murderer who simply spotted an opportunity. A pretty sick murderer...'\n\n'So is there any way uniform can help you, Karin? You're a small team and... well, you're fairly new to the job.' He didn't add 'and you're a woman, and a young one at that'. But she'd heard enough similar comments since her promotion to know that was what he was thinking. She felt herself bristle at the implied put-down. But perhaps he was just trying to be helpful, in his slightly clumsy, patronising way. Perhaps he could tell how much this was all affecting her. He almost certainly didn't know the full reason why.\n\n'I think we need a rigorous check on known and suspected sex offenders, starting in Berlin. But perhaps taking in neighbouring districts too. Maybe even in the whole Republic, if there's anyone we know of that \u2013' She paused. What sort of person was a necrophiliac? A pervert? A madman? 'If there's anyone of that persuasion.'\n\nReiniger gave a slow nod. 'I can certainly get officers onto that. We don't have to connect it to this case, if you're worried about J\u00e4ger thinking we're going beyond the missing person brief. It can simply be an operation to check on the movements of sex offenders. No one's going to object to that. What else have we got?'\n\n'There's the felt-tip pen ink. Jonas, you were going to get in touch with the pathologist and examine that, weren't you?' M\u00fcller eyeballed Schmidt.\n\n'Yes, I haven't quite had a chance to do that yet. But there are these...' M\u00fcller watched him start to reach into his briefcase, and while Reiniger's eyes were trained on what the forensic officer was about to pull from his bag, M\u00fcller shook her head at Schmidt and mouthed a 'no' across the table. She knew he was going to start talking about the tyre marks, and didn't want him to. Not in front of the colonel. Schmidt caught her look. 'Well actually, that's not quite ready yet either,' he said, replacing the folders. 'If that's the priority, I'll get onto the felt-tip pen ink straightaway.' He made to stand, but M\u00fcller motioned him to sit down again.\n\n'So what exactly is the relevance of this ink?' asked Reiniger, his frown betraying his bemusement at Schmidt's apparent change of heart.\n\n'Her fingernails had been inked in,' explained M\u00fcller. 'I think it was an amateur's attempts to make it look like black nail polish.'\n\n'Black nail polish?' asked Reiniger. 'That's unusual.'\n\nTilsner snorted. 'Kids these days. They get up to all sorts.'\n\nM\u00fcller ignored her deputy, and instead answered the colonel. 'I agree it's unusual, but not unheard of. It's the sort of thing I used to do as a child on Walpurgisnacht.'\n\n'But Walpurgisnacht is still several weeks away,' said Reiniger. 'Surely it can't have been anything do with that?'\n\nM\u00fcller shrugged. 'I agree, it seems unlikely. Nevertheless, the ink is a lead. Your officers may be able to help us with that, Comrade Oberst. I was wondering if you could detail people to find out which state-owned enterprises make felt-tip pens in the Republic, or whether any are imported. There must surely be only a few manufacturers.'\n\nTilsner huffed. 'Yes, but millions of pens. Thousands of shops. I can't see how that's going to get us very far.'\n\nThe colonel gave M\u00fcller's deputy another withering look, and then started to rise from his seat. 'We can try to help with that, Oberleutnant. And if there is anything else, be sure to call.'\n\n'I will certainly do that, Comrade Oberst. Your help is appreciated.'\n\n* * *\n\n'He's a stuffy old fart, isn't he?' said Tilsner, once the colonel was safely out of earshot.\n\nM\u00fcller smiled. 'Maybe. But he's offering to help, so why look a gift horse in the mouth? We can get Elke to liaise with the People's Police uniform officers on both the sex offenders search and the felt-tip pen manufacturers.'\n\n'So what will we be doing?' asked Tilsner.\n\nM\u00fcller raised her eyes towards Schmidt. 'Jonas? You wanted to show us something. Sorry about earlier, but if \u2013 as I expect \u2013 it's about the tyre marks, I'm not sure I want to share that with the colonel at this stage. It's bad enough that J\u00e4ger seems to know.' She searched Schmidt's face for any sign of embarrassment, any give-away that he might have been the source of J\u00e4ger's information.\n\nSchmidt moved all the coffee cups to one side, and then reached into his briefcase and littered the table with a series of photographs and photocopies of tyre tracks and patterns. 'I've made negative prints of the tracks from the scene of the crime. That way the pattern shows up more easily.' He pointed at two of the negatives. 'These are the two key photographs. Notice anything?'\n\nM\u00fcller studied all the sheets. And then pointed to three of them: the two negatives and one of the photocopies of tyre patterns. 'These three,' she said, smiling. 'They match. In fact, they're an exact match.'\n\n'Precisely, Comrade M\u00fcller. Precisely. This,' he held up the matching photocopy of a tyre pattern, 'is a pattern from a Swedish tyre made by the Gislaved tyre company. The firm's named after the town where the company was formed, approximately equidistant from Gothenburg and J\u00f6nk\u00f6ping.'\n\n'Swedish tyres. That confirms your theory from the scene,' said M\u00fcller, reaching for the cup the forensic officer had moved to one side. She took a sip and then spat it back into the cup. It was stone cold.\n\nSchmidt nodded. Tilsner, too, looked impressed with Schmidt's work.\n\n'And not just that. Gislaved is the main supplier for Volvo cars.'\n\nTilsner slapped Schmidt's back, making him splutter. 'Well done, Jonas. So that's that sorted \u2013 we know that Volvo supplies cars to party bigwigs and the Stasi.'\n\nSchmidt screwed up his face. 'It's not as simple as that, unfortunately.'\n\n'Why not, Jonas?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Well, although the Republic uses Volvos for official functions, the stretch limousines \u2013 well, they're customised, adapted Volvos. Volvo don't actually manufacture a long-wheelbase limousine themselves.'\n\n'Why's that a problem?' asked M\u00fcller, frowning.\n\n'It's like camper vans,' said Schmidt. 'A lot of vans in the Federal Republic are based on a Volkswagen van body, but not all of them are sold by Volkswagen. They have their coachwork built by another specialist firm. It's the same with the Barkas vans over here, and it will be the same with the Volvo limousines. There's no guarantee that the tyres they leave the Volvo factory with will still be on them after the bodywork has been completed.'\n\n'So who adapts them?' asked Tilsner.\n\nSchmidt spread his arms out on the table, palms upwards, in a gesture of apology. 'I haven't managed to find that out. And I've tried blowing up the various photos of official state parades, but I can't get a clear enough image of the tyre pattern on the vehicles to be of any use.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'So what can we do, Jonas?'\n\n'Well, what I have discovered is that there's a central garage where all the official cars are serviced, and stored when they're not in use. It's in Lichtenberg. Near Normannenstrasse \u2013'\n\n'\u2013 near Stasi headquarters,' said Tilsner. 'How are we going to get in there? Shouldn't we discuss it with J\u00e4ger? He might be able to get us the information we want, without us having to do anything underhand.'\n\nM\u00fcller vigorously shook her head. 'No. I don't want to involve J\u00e4ger this time.'\n\nTilsner shrugged. 'OK. But I don't see how we're going to talk our way into this garage without his help. It will be closely guarded, won't it?'\n\n'Yes.' Schmidt nodded. 'But overnight there are fewer guards \u2013 in the early hours, sometimes just the one.'\n\nOne guard. If Schmidt was right, thought M\u00fcller, perhaps some sort of diversion might be a way of getting into the compound, and surreptitiously taking photos of the car tyres. She remembered the document signed by Mielke, which she still had in her inside pocket. That might help, but it wouldn't be of any use on its own. The guard would be sure to insist on phoning his superiors to check its authenticity.\n\n'Isn't the whole of the area around Stasi headquarters a restricted zone?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'Yes,' said M\u00fcller. She turned to the street map of the Hauptstadt, pinned to the office wall. 'Where exactly is it, Jonas?'\n\nSchmidt stood and pointed to an area just east of Normannenstrasse.\n\n'So that's just outside the restricted zone,' said M\u00fcller. She rubbed her chin. What Schmidt seemed to be suggesting was horribly risky. If any of them were caught it would be the end of their police careers \u2013 at the very least.\n\nLater the same day.\n\nOver the next few hours, M\u00fcller, Tilsner and Schmidt had discussed their possible options, with M\u00fcller eventually concluding that any scheme to try to trick their way into the limousine compound was far too risky. They were all party members, they were all working for the state. M\u00fcller wasn't prepared to put all three of their careers, their futures, in jeopardy. Nevertheless, she was determined to get the information they wanted without making the direct approach to J\u00e4ger favoured by Tilsner. Although she didn't voice her fears aloud to the others, M\u00fcller at the back of her mind had the suspicion that this whole case might be some sort of elaborate set-up by the Stasi lieutenant colonel. Any attempt to cross-check whether a government limousine was involved in their case had to be made in absolute secrecy.\n\nA plan began to formulate in M\u00fcller's mind when she started asking Schmidt if there was a way, other than directly taking photos of the tyres themselves, that they could verify their design, and therefore pin down their make and rule them in \u2013 or out.\n\n'Well, we discovered the vehicle in the cemetery was on Gislaved tyres through the imprints in the snow,' Schmidt replied.\n\nM\u00fcller stared up at the pictures of the tyre prints, pinned to the noticeboard in the Marx-Engels-Platz office, thinking hard.\n\n'The trouble now,' said Tilsner, 'is that a lot of the snow's melted. Certainly the roads are all clear in the Hauptstadt. So that's not going to be much good.'\n\nM\u00fcller continued to fix her gaze on the tyre pattern photos, an idea forming in the back of her mind. Then she turned.\n\n'We don't need snow,' she said. 'What we need is sand.'\n\n* * *\n\nOnce M\u00fcller had outlined her idea, Schmidt and Tilsner had worked to set it up. Schmidt quickly established a fortuitous connection. Although the limousines were stored in a compound near the Stasi HQ at Normannenstrasse, they were serviced and cleaned in an industrial zone just off Siegfriedstrasse \u2013 still in Lichtenberg, but further east, and outside the Stasi-controlled zone. On the same business estate, there was a depot of the VEB Autobahnkombinat \u2013 the state-controlled motorway construction company \u2013 currently involved in building an autobahn from the Hauptstadt to Rostock, on the Ostsee coast. Trucks loaded with building materials regularly moved between the depot and construction site. And the freshly serviced and washed limousines for state officials also regularly travelled between the depot and the Normannenstrasse compound. Usually in the evening, or at night, to avoid the traffic and prying eyes.\n\n* * *\n\nThe next piece of the plan was implemented in a phone call received at Marx-Engels-Platz by Elke, the student detective.\n\nEnthusiasm bursting through every pore, she rushed through to M\u00fcller's side office to tell her the news.\n\n'Comrade Oberleutnant,' the girl gushed. 'I've just received an anonymous tip-off you may need to know about.'\n\nM\u00fcller pretended to finish working on some documents on her desk, then looked up at the trainee, trying to appear bored and disinterested.\n\n'What about, Elke?'\n\nThe girl brandished a piece of paper full of notes towards M\u00fcller. 'It's an allegation that some members of the VEB Autobahnkombinat are involved in a black market operation. Smuggling western contraband hidden in their construction trucks, under loads of sand or gravel, to villages and towns north of the Hauptstadt \u2013 along the route of the planned autobahn to Rostock.'\n\n'Was the caller a man or a woman?' asked M\u00fcller, trying not to break into a smile as she examined Elke's handwritten account. She knew full well who the caller was. 'Did he or she have any sort of accent, anything which might help identification?'\n\n'Well, it was a man. He had a very rough, muffled voice. But quite a strong accent. Low German. Northern.'\n\nM\u00fcller pictured Tilsner putting on his best regional accent, speaking with his hand over his mouth or through a handkerchief to disguise his usual tones. He'd insisted Elke wouldn't recognise him. He was right.\n\n'Thank you, Elke. This would normally be a matter for the uniform division, but it sounds interesting. If you're not doing anything else, why don't you contact the operator and see if you can trace where the call was made from?'\n\n'I've already done that, Oberleutnant,' said Elke, the pride clear in her voice. 'I thought it would be from somewhere up north. But it wasn't. It was from a call box here in the Hauptstadt. In Mitte. Near Alexanderplatz.'\n\nProbably from outside one of Tilsner's favourite bars, thought M\u00fcller. But Elke didn't appear to suspect anything.\n\n'That's good work, Elke.' M\u00fcller picked up the girl's handwritten notes and put them in her pocket. 'I'll pass these onto the uniform division. I think we're a little too busy with the murder investigation to look into it ourselves. But well done.'\n\n* * *\n\nThe only remaining thing to do was to use the anonymous call, and Elke's account of it, to persuade Reiniger to authorise a spot check \u2013 and if necessary the temporary confiscation \u2013 of one of the construction trucks. Schmidt would try to discover which one was likely to be transporting suitable sand.\n\nStanding nervously in front of his office desk, M\u00fcller could see the suspicion in Reiniger's expression. But he nevertheless agreed to sign the necessary form of authority.\n\n'I hope you're not bending the rules here, Karin.' Then he lowered his voice. 'And if you are, make sure you don't get caught. I don't want any of your shit left at my door. Understand?'\n\n* * *\n\nFinding a suitable truck proved easier than M\u00fcller expected \u2013 Schmidt seemed to have strange contacts everywhere. She and Tilsner had tracked it along Siegfriedstrasse, and then \u2013 with the Wartburg's siren blaring and blue light flashing \u2013 pulled it over in Herzbergstrasse. The driver and his mate protested their innocence, but once M\u00fcller made it clear that they would be arrested if they defied Reiniger's signed order, they calmed down. M\u00fcller insisted she and Tilsner would explain the situation to the motorway construction company, but that they would have to confiscate the vehicle to check its contents thoroughly, grain by grain.\n\nThey were in the truck now, driving slowly back towards Lichtenberg for the second time in the space of a few hours: their first visit had taken place the previous afternoon, to check that the slightly hare-brained scheme at least had a chance of success. The next significant movement of limousines from the service depot on the industrial estate to the storage compound was due in a few hours' time \u2013 and would be under cover of darkness. M\u00fcller and Tilsner were heading there now in the tipper truck, with Schmidt following behind in the unmarked Kripo Wartburg. Both vehicles with just their sidelights on to try to make sure they didn't draw attention to themselves down the wide boulevards of the eastern part of the Hauptstadt. M\u00fcller glanced to her left in the lorry's cab, where Tilsner had his hands gripped to the IFA W50 tipper's steering wheel, shirtsleeves rolled up despite the winter weather. He seemed all too at ease in what ought to have been an unfamiliar role. There was a lot to her handsome but mysterious deputy that she still hadn't fathomed.\n\nThe wide avenues they were driving down were the scene of the parades that had played in her head at the cemetery. She recalled the most recent: celebrating the Republic's twenty-fifth anniversary, the previous October. M\u00fcller had stood at the edge of the crowd, filled with a sense of pride about what her small country had achieved, watching the massed ranks of People's Army soldiers on their synchronised march, followed by party and government leaders \u2013 in Volvo limousines. Now, that pride was replaced by a sense of foreboding. Karl-Marx-Allee, and its monolithic wedding-cake-style buildings, held a much more sinister air in the semi-darkness of weak street lighting. Were they doing the right thing? It felt slightly treacherous. But then she remembered the mangled face of the girl, and what had happened to her in the hours immediately before and after death. If anyone from the government or party was involved in that, well, they deserved to be brought to justice and shamed.\n\nSchmidt had provided them with their disguises \u2013 the hard hats and overalls of construction workers \u2013 together with diversion barriers and lanterns from the People's Police's supply depot, which they'd thrown on the back of the tipper truck. They needed to work quickly, closing off a section of Siegfriedstrasse between two junctions and putting up the diversion signs. Schmidt had established that a convoy of limousines would move between the two bases tonight, and had even pinned down an exact time. M\u00fcller didn't ask him how he'd obtained the information. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.\n\nTraffic was thin at this time of night, and the drivers of the few vehicles that did reach their makeshift roadblock simply followed the signs for the alternative route. Closed-off roads were a daily occurrence in the Hauptstadt, so they didn't arouse suspicion.\n\nTilsner manoeuvred the tipper truck to one side of the road, crunching through the gears, making M\u00fcller want to hold her hands over her ears. He didn't seem such a confident driver now.\n\nOnce in position, all was silent, other than a beeping sound from inside the truck's cabin.\n\n'Scheisse!' he exclaimed from the open driver's window. 'I can't get the back to tip up.'\n\nM\u00fcller climbed up to the cab to try to help.\n\n'It should be this lever,' said Tilsner, forcing it forwards, the strain etched on his face. 'But it's not working. Any bright ideas?'\n\nM\u00fcller leant over to the driver's side and glanced around the cabin controls. She could smell Tilsner's all-male scent, his masculinity somehow accentuated by the workman's overalls. His square-jawed face thrown into sharp relief by the weak street lighting. His breathing laboured from the effort of trying to force the controls to do what he wanted.\n\n'I've no idea,' she said. 'Not really my strong point.' She moved across to the passenger window, unwound it and leant out. 'Jonas! Come up here a moment.'\n\nShe helped pull the weighty forensic officer into the cab, his face flushed with the effort of climbing up. Tilsner demonstrated the problem.\n\nSchmidt immediately laughed. 'You won't get anywhere that way. Here.' He pushed a red lever \u2013 one that neither M\u00fcller nor Tilsner had noticed \u2013 to one side. 'You have to release the safety catch first, like that. Now try again.'\n\nThis time \u2013 amid the scrapes and scratching of poorly oiled metal rubbing against metal \u2013 they could see the back start to lift.\n\n'Drive forward at the same time,' said Schmidt, squeezed onto the front passenger bench next to M\u00fcller. 'That way you'll spread out the load better and there'll be less spadework for us to get everything ready.'\n\nThe roar of the diesel engine competed with the whoosh of the sand as it slid off the back of the tipper and onto the road below. There was a sudden fresh smell of aggregate dust combined with sweet diesel fumes: it reminded M\u00fcller of the Ostsee holidays of her childhood, and later when courting Gottfried. Beaches, harbours, pleasure boats. When the world had seemed a much more straightforward place.\n\nWith the load of sand emptied, Tilsner brought the rear of the tipper truck to the horizontal, then manoeuvred the vehicle \u2013 with more gear-crunching \u2013 back to the opposite side of the road. Now one side of this section of Siegfriedstrasse was blocked by the truck \u2013 the other by a partly flattened pile of sand. The three police officers worked with the shovels and brushes they'd brought with them to fully level off the sand pile.\n\nM\u00fcller glanced at her watch. Scheisse! Only five minutes before the convoy was due. If the cars came early, or if they didn't finish in time, there could be trouble.\n\n'Hurry it up. Both of you,' she shouted. 'We've only a couple of minutes left.'\n\nTilsner pulled Schmidt's shovel out of his hands. 'You're doing more harm than good. Anyway, you need to get into position.'\n\nThe forensic officer ran up the road towards the entrance to the industrial estate, stopping every fifty metres or so to get his breath back. Once in position, he waited for the convoy of limousines to emerge as M\u00fcller and Tilsner frantically finished smoothing out the layer of sand.\n\nM\u00fcller looked at her watch again. The limousines should be here now, but still no sign. She kept her eyes trained on Schmidt further up the road, but as the minutes ticked by, he still hadn't given her the agreed hand signal.\n\nAnother ten minutes passed. At last she saw the Kriminaltechniker raise his arm. The cars were underway.\n\nShe quickly removed the barriers from their section of the road, placing them instead across the side streets that until now had been the diversion route. The only way for the limousine convoy to proceed now was over the layer of sand.\n\nAs the long-wheelbase cars approached, Tilsner and M\u00fcller began to shovel sand from the side of the layer back into the rear of the truck, to give the impression they were clearing up a spillage.\n\nThe first driver stopped as he passed, unwinding his window and shouting at M\u00fcller as she held a hand up to her eyes to protect them from the headlights of the following vehicles.\n\n'What the fuck's happened here?' he shouted. 'We've just cleaned these cars. We don't want sand all over them.'\n\nM\u00fcller shrugged in apology. 'I'm sorry. Our load tipped off accidentally. We're working as fast as we can to clear up.'\n\nShe could see the man roll his eyes, his face highlighted by the beam of the car behind. She knew what he was thinking. Women working as construction workers. Like many East German men, he probably thought that they should be at home doing the housework. But that wasn't the way it happened. The female workers and peasants of this little country played a full role. The driver and his ilk would eventually learn to accept that. M\u00fcller began to shovel again, directing her anger into scraping the aggregate from the road surface as the car moved off.\n\nTilsner, following their pre-arranged plan, moved slightly further into the sand-covered side of the road with his shovel as the second limousine was about to drive through. It earned a beep from the car's horn, but achieved what M\u00fcller had planned. The car had to swing further round, making new tyre prints rather than following the same tracks as the first limousine.\n\nThey repeated the same trick for the third and final car of the short convoy. This time the driver not only blared his horn, but shouted in anger at Tilsner. 'Get out of the way, idiot. You'll get run over.' But the policeman held his ground, and the scheme had succeeded again. The limousine driver had to mount the kerb on the far side, but the driver's side tyres made a third distinct set of tracks.\n\nAfter the three limousines had disappeared around the corner towards Normannenstrasse, M\u00fcller and Tilsner put the diversion signs back in place, and Schmidt arrived at a half-run, panting.\n\n'Sorry, only three cars, Comrade Oberleutnant,' he said apologetically. 'Maybe they only service and clean the limousines that have actually been used in the previous week.'\n\n'Don't worry. It's better than nothing, Jonas. Well done for getting the information. Take your photographs of the tyre imprints, and then let's get out of here before anyone realises what's going on.'\n\nNine months earlier (May 1974).\n\nJugendwerkhof Prora Ost, R\u00fcgen, East Germany.\n\nMy three days of isolation are over. Last night I was back in the dorm, and thankfully, despite their threats, Neumann and Richter haven't separated me from Beate. Last night she slept well for once.\n\nI've survived the bunker. I try to remember that saying from school: 'that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. I think that's what it was. I feel stronger for having got through it, even though my task in the workshop today is considered physically the most demanding. It's packing. Packing and carrying. But although it's the most tiring \u2013 because of the heavy lifting when the boxes are ready \u2013 I still prefer it to the drilling and cutting workshop, which is just so boring, and it's easier to make a mistake and get into trouble. Here, the precision-cut strips of wood and chipboard have to be carefully placed into the cardboard boxes interleaved with protective paper, and then sealed and wheeled out of the factory to the yard and loaded onto pallets. But going where? That's what intrigues me now. Herr M\u00fcller had been about to tell me, I was sure of that.\n\n'Get a move on, Irma. Stop daydreaming. You don't want to be sent back to the bunker now, do you?' The admonishment comes from Frau Schettler, who supervises the packing room after her breakfast shift. But she's smiling as she delivers it, so in return I knuckle down and speed up. Kitchen cabinet door, left side, right side, cabinet back, shelves, top, bottom. And don't forget the corrugated paper between each layer, or the plastic bag of fixings. Then tape up the box and load the forks of the trolley. It's repetitive, dull, but you can't go wrong, really. Another self-assembly kitchen unit safely despatched. Frau Schettler is generally kind, and she has a soft spot for me, treats me a bit like a naughty daughter. I look up at her, grin, and she smiles back in return.\n\nOne reason I feel happier today is I actually got the full breakfast this morning. The whole works. Fresh bread roll, sausage and cheese. Richter was right about that. Working on a full stomach is better.\n\nI notice Schettler going into the office to check something. I look to my left and right \u2013 Mathias Gellman one side of me, Bauer on the other. Both seem to be concentrating on fulfilling their packing quotas. I take the chance to glance at the small pocket book Herr M\u00fcller gave to me at breakfast time. 'It's to help you with your studies, Irma,' he'd said. I pull it out of the front of my knickers \u2013 no one would look there, I hope. A History of R\u00fcgen. A strange book to give me. I flick through the pages, not really understanding why a maths teacher would give me a local history book. Then I spot Schettler returning with some papers, and quickly hide the book away.\n\n'What was that?' a male voice asks.\n\nI turn my head and realise Mathias has seen it. Heartthrob Mathias. Every girl's dream. That's the other advantage of the packing room. You get to meet boys. The only chance in Prora Ost \u2013 other than at mealtimes. That's why Beate likes it too. She will be so jealous I'm here next to Mathias \u2013 I've seen the way they look at each other. I think she's sweet on him. Maybe he's turned her down? Maybe that's why she's crying all the time? Perhaps I have a chance with him.\n\n'It's just a book.' I feel myself blushing under his gaze, as I realise I'm being disloyal to my friend. And what would Mathias Gellman ever see in me, anyway?\n\n'What book?'\n\n'Oh, just something Herr M\u00fcller gave me at breakfast. A history of R\u00fcgen. He knows I'm a local.'\n\n'A local yokel from R\u00fcgen,' snorts Mathias.\n\nI punch him on the arm. 'Don't make fun of me, Mathias.'\n\n'Why do you want a local history book if you're from the island? Don't you know it all already, you local types?'\n\n'Oh, just piss off,' I say, and turn back to my work.\n\nBut Frau Schettler has seen the exchange. 'Behrendt! Gellman! Come here. Now.' We leave the packing bench and move forward, the book chafing between my legs. I try my best to look shamefaced. But Mathias keeps his head held high.\n\nWhen we're next to her, she lowers her voice so the others can't hear.\n\n'Look, Irma, I like you but you're making things difficult for me. Director Neumann and Frau Richter will be watching you closely, monitoring your output, and if you're found to be slacking it will be back to the bunker, or worse.'\n\n'You've been in the bunker? Wow,' says Mathias, as though I've done something hugely impressive.\n\n'She's just got out, Mathias. So you can help her. Don't start chatting to her or distracting her.' She looks at him sternly, but there is a softness behind her frown. 'And maybe if you get ahead of target, you could help Irma catch up?'\n\nMathias nods, and smiles at me. We go back to the packing bench.\n\n'You're lucky I didn't tell on you,' he whispers, first making sure Schettler isn't looking. 'You owe me one.'\n\n* * *\n\nI don't dare to read Herr M\u00fcller's book in the dormitory. After the close shave in the packing room, I wait for a chance to go to the communal toilets before we're locked up for the night. In the dorm, there is just a bucket to sit on, and the stench of piss and shit is ever-present, stinking out our dreams; but here in the washroom, the toilet cubicles do have doors. I take the book out as I lower my knickers, first examining the folds of my lower stomach. They sting from where the plastic cover has been rubbing against my skin. I'm still too fat, I know that, even though the food in the Jugendwerkhof is often so revolting. I know I have to do something about it, but Oma always used to feed me up, perhaps to make up for the fact that she felt Mutti didn't pay me enough attention. And once you start eating too much, the habit's hard to break. Even in somewhere like this.\n\nI quickly skim through the book, knowing that Richter or someone will come knocking on the door if I spend too long in here. I turn each page carefully; I don't want the rustling of paper to alert anyone. Much of the book's content is familiar from school lessons in Sellin \u2013 the way the island has been under different rulers down the years. The West Slavic Rani. The Danish princes of R\u00fcgen. Swedish Pomerania. The unfinished, then abandoned, town of Gustavia, built by King Gustav IV of Sweden. And then this place, Prora \u2013 Hitler's intended holiday camp in the Nazi era \u2013 now a concrete monstrosity filled with army construction workers at one end, and the Jugendwerkhof at the other.\n\nAll very fascinating, but, as Mathias said, I know all this already. I begin to close the book, and just as I do so I notice a pencil mark in the margin, highlighting the section about Gustavia. The word Sweden is underlined too. I flick through again, excited now, the pages fanning cool air on my face. I spot one more piece of highlighting in the margins, right near the end of the book, in the section on DDR local history. It's about the construction of the new port at Sassnitz. Once again, a mark in the margin, and the word Sassnitz underlined. A third time I flick through, back to the front of the book. Checking there is nothing else. But those are the only two marks in the margin. The only two words underlined. Sassnitz. And Sweden. Herr M\u00fcller's message to me.\n\nI realise the book is dangerous. If I can understand the message, so would Richter or Neumann. I flush the toilet, rearrange my clothes and put the book back where it was in my underwear. As I exit the cubicle, I look left and right. No one else is here. I glance round the corners of the room, up to the light fitting. There's nothing that looks like a camera. I quickly check the corridor. Empty. Then I go back to the washroom and over to the window, trying to prevent my footsteps being heard on the cold hard floor. It's barred, but I can still open it. I take the book out and slide it along the ledge, out of sight. No one will be able to link it to me anymore. And as long as a gale doesn't blow, it should just stay sitting on the ledge day after day, week after week, the rain slowly turning it back into pulp.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Seven.\n\nSch\u00f6nhauser Allee, East Berlin.\n\nBright winter daylight filtered through the blinds of the apartment's lounge windows, warming Karin M\u00fcller's face, coaxing her awake. M\u00fcller yawned and stretched, rubbing the dull ache in her back, the result of sleeping scrunched up on the sofa. It had been the early hours of the morning when she'd finally got back to the apartment, and so she hadn't wanted to wake Gottfried. She'd used her old People's Police coat and the tablecloth as blankets. She couldn't face another slanging match.\n\nHer back spasmed as she rose from her makeshift bed. The flat was shrouded in near silence, the slow ticking of the mantelpiece clock and her own breathing the only sounds other than the usual traffic noise outside. Where was Gottfried? She assumed he'd be asleep in bed when she'd got in, but hadn't checked. And now she saw the bedroom door was open, and the room itself empty. Was he trying to play her at her own game? Or was this something worse? She felt her heart rate increase, and returned to the living room. His coat, scarf and gloves had gone from the peg. Had he been here at all? Then, on the dining table, she spotted a torn-off piece of paper:\n\nKarin. If you can't be bothered to let me know where you are, then perhaps it's best if you don't know where I am either, but at some stage we're going to need to talk. If it's divorce you want, you're going the right way about it.\n\nThe writing was not in Gottfried's usual neat schoolmasterish script. Instead it looked like it had been scrawled quickly, angrily. What exactly was he up to? And where had he gone?\n\nM\u00fcller returned to the bedroom, looking for clues there. The bed was unmade but had clearly been slept in. Her side still pristine; his with the covers thrown back and the pillow at an angle. She looked at the wedding photo on Gottfried's bedside cabinet. The beaming smiles showed how happy they'd been. Where had it gone wrong? Were his suspicions about her and Tilsner the result of some sort of guilt on his part? Though she had to admit to herself they were perhaps justified given the way she'd acted so stupidly that night in Dircksenstrasse.\n\nIf he had anything to hide, where would he hide it? Probably not in the flat. But she opened his bedside drawer in any case. There were a few papers. She riffled through them. Most were to do with the school. She read the original official warning which had led to his 'exile' at the Jugendwerkhof in R\u00fcgen, a period that seemed to have changed him so much. He'd apparently supported a boy who had withdrawn from the communist youth movement, grown his hair and started a rock band. The boy had been referred to a youth court \u2013 there was nothing further about what had happened to him. But for Gottfried, the recommendation was that he should spend some time teaching within the Republic's children's-home system: that in participating in the re-education of youths into fully fledged socialist personalities, some of that re-education might actually rub off on the teacher himself.\n\nM\u00fcller sighed and replaced the letter. Perhaps she hadn't done enough to support him, but in playing the rebel \u2013 or at least the supporter of rebels \u2013 he'd put her own position at risk. She had another quick look through the papers. Nothing of interest, except a pamphlet about the meetings at Gethsemane Church.\n\nThankfully, though, there was no evidence of another woman. Frau Eisenberg had kept Silke's letter from the West in the girl's bedside drawer, but Gottfried, she knew, would be a lot cleverer than that.\n\nShe glanced around the room, her eyes drawn to the top of the wardrobe. She dragged the bedside chair towards it, then stood on the seat and stretched her hand up to reach along the top surface, hidden by the wooden profile above the doors. At first, she could just feel her fingers sliding through the dust and dirt, and then they clawed something. A small cardboard container, about four centimetres square. M\u00fcller lifted it down and examined it. Mondos Luxos spelt out in gold lettering, on a vivid purple background. Sweets? Pills? She frowned, and flipped the small packet over. Immediately, the instructions on the back ended her confusion. A condom packet. Condoms? He knows I can't \u2013\n\nShe stopped the thought, as realisation dawned. He didn't need condoms for making love to her, but these obviously weren't intended for her. M\u00fcller panicked, her heart racing. She climbed back onto the chair, and began scrabbling about the top of the wardrobe again. Maybe he was the guilty party all along. The guilty party deflecting the blame by attacking someone else, by making insinuations about her and Tilsner. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book: one of the first things she'd been taught in police college.\n\nThe college. The vile memories of him. She tried not to think of his name, tried to forget, but she couldn't \u2013 he was with her day after day, and had been for the last fourteen years. Walter Pawlitzki, her lecturer at the People's Police college. He'd been her mentor. She'd looked up to him. And then...\n\nScrabbling with her fingers, M\u00fcller suddenly remembered why she thought the top of the wardrobe was such a good hiding place. Because she'd used it herself before, to conceal a small object. Not cardboard, but metal. It didn't take long for her to find it. She picked it up, stepped off the chair and opened the wardrobe door. It was something she shouldn't do, she knew that. An addiction she tried to fight, but that, at times like this, she could not resist.\n\nShe jiggled the tiny key into the locked bottom drawer in her side of the wardrobe. Her drawer. And then she opened it.\n\nThere were two sets of clothes, neatly stacked, on the left and the right. The tiniest clothes possible. Baby blue and white on the left. Baby pink and white on the right. The male\u2013female clich\u00e9. She resisted the temptation to take the clothes out and unfold them. That was only for when it got really bad. Instead, she contented herself with stroking the top of each pile of material, left and right, and wondered what might have been, if things had turned out differently.\n\nThen she closed the drawer again and locked her memories away.\n\n* * *\n\nThe B\u00e4ckerei Sch\u00e4fer van was still there, although when M\u00fcller closed the apartment block front door, and lined her eyes on the street light on the opposite side of Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee, she realised it had moved a few metres. The vehicle no longer obscured the foot of the lamp post.\n\nShe set off at a fast walk towards the centre of the Hauptstadt, following her usual route towards Marx-Engels-Platz, then turning towards Alexanderplatz and the television tower. The bread van preyed on her mind: when she got back to the office she would ask Elke to look into it: how could a private bakery, which by definition was only permitted a handful of employees, afford to have a delivery van sitting mostly idle outside her apartment block? It didn't make sense.\n\n* * *\n\nThe police building on Keibelstrasse was a warren of small rooms and corridors. Having shown her pass, M\u00fcller set off to try to locate the forensics lab. She'd been here enough times before, but still usually managed to make at least one wrong turning. The corridors seemed to close in on her.\n\nM\u00fcller finally located the correct door for the lab. She saw Tilsner hunched by Schmidt at his desk; evidently he'd only just arrived \u2013 and with shadows under his eyes, he looked as tired as she felt.\n\nSchmidt was fiddling with his camera, squinting at the top. 'I just want to make sure it's wound through properly,' he explained. 'We don't want any mishaps.' Finally, he nodded in satisfaction, extracted the fully wound film roll, and then placed it in an envelope. 'Come on then, you can both come into the darkroom and see what we've got.'\n\nM\u00fcller glanced both ways to see if anyone might be listening. 'Is it secure, Jonas? There won't be any of your colleagues in there?'\n\n'It's fine,' replied Schmidt. 'I've booked it out for the next couple of hours.'\n\n* * *\n\nAfter processing the negatives and hanging them up to dry, Schmidt started using the first of the celluloid strips to produce black-and-white prints, gently bathing the photographic paper in a shallow layer of developing agent as M\u00fcller and Tilsner watched. He moved the tray from side to side, taking care not to spill any of the liquid as it rippled over the paper.\n\nAs Schmidt swirled the liquid, the image of a tyre impression captured in the layer of building sand gradually started to appear. He worked his way through the photographs.\n\n'What do you think, Jonas?' asked M\u00fcller, unable to handle the silence.\n\n'Well, I'll have to check with a magnifying glass once the prints are dry. But look.' He held up a photocopy of a tyre pattern he'd brought into the darkroom with him. 'This is the Gislaved pattern, on this photocopy. Look at these angled grooves. Very distinctive. And then look at the photographs.'\n\nM\u00fcller and Tilsner both craned their heads over the developing tray as Schmidt used tongs to move a print from one bath of agent to another.\n\n'Fixing agent,' he explained. M\u00fcller pulled back slightly from the acidic, vinegary smell. But she could clearly see what Schmidt meant. There were none of the same distinctive patterns. Whatever make of tyres were on the cars in the government compound and service area in Lichtenberg, it didn't appear as though it was Gislaved. If their small sample of three limousines represented the entire fleet \u2013 and since all three were the same they had no reason to believe it didn't \u2013 none of these cars had been at St Elisabeth cemetery. They'd hit another dead end.\n\nDay Seven.\n\nMitte, East Berlin.\n\nBack in Marx-Engels-Platz, Tilsner and M\u00fcller sat opposite each other in her side office. Through the glazed window, M\u00fcller could see Elke talking into the phone, presumably checking up on the bakery.\n\nTilsner rested his elbows on the desk, and gave a slow sigh. 'We don't seem to be getting very far.'\n\n'Slow steps, Werner. You know that. I still think those tyre tracks are significant.'\n\n'At least we now know it doesn't seem to have been a government car.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, then frowned. 'Which means the likeliest explanation is that it's a car from West Berlin. No citizen in the East can afford a Volvo. By now, we should really have asked for the details of all vehicle movements at the crossing points.'\n\n'Let's just go to the checkpoints now. Ask to see the files. J\u00e4ger will be able to give you the necessary authority. Give him a ring at Normannenstrasse.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt herself biting her bottom lip. She didn't want to involve J\u00e4ger more than necessary, but Tilsner was right. She picked up the receiver and began to dial.\n\n* * *\n\nGrenz\u00fcbergang Friedrichstrasse. She knew it was called Checkpoint Charlie in the West. They parked the Wartburg in a side street a hundred metres or so before the crossing, and then went the rest of the way to the East German checkpoint on foot.\n\nAs they walked, M\u00fcller leafed through the authorisation documents that J\u00e4ger had provided. One of his minions had biked them to Marx-Engels-Platz from Normannenstrasse less than an hour after she'd made the phone call. The southerly wind that had been thawing the snow suddenly lifted the key piece of paper from her grip and deposited it in the gutter. Tilsner leant down, fished it out and then wiped it with his sleeve. He checked none of the ink or the signature had smudged. 'No harm done, except a bit of road dirt. Lucky for you.' He winked at her. She glowered back.\n\nChecks were carried out by a strange combination of Stasi officers and border guards. That was why J\u00e4ger had the authority to send people to look through the books, and why they'd been able to get permission so quickly, rather than waiting for the Republic's usual cumbersome red tape to take its course. His immediate agreement to her request had been a little surprising, and M\u00fcller was still unsure as to the Stasi lieutenant colonel's exact motivation. On the one hand he was forever outlining clear parameters they shouldn't cross. Warning them. But at the same time, he seemed to be opening doors for them to dig deeper and deeper, whatever the consequences. She wondered again about the risks they took to get the tyre prints \u2013 might Tilsner have been right, that they could just have asked J\u00e4ger?\n\nAs they entered the checkpoint, M\u00fcller glanced up the road, past the barriers, to the bustle of West Berlin beyond. She wondered if it really was as glamorous as the adverts on western TV made out. Or were Der schwarze Kanal's accounts of strikes, homeless unemployed begging on the streets and ruthless greedy bosses nearer to the truth?\n\nAll the border guards were busy. Most were frantically shouting to each other, running to and fro as the weekend rush of tourists began; others had their heads buried in paperwork. Eventually, M\u00fcller found the senior officer and showed him their authorisations, and they were led to a side office with several volumes of files, divided into each day of the week. They split them up, three each. Tilsner showed no eagerness to take the seventh, so M\u00fcller added it to her pile. She looked over Tilsner's shoulder. Spread in front of him were the files for the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. M\u00fcller's four covered the remaining period up until the previous Friday, when the girl's body had been discovered.\n\nThey began to check through them. M\u00fcller found her eyes scanning down the columns rapidly, discounting all the Mercedes, BMWs, Opels and Volkswagens that made up the majority of the entries. She moved from column to column, page to page, file to file.\n\n'No Volvos,' she said to Tilsner by the time she was about halfway through.\n\n'No. Same here.' He scanned down the list. 'Mercedes, VW Beetle, Opel Kadett... All West German. We're talking about a pin in a haystack here.'\n\n'Are we sure, if it was a customised Volvo, that the border guards would even recognise the make?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'I think so,' Tilsner replied, looking up from the lists for a moment. 'Even if some of them aren't the brightest brains our Republic has ever produced. Volvos have a very distinctive shape and front grille.' He turned his attention back to the files. 'Here's a Chevrolet. Makes a nice change, but it doesn't help us.'\n\nM\u00fcller tore her eyes away from him and busied herself in her own file, still without a Volvo in sight.\n\n'Hang on a mo. Here we go, boss. A Volvo. Swedish plates, Swedish male driver. Danish female passenger.' Tilsner noted the details. 'But it was just a regular saloon model, a 144.'\n\nM\u00fcller was nearly at the end of her own four files. She still hadn't found a single Volvo.\n\n'And here's another. But again, a saloon. Danish plates, this time.' Tilsner noted that too, then continued scanning his final file, until he shut the folder with a resigned expression. 'That's it. Two Volvos. What about you?'\n\nM\u00fcller shut the cover of her final folder. 'Nothing.' She sighed, and got to her feet, picking up the files and carrying them back to the checkpoint's main room. They were going to have to go through this exact process at another five or six crossing points. And, at the back of her mind, was the thought that perhaps \u2013 after all \u2013 the tyre tracks had no connection with the girl's death.\n\n* * *\n\nThey decided to work anticlockwise around the zigzag barrier that enclosed the western sector. In any case, the next nearest Grenz\u00fcbergang in the other direction, Heinrich-Heine-Strasse, was mainly used by commercial goods vehicles. Schmidt had been insistent the tyres belonged to a long-wheelbase car, rather than a van.\n\nAt Invalidenstrasse and then Chausseestrasse they failed to find a single Volvo in the files. Their next stop was Bornholmerstrasse \u2013 between the districts of Wedding in the West and Prenzlauer Berg in the East.\n\nFrom the queues on the western side of the barriers, M\u00fcller could already tell that their search had more chance of succeeding here. Again, she sought out the senior officer. This time it was a stocky woman in an army major's uniform, permed and dyed blonde hair straggling messily from under her cap.\n\n'This is very irregular,' she said, as she fingered M\u00fcller's Kripo ID. She ushered the two detectives to sit on the opposite side of her desk as she peered at the authorisation from J\u00e4ger, and lifted the telephone. 'I shall have to check with the Ministry.' M\u00fcller watched her dial and wait for an answer, and then listened as she explained the circumstances. The name that seemed to do the trick was that of Stasi Oberstleutnant Klaus J\u00e4ger. The answer the major got when she read the name down the phone immediately changed her attitude. Now there was nothing she couldn't do to help M\u00fcller and Tilsner, getting the relevant files herself for the two detectives and letting them use her own desk to check through them.\n\nThey divided the files \u2013 covered in the similar olive-green cloth \u2013 the same way. M\u00fcller took Tuesday to Friday; she gave Tilsner the ones for Saturday through Monday. But, just to relieve the boredom, M\u00fcller worked through hers the opposite way. Starting with the last page of the Friday file, and then working backwards, eyes scanning from entry to entry, car to car, pages turning regularly. The rustling of the paper was almost drowned out by the near-constant shouting of the guards checking waiting vehicles outside.\n\nThe breakthrough didn't take long. 'Here, Werner,' M\u00fcller said, the excitement in her voice causing the major to look round quizzically. 'Look.' She traced her finger under the entry in the file for the Thursday night \u2013 the night before the girl's body was found. She watched Tilsner's face as he read the entry. 11.47 p.m. A black Volvo limousine. A West German male driver and a West German male passenger. Even if these were the murderers M\u00fcller couldn't believe that they would have used their real names. Almost certainly they would have had fake IDs. But now they had the registration number. They had the make of car. And \u2013 in the 'extra information' column \u2013 something else. According to the log, the driver and his passenger were making their journey to the East to attend a friend's wedding, and this was supposedly the bride and groom's luxury transport.\n\n'What do you make of that?' asked Tilsner. 'Perhaps they did just come over for a wedding. Perhaps it's not the vehicle we're looking for.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'Possibly. But the timing would be too much of a coincidence.' She stood up, straightened her clothing and smiled at her deputy. 'I think this may just be it. The breakthrough we've been searching for.'\n\nDay Seven.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nEvents unfolded rapidly once they'd radioed back their information from the Wartburg to Kriminaltechniker Schmidt. It wasn't strictly forensic work, but M\u00fcller knew Schmidt's assiduous methods were the best way of pinning down the car via its West Berlin registration plate. She just hoped that the suspects \u2013 if they had used false IDs \u2013 hadn't used false plates too.\n\nThey'd only just got back to the office in Marx-Engels-Platz and started their coffees \u2013 which Tilsner had ordered from Elke despite her previously undrinkable effort \u2013 when the phone in M\u00fcller's side office rang. It was Schmidt.\n\n'They did use fake plates, I'm afraid. That registration plate corresponds to an Opel Kadett in Charlottenburg.'\n\n'How did you find that out?'\n\n'One of my Kriminaltechniker friends from Weissensee applied to go to the West last year. His West German mother was ill, and she needed a relative nearby, so they let him go. He helps me out now and then.'\n\nM\u00fcller took a sip from her coffee. Thankfully Elke had used the genuine expensive coffee this time, as instructed by Tilsner. She glanced across at her deputy. 'What's he saying?' he mouthed, silently.\n\nShe ignored him, and instead continued her phone conversation with Schmidt. 'So does that mean we're no further on?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'No. I've got something really interesting, Comrade M\u00fcller. I wondered if the wedding story might have a grain of truth in it, so I asked my friend to go out and get a bridal magazine. They're very popular in the West for women who are planning their weddings. You can imagine the sort of thing, Oberleutnant: glamorous pictures, models in white dresses, adverts for catering companies \u2013'\n\nM\u00fcller had no need to imagine. She'd seen the adverts on West German television programmes, but didn't want to reveal that to Schmidt.\n\n'Well, the magazine had an advert at the back for a limousine company, and one of their offerings is a black Volvo. But as I told you the other day, Volvo don't actually manufacture limousines, so that seemed a little odd. I got my contact to get in touch with Volvo car dealers in West Berlin. They confirmed it was impossible to order a limo from Volvo, but \u2013 and here's the interesting thing \u2013 they'd heard that this wedding hire company had one on their books.'\n\nShe watched Tilsner tapping his fingers ostentatiously against the desk. He always claimed Schmidt used two words when one would do.\n\n'Carry on, Jonas,' she said into the mouthpiece.\n\n'This limousine seems to be quite famous in West Berlin, at least among those who are interested in that sort of thing. Apparently it wasn't imported, but constructed and welded together from the front and back of two Volvo saloons. So, in effect, it's one of a kind. Anyway, I got my West Berlin forensic officer contact to check with the car hire company on the phone. It was hired out nine days ago \u2013 the Wednesday \u2013 on a three-day cheap midweek rate, and returned on Friday afternoon. It was needed for a ceremony in the West on the Saturday. What was a little odd is that it looked as if it had been steam-cleaned \u2013 even though cleaning is included in the hire rate.'\n\nM\u00fcller grinned. 'Good work, Jonas.' She could imagine Schmidt smiling proudly at the other end of the line.\n\n'Thank you, Oberleutnant.'\n\n'But if the car has been thoroughly cleaned, then even if we did somehow manage to get hold of it, there may be no forensic evidence left.'\n\n'That's possible, of course, Oberleutnant. But in my experience they always miss something.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded thoughtfully. 'And what about the victim's clothes? Any luck with those, Jonas?'\n\n'Not yet, Oberleutnant, but I'm still waiting for some of the lab tests to come back.'\n\n'OK. Well, let me know when you have anything more.'\n\nShe put the phone down and then relayed to Tilsner the half of the conversation he'd missed.\n\n'We're going to need to get hold of that car,' he said.\n\n'How? We can't just go over there, hire it and bring it back, and we can't ask the West Berlin police for help. There's never been a joint East-West police operation in the entire history of the Republic, despite Ostpolitik.'\n\nTilsner looked dubiously at her, then took a long gulp of his coffee. He leant back, savouring it, and then folded his arms across his chest. M\u00fcller watched the muscles flex under his shirt, then chided herself silently.\n\n'We can't go there, but the Stasi can. They're already there.'\n\n'What do you mean?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Oh, come on, Karin. You know as well as I do that there will be Stasi agents at every level in the Federal Republic, and especially in West Berlin. One of them could help us. You just need to give your friend J\u00e4ger another ring.'\n\nM\u00fcller sighed. This was becoming a habit, but she nevertheless picked up the receiver again. She was less sure than before that he would support their request. Was this a step too far? One word from the Stasi officer, and they would almost certainly be taken off the case. But they needed to get hold of that limousine.\n\nWith a shaky finger, she slowly dialled J\u00e4ger's office at Normannenstrasse.\n\nNine months earlier (May 1974).\n\nJugendwerkhof Prora Ost.\n\nBeate has disappeared, and none of them will tell us where she is. When I tried to find out from Richter before lights out, she slapped my face and told me not to be insolent. That it was none of my business.\n\nSo I lie here, unable to sleep. Moonlight filters in through holes in the blue curtain material, casting ghoulish shadows about the room from the metalwork of the bunk beds. I look across at the bottom bunk next to mine, where Beate would normally be, but it has been stripped. Folded sheets, blankets and pillow neatly arranged at its foot. Without Beate's body shape in the way, I can see further across, to the next bunk bed. Bauer. Lying there snoring. But to be fair to her, she seemed as worried about Beate as I was before lights out, trying to back me up in my confrontation with the detestable Frau Richter. To no avail.\n\nMy mind races. I imagine all sorts of things happening to Beate. There has to be a reason why she cries every night. I can't believe that it's simply because she's locked up here in Prora Ost. Yes, it's awful, but until all this happened \u2013 until the nightly tears \u2013 Beate seemed to cope with it all well enough.\n\nI find myself twisting my messy red hair into even more knots. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. I turn away from Beate's bed and instead look at the pinpricked, moth-eaten curtain, and try to count the shafts of moonlight. I usually find the sound of the Ostsee waves calming, lulling, but tonight each wave seems to echo through my head \u2013 each crash on the sand prevents me from slipping into sleep. Is the sea trying to tempt me, to remind me of Herr M\u00fcller's thinly disguised message in the history book? Maybe the sound of the waves is the sea talking to me, luring me to break free. As far as I know, no one has yet managed to escape from Prora Ost.\n\nThe underlined words from the book dance before my eyes. Sweden and Sassnitz. Sassnitz and Sweden. The two words almost being spoken aloud by the surf as it crashes on the sand. A link. A route. But I have no idea how to use it.\n\nNo one has ever escaped from Prora Ost.\n\n* * *\n\nSleep did come eventually. It always does. But as daylight replaces moonlight at the curtain's holes, I make no effort to get up. Eventually Bauer comes over and shakes me, but there is no malice, no vindictiveness in her actions. She is just trying to make sure I'm not late, so that Richter has no further excuse to punish me. She, too, is worried about Beate. Maybe I have misjudged her.\n\nAt breakfast, I get my first clue. Beate's place is empty, and I whisper my question about my friend to Frau Schettler. She looks at me kindly, takes my hand and holds it for a moment, and then frowns. 'Beate is unwell. In the sanatorium.' As she says it, her eyes are looking at the floor, and I feel this is not the whole truth. 'Perhaps she will be better by this afternoon, and back in the dorm by tonight.' She releases my hand quickly, and I see her eyes look over my shoulder. I turn. It's Richter. I make my way quietly back to my place at the breakfast table, a gap next to me where Beate should be.\n\n* * *\n\nI'm in the packing room again this morning \u2013 I feel so rotten that I don't think I could have coped with anything else, despite the harder work. I look at the rota on the wall for the next month to check I've got my usual shifts, hoping they coincide with Beate's. I trace my fingers down the columns but I seem to have just three shifts in the packing room instead of my usual ten. The others will be in the workshop, which I enjoy far less. The bastards! No doubt that is another of Richter's or Neumann's ideas. Further punishment for Behrendt, they probably thought. And what's more, there's only one shift where mine coincides with Beate's. That's if she's even recovered by then. It's an extra evening half-shift in the middle of the month. The 22nd of June. The date seems familiar for some reason. I move my finger across to see who else we'll be with. Mathias Gellman. So it's not even as though I'll get a chance to chat with Beate. She will only have eyes for Mathias, and he for her, the way it's always been recently. Mr Perfect Mathias, with his looks of a western pop star or footballer. And that thought triggers my memory. The 22nd of June, when West Germany plays East Germany in the World Cup. Mathias will hate to miss that. I wanted to watch it too. Now I know they are punishing us.\n\nI move to my workbench, getting ready for the routine of kitchen door, left cabinet side, right side, back, shelves, top, bottom. But I look at the components to pack, and I look at the size of the box. Everything is bigger, like it has all been magnified, and we have a sheet of new instructions. I look across at Maria Bauer, who, like me, is fumbling with the various pieces. Frau Schettler sees our confusion and walks over.\n\n'Beds,' she says. 'We have a new order.' I look at the parts again, and the larger shapes of veneered chipboard and timber start to make sense. A headboard. Bed slats. Bed posts. All in clean, functional lines. I guess this is the sort of thing they like in Sweden.\n\nSchettler sees me biting my lip as I survey the huge piece of cardboard which \u2013 when folded as per the instructions \u2013 will form the box that all the pieces will fit into, like a giant 3D jigsaw. 'Yes, they are big boxes, Irma,' she says. 'When each is complete and loaded, it will take at least two \u2013 maybe three \u2013 of you to lift each one onto the trolley. If you need the help of one of the boys, just raise your hands.'\n\nBy the end of the day I know I will be exhausted. I begin to regret my eagerness to work in the packing room. But after a day doing this, at least I should be so drained that sleep will welcome me, whether Beate has returned or not.\n\n* * *\n\nI have an hour's free time before dinner when I end the shift. I drag my feet, one in front of the other, as I trudge back to the dorm. It's as though someone has added hundreds of tiny lead weights to the insides of my work trousers.\n\nIt's the shouting that alerts me. Richter \u2013 a scared note in her voice. Telling someone not to move. To hang on. I have never heard Frau Richter scared before. I run towards the noise and find myself in the exercise yard at the back of the building. Richter is there, and Neumann, their faces staring upwards at an acute angle. Neumann is holding Mathias tightly, as though to stop him intervening in the drama.\n\nI follow their line of sight.\n\nA body.\n\nClinging to the wall, on the narrow ledge that runs under the fifth-floor windows. The floor of our dorms. The highest point in Prora to prevent us escaping. Beate's arms and legs stretched, like a spider with four legs missing, precariously attached to the vertical surface. The drop is twenty metres, thirty. Maybe more.\n\nIn an instant, my tiredness evaporates. I race past Richter, Neumann and Mathias. Richter tries to put an arm out to stop me, but I have found an inner strength and I wriggle from her grip towards the stairwell. Another teacher is there, Herr K\u00fcfer, stopping everyone from entering. I just put my head down and charge into him, my head aiming for his stomach, my hand for his groin. At the moment of impact, I squeeze his balls, and as he doubles up in pain, I thrust through the doorway. By the second floor I'm already out of breath and feel a stitch in my side, but I force myself on and up the remaining three flights. I'm nearly knocked over by Bauer and another girl coming the other way, carrying a mattress.\n\nThere is another teacher at the entrance to the washroom, but it is Herr M\u00fcller. He doesn't try to stop me. 'Be careful, Irma,' he shouts as I race past. 'Don't do anything stupid. Don't put yourself at risk too.' But he knows that pleading with me is useless.\n\nI reach the toilet window and open it. There are bars across the lower half, but I lever myself up with my arms, get a knee on the window ledge and climb up, then stick my head out.\n\nBeate has her eyes shut tight, face to the wall. One hand \u2013 her right, furthest from me \u2013 is grasping the downpipe, and the other is groping along the wall, stretching millimetre by millimetre, trying to reach this window \u2013 the window where I am. I can hear her breathing. Shallow breaths, rapid. Frightened breaths. I try to stretch my arm to reach hers, but I cannot.\n\n'Beate,' I whisper.\n\nShe opens her eyes. I see her chin and lips trembling, the fingers on the hand nearest me shaking. 'Irma. Oh, Irma. I couldn't do it. I wanted to jump. I got on the roof, and they caught me and took me to the sanatorium, but I got out. I was going to try again, but now I'm scared. I don't want \u2013'\n\n'Shh,' I say. 'Shh. You're safe now. You'll be able to edge back along here. I'll talk you through it. You'll be OK. Remember, we all love you. Mathias loves you.' My own skin feels clammy, and I am breathing rapidly like her. The skin on Beate's face is white, almost translucent, and across her perfect bone structure it looks like the skin of an angel. An angel without wings. I climb to the second rung of the window bars, hook my feet under and stretch still further out of the window. My heartbeat pulses in my ears. 'Just try to move very slightly towards me. Try to stretch,' I say.\n\nShe does. Maybe a centimetre. Then freezes. 'I can't! I can't let go of the pipe. I'll fall. Oh, Irma.' I see the tears welling in her eyes. I stretch too, but our hands are still some fifteen centimetres apart. I look down. I shouldn't have. It makes me feel giddy. I see Richter and Neumann. But they are silent now. Children continue to pile mattresses on the floor. Army soldiers from the base next door arrive with ladders. They test them against the wall in turn, but all are too short to reach.\n\n'You can do it, Beate. We can do it,' I say. I loosen my right foot from under the iron window bar and move it to the top rail. Now only the toe of the boot on my left foot is holding me, but freeing my right leg allows me to twist further, stretch my arm out further. I can see the beads of sweat on Beate's brow as she stretches in turn. And then we touch. But that is all we can do. Touch our fingers together. I am stretching every sinew in my arm. It will go no further. I try moving my right leg again so it is completely out of the window, digging it into the ledge. The manoeuvre gives me a few extra centimetres. I clasp Beate's hand.\n\n'Just gently edge along towards me,' I say. 'I've got you. You won't fall.'\n\nShe tries. I see her clenching her eyes closed with the effort, her grip on my hand so tight it sends shooting pains down my arm. I'm now balanced half-in, half-out of the window. But suddenly her foot nearest to me slips. She makes a grab the other way, to grasp the downpipe again.\n\nThe movement pulls me fractionally. I claw at the window with my free hand, but my right leg loses its footing, sliding on something. The pulpy mess of Herr M\u00fcller's history book. I realise I'm about to take Beate down with me. 'Let go,' I scream. Her grip loosens, just in time.\n\nI scrabble with my left leg, trying to hook it back under the window bar.\n\nToo late.\n\nBalance gone. Slipping. Falling. Arms windmilling against a rush of air. Thinking. Of Sassnitz. Of Sweden. Of freedom.\n\nOf what it will be like to die.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Eight.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nJ\u00e4ger used his usual method to arrange his next meeting with M\u00fcller. A motorcyclist delivered a telegram to the Marx-Engels-Platz office instructing her to be at the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen \u2013 the fairy-tale fountains in Friedrichshain People's Park \u2013 at eleven o'clock prompt.\n\nIt was easier to get to than the Kulturpark. Perhaps, thought M\u00fcller, that first meeting was intended to unnerve her; to show her his power. Inadvertently, he'd probably disturbed her more with his second choice of locale. The fountains held a special significance: it was where she and Gottfried had returned to time and again when they were first dating, when she had just finished police college and he was a trainee teacher. One of the things that attracted her to him was the way he'd known \u2013 without it being spelt out \u2013 that her air of melancholy spoke of a deeper wound. The way, in their meetings in front of the statues at the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen, he'd taught her to laugh again, to enjoy life. On their second date, he'd surprised her with a gift of a miniature witch's house from Hansel and Gretel \u2013 edible, of course. Little touches like that had allowed her to smile again. The dark cloud of her past wasn't addressed, other than for her to admit \u2013 when Gottfried knelt down and proposed that summer in front of the fountains \u2013 that they would never be able to have children. She'd seen the sadness in his eyes, but he'd just held her tightly, and let her shed her tears on his shoulder.\n\nThe tram to Friedrichshain suddenly moved off, jostling her into the middle-aged man sitting next to her. She tried to smile an apology, but he stared fixedly ahead, his chin sinking into the fleshy rolls of his neck, and his arms flopping like rabbit paws on top of his briefcase. Was that how Gottfried would turn out in a few years? Greasy hair centre-parted, and with a vacant, defeated expression?\n\nThey'd finally been in the flat together at the same time last night, but not in the same room, and not speaking. He'd arrived back after she'd gone to sleep, exhausted and depressed by the slow progress of the case. By the time she'd got up, he'd already left his makeshift bed on the sofa, and exited the apartment. His note from yesterday morning had said they needed to talk, but neither of them seemed to be prepared to make the first move.\n\nThe barked announcement 'Volkspark Friedrichshain!' jolted her from her daydream, and she rushed for the exit before the doors swung closed. The fresh air \u2013 or East Berlin's excuse for fresh air \u2013 was a relief after the smoky atmosphere inside the tram. She stood for a moment by the tram stop, pulled her make-up mirror from her coat pocket and opened it. The eyes staring back at her were bloodshot with dark circles underneath.\n\n* * *\n\nThe M\u00e4rchenbrunnen looked transformed in winter: nothing like M\u00fcller remembered from her visits with Gottfried all those years ago. The eleven-arch arcade still dominated the fountains, but the pools themselves were blanketed in white and the fountain pumps had been closed off to protect them from ice. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and all their fairy-tale friends were hidden away under hollow cubes of wood, each one topped by its own snow-covered pitched roof. The only figure on show was J\u00e4ger himself, who'd cleared snow away from the low wall at the front of the fountain complex, and was huddled there in the same sheepskin coat he'd worn at the Kulturpark.\n\n'No new coat yet, Comrade Oberleutnant?' he asked her, with a warm smile.\n\nM\u00fcller grinned back. 'I told you, Comrade Oberstleutnant. Not on my salary.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger gave a small laugh. 'Maybe I should recruit you? But that will depend on the outcome of this case.'\n\n'And will I have any say in the matter?' asked M\u00fcller, taking her seat on the wall next to the Stasi lieutenant colonel. She tucked her overcoat under her to protect her skirt.\n\nJ\u00e4ger chuckled. 'Perhaps. But more importantly, how are your inquiries progressing, and why did you want to see me?'\n\n'Well, as you know, we're at a dead end in terms of identifying the girl. There's nothing that's a match in the missing-persons' files. Well, other than the girl we already ruled out from Friedrichshain, and some possible girls from the West \u2013 but we have no way of chasing up those leads.' M\u00fcller paused, and searched J\u00e4ger's eyes for a flicker of a clue, but he wore his best poker face. 'We're examining her clothes, of course. And uniform officers from the People's Police are trying to pin down exactly what sort of ink was on her fingers. They're also checking the movements of known sex offenders, particularly ones with a predilection for \u2013'\n\n'You don't have to spell it out, Karin. In fact, I'd prefer you didn't. I get the gist.'\n\nThe use of her first name briefly derailed M\u00fcller's train of thought. 'But we have made significant progress with the tyre tracks. I know it might seem at first glance to be a bit of a wild goose chase, but I feel if we can locate the car that was at the scene, then possibly we may find new clues to help us to identify the girl.'\n\nHe frowned. 'I'm not sure that is the way forward. It risks the danger of your taking the investigation in the direction which I've already warned you you cannot.'\n\nM\u00fcller held his gaze. 'It's solely my intention to try to identify the poor girl involved. I've already given you my word about that.' M\u00fcller knew she was lying to him, lying to herself. But she got the feeling that for all his protestations, J\u00e4ger wanted this case solved just as much as she did. In all respects. 'There is, however, a serious problem,' she continued.\n\nJ\u00e4ger sighed. 'And what's that?'\n\n'As you're aware, our inquiries show that those tyre marks are from a Volvo... a Volvo limousine. Our first thought was that perhaps it was a car linked to senior officials in the Republic.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger cocked his head to one side quizzically. 'But you've discounted that, I take it? And how exactly did you discount it?'\n\n'Through our inquiries.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger frowned. 'I hope those inquires didn't involve the faking of a tipper truck losing its load of sand in Lichtenberg?' M\u00fcller felt her face redden and her heart rate increase as J\u00e4ger challenged her, his eyes locking onto hers. She didn't answer, just dropped her gaze. 'I heard about the incident,' said J\u00e4ger, more gently. 'I knew immediately it was you and Tilsner. It was a very stupid thing to do. If you wanted to check that information you could simply have asked me. I want to make it clear to you that if you exceed your authority, if you break the rules, then the consequences for you will be very severe. You already know this is a sensitive inquiry, otherwise the Ministry for State Security would not be involved. So be careful.'\n\n'Yes, Comrade Oberstleutnant,' she said, shamefaced.\n\nJ\u00e4ger's face relaxed into a smile. 'However, I did find it quite amusing. Now, there was something you wanted to ask me, and you still haven't.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'It concerns the limousine. Once we'd established it was unlikely to be from the East, we checked at the crossing points to see if any suitable vehicle had crossed from the West.'\n\n'And did you find one?' asked J\u00e4ger.\n\n'Yes. There was one that crossed the night before the girl's body was found at Grenz\u00fcbergang Bornholmerstrasse. Two male occupants, allegedly taking the limousine to a friend's wedding in the East, but it was travelling on fake plates.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger sighed. 'So does that mean we can't trace it?'\n\n'Well, we think we may have located it. We're only aware of one in the whole of West Berlin. It's owned by a wedding hire company, so \u2013'\n\n'So you want me to authorise, or arrange, an operation to recover that vehicle?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded.\n\n'That's possible, of course. But it will be difficult. I will have to \u2013'\n\nJ\u00e4ger suddenly pinched her arm through her coat. She was about to ask him why, then saw a man in a leather jacket approaching them. He looked as though he was going to come right up to where they were sitting on the fountain wall, but then diverted, to walk round behind them, through the arcade at the back of the fountain. When she was certain he was out of earshot, M\u00fcller asked: 'Do you know him?'\n\nThe Stasi lieutenant colonel nodded slowly. His face looked ashen.\n\n'He's a Ministry for State Security agent. From Department Eight. My department.'\n\n'Your department?' asked M\u00fcller, her voice laced with incomprehension.\n\nAnother nod from J\u00e4ger. 'It was a message to us, or rather to me. I did warn you, Karin, that this could get complicated.' J\u00e4ger sighed, and started to get to his feet. M\u00fcller did the same, slapping the back of her coat to get the snow off, and to try to force some warmth back into her frozen thighs. 'From now on,' he said, 'be very careful about ringing me. Just wait for me to get in touch. Do you understand?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded twice in assent, then looked over the Stasi officer's shoulder to the arcade, where the agent still lingered. The fairy-tale fountains had now taken on a far more sinister air.\n\nDay Nine.\n\nMarx-Engels-Platz, East Berlin.\n\nWaiting in the office for J\u00e4ger and Tilsner to arrive, M\u00fcller wiped the sleep from her eyes. In the reflection of her face in the compact mirror, she noticed her finger shaking. Too many late nights, too much vodka and too much arguing with Gottfried.\n\nAfter the meeting at the fairy-tale fountains, J\u00e4ger had worked fast, summoning her to a briefing at the Marx-Engels-Platz office at eight o'clock in the morning.\n\nThe door to the main office crashed open. It wasn't J\u00e4ger, but Tilsner.\n\n'What are you doing here on a Saturday?' she asked. 'I thought you were spending the weekend with Koletta?'\n\nTilsner smiled enigmatically. Then the door swung open again before M\u00fcller had a chance to quiz him further; there was J\u00e4ger, looking as fresh and fit as he usually did, and nothing like she felt.\n\n'Morning, both of you,' said the Stasi Oberstleutnant. 'I trust you slept well?'\n\nM\u00fcller hadn't, but she nodded all the same.\n\n'I've got the necessary authorisations for the operation, but securing the manpower was more difficult.' J\u00e4ger pulled up a chair at the long table under the noticeboard and urged the two detectives to do the same. M\u00fcller watched him glance up at the photographs of the girl's body which were pinned on it, before he gave a sad shake of his head and reached into his briefcase. 'I was hoping that the Main Intelligence Directorate \u2013 with which I have close links \u2013 would have been able to supply us with agents to go over to West Berlin and secure the car. They're the foreign intelligence specialists and would have had the necessary experience in operating there. Unfortunately, at such short notice, they couldn't spare anyone.' He passed over two sets of documents. 'So you two will be going.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned at Tilsner. Neither of them had experience operating in the West. But her deputy simply shrugged and smiled as J\u00e4ger continued. 'These are the authorisations you'll need to show at the Republic's checkpoints.' Then he reached down into his bag again, pulling out two small forest-green booklets. 'And these are your West German passports.'\n\nM\u00fcller saw the same eagle, flexing its wings, as there had been on the Federal Republic's missing persons' file. She read the accompanying words: Bundesrepublik Deutschland Reisepass. She picked hers up and flicked through it. A People's Police ID photo from a couple of years ago had been used as the passport photograph, presumably taken from her police file. She looked at the name: Karin Ritter. Then did the same with Tilsner's: Werner Trommler. She felt a sense of relief. At least they wouldn't have to pose as a married couple.\n\nJ\u00e4ger seemed to have read her thoughts. 'No, you're not married.' He laughed. 'But you are about to be. That's why you're hiring the limousine. For your wedding.' He met her eyes. 'So you will have to pose as a couple. Is that going to be a problem?'\n\nTilsner laughed. 'Of course not, Comrade Oberstleutnant.'\n\nM\u00fcller scowled.\n\nJ\u00e4ger handed each of them an envelope. 'Some West German marks. You'll need them to go shopping for things for your wedding and forthcoming marriage \u2013 and also to pay for the car hire and a deposit. But don't get any ideas. Everything will need to be accounted for with an expenses form, and everything will need to be brought back to the Republic. The items you buy will be useful for our agents when they're operating abroad in the future. Each envelope has a list of what you should buy, and where from. Please don't deviate from it.'\n\nUnder J\u00e4ger's watchful eyes, M\u00fcller opened her envelope and read the list. Specific brands and shops were typed out. M\u00fcller felt herself blush as she saw the list of women's underwear she was expected to purchase \u2013 along with prices which would have bought ten times as many items in the East.\n\n'How long will we be staying in West Berlin?' she asked J\u00e4ger.\n\n'One day only, I'm afraid. That should be enough time. You will however have a hotel room in which to freshen up. And \u2013 before you ask \u2013 you will have separate rooms.'\n\n'So we're not allowed to get some practice in before our wedding night?' Tilsner chuckled.\n\n'It's not a joke, Unterleutnant,' scolded J\u00e4ger, his voice as close to anger as M\u00fcller had yet heard. 'This is a serious operation, and seems at the moment \u2013 in the absence of any leads to identify the girl \u2013 our best hope of securing some evidence, something, to build up a clearer picture about her.'\n\n'My apologies, Oberstleutnant.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger, his face serious, nodded in acknowledgement. 'You'll be travelling in a Mercedes owned by the Main Intelligence Directorate, on false West German plates. Try not to get involved in any traffic accidents or anything like that, or it may blow your cover. Drive carefully and slowly. Don't be seduced by the extra power it has compared to your usual Wartburg. One of you will have to drive the Volvo limousine back to the Hauptstadt tonight, and the other will need to drive the Mercedes. Are you both OK with that?'\n\nThe two detectives nodded. M\u00fcller was a nervous driver, and always let Tilsner take the wheel whenever possible. He could have the limo, and she would drive the Merc. She wasn't looking forward to it.\n\n'And you will be wearing western clothes, appropriate to your status as an engaged couple about to be married. I have the clothes in a bag in my car outside which I'll give you in a moment. We checked your sizes from your personnel files. Again, they're borrowed from the Main Intelligence Directorate. It goes without saying that we'll need them back at the end of the operation.'\n\nM\u00fcller glanced at Tilsner. He looked unperturbed: clearly it didn't bother him as much as it did her that the Stasi appeared to have unfettered access to her Kripo employment record. But then there was his watch, the other luxury items she'd noticed in his apartment. He had access to extra money from somewhere. Was it from working on the side for the Ministry for State Security? It would explain why they'd been allowed to go to West Berlin without an obvious Stasi chaperone. J\u00e4ger's protestation that there were no agents available had rung hollow. Perhaps there was one available, and he was accompanying her: People's Police Unterleutnant Werner Tilsner.\n\nNine months earlier (May 1974).\n\nJugendwerkhof Prora Ost, R\u00fcgen.\n\nI hear the sea, the waves crashing, and in my head I'm at Oma's campsite house in Sellin. She's whispering to me. Telling me it's time to get up. My eyes open. She's there at my bedside, but seems so much older. I try to raise my head. She shushes me. And then I remember. I am not a little girl at Oma's. For some reason she is here visiting me.\n\nA woman in a white coat enters: a nurse with an array of medicines on a metal tray.\n\n'She's awake,' says Oma. The nurse walks over and takes my pulse, then urges me to open my mouth and places a thermometer under my tongue. My head feels as if it is full of cotton wool. I can't really get my thoughts straight. I glance towards the window and see the bars. They trigger a memory.\n\nSuddenly I'm pulling the thermometer out of my mouth. I throw it to the floor and begin shouting, crying. 'Beate. Beate. I tried to save her. I really tried, Oma.' My grandmother strokes my head, as the nurse prepares an injection. 'Where is she? Where is she? She's not dead, is she?' Then a pinprick in my arm as the nurse holds me down. My head feels heavy. Someone answers my question but it doesn't register. I try to ask them to repeat themselves but the words won't come. A deep, drugged sleep pulls me under.\n\n* * *\n\nAnother voice at my ear I recognise, but this time I don't want to open my eyes. I try to turn away from the voice, but hands move my shoulders back round.\n\n'Irma, we need to talk to you.' The detestable voice. Richter's voice.\n\nI open my eyes and realise I'm not at Oma's. I'm not in hospital. I'm in the sanatorium of Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost, and in my vision is the face of Frau Richter. Behind her, on a chair in the corner of the room, is her one-eyed, scar-faced boss, Director Neumann.\n\n'Where is Beate?' I ask her. I'm surprised how weak my voice sounds. 'Is she safe?'\n\nRichter nods. 'The fire brigade managed to bring her down.'\n\nI'm so relieved that I can feel tears welling up. I try to fight them back by thinking of something else. I try to move my legs, wiggle my toes. Everything seems fine except the fog in my head that won't let me think clearly. The elation of knowing that Beate has survived is tempered by the knowledge that both of us are still caged in this hellhole.\n\nNeumann stands up now, so both he and Richter are in front of my eyes. 'You are alright, Irma, but what you did was very stupid. Your friend survived, but no thanks to you. You could have killed yourself and her. That's a very serious matter.' The words soak into my cotton wool brain, producing no reaction. All I care about is that Beate is alive. I try to turn away from him, but Richter pulls me back. 'Now, we are prepared to overlook all this, just this once,' he says. 'But you must never tell anyone about what happened. As far as your grandmother or anyone else is concerned, you simply had a fall when you were acting the fool. I don't want to hear anything about Beate's prank. Ever. Do you understand?'\n\nHe is trying to blame me, trying to make me feel guilty. But his main concern is that nothing about Beate's state of mind should get out to the authorities. Higher authorities than him. For the first time, I've some sort of hold over Richter and Neumann. I wonder if one day it might come in useful.\n\n'I understand, Herr Director,' I answer in my most fawning voice. I see Richter smile. It's not a pretty sight.\n\n* * *\n\nI seem to be spending more time asleep than awake, but as the pain in my head and body clears, I realise there is no point giving anyone the impression I'm fully recovered. I still have to wear a neck collar, but they tell me that is a precaution. The sooner I'm completely well, the sooner I will be back in the daily grind of the workshop. I have only Richter's word that Beate is alive, and I won't believe that until I see it with my own eyes. I don't even understand how I survived with just a jarred neck and bruises.\n\nMy next visitor is another teacher. Herr M\u00fcller.\n\n'Thank you,' I say to him.\n\n'For what?' he asks.\n\n'For the b\u2014' His eyes dart to the side urgently, and I see the nurse sitting there and manage to stop mid-sentence. I don't think she notices. 'For coming to see me,' I say.\n\nHe grins. 'I'm glad I've got the chance,' he says. 'That was a very, very stupid thing to do. Brave, but stupid.'\n\n'I still don't understand how I survived.'\n\n'We saw you about to fall, and we also saw that Beate had grabbed onto the downpipe. We'd piled up mattresses under Beate's likely trajectory. Literally a few seconds before you fell, the fire brigade had readied their rescue net. They managed to move it a couple of metres under you. You still fell very heavily onto it. But the doctors say there is no lasting damage. You'll be fine.'\n\n'Thank you,' I say again. He seems such a kind man. A bit bookish. A bit owlish. I still cannot fully understand why he is here working at Prora Ost.\n\n'Unfortunately, I'm going to have to leave you now, Irma. I hope you and Beate will be OK.'\n\n'Leave? You've only been here a couple of minutes.'\n\nHe smiles again. 'I didn't mean right now. I can stay a bit longer. What I meant was I'm leaving the Jugendwerkhof. Apparently, Neumann has recommended to the education authorities that I've seen the error of my ways and am a reformed character.' He lowers his voice. 'I think he just wants me out of the way. More trouble than I'm worth, which suits me fine.'\n\n'I will miss your kindness. There's not a lot of it around here. Will you miss us?' I ask.\n\n'I'll miss you, Irma. And Beate. Maybe one or two others. But to be honest, I shall be delighted to be back in Berlin. I'm a city boy at heart.'\n\nHe leans over, as though to kiss me goodbye, and as he does so, he whispers in my ear. 'Don't forget what it says in the book,' he breathes. 'I'm sure there's a way.' Then a small chaste kiss on my forehead, and he's gone.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Nine.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nAs they headed north through sparse Mitte traffic, the smell of the leather upholstery \u2013 together with Tilsner's extravagant use of aftershave \u2013 made for a distinctive aroma in the Mercedes. M\u00fcller savoured it. It made a change from the smoky redolence of lignite smog: the trademark odour of the Republic. The roads as far as the Grenz\u00fcbergang Bornholmerstrasse and the B\u00f6sebr\u00fccke bridge were familiar to them both. After that, M\u00fcller would be map-reading their way through West Berlin, towards Sch\u00f6neberg and the wedding car hire company.\n\nAs they approached the checkpoint, M\u00fcller saw the dyed-blonde major from Thursday's visit walk towards the Mercedes. She looked at it disapprovingly, as Tilsner scrabbled for the button for the electric window.\n\n'Good morning, Comrade Major,' said Tilsner. It brought a smile from the frosty blonde officer.\n\n'Good morning, Unterleutnant. The Ministry for State Security has approved your passage through, and we will be expecting you on your return. Do you know what time that will be tonight?'\n\nTilsner looked towards M\u00fcller, raising his eyebrows.\n\nM\u00fcller leant in front of Tilsner, towards the open driver's window. 'I think it will be around one in the morning, Comrade Major. Something like that anyway. It's all detailed in the authorisation that was telexed through to you by the Ministry for State Security.'\n\nThe major gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head. 'Good. We will be waiting for you. Good luck.' With that, Tilsner hit the window switch and the glass rose silently and smoothly. He pressed the accelerator, and the car glided away. M\u00fcller dreaded to think how many more marks this car had cost than the Wartburg.\n\nM\u00fcller looked out of the windows, comparing what she saw with her own eyes with what was marked on the map. They could have almost been anywhere in the Hauptstadt. The only difference was the style of street signs, more cars and trucks, and the actual makes of those cars. The ever-present Trabants, Wartburgs and Ladas from the East were nowhere to be seen.\n\n* * *\n\nBy the time they reached the wedding limousine hire company in Sch\u00f6neberg, M\u00fcller had reappraised her snap judgement that the West looked pretty much like the East. Their route had taken them to the west of the Spree, swinging further west through Tiergarten, and then \u2013 just to see first-hand what they'd already seen in the photo of Silke Eisenberg \u2013 M\u00fcller directed Tilsner on a small detour to take in the exterior of the Kaufhaus des Westens. Tauentzienstrasse reminded her of the Paris boulevards she'd seen on western TV and in magazines, the throng of Saturday shoppers making her feel almost claustrophobic, even though they were safely ensconced in the comfort of the Mercedes.\n\nTilsner took one hand off the wheel to point out of the windscreen towards a high-rise building with a revolving silver emblem on top. 'The Europa Centre, commonly known as the Mercedes Building. That's the Mercedes logo spinning round.' To M\u00fcller it looked ostentatious, unnecessary. A symbol of the economic power of the West perhaps, but also a sign of the West's glorification of business and the business of making money.\n\nIgnoring the road signs, Tilsner made a U-turn, so they could have another look at the KaDeWe from the southern side of the street. M\u00fcller marvelled at all the fashions in the window displays. She remembered that the KaDeWe was on the list of required shops they had to visit. She felt something akin to excitement, and then chastised herself. Those who could afford all this \u2013 who had they trampled on to reach the top of their businesses? At least east of the protection barrier, for all the shortages, they were trying to build a fairer way.\n\n* * *\n\nOnce they had reached Sch\u00f6neberg, the hire company was relatively easy to find and all the documentation was ready for them to sign. Tilsner showed his fake papers and handed the salesman the hire amount and deposit in Deutschmarks from the envelopes J\u00e4ger had given them. He did it all with the smoothness of someone who was used to this level of duplicity, betraying none of the nerves that M\u00fcller herself felt. It reinforced her suspicions of earlier that morning. There was far more to Tilsner than met the eye.\n\nHer deputy was wearing gloves just in case the previous hirers had left fingerprints, but as it was winter, that didn't attract the suspicion of the hire company staff. M\u00fcller very much doubted the person \u2013 or people \u2013 they were hunting had been stupid enough to leave prints. But maybe \u2013 if the murdered girl had still been alive by the time she was in the car, if indeed she had ever been in the car \u2013 they might find something to establish her identity.\n\nShe reluctantly climbed into the driver's seat of the Mercedes, and then followed Tilsner and the limousine out of the car park, after first warning him to drive slowly. After initially struggling with the unfamiliar gearstick and controls, she managed to keep pace with him round the ring road, before turning east at Westend. They cruised along Spandauer Damm, then Charlottenburg Palace emerged on their left. M\u00fcller risked a quick glance away from the road when they stopped at the traffic lights. It was a symbol of great wealth, of privilege, of everything the Republic was fighting against, but as she turned into Schlossstrasse where their hotel was situated, M\u00fcller had to admit the palace \u2013 with its central copper-domed tower, red-tiled roof and wing upon wing of sumptuous cream stone \u2013 was a beautiful building. Whoever had commissioned it, privileged or not, certainly had good taste.\n\n* * *\n\nIn the hotel, things took a strange turn. They'd agreed to have a couple of hours' rest before setting off to buy the items on J\u00e4ger's shopping list. M\u00fcller's room looked out onto Schlossstrasse, and the angry repeated beep of a car horn drew her to the window. She edged back the curtain a fraction, and saw the Volvo limousine pulling out of the space where Tilsner had parked it. For an instant, she wondered if it was being stolen. She knew rates of car theft were higher in the West \u2013 or so Neues Deutschland claimed. But then she recognised Tilsner at the wheel, laboriously trying to manoeuvre his way out of the space. That was what had attracted the ire of other drivers. Where was he taking the vehicle, and why? Was she wrong about his loyalty to the Republic \u2013 could he even be using this as an opportunity to defect?\n\nShe picked up the hotel phone and asked reception to put her through to Tilsner's room. No answer. She wasn't expecting one.\n\nShe decided the best policy was to say nothing. If he wasn't aware she knew he'd slipped away, it might be to her advantage. Turning away from the curtain, she moved to the bathroom and ran a hot bath \u2013 adding dollop after dollop of bubble bath. M\u00fcller slipped out of her new western clothes, the ones J\u00e4ger had given her from the bag in his car, enjoying their silky feel on her skin as they fell to the tiled floor. She smiled to herself. Some decadent western luxury, it was what she needed.\n\nDay Nine.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nAs he'd gone to get the newspaper, Gottfried had noticed the bread van parked on the other side of the street. It had seemed out of place. And the name of the bakery was unfamiliar.\n\nHe'd already been exhausted by the constant rowing with Karin. Now it felt as though his whole world had disintegrated. He'd meant to get up early, to see her off and perhaps mend some proverbial fences. Instead, she had left on her secret weekend mission without saying goodbye, and he hadn't woken. The row would now fester in her mind, just when he needed her most.\n\nIt was about ten minutes later, when Gottfried was settling down to do some school marking, munching on a fresh Br\u00f6tchen, that all hell broke loose. A hammering sound on the apartment door made him look up in shock.\n\n'Who's that? What's going on?' he shouted, through a mouthful of bread. In the back of his mind, he already knew. His transfer to R\u00fcgen had been a warning. A warning he'd ignored.\n\nAs he got up to move towards the door to open it, he realised he didn't need to bother. With a splintering sound, the door burst open and half a dozen leather-jacketed men surrounded him. Pinning his arms. Cuffing his hands behind his back. Ignoring his frantic shouts and questions, and dragging him down the stairs.\n\n'What are you doing?' he screamed. 'My wife's a police officer. She'll report you to the authorities for this.' As soon as the words left his mouth, he realised his threat was empty. For all he knew, Karin may have been already aware that this was going to happen. May have even ordered his arrest. It was a frightening thought.\n\nOne of the thugs yanked his cuffed arms further up towards his shoulder blades. The pain pulsed into his head.\n\n'Keep quiet, citizen,' he hissed into Gottfried's ear. 'If you know what's good for you.'\n\nDespite his desperate situation, Gottfried still found himself checking that no neighbours were watching as he was forced across the pavement towards a Barkas van \u2013 similar to the bakery van but a different colour, a different company name on the side. He didn't want anyone to see his shame, his humiliation.\n\nThe aroma of fresh bread from breakfast was still in his nostrils, the taste on his tongue. But they were instantly replaced by the smell of piss and shit as he was bundled inside and forced into one of several tiny holding cells in its rear.\n\nThe door to the cramped cell was slammed shut. Seconds later, he heard the engine roar to life. He was being taken somewhere. He just didn't know where, or why.\n\nDay Nine.\n\nWest Berlin.\n\nOberleutnant Karin M\u00fcller found herself sweating inside her new western clothing provided by J\u00e4ger as she browsed the KaDeWe's shoe department. The skirt was wool, the blouse silk, the knickers and bra cotton \u2013 natural, expensive materials. On her, they just didn't feel right. Like a painting in an incongruous frame. And it didn't help that the heating inside the department store seemed to be on too high. She looked down at the fur-lined winter boot that the male assistant was levering her left foot into. Almost 300 marks' worth of footwear \u2013 the pair cost virtually the same as M\u00fcller's weekly wage.\n\n'Would madam care to take a walk? Perhaps look at them in the mirror over there? They suit you very well.' M\u00fcller reddened at the man's compliment, but played the part and walked towards the full-length mirror. She was glad Tilsner wasn't here to add to her discomfort; they'd agreed to meet up later in the hotel in Charlottenburg, and meanwhile he'd gone to the sports department to buy some Hertha Berlin football paraphernalia from J\u00e4ger's shopping list.\n\nShe fussed with her hair in the reflective glass. It was hanging limp and greasy. Then her eyes moved down to the boots. Black suede, ending just below the knee, with grey fur turnovers. Over her shoulder she could see the assistant, waiting eagerly.\n\n'I'll take them,' she said, smiling. The man returned her smile, but there was something about his that seemed unctuous and false. He just wanted the sale, she thought. That's what it's all about here.\n\n* * *\n\nM\u00fcller lay back on the hotel bed and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn't help feeling something was badly wrong when she'd been able to enjoy \u2013 if that was the right word \u2013 an afternoon's shopping in West Berlin's most iconic department store, while the dead girl she was supposed to be trying to identify lay in the cooler of the Charit\u00e9 Hospital mortuary. Could they, should they, be doing more in the Republic? Knocking door to door, on every apartment with a teenage girl the right age? But that would be a Sisyphean task. Reiniger and J\u00e4ger would never authorise such a campaign.\n\nThere was a rap on the door. M\u00fcller jumped up and opened it to find Tilsner dressed in various blue-and-white striped items. She ushered him in.\n\n'Do you like it all? I've got the figure of a footballer, don't you think?'\n\nM\u00fcller laughed at the too-tight replica Hertha Berlin football shirt. 'No, I don't.'\n\nTilsner attempted to flex his pectoral muscles. She just shook her head. He looked ridiculous. A blue-and-white knitted hat and striped scarf completed the ensemble. 'I feel a bit disloyal. I'm a Dynamo fan, after all. I'd better not show Marius. I don't want him transferring his affection to a western club.'\n\nM\u00fcller sat on the bed and said nothing. It was well known in the Hauptstadt that Dynamo was a Stasi-backed team, Mielke's pet project.\n\n'So, what are we going to do to while away the time?' asked Tilsner. She watched him look at all her shopping bags. 'Shall we give each other a fashion show?'\n\nM\u00fcller shook her head. 'No, let's not bother. I'm tired.' She rubbed her stockinged feet and then lay back on the bed again. 'I thought I might get some sleep, then we could perhaps go out and get something to eat?'\n\nTilsner shrugged. 'OK.' He laid his hand gently on her nylon-clad leg. 'You wouldn't like me to lie on the bed with you?'\n\nM\u00fcller rolled her eyes and sighed. 'No, Werner. Just forget about that. I'm married. You're married. I'm your boss. You're supposed to be my deputy. Let's just keep it all straightforward. OK?'\n\nGetting to his feet and stretching, Tilsner moved towards the door, and then met her eyes. 'OK, Karin. Have it your way.' He opened the door and slammed it behind him.\n\nM\u00fcller let her head fall back on the pillow, and closed her eyes.\n\n* * *\n\nThe strained atmosphere between the two detectives continued into the evening. Perhaps a pre-marriage tiff was authentic, and Tilsner had certainly lapsed into a morose sulk. When it came to paying the bill, they realised that between them they barely had enough of J\u00e4ger's cash left.\n\nAs they left the restaurant, M\u00fcller looked up at the neon advertising signs, flashing with false bonhomie, and the Mercedes building's star. It rotated amid a fluorescent glow, casting eerie flickers into the night sky.\n\nBack in Charlottenburg, they packed their respective purchases into the limousine and the Mercedes.\n\n'Will you be OK driving the Mercedes at night?' asked Tilsner, a sullen note in his voice.\n\n'I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll follow you. Just don't go too fast and keep a look out in the rear-view mirror.'\n\n* * *\n\nThey began the return journey, car horns sounding regularly as Tilsner attempted to negotiate the traffic. M\u00fcller kept as close as possible to the rear lights of the Volvo. It was all very well driving an unfamiliar vehicle in the daylight, but it was already well past one in the morning. She knew the Hauptstadt would be virtually traffic-free by this time, but here in the West it was still surprisingly busy. J\u00e4ger had been mistaken in his insistence that it would be quieter after midnight.\n\nSoon after they turned onto the ring road at Westend and began to head north, M\u00fcller got the sense that they were being followed. The headlights of the car behind were on full beam, alternately coming right up to the rear of the Mercedes and then dropping back again. She tried to ignore them, and flipped the tab on the rear-view mirror to its anti-glare position.\n\nThen the car behind pulled out, and she was conscious of it directly alongside her, so close that it felt as though the two cars would touch at any moment. M\u00fcller took her foot off the accelerator slightly. The car alongside did the same. She risked a glance across. There was a man with sunglasses, gesturing at her to pull over. It didn't look like a police car. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, trying to stop her hands shaking. She was determined to ignore the other driver and just concentrate on the Volvo's rear lights.\n\nSuddenly a crash. The other car had buffeted into her, and she felt the Merc's steering wheel torn from her grip. M\u00fcller fought to control the unfamiliar car. Then another crash. She saw sparks flying. Heard the groans and grinding of metal tearing against metal. The Merc's wheels slid, whiplash threw her forward and her body jolted against the seat belt. Then... nothing. Just the hiss of the radiator.\n\nDisorientated, M\u00fcller switched off the engine. She felt pain from her left breast where the seat belt had cut into it, but otherwise seemed unhurt. She opened the driver's door and climbed out. Immediately, she was dazzled by onrushing cars, blaring their horns but failing to stop. She flattened her body against the side of the car and then edged round to the front. Steam rose from under the bonnet. M\u00fcller tried to investigate the passenger side but the car was wedged tight against the crash barrier, the front wing dented where it had hit. Tilsner and the other car had already disappeared to the northeast, around the ring road. No sign of either of them. She looked the other way: blue lights and sirens in the distance. Scheisse! Then she realised a vehicle was pulling into the hard shoulder behind her. She shielded her eyes from the glare, momentarily blinded, and thinking in that split second that she now knew exactly how a rabbit in the headlights felt. Paralysed. Thinking that perhaps she should run, rather than stay and meet her fate.\n\n'Are you OK, Karin? What happened?'\n\nIt was Tilsner! She ran forward, and crushed him in a hug.\n\n'Thank God!' she said. 'I thought the others had returned.'\n\n'The others? What do you mean?'\n\n'You didn't see the crash?'\n\n'No. I just realised that you'd stopped following me. I thought I'd better double back and check you were OK. Are you?'\n\nM\u00fcller was conscious that he was patting her, rubbing her back. It was the first time she'd known him to touch her in a platonic way. She breathed in deeply.\n\n'I think so,' she replied, finally. 'But I'm not sure about the car. Someone deliberately forced me off the road. It was terrifying. You didn't see them? A black car? A man with sunglasses?'\n\nHe shook his head. 'I'm afraid not.' He looked at the Mercedes doubtfully. 'We need to try to move it before the police spot us, even if we have to tow it back with the limo.'\n\nTilsner asked her for the keys; she gestured with her eyes to indicate they were still in the ignition. He climbed in, started the car and then shouted from the door. 'Mind out of the way. I'm going to try and reverse.' She heard him rev the engine, then a groaning sound, and finally the tearing of metal as he forced the car away from the barrier. Well, most of the car. Part of the wing had come free and was still stuck at the roadside.\n\nHe climbed out, yanked the torn-off metal away from the barrier and then put it in the car's boot. 'It's still driveable... I think. Do you want me to drive it and you take the limo? Only this time don't have any tangles with imaginary assailants.'\n\n'I wasn't imagining it \u2013 they tried to force me off the road. Who do you think it was?'\n\n'I don't know. Look, if you want, I'm happy to say I was driving. I get on well with J\u00e4ger. We know each other from way back. He won't hold it against me.'\n\nM\u00fcller said nothing, but gave a small nod.\n\n* * *\n\nAfter a few near misses, M\u00fcller successfully negotiated the limousine to the B\u00f6sebr\u00fccke and the Grenz\u00fcbergang. The western police just waved them through. On the eastern side, the dyed-blonde major was nowhere to be seen. But when Tilsner \u2013 ahead in the mangled Mercedes \u2013 flashed their authorisation, they were immediately let through.\n\nM\u00fcller felt a definite sense of relief as they entered the Hauptstadt. This was home. This felt right. The after-effects of shock from the crash were lifting. It was somehow less tense away from the freneticism of the West.\n\n* * *\n\nBy the time they had delivered the limousine to Schmidt at police headquarters and debriefed J\u00e4ger over the phone about the Mercedes, it was nearly two in the morning. M\u00fcller wondered if she ought to go straight back to the Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee apartment, and try to make her peace with Gottfried. If she let the tensions between them fester then a break-up was inevitable. Was that what she really wanted? To throw away her marriage? She glanced at her watch again. The trouble was, given the time, he would be fast asleep and in no mood to be wakened. She couldn't face another argument.\n\nM\u00fcller made up her mind. She asked Tilsner to take her back to the office in Marx-Engels-Platz. It would be the emergency blankets and pillow from the cupboard, then an early start. She would work the Sunday. The way things were, it seemed easier than returning home.\n\nIn the office, she allowed herself one reminder of the West. She piled the shopping bags on the long table, under the noticeboard, and then lifted out the large shoebox that contained the boots. She opened it, and peeled back the protective tissue paper. Then she removed one boot, and caressed the fur-lined top, as though stroking a cat. A small touch of luxury. Then she looked up at the photographs pinned to the noticeboard. The dead, nameless girl. The girl without teeth. The girl without eyes.\n\nM\u00fcller dropped the fur-lined boot as though it was infected.\n\nDay Nine.\n\nThe near total blackness and smell of urine and faeces closed in on Gottfried M\u00fcller. The movement of the vehicle jolted his body from side to side, up and down, the bile of panic and nausea rising in his throat. He made to reach with his hand to try to cover his mouth, fighting with the steel cuffs that chafed at his wrists. But there wasn't enough room to move.\n\nTaking a long breath of the putrid air, he tried to stand from his contorted half-sitting, half-crouching position, but gave up as his body pressed against the walls, the floor and the roof. It was like being in an upright, foreshortened coffin, a space less than a metre square in width and depth, and perhaps a little over a metre and a half high.\n\nHe thought of Karin. Was his arrest \u2013 if that was what it was \u2013 connected with their fractured relationship? Had she finally had enough of his accusations of infidelity and reported him to the authorities for anti-state activities?\n\nAlready it felt like they'd been driving for hours, his sense of direction destroyed by turn after turn. Acceleration, deceleration. Stop. Start. Banging him around like the contents of a washing machine drum, with no way of seeing outside to check where he was. From the length of the journey, it must be somewhere far from Berlin.\n\n* * *\n\nLight! Blinding, piercing white light, but he had no way of shielding his eyes. The vehicle had stopped, the doors opened, the smell of diesel and exhaust neutralising for an instant the odours of out-of-control body functions.\n\n'Raus! Raus! H\u00e4nde hoch!'\n\nGuards in East German military uniforms were manhandling him, jabbing him, forcing his arms upwards. Still in the Republic, then. The journey had seemed so long, so disorientating, he hadn't been sure \u2013 thinking perhaps he was being taken as far as Poland, as far as the Soviet Union. He tried to keep his hands raised in front of his face to protect himself from the glare of row upon row of strip lights shining on dazzling white walls. They were in some sort of garage.\n\nThen the guards were pushing him in the back, ignoring his questions, as they manoeuvred him through an iron-grilled door. A red light in an empty corridor. He was shoved into a cell, the clang of metal on metal, and then maximum darkness.\n\nWhat have I done? What am I supposed to have done? Shout it out! Tell them!\n\n'Guards, guards! I demand you tell me why I'm here!'\n\nNo response. Not even an answering echo from the walls, because the shouts just seemed to have been sucked into them. He began to feel around in the silence. The walls were soft, padded. He tried to orientate himself, searching with his hands, shifting them along an arm's length at a time. No corners. He couldn't even decipher where the door had been. A never-ending circle of cushioned pads in the blackness. His nose pressed against one, he breathed in the sweet smell of rubber like one of the glue-sniffing addicts he'd seen on the West German TV news.\n\nExhausted, mentally and physically, Gottfried slumped down in the middle of the freezing concrete floor. He had never felt so alone. The temporary exile to the Jugendwerkhof on R\u00fcgen last year had been bad enough, but nothing like this. Was this how those children felt? Was that what had driven Beate to attempt suicide? He wondered how they were. Had Irma ever acted on his suggestion about the route from Sassnitz to Sweden? Maybe that was it... Maybe the book had been discovered and traced back to him.\n\n* * *\n\nSleep. Sleep. Sleep had never felt so wonderful. A release from the nightmare. He thought of Karin. He longed for her. The younger Karin. The one he'd married. How it once had been for them. Not how it had recently become, with her career taking over her whole life.\n\nAfter several hours in the padded room they'd finally moved him to what appeared to be a more regular cell. A bench for a bed. A blanket. Even heating. A window, or something approximating it, constructed of translucent glass bricks. Shafts of light from the night of whichever town or city they were in entered feebly, though he could see no detail through the rippled glass. He rolled onto his side, pulled the blanket over his head and drifted in and out of sleep.\n\nThen light. Piercing white light again, from a square hole above the door.\n\nVerdammt! He'd only been dozing a few minutes, then this. He counted to ten. The light was extinguished, and Gottfried turned onto his side again, doubled the blanket up. Counted to sixty. To a hundred and ten. Then the light again. Controlled from the outside. Tormenting him. On, off, on, off, but the doubled-up blanket worked and he finally managed to drift off again.\n\nThen a metallic clang as the hatch was pulled down. A fat-faced female guard screamed through the hole.\n\n'Hands off the blanket. Blanket off your face. Lie on your back!'\n\nGottfried was too exhausted to ask why, or where he was, or what he was supposed to have done.\n\nEight months earlier (June 1974).\n\nJugendwerkhof Prora Ost, R\u00fcgen.\n\nI had two weeks' respite in the sanatorium, but Beate's attempted suicide had made me even more determined to find a way out of this hateful place \u2013 for myself and for her.\n\nToday is the first of my three days in the packing room this month. We're still working on the bed contract, and as I lean down to start to fill another box I feel my neck spasm. The pain shoots down my back to my leg. I'm almost tempted to raise my hand, to try to convince Frau Schettler that the symptoms of my fifth-floor fall haven't completely gone away. But instead, I fight through it, lifting the veneered headboard and sliding it in place at the bottom of the box.\n\nAll the time, I'm calculating. Thinking. Watching.\n\n'You're very quiet today, Irma,' says Mathias softly, to my left. 'Is something on your mind?'\n\nI don't look at him, just shake my head. I don't want anything to disturb my concentration. I need to reach my target as soon as possible, and then exceed it. Make them think I'm a reformed pupil, that I'm knuckling down and have seen the error of my ways. That way they will watch me less. It will give me a better chance.\n\nThe frame of the box is complete. It seems a slightly crazy system to me, but then I'm not a self-build furniture designer. All the components are in one box, which is why \u2013 when fully packed \u2013 they need two of us to lift them onto the trolley. I can only imagine a truck delivers them to each home at the other end, because there is no way they would fit in a standard-sized car, and no way that one person alone could lift them.\n\nThe headboard and footboard slide into the top and bottom of the cardboard box, giving strength to the structure with the bed's sides supporting them. When constructed I imagine they will be just under two metres square, bigger than any bed I've ever seen in the Republic.\n\nI slide the second side into the box. There's now a hollow area in the middle, where we must fit all the bed slats, the corner posts and the fitting accessories, after putting in more layers of corrugated cardboard to protect the veneer.\n\nGlancing around to make sure all the other children are busy working, I drop the roll of packing tape onto the floor and then lean down as though to pick it up. In an instant, I place the roll upright, so it forms a small wheel, and then stand up straight again. I wait a moment, making sure no one has noticed anything amiss. Frau Schettler, at the front of the room, is looking down at her desk, checking some document or other. Mathias to my left and Maria Bauer to my right are busy packing their own boxes. I give the wheel of tape a kick, and it shoots inside the hollow of the box. It's a shot that Hans-J\u00fcrgen Kreische, the Oberliga's top scorer, would have been proud of.\n\n'Scheisse!' I cry.\n\n'What's wrong?' asks Mathias, ignorant of my little piece of trickery.\n\n'I've accidentally knocked the packing tape into the box,' I say.\n\n'You idiot,' says Bauer. 'I'll need that in a moment to seal this one. Just reach down and get it.'\n\nI kneel down and scrabble around for a moment. Then peer inside.\n\n'I can't see it. It's gone right inside.'\n\nMathias sighs. 'Well, you need to get it otherwise we'll all fall behind target. Can't you just crawl in?'\n\n'I'll try,' I say, sounding as reluctant as possible.\n\nIn fact, with the smooth veneer of the wood, I can slide in. I get on my back and lever myself inside. I feel the tape roll behind my head, about halfway inside. But I continue to squeeze in, taking the tape with me to the back of the box. I just wish I was thinner. Beate would have no problem and plenty of space. Mathias is thin enough but too tall, so he'd have to bend his legs slightly to get fully inside.\n\nThen I hear Frau Schettler's voice. She's been alerted by all the commotion.\n\n'What on earth are you doing, Irma?' I squint back towards the open end of the box, and see a pair of eyes staring back at me.\n\n'Sorry, Frau Schettler. The packing tape's accidentally rolled inside. I'm trying to get it back.' I scratch my fingers against the veneer of the headboard for effect.\n\n'Well, hurry up,' she urges. 'And make sure you don't damage anything.'\n\nShe moves away, and I just lie there thinking for a moment. Thinking and calculating. It's risky. Horribly risky. What would you do about air, food, drink? Going to the toilet? Yuck! But it is possible. I've proved that to myself.\n\nI contort my arm behind my head to grab the tape roll, and then flex my heels to pull myself out of the box, centimetre by centimetre.\n\nThe heat rushes to my face as I stand back in position, and I'm breathing heavily.\n\n'That was really idiotic,' sneers Bauer. 'If we don't reach our target, it's your stupid fault. You're so clumsy, Behrendt.' I want to say something vicious back; I want to stuff the packing tape into her ugly mouth. But instead I just apologise, look embarrassed and get on with my work.\n\nI speed up, filling the boxes like a machine. Inside my head I'm planning and thinking. Of Sassnitz. Of Sweden. Of freedom.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Ten.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nThe jangling of the phone cut through M\u00fcller's skull, which throbbed with another headache. A strong sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu \u2013 wasn't this how it all had started ten days earlier at Tilsner's apartment? She looked at the clock. Just past seven. She'd had less than five hours' uncomfortable, broken sleep on the floor of the office. Now every part of her body ached. She yawned, covering her mouth from habit though no one was watching, and then picked up the receiver. It was Schmidt.\n\n'Ah, Comrade M\u00fcller. I'm glad I've tracked you down,' he said. 'I tried your home but there was no answer.' Gottfried had probably turned over and covered his ears with the blankets, thought M\u00fcller, just as I was tempted to. 'We've found a few bits and pieces in the limousine. Lucky, really, because the vehicle had been pretty thoroughly cleaned. I'm testing them now.'\n\nShe forced herself to sound interested and awake. 'That's good, Jonas. What have you got?'\n\n'Well, the most important thing is that \u2013 as we suspected \u2013 the tyre pattern matches those we found at the cemetery. Gislaveds, as I said. But there's more, Comrade Oberleutnant. Cleaning never erases everything, in my experience. We've found grains of what looks like sand, and some vegetable matter that I'm trying to pin down at the moment. Also soil samples and clothing fibres. I've done an initial check: some of the fibres match the girl's clothing, some don't.'\n\n'So we know the girl was definitely in the limousine?'\n\n'I don't think we can say that with any certainty. The fibres could have come from someone else. Someone wearing similar clothes. It's a start, though. Why don't you come along to the lab in a couple of hours? I can show you how the tests are progressing.'\n\nM\u00fcller slowly pressed her hand to her brow, trying to push away the thud of pain. She wasn't really in any state to spend hours in a lab. Perhaps she'd be better going back to the apartment and trying to make her peace with Gottfried. But then she wasn't in much of a state for that either. 'Don't you want to get some sleep first, Jonas? You've been at it all night.'\n\nThe Kriminaltechniker laughed. 'This is what I joined up for, what I trained for. I think this could be our breakthrough. Shall I see you in a couple of hours?'\n\n'OK, Jonas, OK.' Dealing with the forensic officer and what he'd found would be easier than going back to confront her husband. M\u00fcller rang off. Before she left for the police headquarters, she raided a couple of aspirin from the first-aid cupboard, and then crossed to the sink. Picking the cleanest-looking mug from the draining board, she swilled it out, half-filled it with water and then dissolved the pills and drank the mixture. Just as Schmidt needed his regular intake of sausages to function properly, she seemed more and more these days to be relying on headache pills.\n\n* * *\n\nBy the time she reached the forensic lab, Schmidt was hunched over a microscope issuing instructions to a colleague. After repeatedly peering through the lens, he was comparing his findings with a series of reference books that the other officer ferried to him.\n\n'Ah, Oberleutnant M\u00fcller. Thanks for coming. I think we have some new information for you. And can I introduce you to Andreas Hasenkamp here, from the Ministry for State Security? Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger sent him to assist us.' In contrast to Schmidt's corpulence, Hasenkamp was rake-thin, with incongruous bushy sideburns on an otherwise near-bald head. M\u00fcller shook his proffered hand, while she wondered just what J\u00e4ger's definition of 'assist' meant in practice.\n\nSchmidt ushered her towards a microscope. She could see a slide under it, which even without magnification looked like a piece of seaweed. M\u00fcller closed her left eye and squinted down the eyepiece with her right. 'OK, Jonas. It still looks like a piece of seaweed, only bigger.'\n\nSchmidt laughed. 'Absolutely correct, Comrade M\u00fcller. What's interesting, though,' he continued, 'is the type of seaweed. Look here at this book, and then look in the microscope. Similar, no?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, though she wasn't sure. 'What species is it?'\n\n'Well, the species in the book you're looking at is Fucus vesiculosus, more commonly known as bladderwrack.' M\u00fcller shrugged. The Latin meant nothing to her, though she had at least heard of the common name. Schmidt had one eyebrow raised and was smiling. 'But the species under the microscope is slightly \u2013 but significantly \u2013 different, and I'm rather pleased with myself that I've spotted the variance. It's Fucus radicans. It looks very similar to the naked eye.' M\u00fcller noticed that Schmidt was rushing his words, barely stopping to take a breath. 'But this species is smaller, despite the magnification of the microscope. Now, you find bladderwrack all over seashores in the northern hemisphere so that wouldn't have helped us much. But you only find Fucus radicans in one place.'\n\n'Where?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'In the Ostsee, Comrade M\u00fcller. It's specifically adapted for the brackish waters there. Water that doesn't have as high salinity. A mixture of salty seawater and fresh water from the inflowing rivers.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'We could be talking about the northern coast of the Republic: Denmark, Sweden, the Soviet Union \u2013 anywhere that has an Ostsee coastline.'\n\nSchmidt's face fell momentarily. 'That's true, Oberleutnant. But what we're trying to do is build up a picture. It's like a jigsaw puzzle or a crossword. Once we have enough pieces fitted together, or words in their correct place, the rest of it will follow.'\n\nThe detective nodded. 'What else have you got?'\n\n'Andreas has a sample set up on the microscope over there.' Schmidt gestured to a side table. 'Comrade Hasenkamp, perhaps you could talk the Oberleutnant through that?'\n\n'With pleasure. This way Comrade M\u00fcller.' He drew up a chair for her by the second microscope. M\u00fcller looked down the eyepiece, but what she saw was meaningless to her. It just looked like a beige smudge within a brown smudge. 'What's that?'\n\n'Yes, I'm afraid it's not as clear-cut to the untrained eye as our other sample,' said Hasenkamp. 'But what you're looking at is a sample of soil containing an undeveloped seedling from a subalpine zone.'\n\nM\u00fcller lifted her head, and rubbed her chin. 'So from the Alps?' She sighed. 'Another very wide area.'\n\n'Well it could be from the Alpine area, from just below the treeline. That's what we mean by subalpine. But in this case it isn't. It's from that altitude, but this type of soil combined with the subalpine seedling is only found in one place in Europe, if not the world.'\n\n'Put me out of my misery,' said M\u00fcller.\n\nHasenkamp smiled. 'It's the Harz mountains.'\n\n'But that could be the DDR or the Federal Republic?'\n\n'Not in this case. We can pinpoint the location very accurately. The only place in the Harz that could produce a subalpine seedling like this is the Brocken, which is more than 1,100 metres high. And, of course, it's in the Republic.'\n\nM\u00fcller visualised the mountain. She'd never been there, but she'd seen pictures at school. At its summit, the Republic's main listening station \u2013 intercepting enemy messages from the West.\n\n'Good work, both of you,' she said. 'But the Ostsee and the Harz are hundreds of kilometres apart.'\n\nSchmidt exhaled slowly. 'I know, Comrade M\u00fcller. I know. But I'm afraid your job is to stitch these clues together. However, don't despair. There are also the fibres, and there's a theory I'm working on there that may just take us forward.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'What's that?'\n\n'Oh, I don't want to say before I'm sure. I need to do some more work, but it won't take long. If you'd be so kind, Andreas and I have been working all night. A coffee and perhaps a sandwich from the canteen would help our thought processes. Would that be possible?' Schmidt grinned.\n\n'OK, Jonas, OK. Can you show me to the canteen, Comrade Hasenkamp?' She had no faith in her own abilities to find it through the warren-like corridors of police headquarters.\n\n'With pleasure, Oberleutnant. It's open on Sundays. As you know, the headquarters of the People's Police never shuts.'\n\nDay Ten.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nAs she approached her Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee apartment building, M\u00fcller noticed that the B\u00e4ckerei Sch\u00e4fer van had finally left \u2013 the streetlight it was normally parked by was simply illuminating an empty stretch of road. The mystery of who owned the vehicle remained unsolved. Elke had checked the small bakery of the same name on Alexanderplatz, but they just sold bread and cakes in situ. They didn't even have a delivery van. Anyway, it had gone. Was she being paranoid? The strange agent who'd turned up at the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen, watching her and J\u00e4ger. The attempt to kill \u2013 or at least frighten \u2013 her by whoever was driving the black car round the West Berlin ring road. Everything seemed to be closing in on her.\n\nThe sense of foreboding she felt increased further once she'd climbed the stairs to the landing outside her and Gottfried's apartment. Something was wrong. There was no noise \u2013 normally Gottfried could be heard singing along to one of his infernal western rock tracks, oblivious to what the neighbours might think. Especially at the weekend, on a Sunday evening, when he almost always stayed in the flat.\n\nA tingling feeling in her neck prompted her to turn round. Frau Ostermann's door opposite clicked closed. Why was she nosing about again? And what was the smell? New paint? Had the decorators been in the lobby? On a Sunday? She touched the door just to reassure herself, even though she could see the usual old scuffmarks where the green had flaked away. Unnerved, she turned the key in the lock. It seemed stiffer than normal and as she opened the door the silence had her mind churning. Where was Gottfried? Her heart thudded in her chest as she rushed into the lounge. It was even messier than usual. Gottfried's school papers scattered over the table, a cold, half-drunk cup of coffee and a half-eaten Br\u00f6tchen. She lifted the bread roll up, sniffing it, rolling it between her fingers. Beginning to panic, she looked for other signs of where her husband might have gone. His overcoat was still on the peg, his briefcase on the sofa and his reading glasses were on the table. It didn't make sense.\n\n'Gottfried! Gottfried!' she shouted. No answer.\n\nShe checked the bedroom. Then the bathroom. No sign of him.\n\nAgainst her better judgement, she went back out onto the landing and rang Frau Ostermann's bell. If anyone would know what had been going on, she would.\n\nThe door opened a crack, but Ostermann kept the security chain bolted.\n\n'You didn't see my husband go out, did you, Frau Ostermann?'\n\n'Some men came by.'\n\n'Men? What sort of men?'\n\n'That's not for me to say, Comrade M\u00fcller. You're the policewoman.' The woman didn't seem to want to meet her eyes.\n\n'Were they workmen? There seems to be a smell of fresh paint, or something similar.'\n\n'I couldn't tell you. As you know, I keep myself to myself. Will that be all?' The woman started to close the door, but as she did so, M\u00fcller jammed her boot inside. Frau Ostermann regarded it with a look of distaste.\n\n'You're quite sure you didn't see my husband?' asked M\u00fcller, aware of the panic in her voice.\n\nThen she heard her apartment phone ringing behind her. As she turned, Frau Ostermann immediately clicked her own door shut. M\u00fcller ran back into the apartment towards the phone, but when she reached it she made no move to pick up the receiver. Who were the men Frau Ostermann had mentioned? She was suddenly afraid. Afraid of what the person on the other end of the line was going to say. The phone was still ringing. M\u00fcller slumped down on the sofa, and finally reached across to answer. It was J\u00e4ger.\n\n'Karin?' he asked. There was a peculiar edge to his voice.\n\n'Comrade Oberstleutnant. What can I do for you?' She tried to keep her tone light, despite her apprehension.\n\n'We have a problem, Karin. We need to meet.'\n\n'This evening?' asked M\u00fcller. 'I've only just got \u2013'\n\n'This evening. Immediately. Meet me in Das Blaue Licht, in Schwedterstrasse, in ten minutes' time.'\n\n'But I've only \u2013'\n\n'Ten minutes, Comrade M\u00fcller. Don't be late.' The Stasi officer ended the conversation without waiting for confirmation from her. His abrupt, formal tone had done nothing to dispel her unease. She realised as she replaced the receiver that her right hand was shaking. She clasped it with her left, and gripped tighter and tighter until the pain finally overcame the tremors.\n\n* * *\n\nThe temperature had fallen rapidly since dusk, and M\u00fcller felt the first flakes of a new snowfall melting on her face as she trudged down Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee and turned into Schwedterstrasse. It was almost refreshing; as with the colder temperatures, the usual Berlin smog had dissipated.\n\nAs she walked along, she tried to work out what was going on. Why did J\u00e4ger seem so angry? Was it connected to Gottfried's disappearance? Or maybe it was the damage to the Mercedes. That was the most likely reason, she told herself. J\u00e4ger had probably gone out on a limb to secure the car from the Main Intelligence Directorate \u2013 perhaps it had caused him acute embarrassment that it had now been returned badly damaged.\n\nOr perhaps he wanted to talk to her about the evidence Schmidt had found in the limousine? The seaweed. The seedling. And then the two new breakthroughs Schmidt had made later in the day: firstly, some chalky white sand, with algae amongst it that again pointed to the Ostsee, and then, the woollen fibre. At first it seemed the few fibres that had survived the limousine's deep clean hadn't been particularly helpful. They were mostly polyester, common in all Republic fashions. But this sole woollen fibre, found late in the day, was what had got Schmidt most excited. Under the microscope, checking various books with Hasenkamp, he'd eventually managed to identify it as being from the rough-wool Pomeranian sheep. Very few of the breed remained \u2013 almost all on R\u00fcgen and the neighbouring island of Hiddensee.\n\nSo, a connection with R\u00fcgen \u2013 to the northern Ostsee coast. Perhaps she could persuade Reiniger and J\u00e4ger to allow her, Tilsner and Schmidt to go there to chase up the leads. Although J\u00e4ger didn't sound as though he was in the mood to be granting any favours. What about poor Gottfried? She couldn't go if he really was missing. Before she went anywhere, she would discover what had happened to her husband.\n\nSchwedterstrasse itself was deserted. But as she neared Das Blaue Licht, the buzz of chatter, laughter and arguments grew into a roar. M\u00fcller used the reflective glass of the bar's window to check her make-up and hair, and then opened the door.\n\nA fug of sweat, smoke and beer fumes enveloped her. Unusually for a Sunday evening, the place was packed. M\u00fcller had to fight her way through the mostly male bodies to get to the bar. If what J\u00e4ger had to say was so important, why had he asked to meet her here?\n\nA man suddenly barged into her from the side. She stumbled as he apologised, and as she regained her footing she saw J\u00e4ger had sat himself in the snug, a small glazed side room in the corner of the bar. She fought her way through the throng \u2013 half-wishing the crowd could swallow her up \u2013 and opened the snug's door.\n\n'Karin. Sit...' An unsmiling J\u00e4ger pointed to the chair opposite. He made no effort to get up in welcome. He had a half-bottle of schnapps ready opened on the table, from which he poured her a glass. M\u00fcller smiled, steeling herself, determined to ride out whatever problem the Stasi Oberstleutnant had discovered.\n\nJ\u00e4ger downed the schnapps in one gulp and slammed his glass back on the table. M\u00fcller took just her usual sip, then placed her near-full glass down too.\n\n'I don't think you've been fully open with us, have you, Karin?' J\u00e4ger held her gaze.\n\n'About what, Comrade Oberstleutnant?' Her mind raced. What was this about? All Schmidt's lab tests had been conducted in the presence of Hasenkamp, the Stasi forensic officer, so there had been no question of keeping anything from J\u00e4ger.\n\n'About Gottfried, Karin. Your husband Gottfried.' At the sound of his name, M\u00fcller's courage evaporated. She took a deep breath, and tried to pull herself together. Say nothing, give nothing away.\n\nShe looked back at J\u00e4ger flatly. 'What about Gottfried?'\n\n'Do you know where he is?'\n\nM\u00fcller shrugged. 'It's the weekend. He may have gone to his parents. Or he could be out drinking with his mates and talking football.'\n\n'Don't play games with me, Karin. I'm letting you run an important investigation. We both know I could have you removed just like that.' J\u00e4ger clicked his fingers.\n\n'I'm sorry, Comrade Oberstleutnant.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger reached into his briefcase and withdrew a black-and-white photograph, which he passed to M\u00fcller. It showed Gottfried entering what appeared to be the doorway of a church.\n\n'Do you know where that is?' It looked vaguely familiar, but M\u00fcller shook her head. 'What if I told you it's Gethsemane Church in Prenzlauer Berg?'\n\nGethsemane Church. Where Gottfried had been going for his church meetings. Both the police and Stasi knew that opposition elements were part of the congregation. She had warned Gottfried against attending, but he wouldn't be told.\n\nNow J\u00e4ger reached into his bag again, from which he withdrew yet more photographs. He handed her the next one. It showed Gottfried, inside the church this time, in conversation with Pastor G\u00fcnther Grosinski, who M\u00fcller knew was already under observation for anti-state activities.\n\nAnother photograph \u2013 this time of herself with Tilsner. On his and Koletta's bed in his flat. Scheisse! What was this? Mein Gott! Tilsner and her under observation, from a secret camera in his own family apartment. Courtesy of the Stasi, presumably on J\u00e4ger's say-so. It could wreck both their marriages, wreck both their careers. Clearly Werner wasn't the informer she thought he was, if the Stasi were spying on him too.\n\nHer mind reeled, but she knew what was coming next, her hands shaking again as she reached to accept the final photograph from J\u00e4ger. There it was, the evidence. Lips locked with Werner, her hands all over him, his all over her, clearly trying to get under her Vopo skirt. M\u00fcller dropped the photo. She curled her fingers into her palms and dug her nails in, almost self-mutilating in an effort to stop her hands wiping the beginnings of tears from her face.\n\nShe looked up at J\u00e4ger, silently pleading.\n\n'Your marriage is over, Karin,' he said, pointing to the final photo. 'As you yourself seem to have realised.' And then he jabbed at the photo of Gottfried with the pastor. 'But, more importantly, we cannot afford to have our leading Kriminalpolizei detectives consorting with enemies of the state. This has put me in a very difficult situation. Your husband is under investigation and for the time being you will not see him. It's not something I initiated but, equally, it's not something I can tolerate.'\n\n'Can you at least tell me where he is?' she asked. Her voice sounded feeble, defeated.\n\n'No, Karin. Not at present. In any case, you are leaving Berlin.' He reached into his bag again, and handed M\u00fcller a brown envelope. 'Railway tickets. You're booked on the early morning train to Bergen auf R\u00fcgen. Although the evidence Schmidt and Hasenkamp found is by no means conclusive, you, Tilsner and Schmidt still need to follow it up and see if it gets us any closer to identifying the dead girl. We've also had information through on the teleprinter from our local Ministry office in Bergen, which may or may not be connected: a complaint about a teenage girl that was referred to them by the People's Police. It's not much to go on, but added to the evidence Schmidt and Hasenkamp found... well, I think it just about merits you going there. And at the present time, you being out of Berlin may be to your advantage, especially given what happened in the Mercedes last night.' J\u00e4ger paused and refilled both their glasses.\n\nOnce again, J\u00e4ger seemed to have inside information about what had gone on during their trip to West Berlin. 'I'm sorry about that, Comrade Oberstleutnant. Do you have any explanation for what happened?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger shrugged. 'Officially, no. But I can guess. It wasn't your fault. But I warned you when all this started \u2013 this was likely to be a difficult case. The incident in West Berlin proves it. There are people who would like this investigation shut down, closed. The official explanation for the girl's killing remains just that. Some people would prefer, I'm sure, that she is never identified; I am determined that she should be.' He met M\u00fcller's eyes and held her gaze. 'So, I hope, are you. But a People's Police detective with a husband who is engaging in anti-state activities will just give those who want the case closed more ammunition. So you will be going to R\u00fcgen for a few days. In the meantime, Oberst Reiniger and I will look after the case in Berlin.'\n\n'Could I at least talk to Gottfried before I go? Or write him a letter? Something. Anything. He's not a bad man. I'm sure it's just a mistake.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger shook his head, a solemn look on his face. He was nothing like a western newsreader now, thought M\u00fcller.\n\n'No, Karin. you will not be able to have any contact with your husband before you go. I need you to stay on the case, and that's incompatible with you being in touch with an enemy of the state. Especially one you're married to. On the way to R\u00fcgen you will have plenty of time to think about your future. Do you want to remain with the Kriminalpolizei, remain on this case, and perhaps in a few years' time get a promotion? Or do you want to stay with your husband, a criminal, and be thrown out of the force?'\n\nM\u00fcller looked at the Stasi officer. In his other guise, he'd seemed so pleasant. At the cemetery, the Kulturpark, the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen. She'd almost found herself trusting him. What a mistake that had been! Now she wanted to grab him. Tear at his clothes, tear at his face. Instead, she meekly put the envelope containing the train tickets into her handbag.\n\n'You'd better get home and get some sleep. The train leaves at seven in the morning. Tilsner and Schmidt will be at the station to meet you.'\n\nM\u00fcller cleared her throat. 'Does Tilsner know anything about this, Comrade Oberstleutnant?' She wasn't meeting J\u00e4ger's eyes. Instead, she stared at her hands, gripping the handle of her bag until her knuckles went white.\n\n'About Gottfried being investigated? No, Karin, why should he?'\n\n'I'd be very grateful if you could keep it that way, Comrade Oberstleutnant.'\n\n'Of course. But let this be a warning. At this stage I intend to take no action in respect of your extramarital relations with one of your subordinate officers, but I want to emphasise how fortunate you are that I've decided to be lenient.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt herself burning up inside. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. 'I assure you nothing really happened. It was a mistake, Comrade Oberstleutnant. It won't happen again.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger pursed his lips and nodded. 'Just so long as we understand each other.'\n\nFebruary 1975.\n\nA Stasi prison, East Germany.\n\nMorning, and natural daylight, brought Gottfried M\u00fcller some relief from the blinding electric light in the hole in the cell wall above the door, which had been turned on and off by the guards in some manic pattern throughout the night. The cell door opened briefly, and a metal washbowl was thrown inside, a hose pushed through the hatch, and then he was catching the water in it and savouring the refreshment of a first wash in twenty-four hours.\n\nDay followed night, followed day, and no one spoke to him, told him what he'd done, or even where he was. He thought of Karin and wondered what she would know. Had she been arrested too? Had the school been told? Who would be taking his class?\n\nOn the third day the routine suddenly changed. There was no evening meal of stale bread and margarine, and no explanation why.\n\n* * *\n\nNight-time: light on, light off, on, off, on, off, every few seconds. He tried to get to sleep, but hunger gnawed at his stomach. Finally, he dozed sporadically for what seemed just a few seconds at a time between the light's flashes. He was woken by the sound of keys being turned in the lock. A male guard roughly pulled him from the bed and cuffed their hands together. The metal bit into Gottfried's wrist. The guard might as well have been deaf and mute for the way he ignored all questions as they went along corridor after corridor, up and down staircases, and past red light after red light. They encountered no other prisoners and no other guards, and Gottfried could only conclude that the lights were some kind of warning system that the corridor was occupied by a prisoner \u2013 him. Finally, he was ushered into a room containing an officer in plain clothes, sitting behind a desk with a single telephone and typewriter. The guard uncuffed his wrist, and then shackled Gottfried's hands together before refastening the cuffs. He locked the door behind him as he exited, and the plain-clothes officer gestured at a stool. 'Sit, Herr M\u00fcller.'\n\nGottfried felt almost joyful at hearing his surname. He obeyed, and perched on the stool.\n\nThe officer looked up from the papers on his desk, and pushed his glasses back up his nose. 'I am Major Hunsberger. As you've probably guessed, I work for the Ministry for State Security.'\n\nGottfried stared back at Hunsberger. He wanted to ask so many questions. What was he supposed to have done? Why was he here? But although he tried to speak, nothing came.\n\n'How is your wife Karin?' the officer asked.\n\nThe question momentarily confused Gottfried. Of all the things they might have asked, why were they talking about his wife? He struggled to form the words of his reply. 'I... I... I haven't seen her for several days.'\n\n'No, no. I can understand that. You've been locked up here after all. But before that, how was she? How were relations between you two? Is it hard to keep a younger woman satisfied?'\n\nGottfried frowned \u2013 what was the Stasi man driving at? 'I don't understand. Why are you asking questions about my wife? Can you please just tell me why I'm here, get me a lawyer and release me?' He emphasised the point by slapping his hand on the table, causing the phone to jangle. Immediately, he regretted the flash of petulance. He needed to stay under control. There was no point riling Hunsberger unnecessarily.\n\nThe officer rose, wandered towards the window, then turned back towards Gottfried and held his gaze. 'You will understand quickly, Herr M\u00fcller, that we ask the questions here. Not you.'\n\n'But \u2013'\n\n'Please let me finish, Herr M\u00fcller. I can assure you it is in your own interests. You are in a remand prison of the Ministry for State Security. You are fortunate that within less than a week, we have seen fit to interview you. That's mainly because your wife is an important detective in the Kriminalpolizei \u2013'\n\n'Yes, I know all that, but \u2013'\n\n'Herr M\u00fcller!' Hunsberger's sudden shout startled him. 'Sit down on the stool. Now. We have the power to keep you on remand for as long as we wish, and unless you cooperate you will be sent back to your cell, and we may not see fit to interview you for weeks... months... some people have been here years. Do I make myself clear?'\n\nGottfried's shoulders slumped. At the very least, he needed to know what was going on.\n\n'I was asking you about your wife, Comrade Karin M\u00fcller. How has she seemed? How have you two been getting on?'\n\nWhere was this leading? 'We have our ups and downs \u2013 like any married couple. She's been very busy recently, because of the murder case... It's a big thing for her.'\n\n'Very busy, yes... would you like to see a recent photo of your wife?'\n\nGottfried nodded cautiously, and Hunsberger passed him a black-and-white print. It was a photo of Karin with her deputy Werner Tilsner, lying side by side on a strange bed.\n\n'She does look busy, doesn't she?' asked Hunsberger.\n\n'What the hell is this, she wouldn't \u2013'\n\nHunsberger handed over another photo. 'And even busier in this one, wouldn't you say? Of course you can't see exactly what her facial expression is. But her lips look... busy.'\n\nGottfried stared at the photo open-mouthed. Karin and Tilsner. Together. Jaws locked in what was certainly not just a comradely kiss \u2013 their hands pawing each other. He dropped the photo to the floor.\n\n'Is she a good kisser?' asked Hunsberger, a smirk playing on his face.\n\nGottfried, riled by the officer's mocking, leapt up. He attempted to strike the Stasi officer with his cuffed hands, but Hunsberger caught and gripped them tightly, making him wince with pain.\n\n'Don't try it, Herr M\u00fcller. You'll regret it very much. Why don't you sit down there?' Hunsberger pointed at an armchair. Gottfried slumped down into it.\n\nThe Stasi officer picked up the phone and began talking rapidly into it. Then he replaced the receiver. 'You haven't eaten yet today, Herr M\u00fcller, have you? I've just ordered you some food. You will have a choice. Some of your favourite things. That will make a change from bread rolls and margarine, won't it?'\n\nHunsberger was smirking, rocking back on the two rear legs of his chair, his arms folded in front of him. Gottfried didn't reply. The question had been rhetorical.\n\nA few moments later, a guard knocked on the door and brought in two plates of food, which he placed in front of Hunsberger. On the left, despite what the Stasi man had promised, more bread rolls, margarine and jam. On the right, Gebackene Apfelringe \u2013 Gottfried's favourite dessert, a speciality of Karin's. Apple rings in choux pastry with vanilla cream and raspberries. Something they could usually only obtain a few times a year, when raspberries were fleetingly in the shops. Gottfried could feel his mouth watering. He knew Hunsberger had seen his eyes drawn to the right-hand plate. He swallowed the saliva down.\n\n'Just the way Karin makes it,' whispered the Stasi man, reading the teacher's thoughts. 'But first you must answer some questions, and then I will explain your choice. Look at this!' Hunsberger's tone had changed from syrupy bonhomie to ruthless efficiency in a second.\n\nThe Stasi officer handed him another photograph. Again it appeared to be from a surveillance camera, and Gottfried immediately recognised it as the sanatorium at Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost \u2013 somewhere he'd have been happy to never see again in his life. It showed him standing by Irma's bed, although the girl herself was obscured. He knew what was coming next \u2013 a photograph from a few seconds later. He knew it would show him kissing Irma on the forehead. But he was wrong.\n\n'What the hell is this?' he screamed, dropping the photo back on the table. Gottfried recoiled from the image. It showed him apparently kissing a girl on the mouth, his hand mauling her breast. But the girl's face was not Irma's \u2013 it was Beate Ewert's.\n\n'You tell me, Citizen M\u00fcller.'\n\nGottfried jumped up, picked the print off the table and began tearing it in two. 'This is a fake! A fake! I kissed a girl on the forehead. That girl was Irma Behrendt, whose life I'd just helped to save. But this monstrosity \u2013' he threw the torn pieces of photo into the air, '\u2013 has been doctored to show me with a completely different girl. I certainly did not molest any of the girls.'\n\n'The evidence says otherwise, Herr M\u00fcller. The evidence which you've just destroyed.' He bent to pick the torn pieces of photograph from the floor, and then started arranging them on the table like a jigsaw puzzle, until the image of Beate reappeared. 'But it's easy to put it back together, as you see. And we have copies.'\n\nHunsberger wasn't finished. He reached into a file and pulled out another set of photos. 'What I showed you in the Jugendwerkhof is of course very serious. But not as serious as this.' With a flourish, he passed the next photograph to Gottfried. The black-and-white print showed the teacher about to enter Gethsemane Church. 'You know where this is, don't you?'\n\nGottfried declined to answer. But yes, he knew. And he thought he knew when it had been taken, and suspected he knew who had taken it. That Tilsner bastard. The arsehole had been spying on him. Rather than look at the photo or the Stasi officer, he stared at his hands in his lap, watching the ends of his fingers shake. The next photograph was one of him with Pastor Grosinski.\n\n'That man is under surveillance for alleged anti-state activities,' said Hunsberger. 'Yet here you are consorting with him.' Hunsberger now took two further pieces of paper from the file. They looked like official documents. He handed one to Gottfried. 'Could you read this, please?'\n\nArticle 96 of the DDR's constitution, highlighted in red marker pen. But Hunsberger read it out to him anyway from his own copy. 'This is the relevant part, Herr M\u00fcller.' He leant over and traced his finger along the red highlighting on Gottfried's copy. 'Whoever is convicted of undertaking to undermine the political or social order of the DDR can, in severe cases, be sentenced to death.'\n\nGottfried started to protest. 'What? I was just meeting a priest.'\n\n'Who is going to believe you, a pervert who molests schoolgirls when they're ill in bed?'\n\n'I didn't \u2013'\n\n'Silence!' Hunsberger moved the plate with the Gebackene Apfelringe to the centre of the desk. 'You'd better start telling us the truth, Herr M\u00fcller, otherwise it will be dangerous for you and your wife. We will question the relevant people, but it seems to me you are guilty and we will find the evidence to prove it. And the penalty, in the most serious cases, is the ultimate penalty.' Hunsberger rotated the plate of dessert so that the raspberries were under Gottfried's nose, but instead of continuing to make his mouth water, he could feel bile rising in his throat.\n\n'Have a good look at this plate of food, Herr M\u00fcller. Before carrying out any death sentence, the prisoner is allowed to request a last meal.'\n\n* * *\n\nA flash of light. The entrance to Gethsemane Church. A flash of light. He and Grosinski deep in conversation. A flash of light. The photo of lips-locked Karin and Tilsner. A flash of light. The image of him kissing Beate, his hand on her breast. A flash of light. The blood-red raspberries, vanilla cream and puffed-up dough around the apple rings.\n\nHe pulled the blanket over his head, turned on his side, tried to hide from the ever-flashing light and the ever-present images. Ever since he had left Hunsberger and been led back to his cell, utterly defeated, the torment had begun again. But then came the rustle of keys, the clang of the door.\n\nThe fat-faced female guard was back. 'Hands off the blanket. Blanket off your face. And lie on your back!'\n\nSame words. Another night. Another day. Another night. How many more before that last-ever plate of Gebackene Apfelringe would be brought to him? He thought of Karin. He didn't blame her for being tempted by Tilsner. He was sure that was just a mistake on her part, and he had been stupid and risked getting her into trouble, risked wrecking her career. If only he could talk to her; he was sure she would be able to clear this up and get him out of this hellish place.\n\nDay Eleven.\n\nThe train to Stralsund.\n\nSleep last night had come fitfully for M\u00fcller, punctuated by various nightmares featuring Gottfried, J\u00e4ger, Tilsner and the girl's body on the autopsy table, all jumbled together in a montage of horror. Now, as she rocked from side to side with the motion of the train, her body craved a nap \u2013 but her brain, racing full of thoughts and theories, wouldn't let her. She glanced across at Tilsner and Schmidt on the other side of the aisle, heads slumped and snoring loudly.\n\nM\u00fcller felt disloyal to Gottfried. Should she have refused to come to R\u00fcgen and have insisted instead that they allow her to visit him? She couldn't have done that without at least risking a reprimand.\n\nSchmidt's progress in the lab, the clues from the car, all seemed to offer hope of a genuine breakthrough. But something nagged at her. If the limousine had been cleaned, as Schmidt maintained, why did this evidence remain? Evidence so clear-cut it almost felt as though it had been planted. If so, by whom? The Stasi? After all, it was J\u00e4ger who was sending them up north to R\u00fcgen. But why?\n\nShe sighed and took a sip of the train coffee that Tilsner had fetched earlier from the buffet car. It was lukewarm by now, and its bitterness made her recoil. She reached for another sugar sachet and stirred it in.\n\nThe other major problem was that there were no reports of missing girls from either the Harz or R\u00fcgen \u2013 certainly none that fitted the dead girl's profile. There was just this single mysterious complaint about a teenage girl which had been referred to the Stasi. The one J\u00e4ger had mentioned in the bar. She'd even disturbed Tilsner's weekend by ordering him to go over all the files again. He'd found nothing, but had brought along the files for M\u00fcller to double-check.\n\nShe took the folders out of her bag. Three of them: one for each of the Republic's most northerly Bezirke: Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. She started with Rostock, lifting it onto her lap and leafing through the pages. It was their best chance. The Rostock district included R\u00fcgen and all of the DDR's Ostsee coast.\n\nThe train rocked violently, and her coffee sloshed onto the dirty floor. Tilsner woke with a snort.\n\n'Must have drifted off there, apologies,' he said, wiping his hand across his face. 'Mind you, you did get me to work on a Sunday.' She saw him peering over the folder she had in her hands. 'There's nothing there,' he said. 'I told you yesterday. Not a single girl matching the profile of our body.'\n\nM\u00fcller continued to read through the files. There were older girls, taller girls, young women, men, pensioners. Many of them were marked as suspected Republikfl\u00fcchtlinge, but Tilsner was correct \u2013 there was nothing matching the dead girl's profile.\n\n'We need something else to go on, Karin. We need another lead.'\n\n'What about if a girl has gone missing from R\u00fcgen. But it simply hasn't been reported, so it doesn't appear in these files?'\n\nTilsner rubbed his chin, which was now covered in several days' stubble. 'I don't see how that's possible. Surely the authorities would find out?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'But it's not Berlin, is it? Say it was some remote farm. Maybe a domestic fight. Maybe a single parent, a farmer with a rebellious teenager. He goes loopy, strangles the girl in a rage, dumps her body by the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier in Berlin \u2013'\n\n'\u2013 and then goes to the trouble of shooting her in the back after she's dead, throws on a bucket of animal blood, and all to try to make out she's been shot from the West? And hires a limo in the West to try to point the finger at the authorities? And what about the rapes?' Tilsner shook his head. 'Sorry, that wouldn't make any sense at all.'\n\nThey fell silent. M\u00fcller knew he was right. She picked up another of the files and began to leaf through it. She couldn't concentrate and instead began to worry about Gottfried, before the motion of the train and Schmidt's rhythmic snoring started sending her to sleep too.\n\n* * *\n\nM\u00fcller slept virtually the entire remainder of the journey, and had to be woken by Tilsner just before Stralsund Hauptbahnhof and their change of train to R\u00fcgen, the Republic's largest island. As the new train crossed the Strelasund strait on the rail bridge from the mainland, M\u00fcller's initial impressions were disappointing. She was expecting a rural landscape, but the view was industrial \u2013 like many parts of the Republic. Only when they got further onto the island could she see the gently rolling landscape and farms that she'd imagined from her only previous visit to the Ostsee coast \u2013 the countryside she remembered from her honeymoon spent camping amongst the dunes of Prerow, further to the west. She remembered lusting over Gottfried's toned and tanned body. He didn't look like that now. The memory triggered an abrupt resurgence of guilt, and fear for her husband. Why was she thinking ill of him in his current predicament? She should instead be trying everything she could to help him. He'd been stupid getting involved with the church group, but he wasn't a bad man and the memories of their honeymoon reminded her that they had loved each other. In the early days, the early years, of the marriage.\n\nAt Bergen auf R\u00fcgen station they were collected by a Volkspolizei officer and taken to the local People's Police headquarters to be briefed on the arrangements that J\u00e4ger had made for them in advance.\n\nThey were led into a room at the back of the police station. 'Oberst Drescher will be with you in a moment, Comrade M\u00fcller,' said the policeman, and left the three Berlin officers alone.\n\n'Has J\u00e4ger sorted accommodation?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'As far as I know, yes,' said M\u00fcller. 'That's what it said in his note with the tickets. They should be providing us with a car too.'\n\n'Hmm. No doubt with one of their goons to accompany us everywhere.'\n\nAs Tilsner finished speaking, a side door opened, and in strode an officer in a police colonel's uniform. The three Berlin officers made to stand, but the Oberst waved them to remain seated.\n\n'This is a pleasure, Comrade M\u00fcller. Oberst Marcus Drescher, of the R\u00fcgen People's Police. And these officers are \u2013?'\n\nM\u00fcller introduced Tilsner and Schmidt, and then Drescher urged them to move their chairs from the side of the room to a central desk. 'We've been told by the Ministry for State Security in Berlin to provide you with accommodation and transport, and that's something we're glad to help with. But I read about the case you're working on in Neues Deutschland. I thought the girl was supposed to have escaped from the West into the East?' The colonel was smirking slightly as he asked the question. 'It would appear now that that's perhaps not the case,' he continued. 'Are you now thinking the girl is from R\u00fcgen itself?'\n\n'Possibly,' said M\u00fcller. 'Certain evidence discovered at the scene points to that, but it's just one line of inquiry we're following. However, it seems as though there are no girls missing from R\u00fcgen who match the dead girl's profile.'\n\n'You've checked all the files?' asked Drescher.\n\n'Yes,' interrupted Tilsner. 'I performed that fascinating task.' M\u00fcller frowned at his flippancy.\n\n'What I was wondering,' asked M\u00fcller, 'is whether there might be anything short of a formal missing person's report that might be worth following up? You know the sort of thing: a neighbour gets suspicious about a family and reports them, or the police are called out to a domestic disturbance, or a girl's been beaten up or mistreated.' M\u00fcller already knew from J\u00e4ger that there was something worth following up. But she held that back initially. She wanted to test how open with his help and information the R\u00fcgen People's Police colonel was prepared to be.\n\nDrescher shuffled forward, pulling his chair closer to the table. 'The trouble is that not all of those sorts of reports would come to us. Some would go to the local office of the Ministry for State Security, but then they would send them to Berlin, and no doubt your Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger would have access to them.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. It didn't look like Drescher was going to volunteer very much without further prodding. 'The Ministry has indeed informed us about one incident that was referred to them, a complaint about a teenage girl. We'd like to see any details on that, and anything else that may be relevant.' She watched Drescher's face for a hint of reaction. But he appeared as though he had nothing to hide.\n\n'Of course, of course. I will get one of my officers to bring you the files. Off the top of my head I don't know about that incident, but the details should have been noted. You can go through them here, and then we will show you the car we're providing for you and give you directions to your accommodation. We've found you a place in one of the coastal resorts. I thought you'd prefer that to staying here in Bergen. It will be more comfortable for you, and more of a change from Berlin.'\n\n* * *\n\nThe files were arranged month by month. They decided to look through a year's worth of entries initially. M\u00fcller took March to June of the previous year; Tilsner July to October; Schmidt started on the ones from November to the current month.\n\nM\u00fcller leafed through the pages, quickly discarding irrelevant entries. Theft of a car. Theft of some wood. Someone who wouldn't repair their smallholding's fences so sheep kept escaping. A fight in a pub in Bergen. A fire which someone claimed had been started deliberately by a tenant to try to secure better accommodation.\n\n'There's nothing here,' she complained. 'What about you two?'\n\n'Nothing out of the ordinary in mine,' said Schmidt.\n\n'Ha! This is a good one,' said Tilsner. He ran his finger under the words of the report, from left to right. 'Frau Probst of Am Hafen street in Gager rang up the People's Police station in G\u00f6hren complaining about children fishing from the pier. She said this was an anti-socialist enterprise and the police should either stop them or collectivise the activity.'\n\nM\u00fcller sniggered. 'What was the recommendation?'\n\n'No action required,' said Tilsner.\n\nM\u00fcller was now on her final file, for June. The words 'no action required' drew her eyes to a similar recommendation in her file. She read through it. This was more promising. Tilsner noticed her rhythmic page-turning had paused.\n\n'Have you got something, boss?'\n\n'I'm not sure,' she replied. 'Maybe. It sounds like this could be the incident J\u00e4ger claims was referred to the Stasi. Citizen Baumgartner, manager of the state campsite in Sellin, attended the local police station to file a complaint after being denied access to her granddaughter. She says her granddaughter, Irma Behrendt, was injured in a fall at the closed Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost in May last year.' M\u00fcller shuddered inwardly at the name of the reform school. It was the one at which Gottfried had taught. Presumably just a coincidence. He hadn't mentioned a girl being hurt in a fall. She hoped the other two didn't notice her reaction \u2013 she didn't want Tilsner to know about Gottfried's stint there. She turned her attention back to the entry in the file: 'She was allowed to visit the girl in the youth workhouse when she was in the sanatorium, which was unusual, and she was very grateful. However, she was denied a follow-up visit.'\n\nTilsner turned the sides of his mouth down. 'It doesn't seem to amount to much, boss. What is a closed youth workhouse, anyway?'\n\n'They're usually for the more problematic or rebellious teenagers, or those who've committed more serious offences. This and Torgau are the only \"closed\" ones \u2013 it just means the pupils are locked up there.'\n\n'For what sort of offences? Running away from home?' suggested Schmidt.\n\n'I think more serious than that, Jonas; maybe running away from a less strict children's home... that sort of thing.'\n\n'What was the recommendation?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'No further action,' said M\u00fcller, looking at the bottom of the page. 'That's why I noticed it. It's like your child fishermen. So perhaps this isn't the one J\u00e4ger was talking about.'\n\n'I don't know why he didn't just give us all the information himself. Why do we have to scratch around to find it all?' Tilsner looked over her shoulder. 'Hang on, it says, \"please turn over\".'\n\nM\u00fcller hadn't noticed this at first. She turned the page. There was an addendum from Oberst Drescher. M\u00fcller read it out. 'He's written: \"Suggest we refer this complaint to Ministry for State Security\".' She closed the file and turned to Tilsner.\n\n'So it is the one J\u00e4ger seemed to imply was suspicious, although this doesn't actually say why a referral to the Stasi was necessary.'\n\nTilsner nodded. 'I think we need to pay Citizen Baumgartner a visit.'\n\nEight months earlier (June 1974).\n\nJugendwerkhof Prora Ost.\n\nWe begin our evening shift in the packing room at half past six. Everyone else who worked on drilling or cutting shifts is being allowed to watch the big game in the common room. Even though I hate what my country has done to me, what it's doing to me, I still want us to win. That would be such a big story and one in the eye for the Westlers. Ha! But tonight my thoughts are not really on the game.\n\nWe get to the workbench. I've got Beate to my left and Maria Bauer to my right. To Beate's left is Mathias. Every now and then I see them making puppy eyes at each other. I wonder if I should have let him in on our plan. Maybe a boy's strength would have been useful, but trying to get three of us out at the same time would be too dangerous. When I'd taken Beate aside in the communal toilets to explain it to her, she had looked scared enough. I know she is as desperate as I am to escape, even though it will mean leaving her boyfriend behind.\n\nThen I look down at the packing materials and components and realise something is wrong. Horribly wrong. These are not double beds! It's kitchen cupboards again. Smaller boxes, smaller components. I look to my right. Bauer's are the same. To my left, though, Beate has the double bed kit we were expecting. And Mathias, too. To the other side of Mathias, an empty workstation.\n\nI feel my skin tingling as sweat forms. Don't panic, I tell myself.\n\nI put my hand up.\n\n'Yes, Irma,' sighs Frau Schettler.\n\n'Frau Schettler. We've got the wrong things to pack here. We've got the kitchen cabinets instead of beds.'\n\n'Don't complain, Irma,' she says. 'Just get on with it.'\n\nI rack my brain; I need to come up with an idea before the end of the shift. Turning my head to Beate, I wonder what she is thinking. There's a scared look on her face.\n\n* * *\n\nI work quickly. Box after box, ahead of target, just hoping that if I finish the kitchen cabinets, then I can ask to do more on the empty workstation, which I've seen also has double-bed parts waiting to be packed. But as I finish one cabinet, more kitchen components are wheeled to my desk in a never-ending cycle.\n\n* * *\n\nWith less than half of the foreshortened evening shift to go, I make a last desperate throw of the dice. First I look left and right to make sure neither Mathias nor Bauer is looking. Then I run my hand under the wooden lip of the workbench, to check the chocolate bars and Vita Cola bottles we saved from weeks and weeks of pocket money are still safely taped underneath. I gently feel their shapes.\n\nThen I raise my hand again.\n\n'Can I go to the toilet, Frau Schettler, please?'\n\nShe purses her mouth, and breathes out slowly and ostentatiously. 'OK, Irma, but no sneaking off to the common room to see the match.'\n\n'No, Frau Schettler, I promise.'\n\nWhen I return, instead of going into the workstations from Maria Bauer's end, I enter at the empty end, next to Mathias. I move past him, between him and Beate, and then begin to whisper.\n\n'Mathias. Move along one to your left. I need to be here.'\n\n'Why? I want to be next to Beate.'\n\n'Please, Mathias,' I hiss, hoping Schettler won't see the exchange and come over. 'I'll give you all my pocket money for this week.'\n\n'All of it?' he asks, eyebrows raised.\n\n'All of it,' I repeat. Little does he know I won't even be around to receive it. He shrugs and moves across. I see Bauer taking an interest, so I put my finger to my lips in the hope she won't give the game away. I can't believe it when she smiles back. But since my fall she has been friendlier to both Beate and myself.\n\nWith half an hour to go, I gently kick Beate's shin. That's our prearranged sign. I just hope she won't chicken out.\n\nShe raises her hand. 'Frau Schettler. I've finished. May I go and watch the game now?'\n\n'Yes, Beate, you may.'\n\nShe makes to move off, but once Schettler has dropped her gaze back to her book, Beate ducks down under the workbench. There is a half-finished bed package that we stowed under there earlier in the shift. Maria sees it, Mathias sees it. I urge them both to keep quiet with my finger to my lips. Maria nods slightly, but Mathias is frowning.\n\nI see Beate squeeze inside the box, sliding herself in a centimetre at a time. Accidentally on purpose, I drop the roll of packing tape and a ballpoint pen onto the floor. As I crouch down, I grab a chocolate bar and cola bottle and throw them in after her. Then I tear off two strips of tape, and seal up Beate's box, punching a couple of holes for air through the cardboard with the pen. Then I stand again, and my heart is in my mouth as I see Frau Schettler walking towards us.\n\n'Are you nearly finished too, Irma? Maria? Mathias? Anyway, once you have finished you can all go and watch the game.' She looks down at the floor. 'I thought Beate said she'd met her target. She's left one completed box here.' She starts to reach down, as though to examine it. I feel my pulse racing.\n\nThen Mathias pipes up. 'It's OK, Frau Schettler. Irma and I will load it onto the pallet for her, won't we, Irma?' I just nod. Schettler rises without paying the box further attention, and moves away.\n\nMathias and I move round to pick up the box. It's so heavy I can hardly lift it. Maria sees and comes to help. The three of us manoeuvre the box towards the trolley. My legs feel like they will give way, but we get there and lower it. We wheel it over to the pallets at the side of the warehouse and lift it onto one of them. Maria whispers to me: 'Good luck.' I grin, and I'm glad I've made my peace with her. She wanders back to the workbench, and I hope her change of attitude towards me is genuine and that she isn't helping in order to then turn us in. As I move to follow her, Mathias grabs my arm.\n\n'What the hell do you think you are doing? You and Beate will get into huge trouble \u2013 and anyway, I'm not letting Beate go without me,' he whispers.\n\nI knew something like this would happen. 'It's too dangerous to have three of us,' I hiss, my voice almost quieter than his.\n\nHe grips my arm tighter. 'You get me away in the next box, or I blow the whistle. And I need to know where we're heading.'\n\nScheisse. I thought Mathias was my friend, but of course he's in love with Beate. I should have thought about it. 'OK,' I say, defeated. 'The packages are exported to Sweden.'\n\n'Sweden? Are you mad? We'll never make it to Sweden.'\n\nTime is running out. If Mathias goes, there probably won't be enough time for me to get away, and it increases the odds of us being detected. But if I don't allow him, I know he will inform on us.\n\n'Do you want your girlfriend to end up in Sweden without you? If not, you'll have to take the risk too.'\n\nHe doesn't answer for a moment. His eyes have an empty look. Then he glances across at the pallet where Beate is hidden. His Beate. I can see his mind is made up. He will take the risk, for her. It means I won't be going, but at least Beate will be free, with someone to help her.\n\nBack at the workbench, and this time it is Mathias who ducks under. I just hope Maria Bauer will not feel she is being left out. I do the same thing with the tape, the chocolate and drink bottle, punch the holes with the pen and then stand upright again and raise my arm.\n\n'Frau Schettler. Can I get one of the boys to help me with this? The wood seems heavier.' I try to laugh off my suggestion. 'Perhaps I'm tired.'\n\nShe nods. I cajole two of the boys from the other desk to come over. We bend down and lift Mathias. They pant and groan. 'What have you got in here?' one of them asks. 'It feels like lead.' We have to put the box down. Damn Mathias! He's ruined everything. But then Maria is there. 'Four of us should be able to do it,' she whispers. We try again and stagger over to the trolley. The boys return to the workbench, muttering as they go. Maria and I wheel the box to the pallet, and slide it on.\n\nBefore we walk back, she whispers in my ear. 'Mathias took your place, didn't he?' I feel tears welling in my eyes. I nod. She places her hand on my arm. The girl who bullied me so often, now showing me kindness. 'I could report you, you know that.'\n\nI look into her eyes. She holds my gaze for a second or two, then smiles and shakes her head.\n\n'I don't know why I'm doing this, Behrendt. There's another box at your workstation. Let's make it quickly together, and then I'll help you.'\n\nThere's a problem, though. Nearly everyone has gone to watch the end of the match. Word has got through that the Republic is winning with just minutes to go. Maria and I furiously finish the last double-bed box \u2013 hiding the slats and bedposts behind us in the pile with the others \u2013 so there is room for me to slide inside. She looks across. The other two boys are still there. There is a chance. She pushes me down. I squeeze myself inside and then feel Maria closing the end of the cardboard box, sealing it up and then punching the holes with the pen. I realise that was a flaw in our original plan: if Maria had not been here to help, how would I have sealed my box? How would I have moved it? I thank God that she is helping, but there's no chocolate or drink for me \u2013 Mathias has had my share. I hear her walking off. Then three sets of footsteps walking back. And then I feel the box I'm inside being lifted, jostled, thrown around. I try to brace my arms and legs to stop myself sliding about. I feel my lungs spasm, the urgent need to breathe as panic sets in. Why did I ever suggest this? Then a different motion, smoother. But with wheels squeaking. My box must now be on the trolley. Then I feel the box lifted again, but very briefly. I'm on the pallet.\n\nSuddenly light shines in, from the end nearest my head. The tape's come off. Gottverdammt! I can see Maria and the two boys going back to their workbenches. Clearing up. Heading off to watch the end of the match. Then footsteps, and I see Frau Schettler walking towards the pallets. She seems to be checking for something. I'm sure now I will be discovered. The end of my box is almost fully open. My heartbeat thunders in my ears. Surely she will see? I close my eyes tight, not wanting to know.\n\nThen I hear her walking away again. She must be going to raise the alarm. I risk opening my eyes fractionally, peering through the lashes. I see her pick up a roll of packing tape, cut two strips off and return. She tapes the end of my box again, without ever looking inside, and my world is plunged back into darkness.\n\n* * *\n\nBeate and I had, in advance, discussed what to do if the pallets didn't get moved. We would wait for a day before trying to get out. But Mathias wasn't in on those discussions, so I just pray he doesn't panic and give us away. The minutes tick by. Minutes become an hour. Then suddenly noise and light coming in through the cracks in the box. The roar of the motor, the clang of metal on metal. And, at last, the pallet is moving. I try to interpret each movement, each noise. I can hear the forklift truck driver discussing the game with another man. Maybe the lorry driver taking us to Sassnitz... I hope so. 'What a goal,' he's saying. 'We really showed the Westlers. That'll teach them.'\n\n* * *\n\nThe lorry noise and vibrations tell me we're on our way. For the first time, I allow myself to think that maybe this will really work. At the end of the journey, more sounds of what I guess is another forklift. I feel the box being lifted from the lorry, and see the port lights streaming through the cracks in the cardboard. And then there is stillness and quiet. The minutes pass by. An hour, then two. I start to panic. I hadn't thought of this. I try to move around, but my arms, my legs, everything is wedged in tightly. We could be here for days, weeks. In some sort of holding area at the port. We could be trapped inside. Suffocated. Starved. This was a stupid plan. A stupid, idiotic plan. I've brought us all to our deaths. I try again to turn in the box, but there isn't enough room. Instead I begin counting. The seconds. The minutes. The hours. Counting, counting, counting.\n\n* * *\n\nAt some stage I must have fallen asleep, because suddenly I'm woken by more machinery noise, and what looks like daylight coming through the gaps. It must be morning. More workmen discussing last night's game. Then I'm on the move again. The same motion as when we were put onto the lorry at Prora, so I guess another forklift. It knocks me about; the ground is rougher. I feel the old bruises from my fall ache as I'm thrown about inside the box, pain shooting down my neck and back. But then suddenly all is stillness and quiet and I notice another kind of motion that fills me with elation. I want to shout. I want to scream with joy, but I know I must stay silent. It's an almost imperceptible rocking from side to side. From my days at the seaside at Sellin I know what it is.\n\nThe gentle sway of a boat in harbour.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Eleven.\n\nR\u00fcgen, East Germany.\n\nThe car the R\u00fcgen police had provided them with was a brand-new, sky-blue Trabant. M\u00fcller was aware that many citizens of the Republic waited years for one of these, despite its basic design, so she felt slightly ashamed that she was wishing they had the Kriminalpolizei Wartburg instead. She glanced down at the tourist map on her lap. They were just over halfway between Bergen and Sellin. She turned the map at ninety degrees, so that the two folds showing the island were pointing upwards, in their direction of travel.\n\n'So how much further, oh expert navigator?' asked Tilsner.\n\nM\u00fcller found a distance guide between two red marker points on the map, widened her fingers to that width, and then moved her fingers in three jumps towards Sellin. 'Six \u2013 maybe seven \u2013 kilometres? Not long now.'\n\n* * *\n\nWithin a few minutes, they were in the outskirts of Sellin resort. By coincidence, the police had booked rooms for them in the same town as the campsite that the grandmother managed. The campsite itself \u2013 Drescher had told them \u2013 was to the southeast of the resort, in a forested area by the beach. M\u00fcller looked from right to left as they drove at walking pace along the main street, the cobbled surface rattling the Trabant. On the map, where the street met the coast, a seaside pier was marked. 'These buildings are fantastic,' she said, admiring the facades decorated with balconies and verandas.\n\n'It's a unique architectural style,' added Schmidt from the rear of the Trabi. 'It's got its own name: B\u00e4derarchitektur. You find it all along the Ostsee coast, but especially on R\u00fcgen.'\n\n'I hope our hotel is as flash as some of these buildings,' said Tilsner.\n\nM\u00fcller peered from side to side at the colonial-style architecture. 'It's not a hotel as such \u2013 it's a union rest house. It should be one of these. The Peace Rest House is what we're looking for.' She pointed to one of the white-balconied buildings near the seafront. 'There it is. Just there on the left.'\n\nThey parked the car round the back of the building, and then climbed out and retrieved their luggage from the boot. A freezing wind was coming in off the Ostsee, and the Trabant's heater hadn't been as efficient as the Wartburg's. M\u00fcller rubbed her hands together to try to get some warmth into them. She fancied another luxury bath to warm herself, like the one in Charlottenburg, the one before Tilsner had gone off on his mysterious trip. She'd almost forgotten that. M\u00fcller studied her deputy as he carried his bag and hers into the rest house, his ostentatious wristwatch glinting in the last rays of the winter sun. She didn't know what to make of him, but she could not help but notice the way she found herself drawn to him.\n\n* * *\n\nAfter a change of clothes, a quick wash and some mascara repair, M\u00fcller was eager to interview the grandmother. Her extended soak in the bath would have to wait. She wandered onto her balcony, which overlooked Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse. Late afternoon, and the sun had already disappeared. M\u00fcller returned to the bedroom to put a phone call through to the state campsite reception just to check someone was there. A woman \u2013 presumably Frau Baumgartner \u2013 answered, but M\u00fcller immediately apologised, saying she'd got the wrong number, and hung up. She didn't want the grandmother to be too prepared for her police visit. Catch her unawares. They might get more information.\n\nShe pulled on her coat, scarf and gloves, then collected Tilsner and Schmidt from their room. The three police officers went down the stairs, past the receptionist, and out into the bracing Ostsee air.\n\n* * *\n\nThey walked along the seafront, above the empty beaches, which in summer M\u00fcller knew would be packed with bodies, citizens soaking up the sun's rays, naked \u2013 the East German way. Today, though, the beach was empty, with white patches of ice where the surf had frozen.\n\nAfter about ten minutes, the houses and rest homes of the resort had disappeared, replaced by row upon row of beech trees, a shroud of darkness enveloping the land right up to the cliff edge. Then the beech forest in turn gave way to a clearing, dominated by a small house, in the traditional Baltic resort architecture style, with its white clapboarding and wooden verandas and balconies. This, M\u00fcller guessed, must be where Frau Baumgartner lived, but it looked as though no one was actually camping at this time of year, with just the lights of the reception house illuminating the gloom.\n\nFrom close up, M\u00fcller noticed some of the balcony's rails were missing, and not all the window shutters were complete. She went on ahead of the other two and rang the doorbell.\n\nAfter a few seconds, the door was opened by a sixty-something woman in a beige housecoat. M\u00fcller couldn't help staring at her oddly coloured, silver-blue hair. She looked a little like an older Margot Honecker: the Volksbildungsminister \u2013 whose ministry of education included the Jugendwerkh\u00f6fe \u2013 had recently taken to dyeing her prematurely greying hair a similar shade.\n\n'We've no pitches free,' the woman said, gloomily. 'I'm not opening this year until after Easter.'\n\n'We've not enquiring about camping,' said M\u00fcller, flashing her Kripo ID. 'We're here about your granddaughter, Irma.'\n\nThe woman jerked her head back. 'What about Irma?'\n\n'We need to come inside and talk to you, Citizen Baumgartner. Is there somewhere we can sit down?'\n\nThe woman's face turned a lighter shade of pale. 'It's not bad news, is it?'\n\n'Not necessarily,' said M\u00fcller. 'But we should talk inside.'\n\nThe woman led the three Kripo officers upstairs from the reception area to her apartment. In the lounge, easy chairs were arranged in a semi-circle around an open fire. Frau Baumgartner took one for herself and gestured for the three police officers to take the others. As she faced the warmth of the fire, M\u00fcller felt her throat constrict from the fumes of the burning lignite. She took her gloves and scarf off, but kept the overcoat on. Despite the fire, the room still felt chilly and damp.\n\n'Now I gather, Citizen Baumgartner, that in June of last year you complained to Sellin police station that you'd been denied a visit to see your granddaughter in the Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost?'\n\n'That's correct. Horrible place. Built as a Nazi holiday camp. The Jugendwerkhof is at one end, and the rest is a barracks for army construction soldiers,' said the woman, rubbing the skin of her right wrist nervously.\n\n'Has that situation changed? Have they let you see her?'\n\nBaumgartner shook her head sadly. 'No. The last time I saw or heard from Irma was in May last year, when I visited her after her fall. I asked again, even after I lodged my official complaint, but they told me nothing. And then the Stasi sent someone round and told me to stop asking questions.' She kept her eyes lowered, trained on a threadbare rug in front of the fire.\n\nSchmidt tried to attract M\u00fcller's attention to something, but she waved him away, and instead continued questioning the woman.\n\n'And is it your belief that Irma is still at the Jugendwerkhof?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'I've no idea,' said the woman, wringing her hands now. 'She is due to stay there until she's eighteen. Or until \"our family situation improves\", as the authorities put it.'\n\nM\u00fcller furrowed her brow. 'What does that mean?'\n\nBaumgartner glanced up at a picture on the mantelpiece. It showed a woman of about thirty, with a girl aged about ten. 'That's my daughter. With Irma. It was taken about six years ago. Before it all started.'\n\n'Before what all started?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'Before my daughter got arrested and jailed for supposed anti-revolutionary activities, and before Irma, my granddaughter, was taken away.' Baumgartner wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the housecoat.\n\nM\u00fcller rose to her feet, and picked up the photograph. It was hard to tell if the young girl in the picture bore any resemblance to the one found in St Elisabeth's cemetery. 'Do you have a more recent photo? Or one in colour?'\n\n'I might have a colour one,' said the woman, getting slowly to her feet. 'But what's all this about?'\n\nM\u00fcller sighed. 'Get me the picture first, please.' She saw the woman frown, and then open a cupboard at the back of the room. Frau Baumgartner knelt down, and then picked up a cardboard shoebox and placed it on the side table next to her, moving her knitting onto the floor in the process. M\u00fcller gave Schmidt a knowing glance \u2013 that's why he'd wanted to attract her attention: the ball of wool.\n\nThe woman started flicking through the photos in the box. 'Most of these are of my husband and me,' she said. 'From before the war. He was a Luftwaffe pilot. And before you ask: no, he didn't survive. I've been a widow for more than thirty years. It's harder and harder to keep this place properly maintained on my own, as you can probably see.' The woman pulled one of the photos from the box. 'Here we are. That's one of Irma, taken with my first colour camera. She was a happy child then, always smiling.' She handed the photograph to M\u00fcller.\n\nThe detective's eyes were immediately drawn to the girl's unruly shock of red hair. Not even the best hair straighteners and dyes could have transformed it into the straight bob of black hair on the dead girl's head, and in any case the dead girl's hair colour was natural \u2013 the pathologist's report had confirmed that. This clearly wasn't the girl from the cemetery.\n\n'What is it?' the woman asked.\n\n'We're looking for a missing girl. There is certain evidence that makes us think there is a link to R\u00fcgen, but the girl in question has straight, dark hair.'\n\n'A missing girl? Are you saying you think Irma may be missing?'\n\n'Not at all, Frau Baumgartner. Just because you haven't been permitted a visit to the Jugendwerkhof, there's no reason at all to believe Irma isn't still there. I'm sure she is. So it doesn't look like the girl we're looking for and Irma are connected.'\n\nThe woman fingered the buttons of her housecoat. 'Yes, but I still don't know how Irma is; I still haven't been able to see her.'\n\nM\u00fcller leant across and laid her palm on Baumgartner's arm. 'We will be paying the Jugendwerkhof a visit. I will be able to check how Irma is. I cannot promise anything, but if there is anything amiss I will ask the youth services to contact you. That's all I can do.'\n\nThe woman gave a weak smile. 'Thank you.'\n\nTilsner interrupted the exchange. 'She still had her red hair last time you saw her, Citizen Baumgartner?'\n\n'Yes. Yes, of course. In the sanatorium.'\n\n'How old is she? How tall would you say she is? Is there anything else that might be useful for us to know?'\n\n'She's sixteen now, but I can't tell you how tall she is, I'm afraid. She was lying in bed. And the time I last saw her before that, before she was taken to Prora, well... well it was two years ago. In the children's home in Greifswald. She wasn't fully grown. She's a woman now. Well, almost.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'And why did she end up in a closed Jugendwerkhof? Surely that's only for children who've done something seriously wrong?'\n\nFrau Baumgartner shrugged. 'My daughter was jailed \u2013 I told you \u2013 and poor Irma suffered for it, and was sent to the normal children's home. But she kept on trying to run away. Eventually they sent her to Prora.'\n\nTilsner leant forward in his chair. 'Was she allowed to write letters to you from the Jugendwerkhof?'\n\n'Yes, I received the odd one.'\n\n'Did she mention any friends?' probed M\u00fcller. 'Anything odd going on?'\n\nBaumgartner raised her eyebrows. 'Friends? Yes, yes. I think she did mention one, actually. The letter should be in this same box.' She shuffled through the contents again, and then drew out a cream envelope. 'I was surprised it hadn't been censored, actually. Sometimes some of what she writes gets struck out.' M\u00fcller could see her scanning the page quickly, then turning over. 'Here it is,' Baumgartner said. 'She says she's worried about her best friend Beate \u2013 how she seems upset all the time, and Irma doesn't know why.' She passed the letter to M\u00fcller, who read it through for confirmation.\n\n'But she doesn't mention a surname?' asked M\u00fcller. 'In any of her letters?'\n\n'No, I'm afraid not,' said the woman.\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, deep in thought. Then she gathered herself, and rose from the chair. She extended her hand to Baumgartner. 'Thank you very much, Citizen Baumgartner. You've been a great help.'\n\nShe felt a tap on her shoulder. Schmidt whispered: 'Comrade M\u00fcller. What about the wool?'\n\n'Ah. Yes.' She turned back to the woman, and pointed to the wool and needles, which now lay at her feet. 'Would it be alright to have a small sample of your wool, Citizen Baumgartner?'\n\nThe woman's brow creased in confusion. 'Why ever would you want that?'\n\n'Don't be alarmed,' said M\u00fcller. 'It's nothing to worry about. It would just help us compare against some fibres linked to our inquiries. Have you knitted anything for Irma from it?'\n\nBaumgartner nodded. 'Yes. A jumper. She wrote and told me how thrilled she was to have it. She keeps it in her bed at night to remind her of her family and Sellin. It must be a comfort. I noticed it there in the sanatorium, on her pillow, poor girl.'\n\n'Well, a sample may help our inquiry.'\n\nThe woman smiled, and lifted the ball of wool. 'In that case, of course. Our handmade R\u00fcgen jumpers are very popular. you know. The wool is very warm, although some people find it a bit rough. The wool is from a sheep we only get round here.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'The Pommersches Rauhwollschaf \u2013 the rough wool Pomeranian sheep.'\n\nThe woman laughed. 'Absolutely right. I didn't expect you Berlin types to know that. By all means... Here, take as much as you want.'\n\nSchmidt took the proffered ball of wool, cut off a small section and put it in a plastic evidence bag. 'That will be sufficient for my needs, Frau Baumgartner. Thank you so much for your cooperation.'\n\nDay Twelve.\n\nSellin, R\u00fcgen.\n\nFor M\u00fcller it had been another night of tossing and turning, constantly going over the case in her head, and then switching her attention to Gottfried, and wondering what sort of night he'd be facing. Was he in jail somewhere? Being questioned in Normannenstrasse? She resolved that as soon as she was back in Berlin, she would give his welfare the fullest attention, even if she had no idea where to begin. She owed it to him, whether or not their marriage was over, as J\u00e4ger had insinuated.\n\nShe felt stabbing pains from her throat as she awoke, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. The heating had been on too high, but she couldn't see any way of controlling it, and she didn't want to sleep with the balcony doors open.\n\nShe went to the bathroom, turned on the light and examined her face in the mirror. In two weeks, she seemed to have aged five years. Maybe the days of minimal make-up were behind her. She brushed her teeth, and then washed away the taste of the toothpaste with a glass of water. Her body was urging her to go back to bed, but she knew that at this time of the day her thought processes were likely to be at their most incisive. Back in the bedroom, she put on her dressing gown and slippers, opened the curtains and then wandered onto the balcony.\n\nAn overnight hoar frost had left countless tiny crystals of ice glistening on the balcony railing. She brushed the frozen glitter off the veranda chair, and sat on the cold wood. Her teeth began to chatter, but the freezing conditions helped clear her brain. She looked down towards the end of Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse, and the Ostsee beyond, shimmering in the morning light. The beauty of the surroundings contrasted sharply with the vicious death the girl had suffered.\n\nThe dead girl almost certainly wasn't Irma. She was sure of that now, but she was still determined to check out the Jugendwerkhof. If nothing else, she was curious to see where Gottfried had taught during his enforced exile from Berlin. Schmidt had examined the wool from Frau Baumgartner when they'd got back to the hotel with the microscope he'd brought with him; the fibres were an exact match. Even the dye was the same. There had to be a link. Why wouldn't they let Baumgartner see her granddaughter again? Why had Irma ended up in the sanatorium after a 'fall'? That in itself sounded suspicious. And why was this Beate crying all the time? Her tears must have been out of the ordinary, or Irma Behrendt would never have mentioned them in a letter to her Oma.\n\nAll these thoughts ran through M\u00fcller's mind like errant trains as she gazed out to sea. She could feel the material of the dressing gown under her buttocks starting to stick to the frozen wood of the chair. Suddenly a rustling sound from the neighbouring balcony made her turn. Quickly, she drew the gown together.\n\nTilsner was standing there, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in his hand. He took one out, lit it and took a long drag. Then he reached across the balcony railing to offer her one. M\u00fcller was tempted, stood and stretched her arm, then thought better of it and thrust her hands in her pockets.\n\nTilsner shrugged. Then she noticed his eyeline, which was directed at her breasts.\n\nLooking down, she saw that the gown had flared open. She pulled it together angrily, stomped back inside the room and slammed the balcony doors.\n\n* * *\n\nAfter what was grandly termed an Ostsee coast special breakfast \u2013 hard-boiled eggs, stale bread and some unidentified grey smoked fish \u2013 the three Berlin officers retraced their route in the Trabi back towards Bergen auf R\u00fcgen. M\u00fcller's embarrassment over the incident with Tilsner on the hotel balcony hadn't dissipated. She pointedly sat in the back and gave directions using the map from there, leaving Schmidt to accompany her deputy in the front of the car.\n\nThey soon reached Binz, the next resort along the coast, northwest of Sellin. It seemed larger to M\u00fcller, but otherwise quite similar \u2013 the same B\u00e4derarchitektur as in its more southerly neighbour. Several roads veered towards the seafront, but M\u00fcller directed them straight on \u2013 through the back of the small town.\n\nIn just a couple of minutes, the Nazi monolith of Prora rose into view. M\u00fcller wasn't quite sure what she'd been expecting. Gottfried's description had been of a hellhole, but then he was gloomy at the best of times. To M\u00fcller, it didn't look wildly different from a very long series of Berlin apartment blocks \u2013 just greyer, and without any gaps in between. It was the location that was strange \u2013 in the middle of nowhere, obscuring what she imagined would otherwise have been a magnificent view of the wild Ostsee coast. But the fact it had been built on the orders of Hitler, to reward his Nazi subjects, sent a renewed chill through her.\n\n'Hmm,' said Tilsner. 'I wouldn't fancy taking a holiday there. No wonder it was never used.'\n\n'But this is the back of it, Comrade Tilsner,' said Schmidt, speaking through a mouthful of food. He seemed to have squirrelled away some extra breakfast to keep up his calorie intake. 'I've seen a book showing the artist's impression of the front; how it would have looked if it had been completed. There would have been a theatre, auditoriums and a harbour. The plans were impressive.'\n\nTilsner snorted. 'Don't sound too enthusiastic, Jonas. Oberleutnant M\u00fcller will be reporting you for your pro-fascist attitude.'\n\n'I... I... didn't mean \u2013'\n\n'Ignore him, Jonas,' said M\u00fcller. 'He's just teasing you.'\n\n* * *\n\nAfter finding the section of the almost never-ending building which contained the Jugendwerkhof, M\u00fcller and Tilsner buzzed the intercom and were shown inside. M\u00fcller had told Schmidt to see if he could find a way round to the beach, to check if the sand here matched the sample found in the Volvo limousine.\n\nThe two detectives were led by a young female member of staff down several corridors, and shown to a room with a grey metal door bearing the sign: Direktor F. Neumann. M\u00fcller was aware of his reputation from Gottfried's tales of woe about the place from the previous year, so she was surprised when \u2013 as she knocked on the door \u2013 a female voice asked them to enter.\n\nA stern-faced woman who M\u00fcller estimated to be in her early or mid-fifties greeted them with firm handshakes, and examined the Kripo detective's ID and the authorisation letter signed by Colonel General Mielke \u2013 the one J\u00e4ger had given M\u00fcller in the Kulturpark. The woman paid particular attention to this, as she introduced herself as deputy director Monika Richter and ushered them to sit down.\n\n'I'm standing in for Director Neumann. He's away for a few days on another Ministry of Education project. What can we do for you?' she asked. 'We're used to having dealings with the police, but not usually detectives from the Hauptstadt.'\n\nM\u00fcller made a mental note of the director's absence. She'd follow that up later. 'We're investigating a murder,' she said, holding the woman's gaze. With Frau Baumgartner the previous night she'd been more circumspect, wanting to tease information from the woman; but with deputy director Richter, she decided a direct approach might be better. Try to unnerve her from the start.\n\n'On R\u00fcgen?' asked Richter. 'It's not often we get murders here on the island.'\n\n'No, Frau Richter \u2013 in Berlin. But there is evidence to suggest the dead girl may have come from R\u00fcgen.'\n\nRichter creased her forehead with yet more severity. 'But why is that relevant to the Jugendwerkhof? All our girls are accounted for. No one has ever escaped from here.'\n\nTilsner raised an eyebrow. 'Who said anything about anyone escaping?'\n\nThe interjection seemed to throw Richter. M\u00fcller noticed her blink repeatedly.\n\n'There's no need to be concerned, Frau Richter,' she said. 'We just need to rule a few things out to help advance the inquiry.'\n\n'Such as?'\n\n'Such as how did Irma Behrendt end up in the sanatorium after a fall?'\n\nRichter gave a sharp intake of breath, then a slightly manic laugh. 'What on earth has that got to do with your murder inquiry?'\n\nTilsner slapped his hand on the table. Richter flinched. 'Just answer Oberleutnant M\u00fcller's questions. You've seen our authorisation. It comes from the highest level.'\n\nM\u00fcller waited, but Richter failed to say anything.\n\n'We don't want to be here all day, Frau Richter,' said M\u00fcller. 'Tell us about Irma Behrendt.'\n\n'She was a very unruly, unstable girl. For some reason, she climbed out of the toilet window and jumped.'\n\n'When was that?'\n\nRichter paused a moment as though to collect her thoughts. 'It was spring or early summer last year. May, I think.'\n\n'And from which floor did she jump?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'The fifth.'\n\n'The fifth! How on earth did she survive that with mere bruising?'\n\nRichter looked flustered now, her eyes darting from M\u00fcller to Tilsner and back. 'We did our best to help her. When we realised she was trying to get out of the window, a teacher thankfully organised a chain of children to bring down mattresses from the dorms to cushion her fall. Fortunately, the fire brigade arrived in time with their safety net and managed to catch her.'\n\nSomething didn't add up here, thought M\u00fcller. If it had simply been a case of the girl getting out of the window and jumping, how would they have had time to pile up mattresses? How would the fire brigade have had time to get in position and set up the apparatus to catch the girl? 'And who was the teacher who tried to help? Can we talk to him or her?'\n\n'It was a him. And no. He was just here temporarily from Berlin.'\n\nM\u00fcller heard Tilsner gasp. He'd put two and two together. She gave him a gentle kick under the table to keep him quiet. But now it was her turn to be flustered. Why hadn't Gottfried ever told her about that? Because presumably it was him whom Richter was talking about.\n\n'So a girl attempts to jump out of a window, yet the staff have time to pile up mattresses to save her. That sounds unlikely. Also, I've seen a recent letter from Irma Behrendt. She seemed to me to be a level-headed girl. In her letter, she worries that her friend, Beate, might do something stupid. So this isn't adding up, Frau Richter.' M\u00fcller could see the tendons bulging in Richter's neck as she tried to hold herself in check. 'I think perhaps we need to speak to Irma Behrendt and Beate \u2013'\n\n'Ewert. Beate Ewert is her name. But I'm afraid it won't be possible to speak to them, at least not here.'\n\n'Why's that?' asked Tilsner. 'We've already warned you about the need to cooperate with us.'\n\nRichter, flicking her dyed-black fringe, didn't answer immediately. Instead she rose to her feet and retrieved a file from the shelf to her right. She sat down again and leafed through its pages. 'The information you want is here somewhere. Ah yes, 22 June last year.' She turned the file round to show the two detectives.\n\nM\u00fcller sighed, but didn't bother reading the entry. 'Just tell us what it says, Frau Richter.'\n\nThe woman seemed calmer now, more in control. 'Both Irma Behrendt and Beate Ewert were transferred on that day to a special children's home in Schierke, in Bezirk Magdeburg.'\n\n'Does the entry say why?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nRichter ran her finger under the neat handwritten note. 'The entry was by Director Neumann. It says it was felt that to help Ewert and Behrendt, due to their nervous dispositions, they should be moved to a more remote institution, with a more relaxed regime. One of their friends was moved at the same time. One Mathias Gellman. On account of his good behaviour.'\n\n'Was her grandmother informed of the transfer?'\n\nRichter shrugged. 'I don't have that information.'\n\n'And what about Director Neumann? What exactly is this project he's involved with that's taken him away from his main job?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nRichter's face reddened. 'It's a special Ministry project in the same area to which the girls were transferred. He spends part of the time here, part of the time there. But while he's away, I'm in charge. I can give you all the help you need.'\n\n'Do you have his phone number? His address?' persisted M\u00fcller.\n\nRichter folded her arms across her chest. 'I'm afraid I cannot divulge that, Oberleutnant. You would need specific authorisation from the Ministry of Education.'\n\nTilsner jabbed his finger at the letter from Mielke on Richter's desk.\n\n'That's all the authorisation we need. From the Minister of State Security.'\n\nRichter smirked at him. 'No, Unterleutnant. That's where you're wrong. As I say, you would need specific authorisation from the Ministry of Education. But perhaps your connections to the Stasi can help you. By all means call Comrade Mielke himself. I'm sure he would have a hotline to Comrade Volksbildungsminister Margot Honecker. I would need him to clear it with her. If you can't manage to arrange that, there is nothing more I can do for you.' With a thin smile, Richter shut the folder on her desk, and rose from her seat.\n\n'That's not quite all, Frau Richter,' said M\u00fcller. 'I want to speak to everyone who would have had contact with Irma and Beate. I want to interview their teachers, and I want to talk to any children who witnessed Irma's fall. Would that be possible?'\n\nRichter sighed, and sat down again. 'Of course, Oberleutnant. But it will take some time to arrange. Could you come back tomorrow?'\n\nTilsner banged his fist down on the table. 'No. Not tomorrow. We're doing it now. As we said at the beginning, this is a murder inquiry. If you don't want a visit from this lot,' he pointed to the Stasi headed notepaper, 'then I suggest you start cooperating immediately.'\n\nRichter didn't reply, but just nodded slowly. She'd attempted to bluff them once by urging them to call Mielke. This time, the two detectives had called her bluff.\n\n* * *\n\nThe teacher in charge of the packing room \u2013 where M\u00fcller and Tilsner established Irma and Beate had spent their last shift \u2013 seemed a very different character from the Jugendwerkhof 's deputy director. There was a nervous timidity about Frau Schettler, but also \u2013 it appeared to M\u00fcller \u2013 a touch more humanity and caring towards the children. What the two women had in common, though, was a tendency to pause and dart their eyes around before answering questions.\n\n'So their evening packing shift was the last time you saw the three children who were transferred?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Yes, that's right,' Schettler replied.\n\n'How would you describe their mood?'\n\n'They were all quite excited. I gave them permission to go and watch the match if they reached their targets early.'\n\n'The match?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nTilsner interrupted. 'It was the evening we beat the Westlers in the World Cup.'\n\n'That's right,' agreed Schettler.\n\n'But before that, in the days leading up to that \u2013 and before Irma's fall. How would you describe their demeanour then?' probed M\u00fcller.\n\n'I did notice that Beate seemed upset much of the time. And that Irma was worried for her. It earned her a spell in the bunker.'\n\n'The bunker?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'It's an isolation cell. For when children have been particularly disruptive and need to be punished.' As she said this, Schettler had her eyes downcast, shame written legibly across her face.\n\n'But going back to the night of the football match: you saw all three children leave early and go to watch the game on television? You're quite sure about that?'\n\nSchettler paused. M\u00fcller noticed her eyes dart to the left. Then she looked down at her hands as she answered. 'Yes,' she said softly. 'I'm quite sure about that.' M\u00fcller frowned. She wasn't convinced by the woman's assertion.\n\n'As you know, Frau Schettler, this is a murder inquiry,' she continued. 'Now it's very likely that the victim has nothing to do with this Jugendwerkhof, although we believe there is some sort of link with R\u00fcgen. However, if you feel able, we'd like you to look at a photograph of the dead girl. I have to warn you that she was badly mutilated. Her face, in particular, doesn't look much like a face anymore.' Schettler gasped, and clasped her hand to her chest.\n\nTilsner pulled the autopsy photo from his briefcase, and handed it to M\u00fcller, who in turn passed it to Schettler.\n\nThe woman sharply sucked air through her mouth, and then covered it with her hand. She dropped the black-and-white print on the table, and shook her head.\n\n'What, Frau Schettler?'\n\n'It's... it's just so horrible. Seeing... seeing someone like that,' she said. Eyes to the left again, noted M\u00fcller.\n\n'Seeing who like that?'\n\n'I'm... I'm not sure I know what you mean,' said Schettler. 'I've not seen this girl ever before in my life.' She pushed the photo back towards M\u00fcller, turning her head away.\n\n'You're quite sure of that?' asked Tilsner.\n\nThe woman gave a small nod, but didn't meet either of the detectives' eyelines.\n\n'I'm sorry we had to do that, Frau Schettler. But I hope you understand why,' said M\u00fcller.\n\nSchettler again jerked her head up and down, but kept her eyes fixed on her clasped-together hands, not wanting to look at the photograph again. Picking the photo up, M\u00fcller and Tilsner rose from their chairs and said their goodbyes.\n\n* * *\n\nThey walked back to the Trabant via the exercise yard where Irma had nearly fallen to her death. It seemed bizarre to M\u00fcller that the girl had only been saved in part due to the quick thinking of her husband Gottfried. Something was horribly awry there, thought M\u00fcller. Caring hero one moment, then enemy of the state just months later. It made her all the more determined to help him. Surely if she took the story about his bravery to J\u00e4ger he could intervene?\n\n'What do you think, boss?' asked Tilsner. 'We seem to be back to square one if it was neither of those girls.'\n\n'What I think, Werner, is that they're lying.'\n\n'Who?'\n\n'Richter and Schettler for starters. Possibly for different reasons, but they were both lying. However, if Schettler was lying about the photograph, that's easy to disprove. We know it's not Irma, but I think it's still worth checking with Beate's relatives. And at least we have a name now. We can get one of the relatives to look at the photographs, and the body.'\n\n'But according to Frau Richter, both girls are supposedly alive and well in this home in Schierke. Shouldn't we check there first?'\n\nM\u00fcller knew he was right. A check with the home would be simple enough. They could probably put the call in from the People's Police office in Bergen. They started to wander back towards the car. When they reached the main gate, they buzzed the intercom for the staff to unlock it automatically and let them out. M\u00fcller took one last glance back up at the fifth floor, from where Irma had fallen. What sort of a place would drive a girl to jump to what would have been \u2013 if it hadn't been for the intervention of her husband and the fire brigade \u2013 an almost certain death? It didn't bear thinking about.\n\n* * *\n\nSchmidt had already set himself up in the back of the Trabant, examining some sand he'd obtained from the beach.\n\nHe looked up from the microscope as the two detectives climbed into the car. 'It wasn't that easy... Nearly got myself arrested by the People's Army. They were OK once I showed my ID, but I had to get the sample from a slightly different section of the beach.'\n\n'But does it look like it matches the sample from the Volvo?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Yes, Comrade M\u00fcller. I'm pretty sure it does, but I'll need to do some more detailed analysis in the lab once we're back in Berlin. What about you two? Any progress?'\n\n'I think so, Jonas,' said M\u00fcller. 'I think so.'\n\nTilsner started the engine. 'Where to, boss?'\n\n'Let's go to the People's Police headquarters in Bergen. From there we can wire or phone J\u00e4ger to get him to ask for authority to interview Neumann. We can also contact the children's home in Schierke to check if the children actually are there as Frau Richter claims. And we need to track down Ewert's parents \u2013 if they're not in jail \u2013 and have them examine the body.'\n\nTilsner killed the engine again. 'Hang on a minute, I've got an idea.' He reached under the dashboard and opened the glove compartment. 'Aha. Good.' He pulled out a small book, covered in red plastic. M\u00fcller read the cover. Deutsche Demokratische Republik Verkehr: a road atlas for the entire country. Tilsner was examining the index at the back. 'Where did she say that children's home was?'\n\nM\u00fcller consulted her notes. 'A village called Schierke, in Bezirk Magdeburg.'\n\n'Map 11, square C,' said Tilsner. He leafed back to map 11, near the front of the book, and then traced his finger down to square C. He squinted at the page for a moment, and then shouted excitedly. 'There!' M\u00fcller looked to where he was pointing and saw the corresponding village name. Then Tilsner moved his finger about a centimetre to the northwest: the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz, and the only one with subalpine soil.\n\n* * *\n\nAs soon as the three of them arrived back in Bergen auf R\u00fcgen and the People's Police office, M\u00fcller knew something was wrong. Two uniformed officers were waiting for them, and escorted them directly to Drescher's office.\n\nThe People's Police colonel failed to stand as they entered the room, and didn't ask them to sit. He looked up from the documents on his desk with a stern face, and addressed M\u00fcller.\n\n'I'm afraid you three will have to go back to Berlin immediately. I have been given instructions by the Ministry of the Interior.'\n\nM\u00fcller started to protest. 'We just need to telephone \u2013'\n\nDrescher held up his hand. 'I don't think you understand, Comrade Oberleutnant. This isn't a request, it's an order. You have \u2013' Drescher glanced down and read from the document on his desk '\u2013 \"exceeded the terms of your inquiry\" .' He looked up and held her gaze. 'And I have been instructed to provide two officers to accompany you on the train journey back to the Hauptstadt, to make sure you go directly to the People's Police administration building there.'\n\n'Are we under arrest?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'Not at this stage,' replied Drescher. 'But you will be if you don't comply.'\n\nEight months earlier (June 1974).\n\nAt sea.\n\nMy temporary joy at feeling the swell of the sea in harbour soon gives way to terror. In effect, I am trapped in little more than a makeshift coffin, and so too \u2013 presumably \u2013 are Beate and Mathias. Panicking will not help. But Beate is more fragile. I have no way of communicating with her even if, as I hope, she's on board like me.\n\nAfter perhaps a couple of hours of machinery noise \u2013 I assume this is the ship being loaded \u2013 the background sounds and motion change. A low hum begins, and the box vibrates. The motion of gentle rocking becomes ferocious lurching. My only comfort is that this must be the open sea. I feel as though the chipboard panels enclosing me could break at any moment, so violent is the motion. The airflow is minimal from the holes punched in the cardboard with the pen. All I can smell is my own sweat, and the sharp sweetness of urine where I've wet myself. Beate and I had deliberately cut our food and liquid intake in the days before the escape attempt to the bare minimum, but the body's functions cannot be completely stopped. At least Beate and Mathias had their smuggled bottle of cola and chocolate bar; nothing to eat or drink for me.\n\nAs each wave crashes into the boat, as the vessel slams into the next trough, I feel a corresponding spasm of nausea. Saliva pools in the insides of my cheeks. I manage to swallow the first retch down, but then bile erupts from my mouth. I fight to spit it out. To breathe. I'm choking. Finally the attack subsides, but the stench is worse.\n\nI don't dare break out of the cardboard tomb, not until we've reached port on the other side of the Ostsee and the waves have subsided. As hour follows hour, that possibility diminishes. I have no guarantee that we are even heading for Sweden. Or the West. What if this ship is taking a consignment to the Soviet Union? I feel sure I would be dead long before we reached there. Through thirst, suffocation or choking on my own vomit. Why did I ever take any notice of those markings in the book from Herr M\u00fcller?\n\nAt some point the weather changes, because it becomes calmer. A gentle rocking, only slightly more pronounced that when we'd been in harbour. The blackness inside the cardboard box heightens my awareness. Every noise, every creak of the boat, is amplified and dances around my head. Every hair on my body detects the tiniest movement.\n\nSleep comes in fits and starts, but I try to fight it because that moment between sleep and wakefulness is so terrifying. Not knowing where I am, not knowing what will happen: a deafening uncertainty.\n\nSomething, though, has gone wrong in my calculations. I have no watch. I have no clock. But this journey was supposed to take just a few hours. I'd managed to glean that information from the Jugendwerkhof library. We have already been at sea for more than a day. My mind can't be playing that many tricks.\n\nAll of a sudden, the rocking of the boat calms completely. The motion now is barely perceptible above the vibrations and hum of the motor. We must have reached Sweden at last. Hope courses through me once more. We've made it!\n\nI push at the end of the box above my head, hearing the packing tape tear off. A dim light enters. I want to try to squeeze out before unloading begins, in case this isn't Sweden, in case it isn't even the West. I brace my arms and legs against the veneered chipboard panels that form the box walls, and push, sliding forward centimetre by centimetre. I get my head out, my shoulders. By a stroke of good fortune my pallet seems to be at the end of a row, with my head by the open side. I can only imagine what it would have been like if I'd been trapped in the middle of the pile of boxes. It's another stupid flaw in the plan, I realise, of which Mathias and Beate could be the victims. Trapped, suffocated and starved \u2013 all thanks to me.\n\nI push again and get my arms far enough out that I can cling onto the edges of the box. I try to force my head round to see how high up I am in the pile of boxes. More good luck. Just one box away from the bottom of the pile. I wriggle out further and stretch one hand down to the steel floor of the boat's hold, to support myself as I struggle to free the rest of my body. A thud. Pain in my head from where it hits the floor. But I'm out.\n\nI slowly move myself to a standing position. I have to grab onto the sides of the boxes because my legs feel like jelly. And the smell. I don't want to think about the smell and my damp clothing.\n\nAnd then I hear a voice \u2013 barely more than a whisper \u2013 calling for Beate. It's Mathias. I see him coming down the gap between the pallets, towards me. I want to cry with joy, I want to hug him, but he pushes me away.\n\n'I'm worried,' he says. 'I can't find Beate. I'm not sure she's even here.'\n\n'She must be. We've both made it. Why would her box have been split off from the rest?'\n\n'You're right. Let's look again.'\n\nWe split up and check the piles of boxes methodically. The rows go on and on. I realise how lucky we've been. This is several days' output from the Jugendwerkhof that must have been stored out in the yard, or at Sassnitz harbour, before being shipped. That could have been us waiting in a holding area, and slowly starving to death; instead, our boxes were loaded within hours, in less then a day. But what if Beate's hasn't been?\n\nI start on another row, whispering Beate's name, still without any luck. I daren't raise my voice in case we alert the crew, and in case we're not in the West after all. I notice the engine motors are still running. There is a very faint rocking motion. For some reason we are still moving.\n\n'Beate, Beate,' I whisper up and down the boxes of yet another row. Then I hear something from the top of a pile. 'Irma, Irma.' An answering cry. I call back as loudly as I dare: 'Beate, don't worry. We'll have you out in a moment. Just stay calm.'\n\nI run to the edge of the row to try to see Mathias. I hiss at him and gesture. Finally he sees me, and comes running. His breath is as foul as mine, panting in my face. 'Up there,' I say, pointing to the top of the pile of boxes. 'Right at the very top, I think. That's what it sounds like.'\n\nHe finds energy that I know I no longer have, and clambers like a monkey up the side of the boxes. Around twenty of them, stacked in a criss-cross pattern to strengthen the pile. I see him scrabbling with the topmost boxes, trying to move them to one side.\n\n'She's under here... a couple of boxes down,' he calls to me. 'But I can't lift them on my own. You'll have to come up and help me.'\n\nI try to follow the same route he used, surprised at my own strength, the urge to save my friend driving me on.\n\n'Hurry up,' he whispers, stretching his arm to help pull me the last metre or so. 'Her voice sounds very weak.'\n\nWe crouch on top of the pile. Mathias counts to three and then we both lift the top box, and move it over. Beate's voice is louder now, and we realise this is her box, the second one down. Mathias rips the cardboard end, flinging the pieces to the floor. After a nerve-wracking wait, Beate's head slowly appears. But there is no way to get down. No way to get out without falling. She has been face down in her box, whereas I'd been on my back.\n\n'Stay there,' shouts Mathias. 'Don't try to get out any further. You'll fall.' He moves to the neighbouring box, and starts to tear off the cardboard from the top of Beate's. Together, we lift the headboard and then, centimetre by centimetre, pull Beate out. She slumps into his arms, exhausted. He's kissing her, cuddling her, telling her he loves her, and I feel an intense stab of jealousy. She's my friend, it was my plan, and yet he's making out he's her saviour. Mathias, the boy who was quite happy to steal my rightful place. I begin to hate him.\n\n* * *\n\nOnce we've slowly helped her down to ground level, I do get my hug from her. I do get my congratulations. And strangely, it makes me feel slightly better that Beate stinks as badly as I do, that she looks a complete mess.\n\n'Oh Irma,' she says. 'I cannot thank you enough. It was horrible, horrible in there. I thought we would never get out alive.'\n\nI stroke her sick-covered hair. 'I'm sorry I put you through it.'\n\n'No, no,' she says. 'Never be sorry. I will always be grateful to you, Irma, always. You don't know what they did to me in that place. You don't want to know, I promise you.' She begins to sob.\n\n'Shhh,' I hush her. 'Shhh. It's OK now. It's OK.'\n\nBut as I'm stroking her hair, I realise the motors are still running. We still haven't reached our destination.\n\n'Where do you think we are?' I ask Mathias.\n\n'I know where we are,' he says. 'At least I think I do. There's an exit from the hold there.' He points to a red sliding door. 'I've already been up to take a look.'\n\n'Well, tell us where we are then. It's not Sweden, is it?'\n\nBut he won't say. He grabs Beate by the hand, like the star-crossed lover he is, and urges me to follow. As we run through the door, I can see daylight coming down the stairwell. We huddle round the first porthole and look out. The daylight blinds my eyes for an instant, and then I adjust. The glass is smeared and dirty and at first I can't make much out, except that we seem to be travelling up a river or something, because I can see cars and buildings on the bank side. Then I see a factory sign. In German. My heart sinks.\n\n'We're not still in the Republic, are we?' I ask.\n\n'No, no,' he shouts over the din of engine noise. 'Look at the cars.'\n\nI stare. I'm not sure of all the makes. I see Volkswagen Beetles. Bigger luxury cars. But not a Trabant, not a Wartburg in sight.\n\nThen road signs. Rendsburg, Kiel, Hamburg.\n\nThe West!\n\nI feel the rush of joy through my whole body.\n\nWe have reached the West. Never to see Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost again. No more Richter. No more Neumann.\n\nI turn to Beate and hug her to me. Her smile is as wide as mine. I know we are best friends for life.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Thirteen.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nOn their return to the Hauptstadt, M\u00fcller had expected to be immediately summoned to either the Stasi or the People's Police headquarters \u2013 but instead the three officers were split up, and M\u00fcller was escorted back to her apartment and told to stay there overnight, and not to try to contact anyone. She knew better than to disobey, after her requests to speak to J\u00e4ger were met with silence. When she asked to see Gottfried, she received a similar response.\n\nNow she and Tilsner were sitting in two chairs, next to each other, opposite a table in a large room at the Keibelstrasse police headquarters. Schmidt had no doubt been allowed to return to the forensic lab, safe in the knowledge that \u2013 if there had been wrongdoing \u2013 he was simply following her orders. Behind the table, arranged in a line, sat five male officers who, from their differing shades of grey-green and olive-green uniforms, looked to M\u00fcller to be a mixture of Stasi and People's Police. They introduced themselves but M\u00fcller found her concentration wavering. The only one she knew was the one she recognised: her police superior, Oberst Reiniger, and even he seemed to have a more serious expression than usual. He refused to meet M\u00fcller's eyes.\n\nAfter the introductions, the middle officer of the five, a grey-haired man in his late fifties with black-rimmed spectacles, was the first to speak. 'We've summoned you here to make it clear to you that you are both being removed from the missing person's inquiry into the girl found dead in St Elisabeth's cemetery. Oberst Reiniger \u2013' the officer gestured to his left, towards the end of the table, '\u2013 fully approves of this decision.' Reiniger gave a small nod, as the more senior officer continued. 'That means you are to make no further inquiries about the girl. You have in any case already exceeded the agreed remit, putting the People's Police and Ministry for State Security in a position of some embarrassment. This is a serious matter, and will be investigated, and the outcome will be made known to you in due course. In the meantime, Unterleutnant Tilsner, as you were acting under the authority of Oberleutnant M\u00fcller here, you may return to your official duties and await further instructions. Oberleutnant, for the moment you will remain here.'\n\nM\u00fcller looked across at her deputy. He'd made no move to stand, and instead cleared his throat, and looked to be about to launch into a speech in their defence. Reiniger pulled him up short.\n\n'That means now, Comrade Tilsner.'\n\n'But Comrade Oberst, we were given the authority to do what we did by \u2013'\n\n'Now, Tilsner,' barked Reiniger, his face turning red.\n\nTilsner scraped his chair back, gave an apologetic shrug towards M\u00fcller, and then marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.\n\nM\u00fcller ignored Reiniger's warning look. 'What Unterleutnant Tilsner was about to say was that we were given the authority to ask the questions we did, and go where we did, by Ministry for State Security Oberstleutnant Klaus J\u00e4ger.'\n\n'We have no record of that,' said the officer in the centre of the table. 'And Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger has been removed from the case too.' M\u00fcller tried to disguise her shock at this news. 'And for you, Oberleutnant, things are more complicated. As well as exceeding your authority, I gather you're aware by now that your husband stands accused of anti-state \u2013'\n\n'I haven't been allowed to see my husband.'\n\n'We will see about rectifying that.'\n\nThe chairman of her inquisitors gave a questioning glance to his right, the opposite side to Reiniger, where an officer in the olive-green uniform of the Stasi gave a small nod. 'You will be allowed an accompanied visit to your husband. But you have to understand that his activities \u2013 if proven \u2013 are incompatible with the husband of an officer of the People's Police. So, should you be allowed to continue with your career once our inquiry is over, it will be on the understanding that you obtain a divorce. In the meantime, you too may return to your office, and wait for Oberst Reiniger to assign you new duties.'\n\n'So I'm being removed from the Mitte Murder Commission?'\n\n'No. Not for the time being. But \u2013 as I said \u2013 the missing person's inquiry in connection with the body of the girl at St Elisabeth cemetery is being taken away from you. You should do nothing \u2013 I repeat nothing \u2013 more in connection with the case. Do you understand, Comrade Oberleutnant?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. She felt numbed. Was this the beginning of the end of her police career? Perhaps \u2013 back at the graveyard when this had all started \u2013 Tilsner had been right. They never should have become involved in this case. But J\u00e4ger hadn't really given them any choice.\n\n'You can go back to the office now, Oberleutnant,' said Reiniger. 'I will speak to you later today about your new duties, and about arranging a visit to your husband.'\n\nM\u00fcller stood and saluted, then turned on her heels. All she could think of was the poor girl in the cemetery, her eyeless sockets and the pathetic black nail 'varnish'. As she closed the door on the five officers, she wondered if anyone would bother \u2013 or dare \u2013 to challenge the official account of the girl's death, now that she and J\u00e4ger had been conveniently removed from the equation.\n\nDay Thirteen.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nM\u00fcller stared up at the grim buildings that housed the Stasi headquarters, after being summoned there from the office in Marx-Engels-Platz just an hour after leaving the meeting in Keibelstrasse. On all sides, pebble-dash beige concrete walls towered above her, with darker bands of brown highlighting some of the floors \u2013 at least twice as high as Prora, maybe more. Was Gottfried being held in one of these rooms? That's what she'd perhaps naively assumed. But she was wrong: the tall, sharp-faced Stasi captain who'd met her at the checkpoint \u2013 Hauptmann Schiller \u2013 was planning on taking her on a car journey.\n\nShe followed the Stasi officer to rows of parked cars in the central courtyard. He went to one of them, and opened the door for her. It was a Volvo. Of course. M\u00fcller ducked inside. Leather seats, the smell not unlike the Mercedes they'd used to go to West Berlin. She hunched herself into the seat as Schiller opened the driver's door and climbed in.\n\n* * *\n\nAfter driving through unfamiliar eastern parts of the Hauptstadt, they came to another checkpoint, and Schiller again flashed his ID as a guard peered in through the window.\n\nOnce they were waved through, Schiller finally broke the silence. 'You're privileged, Oberleutnant,' he said. 'This is a restricted zone. Even for a Kriminalpolizei officer like yourself. You won't find it on any street maps of the Hauptstadt.'\n\nOn their right, she saw a watchtower at the corner of a four-metre high wall, topped with barbed wire. It looked like a section of the protection barrier, although this was several kilometres further east. 'Here we are,' said Schiller.\n\nThe Stasi captain again showed his pass and the gates to the compound opened. Schiller parked the Volvo in the courtyard, turned the engine off and then gestured to M\u00fcller to follow him inside.\n\n* * *\n\nTheir footsteps echoed down a series of corridors \u2013 a labyrinth she knew she would have no way of negotiating without someone to guide her. Every few metres there were gates of steel bars, with some sort of control lighting system. Green on, red off. M\u00fcller wondered what it meant when the lights were switched the other way.\n\nTowards the end of a particularly long corridor, Schiller stopped at a door on the left and knocked. A male voice commanded them to enter.\n\nA middle-aged man with a round face and too obviously dyed black hair stood up as they entered, rubbing his eyes and then replacing his spectacles. Schiller performed the introductions.\n\n'Oberleutnant M\u00fcller, this is Major Hunsberger. He's in charge of the investigation into your husband, Gottfried.'\n\nThe Stasi major ushered them to sit. 'I'm pleased to meet you, Oberleutnant M\u00fcller, though I wish the circumstances were more pleasant. In a moment we will bring your husband in to see you, but there are a few things we need you to look at first.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, but said nothing.\n\nHunsberger reached into the pile of papers on his desk, and drew out a selection, which he placed in front of him, smoothing out the pages. He pushed his glasses back up his nose again, and brandished one of the documents between his thumb and forefinger. 'What we have here is a signed request from your husband Gottfried to terminate your marriage.'\n\n'He wants to divorce me?'\n\n'That's correct,' said Hunsberger. 'I believe you have already been briefed about our surveillance pictures showing you with your deputy, Werner Tilsner. We, of course, had to show those to your husband.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt a sudden coldness inside. She breathed, slowly, deeply. Struggling for air.\n\n'He requests a divorce on the grounds of your adultery.'\n\nShe held the Stasi officer's gaze. 'I didn't commit adultery. Those photographs are not what they seem. This is outrageous!'\n\nHunsberger ignored her denial, but paused a moment. 'However,' he continued, placing the document to one side, and instead picking up a photograph, 'it doesn't suit our purposes for the divorce to be initiated by him. We simply wanted to demonstrate to you that your marriage has no future. I think you'd agree with me there. And while you were away in R\u00fcgen, we received new evidence. This.' Hunsberger thrust the photograph under her nose.\n\nM\u00fcller recoiled in shock. She immediately recognised the girl in the photo from the pictures reluctantly supplied by the Jugendwerkhof deputy director: it was Beate Ewert. Here she was with her eyes closed, the back of a man's head in view, his hand on her teenaged breast. Hunsberger handed her a second photo, from a slightly different angle. Now, from the side of the man's face, she could clearly see it was Gottfried, kissing the girl on the mouth. No! This couldn't be true. These photos had to be fakes. She swallowed repeatedly, fighting the urge to be sick. Hands shaking, she turned the photos face down.\n\nNow it was Schiller's turn to speak. 'I'm sorry we had to show you these, Comrade Oberleutnant. The girl is only fifteen. You know what that means from your police legal training?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'Section 149 of the Republic's criminal code,' she said in a quiet voice.\n\n'Exactly, Oberleutnant M\u00fcller,' said Hunsberger. 'In the event a victim's moral immaturity is exploited, then the perpetrator is guilty of a criminal act. But irrespective of the criminality or not, is this really the sort of man to whom you wish to be married?'\n\nSchiller joined the fray now. 'If so, Oberleutnant, I'm afraid you will have to resign from the force immediately.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt as though her whole body was collapsing in on itself. She couldn't believe this was something Gottfried would do; yet now those pictures were indelibly etched on her brain. Shocking images. If she accepted them as fact, she knew she had to accept that she had married a pervert. She and Gottfried had their problems, and their marriage had long been teetering on the edge of breakdown, but surely he wouldn't have stooped to that?\n\nWith tears beginning to pool in her eyes, she raised her head and looked first at Schiller, then Hunsberger. 'I need to talk to him first. Whatever evidence you have, whatever photographs you have, I need to hear it from him. You must at least allow me that.'\n\nThe two Stasi officers looked at each other, then Hunsberger nodded. 'We will let you see your husband now.'\n\n* * *\n\nThey seemed content to leave her alone in the interrogation room until Gottfried was brought to her. But judging by what had happened so far \u2013 the photographs she'd been shown \u2013 she was under surveillance anyway.\n\nShe fiddled with the buttons on her jacket as she waited. What she'd seen \u2013 Gottfried molesting Beate \u2013 it didn't bear thinking about. It was scarcely credible. And yet the evidence was there.\n\nAs Gottfried was finally brought into the room by one of the guards, she found herself moving back in her chair towards the window, edging away. He hadn't looked up, and his cowed demeanour indicated that he believed he'd been brought in here for another bout of questioning. She noticed a bruise on the side of his face. Apart from that, his skin was deathly pale, his eyes sunken into their sockets. Finally, as the guard cuffed Gottfried's hands together, her husband raised his head.\n\n'Karin!' he said, clearly shocked at her presence. She didn't react, just continued to stare at him. Part of her wanted to reach out to him, to hug him close, to give him comfort. Part of her wanted to tear his hair out. How could he have done such a thing? Gottfried had always been so considerate, so attentive to her needs. The first time they'd made love he had immediately sensed that she'd been damaged, that she needed tenderness. Yet the photographs now in the hands of the Ministry for State Security told a very different story.\n\n'Karin, they've done a terrible thing to me. To us. The photo of me with the girl. You know it's faked, don't you?'\n\nM\u00fcller shook her head, sadly. 'Why would anyone fake that, Gottfried? How could anyone fake a photograph like that?'\n\n'Please, Karin. Believe me. You must believe me. You know they've done it \u2013 you saw the fakes they made of you kissing Tilsner,' he continued. 'I know I've been very suspicious and possessive, but in my heart I know you wouldn't do that to me.' M\u00fcller said nothing, and Gottfried continued, a half-crazed look in his eyes. 'I knew it couldn't be true, but they made me sign a document asking for a divorce. At first I believed it must be true, but then they showed me the doctored photo of me with Beate. It's disgusting. It never happened. What are they trying to do to us? Can't you do something?'\n\nM\u00fcller closed her eyes for a few seconds, and clasped her hands tightly together in an attempt to stop them shaking. She didn't know what to think. Everything just seemed to be falling apart. Did she believe him? He was obviously capable of deception: the condom packet hidden on top of their wardrobe in the apartment was sufficient evidence of that. She gave a long sigh. 'And the photograph of you at the church with the Pastor? That's a fake too, I suppose?'\n\nShe watched her husband's head drop to his chest.\n\n'No,' he said, his voice barely a whisper. 'I shouldn't have done it. I put you in an embarrassing position. I'm sorry.' Then he lifted his head again, his eyes still full of paranoia. 'I didn't even visit Beate in the sanatorium; it was Irma, her friend. They've doctored the photograph, just like with you and Tilsner \u2013'\n\nM\u00fcller felt the moisture gathering in her eyes. Gottfried tried to reach out to her, but she pushed his hand away. 'The photo of Tilsner and me is accurate. It's what happened,' she said flatly.\n\nShe saw in his eyes, his expression, that he felt she'd betrayed him. All of a sudden, the fight seemed to go out of him. He slumped in his chair.\n\n'They've asked me to sign the divorce papers \u2013'\n\n'\u2013 no, no, please Karin, please help me, I \u2013'\n\n'I don't know what to think,' said M\u00fcller. She met his eyes and stared hard into them. 'If what you say is correct, it calls into question the very methods of the Ministry for State Security. So be careful what you say out loud, whatever you believe.'\n\n'But will you help me?'\n\n'I don't know. I don't even know if I can. I'm just an Oberleutnant in the People's Police \u2013 people far more senior than me are in charge.'\n\n'Please, Karin. Please. I swear to you I'm telling the truth.'\n\nGottfried got down on his knees. She tried to pull him to his feet, and then bent to whisper in his ear. 'I don't know if I can help you, but I will try. But if it turns out you're lying, and if that ends my career \u2013' She didn't complete the sentence. Instead, she gently moved his chin up, so he had to meet her eyes. In doing that, she felt his weakness, felt that he was a broken man and felt that they still had some connection, no matter how badly it had been strained.\n\n'Guards,' she shouted. The guard waiting outside the door unlocked it and strode in. 'Please take this prisoner back to his cell.' She turned away from Gottfried, and stared out of the window.\n\n'Karin! Karin!' he shouted. 'At least get someone to examine the photographs.' She didn't turn round. Not until she heard the metallic clang of the door being closed. Then she picked up the black-and-white prints that Hunsberger had left on the desk, and rang for Schiller to escort her out.\n\n* * *\n\nAs Schiller drove past the barrier that signalled the edge of the restricted area, he asked M\u00fcller where she wanted to be taken. She thought about it for a moment. In many ways, she didn't want to go back to the flat \u2013 it would seem cold, empty, lonely, and in her current mood she wasn't sure she could cope with it. The only way she would survive this would be by throwing herself into her work, so maybe she should go to the office. But the empty apartment would have to be faced some time.\n\n'Take me to Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee, please.'\n\nDay Fourteen.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nIf J\u00e4ger had indeed been moved to another department, he didn't seem to have lost any of his power, because he was still able to order a Ministry of State Security motorcycle messenger to deliver a summons to M\u00fcller for a meeting.\n\nShe found herself on the same tram she'd taken to the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen, but this time, instead of getting off at the Friedrichshain People's Park she continued her journey towards the outer suburbs of the Hauptstadt. J\u00e4ger wanted to meet in another park, but further out, in Weissensee \u2013 at the boathouse of the actual Weisser See from which the area took its name. When she reached it, she saw the Stasi lieutenant colonel in a small boat, rowing towards the shore. He stood and steadied the craft alongside the jetty, and then held out his hand. She took it, stepped in and sat on the bench opposite him.\n\nWhen she tried to greet him, he mouthed a 'shhh', and continued to row silently towards the centre of the lake. Only when they were equidistant from each shore did he pull in the oars and begin to speak.\n\n'I'm sorry for having to meet in another out-of-the-way place,' he said. Then he drew in a slow breath. 'Things have got significantly more complicated.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'You know Tilsner and I have been taken off the case?'\n\n'Yes. I'm sorry if it's caused you problems. That wasn't the intention, though I warned you at the start that it wouldn't be straightforward.'\n\n'And I understand you've been reassigned, too?'\n\n'Yes... and no. In our Ministry, people are always trying to pull strings, get one up on each other. In some ways, that's what this is all about. But I can't tell you more at present.'\n\nM\u00fcller wiped her hand across her face and kept her eyes closed for a second. Then gave a long sigh. 'To be honest, being taken off the case is the least of my worries.' She paused. 'I wanted... I wanted to talk to you about my husband.' J\u00e4ger nodded slowly. 'I need you to help him, to see if there is some way you can get him out of jail.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger placed the handholds of the oars in the rowlocks again, and gave a couple of pulls to stop the boat drifting back to shore. M\u00fcller trailed her finger in the icy water. It felt so fresh, so clean. The exact opposite of her life at present.\n\n'If I did that,' he said, 'what could you do for me?'\n\nM\u00fcller looked him in the eyes. 'What do you want me to do?'\n\n'Have you still got the letter of authority I gave you? The one signed by Mielke himself?'\n\nShe knitted her brow. Despite having to appear before the panel of senior officers, despite her career hanging by a thread, she knew she still had it. She patted her jacket pocket. 'Yes. But what good is that now? I've been taken off the case.'\n\n'Don't lose that letter. You will almost certainly still need it; I want you, and Tilsner, to continue to help me, to continue to work with me.'\n\n'On the investigation into the killing of the girl?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger nodded.\n\n'But I would be risking being thrown off the force for good. My career would be in tatters.'\n\nThe Stasi lieutenant colonel shrugged. 'That's the price, I'm afraid. If you want me to help your husband, you need to help me. Don't worry about Tilsner. He won't be a problem. He owes me.'\n\n'Owes you? Owes you how?'\n\n'Let's just say we go back a long way. So Tilsner will help, but I need you too.'\n\nShe held her head in her hands, thinking of Gottfried's pathetic pleas in the Stasi jail, the revolting photographs that she hoped must be fakes. But what if they weren't? She raised her head, and looked directly at J\u00e4ger, his western newsreader visage unperturbed and unreadable. How much did it matter to him? Why did this case matter to him? Could it be as simple as his somehow feeling personally moved by the image of the girl in the cemetery? The girl could have been his daughter. She could have been M\u00fcller's daughter.\n\nShe breathed out slowly. 'Alright,' she said finally. 'But please don't let me down.'\n\n'I will do my best, Karin. I can promise you that much. But I cannot promise you that the outcome will be favourable. Your husband is in serious trouble.' He began to row again, this time in a circular pattern, the splashing as the tips broke the surface feeling almost sacrilegious to M\u00fcller in the way it disturbed the eerie calm of the dark water. 'Now,' he said, after a few moments. 'Fill me in with everything you found out on R\u00fcgen.'\n\n* * *\n\nJ\u00e4ger said nothing as she talked, and gave little away in his facial expression, simply continuing to row round in a large circle, using the right oar to do most of the work, occasionally trimming with the left if they started to drift from the centre of the lake. His lack of reaction made M\u00fcller wonder if none of this was news to him \u2013 as if she was simply confirming information he already knew, or at least suspected. His concentration seemed to be as much on the rest of the lake, and the shoreline, as on her \u2013 his eyes scanning the handful of people strolling at the lakeside. Was the agent from the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen among them?\n\n'That's about it,' she said, as she came to the end of her update.\n\nJ\u00e4ger rested the oars on the rowlocks again, and held her gaze. 'So do you think this is all connected to the dead girl in the cemetery?'\n\nShe held her palms outwards, and shrugged. 'I just don't know. The clues in the car all pointed to R\u00fcgen or the Harz, but they all seemed terribly convenient.' She stared hard at him. 'As though they could have been planted.' J\u00e4ger's face didn't change from its neutral expression \u2013 if he knew it was all a set-up, he wasn't revealing that to her. 'Of course, it could all just be coincidence,' she continued. 'If the teenagers are safely at the home in Schierke, then it takes us no further.'\n\n'I can check the Ministry of Education records. But what is written there is simply that. I will try to track Neumann down. Do you have photographs of him and the children?'\n\n'The children, yes. We got some from the Jugendwerkhof, and others of Irma Behrendt from the grandmother. But she has natural red hair. The girl in the cemetery is not her. The other girl, though, Beate Ewert \u2013'\n\n'You think it could be her?'\n\n'It's a possibility, yes. Although, as I said, the Jugendwerkhof staff insist she's safe in Schierke. And the murdered girl's face was so badly mutilated no one on R\u00fcgen was able to identify her.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger started to row back to the lakeside. She noticed him glance warily at a figure seated outside the Milchh\u00e4uschen caf\u00e9. J\u00e4ger seemed to deliberately change course after spotting the man.\n\n'This is useful information, Karin. We already had suggestions \u2013 from our own inquiries \u2013 that this case was perhaps linked to the Ostsee coast, somewhere. It makes sense. I will see what I can find out about the whereabouts of the children, and let you know. I will also see if I can trace Ewert's parents, and try to get one of them to identify the body in the morgue.'\n\nHe steadied the boat by the jetty, jumped out and then held its rope taut with one hand, while helping M\u00fcller climb out with the other.\n\nShe looked into his eyes. 'And you won't forget my husband, will you?'\n\n'No, Karin, but sorting that out \u2013 if indeed I can \u2013 may take some time. It won't be overnight.'\n\n'Is there a number on which I can reach you?'\n\nAs they started to walk back to the park exit, he shook his head. 'No, wait to hear from me in the usual way. With a sealed telegram. There are still some Ministry of State Security messengers I can trust.'\n\nEight months earlier (June 1974).\n\nOn board the cargo ship.\n\nMy delight at reaching the West is starting to wear thin. Mathias and Beate continue to whisper sweet nothings to each other and share meaningful glances. While Beate regularly makes the effort to talk to me, I can see that \u2013 to Mathias \u2013 I am nothing. Just the thorn between two roses. But if it hadn't been for me, neither of them would have escaped.\n\nWe take turns to make occasional forays to the porthole on the stairwell, but the canal we're travelling down seems tens of kilometres long.\n\nNone of the crew come down here to the hold. Why would they? As far as they're concerned, all that's here is hundreds, thousands of cardboard boxes full of self-assembly beds. But we still think it's safer not to venture beyond the bounds of the stairwell \u2013 despite our hunger, despite our thirst.\n\nWe sit in the near-darkness of the hold, listening to the hum of the engines and the creaking of metal, with our backs slumped against the pallets of cardboard boxes. A small shaft of daylight illuminates Mathias's face for a moment, and I see it fused to Beate's.\n\n'Should we check the porthole again?' I ask. 'To see where we've got to?'\n\nMathias sighs, and pulls his lips free.\n\n'You go if you must, Irma. It will give Beate and I a few moments of privacy.'\n\nBeate gives him a playful slap. 'Mathias!' she says, but the scolding is only mock-scolding.\n\n'Will you come with me, Beate?' I ask, hopefully.\n\n'OK. In a moment,' she says. I watch Mathias turn her face back to his. The faint sound of lips and tongues duelling makes me feel slightly ill.\n\nMy legs feel shaky as I stand. Whether it's the effects of lack of food, lack of water or just plain old seasickness, I'm not sure. I head to the stairwell and the porthole on my own.\n\nSitting there, watching the occasional house or car glide by, I worry about why I feel so sad. Wasn't this what I wanted? To leave the Republic behind? To leave the horrors of the Jugendwerkhof for good? But I suppose I expected I would be doing it with my best friend, that it would be a huge adventure. It's not quite worked out like that. I feel lonely, jealous and just a little afraid.\n\nThe sun is starting to set, and in the last rays of the evening, everything on the canal side is thrown into sharp contrast. It all looks so clean, so new, compared to the Republic. And now we're entering another town. From the lights, the cranes, the warehousing, it appears to be a port. I have no idea where, but I guess it is still West Germany. Any signs I do see are still in German.\n\nThe vessel slows and the hum of the engines dies down. Is this it, have we arrived? I rush down the stairwell to tell Beate that we should get ready, that we should try to jump on the quayside before any officials can stop us.\n\nI hear it before I see it, as I move quietly back into the hold. Mathias panting rhythmically. Answering breaths from Beate. I stand, rigid, in the shadows. Watching. I feel rage, jealousy, confusion.\n\nI don't think they've seen me. I retreat to the peace of the stairwell, climb the two flights and slump down once more by the porthole, more alone than ever. The engine noise and vibrations have increased again. Lights still shine through the dusk on the shore, but they're further away now, dancing up and down in the porthole. I clutch my stomach as the boat hits a wave, or trough; I'm not sure which. We're at sea again. Nausea takes hold, but there's nothing left in my stomach to regurgitate. No, no, no! Surely we can't have got so near to the West to then be denied our escape?\n\n* * *\n\nWe seem to be hugging the shoreline, because the lights never completely disappear, a continuous galaxy of western freedom, each one signalling a family home, a business, a street where the Republic has no influence \u2013 where its rules count for nothing. That's what I assume, anyway. That's what I hope.\n\nIn less than an hour, the motion of the ship has calmed \u2013 just a gentle rocking and a steady hum that slowly lulls me to sleep.\n\n* * *\n\nI wake with a start, shivering from the cold, disorientated, the hunger from days without food gnawing at my stomach. Thinking I'm back at the Jugendwerkhof, trying to push my body further into Oma's hand-knitted Strickpulli. Already June, but summer stubbornly refusing to arrive. The engine noise has changed, the sea \u2013 if it is still the sea \u2013 a flat calm. Outside the porthole, it's now a black sky, but the lights are brighter, closer. Cranes tower up like giant metallic daddy-long-legs, throwing irregular-shaped shadows across a port. Floodlit ships at the quayside, being unloaded, even at this time of night. Where? I try to find a sign, scanning from left to right. Then I see it in white lettering on a blue-and-red background \u2013 a huge notice lit up above a warehouse: Hamburger Hafenund Lagerhaus-AG. We've reached Hamburg! All of a sudden, the shroud of sadness and jealousy I've been wallowing in lifts, and I'm running down the stairs, the metal clanging and echoing under my footfall.\n\nI enter the hold, see Mathias and Beate sleeping in each other's arms, and I shake Beate awake.\n\n'We're here. We're here,' I shout. 'It's Hamburg. Quick. Let's get ready.'\n\nThe two lovebirds stand up, and rub their eyes simultaneously. Then they embrace, but this time I try to fight the jealousy back, and Beate pulls me in for a group hug. She whispers in my ear: 'I'm so proud of you, Irma, this is all thanks to you.' She squeezes me tight, and we are best friends again.\n\nMathias looks slightly awestruck, and I realise my hope that he might take control is misplaced. It will be down to me again.\n\n'I think we need to find our way up on deck,' I tell them. 'We need to find food, drink. Somewhere to stay. I have an aunt near Nuremburg. In F\u00fcrth. Maybe we could make our way there?'\n\nMathias shrugs, looks glum. 'We don't have any money, clothes or anything. How would we get there?' But I'm not going to let his pessimism deter me. Even Beate tells him to stop being such a misery.\n\n'The authorities will help us. They are used to receiving Republikfl\u00fcchtlinge. They must be.'\n\nI urge them to follow me up the stairwell. We have no plan of the boat, no idea which door leads where. I just know that somehow we have to find out where the crew disembark; we must hide near there till the gangplank connects the ship to shore, and then fade into the night.\n\nUp another flight of stairs, and we hear noises. Shouting. Hatches opening. I try to pull down the handle on the door, but I'm not strong enough. Mathias adds his hand, and together we manage to open it. I urge him back, behind me, and open the door just a crack. I'm not sure if this is a German ship, and, if so, whether it's from the East or the West. If it's from the East, the risk is that there will be guards on board, but all I can see is seamen unwinding giant ropes to tether us to the quayside.\n\nTheir shouting dies down. The ropes look taut. The engine noise has been cut, and there is no motion to the boat. We must have safely docked. I give a tiny wave of my hand to the other two, beckoning them as I start to move out of the doorway and along the deck. We maintain our crouching position as we run, heading towards the lights of the bridge. Then I see it. The gangplank. Men in green uniforms coming aboard. Darker green than in the Republic.\n\nWe've been spotted. I urge Beate and Mathias back towards the stairwell to the hold to try to hide. But Mathias just stands his ground and grabs Beate as she tries to follow me. I see her pleading to me with her eyes. Then I turn and run. Out of the corner of my eye I see the West German uniforms follow as Mathias points me out. Panting, I swing back round the corner of the opened door to the stairwell. I clatter down as fast as I can, jumping steps, colliding with the metal walls. I hear dogs snarling behind me, their barks echoing through the bowels of the ship.\n\nIn the hold, I find my opened bed box; I squeeze inside backwards, holding my breath to try to avoid the stench of sick and sweat, and then try to pull the cardboard flaps together to conceal myself. But the dogs sniff me out, and stand there barking, as though they're howling my name. I see the cardboard flaps open, and a female face framed by a green beret stares back at me. I read the badge on her lapel as I try to control my rapid breathing. The word Bundesgrenzschutz in white on green. I look at her face again. She's smiling kindly.\n\n'Welcome to the Bundesrepublik Deutschland,' she says, and I begin to cry.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Fourteen.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nM\u00fcller took her shoes off and rested her feet on her office desk, rubbing gently where her boots had chafed at her toes. Since being summoned to the meeting in front of the panel of senior officers in Keibelstrasse, Reiniger had given her and Tilsner a list of mundane jobs to do: petty theft, a flasher, criminal damage. All involved legwork that would usually be the preserve of some uniform or other. But so far no actual disciplinary action had been taken against them. She'd been hoping for some speedy news from J\u00e4ger about Gottfried's welfare, but perhaps that was unrealistic.\n\nIn the outer office, she saw Tilsner studying the teleprinter intensely, as it spewed out information in its slightly irregular way \u2013 a burst of a sentence, then nothing for several minutes till more came through. She could hear the clatter of printing resume, then saw Tilsner beckon.\n\n'Boss!' he shouted. 'Here, now. Look at this.'\n\nShe jumped up, still in bare feet, and ran through to see what had caught his attention. She peered at the printout that Tilsner was pointing to, but he seemed determined to tell her what it said in any case.\n\n'Big development, boss. You know you wanted me to check out the children's home in the Harz with the local police? Well that was more of a problem than it sounded. The phones are down due to the snow. Anyhow I radioed them at Wernigerode. Turns out they were trying to get through to us too.'\n\n'Why?'\n\n'They wouldn't say over the radio link. Said they'd telex it. And here it is. Another body's been found. Same as before. A teenager again. Only this time next to the inner German border in the Harz, rather than by the Berlin Wall. But that's why they wanted to let us know. Same sort of thing. Made to look as though the victim had escaped to the East from the West, and then been shot in the back from the West. They obviously read about the original case in Neues Deutschland, saw that you were the lead detective, and clearly weren't aware that we'd been ordered off the case.'\n\n'Surely they'd have run it past one of their superiors, wouldn't they? Then they'd have found out we'd been pushed aside.'\n\nTilsner shrugged. 'It's the country. Back of beyond in the Harz. That's why you get all these superstitious tales of witches dancing in the forest, and that sort of rubbish. So no, thankfully they think we're still the team in charge.'\n\n'And what do we know about the body? What age, what sex is the victim?' asked M\u00fcller, conscious that she was sounding almost as excited as he was, and mentally chastising herself for it. The age-old moral dilemma for a homicide detective: it often takes a second murder to solve the first.\n\n'Teenager again \u2013 this time a boy, around the right age \u2013 between fifteen and seventeen.'\n\nM\u00fcller breathed in deeply. 'We need to go there to check it out. And we could call in on the children's home at Schierke at the same time, to see whether those teenagers \u2013 if they're still alive \u2013 truly are there. The trouble is, there's no way Reiniger will let us. Not while I'm under investigation for supposedly exceeding my authority.'\n\nTilsner cocked his head to the side. 'I thought you said J\u00e4ger wanted us back on the original case?'\n\n'Yes, but not openly.'\n\n'Reiniger seems to do his bidding though. I don't know what sort of hold he has over him \u2013 there seems to be something.' M\u00fcller remembered what J\u00e4ger had said: that Tilsner owed him. There were too many secrets in this case. Too many lies. She wasn't sure what or who to believe.\n\nThe bell at the office front door rang. Both looked around for Elke, expecting her to answer it, then they realised it was too late in the evening and she'd already gone home. Tilsner went instead.\n\nAs he opened the door, M\u00fcller could see behind him it was the motorbike messenger from the Ministry of State Security, the one who regularly delivered J\u00e4ger's messages. Tilsner took an envelope from him, closed the door and then brought it to M\u00fcller.\n\nShe broke the red wax seal, emblazoned with the Stasi's emblem: the Republic's flag, flying from a rifle held up by a muscular arm. And then tore open the envelope and began to read:\n\nYou and T must go to Harz. Latest killing there may be linked. Three R\u00fcgen teens are in Schierke home according to Ministry of Education records in Berlin. Please check this when in Harz. Reiniger cannot explicitly approve but he agrees. Do not contact him, just trust me. I will back you if any problems with Ministry. I have found Ewert's mother, so will be taking her to morgue. Will contact you once you're there via Wernigerode Volkspolizei. Good luck. KJ.\n\nKJ. Klaus J\u00e4ger. How had he heard about this new Harz killing before they had?\n\n'Well?' asked Tilsner expectantly.\n\nM\u00fcller realised she'd just been standing there, thinking things through, worrying that the latest development could be part of an elaborate set-up by the Stasi lieutenant colonel. 'J\u00e4ger's saying we should go to the Harz. He already knows about the new body.'\n\nTilsner whistled through his teeth. 'It figures, I suppose. He's got his fingers in lots of pies.'\n\n'And I gather you two go back a long way?' M\u00fcller held Tilsner's eyeline, challenging him.\n\nHe dropped his eyes, and scuffed his left shoe on the floor, as though kicking an imaginary stone. Embarrassment or guilt? 'I suppose he told you that, did he? It's not something I want to talk about.'\n\n'Why not?'\n\nTilsner raised his eyes. 'Ask him,' he said, an edge to his voice. 'He's not as clean as he makes out. I'm not even sure we can trust him.'\n\nM\u00fcller said nothing, just lifted Tilsner's cuff and pointed to the watch.\n\n'It's a nice watch,' he said. 'I like good watches.'\n\nM\u00fcller shrugged. 'I was just wondering, Werner \u2013'\n\n'Wondering what?'\n\n'When J\u00e4ger said you two went back a long way, was that all the way to Stasi school?'\n\nTilsner sneered at her, turned his back and appeared to study the teleprinter again.\n\n'You'd better get the Wartburg ready,' she said. 'It'll need snow chains. And you might need to go home and pack a case.'\n\nHe turned, his face still grim after the argument. 'We're not going tonight, are we? There's been a huge dump of snow in the Harz; it's sleeting here and the roads will be awful.'\n\nM\u00fcller imagined the teenager's body, lying in a snow-covered Harz forest. And the poor girl from St Elisabeth's cemetery, who they still hadn't identified, with her ragged black cape and pathetic attempts to mimic black nail varnish.\n\n'Yes,' she said. 'We need to leave as soon as possible. Time may be running out.'\n\nDay Fourteen.\n\nEast Germany.\n\nA mixture of rain and sleet hammered against the windscreen of the Wartburg, as they drove southeast through the outskirts of the Hauptstadt towards Bohnsdorf to join the motorway system. Tilsner leant forwards in the driver's seat, wiping away condensation from the inside.\n\n'Can't see a thing,' he complained, narrowly missing a broken-down motorbike at the side of the road, swerving at the last minute.\n\n'If you can't see, then slow down, or stop,' she warned.\n\n'I thought we were in a rush to view this boy's body?'\n\n'We are. But I'd rather get there alive.'\n\n* * *\n\nEver since Magdeburg, the snow had started settling on the road, slowing their progress. M\u00fcller could now see cloudlets in front of her face each time she breathed out. As the road climbed towards Blankenburg, she felt the tyres start to slip from under them.\n\n'Scheisse,' said Tilsner. 'Time for the chains.' He pulled his gloves on, wiggled his fingers to warm them and then got out of the car. No traffic seemed to be passing. No one else was stupid enough to travel in this, thought M\u00fcller. It took Tilsner about fifteen minutes of manoeuvring the car, centimetre by centimetre, fiddling with the chains, before he was back inside, shivering.\n\n'Can you warm my hands up?' he asked, resting one on her thigh, his teeth chattering.\n\n'No,' she said. 'I don't want to start any of that stuff again. Think of your children.' But as she said it, she knew it was only partly true. It might just be a physical thing, but it was there \u2013 and she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to resist.\n\nTilsner stared into her eyes. 'Don't lay that on me. I might not be a good husband, but I try to be a good dad.'\n\nM\u00fcller took his hand and placed it firmly back on the steering wheel. 'Let's just get there as soon as possible.'\n\n* * *\n\nIt was almost another hour's laborious driving to Blankenburg, at little more than walking pace. When they finally got to the edge of the town, with its medieval buildings, Tilsner sighed. 'Nice place, but I've had enough.'\n\nM\u00fcller grimaced. 'It's only another fifteen kilometres or so to Wernigerode. And I thought you said the police there had arranged accommodation?'\n\n'They have, but I'm shot. Would you like to drive the rest of the way?'\n\nM\u00fcller didn't answer.\n\n'I'll take that as a no. OK, we need to find rooms here then, and call the Wernigerode police and apologise. I'm sure they'll understand.'\n\n* * *\n\nM\u00fcller woke in the early hours in the middle of a dark dream. It featured Beate Ewert, Gottfried, Richter, J\u00e4ger and her \u2013 all at Prora. She'd suddenly become a girl again. J\u00e4ger was the director of the home. One of the teachers was making a grab for her, reaching for her breast, and \u2013 as she saw his face \u2013 she realised it was Gottfried. She tried to fight him off, push him away. Then Prora was replaced by the police college, but she was still struggling with a man. Not Gottfried, no it was him, it was... He wouldn't release her until she pushed with all her strength, holding something sharp in her hand. And then she was awake, sweating, throwing off the heavy mountain blankets. The perfect darkness initially disorientated her. For an instant she was still at the college, in his room with the lights off. Then she remembered. She remained bolt upright for a few seconds, heart thumping in her chest, and switched on the bedside lamp.\n\nShe went out onto the landing, to the guesthouse's shared toilet, and then to wash her hands. She jumped back slightly as she realised Tilsner was already there, drinking a beaker of water and admiring himself in the mirror. He saw her reflection, smiled and turned around.\n\n'You couldn't sleep either, I guess? Do you want to come and join me?'\n\nFor an instant, the idea seemed attractive. A warm muscular body to hold her, to protect her from her dreams in this nightmare murder case. But she knew she ought to resist the temptation. If she didn't, they'd be finished as a partnership. It couldn't carry on if they became embroiled in a serious relationship, and surely that's what would happen if she said yes. But she doubted he'd leave his wife and kids, and she wasn't ready to become someone's mistress.\n\nShe smiled, shoved him out of the way and began washing her hands.\n\n'That's a no then, is it?'\n\nShe just laughed, and returned to her own room.\n\nDay Fifteen.\n\nEast Germany.\n\nThe snowstorm had abated overnight, and by the time M\u00fcller and Tilsner set off in the Wartburg, the ploughs had cleared the route to Wernigerode. A journey that might have taken more than an hour or longer the previous night was completed by Tilsner in around twenty minutes. The sun had broken through the clouds, and M\u00fcller needed her sunglasses as she admired the scenery to the left-hand side of the road: dazzling white snow softening the angles of the spruce forests of the Harz.\n\nThe local Kriminalpolizei were expecting them, and for the next part of their journey to the site where the boy's body was found, they followed the Wernigerode Kripo officer and his assistant, in a virtually identical Wartburg. The police captain \u2013 with a rhythmical name of Hauptmann Baumann, and a ruddy mountain complexion \u2013 had briefed them that the body had been found close to the border zone, in the forest a few metres from where Fernverkehrsstrasse 27 came to a dead end. The road was chopped in two there by the inner German border.\n\nA few hundred metres past Elend, the police car in front stopped, and Baumann got out and came to speak to them. As Tilsner wound open the driver's window, Baumann leant down, his muscular arm resting half in, half out of the vehicle, looking to M\u00fcller a bit like the bough of a tree. Solid, dependable, she thought; they would be safe with Baumann.\n\n'You'll need to put the snow chains on from here onwards, Unterleutnant. It hasn't been ploughed. The road's rarely used except by border troops. Anyone else has to have a special permit.'\n\nM\u00fcller leant across Tilsner. 'Would that include Franz Neumann, the Jugendwerkhof director we asked you to investigate?'\n\nBaumann slapped his oversized gloved hands together in the cold. 'It would. But we haven't found any trace of him in this area. And the children's home at Schierke has no record of the three teenagers who were supposed to have been transferred there.'\n\n'So how come all the records show they were transferred?' asked Tilsner.\n\nThe Kripo captain sighed and shrugged. Then he clapped his glove against the Wartburg's windscreen, shaking the car on its suspension springs. 'We can talk about all that back at the office. First you must get your snow chains on, so we can show you the site of the body.' He walked back towards the car in front, opened the boot and started to remove his chains. Tilsner mirrored his actions for their own vehicle.\n\nWhen he was back in the car, and they'd begun to follow the Harz officers again, Tilsner turned to M\u00fcller. 'Neumann obviously faked those records in R\u00fcgen,' he said.\n\n'Yes,' agreed M\u00fcller. 'But somehow he also seems to have altered state records in the Department of Education. Or else someone helped him to do that. We need to find him, and fast. J\u00e4ger said he would send a picture through to Wernigerode. We need to ask them about that when we've finished here.'\n\nAs they continued to carefully follow the Wernigerode officers, the two detectives could see tracks in the snow on the road ahead, presumably where the police had been back and forth, sealing the area, taking photographs, removing the body.\n\nAfter about three kilometres, the tracks came to an end \u2013 the road blocked by a red-and-white barrier. Baumann pulled over and parked, and Tilsner followed. The Hauptmann and his assistant, Unterleutnant Vogel, walked back to M\u00fcller and her deputy, who themselves climbed out.\n\n'It's about fifty metres into the forest, just there.' Baumann pointed to where the snow had been trampled into a makeshift path by the repeat journeys of various police officers; their boot prints disappeared down an old forest track. He saw M\u00fcller examining the snowy ground. 'The footprints all belong to us, I'm afraid.' Baumann strode off with Vogel alongside him, and M\u00fcller and Tilsner immediately behind. 'However, my officers were very careful not to disturb the tracks they did find. They made sure they photographed them before they could be contaminated.'\n\n'What sort of tracks?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Tyre tracks.'\n\n'Have you identified the make of tyre?' asked Tilsner.\n\nBaumann glanced at his young Unterleutnant. 'Any progress on that, Comrade Vogel?'\n\n'No,' admitted Vogel, scratching the tight dark curls of his hair. The younger detective was a stark contrast to his superior. While Baumann was all agrarian ruggedness, Vogel looked slightly out of place \u2013 almost like a younger Gottfried, thought M\u00fcller. As though he should still be at university. 'We haven't been able to find a matching pattern,' said the Unterleutnant. 'To be honest, we were hoping you lot from Berlin might be able to help with that.'\n\nBaumann nodded his giant head. 'That's partly why we contacted you, Comrade M\u00fcller. We'd read about your case in Neues Deutschland. This seems, on the surface, to be a similar killing.'\n\n'But the tyre tracks at our site weren't mentioned in that report,' said M\u00fcller.\n\nBaumann shrugged. 'Nevertheless, there are similarities I'm sure you can help us with.'\n\nThe two local detectives started walking down the track again, with M\u00fcller and Tilsner following. In a few metres, they came to a small clearing. Sunlight streamed through overhead, throwing sharp, knife-like shadows from the spruce trees; the shadows appeared as sentries, standing guard over the small patch of ground. The purity of the forest had been violated here, thought M\u00fcller, just as the sanctity of St Elisabeth cemetery had been violated in Berlin. The difference was that here the West Berlin traffic noise was replaced by virtual silence. There was the odd howl of what M\u00fcller assumed were guard dogs at the border \u2013 but far more distant and irregular than in the Hauptstadt.\n\n'Do you have the photographs of the body?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nVogel reached into a grey canvas bag he carried over his shoulder and produced a series of black-and-white prints, enclosed in cellophane. He handed them to Tilsner, who divided them approximately in half, and in turn handed one half-pile to M\u00fcller.\n\nM\u00fcller's first photo showed the body as discovered by a local forest worker. The teenager had been left in a similar position to his female counterpart in Berlin: on his front, facing east. Bullet holes in the back. A bloody T-shirt. Broken and twisted leg. There was nothing to confirm this was Mathias Gellman \u2013 the face had again been badly mutilated, but Tilsner had already established in his initial radio conversation with Wernigerode the previous day that his physical characteristics matched.\n\n'Here, boss,' said Tilsner, drawing her attention to one of the photos from his bundle. 'Training shoe footprints, apparently running away from the direction of the border.' She held up the photographs against the real-life background, comparing the two, trying to imagine the scene. It was all depressingly, disturbingly consistent.\n\nWhoever had done this was capable of pure evil.\n\nThey had to find him. Stop him.\n\nBefore he killed again.\n\nEight months earlier (June 1974).\n\nHamburg, West Germany.\n\nThe female customs officer convinces me that her dog is harmless, and I agree to come out of the self-assembly-bed box. She helps me get my shoulders free, and then slides me out. I can see her recoil slightly from the smell, but her dog leaps up, licking my face, until she orders it to heel.\n\nI follow her up the stairwell and out onto the deck.\n\n'You must have had a horrible journey,' she says as we walk along the deck to the gangway. 'How long were you on the boat?'\n\n'I'm not sure,' I reply. 'It felt like days. Maybe it was only a couple?'\n\nShe looks me up and down and sniffs, a faint hint of distaste in her face. 'You must be hungry.'\n\nI laugh. 'Hungry, thirsty and filthy. I'm looking forward to my first western drink, my first western meal and my first western bath.'\n\nShe steps to one side, as a male officer joins us. 'We're taking you to a hostel while we process everything,' he says. 'You'll get a meal there, something to drink and you can wash. We'll provide you with a change of clothes.'\n\nI can see that on the quayside a green Bundesgrenzschutz minivan is waiting, its blue light flashing and motor running. A male officer leads me down the gangplank, and the woman with the dog follows behind. They seem friendly enough, seem to want to help. At the bottom of the gangplank, there's just an instant where I could make a run for it if I wanted to. But why would I want to? I'm here, on western soil at last.\n\nI climb aboard the van. Mathias and Beate are already there, holding hands on one of the bench seats. Beate smiles, and squashes up to let me sit next to her. But Mathias won't meet my eyes.\n\n'What's the matter?' I ask him. 'Aren't you happy to be here?'\n\n* * *\n\nThe journey through the port and into the city is one of excitement. The shop signs fascinate me, with their flashing coloured lights. It's the same feeling I used to get as a young child on Christmas Eve in Sellin, at Oma's \u2013 that tingling feeling, waiting for Oma to ring the bell and open the locked door to the room with the presents and tree inside. What would der Weihnachtsmann have brought me this year?\n\nBeate is just as elated. 'Can you take us to see the Reeperbahn?' she calls to the driver.\n\nThere's an exchange between the driver and a suited official, who I guess is also with the Bundesgrenzschutz, but in plain clothes. The besuited man nods, and turns to us smiling. 'We will drive past it. You can't get out though, not until we've processed you at the hostel.'\n\nBeate and I giggle. But Mathias is stony-faced, miserable. What's wrong with him?\n\n'We can't go down the main bit of the Reeperbahn,' the suited man calls back from the front. 'It's pedestrianised. But you'll be able to see some of the nightlife.'\n\nIn a few minutes, we're there. Beate and I look left and right, pointing things out to each other. There are young girls in tiny miniskirts on the corners. I'm not sure if they're prostitutes or just dressed to look sexy. And there are nightclubs, and burger bars. It's so different from the Republic, and this \u2013 though I almost want to pinch myself to believe it \u2013 is my new home. I wonder whether F\u00fcrth, where my aunt lives, is as exciting.\n\nAll too quickly, we leave the bright lights behind, and now seem to be in the suburbs. All the road signs are different, all the shop signs are different, all the cars are different. Schools, hospitals, petrol stations, supermarkets: the same, yet different. As though someone has lifted up an East German town, coated it in bright paint, added lots more traffic and people, and then dropped it down in another part of the world. For a moment I think of the Jugendwerkhof and those I've left behind. I feel sorry for the ones who showed me kindness. Herr M\u00fcller, Frau Schettler, even Maria Bauer. Once a sworn enemy, yet she had helped me to escape. But then I think of Richter, and Neumann, and thank God I'm no longer there.\n\nBeate grips my hand as we turn into some sort of barbed wire-topped compound. Maybe she's scared this is the West German equivalent of Prora Ost. But the female officer with the dog smiles reassuringly at us, and the dog itself is barking and wagging its tail in the back of the van, as though it knows it's home.\n\nWe're taken straight to the canteen, urged to sit down, and then the officers and the suited man are all helping us; they're fetching us Coca-Colas, crisps, bowls of hot soup, which seem out of place given the season. I feel as though I could eat as much as they're able to put in front of us. Beate and I slurp the soup noisily, then break off bread from the rolls, dip it into the meaty broth and stuff it into our mouths. Even Mathias seems to have thawed slightly and is eating as eagerly as us.\n\n'I don't want to ever drink Vita Cola again,' I say, even though it was a luxury in the East, for which we saved up our pocket money.\n\n'Or eat Spreewald pickles,' says Beate.\n\n'Or Nudossi,' adds Mathias. And then I feel slightly sad again, because Nudossi \u2013 when we occasionally got it for breakfast in Prora \u2013 was a real treat. I can almost taste the memory of the nutty chocolate spread.\n\nAs soon as we finish the soup, suit man grabs our bowls, and nice woman officer is back with the next course. Currywurst with chips, the steam rising from each hot plate. I just look at mine for a moment, then lean down and breathe in the spicy aroma, letting the saliva gather in my mouth \u2013 savouring the smell. Then I cut a slice of wurst, add it to a few chips on my fork, dunk it in the curry sauce, add some tomato ketchup and thrust it in my mouth. There's too much, the curry gets up my nose and I splutter it all out again onto the plate.\n\n'Yuck!' exclaims Beate, laughing. 'Don't they teach you any manners, you Ostlers?' She winks at me. Even Mathias grins.\n\n* * *\n\nAfter our meal, we don't have to clear away our plates; the officers tell us to leave them as they are, and direct us to our bedroom and the showers on the first floor.\n\nThere are two sets of bunk beds in the room, and I realise with surprise that Mathias will be sharing with us. I know I won't get much sleep tonight now, because the two lovebirds will be noisily entwined. Oh well. Even the thought of that is not going to dampen my spirits.\n\nThen Beate and I are in the showers, spraying each other, shampooing each other's hair, washing each other's backs. And I realise, in our nakedness, that we are not so very different. Being in the West has made me feel more beautiful, more confident. Yes, I've got curly red hair. But I'll get it cut, in a fashionable western style. Yes, I'm overweight. But I can go on a diet. Yes, Beate is absurdly pretty, but here in the West there will be lots of pretty girls, all with the latest fashions and make-up, and she will have to start again. So we are not so very different. And we are friends. She smiles at me, and we hug under the shower spray, the water cascading over our faces. Two very happy girls who are free at last \u2013 the very best of friends until our dying day.\n\n* * *\n\nIn the middle of the night, I hear Mathias hiss Beate's name. I see her shape climb down from the top bunk above me, and move to his bed \u2013 the bottom bunk of the opposite set. She climbs in, and at first they are just whispering very quietly together. I toy with the idea of asking them to be quiet, but I don't really care. They are happy, they are together, why shouldn't they whisper to each other? And even when the bed starts rocking and creaking, even when Beate starts shamelessly calling his name, even when he is grunting on every thrust, I cannot work up any anger. I just lie, and listen, and dream of the West and of one day finding a boyfriend of my own \u2013 someone who will take me as I am; someone who will cherish my curly red hair, my determination, my sense of adventure. The attributes that have helped both Mathias and Beate win new lives in the West. Because I know they could have never done it without me. It was my plan. And it worked.\n\n* * *\n\nThe next day \u2013 over breakfast \u2013 the officers begin what they call 'processing'. I expect it's to provide us with our new West German passports, maybe some Deutschmarks. Perhaps they will give me train tickets down to F\u00fcrth to my aunt's. I don't know, and I don't really care. I don't look at the paperwork, just sign where they want, knowing that I am free.\n\nThen we're in the van again. The three of us, and the same officers, and the same suited man. I try to catch the female officer's eye, but she's looking down at her hands with a slightly sad demeanour. Oh well, I guess people still have their troubles in the West. Maybe she's had an argument with her husband.\n\nBeate and I are still holding hands childishly as the van sets off, out into the Hamburg suburbs again, and onto the autobahn. Sleek luxury cars overtake us at lightning speeds. We take the A7 towards Hanover. Beate and I start singing H\u00e4nschen Klein, clapping along; Mathias puts his hands over his ears. I glance again at the female officer, but find her eyes wet with tears. She looks away.\n\nBeate shouts at suit man: 'Are you taking us all the way to Irma's aunt in F\u00fcrth?' Because although our geography of the Federal Republic is not good, we both know that's the way we're heading. He just shakes his head, but doesn't enlighten us further.\n\nAt Hanover, we turn onto the A2 and see the signs to West Berlin. Well, that wouldn't be such a bad place to end up. The words to H\u00e4nschen Klein run around my head, even though we've stopped singing it aloud:\n\nH\u00e4nschen klein ging allein\n\nIn die weite Welt hinein.\n\nStock und Hut stehn ihm gut,\n\nIst gar wohlgemut.\n\nI don't get as far as the second verse. By then, the motion of the van and the roar of the autobahn have lulled me to sleep.\n\n* * *\n\nWhat wakes me is Beate, tugging at my sleeve. 'Look,' she says, pointing at what appears to be a border crossing. I frown. There's a tense atmosphere inside the van. Suit man is gathering papers together. Dog woman is looking at me vigilantly, but with a set face. Even the dog seems alert, ears pricked, panting next to his mistress.\n\n'Where are we?' They don't answer. I look at Mathias. He gives a sly little smile. 'Do you know, Mathias?' He just shrugs.\n\nSomething isn't right, but we're waved through the crossing. Maybe we're at the entrance to West Berlin. Beate holds my hand, but this time tightly, nervously.\n\nThen I see the sign: 'Herzlich Willkommen in der DDR.'\n\nI jump to my feet, trying to drag Beate with me, but Mathias is holding her back. I let go and try to open the van door. The dog starts barking, straining at its leash. Suit man is shouting; dog woman is trying to grab me. The other male officer pins me down before I can get the door open. What sort of nightmare is this? 'Get off me,' I shout. 'I don't want to go back, I won't go back.' Dog woman is trying to shush me gently, but the other officer has his hand over my mouth. I try to bite him.\n\n'Mistst\u00fcck!' he screams, but doesn't let go.\n\nAnd then we're at the DDR checkpoint. Grenztruppen rush to the van, handcuffing the three of us. Beate and I are snarling like wildcats.\n\n'Mathias, do something,' shouts Beate, hoping he will be her knight in shining armour. But he is strangely subdued. Unresisting. Almost as though he wants to go back. And then I realise. He does! The Arschloch. He didn't want to escape from the DDR. He just wanted to be with her. To keep her, trap her with him, like a butterfly pinned in a frame.\n\nI'm still screaming, trying to kick the border troops, but they put us in arm locks and march us to the checkpoint building. I wrench my head round to look back at the van, and the West German border officers who have betrayed us. I can't believe it; dog woman seemed so nice. She is crying, shouting at suit man, and then she holds my gaze, and I see her mouth: 'Sorry.'\n\nThe three of us are taken into a room at the side of the checkpoint, and I see the back of a man's head in a swivel chair, facing away from us.\n\nThe chair swivels round, and I hear Beate scream.\n\nBut there he is, a manic grin creasing his horrible scarred face, and lifting his black eyepatch slightly out of place.\n\nDirector Franz Neumann, of Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost.\n\nFebruary 1975. Day Fifteen.\n\nWernigerode, East Germany.\n\nWernigerode might have been out in the provinces but its police headquarters put Marx-Engels-Platz to shame. The Kripo team here were housed in a smart modern block \u2013 sharing offices with the rest of the town's Volkspolizei. Baumann and Vogel even had a special room reserved for their inquiry.\n\nScanning the photographs pinned to one wall, M\u00fcller noticed the tyre track patterns. As in Berlin, the Kriminaltechniker here had produced a negative image of the tracks found in the snow. M\u00fcller felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She waved Tilsner over.\n\n'Look familiar?' she asked.\n\n'Scheisse.'\n\n'Gislaved. I'm almost certain,' she whispered.\n\nVogel noticed the two Berlin detectives staring closely at the image. 'Do you recognise them?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'They're from a Swedish tyre. Fitted to Volvos.'\n\nThe Wernigerode Unterleutnant immediately understood \u2013 M\u00fcller saw it in the pallor of his youthful face. She was confused. Surely someone couldn't have hired the wedding limousine from West Berlin again? And brought it all the way here, to the Harz? That would be madness. And how would they have negotiated the narrow forest track? A car perhaps, but not a stretch limousine.\n\nVogel had ushered Baumann over.\n\n'The tyre tracks,' he said. 'They're from a Volvo. Do you understand what that means, Comrade Baumann?' Baumann had a blank look on his face. 'It's almost certainly from a car assigned to a government official.'\n\n'Verdammt!' exclaimed Baumann.\n\n'Or a Stasi official,' added Vogel.\n\n'Did your Kriminaltechniker measure the wheelbase?' asked Tilsner.\n\nVogel leafed through his notebook. 'I'm not sure. But he was categorical it was from a saloon car. Quite a large saloon, but definitely a saloon. And he was adamant he'd never seen that tyre pattern before.'\n\nTilsner nodded thoughtfully.\n\nBaumann slumped down in a chair. 'I could tell this one was going to be trouble. If it had been a hundred metres or so further west we could have left it to the border troops. Now it looks like we'll have to inform the Stasi. Usually they leave us to our own devices, which \u2013 to be honest \u2013 is how I prefer it.' He eyeballed M\u00fcller. 'Is that why this Stasi Oberstleutnant is involved? He's faxed through a photograph of this Neumann fellow. Most of the phones are down due to the snow, but the fax is still working.'\n\n'Can you bring it to me?' she asked.\n\nBaumann walked over to a desk, opened the top drawer and picked out two pieces of paper.\n\nThe first was the faxed photograph, and as he handed it to M\u00fcller, she immediately felt a sense of dread come over her. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the black patch over Neumann's left eye, or the scar that ran down his cheek. He certainly looked capable of the killings, but M\u00fcller knew that looks were almost always deceptive.\n\nSomething else nagged her about the poor-quality faxed photo \u2013 a sense of familiarity, although she was certain she'd never met the man before.\n\nBaumann coughed. M\u00fcller looked up, and saw him proffering the second faxed sheet. She took it.\n\nIt was a terse note, telegram-style, faxed from notepaper headed with the Ministry for State Security emblem, addressed to her.\n\nWent to basement at Charit\u00e9 with mother. Confirmed as B.E. Good luck with the investigation. KJ.\n\nLess than two lines of text, and just two initials instead of her name. B.E. After days without a proper face, without a name, the dead girl in the cemetery suddenly had one; the one M\u00fcller had suspected ever since the visit to Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost: Beate Ewert, Irma Behrendt's best friend. Beate, the one who'd found life so unbearable in the youth workhouse. As Baumann and Vogel looked on quizzically, she handed the note to Tilsner. Her deputy shook his head, a grim expression on his face, and then gave it back to her. As M\u00fcller held the note between her fingers, she stared at her unpainted nails. And tried to picture Beate. In her last happy moments. Colouring in her nails with a black felt-tip pen.\n\n* * *\n\nIf the circumstances of the Harz killing gave M\u00fcller and Tilsner a sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, that was heightened still further two hours later in the mortuary at Wernigerode Hospital. The pathologist, one Dr Eckstein, looked as ancient as his surroundings and tools, white hair sprouting from his ears and nostrils. To M\u00fcller, he looked like he'd probably done the exact same job in the Nazi era, possibly even in the Weimar Republic.\n\nHis actual findings were remarkably similar, and so was the rigmarole they had to go through to get a ringside seat for the autopsy. Once again, the provisions of the Order on Medical Post Examinations were haughtily quoted, but here, Baumann's local connections seemed to hold sway. When the Hauptmann explained that the Berlin detectives might be able to shed some light on the difficult case, Eckstein agreed to allow all four detectives to witness his examination of the body.\n\nJust as Feuerstein had in Berlin, Eckstein demonstrated why the bullet wounds had almost certainly been inflicted post mortem.\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. 'Our killing in Berlin was exactly the same, Comrade Eckstein.'\n\nThe pathologist looked slightly taken aback, but then went on to explain how blood had been applied to the body and clothes from the outside, only he'd already gone one step further in analysing the blood from the clothes.\n\n'I could tell straight away something didn't look right, so I tested the blood from the T-shirt before we started the autopsy.'\n\n'And?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'And it's from an animal,' said Eckstein.\n\n'Same story in Berlin again, Doctor,' said Tilsner. M\u00fcller noticed the sharp looks from Baumann and Vogel. Clearly they weren't best pleased that the Berlin detectives had withheld information from them.\n\nEckstein gave a heavy sigh. 'I can see it's going to take quite a bit to impress you city types. However, that's not the whole story.'\n\n'What do you mean?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'As I say, I could tell from the shape of the cells under the microscope that the blood was from an animal, not a human. A cat, in fact. And then I managed to run some tests using isoenzyme analysis of the red blood cells.'\n\nM\u00fcller could see the pathologist was enjoying bamboozling them with science, and drawing out his moment of drama. 'What I'm trying to say,' continued Eckstein, 'is that the blood is from a very special moggy: Felis silvestris, the European wildcat. And this was a particularly pure beast; its forebears hadn't been fraternising with any local village cats.'\n\n'What does that mean?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'It means the blood was obtained from an animal in a relatively remote location.'\n\nBaumann stepped forward at this point, turning to M\u00fcller. 'The Brocken. A colony resides there on the slopes. We're often getting ramblers claiming they've sighted a leopard or a lion.'\n\n'They must be pretty short-sighted,' joked Tilsner. 'Anyway, I thought the Brocken was a restricted zone.'\n\n'It is,' agreed Baumann. 'And the main colony of cats is thought to be inside that zone, but occasionally one or two stray outside.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded thoughtfully. More evidence pointing to the highest mountain in the Harz, but hardly conclusive.\n\nThe mortuary assistant tried to pass the pathologist a saw to begin opening the body cavity, but Eckstein waved him away and continued to discuss the case. 'Do we know who the victim is?'\n\n'We're not certain, but we have a good idea,' replied M\u00fcller. It wasn't the entire truth. The receipt of the faxed note from J\u00e4ger had removed what little doubt M\u00fcller had left as to the boy's identity. She retrieved her briefcase from a chair at the back of the room and pulled out some pieces of paper. 'These are the dental records from a Jugendwerkhof on the island of R\u00fcgen. If the boy is who we think he is, they should be a match.' Out of the corner of her eye she could see Baumann and Vogel frowning. More information she should already have passed to them.\n\nEckstein studied the sheets. Then, with his hands protected by rubber gloves, he eased open the boy's jaw and asked the assistant to angle a spotlight to highlight the inside of the buccal cavity. Unlike the girl in Berlin, his teeth were still intact. 'I'll take a full cast of the teeth later, but from a superficial examination I'd say you have the right boy.' He waved M\u00fcller forwards. 'See here, this gap in the lower dentures. On the right-hand side of his jaw, or left as you're looking.' Eckstein was rubbing his finger on the empty gum. 'Two teeth are missing: the second premolar, and the first molar.'\n\n'That's nothing to do with the cause of death, then?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'No, no, Oberleutnant. I should think perhaps he was involved in a fight a year or two ago, something like that. The teeth became cracked and rotten as a result.' He let the mouth close, and picked up the dental records again. 'The reason isn't given here, but the missing teeth are. So you can be fairly certain you have the right boy. What's his name?'\n\n'Mathias Gellman. Aged fifteen at the time he disappeared. Now sixteen,' said Tilsner.\n\nEckstein nodded, then began examining the rest of the exterior of Mathias's naked, mutilated body. As he dictated his observations to his assistant, Eckstein said something which left all four detectives bemused.\n\n'Your case in Berlin. I assume it was murder?' he asked.\n\n'Yes,' replied M\u00fcller. She felt a small flutter in her stomach.\n\n'Well, I can tell you this isn't, at least I don't think so. Even before I begin any incisions I can tell you that it looks as though this boy died as the result of a fall. Of course, he may have been pushed, but there's no bruising consistent with a struggle.'\n\nHe began pointing to lesions on Mathias's torso and limbs, and finally to one on his forehead. 'This is probably what did for him. He's hit his head on a hard stone surface at the end of a fall of some three to four metres I'd say, so perhaps just one flight of stairs. I won't be able to confirm this until I have opened the skull, but I don't think you all need to stay for that. It's not a spectator sport I'd recommend.'\n\n'So he died from a blow to the head? Couldn't it have been from a blunt instrument? After he was pushed downstairs?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nEckstein shook his head. 'The head injury is not consistent with that, Oberleutnant. This appears to me to be a fairly simple case of cranio-cerebral trauma after a fall down stairs. Albeit the stairs were stone stairs. And that he hit his head on a hard, angular rock at the bottom of his fall. I managed to retrieve some grit fragments from the wound. I will analyse them and give you the results later.'\n\n'What will that tell us?' asked Tilsner.\n\nM\u00fcller glared at her deputy. 'It may help us locate where he died, because it clearly wasn't in the middle of the forest where the body was found. And that may lead us to Neumann. We've accounted for two of the three missing teenagers. Let's try to find the other while she's still alive.'\n\n* * *\n\nSoon afterwards, Eckstein ushered the four detectives from the mortuary, insisting he needed peace to continue with the rest of the procedure.\n\nOnce back at Wernigerode People's Police headquarters, M\u00fcller was informed that Reiniger was trying to get through to her on the police radio. The connection was poor and Reiniger's voice barely cut through the static.\n\n'Oberleutnant M\u00fcller,' he said, in a formal tone. 'You and Unterleutnant Tilsner must return to Berlin immediately. I never gave you permission to leave the Hauptstadt in any case. Furthermore, I regret to inform you that your husband is having charges brought against him. They include undermining the political or social order of the Republic, exploiting the moral immaturity of a minor for the purposes of intercourse or similar acts and, most seriously, in respect to your current investigation, the \u2013'\n\nThe two-way radio that M\u00fcller was using in the police station side office crackled and cut to static.\n\n'Oberst Reiniger. Could you repeat that please? I'm afraid the line is very bad.'\n\n'He is being charged with murder. The murder of the girl found at St Elisabeth's cemetery. As I believe you now know, that girl has been identified as Beate Ewert, the girl you have seen in compromising photographs of your husband.'\n\nAll of a sudden M\u00fcller felt breathless, as though she might faint. She found it difficult to believe the photos of Gottfried with Beate were genuine, but she certainly couldn't accept he was a murderer. And Mathias's body had been dumped while he was in jail, so clearly he couldn't be directly responsible for that. What game was Reiniger playing? She wondered if Schmidt had yet been able to analyse the photograph of Gottfried in the sanatorium, the one her husband insisted had been doctored \u2013 his last plea to her before they parted in the interrogation room at Hohensch\u00f6nhausen.\n\n'Until your divorce is finalised you are still married to a suspect, now charged, in this investigation. So you are being suspended and must return to \u2013'\n\nShe remembered J\u00e4ger's pledge to back her. She patted the letter of authority from Mielke she still carried in her inside jacket pocket. It gave her the courage to take a gamble. 'Hello, Oberst Reiniger. I'm unable to hear you. I'm afraid the line has gone again. I haven't been able to hear any of this conversation.' In fact, Reiniger's voice was clearer than at any time in the exchange. He was telling her that the suspension was effective immediately and had been approved at the highest level at Keibelstrasse. Her only defence was in the lie. 'Oberst Reiniger. If you can hear me, I'm afraid I cannot hear you.' Reiniger kept on repeating what he'd just said, the anger in his voice mounting, but M\u00fcller still insisted the reception was too bad, and finally terminated the conversation.\n\nDay Fifteen.\n\nWernigerode, East Germany.\n\nBack at the incident room at the Wernigerode People's Police headquarters, M\u00fcller and Tilsner sat down with Baumann and Vogel to take stock of where they were. M\u00fcller didn't reveal to the others any of her conversation with Reiniger. She ran her hands backwards through her hair, with her elbows resting on the table. They would need to work quickly. If Reiniger had been able to get through on the radio once, he would surely try again \u2013 and given what he'd said, would almost certainly order her arrest.\n\nLeaning back in his chair, Tilsner sighed. 'We need to find Neumann. But if he's not at the children's home at Schierke, and if he's not on R\u00fcgen, where do we start?'\n\nM\u00fcller picked up a pen, and tapped it on the desk. 'We must be missing some clue. Either Neumann or someone else has led us here so far. All the evidence in the car, when it had apparently been steam-cleaned... it was just too staged. Too easy. He or they want us to find them.'\n\n'So what do we do?' asked Tilsner.\n\nThe phone rang, and Vogel went to the side of the room to answer it. M\u00fcller knew it meant that phone communications had been restored. She ought, therefore, to ring Reiniger back in Berlin. But she wasn't going to.\n\n'The phones are back on then?' she asked.\n\n'Not exactly,' said Baumann. 'Some local lines, yes. But phone lines to Berlin and the rest of the country are still down. There's some fault with an exchange near Blankenburg.'\n\nHe began to spread out a large-scale map of the Brocken area on the table. 'Maybe the wildcat colony is significant? Most of the sightings have been around here.' M\u00fcller followed his finger to a section of the map where the narrow-gauge railway which led to the Brocken summit swung out to the west.\n\n'That's very near to the border defences, isn't it? Is the public allowed there?'\n\n'Only with special permission,' said Baumann. 'But for the local farm workers and foresters that's not so difficult to obtain.'\n\n'And what about the Brocken itself? Isn't that heavily patrolled?' asked Tilsner.\n\nBaumann nodded. 'That's correct, Comrade Tilsner. There's a company of border troops barracked in the railway station at the summit.'\n\nThe three detectives looked up from the map as Vogel returned to the table. 'That was the forensic pathologist, Dr Eckstein, on the phone.'\n\n'And?' asked Baumann.\n\n'He's managed to analyse the grit from the boy's head wound under a microscope. Says it might help us. Apparently it's Bleiglanz.'\n\nBaumann shrugged. 'That means nothing to me, Comrade Vogel.'\n\n'It didn't to me, Hauptmann, to be honest.' Vogel looked down at his notebook. 'But Dr Eckstein explained it's lead sulphite or galena. It's the ore you get lead from, but silver deposits are often found in the same vicinity.'\n\nM\u00fcller rubbed her forehead. 'And why does he think that might help us?'\n\n'Well, as you could probably tell, Comrade M\u00fcller, the good doctor's been around the block a few times. He says in the old days there used to be silver mines dotted throughout the Harz. A lot of the area's wealth came from silver mining.'\n\nThe four detectives looked back at the map, searching around the Brocken area to see if there were any marks signalling an old mineshaft, anywhere where Neumann might be holding Irma Behrendt.\n\nTilsner suddenly tapped the map.\n\n'There. Heinrichsh\u00f6hle. Right near the Brocken summit. That's a cave!'\n\nBaumann put his reading glasses on to examine the map more closely. 'No, Comrade Tilsner,' he snorted. 'Take another look. It's Heinrichs-h\u00f6he not h\u00f6hle. That's a mountain, not a cave.' M\u00fcller smirked as she saw Tilsner's face redden.\n\nLifting the map towards her slightly, she pointed out two small black rectangles a couple of kilometres east of the Brocken summit.\n\n'What are they?' she asked Baumann.\n\n'They look like ski huts. They provide shelter to anyone trapped up there when conditions turn nasty \u2013 like now.'\n\n'It's worth investigating those, isn't it?'\n\nBaumann shrugged. 'We could, but we're dealing with an area surrounding the summit of... what? Twenty square kilometres? Maybe more. And anyway it's getting late, the road beyond Schierke hasn't been ploughed yet, but it may have been by tomorrow morning. I suggest you go back to your lodgings and get a meal and some sleep, and then meet again here first thing tomorrow morning.'\n\n* * *\n\nTilsner seemed subdued during their meal at the guesthouse, perhaps embarrassed by his h\u00f6he\/h\u00f6hle slip in front of the others. They barely said a word as they sipped their soup, other than Tilsner suggesting it might actually be better for her to try to contact J\u00e4ger again. But then J\u00e4ger didn't know that \u2013 officially \u2013 they were once again off the case. Worse than that, M\u00fcller was supposed to be suspended. By tomorrow, no doubt Reiniger would have sent someone to arrest her.\n\nBefore finishing his main course, her deputy announced he was off to bed for an early night. There were no other guests in the restaurant, so M\u00fcller was left alone with her thoughts. She'd hoped by now she might have heard something positive from J\u00e4ger about Gottfried. Instead, the communication from Reiniger seemed to be pointing the other way: that things were getting worse for her husband, not better. The accusations against him were preposterous, but the best way of disproving them was to find the real killer. Somewhere near here were Neumann and the one remaining teenager from R\u00fcgen, Irma.\n\nAs soon as the phone line to Berlin was once again operational, M\u00fcller vowed to ring Schmidt, and see if he'd got anywhere in his examination of the incriminating photographs. That's if she got the chance before Reiniger ordered her arrest.\n\n* * *\n\nBefore going up to her room, she visited the wooden-panelled sitting room. The bookshelf in the corner, below the portrait of Erich Honecker, contained several books on the Harz area, but what M\u00fcller was looking for was a map. A map on a larger scale than the one at the police office, with more detail.\n\nShe found the maps on the bottom shelf, piled horizontally; they were being used as a bookend. M\u00fcller leafed through them until she found what she wanted: a folded sheet of yellowing paper, with a forest-green and black front cover. Harz Wanderkarte f\u00fcr Wernigerode und Umgebung. She sat down in an armchair next to the coffee table, and spread the map out carefully. The paper was brittle, and M\u00fcller suspected the map dated back to the Nazi era, possibly before. There was no border barrier marked in the valley to the west of the Harz's highest peak. It was illegal to have this, surely? In Berlin, this would have meant confiscation, possible arrest. Here in the mountains, they seemed to do things differently.\n\nLooking around the room, she spotted what she wanted on the mantelpiece: a magnifying glass. She rose to retrieve it, and used the convex lens to enlarge the detail of the map. She concentrated on the Brocken, and the area that Baumann had pointed to. It took her a couple of minutes before she saw it, hidden in the forest, just a few hundred metres from where she knew the border ran: a circle, possibly just a millimetre in diameter, with a solid black rectangle alongside.\n\nShe looked at the map's key, tracing her finger down it, feeling her breath coming in short, sharp bursts.\n\nNear the bottom, she found a small black circle with a white centre. She knew what it would say alongside, and she was correct. Stillgelegten Schacht. Disused shaft.\n\nMarch 1975. Day Sixteen.\n\nWernigerode, East Germany.\n\nM\u00fcller found herself regularly waking and going over the case in her head throughout the night. If Neumann had dumped Mathias's body near the state border just beyond Elend, if it was he who'd daubed the boy's T-shirt with wildcat blood, then surely he still had to be in the area. The subalpine seedling pointed to the Brocken. The lead ore in Mathias's head wound did, too. What perplexed her, though, was why one teenager's body had been dumped in the Hauptstadt, the other left here in the Harz. It made little sense.\n\nThrowing the heavy duvet aside, M\u00fcller got up, walked along the landing and went to the toilet. She didn't do it particularly quietly or subtly, banging the toilet lid down after herself. Maybe she wanted him to hear. Maybe she wanted another early-hours encounter in the washroom.\n\nAs she wiped her hands on the towel after washing them, she heard his footsteps on the creaking floorboards of the landing. She could hear his breathing behind her. Then warm air on her ear.\n\n'Couldn't sleep again?' Tilsner whispered. Then his teeth nibbled her earlobe, she felt his strong arms envelope her and she backed against his growing erection. She felt him lifting the back of the nightdress, his fingers in the waistband of the western knickers she'd kept from the West Berlin assignment. Easing them down. She grabbed his wrists to stop him, and turned.\n\nShe raised her index finger, and put it to his lips, rubbing it up and down fractionally to feel the resistance of his stubble. 'Not here,' she whispered. 'My room.'\n\n* * *\n\nAn early breakfast found them smirking at each other. M\u00fcller felt no shame, and it surprised her. As far as the authorities were concerned, she was a single woman now \u2013 her husband an enemy of the state, a pervert and a murderer. But although she'd just been unfaithful, she wasn't prepared to completely give up on Gottfried just yet.\n\nSo what about Werner Tilsner? She looked up as he stuffed a piece of Br\u00f6tchen into his handsome mouth. He was married with kids. Should she feel guilt about that? But he was the one who'd made the marriage vows to Koletta, not her, and she hadn't exactly had to do much seducing.\n\nTilsner took a last sip of coffee, and wiped his mouth with his napkin. 'Ready, beautiful?'\n\nShe nodded. 'But it's Karin, or boss to you, please. Unterleutnant.'\n\n* * *\n\nKitted out in the warmest clothes they could find, M\u00fcller and Tilsner made their way in the Wartburg to Wernigerode police headquarters. At the entrance to the car park, Vogel stood smoking a cigarette, as though waiting for them.\n\nTilsner wound the window down. Vogel blew the smoke out to the side, then leant his head into the car.\n\n'A little warning,' he said. 'I wouldn't come in here if I were you. And today's joint reconnaissance exercise up the Brocken is off.'\n\n'Why's that?' asked Tilsner, frowning.\n\nM\u00fcller saw Vogel flick his eyes towards her.\n\n'Oberleutnant M\u00fcller here. The Stasi have asked us to detain her.'\n\n'What?' shouted Tilsner. 'But we're investigating this case on the highest authority, of the Stasi. Show him, Karin.'\n\nM\u00fcller reached into her jacket pocket and withdrew the letter of authority, signed by Mielke. Tilsner handed it to Vogel.\n\nThe young officer shrugged. 'I don't understand; this appears genuine. Can I take it to show Comrade Baumann?'\n\nM\u00fcller stretched her hand out for the document to be returned. 'No, I'm afraid not, Comrade Vogel. But once we're back later today you can take a photocopy.' She grabbed the letter, refolded it and placed it carefully back in her pocket.\n\n'In any case, Hauptmann Baumann doesn't like being told what to do by the Stasi, and tries to keep out of their way whenever possible,' Vogel continued. 'But if you cross his path, especially in the police station, he'll have to act. So I'd stay out of the way. And if you want to go up to the Brocken you'll need to go on your own. The road's been cleared now. Oh, and here's something you left behind last night.' Tilsner took the proffered papers and examined them. Authorisations to enter the Brocken restricted area, dated from the previous day.\n\n'Much appreciated, Unterleutnant Vogel,' said Tilsner, grinning.\n\nVogel nodded, a serious expression on his face, and walked off.\n\nBefore he started the car, Tilsner turned to M\u00fcller. 'What's all that about the Stasi?'\n\nM\u00fcller wouldn't meet his eyes. 'It's Reiniger. He's suspending me because they've charged Gottfried with murder, and a whole heap besides.'\n\nTilsner didn't reply at first, and had a strange expression on his face. Almost as though he looked slightly guilty \u2013 maybe because of their night-time liaison. Perhaps he's not the super-cool player he thinks he is.\n\n'Was that what the radio call was about?' he finally asked.\n\n'Exactly. And now, because I've ignored an explicit instruction, he's ordered my arrest. I claimed I couldn't hear him due to the poor reception.'\n\n'So do I take over?' asked Tilsner.\n\n'No, Werner. You don't. You start the car. And you drive. To the Brocken.'\n\nTilsner grinned. 'Yes, boss.'\n\nThree months earlier (December 1974).\n\nA forest in East Germany.\n\nSix months have passed, but Neumann's expression when he turned round in his chair is still imprinted on my brain. Even though now I see his mangled face nearly every day, even though I want to tear it open again along his ugly scar, the image I always see is the way he looked when that chair swivelled round, and all my hopes and dreams were snuffed out in an instant.\n\nI am still alive, but it's a living death. Six months down here in the near blackness of the mine. I never dreamed there was anywhere worse than Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost. People whispered about Torgau, of course. But I cannot believe that even the Jugendwerkhof at Torgau could be worse than this.\n\nWhat about Mathias? What does he think as he works with me in this freezing underground hole, hacking away at the rock loosened by Neumann's explosives? It's his job to load the trolley with the rock scraped out by the others. We're not sure who they are. About four or five muscular, thick-set men alternately guard the compound and work at the rock face.\n\nMy job is to wheel the trolley back along the level and the old rails, round the corner by the stone steps, to the bottom of the shaft. I'm not sure what we're digging out, or why.\n\nMathias says he's been cheated, but he won't tell me why. All I know is that he and Beate no longer speak. The great love affair is well and truly over.\n\nI jump back as part of the roof loosens. The dust stings my eyes, attacks my lungs. Already when I'm above ground I spend most of the time coughing up my guts, but my worst nightmare is that we get buried alive, or that there's an explosion. I remember from school lessons years ago about gas, and mines, and canaries. We have no canaries here.\n\nI get my shovel, and spoon the fallen debris into the trolley, and then push it along the rails, iron groaning against iron.\n\nOh, Mathias, I think, you poor boy. Your lover doesn't want you, and the people you thought were your friends have deserted you. Hah! Serves you right. Because as well as remembering Neumann's expression at the Grenz\u00fcbergang, I remember the look on Mathias's face. For him it was no surprise that we were being taken back to the Republic. Oh Mathias, Mathias. You've got it coming to you. Just you wait. And if I ever get the chance, even the slightest opportunity, then Neumann has it coming to him too. But it's not just Neumann. There are the others who work down the mine and guard us. And then a couple of high-ups, very high-ups. Not many, but certainly at least two. People's Army officers \u2013 stripes aplenty, and stars on their interwoven gold epaulettes.\n\nI force my aching arms to tip the trolley until it empties its contents into the bucket. Then I pull on the rope to alert Beate at the top of the shaft. The rope tautens and the bucket finally lifts as she uses the pulley system to haul it up.\n\nBeate. The pretty one. She gets the easy job above ground, but I'm not jealous, because now I know the hell they've put her through. The big secret she would never tell me at Prora Ost, and the reason for her tears each night. After we'd been here in the mine for three months, she finally told me.\n\n* * *\n\nIt was the field trip when it all began. The evening field trip to the Soviet base at Gross Zicker on R\u00fcgen \u2013 part of our re-education programme, showing us the brave Soviet servicemen defending us against fascist and capitalist aggression. I remember at the time thinking it was odd that only girls were allowed to go, but put it down to the fact that \u2013 other than in the workshop and at mealtimes \u2013 we weren't really allowed to mix with the boys anyway.\n\nIt wasn't much of a field trip. We got a quick tour of the facilities in the bus. Then we were taken into a large room, where we were given a talk and shown a film by one of the Soviet officers \u2013 a German coastal border force officer translated, although we could understand some Russian from our school lessons.\n\nAt the end of the talk, they announced that the group was to be split into two for the remainder of the field trip. Another Soviet officer walked down the rows of chairs and nodded towards certain girls, who were told to stand and move to the front of the room. There were fifteen of them \u2013 fifteen of the prettiest. Though there were around forty in total; so not exactly a fifty-fifty split.\n\nThen a senior German officer entered the room, and walked up and down that line of girls. Ten were sent back to their seats, five remained. Those five weren't just pretty, they were beautiful, and they included Beate. I put up my hand to ask if I could go with my friend, but the officer laughed cruelly, and told me not to be so insolent.\n\nThe chosen five were marched away. We didn't see them again that night. The remaining thirty-five of us were sent back on the bus to the Jugendwerkhof. Beate's bed remained empty. And the next day her tears began.\n\nMathias's shout from the end of the level brings me back to the present. 'Irma. What are you doing? There's stuff waiting here to be cleared.'\n\nWhat am I doing? I am sitting here, on my arse, on the cold stone by the bucket, which Beate has now lowered again, watching occasional flakes of snow helicopter down to the bottom of the shaft.\n\nWith a sigh I get to my feet. I wheel the trolley back along the rails, round the corner by the stone steps and back down the level towards Mathias. To fill it up once more.\n\n* * *\n\nAs I say, Beate reminded me of the Gross Zicker visit about three months ago, give or take a day, or a week. They're all pretty meaningless down here, though we count them at night upstairs in the old silver-mine house, scratching marks on the timber walls. But she didn't reveal everything. She let me think about it all for a few weeks; how being ugly red-headed Irma perhaps wasn't so bad after all.\n\nAt night, though, as we tried to get to sleep next to each other, chained to the floor, lying on lumpy, stinking old mattresses, I would nag her to tell me more.\n\nFinally she did.\n\n* * *\n\nFrom the lecture room where we'd been shown the film, Beate had been taken down corridors with the other four girls, until they reached another large room. There the German officer had directed them to rails of party frocks, boxes of stockings and underwear, rows of fancy shoes. They were shown showers at the side of the room, fresh fluffy towels. And on one table, bottles of opened champagne, stemmed flute glasses and canap\u00e9s. The girls were told to shower and then pick whatever clothes they fancied. They were going to a party.\n\n'I was so excited. So excited, Irma. I felt like a young woman, I felt special. Not like an awkward Jugendwerkhof girl,' she whispered to me as we lay in the pitch-black of the mine house.\n\n'We got out of the showers and dried ourselves. I was a bit embarrassed because the German and Soviet officers were lounging at the side of the room, sipping champagne and watching. I wrapped myself in the towel and moved over to choose some clothes. The German had his eyes on me; he came across and handed me a dress. I took it and asked him to turn away again. There was a stand-up mirror. As I shuffled into the dress, I admired myself. I really did look good, like a princess. And then the German officer came up behind me, looked over my shoulder into my eyes. He was old, old enough to be my grandfather. But as he zipped me up, he gently stroked my back and I shivered. Then he led me over to where the Soviet officer was drinking champagne. \"Doesn't she look gorgeous?\" he said, in German. The Russian nodded, passed me a glass of bubbly and then offered me something to eat \u2013 little pieces of bread and toast, covered with fishy black beads. I asked him what it was. \"Caviar,\" he said. \"Only the best for girls like you.\"'\n\nShe broke down in tears again and \u2013 although I prompted her \u2013 that was all I would learn that night.\n\n* * *\n\nFor the next few days, Beate didn't want to talk anymore. But eventually I managed to persuade her to open up again. In the dark one night, with Mathias able to hear everything if he wanted, Beate continued her story. She didn't seem to mind that Mathias could listen in. He was nothing to her now. They never spoke. There had been a huge shouting match one night, and then that was it. I had my own suspicions about Mathias Gellman, pretty-boy Mathias. He didn't hold any attraction for her now.\n\nBeate continued: 'All five of us were standing around, drinking champagne. You can imagine, it went to our heads quickly. I think I was the oldest at fifteen. The other four were all fourteen. That's what makes it so sick. But they, like me, were caught up in the moment.\n\n'The officers brought us all military-style overcoats \u2013 to cover up our pretty dresses \u2013 and then led us out into the night, to a quayside where a boat was waiting, all lit up. I wasn't nervous. If anything, going on a boat trip seemed even more exciting. Imagine the contrast between that and daily life in the workshop at the Jugendwerkhof.\n\n'We set off. The water was quite calm. That bit of the Ostsee is protected by R\u00fcgen. The boat was quite a powerful speedboat, I'm not sure what type. Maybe it belonged to the Soviet navy. Anyway, I could see we weren't going out towards Sweden. We were staying in the lee of R\u00fcgen, hugging the coastline. I could see lights to our right-hand side.\n\n'After a few minutes, the boat's motor slowed, and we glided in towards a jetty on a small island. I now know that island to be \u2013' Beate had to pause as she swallowed back her sobs. '\u2013 to be... Vilm.'\n\nVilm! I knew of it, I was sure. Maybe Oma had told me once. Important people from the Republic holidayed in Sellin. But I'm sure she told me once they also went to Vilm.\n\nI tried to calm Beate. She was shaking with tears again.\n\n'Are you OK, Beate?' asked Mathias, from the other side of the room.\n\n'Shut up, pig,' she spat towards him. 'You're just as bad as the rest of them.' I stroked her hand, trying to calm her down. She was my friend. I had loyalty to her. Not to him.\n\n'Anyway, we reached the island, where there were men waiting to escort us. One of them took my arm, walked me from the jetty to a low building. And inside it was laid out for a banquet. It was so exciting. The meal was fantastic \u2013 food I've never had before. Lobster, goose, meringue.\n\n'I'm sure you can guess how the evening ended, though. The man I was with, well I'm sure I recognised him from the government. It wasn't Honecker. It wasn't Mielke. But it was someone in the second rank. He said he could get me out of the Jugendwerkhof. Get me back in a normal school. Let me take my Abitur. Get me a place at university. And all the time, under the table, he was moving his fingers up the inside of my thigh. I'm so ashamed that I didn't stop him, but you know what it's like in Prora Ost. This was a chance to get out. To escape...\n\n'And then he took me to his bedroom. He ripped the pretty dress off, the one I liked so much. He forced me down on the bed. And he took me. Again, and again, and again.'\n\nI was holding Beate's hand so tightly, I thought I might break one of her bones. I wanted her to know I was there for her, that it wouldn't happen ever again. But really, I was powerless. She was powerless.\n\nShe gave a little sob. 'But did he help me get out of the Jugendwerkhof? Did he keep all his promises? Well, you know the answer. I was back there, and crying every night. So you see, Irma, I owe you a lot for helping me to escape. I'm so, so glad you got me away from the Jugendwerkhof. I owe you my life, and I will never forget.'\n\nI was the one who was crying now. I couldn't help it. I was pleased for her, of course, if she was happier. But for myself? No. I hated it there, and I hated our slavery here. In fact, for me, here was worse \u2013 we didn't even know where we were, or the significance of our digging.\n\nFebruary 1975.\n\nA forest in East Germany.\n\nChristmas has gone. New Year has gone. We might have lost count with our days scratched into the wood, but they were no different to any other days. Mathias still shovels the rock into the trolley, the rock that the guards, or miners, or whatever they are, dig from the rock face. I still trolley it to the shaft, and Beate still lifts the bucket to the surface. But we are not mining silver ore for Neumann's private fortune, I know that, because there is a pile of slag by the top of the shaft \u2013 the debris we've removed from the mine \u2013 and it just stays there, and grows and grows. So what are we doing? Neumann won't tell us. He just says it's a special project approved by the Ministry of Education. Sometimes he's not even here. He comes and goes, but always there is someone guarding over us, gun at the ready.\n\nSo nothing much has changed. Except for Beate's mood; she seems elated. Then, one night, she confides in me. She whispers to me on the mattresses, stretching so she can get right up against my ear, straining against the metal chains that bind our legs each night. That way Mathias won't be able to hear.\n\n'I've found out where we are,' she says.\n\n'Where?' I whisper back.\n\n'The Harz mountains. Right by the inner German border. The foothills of the Brocken. It's the highest mountain in this region. That's why there's so much snow outside.'\n\nI turn this new information over in my mind for a few seconds: we're digging a tunnel, right by the border. I try to picture which way the sun sets in relation to the direction of the level underground. West. The level must be heading west. But that doesn't make any sense at all. We escaped to the West. We were ordered back to the East, under what Neumann claims is a legal repatriation agreement for anyone under sixteen. So the Bundesgrenzschutz officers had just been following orders. No wonder dog woman had looked so upset. Though how they came on the boat to find us straightaway no longer seems a mystery: Mathias must have betrayed us, that's the only explanation I can think of. And now we are digging our way back to the West? Madness! I can't believe the tunnel is for us.\n\nBeate wonders why I haven't said anything. 'Did you hear me, Irma?' she whispers again.\n\n'Yes, but why's that got you so excited? We're still being held as slaves.'\n\nShe squeezes my hand hard. 'I've been invited to another party \u2013 Neumann says it's going to be like the ones on Vilm.'\n\nI don't understand. Why is she looking forward to it?\n\n'And I've worked it out. Who had sex with me. On Vilm. I knew his face was familiar. I saw it again yesterday in a copy of Neues Deutschland that one of the guards had left on the breakfast table. He's going to be at the party being held at the top of the Brocken. And he's invited me. He's a real, proper high-up. His name's Horst. Horst Ackermann. He's about as high as you can get without being a government minister. He's a colonel general, in the Ministry for State Security.'\n\n'The Stasi? Oh be careful, Beate. You cannot trust them.'\n\n'Don't be silly. I'm sure this time if I play along I will be able to convince him to free us, to keep his promise about the Abitur, about everything. Don't you see, Irma? It's a chance. I'll try to persuade them to help you, too, and then all this will be over, and we will be free.'\n\nI stroke her hand and shush her.\n\n'Be careful, Beate. Be very careful. I hope you know what you're doing.'\n\n* * *\n\nOf course I should have stopped her, should have known it was lunacy for her to get back into the abusive relationship that had made her so unhappy \u2013 but I didn't.\n\nBeate Ewert and I were sworn friends for life, yet I allowed her to dress up in her short, black witch's outfit for the fancy dress party, and helped her ink in her nails with a black felt-tip pen borrowed from Neumann. I kissed her on the cheek as she went, half wishing I could go with her, despite now knowing what went on at these 'parties'.\n\nThat was the last time I ever saw her.\n\nMarch 1975. Day Sixteen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\n'Is it sensible to be doing this on our own, boss? Don't you think we need back-up?' asked Tilsner as they drove away from the Wernigerode People's Police station car park.\n\n'We don't have any option,' said M\u00fcller. 'If we ask Baumann, he'd have to arrest me.'\n\nThey lapsed into silence, M\u00fcller grateful to be wearing sunglasses to protect against the snow glare and any lingering embarrassment from the previous night's lovemaking.\n\nOn each side of the road they passed old mine workings and quarries cut into the forest. M\u00fcller could imagine that in summer they might be an eyesore, but now the snow softened the landscape, giving it an Alpine feel. They followed the same route as they had the previous day, but then instead of carrying on further west towards the border, they turned northwest towards the Brocken. The road here was covered in snow. Tilsner stopped the car and pulled over. 'I'd better put the chains on as a precaution. According to the map, the road climbs another hundred metres or so towards Schierke.'\n\n'I didn't realise it would be this bad,' said M\u00fcller as Tilsner climbed out. She opened the passenger window and called to him. 'We're going to need skis, aren't we?'\n\nTilsner got back in for a moment to move the Wartburg a few centimetres forward so that he could attach the snow chains. 'It's a winter sports training village. We should be able to get skis and boots from the sports club if we show our police passes. But that will be a risk if Reiniger's already sent people after us.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned, and rubbed her gloved hands together to ward off the mountain chill. 'From the map, it didn't look as though we could go all the way to the mine in the car. We'll have more chance with skis. It's a risk we'll have to take.'\n\n* * *\n\nIf they had been put on a wanted list in the Republic, then \u2013 possibly due to the adverse weather conditions \u2013 the police bulletin clearly hadn't reached Schierke. As soon as they showed their Kripo IDs, the staff at the sports club were all over them trying to help, excited about why Berlin detectives were engaged in an operation in their village. M\u00fcller knew, though, that even if the phone lines weren't working properly yet, the network of gossip would be. Someone at the club would be a Stasi informer, and their whereabouts would soon be known.\n\nWith the cross-country skis firmly attached to a roof rack borrowed from the club, they used the antiquated map M\u00fcller had confiscated from the guesthouse to navigate the road up towards the Brocken.\n\nReaching a plateau in the road, M\u00fcller signalled for Tilsner to pull over. He turned off the motor of the Wartburg, and for a few moments M\u00fcller sat alongside her deputy in silence, enjoying the reprieve from the car's vibrations. She turned around to check that they weren't being followed, and then both of them soaked in the view through the windscreen towards the heights of the Brocken. It almost looked like the opening of a feature film. Dotted across the mountainside were pine trees loaded with snow, their branches drooping from the weight; at the summit, a collection of aerial spikes aimed into the sky like needles, as though trying to puncture the azure above. Surrounding them, the globes of the listening station \u2013 the Republic's eyes and ears trained on the capitalist world outside.\n\nThe old mineshaft and neighbouring buildings were still some two kilometres distant, down a hill track to their left, heading for the border. They would have to ski the rest of the way \u2013 the Wartburg's snow chains wouldn't cope, and even a four-wheel drive would struggle. M\u00fcller, born and brought up in a winter sports village \u2013 though further south in Thuringia \u2013 had no qualms about negotiating the route down through the forest. But she suspected Tilsner's claims of skiing proficiency might just be the bluster of the boastful.\n\nAs she opened the car door, freezing air laced with the scent of the spruce trees blasted her face. The skin on her cheeks tightened, pores closing in defence. It was such a contrast to Berlin's daily smogs. She stood, then stamped the hired langlauf boots in the snow. Tilsner was out of the car too, stretching his arms and slapping his hands together. He freed the skis from the roof rack, fumbling in the cold. M\u00fcller hadn't got her gloves on yet, and the metal of the bindings froze to her palms as Tilsner handed her the skis.\n\n'I don't like the feeling of this at all,' he said. 'There's just the two of us, in totally unfamiliar terrain. You did bring your gun, didn't you?'\n\nM\u00fcller already knew it was safely there in its holster, but just to show him she dropped the skis on the ground, felt under her jacket for the Makarov and nodded.\n\n'What about wire cutters?' he asked.\n\n'There are some in the boot.'\n\nM\u00fcller watched as he went round the car, first ducking into the driver's side for something. He spent a couple of minutes there, and then looked up furtively at her as he moved round to the rear of the vehicle, as though he'd hoped she hadn't been watching. What was he up to? I'm on my own in this, she thought. Because he's as likely to turn me in as anyone. Maybe this case just wasn't worth it. Why did the girl, Irma, matter so much to her? But if she gave up now, what hope had she of J\u00e4ger keeping his part of the bargain, in trying to help Gottfried?\n\nFinally, Tilsner nodded to indicate he was ready.\n\nM\u00fcller set off first, skating on the flat to pick up speed, digging in her poles and pushing out each ski, sliding the left then the right to leave a herringbone pattern behind her. Then she brought her legs together and crouched into a schuss as the track headed downhill. It reminded her of winter skiing holidays with Gottfried in the early years of their marriage, near her Thuringian home of Oberhof. He'd been hopeless, falling over every few minutes. But still determined to have a go, and try to keep up with her, because he knew how she loved the snow.\n\nShe could hear the swoosh of Tilsner's skis close behind; his claims of skiing ability justified \u2013 Gottfried certainly wouldn't have been able to keep pace at this speed. The pine trees flashed by on either side for several hundred metres. Then M\u00fcller realised she couldn't hear her Unterleutnant anymore. She added a couple of turns to try to slow down, but the track had steepened.\n\nShe was losing control.\n\nSuddenly, pain knifed through her shins.\n\nTime slowed as she tumbled over and over in a mass of snow, her body buffeted as she spun head over heels, trying to dig her hands into the snow to stop her fall. Then a crack. Her head smashed into a tree trunk, the pain now overwhelming.\n\nM\u00fcller strove for consciousness, as though she was underwater and fighting her way to the surface. But the knifing from her legs and the agony of her head were like hands pushing her back down. She felt her right leg, her trousers torn, her shin soaked with something. She brought her hand up to her face. Blood. There must have been a tripwire stretched across the track, and she'd skied straight into it.\n\nThen her face grew cooler as a shadow moved across her vision, between her and the winter sun. Tilsner had come to rescue her.\n\nShe focused. It wasn't Tilsner. It was a man she didn't recognise, camouflaged in white, with a gun pointing right between her eyes.\n\nThe previous month (February 1975).\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nDays went by. Now it was Neumann himself who'd taken over from Beate at the top of the shaft. I asked him outright what had happened to her, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. Said she'd been taken ill... wasn't up to the demands of the work here... she'd been moved to another children's home. Lies. All lies.\n\nNeumann has started looking increasingly mad. His one good eye has a wild, haunted look to it; the eyepatch on the mangled side of his face is dirty; his hair's unkempt, and whenever he speaks to me he's always fidgeting.\n\nNow it's just Mathias and me in the old mine house, I've deigned to talk to him more. Otherwise the nights in the darkness would be unbearable. We lie and talk and wonder what's happened to Beate. We've given up marking the days on the side of the wall. All I know is that it's February. Both Mathias and I are sixteen, and if we'd waited until now before escaping from Prora Ost, then the evil repatriation agreement for under-sixteens wouldn't have been applicable. We'd now be free in the West. But we didn't know about it back then, in the Jugendwerkhof \u2013 at least Beate and I didn't. Maybe Mathias knew, and that was why he was so ready to jump in the bed boxes and take part in my hare-brained plan \u2013 my crazy plan that nearly worked.\n\nOne day, Mathias notices something about the level. There's a small slope. Upwards. Neumann must have been setting the dynamite charges in a slightly different place each day. We don't know what it means. We still do our tedious slave jobs: the goons digging out the loosened rock, Mathias loading it, me pushing the trolley along the rails of the level, round the corner by the stone steps, and tipping its contents into the bucket, which Neumann hauls above ground.\n\nEach day, we're worked to exhaustion. Only then can we climb the dozen or so steps hacked into the rock to take us to the part of the shaft where the vertical ladder starts.\n\n* * *\n\nAs Mathias and I are lying on our mattresses, on opposite sides of the room, I ask him what he meant when he said they had 'cheated' him.\n\n'You'll hate me for it if I tell you,' he says.\n\n'Try me.'\n\n'They made an agreement with me, in Prora Ost.'\n\n'What agreement?'\n\n'That if I kept a close watch on people, if I secretly reported on them, then when Beate and I turned sixteen, we would both be allowed to return to regular school, to leave the Jugendwerkhof, and to take our Abitur. They promised me that we could go to university, and that we'd be assigned a flat together. Our futures would be mapped out.'\n\n'Did Beate know about that?' If she had, then her submission to Ackermann's perversions had been totally pointless.\n\n'No. I didn't dare tell her.'\n\nI don't reply for a moment, thinking through the implications of what he's just told me.\n\n'You probably hate me now, Irma, don't you?'\n\nI still don't say anything initially.\n\n'I know what they are capable of, Mathias,' I reply after a few moments. 'I can't agree it was right what you did, but no, I don't hate you.' But what I say to him out loud does not necessarily reflect my true thoughts.\n\n'Thank you, Irma,' he says. 'That means a lot to me. Goodnight.'\n\n'Goodnight, Mathias.' In a few moments, he is snoring, perhaps comforted in his sleep by my words. But my mind is racing. If he was reporting on us, what was he reporting and to whom? Did he know about Beate being forced to go to the parties on Vilm? Did he take part in \u2013?\n\nThe last thought... I stop myself thinking. It's too horrible to contemplate.\n\n* * *\n\nWe don't get a chance to continue the conversation at breakfast the next morning. Neumann and his goons are watching us closely. But I've been doing more thinking overnight. There is more I want to ask Mathias.\n\nI wait till we're climbing the ladder down the shaft; Mathias is a few rungs below me.\n\n'Psst,' I hiss. 'There is just one thing I don't understand. Why did you want to escape with us, if you felt they were going to look after you in the East, and let you leave the Jugendwerkhof?'\n\nHe doesn't answer me until we reach the intermediate platform. Then he turns towards me, as I tackle the last couple of rungs. I see his face thrown into angular relief by the dim light of the mineshaft. He's no longer the pretty boy he was. Months of working here, underground, in the dust and grime, have taken their toll.\n\n'I couldn't bear to be parted from her, Irma. I knew she wanted to go to the West. I hadn't told her about the informing \u2013 she would have hated me for it. So I had to go with her, there and then.'\n\nI hold his gaze. He looks down at his feet. There's something he's not telling me, and I think I know what it is. I've suspected it for some time now.\n\n'Your last bit of informing,' I say, and I'm sure he can hear the hatred and anger that fills my voice. 'That was on the ship, wasn't it? When you said you'd already been above deck?'\n\nHe won't look up at me. He's too ashamed. 'Yes,' he says, his voice barely above a whisper.\n\n'You had them radio the Republic.' He nods, almost imperceptibly. 'And they told you about the teenage repatriation agreement, didn't they?' No reaction. 'Didn't they, Mathias?'\n\nAnother tiny nod.\n\n'And I've a good idea who it was you were telling in the Republic. It was the Stasi, wasn't it? They recruited you in Prora, didn't they?'\n\n'I'm sorry, Irma. I'm so, so sorry.'\n\nI pause for a moment to let it all sink in. But I'm not going to let him off the hook. 'Why did you do that, Mathias? Why turn us in when you and Beate were so close to winning your freedom together?'\n\n'Because I knew there was a good chance we would fail. And even if we didn't, with us being minors I knew it was likely we would be sent back to the East. And then \u2013'\n\n'Then what?'\n\n'Then those hopes of getting out of the Jugendwerkhof, getting a place at university. Starting a life with Beate. They would all be in ruins.'\n\nIt all makes sense now. Why the Bundesgrenzschutz officers were already waiting at the quayside in Hamburg; they weren't just checking the boat on the off-chance. They'd been tipped off, by people in the Republic. And they in turn had been tipped off by Mathias Gellman. Mathias Stasi spy Gellman. Working for the same organisation that had made sure my Mutti ended up in prison; the same organisation that had made sure I was separated from Oma, and dumped in hateful Jugendwerkh\u00f6fe.\n\n'You're a bastard, Mathias. A complete and utter bastard and I will never, ever forgive you.'\n\n'I'm sorry,' he mumbles again, and then turns to negotiate the steps. Flashing in my brain are the images of Beate, the Jugendwerkhof, the elation at seeing the lights of Hamburg. Happy images of me and Mutti and Oma on the beach as a young girl. They close in on me, taunt me, and as Mathias takes his first step down, as he's momentarily off balance, I push.\n\nHe falls.\n\nHis scream ends with a sickening thud at the bottom of those steep, slippery stone steps.\n\nEvery action has an equal and opposite reaction. You see, I do remember some things from school.\n\nFebruary 1975.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nI murdered Mathias Gellman, but no one will ever know.\n\nNeumann hears the argument, hears the scream. He comes clambering down the ladder with a torch. I stand frozen to the spot, unable, or unwilling, to go to help.\n\n'He fell,' I say.\n\nNeumann brushes past me and runs down the steps, his torch beam leaping up and down, until it settles on Mathias's head. An ugly open gash, and blood discolouring the stone floor of the mine. Neumann feels for a pulse. Starts mouth to mouth. All in vain.\n\nWhile his goons continue to hack away at the rock face further along the level, he gets me to help him carry the body and haul it into the ore bucket, and then uses the pulley system to take Mathias to the surface.\n\nI just sit at the top of the steps, thinking of dog woman and her kindly face... The short-skirted girls on the Reeperbahn... The drink of Coca-Cola and the currywurst and chips... The ketchup... And the bloodstains by Mathias Gellman's head.\n\nMarch 1975. Day Sixteen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nM\u00fcller looked at the black metallic tube pointing at her forehead, then moved her gaze a fraction to the gloved finger resting on the gun's trigger.\n\nShe raised her eyes to those of her captor, who stared back from inside the hood of a white camouflage jacket. For some reason, the gloved finger did not move.\n\nInstead, they both heard the crack of a tree branch some fifty metres back up the track. M\u00fcller and the man both turned towards the noise \u2013 the movement sending a flash of pain up from her injured legs. She saw her chance and tried to reach under her jacket for the Makarov pistol, but the guard was too quick for her, squeezed her arm and forced her to drop the weapon, kicking it away down the slope. As he did so, she made a grab for his gun, but he pulled her tight to him, and pressed the weapon to her temple. M\u00fcller felt herself gag \u2013 partly through panic, partly through the stench of his unwashed body.\n\n'Don't move. Stay completely still,' he hissed into her ear. Then he shouted back up the track, towards the noise in the trees. 'Come out, with your hands up! Otherwise I'll shoot her.'\n\nFor a moment there was no answer, and then M\u00fcller heard Tilsner's voice. Despite the freezing metal of the gun barrel pressing into the side of her head, she felt relief flood through her.\n\n'Kriminalpolizei! You're under arrest,' her deputy shouted from behind the cover of the pine trees. 'Drop your gun and release her.'\n\nM\u00fcller's captor kept her firmly gripped, jabbing the gun barrel even harder into the side of her head. 'Tell him to drop his gun and come out,' he whispered urgently. M\u00fcller stayed silent. He yanked her arm up behind her back. 'Tell him. Now!' M\u00fcller still refused to speak, not wanting to undermine what little advantage Tilsner may have.\n\nTrying to ignore the pain in her arm, she started to squirm away, but her captor tightened his grip still further, forcing her arm up and back until she thought she would black out. 'I'm losing patience,' he hissed, jabbing the gun at her temple. She saw him about to squeeze the trigger.\n\nTilsner shouted out again. 'Release her! I won't give you another warning.'\n\nWhile the guard concentrated on keeping his hold on her, M\u00fcller lifted one leg and kicked back with her ski boot into his shin. Surprised, his grip loosened for an instant, and M\u00fcller forced herself sideways into a bank of snow, creating enough space between them to give Tilsner a safe target, praying that he would grab his opportunity.\n\nUp the slope, Tilsner stepped out and aimed. The same instant, the man swivelled and raised his gun arm. A flash from Tilsner's weapon. Then two cracks, microseconds apart, echoing through the mountains and trees.\n\nThe man fell forward into the snow, crimson discolouring the back of the white army ski jacket where the bullet had passed through his body. No sound came from him, no movement. She turned her head to look back up the slope, to congratulate her Unterleutnant, to thank him for saving her life. But Tilsner, too, lay in a crumpled heap in the snow.\n\nM\u00fcller dragged herself up the incline towards him, the snow and her injuries slowing her progress, pain pulsing from her leg wounds. He was calling her name. He's still alive. But the voice was faint, and growing fainter.\n\nM\u00fcller finally reached him, and knelt in the snow. She ripped off her scarf and held it to his chest as blood pumped out.\n\n'Karin... K-K-Karin,' he gasped, trying to reach up and touch the side of her face. His arm fell back.\n\n'You'll be alright, Werner. You'll be alright.' But even as she said it, the blood soaking into her scarf told her otherwise. She tried to remember her first-aid training, but all she could think of was not wanting to lose him.\n\n'I'm s-s-s-sorry, Karin. So sorry.'\n\n'You've nothing to be sorry for. You're a hero of the Republic. You saved my life.' She brought her mouth towards his. Wanting to kiss him. Breathe life into him. Anything.\n\nTilsner tried feebly to push her back. 'S-s-s-sorry \u2013'\n\nHis attempts to form words stopped.\n\nShe felt for a pulse \u2013 it was still there, faint, but still there. She looked up and down the slope \u2013 how could she get help? They'd been stupid to come without Baumann or Vogel who at least knew the terrain. She'd been stupid. Tilsner had said they needed back-up. Now he was lying here, dying, and she couldn't help him.\n\nShe was so beside herself she only half-heard the engine of the Soviet Gaz as it approached from the valley, its four-wheel drive able to cope with the gradient in a way that the Wartburg couldn't have done \u2013 even with snow chains. When she finally looked up from Tilsner's body, as life seeped from it, and found not one, but two guns pointing in her face, she was almost beyond caring.\n\n* * *\n\nThe bumps in the track sent jolts of pain through M\u00fcller's tenderised frame. She knew these people were her captors, not saviours, but she had pleaded with them to do something to help Tilsner. Finally the two gunmen had lifted her dying deputy's body into the back of the Gaz. M\u00fcller closed in on herself \u2013 desensitised by the blindfold they'd wrapped tightly over her eyes, numbed by grief over Tilsner. She knew he wasn't going to survive. It was almost as though the object of her mission, to rescue the remaining girl, had become irrelevant. All she could think of was Werner, and what might have been.\n\nThe vehicle finally came to a halt. M\u00fcller urged the men to attend to Tilsner, but they ignored her and instead she was dragged from the back of the Gaz\u201369 and forced to stand upright, while he lay dying inside. She winced from the brightness of the snow as her blindfold was removed, and then felt the jab of metal in her back as she was pushed forward. To the side of the track, sheltered by the pines, she saw an old wooden shed. This must have been the building she'd seen on the map, next to the mineshaft. Its windows \u2013 if that's what they were \u2013 were shuttered closed, and snow had drifted halfway up the building's sides. One of the men, his face half-hidden by a scarf, pulled back the wooden beam that was holding the door closed, and then his accomplice shoved M\u00fcller inside.\n\nIn one corner, hunched into her woollen, filthy Strickpulli, her face bruised and reddened, a teenage girl looked up at M\u00fcller with a mixture of what seemed to be hope and longing. It was Irma Behrendt, struggling to stand against the weight of her chains. Despite the bruising, despite the emaciated face, M\u00fcller recognised her as the last of the three teens who had supposedly been transferred from the R\u00fcgen Jugendwerkhof in May last year. Her red hair was tangled and dirty, but she was alive: the sole survivor of the three. M\u00fcller's captors tied her to an iron pillar next to the girl, and lashed the detective's wrists together.\n\nAs the guards left, and barred the door closed behind them, M\u00fcller turned to the teenager.\n\n'Irma,' she whispered. The girl turned in shock, wondering how this woman knew her name. 'We will survive, Irma,' continued M\u00fcller. 'We have to. When the local police realise I've disappeared they will look for us.'\n\nThe girl just continued to stare, shafts of light from the gaps in the decaying timber walls highlighting her matted red hair and her emaciated features.\n\n'Who are you?' she finally asked.\n\n'Police Oberleutnant Karin M\u00fcller. I'm married to Gottfried M\u00fcller \u2013 he used to teach at your Jugendwerkhof .'\n\n'And you've come to rescue me?' The girl snorted, sounding half-delirious, staring at M\u00fcller's tightly bound hands. 'You haven't done a very good job.' She laughed. Then she grew serious. 'Have you any news of Beate?' M\u00fcller tried to give nothing away. But her silence, and the way she dropped her eyes, spoke for themselves. 'She's dead, isn't she?'\n\nM\u00fcller gave a long sigh, but her lack of an answer was enough for Irma. The girl began to scream, high-pitched, terrible wails. M\u00fcller would have covered her ears if she could. Instead she tried to shush Irma gently, but to no avail. The girl was slumped forward, but the shuddering of her body told M\u00fcller that her tears were still falling.\n\n'We will be OK, Irma. I'm sure we will.'\n\nBut though she spoke with confidence, she didn't expect the girl to take the words at face value. M\u00fcller didn't even believe them herself.\n\nDay Seventeen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nM\u00fcller was left alone with Irma overnight, their hands untied, their legs shackled to the floor, with just filthy damp mattresses and blankets as bedding. She held the girl's hand. She knew that wasn't just to give the teenager comfort. M\u00fcller herself needed that connection with living flesh and blood. Irma was asleep, breathing heavily \u2013 more accustomed to her captivity than M\u00fcller was. The detective tossed and turned as far as her shackles and injuries would allow. Each time she tried to move, the stabbing pains from her legs reminded her of the crash into the tripwire.\n\nIn the darkness, she thought of Tilsner. There was nothing she could do for her deputy. She didn't know his precise fate, but when they'd been bundled into the Soviet 4x4, she was conscious that he was already in his death throes. Her prospects \u2013 and those of the girl she was trying to save \u2013 didn't seem much better. Whoever had captured her and the girl she was certain it must be someone connected to Neumann and the Jugendwerkhof on Prora. Although the guards to this hideout had worn snow camouflage dress similar to that of the Republic's People's Army, this was no formal arrest.\n\nWhat of Gottfried? As far as she knew, he was still incarcerated by the Stasi, unless J\u00e4ger had fulfilled his part of the bargain and had somehow got him free or reduced the charges he faced. She'd missed her opportunity to help him. She should have acted earlier. Why hadn't she asked Schmidt to examine the photos of Gottfried and the murdered girl straightaway and give her an immediate assessment of her husband's claims that they were fakes? Now she was helpless, and couldn't believe she or Irma were going to get out of here alive, or that she would ever see Gottfried and their Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee home again. She remembered what had been done to Beate, before and after death, and shuddered.\n\nNeumann \u2013 if he was behind all this \u2013 still hadn't made himself known to her. As she dozed, the faxed photograph of his mangled face with its sinister eyepatch replayed in her head, forcing her back awake. Was he even here? And if so, what was he up to?\n\nIrma grunted, and turned in her sleep, as much as the iron leg shackles would allow. She let M\u00fcller's hand drop as she did, and now the detective felt even more alone. Perhaps Irma had been right to mock her attempts at rescuing her. It was true. She hadn't done a very good job.\n\n* * *\n\nWhen she awoke, daylight was streaming through the cracks in the timber of the shed in which they were being held.\n\nShe turned towards Irma, and found the girl was already looking at her, smiling.\n\n'You know, in a funny way,' said the girl, 'I'm pleased you're chained up here next to me.' Her face darkened. 'After Beate... after Mathias... I was getting lonely.'\n\nM\u00fcller took her hand again. 'Don't worry, Irma, we will get out of this mess. We will escape.'\n\nIrma shook her head. 'Believe that if you want, but there is no escape. Even if we get out of here, we're still in the Republic.'\n\nM\u00fcller didn't reply.\n\nIrma snorted. 'It's OK for you, anyway. You're one of them. You're part of the system. You try living in a closed Jugendwerkhof. Then you would see why so many people are desperate to leave this shitty little country.' M\u00fcller dropped her gaze. She didn't want to admit the truth of what the teenager was saying. It struck too close to what she had always believed in.\n\nThe girl turned away, and stared up at the ceiling, where the half-rotted timbers of what M\u00fcller assumed was the mine house struggled to support the ancient roof. 'You realise we escaped, don't you? The only three children to have ever escaped from Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'I thought you were transferred? Moved out by Neumann.'\n\nIrma laughed. 'No, we escaped. In the furniture packs. And we got to the West, before we were betrayed.'\n\n'Betrayed?'\n\n'Yes. By Mathias. You know he's dead, don't you?'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. She reached over and took the girl's hand again, stroking it gently. 'I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, Irma. He was your friend too.'\n\n'Hah!' Irma spat. 'Friend? He was no friend of mine. He was besotted with Beate, but even she saw through him in the end. Mathias Gellman betrayed us, to the Stasi. They recruited him to spy on the children, and the teachers. And he did, to try to make his own life easier. When we were on the boat, when we were nearly in the West, he persuaded the crew to radio the authorities in the East, and they persuaded their counterparts in the West to send us back. The little shit was an informer. I'm glad he's dead.'\n\nM\u00fcller said nothing, shocked that the Stasi recruited children \u2013 it was the first she'd ever heard of it. She wasn't sure if she believed it, but then she wasn't sure what she believed anymore.\n\n'And do you know what else, Mrs Berlin Detective? I killed Mathias. I murdered him. I pushed him down those steps. So what are you going to do about that? Arrest me?' Irma started laughing like a maniac, laughs that after a few moments devolved into sobs. 'You can't arrest me, can you? Because you're as powerless as me in this shithole of a country.'\n\nM\u00fcller tried to grab the girl's shoulders, to hold her, to calm her. But Irma violently shrugged her off, and turned to face the wall.\n\nDay Seventeen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nThe door swung open and two guards in snow camouflage overalls entered. They unlocked the chains that bound M\u00fcller's and Irma's legs, and then prodded the two females with their rifle barrels out of the mine-house door. M\u00fcller shouted at them, saying she was injured and couldn't walk quickly, and asking what had happened to her deputy. They wouldn't reply. They were taken some fifty metres through ankle-deep snow, further into the forest, in the opposite direction to the inner German border.\n\n'This is where their lair is,' whispered Irma. One of the guards gave her an extra sharp prod with his weapon for daring to speak.\n\nHidden in the trees, camouflaged by undergrowth and snow, steps led down to what appeared to be some sort of underground bunker. Like the mine house, it looked to M\u00fcller as though it had seen better days, but with its thick sealed metal doors, secured by release wheels, no one was going to be able to find them. 'I think it was built by the Nazis,' whispered Irma as they entered the concrete complex. 'They take us here for a shower once a week. You're lucky to get one on your first day. But I warn you, there's no hot water. It will be freezing.'\n\nAs she showered, M\u00fcller examined her wounds. It was her legs she was most concerned about: the broken flesh was bruised, inflamed. Pain flashed from the wound as the water hit, forcing M\u00fcller to grit her teeth. She knew she needed hospital treatment, probably stitches. She glanced over at Irma who pulled a face, then smiled.\n\n'Your leg doesn't look too good,' she said. 'Try to insist they take you to hospital. It might be a way out.'\n\n'What about you?' M\u00fcller shouted over the noise of the shower spray.\n\n'If you get out, you can come and rescue me. But do it properly next time, with some back-up. Not in the amateurish way you tried this time.' She smirked at the detective.\n\nM\u00fcller turned away, feeling herself redden at the comment.\n\n* * *\n\nClean clothes \u2013 shapeless unisex track suits and T-shirts \u2013 had been left on the side for them. Once they were dressed, the guards took them to another underground room. Wood panelling covered the walls, and the furniture was traditional Harz farmhouse style. A touch of luxury that couldn't mask the underlying odour of damp and earth.\n\nBreakfast was laid out on a table: fresh rolls, cheese, ham, coffee. It was as good as the one at the Wernigerode guesthouse.\n\nMinutes after they'd started eating, the door opened.\n\n'It'll be Neumann,' whispered Irma.\n\nBut it wasn't. At least to M\u00fcller it wasn't.\n\nBecause as she looked up from her coffee, standing before her with the good side of his face in profile \u2013 but greyer, thinner, more unkempt \u2013 was a man who she'd vowed, years before, to never set eyes on again. Now she knew why the faxed photo J\u00e4ger had sent to Wernigerode had seemed strangely familiar \u2013 even though she thought she hadn't recognised the man portrayed in it. Here, from a different angle, she did.\n\nThe flash of recognition took M\u00fcller's thoughts back to the police university. The lecturer \u2013 a senior detective on secondment \u2013 who'd befriended her. Offered to help her up the career ladder. To smooth her path into the Kripo, as long as she agreed to the police's version of the casting couch. She'd resisted, even though there was something in him \u2013 at that time \u2013 that she found attractive. Perhaps it was just a power thing: that he did have the ability to kick-start her career. Now she felt nausea well up. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to wipe the memory: him plying her with vodka, pressing himself against her, the foul smell of his breath only partially hidden by alcohol fumes, and then how he'd held her down, ripped off her clothing, thrust himself into her. How she'd been helpless as he grabbed her wrists, the pain tearing her insides as flesh tore against flesh, and then \u2013 just as he was about to finish \u2013 how he'd relaxed his grip in the ecstasy of the moment, and she'd smashed the vodka bottle against the table and jammed it in his face.\n\n'Aren't you going to say hello, Karin? I've waited a long time for this reunion.'\n\nShe heard Irma gasp. 'You know Neumann?'\n\n'Oh yes, she knows me, Irma. Intimately. We've even had a child together. That's if you can call a twenty-week foetus a child. A twenty-week foetus that she killed. Was it a girl or a boy, Karin? Did you ever find out?'\n\nM\u00fcller felt as though the whole room was spinning. She swallowed, but gave no answer, her eyes fixed on her shaking fingers as they gripped the table for support. She wished that she was back at the apartment on Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee. Taking out the baby clothes. Stroking them. Comforting herself.\n\n'I've never had the chance to have another child, Karin. Who would want to marry someone with a face like this?' He stroked the scar tissue under his eyepatch. 'You killed my only one. My only son or daughter. And my facial injuries and the scandal from you claiming I raped you \u2013 a claim which was patently untrue \u2013 meant I had to leave the force. They offered me a job in charge of the Jugendwerkhof under a new name. That or face trial. It wasn't much of a choice. You cost me my job, and the chance of a child. You ruined my life. But I still felt some tie to you, despite your betrayal. I wanted to see you again. Now I'm not so sure it was a good idea.'\n\nM\u00fcller looked up, and could see tears welling in the remaining eye of the man she knew as Walter Pawlitzki \u2013 a man now known as Franz Neumann, lately director of the Jugendwerkhof Prora Ost.\n\n'Have you been able to have other children, Karin?'\n\nShe forced herself to try to give nothing away, but knew he could probably see the pain, the longing, in her expression. As time slowed, she could see Irma watching the exchange intently, fingering her sharp metal meat knife.\n\nPawlitzki drew up a chair, and sat next to them at the table. M\u00fcller tried to catch Irma's eye, hoping the girl wouldn't do anything stupid. M\u00fcller knew that the former police university lecturer \u2013 the former Jugendwerkhof director \u2013 would have ensured the guards were ready to respond instantly should either of them try to attack him.\n\nM\u00fcller drew in a deep breath, and held her former lecturer's one-eyed gaze. 'Did you murder Beate Ewert?' she asked.\n\nPawlitzki rocked back in his chair, laughing.\n\n'It's not a laughing matter,' screamed Irma, her hand tightening round the knife handle.\n\n'Put that down, Irma. Immediately. Otherwise I will call the guards back.' The girl's grip loosened. 'All I know is that Beate went to the party on the Brocken, and then on to Berlin. If you're saying she's dead, I certainly didn't kill her. Can you say the same about Mathias, Irma?' The girl lowered her gaze.\n\n'So what happened?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Why do you think I know what happened to her? And even if I did, would I really tell you that, Karin? You, a detective for the People's Police of this good Republic.' Pawlitzki took a bread roll, broke a piece off and began to butter it. 'What I will tell you is that the problem arose when Beate recognised the photograph of the esteemed Joint First Deputy Minister for State Security in a copy of Neues Deutschland that one of the guards stupidly left on the breakfast table here.' He kept his eyes on both of them, as he reached across to the breakfast-room's magazine rack. 'Here it is.' He handed the paper to M\u00fcller. 'The joint deputy boss of the Stasi, Generaloberst Horst Ackermann.' Pawlitzki paused, and put the piece of bread roll into his mouth.\n\n'I've heard of him,' said M\u00fcller, turning the newspaper face down. If they got out of here alive, she didn't want Irma to recognise the Stasi general and try to take her own revenge. All the time, with half an eye, she was looking round the room, wondering if there was a way to escape. But she also wanted to hear what Pawlitzki had to say.\n\n'He was guest of honour at the winter fancy-dress party on the Brocken. It was actually he who asked Beate to attend. He thought she was still in the Jugendwerkhof, but as until recently I've been able to go back and forth between R\u00fcgen and the Harz, I still got the message he sent to Prora.'\n\n'The sick bastard,' screamed Irma. 'And you just served her up to him on a plate.'\n\n'I was just following orders, Irma.' Pawlitzki looked down at his hands. M\u00fcller noticed they were shaking, and his voice sounded almost tearful. 'It's not something I'm proud of. But it's how this Republic is run.' He tried to compose himself, folding his arms across his stomach. 'And as far as I know, they went back to Berlin. But it's Ackermann you need to find, not me. And good luck with that. I don't think you'll get very far trying to arrest the deputy head of the Stasi.'\n\nSomething in Pawlitzki's expression told her that he was still withholding information, that he knew more than he was letting on.\n\n'How do I know you're not just lying to save your own skin?'\n\nPawlitzki sighed, and took a sip of coffee.\n\n'What reason do I have to lie?'\n\nM\u00fcller watched him place his coffee cup down, reach under his coat and draw out a gun. She recognised it immediately: a Walther PPK \u2013 a Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell, easily concealed for undercover work, and the inspiration for her own Makarov. He fingered the gun lovingly.\n\n'Whatever I tell you, you won't be telling anyone else. I tried to do my best by the three teenagers, but when they were handed back by the West Germans, I had to intercept them at the Helmstedt autobahn crossing. I was under orders to make sure they told no one about their escape or their methods, and moreover that they were in no position to make allegations against Comrade Generaloberst Ackermann. Helping our work here was a necessity. I'm sorry it hasn't turned out as intended.'\n\nIrma stood up now, and made a move towards Pawlitzki. M\u00fcller held her back as she launched her invective. 'Don't claim you're sorry. You treated us like shit in Prora and you've treated us even worse here.' She aimed a globule of spittle at Pawlitzki's face.\n\nAs he wiped it off, deathly calm, M\u00fcller asked about Mathias. 'Why did you try to make out that Mathias's death was murder? What was that all about? Why try to make it look like the killing in the cemetery in Berlin?'\n\n'Because I'd seen that case in the papers, I wanted to lure you here. I knew a similar killing would do just that. That you would be sent to investigate. Despite what you did to me, I still have feelings for you, Karin. These last few years, I've thought about you almost every day. The things we did \u2013' Pawlitzki was sweating now, even though the temperature in the bunker was cool. He wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve as he continued to talk at machine-gun speed. 'I knew that if I faked Mathias's death to look like Beate's murder, the local police would ask you for help. Presumably that's why you're here?'\n\n'I'm here because I was captured by your guards, the same guards who shot my deputy. But if I have my way you will be arrested, and face ultimate justice.'\n\nPawlitzki shook his head, fingering his gun, a look of disappointment at her answer clouding his face. 'It won't happen, Karin. Don't you see? They couldn't afford for any of this to come out. It would undermine the very fabric of the regime.' He leant back in his chair again, wiping the hair back from his forehead. 'In any case,' he said, lifting the gun and then releasing the safety lever, 'as I've already said, you're not going to be around to arrest me. But I've got to hand it to you, you've followed my clues well.'\n\n'Your clues?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'In the lim\u2014'\n\n'I thought you said you had nothing to do with the body in the cemetery?'\n\nM\u00fcller could see his confusion. He'd let something slip that he hadn't wanted to, in his attempts to boast about how clever he'd been. But then Pawlitzki shrugged. 'You're not leaving here, and I am.'\n\n'Well, if I'm never getting out of here alive, there's no harm telling me what all the digging in the mine is for...'\n\nPawlitzki sucked his teeth, uncertainty etched across his face. 'It's a tunnel. Ackermann and the others involved in abusing the girls wanted an escape route. We're already under the border, going upwards. Just a few more metres and we'll be through. And, believe it or not, I didn't want to leave without seeing you again. I think about you still, you know. Your body... your smell.' His thin smile caused a wave of nausea to run through her, and he frowned. 'But now you're here, I can see that's not going to happen. So it will have to be the other way. What is it they say, an eye for an eye? Well, I need paying back with more than just an eye for what you've done to me. You turned me into this monster.' He lifted his eyepatch, and M\u00fcller expected to recoil in horror. But this wasn't like the bloody, ripped mess of Beate's eye socket in the cemetery. The skin was pale, healed \u2013 more like the smooth skin on the girl's hands.\n\nM\u00fcller realised the man was crazy, but their best chance was to keep him talking, to use his warped feelings for her to their advantage.\n\n'I'm sorry,' she lied.\n\n'Sorry? Sorry doesn't do it, I'm afraid.'\n\nShe moved closer to him, still keeping eye contact, and then placed her right hand on his arm. He looked down at where their two bodies joined once more, his distorted face creased in confusion and indecision. M\u00fcller thought she saw something else in his Cyclops-like eye. Was it lust? Some sort of crazed love? It was something to cling onto: a possible last chance for herself and Irma.\n\nStill holding Pawlitzki's arm lightly, she began talking in a soothing voice. 'I can understand what a burden this must have been to you. And we're not so very different. My own marriage is in trouble. I'm about to be kicked out of the police force. I've no reason to stay in the Republic any more than you. What I did to you was awful, I can see that now. And I do think of you too \u2013 of us \u2013' She moved her face closer to his. At the same time, with her left hand behind her back, directly in Irma's vision, she made a tiny stab with her finger into her back. M\u00fcller continued to move in, as though to kiss him, even though the thought disgusted her. Even the memory of kissing him disgusted her. Her abortion disgusted her. The rape that led to him losing his job disgusted her. But in his good eye, she could see his longing, his need. They only needed an instant.\n\nAt that moment, Irma jumped up. Before Pawlitzki could change his mindset and retrieve his gun, M\u00fcller grabbed both of his arms and Irma plunged the meat knife into his neck. All the force from muscle built in months of slavery concentrated into one blow. Pawlitzki went white with shock, blood pumping from the wound.\n\nHe fell back, trying to stem the blood flow with one hand. 'Guards,' he shouted. There were responding noises and shouts outside the room, but then the sounds of automatic gunfire.\n\nA plain-clothes officer burst in through the door. Another round of automatic fire into Pawlitzki's abdomen, chest and head, finishing the job Irma had started. He slumped back. M\u00fcller looked up in shock as another man entered the subterranean room.\n\nJ\u00e4ger!\n\nEverything was unfolding so quickly, M\u00fcller struggled to make sense of it. She was about to say something to the Stasi lieutenant colonel when she saw the first officer raising his gun arm, aiming towards Irma. She screamed 'No! No!' at J\u00e4ger, but the Oberstleutnant made no effort to stop the gunman. M\u00fcller in that instant leapt across to shield the girl with her body.\n\nShe saw the flash, felt bullets tear into her flesh. Only then did she hear J\u00e4ger's cry of 'Hold your fire!'\n\nMarch 1975.\n\nHohensch\u00f6nhausen, East Berlin.\n\nGottfried M\u00fcller had tried to keep count of the days in his head, but with the constant yet irregular flashing of the light at night-time, he'd pretty much lost track. Ten days, eleven, two weeks... he had no clear idea.\n\nHis visit from Karin had been the one thing he was clinging to. Surely she would help him? But a strict coldness gripped his heart as he recalled her guilty expression when she'd admitted the photographs of her entwined with Tilsner were genuine. And there had been the second bout of questioning. It didn't seem to be the fake photographs they were interested in anymore... Instead they'd been focusing on Pastor Grosinski. Saying he'd been spying for the West. And that Gottfried had been passing him information, information about the police, his wife, her latest murder case. That, they said, constituted spying in itself... Helping a foreign power to undermine the Republic.\n\nIt was madness, absolute madness. But in his tiredness, his hopelessness, his utter fatigue, Gottfried wasn't entirely sure what he'd agreed to. It was true \u2013 he had talked to the pastor about his marriage, and about the murder case. But that was merely meant as an example of the problems Karin and he faced. Her obsession with her work. But when they'd thrust the papers in front of him, he wasn't sure what it was he'd actually been forced to sign.\n\nThe sound of keys being turned in the lock startled him. Was this it? Would they just take him into a yard somewhere and shoot him? It was the same guard who'd taken him to the two interviews with Hunsberger. Gottfried tried to cling to the bed, but the guard roughly grabbed his hands, forced them together and cuffed him.\n\n'No!' he screamed. 'I haven't done anything. It's all a mistake.' The guard yanked him to his feet, but Gottfried was too weak to resist. Then he was prodded in the back, and forced to walk into the corridor. The red lights, doors, the clanking and clanging of metal. Finally, the garage with blinding floodlights, where he'd arrived the first day. And there it was again: the prison on wheels in which he'd been transported here.\n\n'Where are you taking me?' he shouted as another guard arrived; both guards tried to push and pull him into the small van. Finally, he gave up, stopped resisting and let them do with his body whatever they wanted.\n\nHe was shoved into one of the tiny cells in the back of the vehicle, forced to crouch once more in the darkness \u2013 the too-small cell that stank of piss and shit, his body unable to stretch out, crushed against the sides, the floor and the roof.\n\nThen the engine started, and Gottfried readied himself to endure a reprise of his journey all those long days and nights ago. He didn't know where they were taking him then, and he didn't know now. Acceleration, deceleration. Stop. Start. Banging him about just like before. Was he being taken to another jail? Or did a far worse fate now await him?\n\nDay Seventeen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nM\u00fcller grabbed her left arm and squeezed to try to stop the flow of blood. At the instant the officer had fired, J\u00e4ger had stuck out his arm, pushing the barrel away fractionally \u2013 enough so that she just caught a glancing blow. M\u00fcller knew she had been lucky.\n\nShe felt Irma under her, moving. Alive.\n\nJ\u00e4ger stepped towards them.\n\n'Don't touch me,' M\u00fcller screamed. 'Or her.' She'd trusted him... Those intimate meetings at the Kulturpark, the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen, the Weisser See. Yet an instant earlier, J\u00e4ger would have quite happily allowed Irma to be shot dead.\n\nThe Stasi Oberstleutnant backed off. He began issuing new orders to the plain-clothes officer \u2013 presumably a Stasi agent allied to J\u00e4ger's faction. From outside, M\u00fcller could hear more gunfire, more screams and the sounds of explosions.\n\n'Are you OK?' whispered Irma, shuffling to try to get comfortable under the weight of M\u00fcller's body.\n\n'Yes, are you?' asked the detective. She felt Irma's head nod behind her, felt the grip from the girl on her good arm.\n\nJ\u00e4ger moved out of the room, issuing more orders, and then suddenly \u2013 in front of her face \u2013 there was the friendly giant smile of Hauptmann Baumann, and behind him, Unterleutnant Vogel. Kripo officers like herself; people she felt she could trust.\n\n'I'm only moving away from her if you guarantee she won't be harmed,' she said to Baumann.\n\nHe nodded. 'You'll both be OK. I give you my word.' He unwrapped a bandage handed to him by Vogel, and wrapped it tightly round the flesh wound in M\u00fcller's arm. 'We need to get you to hospital as soon as possible.'\n\n'She has to come with me. Don't let J\u00e4ger near her,' she said, fiercely.\n\nVogel helped Baumann to lift M\u00fcller up. The junior officer smiled too. 'We will look after you both, Oberleutnant M\u00fcller.' Then Baumann knelt down to comfort Irma and double-check that she was unharmed.\n\nM\u00fcller glanced at Pawlitzki's crumpled body in the corner of the room. The second former police colleague shot dead in less than twenty-four hours. At least, she assumed Tilsner must be dead.\n\n'Have you found Werner?' she asked Vogel.\n\nHe lowered his eyes, and nodded slowly. She didn't have to ask if he was dead. She could see it in Vogel's expression.\n\n'He's being taken to hospital. But it doesn't look good.'\n\nM\u00fcller breathed in sharply.\n\n'So he's still alive?'\n\n'Don't get your hopes up,' said Vogel. 'There was a faint pulse, that's all.'\n\n* * *\n\nVogel and Baumann were true to their word, escorting M\u00fcller and Irma to the hospital so she wouldn't have to have anything to do with J\u00e4ger for the time being. As they helped her climb the few steps to the surface, Baumann explained what the bunker was \u2013 a forward command post linked to Hitler's development of V2 rockets in the latter days of the war. M\u00fcller \u2013 in her groggy state \u2013 only partly took it in. She knew the main V2 production site after it was moved from the Ostsee coast had been further south in the Harz, near Nordhausen, but she guessed it made some sort of sense. As they got back to the mine house, M\u00fcller saw bodies scattered around, their white camouflage clothing besmirched with crimson, lying in the snow between the trees. Smoke and dust rose from the mineshaft itself, presumably the aftermath of the explosions she'd heard. Were they sealing Pawlitzki's putative escape route?\n\nThe two local Kripo detectives drove M\u00fcller and Irma in a four-wheel-drive vehicle back up the forest track. Her head swivelled round as they passed the site where Tilsner had been shot. And then she saw the terror and confusion in Irma's face and reached out to hug her, wincing from her injured arm as she did so.\n\n'Shhh,' whispered M\u00fcller. 'It will be alright now. It's over.'\n\nIrma looked up at her, a defeated expression in her face. 'For you, perhaps. You will be going back to your secure job in the police force.' M\u00fcller wasn't as sure as the girl was that her career wasn't over. After all, she'd defied Reiniger and broken rule after rule. 'For me it's not over,' continued Irma. 'I will be going back to the Jugendwerkhof. That, or a prison, and I cannot believe there is much difference.'\n\nM\u00fcller held the girl's gaze as the police vehicle bumped along the snow-covered forest track. 'I won't allow that to happen. I promise you,' she said.\n\nAt the top of the track, as they reached the plateau, M\u00fcller scanned the side of the road, looking for the Wartburg.\n\nBaumann must have seen her searching for it in the rear-view mirror. 'Your car's a write-off, I'm afraid, Comrade M\u00fcller. They burnt it out and pushed it over the side. That's what alerted us to everything.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned, rubbing her bandaged arm gingerly. 'And was J\u00e4ger with you?' she asked.\n\n'No,' said Baumann. 'J\u00e4ger and his Stasi men were already down there. We arrived just as the fun was starting.'\n\n'So who alerted J\u00e4ger?' asked M\u00fcller, perplexed. Although Pawlitzki had partially filled her in on his side of the story, there was still much she didn't understand.\n\n'We don't know, Comrade M\u00fcller. You'll have to ask him that yourself.'\n\nDay Nineteen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nM\u00fcller and Irma stayed in Wernigerode Hospital for two days. M\u00fcller insisted on a private room, with a twenty-four-hour guard provided thanks to Baumann and Vogel pulling strings at the local People's Police headquarters. She also insisted on keeping her Makarov at her bedside.\n\nThe doctors were more concerned about the leg wound from the tripwire than her arm, which they maintained was little more than a graze.\n\nShe looked across at Irma, sleeping in the next bed. And then she ran her fingers lightly over the trigger of the gun, as though to reassure herself it was still there.\n\nIrma was suffering from shock and mild malnutrition. After a day, the doctors said she was well enough to be discharged, but M\u00fcller overruled them; the girl was staying with her. When they tried to disagree, she called in Dr Eckstein. The senior pathologist concurred with her. The more junior members of staff evidently revered him even though his speciality was the dead rather than the living.\n\nWhat of Gottfried? She still had no news of him, and her best hope \u2013 J\u00e4ger \u2013 was someone she no longer wanted to deal with. She remembered Schmidt and the photos, and asked the nurse if she could use the telephone in the office. Irma would surely be safe on her own for a few minutes, wouldn't she? M\u00fcller made sure the People's Police guard knew where she'd gone.\n\nThe nurse ushered her into the ward office. M\u00fcller closed the door behind her and dialled Schmidt's number at Keibelstrasse. When he answered in the forensic lab, M\u00fcller had a hard job making out what he was saying over the crackles and interference.\n\n'Sorry we haven't been in touch, Jonas. Things have been a little difficult. You know those photos I gave you before I left Berlin \u2013 the ones of my husband? What did you make of them?' she asked, shouting to try to make herself heard.\n\nSchmidt shouted back, and M\u00fcller had to move the earpiece away from her head a fraction to avoid being deafened. Yet it was still hard to decipher his words.\n\n'The prints of your husband outside the church in Prenzlauer Berg and meeting the pastor look perfectly genuine to me, I'm afraid, Comrade M\u00fcller.'\n\nShe sighed. 'I thought they would be, Jonas. I was more interested in the ones taken in the Jugendwerkhof.'\n\n'Ah well, there your suspicions, and your husband's claims, proved absolutely spot on.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt a lightness in her chest. 'Go on, Jonas. What do you mean?'\n\n'The photos are fakes. I can prove it quite easily. They've been made from two different negatives, from surveillance photographs taken at different times. You can tell by the shadows. Both photographs were taken during the daytime \u2013 the shadows are from natural light. The room appears to face due west, so, looking at maps of R\u00fcgen, I would say it was at the back of the Prora complex.' M\u00fcller tried to picture the scene. It seemed to make sense from what she remembered of the road map and the layout of the Jugendwerkhof. 'But the ones of Beate were taken around midday or early afternoon. She has her back to the window and the water jug throws a shadow to her left,' continued Schmidt, 'yet the ones of your husband in the sanatorium were taken in the late afternoon or early evening, because his shadow is directly behind him, at almost ninety degrees to the window.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt the tension drain from her body. She closed her eyes for an instant. Gottfried had been right. How had she ever doubted him? Maybe, just maybe, they did still have a future.\n\n'Are you still there, Comrade M\u00fcller? The line is very bad.'\n\n'I'm still here, Jonas. I heard all of that. Thank you so, so much.' She breathed in and out slowly. 'You've no idea what it means to me.'\n\n'That's a pleasure, Comrade M\u00fcller. I don't like it when people tamper with the truth, and I don't suppose you do either. I'm glad to have been of assistance. Especially on such a... delicate matter.'\n\n'Well, I'm extremely grateful to you, Jonas. But I need you to do something else for me. If those photos go missing, I may not have the proof I need that my husband is innocent, so I'd like you to write up your findings and give a report and copies of the photos to \u2013' She paused. Who could she trust? Could she trust anyone? It was Oberst Reiniger who'd said her husband was being charged with murder. He was the one who needed to know the photos were fakes. 'Send them to Reiniger. And tell him they're from me. Do a second copy of the report and photos and send them to me at my flat. And do a third and post them to someone you trust implicitly. Just in case, Jonas. I'm sure you understand.'\n\n'That will be a pleasure, Comrade M\u00fcller. And how, may I ask, is the investigation progressing?'\n\nM\u00fcller thought of all that had happened. About the three teenagers, Tilsner, even Pawlitzki. Schmidt didn't need to know \u2013 at least not yet. 'We're on the right track, Jonas. And your forensic work helped get us there. It's not quite over yet, but soon, I think.'\n\n'That's good to hear, Comrade M\u00fcller. Keep safe, and I look forward to seeing you when you are back in Berlin.'\n\nAfter ending the phone call, M\u00fcller returned to see the same nurse. Was there any way, she wondered, of finding out where a particular patient had been transferred to, and his condition? The nurse looked doubtful, but M\u00fcller gave her the name she wanted checking on anyway: People's Police Unterleutnant Werner Tilsner. A few minutes later the nurse returned with her answer. She hadn't been able to obtain any information about anyone of that name. What did that mean? Had Tilsner been transferred somewhere secret? Or worse, did the health service have no record because her deputy hadn't survived?\n\nWhen she got back into the ward, the police guard smiled at her, and she saw that Irma was still sleeping peacefully. M\u00fcller decided she could afford to make one further phone call: to J\u00e4ger. He'd ordered her not to call him, but she wasn't going to play by his rules any longer. She asked the nurse if she could use the office once more.\n\nThe notepaper on which she had J\u00e4ger's Normannenstrasse office number shook slightly in her strapped-up left hand, as she picked up the receiver, held it with her chin in the crook of her neck and dialled with her good arm. The sense of foreboding she'd felt so many times during this strange case now returned as she waited for J\u00e4ger to answer. Finally, he did.\n\n'So, Karin. You're recovering well, I hope,' he said.\n\n'I'm still in some pain. But yes, I'm OK. I expect to be well enough to leave the hospital tomorrow and return to Berlin. With Irma.'\n\n'Yes, she is one of the matters we need to deal with. But what do you want to talk about first?' he asked. M\u00fcller didn't trust his tone. It was back to the friendliness of their several clandestine meetings, and that worried her.\n\n'Gottfried. My husband. You must know now that the murder accusations don't hold up?'\n\n'That's true. I apprised the investigators of that. I kept my promise to help you.'\n\n'And that the photographs of him abusing Beate were faked?'\n\n'Yes, Karin. But the photographs of him meeting dissidents in the church were genuine, so nothing has changed in terms of you and him. We cannot have you married to an enemy of the state. I've done what I can to help you in respect of your husband, but if you wish to remain in the Kriminalpolizei you will have to sign the divorce papers.'\n\n'And what of my suspension? What about me disobeying Reiniger's orders?'\n\n'Did you disobey him, Karin? That's not what he's reported. He's said the phone lines were so bad that you were unable to hear him.' M\u00fcller pictured her police colonel. He'd always protected her. He was the one who had originally promoted her, let her lead the Mitte murder squad; the first female detective to be given that level of responsibility in the whole of the Republic. Now he seemed to be letting her off the hook. 'But there is a condition to you not facing any disciplinary charges. You will have to, as I said, divorce your husband. Gottfried has already signed the papers. You just have to add your signature.'\n\n'Can I see him first?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'No. That won't be possible, I'm afraid, Karin.'\n\n'Why? Is he still in jail?'\n\n'No, Karin. He's been released. The murder charge and sexual deviancy charge have been dropped. I said I would help you, and I have.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'But then why can't I see him? I don't understand.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger sighed at the other end of the line. 'In the circumstances, the best outcome for all concerned was to accede to your husband's request to leave the Republic. He has gone to West Germany, with our blessing. The remaining charge will lie on file. He won't be welcomed back.'\n\nThe news hit M\u00fcller like a blow to the stomach. She gasped, and had to grip the table to steady herself. 'When did this happen?'\n\n'Just these last couple of days, while you've been in hospital in Wernigerode, Karin.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt a coldness in the core of her body.\n\n'So you will sign the papers?' asked J\u00e4ger.\n\nImages flashed through M\u00fcller's head. All the good times. The lovers' meetings at the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen. The way he used to be able to make her laugh at the smallest thing. Gone, all gone. But maybe it had gone as soon as she slept with Tilsner. Maybe it had gone earlier, at the start of all this, that drunken night with Tilsner that somebody \u2013 the police or the Stasi \u2013 had surreptitiously filmed.\n\n'Karin?' prompted J\u00e4ger.\n\n'Yes,' she said, in a quiet voice, trying to hold back the tears. 'Yes, I'll sign the \u2013'\n\nAn urgent knocking on the glazed office door stopped her mid-sentence. She looked up to the see the alarmed face of the nurse.\n\n'The girl,' she said, breathlessly. 'She's gone.'\n\n'What?' exclaimed M\u00fcller, dropping the receiver. She ran back to the ward, with the nurse following behind her. Another nurse and a woman in a different uniform who M\u00fcller assumed must be the ward sister were stripping the bedding from Irma's bed. The People's Police guard was nowhere to be seen.\n\n'Where's she gone?' M\u00fcller screamed.\n\n'There's no need to take that tone, Comrade,' said the sister. 'She was discharged by a senior official. It's all above board. The official ordered the policeman to leave too.'\n\nM\u00fcller checked she had her gun in her holster and raced to the lift. From the lights, she could see it was occupied and on its way down to the ground floor and the exit. She raced down the stairs, each jolt sending pain shooting from her injured left arm, and knifing up from her legs. Adrenaline kept her going. She reached the ground floor just as the lift door opened. But Irma and the 'official' were nowhere to be seen; instead, a white-coated doctor emerged.\n\n'Have you seen a teenage girl with red hair?' she shouted. The doctor shook his head. She scanned the corridor. No one. She ran out into the car park, looked left and right, her heart pounding in panic, but there was no sign of Irma anywhere. Knowing that each second counted, M\u00fcller ran back, panting, to the third floor. The sister and second nurse were still calmly making the bed.\n\n'I don't know why you're so worried,' said the sister, as she swept her hand over the undersheet to iron out the creases. 'The man had all the correct papers. He was very senior.'\n\n'What was his name?' demanded M\u00fcller.\n\n'Oh I can't remember that. It'll be in the records. Wait a moment and \u2013'\n\nWith her good arm, M\u00fcller reached into her pocket for the cutting from Neues Deutschland taken from the paper Pawlitzki had shown her: the one Beate had seen on the breakfast table in the bunker by the mine.\n\nShe thrust the picture of Horst Ackermann, the deputy head of the Stasi, in front of the sister.\n\n'Was this him?' she shouted.\n\n'Yes, yes. I told you he was senior. I couldn't say no to \u2013'\n\nM\u00fcller immediately ran to the office, yanked a nurse out of the way and then dialled J\u00e4ger again. As she explained the situation, the Stasi lieutenant colonel \u2013 usually the model of control \u2013 sounded as panicked as she was.\n\n'Verdammt!' he screamed down the line. 'We'd put out an alert to prevent him crossing any of the Republic's borders. We should have warned the hospital too.'\n\n'I think I know where he will be heading,' replied M\u00fcller.\n\n'But I gave instructions for that tunnel in the mine to be blown up.'\n\n'He doesn't know that, though, does he?' said M\u00fcller. 'I'm going there now.'\n\n'Be careful, Karin. He's desperate. I'll ask the local People's Police to give you back-up and order the border guards to cooperate, but don't go in gung-ho like last time. You know how that turned out.'\n\nDay Nineteen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nI suppose I'd always expected to be returned to the Jugendwerkhof. Ever since the West Germans handed us back to Neumann at the motorway crossing point, then I thought I would eventually be going back to Prora Ost. But I didn't expect to be back here, at the rock face of the mine level, digging amongst the dirt and dust, coughing and sweating. Barely able to breathe.\n\nI'd been half-asleep in the hospital, and couldn't really understand what was happening. There was an important-looking man standing by the bed, urging the sister to dress me quickly. I said I didn't want to go, that I wanted to wait for the friendly policewoman. The sister said this man from the Ministry was in charge of me now.\n\nNow he's here next to me. In the semi-blackness. The only light, a dim yellow from his torch, propped up on the floor. When I saw his eyes as he rushed me out of the hospital into his four-wheel drive, there was a familiar look to them. They had that same mad glint of desperation that Neumann's one good eye displayed in the bunker by the mine, just before I stabbed him in the neck. That's what this Republic has done to me: turned me into a killer. Two victims in as many months.\n\nI said I would get Neumann at some stage, and I did. This other man digging beside me, panting because he's not as fit as me, not as used to the work, if I get the chance, well he'll be next. He's got a gun. But I've got a shovel. All I will need is an instant. I've shown that already.\n\nDay Nineteen.\n\nThe Harz mountains, East Germany.\n\nWhen M\u00fcller, Baumann and Vogel reached the mineshaft, they found it closely guarded by border troops. Their commanding officer insisted no one had tried to get through their cordon.\n\n'In any case, explosives were laid in the level on Sunday immediately after the incident, Comrade Oberleutnant. The tunnel has collapsed. No one would be able to get into it.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. She was sure her hunch was correct. J\u00e4ger had thought the same in their phone call: that Ackermann would try to escape to the West by using the tunnel under the border. If she was wrong, then they had no idea where Ackermann and Irma had gone, only that he was presumably planning to use the girl as some sort of bargaining tool. But M\u00fcller doubted such a plan would succeed. Even J\u00e4ger's faction of the Stasi had been all too ready to liquidate the teenager. J\u00e4ger's quarry was Ackermann; he couldn't care less about Irma. Somehow M\u00fcller had to find her, to save her.\n\nM\u00fcller eyeballed the officer. 'I understand what you're saying, Comrade Leutnant. Nevertheless, I would like to go down the shaft to see for myself.'\n\nThe border guard nodded. 'You will have to be accompanied by my men, and they will go ahead of you to check for safety. It seems pointless, though. As I say, the tunnel is blocked off. But we're under instructions to be of assistance to your inquiry, so on your own head be it. Will you be OK with that arm?' he asked, gesturing towards her sling.\n\nM\u00fcller nodded, then climbed down the shaft after the two border guards chosen to accompany her. Baumann and Vogel followed. M\u00fcller negotiated each rung with precision, gripping one side of the ladder with just her right arm, edging down bit by bit, trying to ignore the pain from her injuries.\n\nThe two guards lit up the stone steps with their torches, and after the group of five descended, they turned into the level.\n\nAs the torchlight illuminated the rails, M\u00fcller could see the parallel lines of iron disappear into the jumble of rocks that now blocked the mine level. The pile of stone reached from floor to ceiling. M\u00fcller moved towards it, but one of the guards held her back.\n\n'It's not safe further than here, I'm afraid, Comrade Oberleutnant. The tunnel has been reinforced to this point so that we could check it was properly blocked up. It's a temporary measure. In the coming days we will secure stronger explosives, and blow up the whole shaft and complex. No one will be using this again.'\n\nM\u00fcller's mind raced. Ackermann and Irma couldn't have got through here. So if they weren't here, where the hell had they gone?\n\nShe started to say something, but was shushed by Baumann.\n\n'Listen, Comrade M\u00fcller. Did you hear that?'\n\nThe five held their collective breath. The two guards extinguished their torches, perhaps hoping the darkness would concentrate their powers of hearing.\n\n'There!' whispered Baumann.\n\nThis time M\u00fcller heard it. It was very faint, but it was definitely there. A rhythmic thud. Again and again. Then silence. Then it started again. Thud, thud, thud.\n\n'What do you think it is, Hauptmann?'\n\n'I can't be sure, of course,' replied Baumann. 'But my best guess is that's the sound of someone digging.'\n\nM\u00fcller listened once more. The thudding resumed.\n\n* * *\n\nThe border guards still wouldn't let them near the collapsed rock wall and seemed in no hurry to investigate whatever the digging sounds were. They assured the Kripo officers that they would scale up the urgency of acquiring more powerful explosives, to destroy the whole complex. If anyone was at work in the mine, they would be blown to smithereens.\n\nThe three detectives had no option but to retreat back above ground.\n\nM\u00fcller looked at Baumann in desperation. 'What can we do now? We've got to save that girl somehow.'\n\nBaumann glanced towards the border guard lieutenant. 'I don't think you're going to be able to persuade him to re-open the tunnel. He's dead set on simply blowing the whole thing up.'\n\nM\u00fcller nodded. But there had to be something they could do.\n\n'Is it worth looking at that map again?' asked Vogel.\n\nShe frowned. 'Which map?'\n\n'Hauptmann Baumann and I managed to get hold of an old map of the mine workings from the local library. That day we came up here trying to find you. It's more detailed than the one you had.'\n\n'Where is it?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'In the Gaz.' The three of them ran back to the four-wheel drive, parked at the side of the forest track. Vogel retrieved the map, and after wiping the vehicle's bonnet with his gloves, spread it out on top.\n\n'We're here,' he said. 'By this shaft and mine house. But as you can see, originally there were other shafts leading down to the mine too.' He pointed at three different circles, dotted throughout the forest.\n\n'How do we know they connect with our mine?' asked Baumann.\n\nVogel flipped the map over. On the reverse side, there were sectional drawings of the mine. 'Bear in mind this is more than a hundred years old. The border guards most probably will have found all the old shafts and blocked them off to prevent anyone trying to do what Neumann and Ackermann have attempted.'\n\n'To dig under the state border, to the West?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\n'Exactly.' Vogel started tracing his finger along the tunnels and shafts of the sectional drawing. 'There are two possible shafts that may link up. One is a hundred metres or so that way.' Vogel pointed into the forest, downhill towards the border. 'The other's about fifty or so metres in the opposite direction, up towards the Brocken.' The uphill route looked steeper, more treacherous.\n\nBaumann dived into the four-wheel drive, and brought three torches out. He handed one to M\u00fcller. 'Have you got your gun?' She nodded. 'Then I think it's best you and Vogel take one of the shafts; I'll try the other. You've only got one good arm. Vogel here will be able to help you.' The Unterleutnant smiled at M\u00fcller.\n\n'Should we ask the border guards to come with us?'\n\nBaumann shook his head. 'They weren't exactly helpful down the main shaft, were they? If there is a way in, we don't want them stopping us.' The three of them studied the map and sectional diagram one last time, trying to memorise potential routes, then set off in opposite directions: Baumann uphill, M\u00fcller and Vogel towards the downhill shaft.\n\nM\u00fcller had to cling onto the junior officer with her good arm as they negotiated the rocks, snow and tree trunks. They clambered from tree to tree, gradually making their way down the slope to where the shaft ought to be. At first they didn't spot it, then M\u00fcller pointed to a low, circular wall, with a rusting grille on top.\n\n'It looks like it's been sealed,' she said.\n\nVogel gave the grille a tug. It moved slightly, but didn't give way. He picked up a rock, and crashed it down on one side of the grille. Then, squeezing between a tree and the shaft top to gain leverage, he pulled once more. A groan and crash and it came away in his hands, throwing him backwards.\n\nSwitching on her torch, M\u00fcller shone it down the shaft. 'There's a ladder,' she said, then reached down and pulled at it with her uninjured arm. 'Seems secure.'\n\nVogel gently moved her aside. 'I'd better go first, Oberleutnant, then I can help you if you get into trouble.'\n\n* * *\n\nM\u00fcller wasn't sure how far down they climbed into the blackness. The shaft was freezing cold with a dank, fetid atmosphere. Vogel descended more quickly than her, until she realised from the motion of his torch that he'd reached the bottom.\n\nOnce M\u00fcller caught up with him, she saw they had a choice of two passageways to crawl down. Vogel trained the torch beam down one of the tunnels. 'This way,' he whispered. 'At least, I hope so.'\n\n* * *\n\nFirst it was the sounds she heard: the 'thud, thud, thud' from the other side of the rockfall, only now the sound was sharper, louder, echoing down the level they were crawling through. They turned their torches off as a precaution. As Vogel turned a corner, she saw a new flicker of light. Then their level opened out to head height. They stretched for the first time for several minutes, M\u00fcller rubbing her left arm. As they moved further towards the thudding sound, the light grew stronger. The tunnel they were in reached a junction. Vogel stopped, peered his head round the corner and then immediately drew it back. She saw the silhouette of his arm beckon her. Then he whispered in her ear.\n\n'They're at the end there. About twenty metres away.'\n\nAs he pulled back, M\u00fcller moved ahead of him, flattening herself against the end of the wall of their tunnel, right at the junction with the main level. Then she edged her head to the side slightly, so that her left eye could see down to where the pair worked. It was the flaming shock of Irma's hair she saw first, then, alongside, Ackermann's bald pate shining in the torchlight.\n\nShe drew out her Makarov and released the safety catch. Behind her, she could hear Vogel doing the same.\n\nSimultaneously, she saw another flash of light, from the tunnel on the other side of the main level. But Ackermann and Irma, busy side by side, hadn't noticed. The light grew stronger, then Ackermann heard something, turned and picked up his gun, aiming it towards the tunnel from where M\u00fcller assumed Baumann was about to emerge.\n\n'Careful, he's seen you,' she shouted.\n\nAckermann swivelled, aiming the gun towards her.\n\n'Drop the weapon, Comrade Ackermann!' shouted Baumann. 'You're under arrest, suspected of the abduction and murder of Beate Ewert.'\n\nAckermann started to lower his gun arm, but as Baumann stepped out, M\u00fcller saw him turn and raise it again. A twin flash of light and then a double crack of gunfire, as she and Vogel raced down the tunnel, pistols aloft. Baumann was hit and fell, and in the confusion as Ackermann turned his aim towards M\u00fcller, she saw the glint of steel, a dull thud and anguished cry as Irma used all her force to crack her shovel blade against Ackermann's head. The Stasi general slumped forward, blood welling from his head wound.\n\nM\u00fcller shouted: 'No, Irma!' But the girl continued to rain blows down on the Stasi general's skull, the same repetitive rhythm he'd forced her to use in his futile attempt to dig an escape route. M\u00fcller forgot about the pain in her bad arm as she grabbed the girl. The teenager dropped the shovel, and clung to the detective, sobbing in her arms. M\u00fcller had wanted Ackermann alive. To face proper justice. But as his body twitched in its death throes, she knew that wasn't going to happen.\n\nShe swung her torch back down the level, to where Vogel cradled Baumann's oversized head. M\u00fcller almost couldn't believe what she was seeing in the dim torchlight. Baumann had seemed larger than life, solid, dependable. But as Vogel looked up into her eyes, his own glistened in the torch beam. He slowly shook his head. His Hauptmann \u2013 the mountain detective who looked more like a farmer \u2013 had investigated his last case.\n\nDay Twenty.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nOn her return to Berlin, M\u00fcller was immediately summoned to a meeting with J\u00e4ger at the M\u00e4rchenbrunnen. She tried to suggest an alternative venue to avoid the reminders of her and Gottfried, but J\u00e4ger would have none of it.\n\nHe was sitting in his usual place, in front of the still-closed fountains. But the scene looked different, less magical: most of the snow had melted.\n\n'How's your arm?' he asked, glancing at it.\n\n'Getting there. But I feel utterly exhausted.'\n\n'You've been through a lot.'\n\nM\u00fcller thought of Baumann's body, lying in the mine, killed by a senior member of J\u00e4ger's own Ministry for State Security. She pictured Beate's mutilated body at the cemetery, at the start of this strange investigation. Yes, she'd been through a lot, but she'd got off lightly.\n\n'How's Tilsner? Can I go and see him?'\n\n'If you wish, of course. But he's on a life support system at Charit\u00e9 Hospital. He won't realise you're there. They don't know if he'll pull through or not.'\n\n'What about Ackermann? Will there be an official explanation of his death? Do we know that he was our killer?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger rubbed his chin, staring out into the distance, as though he hadn't heard her.\n\n'Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger?' M\u00fcller prompted, as he continued his silence.\n\nFinally, J\u00e4ger sighed, and got to his feet. He held his hand out to M\u00fcller to help her up.\n\n'Come,' he said. 'I will show you something.'\n\n* * *\n\nJ\u00e4ger drove north through the outskirts of the Hauptstadt, and kept driving, still in a northerly direction through the surrounding Brandenburg forest. The darkness of the trees almost reminded her of the Harz, except here the terrain was flatter. M\u00fcller wasn't sure where they were going \u2013 wondered if perhaps they were going as far as R\u00fcgen and the Ostsee coast \u2013 but after about forty minutes, J\u00e4ger turned off the main road.\n\nAt a barrier, he showed his pass and was waved through. They were in some luxury complex in the centre of the forest, with streets laid out in a regular pattern and low-rise cream-coloured buildings with red-tiled roofs. All the surrounding lawns and bushes were carefully manicured. It was like something M\u00fcller had never seen before \u2013 a total contrast to the historic towns of the Harz, although those too were surrounded by trees on all sides.\n\n'I can see you're impressed, Karin. Ordinary citizens of the Republic don't often get a chance to visit here. Consider yourself honoured.' He smiled at her.\n\nHe pulled the car up outside one of the buildings, and M\u00fcller could see the grounds were closed off with red-and-white tape, with People's Army soldiers standing guard. J\u00e4ger opened the door for her, showed his pass to the soldiers, and they went inside. The house itself was modern, functional. It was a little how M\u00fcller imagined people in the United States of America must live. What was this place, and why had J\u00e4ger brought her here? She began to feel slightly alarmed.\n\nJ\u00e4ger guided her into one of the rooms.\n\n'This was Horst Ackermann's study,' he said. 'It will now be reallocated, of course.' He gestured for her to sit on a chair in the corner, while he took the leather swivel seat at the desk; he then turned towards her and held her gaze.\n\n'I owe you an explanation. And I'm sure you want to know for certain that our killer has been disposed of. He has.' J\u00e4ger handed her a copy of Neues Deutschland.\n\nShe started to read the front-page story. The headline alone was enough to tell her what J\u00e4ger wanted her to know.\n\nGENOSSE ACKERMANN KILLED IN CAR CRASH\n\nShe didn't even bother to read the rest. 'So no mention of what he did to that poor girl?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger shook his head. 'Nor what Irma did to him. That would not reflect very well on the Ministry for State Security. But we can be sure he was the killer and the rapist. Forensic teams have found Beate Ewert's fingerprints in this house. Fibres from her clothing, even some scraps of the black witch's cape she wore to the fancy-dress party on the Brocken. They obviously came back here afterwards.'\n\n'And she believed that by going to the party, by cooperating with Ackermann, he would finally get her out of the Jugendwerkhof?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger shrugged. 'Maybe. With all the players except Irma being dead, we're never going to find out. We found the acid used to disguise her identity. We've found pliers with dental remains on, presumably used to pull her teeth out. And we found these.' J\u00e4ger swivelled the chair back towards the desk, picked up a brown envelope and then turned again and handed it to M\u00fcller. She opened it and shook out its contents. Photographic negatives. She held them up to the light of the window.\n\n'They're the original surveillance photographs from the sanatorium at the R\u00fcgen youth workhouse. Ackermann and Pawlitzki, working together, seem to have used them to mock up the photographs of your husband. We found both their fingerprints on them.'\n\nM\u00fcller replaced the negatives, then handed the envelope back to the Stasi lieutenant colonel. She didn't want them. It was part of her history now. A part she wanted to forget.\n\n'What about the Volvo limousine? I still don't understand why that was used?'\n\n'We're not sure who dumped the body. We think it was Neumann \u2013 or Pawlitzki if you prefer \u2013 using Ackermann's limo. Ackermann had an identical one to the one at the West Berlin hire place; he would use it on visits to the western sector. Visiting prostitutes \u2013 though why he needed to go to the West to do that, I don't know. There's plenty this side of the barrier, including \u2013 by the way \u2013 Beate Ewert's mother. That's how her daughter ended up in the Jugendwerkhof system. Her mother was considered an unsuitable role model. Anyway, Ackermann regularly swapped the two cars round. We're not sure why. We don't even know if the hire company ever realised which car was which.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'But if he could do all that, why did he and Neumann need to dig the tunnel in the mine? He could have simply defected at any stage.'\n\n'The tunnel must have been their last resort. One he had to use when he finally realised we were onto him, and when we'd sealed the Republic's borders. That was why the initial investigation had to be headed by you, a People's Police detective, rather than anyone in the Stasi. We didn't want him to realise he was being investigated by members of his own Ministry.'\n\n'And what about all the convenient geographical clues?' asked M\u00fcller.\n\nJ\u00e4ger shrugged. 'I don't really understand that myself. All I know is that they fitted in with the rumours we'd heard about illicit activity on the part of Ackermann: the parties involving underage girls on R\u00fcgen. We knew three of them had gone missing. The rumours reached another of the Ministry's deputy heads: Markus Wolf, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate. He decided the bad apple at the top of the pile had to be removed \u2013 but, as I said, we couldn't have Stasi agents investigating Stasi generals.'\n\nM\u00fcller frowned. 'Maybe what Pawlitzki claimed about the clues was the case, then?'\n\n'What was that?'\n\n'That he wanted to lure me there. That he knew I would be investigating the case.'\n\nPicking up a pen, J\u00e4ger seemed to make a note of what she was saying. Unless he was just doodling on the pad. She couldn't quite see. 'That's possible, I suppose. You were the Mitte murder squad head.'\n\n'Were?' asked M\u00fcller, alarmed.\n\n'We may have a new role for you,' said J\u00e4ger, twirling round on the seat like a young boy with a new discovery.\n\n'I don't want a new role.'\n\nHe smiled at her. 'Don't reject it out of hand. I'll let you know more about it in due course.'\n\nThere was something else left unanswered, which M\u00fcller needed to know. 'What will happen to Irma?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger gave a long sigh, then clicked the end of the pen and placed it down. 'She will have to return to the Jugendwerkhof.'\n\n'No!' interrupted M\u00fcller. 'She's not going back there. I won't allow it.'\n\nHer outburst seemed to leave J\u00e4ger unperturbed. 'I don't see that you have any choice in the matter,' he said. 'She is under the care of the Ministry of Education, not the Volkspolizei. She is very fortunate not to be facing a murder charge.'\n\n'There are no witnesses. Neither Vogel nor I would testify against her. Surely you cannot be so cruel as to send her back to that godforsaken place?'\n\nJ\u00e4ger looked at her sternly. 'Careful, Karin. I've already done a lot for you, made sure you aren't facing any disciplinary charges. Why should I go out on a limb over this, and why do you care?'\n\n'It's just those girls... they could... they could be \u2013'\n\n'Your daughter? The one you aborted?'\n\nHis words were like a stab to M\u00fcller's heart. 'How... How do you know about that?'\n\n'It's the Ministry for State Security's job to know about people. Especially those working for it. That's one of the reasons you were chosen for this case. You had a very personal reason to make sure those involved were brought to justice. The other reason, of course, is that you're young, inexperienced, slightly out of your depth.' M\u00fcller knew she ought to feel anger at the slight, but she'd long suspected J\u00e4ger hadn't recruited her on the basis of ability. 'Your youth made you vulnerable, malleable. More willing to do what I required.'\n\nM\u00fcller slumped forward in her chair, trying to shut out what he was saying. She'd removed her sling the previous day when she'd gone down the mine, and hadn't put it back on. But the wound in her arm still hurt as she held her head in her hands.\n\nA small smile played on J\u00e4ger's face. He didn't seem like the affable western newsreader now. 'However, turning back to Irma Behrendt's future, there may be another way,' he said. 'We might be prepared to let Irma stay with her grandmother at the campsite in Sellin. Her mother is due for release from jail shortly, isn't she?'\n\n'I think that's right.' M\u00fcller no longer trusted anything J\u00e4ger said or did.\n\n'I will have to speak to Irma first,' he said. 'She will have to agree to certain conditions. But yes, it might be possible to meet both your wishes and our needs at the same time.'\n\nHe rose from the chair. 'I think that just about concludes things here. Why don't I take you to see Tilsner?'\n\nMarch 1975.\n\nEast Berlin.\n\nAs she looked through the window of the door into the intensive care unit, M\u00fcller was shocked by the number of tubes attached to her deputy. His face was partially covered with a breathing mask, and the surrounding flesh was horribly pale. She was about to push open the door when J\u00e4ger reached out his arm to stop her and gestured with his eyes to the side of the room.\n\nThere sat Koletta \u2013 his wife \u2013 and his two children. They wouldn't welcome her. Koletta would blame her for leading her husband into danger, even if she knew nothing of M\u00fcller and Tilsner's intimacy. She backed away, and slumped on a seat in the corridor outside. J\u00e4ger sat down next to her.\n\n'He's a good officer. For you... and for us,' he said.\n\nM\u00fcller wasn't sure how J\u00e4ger would expect her to react, whether he thought she would be surprised. But she wasn't. She'd guessed some time ago, although she could not have guessed whether the arrangement was official. What J\u00e4ger was saying was simply confirmation. She shrugged, as though it didn't matter to her.\n\nJ\u00e4ger smiled. 'Who do you think radioed to tip us off from the Brocken when you insisted on setting off on your lunatic mission with just two officers and two guns? If he hadn't, you wouldn't be standing here now, and I would be attending a double funeral.'\n\n'Was that what he was doing when he went off on his own in West Berlin?' she asked.\n\nJ\u00e4ger nodded. 'He needed to pick up some documents for a little industrial espionage racket we were running.'\n\nShe sighed. 'He's still a good man. He's someone you'd want on your side rather than the enemy's.'\n\n'A good man. I'd agree. And a good photographer.'\n\nM\u00fcller felt the blood drain from her face. She turned towards the Stasi Oberstleutnant, her brow furrowing. 'But you said it was Pawlitzki and Ackermann who faked those pictures of Gottfried with the girl.'\n\nJ\u00e4ger laughed. 'That's right. Tilsner's interest was in photographing churches.' M\u00fcller gasped, but J\u00e4ger wasn't finished. 'But why he provided pictures to the Ministry for State Security from his own apartment is more of a mystery. Perhaps he had a personal reason for wanting your marriage to come to an end?'\n\nIt was the final straw for M\u00fcller. She grabbed J\u00e4ger by the lapels of his coat. 'You bastard,' she spat.\n\nHe smiled, and loosened her fingers. 'Careful, Karin. After all that's happened it would be unfortunate if you found yourself on a disciplinary charge after all.'\n\nShe got up, straightened her coat and stomped off down the corridor without a backward glance. The Arschloch! She'd gone along with his little games, done her best, but she wasn't playing them anymore.\n\n* * *\n\nWhen she reached her apartment block on Sch\u00f6nhauser Allee, she saw the B\u00e4ckerei Sch\u00e4fer van had returned to its usual place. That was probably J\u00e4ger's doing too. In the lobby, she stopped to pick up her mail: three letters \u2013 two official-looking ones and one with a West German postmark.\n\nHer legs weighed her down as she climbed the stairs to the apartment. Frau Ostermann's door clicked open when she reached the landing. The infernal woman had probably been watching out for her.\n\n'Frau M\u00fcller,' she said. 'Is everything OK between you and your husband? I haven't seen him around much recently.'\n\nM\u00fcller turned to the interfering woman. 'Is that any business of yours, Citizen Ostermann? I don't think it is, is it?'\n\nThe woman snorted, and clicked her door shut again, retreating inside. Once the door closed, M\u00fcller shot her the Mittelfinger. She wasn't in the mood.\n\nM\u00fcller entered the flat with a heavy heart. It would be quiet enough for Ostermann from now on. Because there was just her. On her own.\n\nShe closed the apartment door and slumped on the sofa, the exhaustion of the last few days and weeks catching up with her. Placing the two official-looking letters on the coffee table, she tore open the West German postmarked one, half-suspecting who it was from. She could feel tears begin to prick her eyes, but tried to fight them back as she read the typewritten letter, dated from two days earlier:\n\nHeilbronn,\n\nFederal Republic of Germany\n\nDear Karin\n\nI'm sorry it had to come to this, and I am sorry I didn't get a chance to see you before I left. You'll know by now that those photographs from the reform school were fakes. But apart from that, after what you told me about you and Tilsner, the deal they offered me to leave the Republic was too good to turn down.\n\nThat does not mean that I do not think of you with affection. I still do. We had a lot of good times together. But I always felt there was something missing from your life \u2013 some big sadness \u2013 and I was never able to compensate for that fully. Perhaps you will manage to find someone else who will.\n\nAnyway, this is just a very quick note to say there are no hard feelings on my part. I would hope one day that I will be able to visit you and that we can remain friends at least, and that you will remember me fondly.\n\nI'm hoping that I may be able to land a job quite quickly, despite the poor unemployment situation in the West. Good maths teachers are in short supply, and there's a position I'm going to see about tomorrow in Bad Wimpfen \u2013 a small town near here in a pretty spot on the River Neckar. It's all quite exciting, if a little frightening.\n\nDon't think badly of me.\n\nAt the end of the typing, the only piece of handwriting: his name, Gottfried, and a single 'X' for a kiss.\n\nKarin ignored the other two letters. Instead, she went to the bedroom and reached up to the top of the wardrobe for the key. Then she sat on the end of the bed and turned the drawer lock.\n\nSometimes just stroking the clothes would be enough to comfort her. But not today. She got out the two sets of baby clothes, one blue and one pink, and arranged them carefully side by side on the bed. She stroked them as the tears fell. Because Pawlitzki hadn't been cheated of one son or daughter \u2013 he'd been cheated out of one of each: a boy and a girl. Twins that, if she'd continued with her unwanted pregnancy, would have put an end to her police career there and then.\n\nThe twins that she knew she could never replace.\n\nOberleutnant Karin M\u00fcller had lost her babies, lost her husband and didn't know if her deputy would survive his injuries. But she had saved a young girl's life. She hoped Irma Behrendt would now find happiness and make the best of her second chance.\n\nMarch 1975.\n\nOstseebad Sellin, R\u00fcgen, East Germany.\n\nI'm so excited. Over the past few years \u2013 years of utter misery \u2013 this is the day I've been waiting for, and I know Oma feels just the same. Our little gathering is quite small. Some people in the town still do not want to be seen with us. I suppose I can understand that. But those of us who are here have dressed in our best clothes, put on our finest make-up, even polished our shoes.\n\nIn the last week, I've been helping Oma make the small campsite house look attractive once more. Repainting the front in brilliant white that sparkles in the spring sun. And then helping her bake the cakes and make the paper decorations. It won't be long until Oma will open for the season, at Easter, and she has promised that if trade is good, I can have a job looking after the campsite, earning my own money at last. Not the pathetic pocket money at the Jugendwerkhof, but a proper wage, albeit a small one.\n\nThe front doorbell rings. We shush each other and giggle, trying but failing to keep quiet. Laurenz \u2013 Frau Brinkerhoff's son \u2013 gives me a look of encouragement, and a smile. I blush under his gaze. He's asked me out next week, to the cinema in G\u00f6hren, up the road. My first proper date. I'm so nervous.\n\nThe bell rings a second time. I can see the shadow of someone through the knobbly-glazed front door. Before I open it, I check my new hairstyle in the hall mirror and brush my fringe out of my eyes.\n\nAs I pull the door open, and see her, I'm already speaking: 'I'm sorry we don't have any spaces free. We're not open for the season yet.'\n\nI see her face crease in confusion.\n\n'I... I... haven't come to camp here,' she stutters. I know she's wondering who this new girl is at the door. Finally, I see her look again at my red hair, at the colour of my eyes. She realises who I am, and that I'm joking.\n\n'Irma!' she cries. 'Is it really you?' I just nod, and she hugs me \u2013 tighter than she's ever hugged me before. I can't speak because I know that then the tears will fall, and won't stop. She breaks the hug, and pushes me back slightly to take another look. She strokes my face. 'You're so beautiful. What's happened to you? My beautiful, beautiful girl.' The tears are flowing down her face freely. She is thinner than I remember. She has more lines and wrinkles, probably more than she should at her age. The years in jail have taken their toll.\n\nBut she is Mutti.\n\nMy Mutti.\n\nShe is home. And I know that in accepting Oberstleutnant J\u00e4ger's arrangement, I have made the right choice.\n\nMarch 1975.\n\nA forest near East Berlin.\n\nThe Stasi officer was disorientated by all the deliberate false turns and stopping and starting inside the Barkas van; for the prisoner, it would be even worse. He would have little idea, if any, of their location. The officer knew they were somewhere on the outskirts of the Hauptstadt, but no more than that. He was fully aware of the job he had to do, but not how it fitted into the larger picture; he didn't even know what the prisoner was guilty of. But for them to be here, for him to have been assigned this task, it would have to be something serious. It was usually espionage: undermining the Republic, helping the fascists and counter-revolutionaries in their attempts to destroy the socialist state of workers and peasants.\n\nHe listened as the guards dragged the prisoner out of the van and tried in vain to shut out the noise of the screams, the protestations, the terror. Of course, very occasionally there would be a late intervention. Or the ritual would be followed to the very edge of the precipice, before it was suddenly aborted and the prisoner taken back to whichever jail he had come from. Usually a 'he'. Not always, but usually. An extreme form of Zersetzung, of psychological terror: the last trick in the arsenal to try to break them, to get them to confess.\n\nThis, though, was not Zersetzung.\n\nThe moment was near. He shuffled his hands into the white gloves, which wouldn't stay white for long.\n\nHe picked up the case and \u2013 crouching \u2013 made his way out of the van.\n\nThey were in a forest clearing, surrounded on all sides by spruce trees, the air fresh and crisp, a welcome contrast to the Hauptstadt's pollution and smog.\n\nThe officer adjusted the gloves, bent down and clicked open the aluminium case. The weapon was already prepared, checked, oiled. He'd done all that back at Hohensch\u00f6nhausen.\n\nKneeling in front of him on the forest floor, constrained in a straitjacket and held by a guard on each side, the prisoner was quieter now. No more screaming, no more protestations of innocence through the heavy fabric of the hood that covered his head.\n\nThe officer loaded the gun, released the safety catch and then held the barrel against the back of the prisoner's skull. The accused tried to flinch away, began shouting unintelligibly through the close-knit material. But it was too late now.\n\nThe officer paused for a moment as a bird chattered overhead to allow the solemnity of the occasion to settle on the forest, to allow the condemned his last thoughts.\n\nThen he squeezed the trigger.\nEPILOGUE\n\nMarch 1975.\n\nThe island of R\u00fcgen, East Germany.\n\nThe woman's eyes darted around the handful of people in the caf\u00e9, never resting for more than a moment, moving on before any return gaze could challenge her. Where was he? This was the correct meeting place, she had made sure she was on time, but none of the customers here carried the package that was the agreed signal. She glanced down at her watch. He was ten minutes late already. She resumed her surreptitious observation: watching, but not wanting to be watched.\n\nWere any of the others in the caf\u00e9 informers? The waitress who'd just brought her coffee \u2013 the one with the painted-on, over-blacked eyebrows and a sour, Pomeranian farmer's-wife demeanour. She looked like a loyal party type. Or the unshaven man in the grey fishing sweater, sitting in the corner nursing a beer even though it was not yet midday. He hadn't drunk a drop of it. She'd noted that.\n\nThe woman rubbed her hands together as though the chill of an Ostsee Easter had invaded the inside of the salon. In fact \u2013 under a portrait of a middle-aged man in horn-rimmed spectacles \u2013 an open fire crackled and spewed smoke, as though suffering indigestion from its meal of low-grade coal. She brought the coffee to her lips: the edge of the cup trembled against them, so that some of the liquid spilled. The woman smiled ruefully to herself. So careless.\n\nShe checked her watch once more, and then looked up again at Comrade Honecker's portrait. She had the sensation he was watching her too, from behind the glass of the frame. For the last few years he and his ilk had held her captive, like a bird in a cage. A chief jailer with a network of helpers, who she knew were carefully trained to spy on people like her.\n\nThe woman was indeed being watched, but not by anyone in the caf\u00e9. Her observer was concealed by the shadow of a white wooden veranda on the opposite side of the resort's main street. A slender figure, with an angular face barely visible inside a tightly drawn hood, seemingly busy sweeping the building's entrance, but concentrating on watching the coffee shop, not the motion of the brush.\n\nThe hooded figure's gaze became more alert as a man in an overcoat and suit approached, carrying a bouquet of spring flowers. There was something distinctive about them. They were too early for R\u00fcgen island flowers. The blooms seemed to attract the woman's attention. She rose from her seat, hurriedly threw a couple of marks on the table and then rushed to join the man outside. Her face lit up as they embraced. Almost a look of love, but the hooded figure didn't think that was what it was.\n\nThey moved off, walking up Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse, past piles of cleared snow from the unseasonal blizzard just days earlier, the stems of the flowers bending in the bitter wind. They strolled towards the sea and the cliff steps that would take them down to the Seebr\u00fccke, with its wooden legs stretching out through the ice-cold water.\n\nAfter a few moments, the figure on the veranda followed, keeping pace a few hundred metres behind the couple. The figure stopped at the telescope at the top of the cliff, the one used by children to watch passing ships in the summer. However, anyone checking the angle of the telescope would see it trained not out to sea, but to the end of the wooden pier. There the couple still talked, standing by a lamp post thickly iced with frozen sea spray. Winter's grip clinging on until spring finally arrived.\n\nAfter a few moments, the figure moved to a yellow public call box, just a few metres away.\n\nA finger turned the dial, calling a Bergen auf R\u00fcgen number.\n\nIn Bergen, the Ministry for State Security operator heard the caller ask for Hauptmann Gerd Steiger.\n\n'Can I ask who's calling?' asked the operator.\n\nIn the call box, the figure drew back her hood and ran her fingers through her newly styled red hair.\n\n'Tell him it's Wildcat. Tell him the subject has made contact.'\n\nThe girl with the angular looks waited for Steiger. She wondered if she was doing the right thing, but she was sure she was. That was the price of her freedom; the payment to avoid being sent back to the Jugendwerkhof. To be allowed to live with her grandmother.\n\nTo spy on her own mother.\n\nAfter all, that was what she was.\n\nLike Mathias before her.\n\nA spy.\n\nAn informer.\n\nA Stasi child.\nGLOSSARY\n\nAmpelmann | |\n\nLittle green\/red man with hat at pedestrian crossing lights\n\n---|---|---\n\nArschloch | |\n\nArsehole\n\nB\u00e4derarchitektur | |\n\nResort architecture\n\nBezirk (pl Bezirke) | |\n\nEast German district or region\n\nBr\u00f6tchen | |\n\nBread roll\n\nBundesgrenzschutz | |\n\nFederal border guard \u2013 the first police force permitted in West Germany after WW2\n\nDer schwarze Kanal | |\n\nNotorious East German propaganda television programme\n\nEingaben | |\n\nPetitions\n\nGebackene Apfelringe | |\n\nBaked apple rings\n\nGeneraloberst | |\n\nColonel general\n\nGottverdammt | |\n\nGoddamnit\n\nGrenztruppen | |\n\nBorder guards\n\nGrenz\u00fcbergang | |\n\nCrossing point in the Berlin Wall or inner German border\n\nH\u00e4nschen klein | |\n\nLittle Hans (name of a famous children's song)\n\nJugendliche | |\n\nYouth; teenager\n\nJugendwerkhof (pL Jugendwerkh\u00f6fe) | |\n\nReformatory (literally 'youth work yard')\n\nKaufhaus des Westens (usually abbreviated to KaDeWe) | |\n\nWest Berlin department store\n\nKriminalpolizei | |\n\nCriminal police\n\nKriminaltechniker | |\n\nForensic officer\n\nKripo | |\n\nCriminal police (short form)\n\nLeutnant | |\n\nLieutenant\n\nNeues Deutschland | |\n\nDaily party newspaper\n\nOberleutnant | |\n\nLieutenant or first lieutenant\n\nOberliga | |\n\nFirst division of the East German football league\n\nOberst | |\n\nColonel\n\nOberstleutnant | |\n\nLieutenant colonel\n\nOstler | |\n\nSlang word for an East German (after 1989, called an Ossi)\n\nOstpolitik | |\n\nNormalisation of relations between West and East Germany in the early 1970s\n\nOstsee | |\n\nBaltic Sea\n\nRepublikflucht | |\n\nMovement of people from East Germany to the West\n\nRepublikfl\u00fcchtlinge | |\n\nEscapees (people who escaped or left East Germany)\n\nScheisse | |\n\nShit\n\nSeebr\u00fccke | |\n\nPier\n\nUnterleutnant | |\n\nSecond lieutenant\n\nVolkspolizei | |\n\nPeople's Police\n\nWestler | |\n\nSlang word for a West German (after 1989, called a Wessi)\nAUTHOR'S NOTE\n\nThis novel is a work of fiction, but some of the story is inspired by true events \u2013 in particular the way the Stasi recruited young people. It is estimated that by the time the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, around six per cent of the Stasi's 173,000 unofficial collaborators were under the age of eighteen. Recruitment of youths began in the 1970s and gathered pace in the 1980s. You can find out more in the book Stasi Auf Dem Schulhof by Klaus Behnke and J\u00fcrgen Wolf.\n\nThe favoured method of execution in East Germany was the guillotine up until the mid-1960s and from then on a bullet in the back of the head. The death sentence was not abolished until 1987. In 1982, the head of the Stasi, Erich Mielke, was quoted as saying that Stasi operatives should 'execute if necessary, even without trial'. You can hear those chilling words as part of the exhibition at the Museum in der Runden Ecke, the old Stasi HQ in Leipzig.\n\nAlthough the Jugendwerkhof featured in this book is fictional, the 'closed' Jugendwerkhof at Torgau was notorious for sexual and physical abuse of the children there. One harrowing first-hand account comes from Heidemarie Puls, who was an inmate in the 1970s. Her book, Schattenkinder hinter Torgauer Mauern, provided some of the background inspiration for this novel. The only Jugendwerkhof on R\u00fcgen was shut down in the 1950s. However, Prora itself is still there and makes for an interesting visit.\n\nThe idea of Neumann and Ackermann's fictional escape tunnel was inspired by one built for East German leader Erich Honecker. He had a fifty-metre escape route built under the Berlin Wall in the event his people turned against him. Like my fictional Ackermann, he never got the chance to use it.\n\nThe island of Vilm does exist and was used by the East German political elite. The story of sexual abuse set there in this novel is, however, entirely fictional, as is the fancy-dress party on the Brocken. The Soviet base at Gross Zicker on R\u00fcgen described in this book is fictional, but there was a base nearby at Klein Zicker (since dismantled).\n\nI have no evidence that the children of Jugendwerkh\u00f6fe were involved in making furniture for the West. Political prisoners of the Stasi were however used to produce items of IKEA furniture in the 1970s and 1980s. This included the well-known Klippan sofa. In November 2012, the head of IKEA Germany, Peter Betzel, made a formal apology to a roomful of former prisoners after a report by auditors Ernst & Young confirmed that IKEA managers were aware of the practice.\n\nThe plotline of the repatriation agreement for under-sixteens derives from a fascinating story on the internet called 'Flight to Freedom', told by a former American serviceman, Thomas Pucci. Thomas and his friend Harry Knights witnessed a fourteen-year-old boy escape near the 'Doppel housing area' in Berlin one day in the mid-1970s. Harry even took photos. But although the boy successfully evaded the death strip and reached the West, Thomas says he was taken into custody by the West Berlin authorities. Three days later, according to newspaper headlines, he was returned to the East under the terms of the 'agreement'.\n\nSending Stasi agents to the West to get a hire car back to the East for forensic tests did actually happen in a murder case from 1977 related to me by Dr Remo Kroll, author of Die Kriminalpolizei im Ostteil Berlins (1945\u20131990). The Stasi did have a special homicide division and would become closely involved if the suspect was related to the ruling party, the SED (Socialist Unity Party). And they did sometimes take over criminal investigations from the Kripo \u2013 Dr Kroll cites the example of the 1986 murders of babies in a Leipzig hospital.\n\nFinally, although party leaders did occasionally parade in their Volvos, more often than not they would be watching the parades themselves on a raised podium, Kremlin-style \u2013 so Karin's memory from the twenty-fifth anniversary parade was a little authorial licence for the sake of the plot.\n\nI hope you enjoyed reading the novel as much as I enjoyed writing it, and that it will encourage you to visit the eastern part of Germany, where the ghost of the dystopian world that was the DDR is still very much evident \u2013 but disappearing fast.\n\nFor more background, please see my website: www.stasichild.com\nACKNOWLEDGEMENTS\n\nThis novel was written for the inaugural Crime Thriller Creative Writing MA at City University, London. Special thanks to my fellow students for their invaluable help and suggestions, particularly Stephanie Broadribb, Rob Hogg, James Holt, Philip Horswood, Kylie Morris, Seun Olatoye, Rod Reynolds, Jody Sabral, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Emma Tuddenham. As I write, two of us have obtained publishing deals (with, I'm sure, more to follow), one has won the Debut Dagger and several have secured literary agents.\n\nAlso many thanks to my tutors \u2013 Claire McGowan, Laura Wilson and Philip Sington \u2013 for their suggestions. Philip's novel The Valley of Unknowing \u2013 set in Dresden in the 1980s \u2013 was far and away the best fictional account I read during my research.\n\nFor sharing his experiences as a child in Sellin, R\u00fcgen, and for reading my first draft, I'm very grateful to Oliver Berlau of the BBC World Service. I spent a fabulous research trip in Sellin in April 2013, staying just off Wilhelmstrasse (Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse in DDR times) and that \u2013 together with Oliver's recollections \u2013 inspired the R\u00fcgen parts of the book. Thanks also to Stephanie Smith for her valuable comments on the first draft.\n\nFor their help with explanations of DDR policing I'm indebted to former detectives Siegfried Schwarz and Berndt Marmulla, and to Jana Reissmann and Thomas Abrams for very kindly helping with interview translations. Many thanks, too, to Ronald Schulz-T\u00f6pken of the Berlin Police Presidency, Remo Kroll and former East Berlin police officer Kerstin Kr\u00fcger.\n\nAlso a big thank you to the organisers of the international Yeovil Literary Prize. My shortlisting and third prize there was the first step towards publication.\n\nLast, but not least, without my agent Adam Gauntlett and his colleagues at Peters Fraser & Dunlop (especially Rachel Mills, Naomi Joseph and Jonathan Sissons) this book might never have seen the light of day. I was thrilled when it was bought for Bonnier UK by Mark Smith, and am very grateful for the improvements suggested by my editor and publisher at Twenty7, Joel Richardson. All remaining errors are \u2013 of course \u2013 solely down to me.\nABOUT THE AUTHOR\n\nDAVID YOUNG was born near Hull, England and\u2014after dropping out of Bristol University\u2014studied Humanities at Bristol Polytechnic. Temporary jobs cleaning ferry toilets and driving a butcher's van were followed by a career in journalism with provincial newspapers, a London news agency, and international radio and TV newsrooms. He now writes in his garden shed and in his spare time supports Hull City AFC. He is the author of Stasi Wolf and Stasi Child. You can sign up for email updates here.\n\nThank you for buying this\n\nSt. Martin's Press ebook.\n\nTo receive special offers, bonus content,\n\nand info on new releases and other great reads,\n\nsign up for our newsletters.\n\nOr visit us online at\n\nus.macmillan.com\/newslettersignup\n\nFor email updates on the author, click here.\nCONTENTS\n\nTitle Page\n\nCopyright Notice\n\nIntroduction\n\nChapter 1\n\nChapter 2\n\nChapter 3\n\nChapter 4\n\nChapter 5\n\nChapter 6\n\nChapter 7\n\nChapter 8\n\nChapter 9\n\nChapter 10\n\nChapter 11\n\nChapter 12\n\nChapter 13\n\nChapter 14\n\nChapter 15\n\nChapter 16\n\nChapter 17\n\nChapter 18\n\nChapter 19\n\nChapter 20\n\nChapter 21\n\nChapter 22\n\nChapter 23\n\nChapter 24\n\nChapter 25\n\nChapter 26\n\nChapter 27\n\nChapter 28\n\nChapter 29\n\nChapter 30\n\nChapter 31\n\nChapter 32\n\nChapter 33\n\nChapter 34\n\nChapter 35\n\nChapter 36\n\nChapter 37\n\nChapter 38\n\nChapter 39\n\nChapter 40\n\nChapter 41\n\nChapter 42\n\nChapter 43\n\nChapter 44\n\nChapter 45\n\nChapter 46\n\nChapter 47\n\nChapter 48\n\nChapter 49\n\nChapter 50\n\nChapter 51\n\nChapter 52\n\nChapter 53\n\nChapter 54\n\nChapter 55\n\nChapter 56\n\nChapter 57\n\nChapter 58\n\nChapter 59\n\nChapter 60\n\nChapter 61\n\nEpilogue\n\nGlossary\n\nAuthor's Note\n\nAcknowledgements\n\nAbout the Author\n\nCopyright\nThis is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.\n\nA THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.\n\nAn imprint of St. Martin's Press.\n\nSTASI CHILD. Copyright \u00a9 2015 by David Young. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.\n\nwww.thomasdunnebooks.com\n\nwww.minotaurbooks.com\n\nOur e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.\n\nFirst published in Great Britain by Twenty7 Books, an imprint of Bonnier Publishing Fiction, a Bonnier Publishing company\n\nFirst U.S. Edition: August 2017\n\neISBN: 9781250121769\n\nFirst eBook Edition: June 2017\n\n## Contents\n\n  1. Title Page\n  2. Copyright Notice\n  3. Introduction\n  4. Chapter 1\n  5. Chapter 2\n  6. Chapter 3\n  7. Chapter 4\n  8. Chapter 5\n  9. Chapter 6\n  10. Chapter 7\n  11. Chapter 8\n  12. Chapter 9\n  13. Chapter 10\n  14. Chapter 11\n  15. Chapter 12\n  16. Chapter 13\n  17. Chapter 14\n  18. Chapter 15\n  19. Chapter 16\n  20. Chapter 17\n  21. Chapter 18\n  22. Chapter 19\n  23. Chapter 20\n  24. Chapter 21\n  25. Chapter 22\n  26. Chapter 23\n  27. Chapter 24\n  28. Chapter 25\n  29. Chapter 26\n  30. Chapter 27\n  31. Chapter 28\n  32. Chapter 29\n  33. Chapter 30\n  34. Chapter 31\n  35. Chapter 32\n  36. Chapter 33\n  37. Chapter 34\n  38. Chapter 35\n  39. Chapter 36\n  40. Chapter 37\n  41. Chapter 38\n  42. Chapter 39\n  43. Chapter 40\n  44. Chapter 41\n  45. Chapter 42\n  46. Chapter 43\n  47. Chapter 44\n  48. Chapter 45\n  49. Chapter 46\n  50. Chapter 47\n  51. Chapter 48\n  52. Chapter 49\n  53. Chapter 50\n  54. Chapter 51\n  55. Chapter 52\n  56. Chapter 53\n  57. Chapter 54\n  58. Chapter 55\n  59. Chapter 56\n  60. Chapter 57\n  61. Chapter 58\n  62. Chapter 59\n  63. Chapter 60\n  64. Chapter 61\n  65. Epilogue\n  66. Glossary\n  67. Author's Note\n  68. Acknowledgements\n  69. About the Author\n  70. Newsletter Sign-up\n  71. Copyright\n\n## Guide\n\n  1. Cover\n  2. Table of Contents\n\n## Pagebreaks of the print version\n\n  1. Cover Page\n  2. iv\n  3. v\n  4. vi\n  5. \n  6. \n  7. \n  8. \n  9. \n  10. \n  11. \n  12. \n  13. \n  14. \n  15. \n  16. \n  17. \n  18. \n  19. \n  20. \n  21. \n  22. \n  23. \n  24. \n  25. \n  26. \n  27. \n  28. \n  29. \n  30. \n  31. \n  32. \n  33. \n  34. \n  35. \n  36. \n  37. \n  38. \n  39. \n  40. \n  41. \n  42. \n  43. \n  44. \n  45. \n  46. \n  47. \n  48. \n  49. \n  50. \n  51. \n  52. \n  53. \n  54. \n  55. \n  56. \n  57. \n  58. \n  59. \n  60. \n  61. \n  62. \n  63. \n  64. \n  65. \n  66. \n  67. \n  68. \n  69. \n  70. \n  71. \n  72. \n  73. \n  74. \n  75. \n  76. \n  77. \n  78. \n  79. \n  80. \n  81. \n  82. \n  83. \n  84. \n  85. \n  86. \n  87. \n  88. \n  89. \n  90. \n  91. \n  92. \n  93. \n  94. \n  95. \n  96. \n  97. \n  98. \n  99. \n  100. \n  101. \n  102. \n  103. \n  104. \n  105. \n  106. \n  107. \n  108. \n  109. \n  110. \n  111. \n  112. \n  113. \n  114. \n  115. \n  116. \n  117. \n  118. \n  119. \n  120. \n  121. \n  122. \n  123. \n  124. \n  125. \n  126. \n  127. \n  128. \n  129. \n  130. \n  131. \n  132. \n  133. \n  134. \n  135. \n  136. \n  137. \n  138. \n  139. \n  140. \n  141. \n  142. \n  143. \n  144. \n  145. \n  146. \n  147. \n  148. \n  149. \n  150. \n  151. \n  152. \n  153. \n  154. \n  155. \n  156. \n  157. \n  158. \n  159. \n  160. \n  161. \n  162. \n  163. \n  164. \n  165. \n  166. \n  167. \n  168. \n  169. \n  170. \n  171. \n  172. \n  173. \n  174. \n  175. \n  176. \n  177. \n  178. \n  179. \n  180. \n  181. \n  182. \n  183. \n  184. \n  185. \n  186. \n  187. \n  188. \n  189. \n  190. \n  191. \n  192. \n  193. \n  194. \n  195. \n  196. \n  197. \n  198. \n  199. \n  200. \n  201. \n  202. \n  203. \n  204. \n  205. \n  206. \n  207. \n  208. \n  209. \n  210. \n  211. \n  212. \n  213. \n  214. \n  215. \n  216. \n  217. \n  218. \n  219. \n  220. \n  221. \n  222. \n  223. \n  224. \n  225. \n  226. \n  227. \n  228. \n  229. \n  230. \n  231. \n  232. \n  233. \n  234. \n  235. \n  236. \n  237. \n  238. \n  239. \n  240. \n  241. \n  242. \n  243. \n  244. \n  245. \n  246. \n  247. \n  248. \n  249. \n  250. \n  251. \n  252. \n  253. \n  254. \n  255. \n  256. \n  257. \n  258. \n  259. \n  260. \n  261. \n  262. \n  263. \n  264. \n  265. \n  266. \n  267. \n  268. \n  269. \n  270. \n  271. \n  272. \n  273. \n  274. \n  275. \n  276. \n  277. \n  278. \n  279. \n  280. \n  281. \n  282. \n  283. \n  284. \n  285. \n  286. \n  287. \n  288. \n  289. \n  290. \n  291. \n  292. \n  293. \n  294. \n  295. \n  296. \n  297. \n  298. \n  299. \n  300. \n  301. \n  302. \n  303. \n  304. \n  305. \n  306. \n  307. \n  308. \n  309. \n  310. \n  311. \n  312. \n  313. \n  314. \n  315. \n  316. \n  317. \n  318. \n  319. \n  320. \n  321. \n  322. \n  323. \n  324. \n  325. \n  326. \n  327. \n  328. \n  329. \n  330. \n  331. \n  332. \n  333. \n  334. \n  335. \n  336. \n  337. \n  338. \n  339. \n  340. \n  341. \n  342. \n  343. \n  344. \n  345. \n  346. \n  347. \n  348. \n  349. \n  350. \n  351. \n  352. \n  353. \n  354. \n  355. \n  356. \n  357. \n  358. \n  359. \n  360. \n  361. \n  362. \n  363. \n  364. \n  365. \n  366. \n  367. \n  368. \n  369. \n  370. \n  371. \n  372. \n  373. \n  374. \n  375. \n  376. \n  377. \n  378. \n  379. \n  380. \n  381. \n  382. \n  383. \n  384. \n  385. \n  386. \n  387. \n  388. \n  389. \n  390. \n  391. \n  392. \n  393. \n  394. \n  395. \n  396. \n  397. \n  398. \n  399. \n  400. \n  401. \n  402. \n  403. \n  404. \n  405. \n  406. \n  407.\n\n","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaBook"}}
+{"text":"\n\n\n\nProduced by sp1nd, Diane Monico, and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http:\/\/www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by The\nInternet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMACMILLAN'S\nTHREE-AND-SIXPENNY\nLIBRARY OF BOOKS\nBY POPULAR AUTHORS\n\nCrown 8vo.\n\n\n_This Series, which comprises over four hundred volumes in various\ndepartments of Literature, has lately received some notable additions.\nProminent among these is a new and attractive edition of_ The Works\nof Thackeray, _issued under the editorship of Mr. Lewis Melville.\nIt contains all the Original Illustrations, and includes a great\nnumber of scattered pieces and illustrations which have not hitherto\nappeared in any collected edition of the works._ The Works of\nCharles Dickens, _reprinted from the first editions, with all the\nOriginal Illustrations, and with Introductions, Biographical and\nBibliographical, by Charles Dickens the Younger, and an attractive\nedition of_ The Novels of Charles Lever, _illustrated by Phiz and\nG. Cruikshank, have also a place in the Library. The attention of\nbook buyers may be especially directed to_ The Border Edition of\nthe Waverley Novels, _edited by Mr. Andrew Lang, which, with its\nlarge type and convenient form, and its copious illustrations by\nwell-known artists, possesses features placing it in the forefront of\neditions now obtainable of the famous novels._ The Works of Mr. Thomas\nHardy, _including the poems, have also been recently added to the\nThree-and-Sixpenny Library. Among other works by notable contemporary\nauthors will be found those of_ Mr. F. Marion Crawford, Rolf\nBoldrewood, Mr. H. G. Wells, Gertrude Atherton, Mr. Egerton Castle,\nMr. A. E. W. Mason, Maarten Maartens, and Miss Rosa Nouchette Carey;\n_while among the productions of an earlier period may be mentioned the\nworks of_ Charles Kingsley, Frederick Denison Maurice, Thomas Hughes,\n_and_ Dean Farrar; _and the novels and tales of_ Charlotte M. Yonge,\nMrs. Craik, _and_ Mrs. Oliphant.\n\n\nTHE\nWORKS OF THACKERAY\n\n_Reprints of the First Editions, with all the Original Illustrations,\nand with Facsimiles of Wrappers, etc._\n\nMessrs. MACMILLAN & CO., Limited, beg leave to invite the attention\nof book buyers to the Edition of THE WORKS OF THACKERAY in their\nThree-and-Sixpenny Library, which, when finished, will be the\nCompletest Edition of the Author's Works which has been placed on the\nmarket.\n\nThe Publishers have been fortunate in securing the services of Mr.\nLEWIS MELVILLE, the well-known Thackeray Expert. With his assistance\nthey have been able to include in this Edition a great number of\nscattered pieces from Thackeray's pen, and illustrations from his\npencil which have not hitherto been contained in any collected edition\nof the works. Mr. Melville has read all the sheets as they passed\nthrough the press, and collated them carefully with the original\neditions. He has also provided Bibliographical Introductions and\noccasional Footnotes.\n\nList of the Series.\n\n    VOL.\n\n     1. Vanity Fair. With 190 Illustrations.\n\n     2. The History of Pendennis. With 180 Illustrations.\n\n     3. The Newcomes. With 167 Illustrations.\n\n     4. The History of Henry Esmond.\n\n     5. The Virginians. With 148 Illustrations.\n\n     6. Barry Lyndon and Catherine. With 4 Illustrations.\n\n     7. The Paris and Irish Sketch Books. With 63 Illustrations.\n\n     8. Christmas Books--MRS. PERKINS'S BALL: OUR STREET: DR.\n     BIRCH AND HIS YOUNG FRIENDS: THE KICKLEBURYS ON THE RHINE:\n     THE ROSE AND THE RING. With 127 Illustrations.\n\n     9. Burlesques: From Cornhill to Grand Cairo: and Juvenilia.\n     With 84 Illustrations.\n\n     10. The Book of Snobs, and other Contributions to _Punch_.\n     With 159 Illustrations.\n\n     11. The Yellowplush Correspondence: Jeames's Diary: The\n     Great Hoggarty Diamond: Etc. With 47 Illustrations.\n\n     12. Critical Papers in Literature.\n\n     13. Critical Papers in Art; Stubbs's Calendar: Barber Cox.\n     With 99 Illustrations.\n\n     14. Lovel the Widower, and other Stories. With 40\n     Illustrations.\n\n     15. The Fitz-Boodle Papers (including Men's Wives), and\n     various Articles. 8 Illustrations.\n\n     16. The English Humourists of the 18th Century: The Four\n     Georges: Etc. 45 Illustrations.\n\n     17. Travels in London: Letters to a Young Man about Town:\n     and other Contributions to _Punch_ (1845-1850). With 73\n     Illustrations.\n\n     18. Ballads and Verses, and Miscellaneous Contributions to\n     _Punch_. With 78 Illustrations.\n\n     19. A Shabby Genteel Story, and The Adventures of Philip.\n     With Illustrations.\n\n\nMACMILLAN'S\nEDITION OF THACKERAY\n\nSOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS\n\n     _EXPOSITORY TIMES._--\"An edition to do credit even to this\n     publishing house, and not likely to be surpassed until they\n     surpass it with a cheaper and better themselves.\"\n\n     _WHITEHALL REVIEW._--\"Never before has such a cheap and\n     excellent edition of Thackeray been seen.\"\n\n     _ACADEMY._--\"A better one-volume edition at three shillings\n     and sixpence could not be desired.\"\n\n     _GRAPHIC._--\"In its plain but pretty blue binding is both\n     serviceable and attractive.\"\n\n     _DAILY GRAPHIC._--\"An excellent, cheap reprint.\"\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"The size of the books is handy,\n     paper and printing are good, and the binding, which is\n     of blue cloth, is simple but tasteful. Altogether the\n     publishers are to be congratulated upon a reprint which\n     ought to be popular.\"\n\n     _GLOBE._--\"The paper is thin but good, the type used is\n     clear to read, and the binding is neat and effective.\"\n\n     _LADY'S PICTORIAL._--\"The paper is good, the type clear and\n     large, and the binding tasteful. Messrs. Macmillan are to\n     be thanked for so admirable and inexpensive an edition of\n     our great satirist.\"\n\n     _WORLD._--\"Nothing could be better than the new edition.\"\n\n     _BLACK AND WHITE._--\"The more one sees of the edition the\n     more enamoured of it he becomes. It is so good and neat,\n     immaculate as to print, and admirably bound.\"\n\n     _SCOTSMAN._--\"This admirable edition.\"\n\n     _LITERARY WORLD._--\"The paper and printing and general get\n     up are everything that one could desire.\"\n\n     _ST. JAMES'S GAZETTE._--\"A clear and pretty edition.\"\n\n\nTHE\nWORKS OF DICKENS\n\nReprints of the First Editions, with all the original Illustrations,\nand with Introductions, Biographical and Bibliographical, by CHARLES\nDICKENS the Younger.\n\n     THE PICKWICK PAPERS. With 50 Illustrations.\n     OLIVER TWIST. With 27 Illustrations.\n     NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. With 44 Illustrations.\n     MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. With 41 Illustrations.\n     THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP. With 97 Illustrations.\n     BARNABY RUDGE. With 76 Illustrations.\n     DOMBEY AND SON. With 40 Illustrations.\n     CHRISTMAS BOOKS. With 65 Illustrations.\n     SKETCHES BY BOZ. With 44 Illustrations.\n     AMERICAN NOTES AND PICTURES FROM ITALY. With 4 Illustrations.\n     DAVID COPPERFIELD. With 40 Illustrations.\n     BLEAK HOUSE. With 43 Illustrations.\n     LITTLE DORRIT. With 40 Illustrations.\n     THE LETTERS OF CHARLES DICKENS.\n     A TALE OF TWO CITIES. With 15 Illustrations.\n     GREAT EXPECTATIONS; AND HARD TIMES.\n\n\nMACMILLAN'S\nEDITION OF DICKENS\n\nSOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"Handy in form, well printed, illustrated\n     with reproductions of the original plates, introduced with\n     bibliographical notes by the novelist's son, and above all\n     issued at a most moderate price, this edition will appeal\n     successfully to a large number of readers.\"\n\n     _SPEAKER._--\"We do not think there exists a better edition.\"\n\n     _MORNING POST._--\"The edition will be highly appreciated.\"\n\n     _SCOTSMAN._--\"This reprint offers peculiar attractions. Of\n     a handy size, in one volume, of clear, good-sized print,\n     and with its capital comic illustrations, it is a volume to\n     be desired.\"\n\n     _NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE._--\"The most satisfactory edition of\n     the book that has been issued.\"\n\n     _GLASGOW HERALD._--\"None of the recent editions of\n     Dickens can be compared with that which Messrs. Macmillan\n     inaugurate with the issue of Pickwick.... Printed in a\n     large, clear type, very readable.\"\n\n     _GLOBE._--\"They have used an admirably clear type and\n     good paper, and the binding is unexceptionable.... May\n     be selected as the most desirable cheap edition of the\n     immortal 'Papers' that has ever been offered to the public.\"\n\n     _MANCHESTER EXAMINER._--\"Handy in form, well printed,\n     illustrated with reduced reproductions of the original\n     plates, introduced with bibliographical notes by the\n     novelist's son, and above all issued at a moderate price,\n     this edition will appeal successfully to a large number of\n     readers.\"\n\n     _THE QUEEN._--\"A specially pleasant and convenient form in\n     which to re-read Dickens.\"\n\n     _THE STAR._--\"This new 'Dickens Series,' with its\n     reproductions of the original illustrations, is a joy to\n     the possessor.\"\n\n_Complete in Twenty-four Volumes. Crown 8vo, tastefully\nbound in green cloth, gilt. Price 3s. 6d. each._\n\n_In special cloth binding, flat backs, gilt tops. Supplied\nin Sets only of 24 volumes. Price L4 4s._\n\n_Also an edition with all the 250 original etchings. In 24\nvolumes. Crown 8vo, gilt tops. Price 6s. each._\n\n\nTHE LARGE TYPE\nBORDER EDITION OF THE\n\nWAVERLEY NOVELS\n\nEDITED WITH\n_INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS AND NOTES_\n\nBY\nANDREW LANG\n\nSUPPLEMENTING THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.\n\n     _With Two Hundred and Fifty New and Original Illustrations\n     by Eminent Artists._\n\nBy the kind permission of the Hon. Mrs. MAXWELL SCOTT of Abbotsford,\nthe great-granddaughter of Sir WALTER, the MSS. and other material at\nAbbotsford were examined by Mr. ANDREW LANG during the preparation\nof his Introductory Essays and Notes to the Series, so that the\nBORDER EDITION may be said to contain all the results of the latest\nresearches as to the composition of the Waverley Novels.\n\nThe Border Waverley\n\n     1. WAVERLEY. With 12 Illustrations by Sir H. RAEBURN,\n     R.A., R. W. MACBETH, A.R.A., JOHN PETTIE, R.A., H.\n     MACBETH-RAEBURN, D. HERDMAN, W. J. LEITCH, ROBERT HERDMAN,\n     R.S.A., and J. ECKFORD LAUDER.\n\n     2. GUY MANNERING. With 10 Illustrations by J. MACWHIRTER,\n     A.R.A., R. W. MACBETH, A.R.A., C. O. MURRAY, CLARK STANTON,\n     R.S.A., GOURLAY STEELL, R.S.A., F. S. WALKER, R. HERDMAN,\n     R.S.A., and J. B. MACDONALD, A.R.S.A.\n\n     3. THE ANTIQUARY. With 10 Illustrations by J. MACWHIRTER,\n     A.R.A., SAM BOUGH, R.S.A., R. HERDMAN, R.S.A., W.\n     M'TAGGART, A.R.S.A., J. B. MACDONALD, A.R.S.A., and A. H.\n     TOURRIER.\n\n     4. ROB ROY. With 10 Illustrations by R. W. MACBETH, A.R.A.,\n     and SAM BOUGH, R.S.A.\n\n     5. OLD MORTALITY. With 10 Illustrations by J. MACWHIRTER,\n     A.R.A., R. HERDMAN, R.S.A., SAM BOUGH, R.S.A., M. L. GOW,\n     D. Y. CAMERON, LOCKHART BOGLE, and ALFRED HARTLEY.\n\n     6. THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN. With 10 Illustrations by Sir J.\n     E. MILLAIS, Bart., HUGH CAMERON, R.S.A., SAM BOUGH, R.S.A.,\n     R. HERDMAN, R.S.A., and WAL. PAGET.\n\n     7. A LEGEND OF MONTROSE and THE BLACK DWARF. With 7\n     Illustrations by Sir GEORGE REID, P.R.S.A., GEORGE HAY,\n     R.S.A., HORATIO MACCULLOCH, R.S.A., W. E. LOCKHART, R.S.A.,\n     H. MACBETH-RAEBURN, and T. SCOTT.\n\n     8. THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. With 8 Illustrations by Sir J.\n     E. MILLAIS, Bart., JOHN SMART, R.S.A., SAM BOUGH, R.S.A.,\n     GEORGE HAY, R.S.A., and H. MACBETH-RAEBURN.\n\n     9. IVANHOE. With 12 Illustrations by AD. LALAUZE.\n\n     10. THE MONASTERY. With 10 Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE.\n\n     11. THE ABBOT. With 10 Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE.\n\n     12. KENILWORTH. With 12 Illustrations by AD. LALAUZE.\n\n     13. THE PIRATE. With 10 Illustrations by W. E. LOCKHART,\n     R.S.A., SAM BOUGH, R.S.A., HERBERT DICKSEE, W. STRANG,\n     LOCKHART BOGLE, C. J. HOLMES, and F. S. WALKER.\n\n     14. THE FORTUNES OF NIGEL. With 10 Illustrations by JOHN\n     PETTIE, R.A., and R. W. MACBETH, A.R.A.\n\n     15. PEVERIL OF THE PEAK. With 15 Illustrations by W. Q.\n     ORCHARDSON, R.A., JOHN PETTIE, R.A., F. DADD, R.I., ARTHUR\n     HOPKINS, A.R.W.S., and S. L. WOOD.\n\n     16. QUENTIN DURWARD. With 12 Illustrations by AD. LALAUZE.\n\n     17. ST. RONAN'S WELL. With 10 Illustrations by Sir G. REID,\n     P.R.S.A., R. W. MACBETH, A.R.A., W. HOLE, R.S.A., and A.\n     FORESTIER.\n\n     18. REDGAUNTLET. With 12 Illustrations by Sir JAMES D.\n     LINTON, P.R.I., JAMES ORROCK, R.I., SAM BOUGH, R.S.A.,\n     W. HOLE, R.S.A., G. HAY, R.S.A., T. SCOTT, A.R.S.A., W.\n     BOUCHER, and FRANK SHORT.\n\n     19. THE BETROTHED and THE TALISMAN. With 10 Illustrations\n     by HERBERT DICKSEE, WAL. PAGET, and J. LE BLANT.\n\n     20. WOODSTOCK. With 10 Illustrations by W. HOLE, R.S.A.\n\n     21. THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH. With 10 Illustrations by Sir G.\n     REID, P.R.S.A., JOHN PETTIE, R.A., R. W MACBETH, A.R.A.,\n     and ROBERT HERDMAN, R.S.A.\n\n     22. ANNE OF GEIERSTEIN. With 10 Illustrations by R. DE LOS\n     RIOS.\n\n     23. COUNT ROBERT OF PARIS and THE SURGEON'S DAUGHTER. With\n     10 Illustrations by W. HATHERELL, R.I., and W. B. WOLLEN,\n     R.I.\n\n     24. CASTLE DANGEROUS, CHRONICLES OF THE CANONGATE, ETC.\n     With 10 Illustrations by H. MACBETH-RAEBURN and G. D.\n     ARMOUR.\n\n\nSOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS\n\n     _TIMES._--\"It would be difficult to find in these days a more\n     competent and sympathetic editor of Scott than his countryman, the\n     brilliant and versatile man of letters who has undertaken the task,\n     and if any proof were wanted either of his qualifications or of his\n     skill and discretion in displaying them, Mr. Lang has furnished it\n     abundantly in his charming Introduction to 'Waverley.' The editor's\n     own notes are judiciously sparing, but conspicuously to the point,\n     and they are very discreetly separated from those of the author, Mr.\n     Lang's laudable purpose being to illustrate and explain Scott, not to\n     make the notes a pretext for displaying his own critical faculty and\n     literary erudition. The illustrations by various competent hands are\n     beautiful in themselves and beautifully executed, and, altogether,\n     the 'Border Edition' of the Waverley Novels bids fair to become the\n     classical edition of the great Scottish classic.\"\n\n     _SPECTATOR._--\"We trust that this fine edition of our greatest and\n     most poetical of novelists will attain, if it has not already done\n     so, the high popularity it deserves. To all Scott's lovers it is\n     a pleasure to know that, despite the daily and weekly inrush of\n     ephemeral fiction, the sale of his works is said by the booksellers to\n     rank next below Tennyson's in poetry, and above that of everybody else\n     in prose.\"\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"The handsome 'Border Edition' has been brought to a\n     successful conclusion. The publisher deserves to be complimented on\n     the manner in which the edition has been printed and illustrated, and\n     Mr. Lang on the way in which he has performed his portion of the work.\n     His introductions have been tasteful and readable; he has not overdone\n     his part; and, while he has supplied much useful information, he has\n     by no means overburdened the volumes with notes.\"\n\n     _NOTES AND QUERIES._--\"This spirited and ambitious enterprise has been\n     conducted to a safe termination, and the most ideal edition of the\n     Waverley Novels in existence is now completed.\"\n\n     _SATURDAY REVIEW._--\"Of all the many collections of the Waverley\n     Novels, the 'Border Edition' is incomparably the most handsome and\n     the most desirable.... Type, paper, illustrations, are altogether\n     admirable.\"\n\n     _MAGAZINE OF ART._--\"Size, type, paper, and printing, to say\n     nothing of the excessively liberal and charming introduction of the\n     illustrations, make this perhaps the most desirable edition of Scott\n     ever issued on this side of the Border.\"\n\n     _DAILY CHRONICLE._--\"There is absolutely no fault to be found with it,\n     as to paper, type, or arrangement.\"\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF\nTHOMAS HARDY\n\nCollected Edition\n\n     1. TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES.\n     2. FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD.\n     3. THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE.\n     4. A PAIR OF BLUE EYES.\n     5. TWO ON A TOWER.\n     6. THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE.\n     7. THE WOODLANDERS.\n     8. JUDE THE OBSCURE.\n     9. THE TRUMPET-MAJOR.\n    10. THE HAND OF ETHELBERTA.\n    11. A LAODICEAN.\n    12. DESPERATE REMEDIES.\n    13. WESSEX TALES.\n    14. LIFE'S LITTLE IRONIES.\n    15. A GROUP OF NOBLE DAMES.\n    16. UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE.\n    17. THE WELL-BELOVED.\n    18. WESSEX POEMS, and other Verses.\n    19. POEMS OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.\n\n\nSOME PRESS OPINIONS OF THE THREE-AND-SIXPENNY ISSUE\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"... their charming edition of the\n     works of Thomas Hardy ... the price asked for it ... is\n     absurdly cheap.... Any more convenient and beautiful form\n     of presentation for these books it would be difficult to\n     find.\"\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"This edition is so comely and so moderate in\n     price that it may well placate those who have sighed for\n     earlier issues out of their reach. Mr. Hardy's prefaces\n     to the volumes should not be missed, for they are models\n     of a difficult art, whether reflective, informative, or\n     combative.\"\n\n\nUNIFORM EDITION OF THE\nNOVELS OF CHARLES LEVER\n\nWith all the Original Illustrations.\n\n     1. HARRY LORREQUER. Illustrated by PHIZ.\n     2. CHARLES O'MALLEY. Illustrated by PHIZ.\n     3. JACK HINTON THE GUARDSMAN. Illustrated by PHIZ.\n     4. TOM BURKE OF OURS. Illustrated by PHIZ.\n     5. ARTHUR O'LEARY. Illustrated by G. CRUIKSHANK.\n     6. LORD KILGOBBIN. Illustrated by LUKE FILDES.\n\n\nTHE NOVELS OF\nF. MARION CRAWFORD\n\nMR. ISAACS: A Tale of Modern India.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"A work of unusual ability.... It fully\n     deserves the notice it is sure to attract.\"\n\nDOCTOR CLAUDIUS: A True Story.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"Few recent books have been so difficult to\n     lay down when once begun.\"\n\nA ROMAN SINGER.\n\n     _TIMES._--\"A masterpiece of narrative.... Unlike any other\n     romance in English literature.\"\n\nZOROASTER.\n\n     _GUARDIAN._--\"An instance of the highest and noblest form\n     of novel.... Alike in the originality of its conception\n     and the power with which it is wrought out, it stands on a\n     level that is almost entirely its own.\"\n\nMARZIO'S CRUCIFIX.\n\n     _TIMES._--\"A subtle compound of artistic feeling, avarice,\n     malice, and criminal frenzy is this carver of silver\n     chalices and crucifixes.\"\n\nA TALE OF A LONELY PARISH.\n\n     _GUARDIAN._--\"The tale is written with all Mr. Crawford's skill.\"\n\nPAUL PATOFF.\n\n     _ST. JAMES'S GAZETTE._--\"Those who neglect to read _Paul\n     Patoff_ will throw away a very pleasurable opportunity.\"\n\nWITH THE IMMORTALS.\n\n     _SPECTATOR._--\"Cannot fail to please a reader who enjoys\n     crisp, clear, vigorous writing, and thoughts that are alike\n     original and suggestive.\"\n\nGREIFENSTEIN.\n\n     _SPECTATOR._--\"Altogether, we like _Greifenstein_\n     decidedly--so much so as to doubt whether it does not\n     dislodge _A Roman Singer_ from the place hitherto occupied\n     by the latter as our favourite amongst Mr. Crawford's\n     novels.\"\n\nTAQUISARA: A Novel.\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"Cannot fail to be read with interest\n     and pleasure by all to whom clever characterisation and\n     delicate drawing make appeal.\"\n\nA ROSE OF YESTERDAY.\n\n     _SPEAKER._--\"There is something in _A Rose of Yesterday_\n     which makes the book linger with a distinct aroma of its\n     own in the reader's memory.\"\n\nSANT' ILARIO.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"The plot is skilfully concocted, and the\n     interest is sustained to the end.... A very clever piece of\n     work.\"\n\nA CIGARETTE-MAKER'S ROMANCE.\n\n     _GLOBE._--\"We are inclined to think this is the best of Mr.\n     Marion Crawford's stories.\"\n\nKHALED: A Tale of Arabia.\n\n     _ANTI-JACOBIN._--\"Mr. Crawford has written some stories\n     more powerful, but none more attractive than this.\"\n\nTHE THREE FATES.\n\n     _NATIONAL OBSERVER._--\"Increases in strength and in\n     interest even to the end.\"\n\nTHE WITCH OF PRAGUE.\n\n     _ACADEMY._--\"It is so remarkable a book as to be certain of\n     as wide a popularity as any of its predecessors; it is a\n     romance of singular daring and power.\"\n\nMARION DARCHE: A Story without Comment.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"Readers in search of a good novel may be\n     recommended to lose no time in making the acquaintance of\n     Marion Darche, her devoted friends, and her one enemy.\"\n\nKATHARINE LAUDERDALE.\n\n     _PUNCH._--\"Admirable in its simple pathos, its unforced\n     humour, and, above all, in its truth to human nature.\"\n\nTHE CHILDREN OF THE KING.\n\n     _DAILY CHRONICLE._--\"Mr. Crawford has not done better than\n     _The Children of the King_ for a long time. The story\n     itself is a simple and beautiful one.\"\n\nPIETRO GHISLERI.\n\n     _SPEAKER._--\"Mr. Marion Crawford is an artist, and a great\n     one, and he has been brilliantly successful in a task in\n     which ninety-nine out of every hundred writers would have\n     failed.\"\n\nDON ORSINO.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"_Don Orsino_ is a story with many strong\n     points, and it is told with all the spirit we have been\n     wont to expect from its author.\"\n\nCASA BRACCIO.\n\n     _GUARDIAN._--\"A very powerful story and a finished work of art.\"\n\nADAM JOHNSTONE'S SON.\n\n     _DAILY NEWS._--\"Mr. Crawford has written stories richer\n     in incident and more powerful in intention, but we do not\n     think that he has handled more deftly or shown a more\n     delicate insight into tendencies that go towards making\n     some of the more spiritual tragedies of life.\"\n\nTHE RALSTONS.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"The present instalment of what promises to be\n     a very voluminous family history, increasing in interest\n     and power as it develops, turns upon the death of Robert\n     and the disposition of his millions, which afford ample\n     scope for the author's pleasantly ingenious talent in\n     raising and surmounting difficulties of details.\"\n\nCORLEONE: A Tale of Sicily.\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"A splendid romance.\"\n\nVIA CRUCIS: A Romance of the Second Crusade.\n\n     _GRAPHIC._--\"A stirring story.\"\n\nIN THE PALACE OF THE KING: A Love Story of Old Madrid.\n\n     _SPECTATOR._--\"A truly thrilling tale.\"\n\nCECILIA: A Story of Modern Rome.\n\n     _TIMES._--\"Thoroughly interesting from beginning to end....\n     Fully worthy of his reputation.\"\n\n     _ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS._--\"Can only enhance Mr.\n     Crawford's reputation.... Admirably treated with all the\n     subtlety, finesse, and delicacy which are characteristic of\n     the author at his best.\"\n\nMARIETTA: A Maid of Venice.\n\n     _PUNCH._--\"Marion Crawford is at his very best in\n     _Marietta, A Maid of Venice_. It is a powerfully\n     dramatic story of Venice under 'The Ten,' told in a\n     series of picturesque scenes described in strikingly\n     artistic word-painting, the action being carried on by\n     well-imagined, clearly-defined characters.\"\n\n\nTHE NOVELS OF\nROLF BOLDREWOOD\n\nROBBERY UNDER ARMS.\n\nA STORY OF LIFE AND ADVENTURE IN THE BUSH AND IN THE GOLD-FIELDS OF\nAUSTRALIA.\n\n     _GUARDIAN._--\"A singularly spirited and stirring tale of\n     Australian life, chiefly in the remoter settlements.\"\n\nA MODERN BUCCANEER.\n\n     _DAILY CHRONICLE._--\"We do not forget _Robbery under Arms_,\n     or any of its various successors, when we say that Rolf\n     Boldrewood has never done anything so good as _A Modern\n     Buccaneer_. It is good, too, in a manner which is for the\n     author a new one.\"\n\nTHE MINER'S RIGHT.\n\nA TALE OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD-FIELDS.\n\n     _WORLD._--\"Full of good passages, passages abounding in\n     vivacity, in the colour and play of life.... The pith of\n     the book lies in its singularly fresh and vivid pictures of\n     the humours of the gold-fields--tragic humours enough they\n     are, too, here and again.\"\n\nTHE SQUATTER'S DREAM.\n\n     _FIELD._--\"The details are filled in by a hand evidently\n     well conversant with his subject, and everything is\n     _ben trovato_, if not actually true. A perusal of these\n     cheerfully-written pages will probably give a better idea\n     of realities of Australian life than could be obtained from\n     many more pretentious works.\"\n\nA SYDNEY-SIDE SAXON.\n\n     _GLASGOW HERALD._--\"The interest never flags, and\n     altogether _A Sydney-Side Saxon_ is a really refreshing\n     book.\"\n\nA COLONIAL REFORMER.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"A series of natural and entertaining pictures\n     of Australian life, which are, above all things, readable.\"\n\nNEVERMORE.\n\n     _OBSERVER._--\"An exciting story of Ballarat in the\n     'fifties. Its hero, Lance Trevanion, is a character which\n     for force of delineation has no equal in Rolf Boldrewood's\n     previous novels.\"\n\nPLAIN LIVING. A Bush Idyll.\n\n     _ACADEMY._--\"A hearty story, deriving charm from the odours\n     of the bush and the bleating of incalculable sheep.\"\n\nMY RUN HOME.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"Rolf Boldrewood's last story is a\n     racy volume. It has many of the best qualities of\n     Whyte-Melville, the breezy freshness and vigour of Frank\n     Smedley, with the dash and something of the abandon of\n     Lever.... His last volume is one of his best.\"\n\nTHE SEALSKIN CLOAK.\n\n     _TIMES._--\"A well-written story.\"\n\nTHE CROOKED STICK; or, Pollie's Probation.\n\n     _ACADEMY._--\"A charming picture of Australian station life.\"\n\nOLD MELBOURNE MEMORIES.\n\n     _NATIONAL OBSERVER._--\"His book deserves to be read in\n     England with as much appreciation as it has already gained\n     in the country of its birth.\"\n\nA ROMANCE OF CANVAS TOWN, and other Stories.\n\n     _ATHENAEUM._--\"The book is interesting for its obvious\n     insight into life in the Australian bush.\"\n\nWAR TO THE KNIFE; or, Tangata Maori.\n\n     _ACADEMY._-\"A stirring romance.\"\n\nBABES IN THE BUSH.\n\n     _OUTLOOK._--\"A lively and picturesque story.\"\n\n     _DAILY TELEGRAPH._--\"Bristles with thrilling incident.\"\n\nIN BAD COMPANY, and other Stories.\n\n     _DAILY NEWS._--\"The best work this popular author has done\n     for some time.\"\n\n\nBy H. G. WELLS\n\n     THE PLATTNER STORY: and others.\n     TALES OF SPACE AND TIME.\n     THE STOLEN BACILLUS: and other Incidents.\n     THE INVISIBLE MAN. A Grotesque Romance. Eighth Edition.\n     LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM. A Story of a very Young Couple.\n     WHEN THE SLEEPER WAKES.\n     THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON.\n     TWELVE STORIES AND A DREAM.\n\n\nBy A. E. W. MASON\n\n     THE COURTSHIP OF MORRICE BUCKLER.\n     THE PHILANDERERS.\n     MIRANDA OF THE BALCONY.\n\n\nBy EGERTON CASTLE\n\n     THE BATH COMEDY.\n     THE PRIDE OF JENNICO. Being a Memoir of Captain Basil Jennico.\n     THE LIGHT OF SCARTHEY. A Romance.\n     \"LA BELLA,\" AND OTHERS.\n     \"YOUNG APRIL.\"\n\n\nBy MAARTEN MAARTENS\n\n     AN OLD MAID'S LOVE. A Dutch Tale told in English.\n     THE GREATER GLORY. A Story of High Life.\n     MY LADY NOBODY. A Novel.\n     GOD'S FOOL. A Koopstad Story.\n     THE SIN OF JOOST AVELINGH. A Dutch Story.\n     HER MEMORY.\n\n\nTHE NOVELS OF\nROSA N. CAREY\n\nOver Half-a-Million of these works have been printed.\n\n47th Thousand.\nNELLIE'S MEMORIES.\n\n     _STANDARD._--\"Miss Carey has the gift of writing naturally\n     and simply, her pathos is true and unforced, and her\n     conversations are sprightly and sharp.\"\n\n33rd Thousand.\nWEE WIFIE.\n\n     _LADY._--\"Miss Carey's novels are always welcome; they are\n     out of the common run, immaculately pure, and very high in\n     tone.\"\n\n29th Thousand.\nBARBARA HEATHCOTE'S TRIAL.\n\n     _DAILY TELEGRAPH._--\"A novel of a sort which it would be a\n     real loss to miss.\"\n\n25th Thousand.\nROBERT ORD'S ATONEMENT.\n\n     _STANDARD._--\"_Robert Ord's Atonement_ is a delightful\n     book, very quiet as to its story, but very strong in\n     character, and instinct with that delicate pathos which is\n     the salient point of all the writings of this author.\"\n\n32nd Thousand.\nWOOED AND MARRIED.\n\n     _STANDARD._--\"There is plenty of romance in the heroine's\n     life. But it would not be fair to tell our readers wherein\n     that romance consists or how it ends. Let them read the\n     book for themselves. We will undertake to promise that they\n     will like it.\"\n\n24th Thousand.\nHERIOT'S CHOICE.\n\n     _MORNING POST._--\"Deserves to be extensively known and\n     read.... Will doubtless find as many admirers as readers.\"\n\n29th Thousand.\nQUEENIE'S WHIM.\n\n     _GUARDIAN._--\"A thoroughly good and wholesome story.\"\n\n35th Thousand.\nNOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS.\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"Like all the other stories we have\n     had from the same gifted pen, this volume, _Not Like Other\n     Girls_, takes a sane and healthy view of life and its\n     concerns.... It is an excellent story to put in the hands\n     of girls.\"\n\n     _NEW YORK HOME JOURNAL._--\"One of the sweetest, daintiest,\n     and most interesting of the season's publications.\"\n\n24th Thousand.\nMARY ST. JOHN.\n\n     _JOHN BULL._--\"The story is a simple one, but told with\n     much grace and unaffected pathos.\"\n\n23rd Thousand.\nFOR LILIAS.\n\n     _VANITY FAIR._--\"A simple, earnest, and withal very\n     interesting story; well conceived, carefully worked out,\n     and sympathetically told.\"\n\n28th Thousand.\nUNCLE MAX.\n\n     _LADY._--\"So intrinsically good that the world of\n     novel-readers ought to be genuinely grateful.\"\n\n21st Thousand.\nRUE WITH A DIFFERENCE.\n\n     _BOOKMAN._--\"Fresh and charming.... A piece of distinctly good work.\"\n\n34th Thousand.\nONLY THE GOVERNESS.\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"This novel is for those who like\n     stories with something of Jane Austen's power, but with\n     more intensity of feeling than Jane Austen displayed, who\n     are not inclined to call pathos twaddle, and who care to\n     see life and human nature in their most beautiful form.\"\n\n\n24th Thousand.\nLOVER OR FRIEND?\n\n     _GUARDIAN._--\"The refinement of style and delicacy of\n     thought will make _Lover or Friend?_ popular with all\n     readers who are not too deeply bitten with a desire for\n     things improbable in their lighter literature.\"\n\n21st Thousand.\nBASIL LYNDHURST.\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"We doubt whether anything has been\n     written of late years so fresh, so pretty, so thoroughly\n     natural and bright. The novel as a whole is charming.\"\n\n22nd Thousand.\nSIR GODFREY'S GRAND-DAUGHTERS.\n\n     _OBSERVER._--\"A capital story. The interest steadily grows,\n     and by the time one reaches the third volume the story has\n     become enthralling.\"\n\n24th Thousand.\nTHE OLD, OLD STORY.\n\n     _DAILY NEWS._--\"Miss Carey's fluent pen has not lost its\n     power of writing fresh and wholesome fiction.\"\n\n24th Thousand.\nTHE MISTRESS OF BRAE FARM.\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"Miss Carey's untiring pen loses none\n     of its power, and her latest work is as gracefully written,\n     as full of quiet home charm, as fresh and wholesome, so to\n     speak, as its many predecessors.\"\n\n12th Thousand.\nMRS. ROMNEY and \"BUT MEN MUST WORK.\"\n\n     _PALL MALL GAZETTE._--\"By no means the least attractive of\n     the works of this charming writer.\"\n\n_New Impression._\nOTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES.\n\n     _BRADFORD OBSERVER._--\"There is a quiet charm about this\n     story which finds its way into the innermost shrines of\n     life. The book is wholesome and good, and cannot fail to\n     give pleasure to those who love beauty.\"\n\n25th Thousand.\nHERB OF GRACE.\n\n     _WESTMINSTER GAZETTE._--\"A clever delineator of character,\n     possessed of a reserve of strength in a quiet, easy,\n     flowing style, Miss Carey never fails to please a large\n     class of readers. _Herb of Grace_ is no exception to the\n     rule....\"\n\n20th Thousand.\nTHE HIGHWAY OF FATE.\n\n     _BOOKMAN._--\"This pretty love story ... is charming,\n     sparkling, and never mawkish.\"\n\n19th Thousand.\nA PASSAGE PERILOUS.\n\n     _TIMES._--\"Told with all Miss Carey's usual charm of quiet,\n     well-bred sentiment.\"\n\n     _OUTLOOK._--\"A pretty story of English country-house life\n     during the terribly anxious 'waiting days' of Ladysmith.\n     The soldier's young bride is charmingly suggested and the\n     love portions approach the idyllic.\"\n\n\nTHE NOVELS AND TALES OF\nCHARLOTTE M. YONGE\n\n     THE HEIR OF REDCLYFFE. With Illustrations by KATE GREENAWAY.\n\n     HEARTSEASE; or, the Brother's Wife. New Edition. With\n     Illustrations by KATE GREENAWAY.\n\n     HOPES AND FEARS; or, Scenes from the Life of a Spinster.\n     With Illustrations by HERBERT GANDY.\n\n     DYNEVOR TERRACE; or, the Clue of Life. With Illustrations\n     by ADRIAN STOKES.\n\n     THE DAISY CHAIN; or, Aspirations. A Family Chronicle. With\n     Illustrations by J. P. ATKINSON.\n\n     THE TRIAL: More Links of the Daisy Chain. With\n     Illustrations by J. P. ATKINSON.\n\n     THE PILLARS OF THE HOUSE; or, Under Wode, under Rode. Two\n     Vols. With Illustrations by HERBERT GANDY.\n\n     THE YOUNG STEPMOTHER; or, a Chronicle of Mistakes. With\n     Illustrations by MARIAN HUXLEY.\n\n     THE CLEVER WOMAN OF THE FAMILY. With Illustrations by\n     ADRIAN STOKES.\n\n     THE THREE BRIDES. With Illustrations by ADRIAN STOKES.\n\n     MY YOUNG ALCIDES: A Faded Photograph. With Illustrations by\n     ADRIAN STOKES.\n\n     THE CAGED LION. With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     THE DOVE IN THE EAGLE'S NEST. With Illustrations by W. J.\n     HENNESSY.\n\n     THE CHAPLET OF PEARLS; or, the White and Black Ribaumont.\n     With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     LADY HESTER; or, Ursula's Narrative; and THE DANVERS\n     PAPERS. With Illustrations by JANE E. COOK.\n\n     MAGNUM BONUM; or, Mother Carey's Brood. With Illustrations\n     by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     LOVE AND LIFE: an Old Story in Eighteenth Century Costume.\n     With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     UNKNOWN TO HISTORY. A Story of the Captivity of Mary of\n     Scotland. With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     STRAY PEARLS. Memoirs of Margaret de Ribaumont, Viscountess\n     of Bellaise. With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     THE ARMOURER'S 'PRENTICES. With Illustrations by W. J.\n     HENNESSY.\n\n     THE TWO SIDES OF THE SHIELD. With Illustrations by W. J.\n     HENNESSY.\n\n     NUTTIE'S FATHER. With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     SCENES AND CHARACTERS; or, Eighteen Months at Beechcroft.\n     With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     CHANTRY HOUSE. With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     A MODERN TELEMACHUS. With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY.\n\n     BYWORDS. A collection of Tales new and old.\n\n     BEECHCROFT AT ROCKSTONE.\n\n     MORE BYWORDS.\n\n     A REPUTED CHANGELING; or, Three Seventh Years Two Centuries\n     Ago.\n\n     THE LITTLE DUKE, RICHARD THE FEARLESS. With Illustrations.\n\n     THE LANCES OF LYNWOOD. With Illustrations by J. B.\n\n     THE PRINCE AND THE PAGE: A Story of the Last Crusade. With\n     Illustrations by ADRIAN STOKES.\n\n     TWO PENNILESS PRINCESSES. With Illustrations by W. J.\n     HENNESSY.\n\n     THAT STICK.\n\n     AN OLD WOMAN'S OUTLOOK IN A HAMPSHIRE VILLAGE.\n\n     GRISLY GRISELL; or, The Laidly Lady of Whitburn. A Tale of\n     the Wars of the Roses.\n\n     HENRIETTA'S WISH. Second Edition.\n\n     THE LONG VACATION.\n\n     THE RELEASE; or, Caroline's French Kindred.\n\n     THE PILGRIMAGE OF THE BEN BERIAH.\n\n     THE TWO GUARDIANS; or, Home in this World. Second Edition.\n\n     COUNTESS KATE AND THE STOKESLEY SECRET.\n\n     MODERN BROODS; or, Developments Unlooked for.\n\n     STROLLING PLAYERS: A Harmony of Contrasts. By C. M. YONGE\n     and C. R. COLERIDGE.\n\n\nWorks by Mrs. Craik\n\n    =Olive:= A Novel. With Illustrations by G. BOWERS.\n    =The Ogilvies:= A Novel. With Illustrations.\n    =Agatha's Husband:= A Novel. With Illustrations by WALTER CRANE.\n    =The Head of the Family:= A Novel. With Illustrations\n       by WALTER CRANE.\n    =Two Marriages.=\n    =The Laurel Bush.=\n    =My Mother and I:= a Girl's Love Story. With Illustrations.\n    =Miss Tommy:= a Mediaeval Romance.\n    =King Arthur: Not a Love Story.=\n    =About Money, and other Things.=\n    =Concerning Men, and other Papers.=\n\n\nWorks by Mrs. Oliphant\n\n    =Neighbours on the Green.=\n    =Joyce.=\n    =Kirsteen:= the Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago.\n    =A Beleaguered City:= A Story of the Seen and the Unseen.\n    =Hester:= a Story of Contemporary Life.\n    =He that Will Not when He May.=\n    =The Railway Man and his Children.=\n    =The Marriage of Elinor.=\n    =Sir Tom.=\n    =The Heir-Presumptive and the Heir-Apparent.=\n    =A Country Gentleman and his Family.=\n    =A Son of the Soil.=\n    =The Second Son.=\n    =The Wizard's Son:= A Novel.\n    =The Curate in Charge.=\n    =Lady William.=\n    =Young Musgrave.=\n\n\nThe Works of Dean Farrar\n\n     SEEKERS AFTER GOD. The Lives of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus\n       Aurelius.\n     ETERNAL HOPE. Sermons preached in Westminster Abbey.\n     THE FALL OF MAN: and other Sermons.\n     THE WITNESS OF HISTORY TO CHRIST.\n     THE SILENCE AND VOICES OF GOD, with other Sermons.\n     \"IN THE DAYS OF THY YOUTH.\" Sermons on Practical Subjects.\n     SAINTLY WORKERS. Five Lenten Lectures.\n     EPHPHATHA; or, the Amelioration of the World.\n     MERCY AND JUDGMENT: a few last words on Christian Eschatology.\n     SERMONS & ADDRESSES DELIVERED IN AMERICA.\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF\nFrederick Denison Maurice\n\n     SERMONS PREACHED IN LINCOLN'S INN CHAPEL. In six vols.\n     SERMONS PREACHED IN COUNTRY CHURCHES.\n     CHRISTMAS DAY: and other Sermons.\n     THEOLOGICAL ESSAYS.\n     THE PROPHETS AND KINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.\n     THE PATRIARCHS AND LAWGIVERS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.\n     THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.\n     THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.\n     THE EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN.\n     THE FRIENDSHIP OF BOOKS: and other Lectures.\n     THE PRAYER BOOK AND LORD'S PRAYER.\n     THE DOCTRINE OF SACRIFICE. Deduced from the Scriptures.\n     THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.\n     THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST; or, Hints to a Quaker respecting the\n       Principles, Constitution, and Ordinances of the Catholic\n       Church. 2 vols.\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF\nCHARLES KINGSLEY\n\n     WESTWARD HO!\n     HYPATIA; or, New Foes with an old Face.\n     TWO YEARS AGO.\n     ALTON LOCKE, Tailor and Poet. An Autobiography.\n     HEREWARD THE WAKE, \"Last of the English.\"\n     YEAST: A Problem.\n     POEMS: including The Saint's Tragedy, Andromeda, Songs, Ballads,\n       etc.\n     THE WATER-BABIES: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby. With Illustrations\n       by LINLEY SAMBOURNE.\n     THE HEROES; or, Greek Fairy Tales for my Children. With\n       Illustrations by the Author.\n     GLAUCUS; or, The Wonders of the Shore. With Illustrations.\n     MADAME HOW AND LADY WHY; or, First Lessons in Earth Lore for\n       Children. With Illustrations.\n     AT LAST. A Christmas in the West Indies. With Illustrations.\n     THE HERMITS.\n     HISTORICAL LECTURES AND ESSAYS.\n     PLAYS AND PURITANS, and other Historical Essays.\n     THE ROMAN AND THE TEUTON.\n     PROSE IDYLLS, New and Old.\n     SCIENTIFIC LECTURES AND ESSAYS.\n     SANITARY AND SOCIAL LECTURES AND ESSAYS.\n     LITERARY AND GENERAL LECTURES AND ESSAYS.\n     ALL SAINTS' DAY: and other Sermons.\n     DISCIPLINE: and other Sermons.\n     THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD. Sermons.\n     GOSPEL OF THE PENTATEUCH.\n     SERMONS FOR THE TIMES.\n     SERMONS ON NATIONAL SUBJECTS.\n     VILLAGE SERMONS, AND TOWN AND COUNTRY SERMONS.\n     THE WATER OF LIFE: and other Sermons.\n     WESTMINSTER SERMONS.\n\n\nENGLISH\nMEN OF LETTERS\n\nEDITED BY JOHN MORLEY.\n\n_Arranged in 13 Volumes, each containing the Lives of three Authors._\n\n     I. =Chaucer.= By Dr. A. W. WARD. =Spenser.= By Dean CHURCH.\n          =Dryden.= By Prof. SAINTSBURY.\n\n    II. =Milton.= By MARK PATTISON. =Goldsmith.= By W. BLACK.\n          =Cowper.= By GOLDWIN SMITH.\n\n   III. =Byron.= By Professor NICHOL. =Shelley.= By J. A.\n          SYMONDS. =Keats.= By SIDNEY COLVIN.\n\n    IV. =Wordsworth.= By F. W. H. MYERS. =Southey.= By Prof.\n          DOWDEN. =Landor.= By SIDNEY COLVIN.\n\n     V. =Charles Lamb.= By Canon AINGER. =Addison.= By W. J.\n          COURTHOPE. =Swift.= By Sir LESLIE STEPHEN, K.C.B.\n\n    VI. =Scott.= By R. H. HUTTON. =Burns.= By Principal SHAIRP.\n          =Coleridge.= By H. D. TRAILL.\n\n   VII. =Hume.= By Prof. HUXLEY, F.R.S. =Locke.= By THOS.\n          FOWLER. =Burke.= By JOHN MORLEY.\n\n  VIII. =Defoe.= By W. MINTO. =Sterne.= By H. D. TRAILL.\n          =Hawthorne.= By HENRY JAMES.\n\n    IX. =Fielding.= By AUSTIN DOBSON. =Thackeray.= By ANTHONY\n          TROLLOPE. =Dickens.= By Dr. A. W. WARD.\n\n     X. =Gibbon.= By J. C. MORISON. =Carlyle.= By Professor\n          NICHOL. =Macaulay.= By J. C. MORISON.\n\n    XI. =Sydney.= By J. A. SYMONDS. =De Quincey.= By Prof.\n          MASSON. =Sheridan.= By Mrs. OLIPHANT.\n\n   XII. =Pope.= By Sir LESLIE STEPHEN, K.C.B. =Johnson.= By\n          Sir LESLIE STEPHEN, K.C.B. =Gray.= By EDMUND GOSSE.\n\n  XIII. =Bacon.= By Dean CHURCH. =Bunyan.= By J. A. FROUDE.\n        =Bentley.= By Sir RICHARD JEBB.\n\n\nBy GERTRUDE ATHERTON\n\n     THE CONQUEROR.\n     PATIENCE SPARHAWK AND HER TIMES.\n     AMERICAN WIVES & ENGLISH HUSBANDS.\n     A DAUGHTER OF THE VINE.\n\n\nBy J. H. SHORTHOUSE\n\n     JOHN INGLESANT: A Romance.\n     SIR PERCIVAL: a Story of the Past and of the Present.\n     THE LITTLE SCHOOLMASTER MARK.\n     THE COUNTESS EVE.\n     A TEACHER OF THE VIOLIN.\n     BLANCHE, LADY FALAISE.\n\n\nBy HUGH CONWAY\n\n     A FAMILY AFFAIR.\n     LIVING OR DEAD.\n\n\nBy W. CLARK RUSSELL\n\n     MAROONED.\n     A STRANGE ELOPEMENT.\n\n\nBy Mrs. PARR\n\n     DOROTHY FOX.\n     ADAM AND EVE.\n     LOYALTY GEORGE.\n     ROBIN.\n\n\nBy ANNIE KEARY\n\n     A YORK AND A LANCASTER ROSE.\n     CASTLE DALY: the Story of an Irish Home thirty years ago.\n     JANET'S HOME.\n     A DOUBTING HEART.\n     THE NATIONS AROUND ISRAEL.\n     OLDBURY.\n\n\nBy E. WERNER\n\n     SUCCESS, AND HOW HE WON IT.\n     FICKLE FORTUNE.\n\n\nBy W. WARDE FOWLER\n\n     A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS. Illustrated.\n     TALES OF THE BIRDS. Illustrated.\n     MORE TALES OF THE BIRDS. Illustrated.\n     SUMMER STUDIES OF BIRDS AND BOOKS.\n\n\nBy FRANK BUCKLAND\n\n     CURIOSITIES OF NATURAL HISTORY. Illustrated. In four volumes:\n\n         FIRST SERIES--Rats, Serpents, Fishes, Frogs, Monkeys, etc.\n         SECOND SERIES--Fossils, Bears, Wolves, Cats, Eagles,\n           Hedgehogs, Eels, Herrings, Whales.\n         THIRD SERIES--Wild Ducks, Fishing, Lions, Tigers, Foxes,\n           Porpoises.\n         FOURTH SERIES--Giants, Mummies, Mermaids, Wonderful People,\n           Salmon, etc.\n\n\nBy ARCHIBALD FORBES\n\n     BARRACKS, BIVOUACS, AND BATTLES.\n     SOUVENIRS OF SOME CONTINENTS.\n\n\nBy THOMAS HUGHES\n\n     TOM BROWN'S SCHOOLDAYS.\n     TOM BROWN AT OXFORD.\n     THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE.\n     ALFRED THE GREAT.\n\n\nBy MONTAGU WILLIAMS\n\n     LEAVES OF A LIFE.\n     ROUND LONDON.\n     LATER LEAVES.\n\n\nBy W. E. NORRIS\n\n     THIRLBY HALL.\n     A BACHELOR'S BLUNDER.\n\n\nThe Works of SHAKESPEARE\n\n     VICTORIA EDITION. In Three Volumes.\n\n         Vol. I. COMEDIES.\n         Vol. II. HISTORIES.\n         Vol. III. TRAGEDIES.\n\n\nWorks by Various Authors\n\n=Hogan, M.P.=\n=Flitters, Tatters, and the Counsellor=\n=The New Antigone=\n=Memories of Father Healy=\n\nCANON ATKINSON.--=The Last of the Giant Killers=\n---- =Walks, Talks, Travels, and Exploits of Two Schoolboys=\n---- =Playhours and Half-Holidays; or, further Experiences of Two\n       Schoolboys=\n\nSIR S. BAKER.--=True Tales for my Grandsons=\n\nR. H. BARHAM.--=The Ingoldsby Legends=\n\nREV. R. H. D. BARHAM.--=Life of R. H. Barham=\n---- =Life of Theodore Hook=\n\nBLENNERHASSET AND SLEEMAN.--=Adventures in Mashonaland=\n\nSIR H. LYTTON BULWER.--=Historical Characters=\n\nC. COWDEN CLARKE.--=The Riches of Chaucer=\n\nSIR H. M. DURAND.--=Helen Treveryan=\n\nLANOE FALCONER.--=Cecilia de Noel=\n\nW. FORBES-MITCHELL.--=Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny=\n\nW. P. FRITH, R.A.--=My Autobiography=\n\nREV. J. GILMORE.--=Storm Warriors=\n\nF. GUIZOT.--=Life of Oliver Cromwell=\n\nCUTCLIFFE HYNE.--=The \"Paradise\" Coal-Boat=\n\nRICHARD JEFFERIES.--=The Dewy Morn=\n\nHENRY KINGSLEY.--=Tales of Old Travel=\n\nMARY LINSKILL.--=Tales of the North Riding=\n\nS. R. LYSAGHT.--=The Marplot=\n\nM. M'LENNAN.--=Muckle Jock, and other Stories=\n\nLUCAS MALET.--=Mrs. Lorimer=\n\nG. MASSON.--=A Compendious Dictionary of the French Language=\n\nF. A. MIGNET.--=Life of Mary Queen of Scots=\n\nMAJOR GAMBIER PARRY.--=The Story of Dick=\n\nE. C. PRICE.--=In the Lion's Mouth=\n\nLORD REDESDALE.--=Tales of Old Japan=\n\nW. C. RHOADES.--=John Trevennick=\n\nCAMILLE ROUSSET.--=Recollections of Marshal Macdonald=\n\nHAWLEY SMART.--=Breezie Langton=\n\nMARCHESA THEODOLI.--=Under Pressure=\n\nANTHONY TROLLOPE.--=The Three Clerks=\n\nMRS. HUMPHRY WARD.--=Miss Bretherton=\n\nCHARLES WHITEHEAD.--=Richard Savage=\n\n\n\n\nTHE GLOBE LIBRARY\n\nCrown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._ each.\n\n_The volumes marked with an asterisk (*) are also issued in limp\nleather, with full gilt back and gilt edges. 5s. net each._\n\n\n     *=Boswell's Life of Johnson.= With an Introduction\n     by MOWBRAY MORRIS.\n\n     *=Burns's Complete Works.= Edited from the best\n     Printed and MS. Authorities, with Memoir and Glossarial\n     Index. By A. SMITH.\n\n     *=The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer.= Edited by ALFRED\n     W. POLLARD, H. F. HEATH, M. H. LIDDELL, and W. S. MCCORMICK.\n\n     *=Cowper's Poetical Works.= Edited, with\n     Biographical Introduction and Notes by W. BENHAM, B.D.\n\n     =Robinson Crusoe.= Edited after the original Edition, with\n     a Biographical Introduction by HENRY KINGSLEY, F.R.G.S.\n\n     *=Dryden's Poetical Works.= Edited, with a Memoir,\n     Revised Texts, and Notes, by W. D. CHRISTIE, M.A.\n\n     =Froissart's Chronicles.= Translated by Lord BERNERS.\n     Edited by G. C. MACAULAY, M.A.\n\n     *=Goldsmith's Miscellaneous Works.= With\n     Biographical Introduction by Professor MASSON.\n\n     =Horace.= Rendered into English Prose, with Introduction,\n     Running Analysis, Notes, and Index. By J. LONSDALE, M.A.,\n     and S. LEE, M.A.\n\n     =Morte D'Arthur.= The Book of King Arthur, and of his Noble\n     Knights of the Round Table. The Original Edition of Caxton,\n     revised for modern use. With Introduction, Notes, and\n     Glossary. By Sir E. STRACHEY.\n\n     *=Milton's Poetical Works.= Edited, with\n     Introduction, by Professor MASSON.\n\n     *=The Diary of Samuel Pepys.= With an Introduction\n     and Notes by G. GREGORY SMITH.\n\n     *=Pope's Poetical Works.= Edited, with Notes and\n     Introductory Memoir, by Dr. A. W. WARD.\n\n     *=Sir Walter Scott's Poetical Works.= Edited, with\n     Biographical and Critical Memoir, by Prof. F. T. PALGRAVE.\n     With Introduction and Notes.\n\n     *=Shakespeare's Complete Works.= Edited by W. G.\n     CLARK, M.A., and W. ALDIS WRIGHT, M.A. With Glossary.\n\n     *=Spenser's Complete Works.= Edited from the\n     Original Editions and Manuscripts, with Glossary, by R.\n     MORRIS, and a Memoir by J. W. HALES, M.A.\n\n     *=Tennyson's Poetical Works.= [Also in extra\n     cloth, gilt edges. 4_s._ 6_d._]\n\n     =Virgil.= Rendered into English Prose, with Introductions,\n     Notes, Analysis, and Index. By J. LONSDALE, M.A., and S.\n     LEE, M.A.\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATED STANDARD NOVELS\n\nCrown 8vo. Cloth Elegant, gilt edges (Peacock Edition). 3_s._ 6_d._\neach.\n\nAlso issued in ornamental cloth binding. 2_s._ 6_d._ each.\n\n\nBy JANE AUSTEN\n\n_With Introductions by_ AUSTIN DOBSON, _and Illustrations by_ HUGH\nTHOMSON _and_ C. E. BROCK.\n\n     PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.\n     SENSE AND SENSIBILITY.\n     EMMA.\n     MANSFIELD PARK.\n     NORTHANGER ABBEY, AND PERSUASION.\n\nBy J. FENIMORE COOPER\n\n_With Illustrations by_ C. E. BROCK _and_ H. M. BROCK.\n\n     THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. With a General Introduction by\n       Mowbray Morris.\n     THE DEERSLAYER.\n     THE PATHFINDER.\n     THE PIONEERS.\n     THE PRAIRIE.\n\nBy MARIA EDGEWORTH\n\n_With Introductions by_ ANNE THACKERAY RITCHIE, _and Illustrations by_\nCHRIS HAMMOND _and_ CARL SCHLOESSER.\n\n     ORMOND.\n     CASTLE RACKRENT, AND THE ABSENTEE.\n     POPULAR TALES.\n     HELEN.\n     BELINDA.\n     PARENT'S ASSISTANT.\n\nBy CAPTAIN MARRYAT\n\n_With Introductions by_ DAVID HANNAY, _and Illustrations by_ H. M.\nBROCK, J. AYTON SYMINGTON, FRED PEGRAM, F. H. TOWNSEND, H. R. MILLAR,\n_and_ E. J. SULLIVAN.\n\n     JAPHET IN SEARCH OF A FATHER.\n     JACOB FAITHFUL.\n     PETER SIMPLE.\n     MIDSHIPMAN EASY.\n     THE KING'S OWN.\n     THE PHANTOM SHIP.\n     SNARLEY-YOW.\n     POOR JACK.\n     THE PIRATE, AND THE THREE CUTTERS.\n     MASTERMAN READY.\n     FRANK MILDMAY.\n     NEWTON FORSTER.\n\nBy THOMAS LOVE PEACOCK\n\n_With Introductions by_ GEORGE SAINTSBURY, _and Illustrations by_ H.\nR. MILLAR _and_ F. H. TOWNSEND.\n\n     HEADLONG HALL, AND NIGHTMARE ABBEY.\n     MAID MARIAN, AND CROTCHET CASTLE.\n     GRYLL GRANGE.\n     MELINCOURT.\n     MISFORTUNES OF ELPHIN AND RHODODAPHNE.\n\n_BY VARIOUS AUTHORS_\n\n     WESTWARD HO! By CHARLES KINGSLEY. Illustrated by C. E. Brock.\n\n     HANDY ANDY. By SAMUEL LOVER. Illustrated by H. M. Brock.\n       With Introduction by Charles Whibley.\n\n     TOM CRINGLE'S LOG. By MICHAEL SCOTT. Illustrated by J. Ayton\n       Symington. With Introduction by Mowbray Morris.\n\n     ANNALS OF THE PARISH. By JOHN GALT. Illustrated By C. E. Brock.\n       With Introduction by Alfred Ainger.\n\n     SYBIL, OR THE TWO NATIONS, ETC. By BENJAMIN DISRAELI.\n       Illustrated by F. Pegram. With Introduction by h. D. Traill.\n\n     LAVENGRO. By GEORGE BORROW. Illustrated by E. J. Sullivan.\n       With Introduction by Augustine Birrell, K.C.\n\n     ADVENTURES OF HAJJI BABA OF ISPAHAN. By JAMES MORIER.\n       Illustrated by H. R. Millar. With Introduction by Lord Curzon.\n\n\n\n\nTHE NEW CRANFORD SERIES\n\n_Crown 8vo, Cloth Elegant, Gilt Edges, 3s. 6d. per volume._\n\n     =Cranford.= By Mrs. GASKELL. With Preface by Anne Thackeray\n       Ritchie and 100 Illustrations by Hugh Thomson.\n\n     =The Vicar of Wakefield.= With 182 Illustrations by Hugh\n       Thomson, and Preface by Austin Dobson.\n\n     =Our Village.= By MARY RUSSELL MITFORD. Introduction by Anne\n       Thackeray Ritchie, and 100 Illustrations by Hugh Thomson.\n\n     =Gulliver's Travels.= With Introduction by Sir Henry Craik,\n       K.C.B., and 100 Illustrations by C. E. Brock.\n\n     =The Humorous Poems of Thomas Hood.= With Preface by Alfred\n       Ainger, and 130 Illustrations by C. E. Brock.\n\n     =Sheridan's The School for Scandal and The Rivals.=\n       Illustrated by E. J. Sullivan. With Introduction by A. Birrell.\n\n     =Household Stories.= By the Brothers GRIMM. Translated by\n       Lucy Crane. With Pictures by Walter Crane.\n\n     =Reynard the Fox.= Edited by J. JACOBS. With Illustrations\n       by W. Frank Calderon.\n\n     =Coaching Days and Coaching Ways.= By W. OUTRAM TRISTRAM.\n       With Illustrations by H. Railton and Hugh Thomson.\n\n     =Coridon's Song;= and other Verses. With Introduction by\n       Austin Dobson and Illustrations by Hugh Thomson.\n\n     =Days with Sir Roger de Coverley.= With Illustrations by\n       Hugh Thomson.\n\n     =The Fables of AEsop.= Selected by JOSEPH JACOBS.\n       Illustrated by R. Heighway.\n\n     =Old Christmas.= By WASHINGTON IRVING. With Illustrations\n       by R. Caldecott.\n\n     =Bracebridge Hall.= With Illustrations by R. CALDECOTT.\n\n     =Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.= With 50\n       Illustrations and a Preface by George H. Boughton, A.R.A.\n\n     =The Alhambra.= With Illustrations by J. Pennell and\n       Introduction by E. R. Pennell.\n\n\nMACMILLAN & CO., LTD., LONDON.\n\nJ. PALMER, PRINTER, CAMBRIDGE. CO. 12. 05.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes\n\n\nMinor punctuation errors and misprinted characters have been silently\ncorrected.\n\nPage 22: Changed \"Presmptive\" to \"Presumptive.\" (Orig: The\nHeir-ePresmptive and the Heir-Apparent.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEnd of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Macmillan's Three-and-Sixpenny Library\nof Books by Popular Authors December 1905, by Various\n\n*** ","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaBook"}}
+{"text":"# Contents\n\n  1. Cover\n  2. Title Page\n  3. Copyright\n  4. Contents\n  5. Acknowledgements\n  6. Prologue\n  7. Chapter 1: What will the New Year Bring?\n  8. Chapter 2: Step by Step\n  9. Chapter 3: Inland\n  10. Chapter 4: Supporting Russia\n  11. Chapter 5: July \u2013 and the Heavies\n  12. Chapter 6: Stirlings Forge Ahead\n  13. Photo Gallery\n  14. Chapter 7: The Blenheims Return\n  15. Chapter 8: Summer at Last \u2013 Well, Almost\n  16. Chapter 9: Thoughts from the Top\n  17. Chapter 10: September\n  18. Chapter 11: Autumn\n  19. Chapter 12: Aftermath\n  20. Appendix A: Circus Operations flown during 1941\n  21. Appendix B: Single-seat Day Fighters Order of Battle January 1941\n  22. Appendix C: Single Seat Day Fighters Order of Battle 1 June 1941\n  23. Appendix D: Statistics Relating to Day Offensive Operations by Fighter Command, 1941\n  24. Bibliography\n\n## Guide\n\n  1. Cover\n  2. Title Page\n  3. Copyright\n  4. Contents\n  5. Acknowledgements\n  6. Prologue\n  7. Chapter 1: What will the New Year Bring?\n  8. Chapter 2: Step by Step\n  9. Chapter 3: Inland\n  10. Chapter 4: Supporting Russia\n  11. Chapter 5: July \u2013 and the Heavies\n  12. Chapter 6: Stirlings Forge Ahead\n  13. Photo Gallery\n  14. Chapter 7: The Blenheims Return\n  15. Chapter 8: Summer at Last \u2013 Well, Almost\n  16. Chapter 9: Thoughts from the Top\n  17. Chapter 10: September\n  18. Chapter 11: Autumn\n  19. Chapter 12: Aftermath\n  20. Appendix A: Circus Operations flown during 1941\n  21. Appendix B: Single-seat Day Fighters Order of Battle January 1941\n  22. Appendix C: Single Seat Day Fighters Order of Battle 1 June 1941\n  23. Appendix D: Statistics Relating to Day Offensive Operations by Fighter Command, 1941\n  24. Bibliography\n\n## Pagebreaks of the print version\n\n  1. i\n  2. ii\n  3. iii\n  4. iv\n  5. v\n  6. vi\n  7. vii\n  8. viii\n  9. \n  10. \n  11. \n  12. \n  13. \n  14. \n  15. \n  16. \n  17. \n  18. \n  19. \n  20. \n  21. \n  22. \n  23. \n  24. \n  25. \n  26. \n  27. \n  28. \n  29. \n  30. \n  31. \n  32. \n  33. \n  34. \n  35. \n  36. \n  37. \n  38. \n  39. \n  40. \n  41. \n  42. \n  43. \n  44. \n  45. \n  46. \n  47. \n  48. \n  49. \n  50. \n  51. \n  52. \n  53. \n  54. \n  55. \n  56. \n  57. \n  58. \n  59. \n  60. \n  61. \n  62. \n  63. \n  64. \n  65. \n  66. \n  67. \n  68. \n  69. \n  70. \n  71. \n  72. \n  73. \n  74. \n  75. \n  76. \n  77. \n  78. \n  79. \n  80. \n  81. \n  82. \n  83. \n  84. \n  85. \n  86. \n  87. \n  88. \n  89. \n  90. \n  91. \n  92. \n  93. \n  94. \n  95. \n  96. \n  97. \n  98. \n  99. \n  100. \n  101. \n  102. \n  103. \n  104. \n  105. \n  106. \n  107. \n  108. \n  109. \n  110. \n  111. \n  112. \n  113. \n  114. \n  115. \n  116. \n  117. \n  118. \n  119. \n  120. \n  121. \n  122. \n  123. \n  124. \n  125. \n  126. \n  127. \n  128. \n  129. \n  130. \n  131. PLI\n  132. PLII\n  133. PLIII\n  134. PLIV\n  135. PLV\n  136. PLVI\n  137. PLVII\n  138. PLVIII\n  139. PLIX\n  140. PLX\n  141. PLXI\n  142. PLXII\n  143. PLXIII\n  144. PLXIV\n  145. PLXV\n  146. PLXVI\n  147. PLXVII\n  148. PLXVIII\n  149. PLXIX\n  150. PLXX\n  151. PLXXI\n  152. PLXXII\n  153. PLXXIII\n  154. PLXXIV\n  155. \n  156. \n  157. \n  158. \n  159. \n  160. \n  161. \n  162. \n  163. \n  164. \n  165. \n  166. \n  167. \n  168. \n  169. \n  170. \n  171. \n  172. \n  173. \n  174. \n  175. \n  176. \n  177. \n  178. \n  179. \n  180. \n  181. \n  182. \n  183. \n  184. \n  185. \n  186. \n  187. \n  188. \n  189. \n  190. \n  191. \n  192. \n  193. \n  194. \n  195. \n  196. \n  197. \n  198. \n  199. \n  200. \n  201. \n  202. \n  203. \n  204. \n  205. \n  206. \n  207. \n  208. \n  209. \n  210. \n  211. \n  212. \n  213. \n  214. \n  215. \n  216. \n  217. \n  218. \n  219. \n  220. \n  221. \n  222. \n  223. \n  224. \n  225. \n  226. \n  227. \n  228. \n  229. \n  230. \n  231. \n  232. \n  233. \n  234. \n  235. \n  236. \n  237. \n  238. \n  239. \n  240. \n  241. \n  242. \n  243. \n  244. \n  245. \n  246. \n  247. \n  248. \n  249. \n  250. \n  251. \n  252. \n  253. \n  254. \n  255. \n  256. \n  257. \n  258. \n  259. \n  260. \n  261. \n  262. \n  263. \n  264. \n  265. \n  266. \n  267. \n  268. \n  269. \n  270. \n  271. \n  272. \n  273. \n  274.\n\nFirst published in Great Britain in 2016 by  \nPen & Sword Aviation  \nan imprint of  \nPen & Sword Books Ltd  \n47 Church Street  \nBarnsley  \nSouth Yorkshire  \nS70 2AS\n\nCopyright \u00a9 Norman Franks 2016\n\nISBN: 978 1 47384 722 4  \nPDF ISBN: 978 1 47384 725 5  \nEPUB ISBN: 978 1 47384 723 1  \nPRC ISBN: 978 1 47384 724 8\n\nThe right of Norman Franks to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.\n\nA CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library\n\nAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.\n\nTypeset in Ehrhardt by  \nMac Style Ltd, Bridlington, East Yorkshire  \nPrinted and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd,  \nCroydon, CRO 4YY\n\nPen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the imprints of Pen & Sword Archaeology, Atlas, Aviation, Battleground, Discovery, Family History, History, Maritime, Military, Naval, Politics, Railways, Select, Transport, True Crime, and Fiction, Frontline Books, Leo Cooper, Praetorian Press, Seaforth Publishing and Wharncliffe.\n\nFor a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact  \nPEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED  \n47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England  \nE-mail: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.uk  \nWebsite: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk\n**Contents**\n\n_Acknowledgements_\n\n---\n\n_Prologue_\n\n**Chapter 1** | What will the New Year Bring?\n\n**Chapter 2** | Step by Step\n\n**Chapter 3** | Inland\n\n**Chapter 4** | Supporting Russia\n\n**Chapter 5** | July \u2013 and the Heavies\n\n**Chapter 6** | Stirlings Forge Ahead\n\n_Photo Gallery_\n\n**Chapter 7** | The Blenheims Return\n\n**Chapter 8** | Summer at Last \u2013 Well, Almost\n\n**Chapter 9** | Thoughts from the Top\n\n**Chapter 10** | September\n\n**Chapter 11** | Autumn\n\n**Chapter 12** | Aftermath\n\n_Appendix A:_ | _Circus Operations flown during 1941_\n\n_Appendix B:_ | _Single-seat Day Fighters Order of Battle January 1941_\n\n_Appendix C:_ | _Single Seat Day Fighters Order of Battle 1 June 1941_\n\n_Appendix D:_ | _Statistics Relating to Day Offensive Operations by Fighter Command, 1941_\n\n_Bibliography_\n**Acknowledgements**\n\nI give sincere thanks to a number of people who have helped or advised me in the writing of this book. Many of them were men who saw action in 1941, most of whom have now left us. Fellow historians Andy Saunders, Chris Goss and Chris Shores have my respect and thanks.\n\nThis book should be read in conjunction with John Foreman's book _RAF Fighter Command Victory Claims of WW2 (Part Two)_ , Red Kite, 2005, and my own _RAF Fighter Command Losses of WW2, Vol 1 (revised) 1939\u201341_ , Ian Allan, 2008.\n**Prologue**\n\nRegular conferences were held at Northolt to discuss our various problems; the AOC presided and, amongst others, the leaders of the fighter wings and the bomber leaders attended. On one such occasion I raised the question of just what our purpose was in carrying out these operations. If it was to destroy the industrial potential of the various targets and so reduce the contribution of industry by the Occupied Countries to Germany's war effort I maintained that it would require a far, far greater bomber force than we had so far escorted.\n\nIf, I continued, the bombers were merely there as bait to bring up the fighters so that they could be destroyed then we should restrict our radius of activity to that which would permit us to fight without the nagging fear of running out of fuel. The mental obstacle seriously interfered with a pilot's fighting spirit and it was my opinion that we had already lost far too many first class men because these factors were not receiving sufficient consideration.\n\nAir Vice-Marshal Leigh-Mallory looked rather taken aback at this and he turned to his Group Captain Operations, Victor Beamish, who was a very experienced and successful fighter pilot, and asked him what he thought. Victor said that he agreed with me so the AOC turned to another of his staff officers and asked his opinion. 'My answer to Kent is \u2013 we've done it!' he replied.\n\nAlthough this officer had a very fine record in the First World War he had not operated in the second conflict. I was furious and was quite rude in the remarks I flung back, but it was no good: the AOC preferred the second opinion and we continued to go to Lille and lose good men, all to little purpose.\n\n_Wing Commander J. A. Kent DSO DFC, leader of the Northolt Fighter Wing in 1941_.\n_Chapter 1_\n\n**What will the New Year Bring?**\n\nThe winter weather at the end of the momentous year of 1940 curtailed air operations over Britain, and particularly southern Britain. The main achievement as far as Winston Churchill and his Government were concerned was that German forces seemingly poised across the Channel to invade this island had, at least for the time being, been prevented from doing so. The Royal Air Force had successfully denied the Germans the necessary air superiority over southern England, which was a prerequisite for any air or seaborne assault to take place. Those who gave themselves the luxury of believing that the Battle of Britain had been won, had no way of knowing that better weather in early 1941 would not herald a continuation of this Battle, and that an invasion might yet develop and take place.\n\nHistory now records that no such attempt would be made even though the German Luftwaffe had every reason to assume their attacks against southern England and other parts in the north, would continue once spring began and they had recouped the serious losses incurred during the previous summer and autumn. Indeed, with the night bombing of British towns and factories now in full swing, why would their airmen think that they would not soon again be pitting themselves against the RAF's fighter pilots in order to have another try to wrest air superiority from them and dominate the skies for a sufficiently long period to allow an assault by troops, both from the air and from the sea, while bomber crews did their level best to prevent Britain's Royal Navy from spoiling the party? There was adequate evidence that the German High Command had intentions of using the massed invasion ships and barges that crammed captured French ports along the Channel coast. Hitler may have deluded himself that Britain might well surrender, or at least try to negotiate some sort of peace settlement in the circumstances, but that never happened nor was it even seriously contemplated.\n\nAdolf Galland, a successful German fighter pilot and Kommodore of a Geschwader of fighter aircraft, who would in not so far a time, head the Luftwaffe's fighter arm, was clear in his post-war memoirs, that what was called the Battle of Britain lasted into 1941. In the early weeks of the New Year, German fighter aircraft were frequently flying _Frei Jagd_ sorties over southern England, and particularly across Kent and Sussex. While these 'free hunts' were exciting for the Luftwaffe pilots and kept the local RAF fighter squadrons occupied, these incursions were no more than nuisance raids, and nothing to compare with the vast formations of bombers and fighters of August and September 1940.\n\nMeantime, although there was still the threat of a continuation of the summer's battles, Churchill and his war council felt cheered that they had appeared to have won an important round in the war, and while blooded, were far from bowed. In the best traditions of war strategy, talk was now of the best form of defence being offence.\n\nRAF fighter pilots had been 'taking it' for months, not only over Britain, but earlier, during the campaign in France, which led to that country falling under the control of Germany, and the British army and her air force being kicked back across the Channel. Was there now a chance of hitting back, and 'dishing some out' instead?\n\nViscount Trenchard, a man who had led the British air forces during the First World War, and now thought of as being the Father of the RAF, was still a man in high position and to whom many listened. Made Marshal of the RAF in 1927 at the age of 54, he was now, in 1941, aged 68, but his influence still held sway.\n\nTrenchard had been Chief of the Air Staff in the early 1920s so he knew virtually everyone of note in the Service and although long officially retired, he was always welcomed when he turned up to give his advice and help council many of the new age of commanders who had all known him throughout their rising careers. In this way of his he had talked to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal KCB DSO MC, who had become Chief of the Air Staff in October 1940.\n\nAccording to Air Marshal Sir W. Sholto Douglas KCB DSO MC, Commander-in-Chief of RAF Fighter Command following Hugh Dowding's dismissal in December 1940, Trenchard had suggested to Portal that as the major daylight assaults by the Luftwaffe seemed largely over, perhaps it was time to take the offensive. Or as Trenchard had phrased it: 'lean towards France.' As is well known, Boom Trenchard had always been of the mind to take any conflict to the enemy. Throughout World War One he had constantly advocated that the Royal Flying Corps, and then the Royal Air Force, should always operate offensively across the trenches of France and wage the aerial war above and beyond the enemy lines. Now, in WW2, the English Channel represented the trenches of the Great War, and the air war should be fought over France and the Low Countries.\n\nThe architect of Britain's defensive war against the Luftwaffe's assault had been Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding GCVO KCB CMG, C-in-C Fighter Command from 1936 until Sholto Douglas had taken over. Dowding and his 11 Group Commander, AVM Keith Park MC DFC, whose squadrons had taken the brunt of the Battle of Britain, had both been side-lined before the end of 1940. Their removal left something of a bad taste behind, not least amongst the fighter pilots themselves, but the move was made. 11 Group was now taken over by AVM Trafford Leigh-Mallory DSO, until then the OC 12 Group of Fighter Command. It was no secret that Park and Leigh-Mallory disliked each other, so Park's feelings can be imagined following the latter's appointment to his job, even if 'L-M' was senior to Park \u2013 by a few months. Therefore whatever occurred next was largely in the hands of Sholto Douglas and Leigh-Mallory.\n\nOne reason Park disliked Leigh-Mallory was the fact that he thought the leader of 12 Group had not supported his 11 Group fighters in the same way 10 and 13 Groups had. Leigh-Mallory had his own ideas on how to conduct his part of the Battle and had become convinced that the best way of dealing with large formations of enemy aircraft was to engage them with equally large numbers of RAF fighters. However, the nature of the Battle as seen from Keith Park's perspective was that he had to react quickly in order to engage and counter these enemy formations and didn't have the luxury of time to form up two or three squadrons, before the raiders were over the south of England \u2013 and his airfields. Leigh-Mallory, being that much further north at Duxford \u2013 well north of London \u2013 could scramble squadrons and have them form up as they headed south into 11 Group's areas.\n\nIn many ways he was right, but it just wasn't feasible to do the job properly. Often by the time the 12 Group Wing (that could use 242, 19, 616 and 310 Squadrons) had taken off, climbed and formed up, the raiders over SE England had bombed and were on their way home. If Park had scrambled something like four squadrons and for some reason had failed to engage, perhaps seeing the enemy turn back early, these four squadrons might be on the ground refuelling if another raid was reported on the way. Leigh-Mallory's favourite squadron commander, who had thus become the 12 Group wing leader, was Douglas Bader, famous for having lost both legs in a pre-war flying accident, but who, nevertheless, had rejoined the RAF and raised himself to command 242 Squadron. Leigh-Mallory saw in Bader a way to forward his Group and of course himself, by championing him and using his 'press on' attitude with their Big Wing theory.\n\nSholto Douglas' opinions regarding Portal's question of what he thought of Trenchard's idea were, initially, against. He doubted the value of such an undertaking. As the commander of a fighter squadron in France during WW1 he knew only too well the expense in pilots that offensive actions brought, even if it did bring air superiority, beneath which ground troops could operate more favourably. Operating over France in 1941 may gain some sort of air superiority but there were no ground troops below them now and any superiority gained would always be transitory. It would, however, show the Germans that the RAF was still raring for a fight.\n\nStill with lingering doubts, Portal suggested Douglas collect his thoughts and write a report on how he saw the situation. Sholto Douglas did so and found to his surprise that in the final analysis his own arguments lost much of their potency. Finally, he had to admit to Portal that an offensive stance did have some merit. No sooner had the decision been made than the new policy was put in motion, in fact during December 1940, although these incursions across the Channel would, at first, be no more than pin-pricks in the form of more or less hit-and-run nuisance flights in poor weather. Initially they were code-named, appropriately, 'Mosquito' raids, but later were termed 'Rhubarbs'.\n\nThe idea was for two fighters to zip across the Channel at low level, generally when cloud cover was low and ample, so that if they ran into too much trouble they might quickly hide away in these clouds and head back to England. Before this however they were encouraged to shoot up any worthwhile ground targets they found, such as enemy troops, trucks, trains and so on, and, if extremely lucky, some wandering German aeroplane. Even an airfield, if surprise could be assured. Meantime, staff at Fighter Command Headquarters would begin to formulate a more positive way of taking the war to the enemy.\n\n* * *\n\nOne of the first, if not the first of these nuisance attacks came on 20 December, flown by two pilots from 66 Squadron based at Biggin Hill. Flight Lieutenant G. P. Christie DFC and Pilot Officer (P\/O) C. A. W. Bodie DFC made an airfield at Le Touquet their target. They successfully navigated their way there, made low level passes over the air base where they shot-up several buildings before racing away like two naughty schoolboys having raided the school tuck-shop.\n\nGeorge Christie was a Canadian and 'Bogle' Bodie came from Kirton, Suffolk. Both had been successful in the Battle of Britain. Christie soon returned to Canada, and was killed in a flying accident in 1942, while Bodie survived 1941 too, only to be killed in 1942 as well, again in an accident.\n\nWhile it was agreed that RAF fighters would start operating over France and perhaps Belgium and Holland too, logic demanded that if going all that way, with the inbuilt dangers associated with such undertakings, there should at least be some purpose to these flights. Sholto Douglas was keen not just to let his pilots loose across the Channel on the off chance of finding trouble. There was little benefit in shooting up, say, a truck and losing a Spitfire or Hurricane, and its pilot. He was mindful too that even if a pilot was brought down and succeeded in escaping from his crashing fighter, he was lost to the Command, and although he might indeed manage to evade capture and eventually get home, the majority would end up in a prison camp.\n\nIn general terms there were two types of targets if light bombers were employed in these incursions, while being protected by several squadrons of fighters. Firstly, there would be enemy airfields and perhaps suitable factory targets to bomb, and secondly, enemy shipping along the hostile shore. Any factory within range of light bombers, which would in fact be twin-engined Bristol Blenheims, would of course be French, which had been taken over by the Germans, and were now producing materials for Germany's war effort. There would also be power stations. While the destruction of these would undoubtedly annoy French civilians whose homes would lose power, this same power was being used for the factories.\n\nThe New Year of 1941 arrived and within a week thereof came the first plan to fly an offensive operation across the Channel. By now, with Leigh-Mallory in charge of 11 Group's fighter bases, he saw that his Wing ideas could now be used to advantage. And of course, with no immediacy of combat, fighter wings could take off and form up in good order before heading out towards northern France. It was soon decided therefore, that each Sector Station, such as Biggin Hill, Kenley, Tangmere, North Weald and Hornchurch, should provide their own wing formations.\n\nThis would require someone to take command of each wing and it has to be said that at the beginning Leigh-Mallory must have sat down and penned a list of those men he thought right for the jobs on offer. To this list I have added their present or recent duties at this time, and ages.\n\nW\/Cdr F. V. Beamish DSO DFC AFC | OC RAF North Weald | 37\n\n---|---|---\n\nW\/Cdr H. Broadhurst DFC AFC | OC RAF Hornchurch | 35\n\nW\/Cdr J. H. Edwards-Jones | OC 213 Squadron | 35\n\nW\/Cdr H. W. Mermagen | ex-OC 222 & 226 Sqns | 29\n\nW\/Cdr R. B. Lees DFC | OC RAF Coltishall | 30\n\nW\/Cdr H. A. V. Hogan DFC | ex-CO 501 Squadron | 31\n\nW\/Cdr S. F. Godden | ex-OC 3 Squadron | 30\n\nW\/Cdr H. S. Darley DSO | OC RAF Exeter | 27\n\nW\/Cdr R. H. A. Leigh | HQ 12 Group | 29\n\nW\/Cdr H. D. McGregor | ex-CO 213 Squadron | 31\n\nW\/Cdr J. Worrall DFC | Snr Controller Biggin Hill | 30\n\nW\/Cdr J. W. C. Moore DFC | OC 9 Group | 31\n\nS\/Ldr D. R. S. Bader DSO DFC | OC 242 Sqn & 12 Grp Wg | 30\n\nS\/Ldr R. G. Kellett DSO DFC VM | OC 96 Squadron | 31\n\nS\/Ldr W. M. Churchill DSO DFC | OC RAF Valley | 33\n\nS\/Ldr J. R. A. Peel DFC | ex-CO 145 Squadron | 29\n\nIn some ways this list embraces something of an 'old boy network' of men in whom Leigh-Mallory placed a degree of trust along with seniority and position. A number had seen exemplary service during the Battle of Britain, such as Victor Beamish, Horace Darley, Jack Worrall, Douglas Bader, Ron Kellett, Walter Churchill and Johnnie Peel. Others, while they had commanded well, had seen rather less action, and were obvious choices because of their command ability. No doubt Leigh-Mallory had yet to figure out that wing leaders, as contemplated, needed to be men with clear fighting ability and an equally tactical ability to command more than one squadron in the air.\n\nWhen it came to it, the only men in this list to become active fighter wing leaders in 1941 were Bader, Beamish, Kellett and Peel, with Harry Broadhurst often leading the Hornchurch Wing whilst still commanding the Station. In the above list the average age was 30\/31, whereas the list of actual wing leaders that operated in 1941 was reduced to 28\/29. As a matter of interest, wing leaders in 1942 averaged 26 to 27 years of age.\n\nThe list of wing leaders actually employed in the main area of operations during 1941 were as follows:\n\n_Wing_ | _Leader_ | _From_ | _Age_\n\n---|---|---|---\n\nBiggin Hill | W\/Cdr A. G. Malan DSO DFC* | March | 30\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr M. L. Robinson DSO DFC | August | 23\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr J. Rankin DSO DFC | September | 27\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr R. R. S. Tuck DSO DFC** | December | 25\n\nKenley | W\/Cdr J. R. A. Peel DFC | March | 29\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr J. A. Kent DFC AFC | July | 26\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr E. N. Ryder DFC | October | 26\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr R. F. Boyd DFC* | November | 25\n\nHornchurch | W\/Cdr A. D. Farquhar DFC | March | 34\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr J. R. Kayll DSO DFC | June | 26\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton DFC | July | 29\n\nTangmere | W\/Cdr D. R. S. Bader DSO DFC | March | 30\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr H. de C. A. Woodhouse | August | 28\n\nNorth Weald | W\/Cdr R. G. Kellett DSO DFC | March | 31\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr J. W. Gillan DFC* AFC | July | 34\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr F. V. Beamish DSO DFC | August | 37\n\nNortholt | W\/Cdr G. A. L. Manton | March | 30\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr J. A. Kent DFC AFC VM | April | 26\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr W. Urbanowicz VM CV DFC | April | 33\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr P. \u0141aguna VM | May | 35\n\n|\n\nW\/Cdr T. H. Rolski VM KW | July | 34\n\nDuxford | W\/Cdr M. N. Crossley DSO DFC | March | 28\n\n|\n\nS\/Ldr R. R. S. Tuck DSO DFC** | July | 24\n\nBefore wing leaders were officially appointed, the handful of early operations were usually led by the most senior, or the most experienced squadron commander at the RAF Station that was providing the escort. Planning for the future was well under way and wing commanders (flying) would soon be appointed. Meantime HQ Fighter Command set to work to plan the first operation.\n\n**Circus No.1 \u2013 10 January**\n\nAccording to Johnnie Kent, in December 1940 while still commanding 92 Squadron at Biggin Hill, it was strongly rumoured that the first full-scale operation over France would be around the 24th. However, this did not happen and eventually the first raid was arranged for 10 January 1941. Exactly when the code-word 'Circus' came into being is obscure, but one imagines someone of WW1 vintage likened the mass of aircraft to be akin to the German Flying Circuses they had seen above the trenches during 1917\u201318. In a report on this operation it was referred to as 'First Fighter Sweep'. The operation (that later became known as Circus Number 1) called for six Blenheim bombers from 2 Group of Bomber Command to attack an airfield, and an ammunition dump in the For\u00eat de Guines, just a few miles inland from the French coast, south of Calais. The planners made the intention of the raid as: 'To harass the enemy on the ground by bombing For\u00eat de Guines and destroy enemy aircraft in the air, or, should insufficient or no enemy aircraft be seen, to ground strafe St. Ingelvert Aerodrome.' A report on this mission also called it the First Fighter Sweep.\n\nThe six Blenheim IVs, from 114 Squadron based at Oulton, Norfolk, had been detached to Hornchurch a few weeks earlier in anticipation of this first sortie. They took off at midday, led by Wing Commander (W\/Cdr) G. R. A. Elsmie. Fighter Command put up a huge armada of over 100 fighters, Hurricanes and Spitfires, to protect them and ward off the potential of scores of German fighters who might well rise to contest the attack.\n\nThe escorting fighters were Hurricanes of 56, 242 and 249 Squadrons (North Weald), and Spitfires from 41, 64 and 611 (Hornchurch). Another three Spitfire squadrons, 66, 74 and 609 from Biggin Hill, were ordered to patrol the Channel and give cover to the force as it made its way back. All this was laid down in 11 Group's Operations Order No.17. As RAF fighters were not long-range aircraft, it was essential that other squadrons should fly out to take over the escort duties as the fuel tanks of the original escorting machines began to empty.\n\nThe bombers headed in at 10,000 feet, with 56 and 242 Squadrons close by, 1,000 feet below and to the right, while 249 Squadron was stepped up about 100 feet to the right, and 'up sun'. The three Spitfire squadrons were stepped up above the bombers and to their left with 41 Squadron as top cover at about 16,000 feet.\n\nThis force crossed out over Southend at 1219 hrs, making landfall east of Calais at 1240. The Blenheims lost height and approached the target at 7,000 feet from the south-east. Their bombs rained down on dispersal pens and huts in the wood to the south-west of Guines landing ground nine minutes later. In all, 16 x 250lb bombs and 48 x 40lb bombs dropped. Smoke from two fires began to drift skywards. The bombers headed straight back to the coast, still at 7,000 feet, raced across the Channel while losing height, then making landfall at Folkestone at 3,000 feet. All six landed safely at Hornchurch at 1329, having experienced clear and cloudless weather conditions during the entire show.\n\nThe Germans did not react. 249 Squadron reported some inaccurate anti-aircraft fire and some more accurate stuff from what was termed Bofors guns aboard four E-boats two or three miles off Calais as they flew back. The pilots reported an exceptionally quiet French countryside, and some gun posts quite deserted. Snow-covered fields and the aerodrome had no marks of any activity whatsoever. Wing Commander Beamish stirred things up a bit by machine-gunning the four E-boats, raking their decks and causing AA fire to cease. One pilot reported seeing an aircraft hit and blown out of the sky by gunfire but Circus 1 had no casualties, so if true, it must have been a hostile machine.\n\nAs Beamish levelled out and began to re-cross the Channel he spotted a Hurricane being attacked by a yellow-nosed Me109. The British fighter was already streaming glycol, and it eventually crashed into the cliffs near Dover. Its pilot, Pilot Officer W. W. McConnell baled out and ended up in hospital with a broken leg. Beamish shot the Messerschmitt into the sea and later recorded:\n\n'... halfway over I saw bullet splashes in the sea below me. I looked to the left and saw one of our aircraft being attacked a few hundred feet above the sea. As I closed in I saw that the attacker was one of the yellow-nosed Me109s. I let him have the rest of my ammunition and saw my bullets hitting his machine. But it was not until I returned to my base that I learned I actually got my man. Two of my pilots saw him crash in the Channel.'\n\nSergeant M. K. Maciejowski, a Pole flying with 249 Squadron, became separated from his section and attacked two Me109s. They were at the same height as himself so he climbed above them and went for the rear machine. It turned steeply then dived vertically towards the ground as though the pilot had been wounded, and he saw the 109 hit some trees.\n\nMeantime, two pilots of 41 Squadron, as they headed back across the French coast, acting as rear cover at 19,000 feet spotted five Me109s (yellow noses), 2,000 feet below but climbing steeply to engage the other Spitfires. Sergeants A. C. Baker and R. A. Beardsley attacked, Baker hitting one which he observed diving vertically into a layer of haze at less than 1,000 feet over the sea off Gravelines. This was also witnessed by two other pilots.\n\nOverall the operation had been a success and the only negative comment was that with so many squadrons working at such distances apart, communications on the Group Guard radio frequency did not prove satisfactory. The only other casualty was a 74 Squadron pilot, Sergeant L. E. Freese, who ran out of fuel and was mortally injured in a crash-landing at RAF Detling.\n\nThe Germans claimed four RAF aircraft shot down. Oberfeldwebel (Obfw) Georg Schott of 2(J)\/LG2, reported downing a Spitfire at 1400 hours (German time), 15 km north of Boulogne for his thirteenth victory, Feldwebel (Fw) August Dilling of Stab\/JG3 a Hurricane at 1405, Oberleutnant (Oblt) Georg Michalek also of this Staffel a Hurricane in the sea off Boulogne at 1300 (one of these presumably McConnell's Hurricane). Hauptmann (Hptm.) Hans von Hahn, also Stab\/JG3, claimed a Blenheim at 1435, 25 km north of Nieuport for his twelfth victory.\n\nThere is no doubt that anxious eyes had been watching the events of the day with keen interest, for Leigh-Mallory sent out a congratulatory message to everyone involved:\n\n'Please convey to 114 Squadron that the Prime Minister and C-in-C, Fighter Command, wish to congratulate all concerned in the very satisfactory operation over France. I look forward to further operations of this kind.'\n\n* * *\n\nIf Fighter Command's senior officers were pleased with themselves for successfully completing this first Circus operation without any great problems and with minimal losses, and a couple of claims, the euphoria was short lived. Two days later, on the 12th, 242 Squadron sent off pairs of Hurricanes on Rhubarb sorties. Squadron Leader (S\/Ldr) Bader and his senior flight commander, Stan Turner DFC, found and shot-up an E-boat and a drifter. In the afternoon three more pairs took off. Two failed to return. They were both very experienced pilots, Flying Officer (F\/O) W. M. McKnight DFC and Pilot Officer J. B. Latta DFC. The sections had run into Me109s and the two Canadians were shot down. Both men had been on Circus 1. Feldwebel Helmut Br\u00fcgelmann of 8.\/JG26 claimed both Hurricanes west of Boulogne at 1515.\n\nOne man who had not been pleased about the events that occurred on 10 January was the head of the Luftwaffe, Reichsmarschall Hermann G\u00f6ring. According to the diary of Oberleutnant Siegfried Bathke, Staffelkapit\u00e4n of 2.\/JG2:\n\n[Tuesday] 28 January 1941. The sky is clear. Fine weather. The Kommodoren of the fighter Geschwader \u2013 including our own Hautpmann Hahn \u2013 have been summoned to see the Reichsmarschall. Apparently they have been on the receiving end of an Almighty dressing down. Firstly, on account of the poor results against British fighter escort during the (RAF) attack (10 January). Secondly on account of the lack of military bearing displayed by the fighter units (apparently noted during the visit of the F\u00fchrer the previous Christmas). And lastly because of (their) general slovenliness and poor turn out. What is required is a 'spring clean' and the appointment of younger more vigorous Kommodoren and Kommandeure.\n\nG\u00f6ring obviously felt that the RAF's incursion in force over the French coast should have been repulsed with heavy losses and had probably lost a degree of 'face' with Hitler, not helped by the F\u00fchrer's comments about the demeanour of his fighter pilots. Bearing in mind the later over-claiming by some German pilots, particularly, as we shall read, JG2, one has to wonder if in some way this galvanised these pilots to exaggerate their claims in order to restore their own damaged pride, and in this way, please the Reichschmarshall \u2013 and keep their jobs. It was always felt that the Germans in particular were very fastidious in confirming claims of Allied aircraft shot down, but this appears to have not been the case.\n\n**Circus No.2 \u2013 2 February**\n\nWinter weather curtailed further operations for several days. Meanwhile, 11 Group's Operations Order No.18 was written out, dated 16 January, for Circus No.2. There was no date set for this operation, and Zero Day would be decided upon, presumably quite soon. The targets were the St Omer-Languenesse Aerodrome and the nearby landing ground at Clairmarais. St Omer was an historic base as far as the RAF was concerned, for it was to this spot where the Royal Flying Corps had located its main base almost from the start of WW1 and which became the first place hundreds of First War airmen landed when posted to France during that conflict. Now it was known to be the home of vaunted Me109 fighters. Clairmarais too had been used by the RAF in WW1.\n\nIn the event Circus 2 to St Omer did not take place in January, bad weather being the main reason for the delay. In fact Circus 2 was not mounted until 2 February, and rather than the inland target of St Omer, the coastal port of Boulogne was chosen. Operations Order No.19, dated 25 January, called for six Blenheims of 139 Squadron, again protected by squadrons of fighters, while other fighters flew a Sweep of the area and Channel. People were still very mindful of the mass of invasion barges still filling captured French ports, so there were three reasons for attacking Boulogne. Not only to bring German fighters to battle, but to hinder any thoughts of using the harbour facilities for invasion, plus denying free use of the Channel to enemy shipping.\n\nOnce the date of 2 February had been confirmed, Wing Commander W. H. Kyle led his section of Blenheims down to RAF Northolt, then set out with 601 Squadron in close escort shortly after 1300 hrs. With other fighter squadrons in attendance the bombers swept in and placed bombs on Nos. 2, 4 and 7 docks in the harbour, and flew back without loss. Very few enemy fighters were seen, but one was engaged and shot down by Flight Lieutenant W. W. Straight MC of 601.1 This was a 109E from 1\/JG3, piloted by Oberf\u00e4hnrich (Obfhr) G\u00fcnther P\u00f6pel, who was wounded and crashed at Boulogne.\n\nHurricanes of 1 Squadron also had a brief scrap, claiming one Me109 damaged, while 74 Squadron's Spitfires, on Channel patrol, shot down two more for the loss of one pilot. The pilot was Squadron Leader E. J. C. Michelmore, a supernumerary attached to 74 since December. He had been flying No.2 to the CO, Squadron Leader A. G. 'Sailor' Malan DSO DFC. Malan and Sergeant A. D. Payne claimed the two victories, Malan seeing his crash into the outer harbour close to a dredger, while other pilots claimed a probable and a damaged. The 109s came from 1 Gruppe of LG2.\n\nThis day also saw the loss of two pilots from 605 Squadron, in an action quite separate from Circus 2. Sergeants H. W. Pettit and K. H. Jones had taken off to fly what was recorded as a Battle Climb \u2013 a test. Both men were good friends and it seems as though they decided to take a peek over the Channel. Unfortunately, they must have been picked up on German radar for suddenly they were under attack from some Me109s over the North Sea. Pettit was shot down into the sea and Ken Jones chased for some distance, became lost and disorientated. He eventually spotted an aerodrome and landed, only to find he was on the wrong side of the Channel. He quickly set fire to his Hurricane with a Very pistol, before being taken prisoner. Leutnant (Ltn) Friedrich Geisshardt of 1.(J)\/LG2 claimed a Spitfire at 1530, 40 km west of Cap Gris Nez, his eighth victory.\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.3 \u2013 5 February**\n\nCircus No.3 was slated three days later, on the 5th. This time it was to be St Omer airfield, and the force of bombers was doubled to twelve, six each from 114 and 139 Squadrons. Rendezvous over Northolt, then down to Rye to pick up their close escort, Hurricanes of 1, 615 and 302 (Polish) Squadrons. This time there were two Spitfire squadrons, 65 and 610, giving Forward Support, i.e. heading into the target area ahead of the bombers, while the Hornchurch Wing (41, 64 and 611) was to provide Withdrawal Cover. These sorts of adjustments and different tactics came with experience.\n\nThe bombers were twelve minutes late making the rendezvous (1242). Both 1 and 615 Squadrons had reached Rye at 1228 so they flew towards France independently. Likewise, the Hornchurch squadrons, who arrived over Rye at 1235 also headed off without seeing the bombers.2 65 Squadron had already been split up, with four Spitfires going out with 302 and 610, and the other eight going across on their own. So, the formation, rather than consisting of twelve bombers and six fighter squadrons followed by a further three, composed only the bombers, and three fighter units, plus one flight of four. The other formations consisted of three fighter squadrons, two fighter squadrons and two sections quite independent of the main body.\n\nThe weather was far from perfect and snow on the ground made it difficult to locate and pick out the aerodrome, the bombers being forced to make three runs across the area before their loads of 250lb and 40lb bombs were released from 7,000 feet. The enemy reacted, not only because one of their air bases was under attack, but the time taken to secure an aiming point allowed fighters to get into position. Twelve German fighters appeared while aircraft were still over the target area, and behind 610 Squadron.\n\nThe pilots of 610 bore the brunt of the interception and although they prevented fighters getting through to the bombers, they lost Sergeant H. D. Denchfield (PoW) shot down by Walter Oesau of Stab III\/JG3. It was Oesau's fortieth victory and brought him the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross that he had received the previous August. Denchfield was acting as 'weaver' and had been quickly picked off by the German ace. Weavers, as the name implies, weaved behind the squadron defending the main body, but were often picked off by attacking 109s. Often they were the most newly arrived and inexperienced pilots so were vulnerable. The other 'weaver' was also hit and slightly wounded. 65 Squadron also lost two pilots, Pilot Officer G. Hill (PoW) and Sergeant H. C. Orchard who was killed, but they claimed one 109 destroyed. 615 Squadron had Sergeant O. M. Jenkins shot down and killed over Calais, then two other of their Hurricanes collided over Dover. Both were Polish pilots. Pilot Officer S Czternastek did not survive, but Pilot Officer B. Wydrowski managed to bale out safely. Further losses were from 1 Canadian Squadron, losing Flying Officer R. G. Lewis, and Sergeant R. C. Jones of 56 Squadron. Lewis baled out over the sea after being shot-up by a 109 but he failed to be rescued. Jones also failed to return and was reported killed. The fight also cost 65 Squadron two pilots, but Sergeant Jones and Flight Lieutenant B. F. Finucane claimed shooting down one of the offending 109s.\n\nThe Hornchurch Wing, led by Harry Broadhurst, had crossed into France above Hardelot at 14,000 feet. Almost immediately two Me109s were spotted by 611's B Flight commander, Flight Lieutenant Barrie Heath. He attacked one and it went down to crash. In all they saw only four enemy fighters over France, Pilot Officer W. G. G. Duncan Smith helping to probably destroy one of them. 611 Squadron lost Pilot Officer H. S. Sadler who was seen to take hits and begin to go down, his canopy pushed back and the side door down. Obviously injured he must have become unconscious before he could bale out, so continued down into the sea leaving a trail of smoke and flame. Thus nine RAF fighters had been lost during the operation, and apart from Finucane's claim, only 611 Squadron managed to hit anything, putting in reports for one Me109 destroyed and another as a probable.\n\nGerman fighter pilots put in several victory claims. I.\/JG3 five Spitfires and one Hurricane, including two for Ltn. Helmut Meckel of the 2nd Staffel, his tenth and eleventh kills. Three Spitfires and four Hurricanes by III.\/JG3, including three for Oblt. Peter Ostholt of the Stab (Staff) Staffel, his first confirmed claims of the war. Feldwebel Wilhelm Philipp from 4.\/JG26 got in on the party by claiming his eighth victory, a Spitfire near Neufch\u00e2tel at 1415. In all, twelve Hurricanes and nine Spitfires claimed - a total of twenty-one victories. Actual RAF losses were five Hurricanes and four Spitfires, including two Hurricanes of 615 that collided over Dover.\n\nFurther Sweeps were flown over the Channel after Circus 2 had returned but little was seen. Blenheims from 16 Group of Coastal Command went out to attack three destroyers that had been reported north of Calais, escorted by the Hornchurch Wing, but no ships were found and the Blenheims bombed an alternate coastal target. No enemy aircraft were seen by any of the RAF fighter pilots on these two later operations.\n\nA full report by Sholto Douglas was sent to the Secretary of State for Air, at the Air Ministry, dated 5 February. Again it is of interest that the word Circus was not mentioned, merely referring to an offensive operation.\n\n**Circus No.3 or 4 (!) \u2013 10 February**\n\nIt is strange that although what was later referred to as Circus No.3, was flown on 5 February, as detailed above, 'another' Circus numbered No.3 was also shown as being flown on the 10th \u2013 in fact one of three flown this day. Obviously it was a confused time with these and other operations, and probably it was much later that someone decided to start a numbering system for record purposes and an error had crept in.\n\nThe first operation on the 10th called for six Blenheims of 114 Squadron, from Horsham St. Faith, to be escorted by the North Weald Wing (56, 249 and 17 Squadrons), to attack Dunkirk between 1220 and 1230. Without any interference, the bombers dropped their loads from 7\u20138,000 feet, being seen to fall in the tidal basin, then smoke began billowing from buildings on the dock side.\n\nTwo of the escort squadrons did not encounter hostile aircraft, but 249 was attacked by a number of Me109s, and they claimed two shot down. One enemy pilot was seen to bale out and the other Messerschmitt crashed on the beach near Dunkirk. One other 109 was claimed as a probable. 249 Squadron lost one pilot, P\/O W. L. Davis, who was wounded and ended up as a prisoner, shot down by Hptm. Herbert Ihlefeld of I.\/LG2's Stab Staffel, for his twenty-sixth victory, although he claimed a Spitfire. German pilots preferred claiming Spitfires, just as they preferred to report being themselves shot down by a Spitfire, if in fact it had been a Hurricane!\n\nOne of the victorious RAF pilots was Micky Maciejowski of 249, who had claimed a 109 exactly a month earlier on Circus No.1. His combat report of 10 February stated:\n\n'I was Red 2. I was flying 1,000 feet higher than the leader who was at 14,000 ft. I saw 3 Me109s attacking the formation below me. I dived down and did a steep climbing turn and delivered a \u00be stern attack with deflection with a long burst of 5 or 6 seconds. The e\/a turned on its back immediately and the pilot baled out although the aircraft had given no sign of injury. I then looked around and saw a dogfight a long way above me but as I could not reach them, I dived to 700 ft and returned home.'\n\nThe German pilot may have been Unteroffizier (Uffz) Karl Ryback of I.\/LG2, whose 109 went into the sea. Ryback did not survive. Other pilots claiming victories this day were Sgt S. Brzeski and Sgt C. Palliser. In his log-book, 'Titch' Palliser noted a probable 109. Leutnant Adolf Steckmeyer of II.\/JG51 was on the receiving end of a fighter attack. Palliser recorded:\n\n'I circled at 3,000 feet with Red 3 and saw three 109s. I picked out one and fired at about 400 yards, and saw huge pieces of his port wing fly off. I turned and saw one of our Hurricanes being attacked by a 109. I dived, giving a quarter attack to his starboard side. After two 2-second bursts half of the 109 blew up as he tried to turn away. While I was following him down, I gave one more burst, and that was the finish. I was now only 20 or 30 feet above the water.\n\n'I followed the badly crippled 109 close to the beach, when a tracer came over my wing. I turned violently, and a 109 flashed past. I pulled the aircraft round slightly and fired at the fleeing 109, when my two starboard guns jammed. The recoil of the port cannons meant that the firing had stopped on the starboard side and my aircraft performed like a motor car skidding.\n\n'When I straightened up, I saw Flight Lieutenant [A. G.] Lewis, a South African who was flying as Yellow 2, and had been fired at by the 109 that was on my tail. He later substantiated my claim that the pilot had been killed and had been seen to crash on the beach.'\n\n**Circus No.4 \u2013 10 February**\n\nAt the same time that Circus No.3 was put in motion, Circus No.4, six Blenheims of 59 Squadron, carried out an offensive sweep from Manston, escorted by the Kenley Wing (615 and 1 Squadrons, plus a Flight of 605 Squadron). Their target was the harbour of Boulogne, and timed to coincide with the Dunkirk raid. Perhaps the confusion over the Circus number was because 59 Squadron was part of Coastal Command (16 Group), so not part of 2 Group Bomber Command's operations.\n\nThe bombers claimed hits in the target area resulting in several large fires being started and although flak was heavy, none of the Blenheims were hit. Upon their return, the bomber crews were enthusiastic about the co-operation they had received from the fighter escort. While these two operations were in full swing, the Hornchurch squadrons, 41, 611 and 64, carried out an offensive sweep twenty minutes after the two bomb attacks, termed as a 'mopping up' mission, in order to provide cover as the bombers returned across the Channel.\n\n**Circus No.5 \u2013 10 February**\n\nSix Blenheims, again from Coastal Command's 59 Squadron, comprised the raiding force to Circus No.5, which was targeting Calais at between 1620 and 1630 this same afternoon. Again operating from Manston, they were escorted by the Northolt Wing, 601, 303, 266 and 46 Squadrons, with Hornchurch again providing the 'mopping up' part of the scheme. Hornchurch pilots first positioned themselves above Canterbury then commenced a sweep as the attack ended. Bombs fell in the harbour, exploding amongst barges and a goods train and the rail track, as well as some harbour buildings.\n\nEnemy reaction was slight, but Me109s did engage 601 Squadron, who lost P\/O R. C. Lawson, who was seen to fall into the sea. 46 Squadron was also attacked, shooting down one Hurricane (pilot lost) with another pilot wounded. The latter, Sgt D. J. Steadman, crash-landed on a sandbank off the English coast and swam to shore. German pilots claimed two victories. Hauptmann (Hptm.) Lothar Keller, Stab Staffel II.\/JG3 a Hurricane at 1742, while Herbert Ihlefeld claimed his second kill of the day, 'another Spitfire' at 1735.\n\nThere is a report by 11 Group of Fighter Command that details these three numbered Circuses (III, IV and V), although there is another reference to one action being a Roadstead Operation. Perhaps this caused confusion in the numbering sequence of these early Circus operations, especially as Coastal Command aircraft had taken part. Ordinarily, a Roadstead was an operation against shipping in the Channel, whereas all three of the day's missions had been against harbour installations at Dunkirk, Boulogne and Calais.\n\n* * *\n\nGroup Captain C. A. Bouchier, at 11 Group HQ, wrote the report on these operations and his conclusions state:\n\n'(i) | That these three operations were highly successful. The notable feature being, that the British forces were entirely unmolested throughout. The fighter cover provided being adequate to enable them to concentrate on the accurate bombing of the target.\n\n---|---\n\n(ii) | That the Germans appear now to be putting up standing patrols of fighters which is one of the objects of these operations. He still appears, however, to be reluctant to fight as a whole, but is prepared, with a height advantage, to pick off stragglers.\n\n(iii) | That unless it is necessary for the accurate bombing of vital targets to bomb from 7\u20138,000 ft, it would be less of an embarrassment to our escort fighters if the bombing was carried out, in such operations as these, from a height of, say, 15,000 feet.'\n\nIt is obvious these early Circus operations were just the start of a large learning curve that was about to engulf Fighter Command and 2 Group, Bomber Command. During the Battle of Britain the previous summer, AVM Keith Park had seen that in the latter stages following heavy bomber casualties, there was no real reason to engage pure fighter sweeps, or _Frei Jagds_ as they were called, for fighters on their own above England were of little danger. Therefore, he ordered his squadrons not to engage unless bombers were present. G\u00f6ring, therefore, had started sending over bomb-carrying Me109s, escorted by other 109s, in order to force RAF fighters up and into combat.\n\nNow, as 1941's offensive actions got underway, the tables were reversed and while it was an enthusiastic bunch of RAF fighter pilots that were eager to be part of a large contingent of Spitfires and Hurricanes ranging over northern France, German fighter pilots also decided that, unless there was a positive chance of making an attack, hopefully pick off a straggler, and then dive away inland, there was little reason to engage these huge formations. Rather than stick a bomb or two under a Spitfire or a Hurricane for their nuisance value, the RAF decided that twin-engined bombers going for specific targets was the best way of forcing the Luftwaffe up to a fight.\n\nTypical of the Luftwaffe's tactic of 'sniping' at RAF fighters on patrols rather than the direct escorts, was demonstrated on 11 February while 74 and 66 Squadrons were flying a Sweep from Boulogne to Gravelines. The weather was cloudy with excellent visibility, and some flak was encountered that probably helped German fighters find the Spitfires, which were at 18,000 feet. Suddenly five Me109s dived down from cloud cover, right on the tail of 66 Squadron, and one Spitfire, whose pilot had fallen slightly back about 100 yards from the rest, was hit and went down out of control. Another pilot dived to try and identify the falling colleague but was attacked by two Me109s. Taking violent evasive action he was lucky to escape. 66 Squadron began splitting up and circling. When the two squadrons eventually returned to base, they found that a second Spitfire had failed to return. Although Fighter Sweeps, like Circuses, would continue into 1941 and later into 1942\u20133, there were commanders who had yet to be fully convinced about these offensive operations, especially when Britain's fighter force was still licking its wounds after 1940. Following the action on 11 February, Sholto Douglas wrote to Leigh-Mallory on the 12th:\n\nMy Dear Leigh-Mallory,\n\nI am still not happy about these offensive sweeps. I see that we had two more pilots missing yesterday. I know, of course, that one cannot conduct offensive operations without incurring some casualties, but one does expect to get a 'quid-pro-quo' for one's own casualties in the form of enemy aircraft shot down.\n\nOur idea was to go over the other side and leap on the enemy from a great height in superior numbers; instead of which it looks as though we ourselves are being leapt on.\n\nI am certain that the main trouble is that we are going over too low. In the last war, when we had these big offensive sweeps, we always went over very high, with one squadron right up at the ceiling of our aircraft. I think that we ought to be doing the same now. Your top squadron should be somewhere at about 30,000 ft and there should not be too wide height intervals between squadrons; this means that your lowest squadron (with the bombers) ought to be not lower than 18,000 ft. (The enemy is patrolling at about 20,000 ft, so far as I can judge.)\n\nWill you please have another think? In the meantime I should be glad if you will go slow on Offensive Sweeps for a day or so, while we are cogitating.\n\nWe are sending you in an official letter one or two comments on your Operation Instruction for \"Circus\" Operations. It is very full and thorough, but we have one or two alterations or amplifications to suggest.\n\nOn 13 February, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal KCB DSO & Bar MC, wrote to Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse KCB DSO AFC, AOC-in-C, at HQ Bomber Command, High Wycombe:\n\nMy Dear Peirse,\n\nThank you for your secret letter date 12th February on the subject of formation bombing in co-operation with fighter sweeps.\n\nBefore coming to the main point I would say that I cannot agree with the reflections in your para.4, namely, that these operations are desirable only if we shoot down more of the enemy than we ourselves lose, or also inflict material damage by our bombing. I regard the exercise of the initiative as in itself an extremely important factor in morale, and I would willingly accept equal loss or even more in order to throw the enemy on to the defensive, and give our own units the moral superiority gained by doing most of the fighting on the other side.\n\nBut to come to the main point I really do not see that we need incur losses as heavy as we inflict on the enemy unless we spoil the chances of the fighters by tying them too much to the bomber operations. We want to translate the initiative into practical terms of numbers, height and a tactical plan, and above all we must avoid falling between the two stools of fighting and bombing. If I thought that two Blenheim squadrons used against four Channel ports on fine days and with fighter support, and on other days with cloud cover, could really 'deny' these ports as invasion bases or as coast-wise shipping ports, I should be only too anxious that the fighters should conform, but I think you will agree on further reflection that this result could not, in fact, be achieved. We can certainly harass the ports and keep the enemy on the jump by light sporadic attacks, and as these also make it hard for the enemy to ignore us when we go over there, they fit in very well with the purpose of the fighter operations. I suppose that with luck the Blenheims can bomb and get away before much opposition develops, and that by varying our tactics we can ensure that he will often have to put his fighters up.\n\nI do not like the word 'bait' and it need not be mentioned to the Blenheims. They are doing a useful job in harassing the invasion ports and at the same time they are playing an important part in our efforts to get the initiative back from the enemy. This is clearly explained in the first paragraph of your directive.\n\nI think the best thing would be that you and Douglas to whom I am sending a copy of this letter, should discuss it between you and then, if you are not agreed or if anything is not clear, you should both come and see me about it. I would probably manage Saturday morning or Monday afternoon. Will you let me know?\n\nTo this letter, Sholto Douglas replied on the 15th:\n\nI was very glad to get your letter of 13 February on the subject of formation Bombing in co-operation with fighter sweeps. It expresses exactly my own views on the subject.\n\nYou will be glad to know that Peirse and I had a discussion this morning with Leigh-Mallory and representatives from No.2 Group. We first of all reached agreement on the wording of the object of these operations. It reads as follows:\n\n'The object of these attacks is to force the enemy to give battle under conditions tactically favourable to our fighters. In order to compel him to do so the bombing must cause sufficient damage to make it impossible for him to ignore them and refuse to fight on our terms.'\n\nWe also discussed a number of tactical points and reached agreement on these also. We shall not therefore have to worry you any further I hope.\n\n* * *\n\nObviously there was still much to learn and absorb. In the weeks that were to follow, Fighter Command committed its forces into a war of attrition with the Luftwaffe over northern France. It was unfortunate, however, that the enthusiasm of the RAF fighter pilots often let them see what their heads wanted to see, rather than what their eyes actually saw. It was readily believed by the higher echelons of the RAF that their young pilots were clawing 'huge gaps' in the ranks of the Luftwaffe, so much so that it would not be long before the Luftwaffe would be down to its 'last fifty Messerschmitts'.\n\nIf this phrase seems familiar, one only has to refer to a similar phrase that the Luftwaffe High Command had told its fighter pilots in 1940, that (according to their intelligence reports, coloured by Luftwaffe claims) the RAF 'are down to their last fifty Spitfires.' The truth, of course, is that if claims of enemy aircraft destroyed were simply taken on face value, the losses would be horrendous and unsustainable. What was happening in reality, was that just as in World War One, if a pilot got into trouble, it was far easier to feign being hit and head down, either in a spin, or pretending to be disabled. Most sensible pilots would not follow a seemingly crippled opponent down. For one thing he would open himself up to an attack from a second hostile pilot, and for another, he would not want to sacrifice his height in the middle of a battle. Once the 'crippled' machine was clear of danger, its pilot would then level out and go home, a wiser man, and still intact.\n\nBy 1941 British Intelligence had enough information coming in from a variety of sources to know that Fighter Command was not inflicting the amount of damage on the Luftwaffe that its pilots were reporting. It was just the same for the Germans. Fighting over hostile territory, there was no way of confirming how many aircraft had actually fallen, crashed, blown up, been abandoned, or swallowed up by the sea. If on a given day the RAF Communiqu\u00e9s reported twenty German fighters shot down over France, the Intelligence boys would soon suspect that this was twice the actual losses. The 'powers that be' at Fighter Command must have realised this too and been well aware of the numbers game, but why did they not try to temper operations in the light of these figures? Was there any reason to go over France, lose perhaps one Blenheim and a dozen fighters, when actual German losses were, perhaps, five, even though many more had been claimed. And why were the claimants being decorated for high scores of enemy machines shot down, when they were failing to do so? It is with this background that I continue to record the operations around these Circus operations during the year of 1941.\n\nOf course, it has also to be taken into account that many of the Battle of Britain veterans had now left front-line operations and been sent off on rest, instructing, and so on. There was now a massive influx of new and untried pilots reaching the squadrons, who, while keen to do their best, had not been given sufficient time at Operational Training Units to bring them to an operational status and mind-set. Their leaders still in combat were becoming increasingly tired and due for a rest too. Other experienced pilots were also being sent to Malta and the North African Desert.\n\nAs far as the air leaders were concerned, it was virtually World War One all over again, this time the trenches had become the English Channel, and in persisting in Trenchard's old doctrine of 'taking the war to the enemy', RAF fighter pilots were becoming the 'cannon fodder' of the present war.\n\n1. Whitney Straight had been awarded the Military Cross for activities in Norway in April 1940. He had helped select and then clear (smooth out the ice) the frozen Lake Lesjaskog in order that fighter aircraft could operate from it.\n\n2. On 9 February, Wing Commander Broadhurst wrote to HQ 11 Group about this apparent failure to rendezvous by his Hornchurch Wing, saying that his pilots had been at the RV within a minute of the schedule, and seeing no aircraft, presumed that 1230 had been the leaving time and not the RV time, so had headed for France.\n_Chapter 2_\n\n**Step by Step**\n\nFollowing these initial Circus operations, there was a lull until the next one. The weather played a part, it was still the depths of winter, but the occasional Sweep was flown and a few Rhubarb sorties. The Luftwaffe pilots were still keen to press on and mounted their _Frei Jagds_ over southern England whenever they could. In some ways these were like the RAF's Rhubarbs, except they preferred to go after aircraft or airfields near the coast. And they had some successes.\n\nOn 14 February, 66 Squadron was on patrol along with 64 Squadron, and were bounced by 109s. One 66 machine was shot down into the sea, two others damaged, their pilots wounded, while one 64 Squadron aircraft, also damaged, had to make a crash-landing. JG52 were the culprits, although LG2 also put in claims \u2013 a total of fifteen Spitfires between them! Perhaps these numbers would please the Reichsmarschall. The next day 66 Squadron had another pilot wounded by a roving Me109 pilot, and had to crash-land at RAF Manston. On the 17th, 91 Squadron had a Spitfire shot up by a 109 and had to crash-land near Folkestone, while on the 20th, German ace Werner M\u00f6lders, leader of JG51, surprised Spitfires of 41 Squadron on patrol and shot down two, both pilots being killed. M\u00f6lders bagged another Spitfire on the 25th, shot down off Gravelines, his fifty-ninth kill, and another pilot also claimed a victory. 611 Squadron was on an escort sortie but only lost one pilot; the 19-year-old RAF pilot never knew what hit him. RAF pilots did claim three 109s destroyed, plus a probable off Dunkirk, and JG51 did indeed suffer one pilot killed and another crash-landed.\n\n* * *\n\nA review of the early Circus operations had been undertaken and on 16 February Fighter Command's 11 Group HQ issued a Secret Operation Instruction, outlining how these missions were to be flown and organised. It was still very early days of course, but it is worth reading, especially in the light of how things gradually changed over the summer as more experience was gained:\n\nCIRCUS OPERATIONS\n\nOBJECT OF THESE OPERATIONS\n\n1. | (i) | To lay down principles which are to govern the carrying out of all air operations in which No.11 Group Fighter Squadrons are taking part in company with, Bomber aircraft supplied by either No.2 Group, Bomber Command, or No.16 Group, Coastal Command, or both. (Such operations to be known as CIRCUS 1, CIRCUS 2, etc.,)\n\n---|---|---\n\n|\n\n(ii) | By providing a clear definition of the roles of each part of the force comprising a CIRCUS; an explanation of the operational terms which will be used when issuing executive orders for a CIRCUS; and an outline of the methods which will be adopted in carrying out a CIRCUS, it is hoped to lay on a CIRCUS Operation at short notice and with a minimum of words in the executive order.\n\nDEFINITION OF TERMS\n\n2. | (i) | ZERO DAY Is the day on which the operation will be carried out, and which will be communicated whenever practicable, to all concerned the evening before.\n\n---|---|---\n\n|\n\n(ii) | ZERO HOUR Is the time all Bomber and Fighter Squadrons (unless otherwise ordered) are to Rendezvous at 15,000 feet over selected places, and SET COURSE FOR OBJECTIVE at 180 m.p.h. indicated.\n\n|\n\n(iii) | FRENCH That part of the French coastline which a CIRCUS is to cross and re-cross LANDFALL on their outward and return journey respectively.\n\nINFORMATION.\n\n3. | (i) | The German Air Force in occupied territory have by day been comparatively undisturbed by offensive action on our part.\n\n---|---|---\n\n|\n\n(ii) | The initiative has been entirely theirs until recently, to be active as and when they pleased. We have been forced continually to stand on the defensive prepared at any moment to meet attacks of the enemy's choosing.\n\n|\n\n(iii) | The German Air Force has so far been defeated in major daylight engagements against this Country, but their morale has held because they have had opportunity to recuperate at rest in their bases, where it has been unnecessary for them to be constantly on the alert against possible counter attack.\n\n|\n\n(iv) | As a result of our Circus operations to date, the Germans have now started to put up standing patrols, and these show signs of increasing with each operation. (See also paragraph 5 (vi) DISCIPLINE).\n\n|\n\n(v) | Important targets exist in certain of the enemy-occupied Channel Ports, and in addition there are also many military establishments, concentrations of supplies, and a number of aerodromes or landing grounds in northern France suitable for attack.\n\n|\n\n(vi) | Nos.2 and 16 Groups wish to take advantage of our ability to provide escorts in order to attack these targets by day.\n\n|\n\n(vii) | No.11 Group require these Bombing operations to bring the enemy to action on our own terms under conditions favourable to our Fighters.\n\nINTENTION.\n\n4. | The object of these attacks is to force the enemy to give battle under conditions tactically favourable to our Fighters. In order to compel him to do so the Bombers must cause sufficient damage to make it impossible for him to ignore them and refuse to fight on our terms.\n\n---|---\n\nEXECUTION.\n\nSELECTION OF TARGETS.\n\n5. | (i) | A.O.C., No.11 Group in consultation with A.O.C's No.2 and\/or No.16 Group will select the targets, and the ZERO HOUR, after considering all Intelligence and Meteorological information available. Invariably, a secondary target will be selected and stated in the executive order. The secondary target is to be attacked only when the primary target has not been located, and to avoid the Bombers having to return with their loads of bombs.\n\n---|---|---\n\n|\n\n(ii) | ALLOTMENT OF FORCES AND THEIR ROLES.\n\n|  | (a) | BOMBER FORCE.\n\n|  | |\n\nThe Bomber Force is required to cross the French coastline at not less than 17,000 feet. This height is not to be reduced during the actual bombing attack and withdrawal until the English coast has been regained.\n\n|  | (b) | ESCORT WING.\n\n|  | |\n\nAn \"Escort\" Wing will usually consist of three Squadrons, and is to fly in the following manner:\n\n|  | |\n\nThe \"CLOSE ESCORT\" Squadron is to fly at 1,000 feet above and slightly behind the higher or highest box of Bombers throughout the attack and the subsequent withdrawal to safely behind the English coastline. They are NOT to leave the Bombers except to repel attacks actually made on the Bombers until approaching their respective Home bases. The Squadron to act as Close Escort is to be detailed by the appropriate Sector Commander.\n\n|  | |\n\nThe \"ESCORT\" Squadrons. The remaining two Squadrons of the Escort Wing to be known as the Escort Squadrons, are to fly one on each flank, behind, and not more than 3,000 feet and 5,000 feet respectively above the higher or highest box of Bombers. They are to engage enemy aircraft which menace the formation of Bombers.\n\n|  | |\n\nAfter the attack has taken place they are to continue to escort the Bombers on their homeward journey until the French coastline has been re-crossed and the Bombers are well set on their course for home. They are then free, together with the High Cover Wing, to take advantage of the situation, and seek out and destroy enemy aircraft.\n\n|  | (c) | HIGH COVER WING.\n\n|  | |\n\nIn certain circumstances a Wing of two or three Squadrons may be detailed as \"High Cover\" to the Bombers, in addition to the Escort Wing. The High Cover Wing is to fly behind the Escort Wing, and with their Squadrons stepped downwards at intervals of 2,000 to 3,000 feet from not less than 30,000 feet, and to the flanks of the Escort wing, as indicated hereunder.\n\n|  | |\n\nSquadron | Height\n\n|  | |\n\nBombers | 17,000 feet.\n\n|  | |\n\nClose Escort | 18,000 feet.\n\n|  | |\n\nLower Escort | 20,000 feet.\n\n|  | |\n\nHigher Escort | 22,000 feet.\n\n|  | |\n\nLowest High Cover | 25,000 feet.\n\n|  | |\n\nMiddle High Cover | 27,000 feet.\n\n|  | |\n\nTop High Cover | 30,000 feet, or higher but in visual contact with Squadrons below.\n\n|  | |\n\nInvariably the Leader of the High Cover Wing is to lead the lower or lowest Squadron.\n\n|  | |\n\nHigh Cover Squadrons, other than the Top Squadron, are permitted to reduce height to attack enemy aircraft in the air. The Squadron flying at the top and acting as 'Above Guard' to the other Squadron or Squadrons, is to maintain a protective position above the other Squadrons, and only fight if forced to do so for the protection of the remainder.\n\n|  | |\n\nAfter the bombing attack has taken place, the High Cover Wing is to continue to give cover to the Bombers and the Escort Wing during the withdrawal until the former with their Close Escort have re-crossed the French Coastline and are well set on their course for home. They are then to provide High Cover to the two Escort Squadrons of the Escort Wing, who also become free from their escort duties, to seek out and destroy enemy aircraft.\n\n|  | (d) | MOPPING UP WING.\n\n|  | |\n\nA Wing of two or three Squadrons may be detailed as a \"Mopping Up\" Wing. At a height of between 25,000 to 30,000 feet, and by careful timing, they are to arrive off the French Coast in an \"up Sun\" position, at the same time and place as the Bombers and their Close Escort Squadron will re-cross it.\n\n|  | |\n\nTheir role is to protect the Bombers and their Close Escort Squadron during their return to the English Coast, thus freeing the High Cover Wing and Escort Squadrons to enable the latter to carry out their main role of engaging enemy aircraft.\n\n|  | |\n\nWhen the Bombers are safely across the Straits, the Mopping Up Wing should, if possible, sweep towards the French Coast to render assistance to the other two Wings, particularly during their homeward journey.\n\n|\n\n(iii) | RENDEZVOUS: Is the place over which assembly of Bombers and Fighters (except the Mopping Up Wing) is to take place. Normally this is to be at 15,000 feet at one of the following places, NORTH WEALD, BIGGIN HILL or NORTHOLT.\n\n|  | When Rendezvous has to be made under cloudy conditions, it will be necessary for one aircraft of each Squadron taking part to obtain a Contactor Zero, in order to enable appropriate Sector Controllers to maintain their Squadrons in visual touch with each other, and to assist their Squadrons or Wings in making assembly with the Bombers. It is essential, however, that R\/T silence is maintained except for \"vectors\" given by Controllers to enable assembly to be made. Aircraft in the air are only to break R\/T silence for acknowledgments and to inform their appropriate Controllers, by means of a simple code word that Assembly has been effected.\n\n|  | Sector Controllers will facilitate assembly by arranging with appropriate Observer Corps Centres for the track of the Bombers from their Home Stations to the Rendezvous to be plotted on their Operations Room tables.\n\n|\n\n(iv) | APPROACH TO THE TARGET.\n\n|  | The direction and method of approach to the Target will be left to the discretion of the Leader of the Bomber formation. Whenever practicable, he should endeavour to bomb without delay in formation, and at the height ordered. The Leader of the Bomber formation should realise, that an indirect course or undue circling of the target, give the enemy Fighters an opportunity to obtain the tactical advantage of height and position. Similarly, he should endeavour to turn gently on to his target in formation. Any sudden and violent turns on to the target by single aircraft make it difficult for the Close Escort and Escort Squadrons to conform without straggling and loss of cohesion, and thus, not only the Bombers, but the Fighters also, become vulnerable to attack by enemy aircraft.\n\n|\n\n(v) | WITHDRAWAL AFTER ATTACK.\n\n|  | The direction and method of withdrawal from the Target will be left to the discretion of the Leader of the Bomber formation. He should, however, endeavour to withdraw by means of a gradual turn towards the point of re-crossing the French Coast, at the same time maintaining the same height and speed as on the Inward Journey. It is important that the speed and method of withdrawal of the Bombers is regulated so that there is no tendency to straggle, either on the part of the Bombers, or Close Escort Squadron and Wing.\n\n|  | On the homeward journey, all aircraft are to make for and re-cross the English Coast at one of the three Sea Rescue Boat Rendezvous, as indicated below: -\n\n|  | (a) | From the DUNKIRK area... | Aircraft are to make for NORTH FORELAND.\n\n|  | (b) | From the CALAIS area....... | Aircraft are to make for DOVER.\n\n|  | (c) | From the BOULOGNE area .. | Aircraft are to make for DUNGENESS.\n\n|  | Additional Fighter Cover for the withdrawal and return of our Forces after the attack, will be provided by a \"Mopping up\" Wing, as ordered by A.O.C. No.11 Group. (See \"Mopping Up\" Wing \u2013 paragraph 5 (ii)).\n\n|\n\n(vi) | DISCIPLINE.\n\n|  | Fighter Squadrons taking part are reminded of the importance of not only maintaining visual contact with the Bombers and other Fighter formations, as applicable, but of Pilots remaining in close mutual support of each other. Fighter formations must, however, be flexible \u2013 \"Hendon\" formations are vulnerable.\n\n|  | The object of CIRCUS operations, from a Fighter point of view, is to destroy enemy Fighters enticed up into the air, using the tactical advantage of surprise, height and Sun. It is important, therefore, for all Fighters to maintain good air discipline, and only to leave their formation if ordered to do so by the formation Leader. Such orders should only be issued when an attack is to be delivered against enemy aircraft, or a particularly favourable target is sighted, under conditions where those detached to attack can be protected by the remainder of the formation.\n\n|  | The experience of previous Operations shows that our casualties in the past, have almost invariably been inflicted upon the \"stragglers\", and those Pilots who still disregard the dangers of flying alone \"down Sun\", without constantly turning their aircraft to left and right, and who fail to keep a sharp look-out above and behind.\n\n|  | Leaders of Squadron and Wing formations are to ensure that their Pilots realise the vital importance to each one of them, of not straggling, and that they themselves, endeavour to regulate their speed at all times to assist in eliminating straggling.\n\nCOMMUNICATIONS.\n\n6. | (i) | Signal arrangements and operational frequencies allotted to Wings taking part will be communicated in the \"COMMUNICATIONS\" paragraph of the appropriate Circus Operations Order.\n\n---|---|---\n\n|\n\n(ii) | As it is anticipated that Bombers taking part in these operations will invariably be operating from their Home aerodromes, any RECALL signal required to be passed to the Bombers in the air will be passed by Controller, No.11 Group to the Bomber Group concerned over land-line, for onward transmission by W\/T.\n\n|\n\n(iii) | Strict W\/T and R\/T silence is normally to be maintained throughout assembly, rendezvous and approach, except under the circumstances described in para. 5 (iii) above and in the event of enemy aircraft being sighted. As soon as the coast of France is crossed, however, on the outward journey, all Signals restrictions will be pre-warned.\n\n7. | REFUELLING.\n\n|\n\nIn the event of shortage of petrol necessitating refuelling of Fighter aircraft, the forward aerodromes of MANSTON and HAWKINGE will be available for this purpose, and Servicing Parties will be pre-warned.\n\n8. | WEATHER.\n\n|\n\nCIRCUS Operations will only take place under suitable weather conditions, which will be decided by A.O.C., No.11 Group, in consultation with the Bomber or Coastal Groups or Squadrons concerned.\n\n|\n\nThe Group Controller is to obtain weather forecasts for the area of the proposed operations, and in addition, on Zero Day, he is to obtain hourly weather reports, as indicated, from all Bomber and Fighter aerodromes concerned.\n\n9. | RESCUE ORGANISATION.\n\n|\n\n(i) | BOATS.\n\n|  | (a) | The attention of all Pilots and Controllers is drawn to the Rescue Organisation as laid down in 11G\/S.53\/Ops, 2, dated 6th January 1941, and to the regulations for Air\/Sea Rescue forwarded under even reference dated 9th January, 1941. The attention of Pilots is in particular drawn to Appendix \"C\" of the former. (Rendezvous Positions and Areas to be avoided if possible by Pilots in distress).\n\n|  | (b) | As soon as Zero Hour is known on Zero Day, the Group Staff Officer is to give advance warning to the appropriate Naval Authority that rescue boats will be required, and at the same time is to notify the Director of Sea Rescue Services. (See para. 28 of the regulations for Air Sea Rescue). He is also to notify the Rescue Service Officer at Area Combined Headquarters, at No.16 Group CHATHAM.\n\n|  | (c) | At Zero Hour minus 30 minutes the Group Staff Officer on the authority of the Group Controller is to request the appropriate Naval Rendezvous position.\n\n|\n\n(ii) | LYSANDERS.\n\n|  | (a) | As soon as Zero Hour is known on Zero Day the Group Staff Officer is to request the Group Controller to consider the question of reinforcing the Lysander Aircraft in the area in which operations are to take place by Lysanders from adjacent areas. For example, when operations are taking place in the Dover Area one of the Shoreham Lysanders might be moved to Manston for the duration of the operation. At Zero Hour minus 30 minutes the Group Staff Officer, on the authority of the Group Controller, is to order the Lysander crews to an Advanced State of Preparedness.\n\n|  | (b) | When the Boats are ordered to Rendezvous positions the Group Staff Officer, on the authority of the Controller, is to order one Lysander to patrol the area not above 3,000 feet.\n\n|  | (c) | When a Lysander is ordered on patrol or search the Group Controller is to provide it with an escort of 2 Hurricanes or 2 Spitfire aircraft.\n\n* * *\n\nNever one to miss an opportunity to make reports was the new OC of 11 Group, AVM Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Ever since he had advocated, with the support of Douglas Bader, that fighter Wings would be more effective against German raiders, he had tried to win over others to his view. As it turned out, fighter Wings were starting to become the way forward, but they were not totally useful in the Battle of Britain, where the early interception of German bombers was paramount. This is not the place to discuss the 1940 Wing controversy, but L-M, now in charge of Fighter Command's premier Group, and being close to Sholto Douglas, gave him the opportunity to air his views again, especially as sweeps by several fighter squadrons over northern France were being tried out. On 17 February 1941, he wrote what he called a memo on the subject:\n\nMemorandum on the Employment and Training of Wings and Circuses\n\n  1. During the air battle in the autumn of 1940, the enemy employed mass formations of bombers and fighters with the object of destroying our fighter defence, and inflicting damage at vital points. It is probable that an even heavier scale of attack may have to be encountered in the spring of 1941. To meet these large enemy formations it is inadequate to dispatch small formations of fighters which are unlikely to succeed in stopping the enemy bombers \u2013 (though, if they are the only force available they must, of course, endeavour to do so). It is therefore necessary to meet this type of attack with large formations, which are capable of providing protection against the enemy fighter screen for those fighters whose role is to break up the enemy bomber formations and to destroy the bombers. To operate in these large formations requires careful training, and a complete understanding between the leaders of the components of such a force. It has therefore been decided to organise Wings throughout 11 Group, which will be composed of 2 or 3 squadrons. These Wings will, on occasions, operate in Circuses, which will be composed of 2 or more Wings.\n\n  2. The object of employing Wings and Circuses in offensive operations is to provide the necessary number of fighters - working in co-operation and giving mutual support \u2013 to establish air superiority over the enemy in his own country.\n\n  3. The object of employing Wings and Circuses in defence is to engage powerful enemy formations with sufficient large numbers to:\n\n(i) | Stop the enemy bombers reaching their objectives.\n\n---|---\n\n(ii) | Break up the enemy bomber formations.\n\n(iii) | Annihilate the enemy when the breaking up process has been achieved.\n\n(iv) | To have sufficient aircraft to provide protection against enemy escorting fighters to the aircraft carrying out (i) and (ii).\n\n  4. The numbers of squadrons to be used will be governed by the size and tactics of enemy formations, and the suitability of the weather. A Wing of 3 squadrons should normally suffice to deal with a mixed force of approximately 90 enemy bombers and fighters. Against larger formations, Circuses of 4 or more squadrons will be employed.\n\n  5. The task of the Sector Controller in these operations will be to give the Wing or Circus leader such information as is calculated to bring him into contact in an advantageous position if practicable \u2013 with the main enemy forces operating at the time. The method of carrying out the attack will then be left in the hands of the leader in the air.\n\n  6. To make these operations successful, it is essential that Circuses and Wings should be able to form up in the shortest possible time at the height required. Stations are to practise this at every opportunity, and to carry out frequent Circus training with the stations to which they are affiliated.\n\n  7. It is intended that each Sector should produce its own Wing, but the following will normally supply the Wings comprising Circuses:\n\nDebden\/North Weald | Hurricane Wing\n\n---|---\n\nHornchurch | Spitfire Wing\n\nKenley | Hurricane Wing\n\nTangmere | Spitfire Wing\n\n  8. For the purpose of training and operations, the Debden and North Weald Wings and the Hornchurch Wing will be affiliated, and the Kenley and Tangmere Wings will be affiliated. The smooth and rapid assembly of the Wings at height will need a high standard of performance on the part of the Sector Controllers, and this will need considerable practise before active operations start.\n\n  9. Similarly, the arrangements for the starting up, taking off and the joining up of squadrons forming a Wing at the operational height and on the patrol line ordered by the Group Controller in the shortest possible time, call for a high standard or organisation on the part of the station and squadron commanders, and continual practise in control by Sector Controllers, particularly of joining squadrons up into a Wing above 10\/10ths cloud.\n\n  10. It is considered a Wing policy for squadrons to fly in the same place in the Wing each time. This will not only facilitate the assembly of the Wing and Circus in the air, but squadrons will get used to carrying out their particular part of the operation. As the role of some squadrons is less attractive than others, e.g. the top Spitfire squadron which acts as above guard may have less profitable sorties, it will probably be desirable after \u2013 say \u2013 6 operations to change the squadrons round.\n\n  11. It is often difficult to gauge the size of raids while they are still over the Channel. If a Wing has been ordered up for the interception of a large formation which subsequently turns out to be a number of small mixed raids of 20 or 30 aircraft each, then the Group Controller will order the squadrons comprising a Wing to engage separate raids.\n\n  12. If a Wing or Circus has been ordered to the interception of a powerful formation, and this formation splits before it is sighted by our Wing or Circus - as is sometimes the case \u2013 to deal with the 'splits', which may be successive. Similarly, it may be necessary to detail part of the Wing or Circus to the interception of second or third waves - which may also 'split'. All such detachments must be done before the Wing or Circus sight the enemy \u2013 afterwards it is quite impossible to persuade pilots to leave the enemy they can see, in order to intercept an enemy of whose very existence they may be dubious.\n\n  13. A great responsibility rests on the leaders of the Circus or Wing, who will often have to divide his forces on his own initiative should he see the enemy split up. It would, moreover, be economical to launch the whole of a large formation against a small number of the enemy. The leader may therefore have to make suitable detachments for such an attack - bearing in mind any information he has received from the Sector Controller as to the movement of the enemy's main forces.\n\n  14. Should the enemy revert to sending over high fighter formations carrying bombs, it will not be possible to order a Wing off to intercept as it could not reach the necessary height in time to attack. In the event of the enemy again adopting this policy, Wings would occasionally be sent up on standing patrols at about 15,000 ft, so as to be able to gain the necessary height to engage the enemy on favourable terms. These Wings will be composed of Spitfires or will have Spitfires or Hurricane IIs as the top squadron.\n\n  15. Finally, it must be borne in mind that though the squadrons of a Wing or Circus must be in visual touch, the whole formation must be flexible and loose, ready for immediate action. 'Hendon' formations may be vulnerable to enemy fighter attack and cumbersome to manoeuvre - in fact the ideal Wing or Circus formation combines flexibility with immediate readiness for action with its whole fighting strength.\n\nWhile L-M's memo still reflects the experience of the autumn of 1940 while also covering the still expected resumption of another Battle of Britain in 1941, it is obvious that he is still trying to persuade people that his Big Wing theory that he had employed from Duxford during the Battle of Britain, as encouraged by Douglas Bader, was still a valid way forward. It was in fact already starting to be used for operations over France, although L-M appears to feel it was still a way of defending Britain should the Germans continue an assault when the weather improved. It is interesting that at least by this stage, the word 'Circus' appears to have been finally agreed upon in reference to offensive operations over northern France, where the new Wing ideas would be used from now on. However, Leigh-Mallory seems equally happy to call any large fighter formation a 'Circus'.\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.6 \u2013 26 February**\n\nFinally, another Circus was laid on for 26 February and this called for twelve Blenheims from 139 Squadron, with an escort of six fighter squadrons. This operation covered the period 1045 to 1416, the target being Calais. Close escort was provided by 1, 303 and 601 Squadrons (Northolt), with High Cover by 74, 92 and 609 (Biggin Hill Wing). As this formation headed out, two fighter Sweeps were sent over to the Calais-Cap Gris Nez area to fly independently of the Circus.\n\nAfter making rendezvous above Biggin, the force headed out, climbing gradually until the enemy coast was reached at around 17,000 feet. One Blenheim failed to release its bombs due to an electrical failure but the other eleven bombed successfully, with explosions seen in the harbour and on the jetty, while some fell in the town. Moderate flak came up and some German fighters were spotted climbing up behind the town but they did not engage. Other fleeting glimpses of 109s were seen, 54 Squadron (covering 64 Squadron) actually making a move towards fifteen to twenty of them but the Germans immediately headed away. Sergeant H. Squire failed to get home and it was believed he had been hit by AA fire. In fact, he was claimed by Herbert Ihlefeld of LG2, near Calais, his thirtieth victory, and ended up a prisoner. 64 Squadron also encountered 109s, which they described as having dark blue upper surfaces, light blue undersides and yellow noses.\n\nA pilot of JG51 also put in a claim for a Spitfire and the likelihood is that this was a machine of 609 Squadron, whose pilot blacked out after his oxygen mask slipped and went into a dive. When he came round he saw two Me109s to the south and thinking they might be decoys, left them well alone.\n\nThe results were fair. Bombs on targets, two Me109s claimed as probables and only one Spitfire and pilot lost. Not that the enemy made much of an attempt at intercepting the force. In fact it was generally felt that the enemy did not react until after the attack and the bombers were back across the hostile coast, so the theory that they might be forced into making standing patrols did not hold water.\n\nLuftwaffe fighters were more active later in the day, the Stab Staffel of JG51 claiming three Hurricanes during a _Frei Jagd_ across south-east Kent. They fell on 615 Squadron (easily spotted as they were leaving contrails), killing its CO, S\/Ldr R. A. Holmwood, forcing another to bale out (P\/O C. N. Foxley-Norris), while two more Hurricanes crash-landed (P\/O D. H. Hone and Adj. G. C. Perrin of the Free French Air Force), Hone being injured. Two of these were claimed by Hptm. Hermann-Friedrich Joppien, Kommandeur of JG51, who had around thirty victories by this time. Other claimants were Major Werner M\u00f6lders and his wingman, Oblt. Horst Geyer, who both claimed fighters near Dungeness at around the same time, although they reported them initially as Spitfires. It was M\u00f6lders' sixtieth victory.\n\n**Circus No.7 \u2013 5 March**\n\nWednesday, 5 March 1941, was a fine sunny day that seemed ideal for another Circus operation, and six Blenheims of 139 Squadron were assigned. This time the target was Boulogne. Escort Wing from Northolt was 601 and 303 Squadrons, High Cover was to be provided by Tangmere's 145, 610 and 616 Squadrons, and a fighter Sweep would be flown by 54, 611, 92 and 609 Squadrons - Hornchurch and Biggin Wings. Today the Luftwaffe would react.\n\nRendezvous with the bombers was made over Hastings at 1305 hours at 16,000 feet and heading for Boulogne, the harbour was reached at 1325, having gained another 500 feet en route. There was some haze about at lower levels but clear higher up. At least the bombing height had been increased as per Sholto Douglas's letter of 12 February to Leigh-Mallory, and the bombs were seen to fall across the inner harbour, the tidal harbour, south of Bassin Loubet, a possible hit on one end of the 'Rye' bridge. A large fire, perhaps an oil installation, began almost immediately as the bombers swung away from their run and headed for home.\n\nThe Escort Wing had reached 20,000 feet as they reached the coast and as they too headed north two Me109s approached close to 601 Squadron, but they did not break away from the bombers, showing 'commendable judgement' as the 109s sheered off without attempting to attack.\n\nThe Hornchurch squadrons, 54 and 611, while still over the Channel, sent one Section from both squadrons, off to investigate a reported eighteen enemy aircraft, which turned out to be Spitfires. Subsequently, 54 Squadron proceeded to the French coast at 30,000 feet and saw several 109s 10,000 feet below and attacked. They claimed one 109 as destroyed, and three more probably destroyed, having just one Spitfire damaged. Meantime, 611 engaged five 109s they spotted from 31,000 feet, attacked and claimed two probables and one damaged for no loss. Harry Broadhurst was leading the Wing and claimed one probable and the one damaged, with P\/O Jack Stokoe claiming the one destroyed. In reality, Stokoe had not fired a shot. Having become separated in the fight, he went after a lone 109 but was then attacked by another. Stokoe skidded his Spitfire in violent evasive action, turned onto his back and saw the 109 pass below him and sent his fighter into a steep dive. Stokoe watched him go down and dive straight into the sea fifteen miles south-west of Boulogne. 2.\/JG51 lost Uffz. Arthur Lesch near Boulogne, while 5.\/JG51 claimed two Spitfires near Le Touquet. Stokoe had been with 603 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, and this was his fifth individual victory.\n\nMeantime, the High Cover Wing, having put themselves at heights between 23\u201325,000 feet had not seen either the Blenheims or their escort. Orbiting the general target area the three squadrons became split up, 145 seeing nobody, 616 encountering frosting up of Red Leader's windscreen and so they also headed back. Once separated, 610 Squadron was given a course by Control and told to orbit at 30,000 feet as 'bogeys' were reported approaching from the south-east. The squadron split into pairs in line astern and engaged four Me109s some 500 feet higher. A dogfight began and while one of the Messerschmitts was claimed as probably destroyed, four of 610 failed to get home, (one crashing at Wilmington, Sussex) with another Spitfire damaged Category [Cat] 2 [repairable at base]. Two pilots were killed, with two others taken prisoner. IV.\/JG51 claimed four Spitfires west of Boulogne.\n\nThis was a bit of a disaster and must have given Sholto Douglas further food for thought. Group Captain C. A. 'Daddy' Bouchier OBE DFC, writing up a report of the operation noted in his conclusions for the necessity for squadrons in a Wing to maintain contact with each other. He emphasised in particular that Wings must be in contact with each other in the target area, and there had been, seemingly, some problem between Sector and Group Controllers. The Sector controller had sent the High Cover Wing towards the French coast even though he knew it had been split up.\n\nBouchier also concluded: 'When our fighter squadrons were in the target areas at the heights and times ordered, serious casualties were inflicted by them on the enemy without loss to themselves, and our only losses were incurred in one squadron which, acting independently, was unwisely vectored into the target area below 30,000 feet without higher cover, with instructions to gain height in that area.'\n\nHe also remarked that in future Circus operations RAF fighters should always be able to arrive over the target area with a distinct tactical height advantage, except as regards small enemy standing patrols. (Whatever that meant?)\n\n(It is not apparent if these reports, almost always signed by Bouchier \u2013 for the AOC 11 Group \u2013 are merely Leigh-Mallory's own words or Bouchier's, but as L-M was rarely backwards in making and signing reports, it seems obvious that L-M gave Bouchier a free hand to report on these operations.) There were some obvious misgivings about the whole operation and the following report was written up by Leigh-Mallory:\n\nFighter Sweep to Boulogne 5 March 1941.\n\n  1. Three Spitfire squadrons (610, 616 and 145) were ordered to leave the ground at 1230 hours and rendezvous over Hastings at 1300 hours.\n\n  2. 610 Squadron (leader \u2013 F\/L Norris DFC) led the formation and was told to fly at 25,000 feet, with 616 at 26,000 and 145 at 30,000.\n\n  3. The formation circled Hastings at the right time and at the proper heights but failed to find the bomber formation or its escort fighters. After circling for about 20 minutes, leader asked Controller for instructions and said he was unable to contact 'friends' \u2013 Controller took 'friends' to mean other two squadrons i.e.: 616 and 145, whereas of course the leader meant the bomber formation.\n\n  4. At about 1330 hours (by which time the formation had been in the air for an hour), Control vectored its three squadrons on 100\u00ba which took them out to sea towards Boulogne.\n\n  5. About mid-Channel, leader was told by Controller that bandits were approaching from south-east in his vicinity. Immediately afterwards leader sighted 4 Me109s (yellow noses) which attacked from about 500 feet higher, apparently with great determination. A dogfight ensued and the whole squadron (610) broke up and eventually 8 pilots returned to their base singly, landing between 1410 and 1430 hours. Neither the leader nor anyone else know what happened to the 4 missing pilots, who were inexperienced and the only information I was able to obtain was that one of the pilots saw 6 other 109s approach from the south after the dogfight had been going on for some time.\n\nIn the meantime, the 2 higher squadrons (616 and 145) had lost touch with the leading squadron (610) and 616 did not see any enemy aircraft, and eventually returned to base. 145 ran short of oxygen and returned to its base at 1340 without having anything to report.\n\nConclusion\n\nThis whole operation seems to have been unfortunate and it was incredible that 4 109s with only 500 feet advantage in height should have been able to break up completely a squadron of 12 Spitfire IIs and presumably bring down 4 of them, and that no information can be obtained as to what happened.\n\nVery short notice of this operation was given by Group and in fact 610 Squadron only received orders at 1215 to leave the ground at 1230 and this was the first notification the Squadron had that there was to be a sweep, and actually at that time Red Section was in the air on an operational flight. It just had time to land and refuel and took off at 1230 with the rest of the squadron.\n\nRecommendations\n\n  1. If possible, considerably more notice should be given of a large operation of this sort so that squadron leaders can get together and discuss details. In this particular case the S\/Ldr of 610 did not know there was going to be a sweep, and as a result the Wing was led by a flight commander.\n\n  2. No operational orders have been issued as to what should be done in the event of the fighter formations missing the bomber formation.\n\n  3. Squadrons are keeping too far apart, in this case - 5,000 feet between the top and bottom squadrons - with the result that they lost each other. Squadrons should not be more than 1,000 feet apart or at any rate close enough to keep in touch.\n\n  4. If possible, squadrons detailed for sweep or large scale operations should not be given operational jobs for at least an hour before the sweep commences.\n\n  5. Pilots in 610 Squadron had breakfast at 8.30 am and were not able to obtain their next meal until 6.30 pm, when they were given 30 minutes notice until 7 pm. They expect this kind of thing when there is a 'blitz' on, but it seems rather unnecessary during the present quiet times.\n\n  6. Including time from take off to 28,000 feet, pilots run short of oxygen in about one hour and consequently have often to return from patrol. Would it not be advisable for Spitfires to carry two bottles of oxygen? Super long-range PRU Spitfires now carry 3 bottles.\n\n  7. The average number of experienced war pilots in squadrons I have visited lately is five and I don't think squadrons are being allowed nearly enough training from their experienced pilots. Squadrons ought to go up and carry out surprise attacks on each other, and especially practise regaining formation after being split up. I think perhaps fighter pilots are so busy keeping formation that they are not able to keep a good enough lookout.\n\nThe only man mentioned in this report was Flight Lieutenant S. C. Norris DFC. A pre-war airman, he had been with 610 Squadron since November 1939 and had considerable combat experience. He already had six victories with others as probables. In December 1941 he went on to command a fighter squadron on Malta, and during later periods flew in Africa and then Burma, receiving a Bar to his DFC.\n\nIt might, of course, be assumed that the German pilots that caused the casualties in 610 Squadron were also top operators, but in reality, of the six pilots who claimed to have shot down Spitfires during this operation, for one it was his third kill, for four others their second and one his first.\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.8 \u2013 13 March**\n\nThis Circus was again pitted against a French coastal target, namely the German airfield at Calais\/Marck. 139 Squadron got the job again, six Blenheims heading out at 1100 hours escorted by 56 and 249 Squadrons from North Weald, and Northolt's Polish 303 Squadron. 56 Squadron was assigned close escort at 17,000 ft, 249 at 20,000 while the Poles had the 28,000 ft spot. Hornchurch would provide 54, 64 and 611 on the first Offensive Sweep, while Tangmere's 610, 145 and 616 Squadrons had the second.\n\nThe weather on this Thursday 13 March was clear and cloudless, with excellent visibility. The Blenheims made rendezvous over Maidstone at midday at 15,000 feet which was increased to 17,000 as they crossed the Channel. The target was reached shortly before 1300. The bombers dropped down slightly as they let go 24 x 250lb and 22 x 44lb bombs across the airfield whilst in an open box formation. A number of German aircraft were seen dispersed along the south-eastern and northern boundaries, some bombs falling amongst them. They encountered a little light flak but what did come up exploded at the bomber's height.\n\nThe escort Wing kept station with the bombers and 56 and 249 were not engaged but 303, at 28,000 feet heading in, were suddenly attacked by about half a dozen Me109s, out of the sun, from 33,000 feet. They attacked singly but when the Poles turned to engage, the 109s climbed quickly and flew off. Two further attack attempts were made but neither got close.\n\nThe Hornchurch Wing swept over the target area forty minutes after the bombing and then went inland a few miles, the three squadrons stepped up between 28 to 31,000 feet. Some 109s were seen but they were unable to engage. 64 Squadron, the highest squadron, spotted a dozen 109s at 36,000 feet. The Wing Leader warned 64's CO, S\/Ldr A. R. D. MacDonnell DFC of their presence but his 'weavers' had already reported their presence. As the Wing turned north, the 109s seemed to start to follow and soon afterwards, the 109s came down in a series of short attacking dives, then swooping up again so as not to lose their height advantage. The Spitfire pilots dodged these attacks by tight evasive turns and eventually the 109s flew off. After forming up it was discovered that MacDonnell was missing.\n\nMacDonnell in fact was shot down by Werner M\u00f6lders near the French coast, and had to take to his parachute. He came down in the sea where he was later picked up by a German E-boat to begin four years as a prisoner of war. An experienced fighter pilot, MacDonnell, although actually born in Russia, was a Scot and the 22nd Chief of the Glengarry clan, and had joined the RAF through Cranwell in 1932. During the Battle of Britain he had commanded 64 Squadron, won the DFC and had numerous victories, probables and damaged to his name. He ended up in Stalag Luft III. He was Major M\u00f6lder's sixty-second victory. Pilot Officer Campbell of 64 Squadron, ran short of fuel and had to force-land near Faversham.\n\nSeveral of the other fighter squadrons had glimpses of Me109s but few engaged. 610 Squadron got into a bit of a skirmish and its pilots claimed one destroyed, one probable and one damaged without loss. However, it seems that later these claims were reduced to two probables. Although 611 did not report any combats, it is believed that one pilot was attacked and shot-up by a 109, for Sgt A. S. Darling reported damage that forced him to crash-land at Dungeness, although he was unhurt. Oberleutnant (Oblt) Hermann Staiger of 7.\/JG51 did claim a Spitfire for his tenth victory, about the time M\u00f6lders got MacDonnell.\n\nIn the action report, Group Captain Bouchier made the recommendation that only experienced pilots be used as squadron 'weavers' in order to protect the formation. Being a weaver was not a task that many relished and often the more junior pilots got the job, and that often resulted in them being picked off first.\n\nThere appeared to be signs that either the German fighters didn't react to these Circus operations, or they were reluctant to mix it with the RAF fighters. Seeing that these coastal targets were quickly reached by the bombers, that then bombed and headed home as fast as they could, didn't really give the 109 pilots time to take off and get to a good height before their adversaries were turning for home. There may have been Spitfires in the target area afterwards, but they posed no problem, and the Luftwaffe boys were sensible enough not to engage unless they could pick someone off and climb away before they became embroiled.\n\n* * *\n\nThere was now a definite lull in mounting further Circus operations, in fact it was to be more than a month before the next one. Meantime, Fighter Command continued on various missions. Patrols, the odd Rhubarb, Sweeps without bombers (that were mainly ignored as a consequence) were all flown. 2 Group Blenheims were starting a series of Roadstead sorties, which to reiterate, were attacks flown against enemy shipping off the Dutch, Belgian or French coasts. German fighters still mounted fighting missions across Kent or along the south coast of Sussex, with the occasional clash with RAF fighters. German reconnaissance and bomber aircraft often tried to zip across in marginal weather too, and there were many combats, conclusive and inconclusive, off the Kent, Suffolk and Norfolk coasts with Ju88s, Do17s or He111s.\n\n**Circus No.9 \u2013 16 April**\n\nWednesday, 16 April 1941 was a fine but cloudy day. It had been over a month since the last Circus was flown but today, six Blenheim bombers from 21 Squadron would bomb the airfield at Berck-sur-Mer at mid-afternoon. 11 Group put up 601, 303 and 306 Squadrons as close escort \u2013 the Northolt Wing, led by W\/Cdr G. A. L. Manton. It would suffer casualties.\n\nRendezvous was made over Northolt at 1545 and the squadrons headed directly for Berck, and bombed the aerodrome from 10,000 feet. Bombs were seen exploding amongst hangars and dispersal points, and one hangar was left smoking badly and partly demolished. As the bombers turned for home, black smoke and flame erupted from another hangar, as if an aircraft or a petrol tank had blown up. The fire could be seen by the bomber crews from ten miles out to sea. They reported no fighter or AA encounters.\n\n306 Squadron only saw two 109s on the way in but they quickly sheered off with no attempt at engaging, while 601, flying higher and up-sun had no encounters on the way in, but as they re-crossed the French coast they began to be harassed by 109s. These mostly went for any stragglers they found but the weavers were able to turn to engage, and one Me109 was claimed shot down with another probably so. In the event only the one shot down became official, claimed by 601's CO, S\/Ldr J. A. O'Neill DFC, although his machine was also hit and he was wounded by shrapnel in his left leg. He had to bale out but was picked up by rescue boat HSL 143. The Wing Leader too was also slightly wounded and forced to crash-land near Dungeness. It was obviously a day for senior men to fly, for included in 601's party was Northolt's Station Commander, Group Captain T. N. McEvoy. He too was shot-up and wounded, being forced to crash-land at Lydd\n\nMeantime, 303 Squadron, who had placed themselves some 5,000 feet above the bombers, were also attacked by 109s as they headed back across the Channel. They too continued to harry the Hurricanes and then two more 109s joined in. As they neared the English coast more 109s appeared and further attacks were made, which resulted in two Hurricanes being shot down into the sea, and another pilot wounded. One of the downed Hurricanes was claimed by Major G\u00fcnther von Maltzahn, of the Stab Staffel of JG53 \u2013 his fourteenth victory (although he reported it as a Spitfire). Leutnant Heinz B\u00e4r and Ltn. Georg Seelman of JG51 both claimed Hurricanes. B\u00e4r would end the war with 220 victories.\n\nThe Germans over-claimed once again, for apart from the above actions, the Stab Staffel of JG51 claimed a total of four Spitfires and one Hurricane, although one Spitfire was not confirmed. Werner M\u00f6lders claimed one Spitfire and the Hurricane to make his total sixty-five.\n\nAgain Bouchier wrote 11 Group's action report, although the wounding of McEvoy was not mentioned \u2013 he shouldn't have been flying in any event! Again he reported a successful mission as regards the bombing and the Blenheims being unmolested. However, one of his conclusions says:\n\n(iii) | That it is probable that the casualties occasioned by No.303 Squadron is some part due to the fact that close enough visual contact was not being maintained by this squadron with the lower of the two escort squadrons (No.601 Squadron), to enable No.601 Squadron to come to their assistance when they (No.303 Squadron) were being attacked.\n\n---|---\n\nThis seems a little harsh in that 601 itself was being harried and attacked, almost losing a squadron commander, a wing leader and a station commander in the process.\n\n* * *\n\nIt wasn't going to be a bad week overall for the Luftwaffe's fighter arm. On the 14th two Blenheims had been claimed by JG1 and JG52 although only one was lost. The following day there had been several combats over the Channel, south of Dover and the RAF had lost two 615 Squadron Hurricanes to JG51, with one pilot killed, while 266 Squadron had had three Spitfires crash-land with two pilots wounded, in a fight with JG26, in which Adolf Galland, the Kommodeur, had claimed his sixtieth and sixty-first victories, plus another unconfirmed. JG26 had slightly over-claimed, reporting four Spitfires brought down. Von Maltzahn of JG53 got his fifteenth victory on the 19th, by picking off a Spitfire of 74 Squadron on a Channel patrol.\n\nOn the 20th, JG51 and JG53 had each claimed a Spitfire over the Dover Straits, including Hptm. H-F Joppien's thirty-ninth kill, and that evening JG51 bagged another off Sheerness. 54 and 303 Squadrons had been on the receiving end, while 91 Squadron had a pilot ditch off Sandgate to swim ashore, after meeting Oblt. Wilfried Balfanz of Stab\/JG51.\n\nIt would appear the RAF could get as much combat as it liked merely by reacting to Luftwaffe fighter sweeps across the Channel and into southern England, without going to the trouble of mounting Circus operations. But the RAF was being offensive and 'leaning into Europe'.\n\nThen Circus operations were once again suspended. There were any number of anti-shipping and Roadstead missions flown over the next few weeks, across the Channel, along the Dutch coast, or as far as the Norwegian coast; several Blenheims were shot down. There was also a new type of mission being flown, code-name 'Blot'. These appear to be long-range sorties by Blenheims and fighters to targets around the Cherbourg area, with escorts provided by 10 Group fighters. One was flown on 17 April to Cherbourg docks which, along with Brest and the surrounding areas, were part of 10 Group's responsibility. Eighteen bombers were escorted by the Tangmere Wing, an 11 Group outfit, as 10 Group had yet to form its own fighter wings.\n\nBlot II was flown on the 21st, to Le Havre, again with Blenheims escorted by Tangmere's Wing. JG2 intercepted them and Ltn. Erich Rudorffer claimed a bomber south of Jersey, but 2 Group had no losses. Meanwhile, the 21st saw further fighter action over the south coast, 74 Squadron having one pilot bale out wounded, shot down by Heinz B\u00e4r, although he claimed a Hurricane. 616 Squadron also had a pilot bale out, but over the sea, and he failed to be rescued. His victor was Ltn. Kurt Votel of JG2, south of the Isle of Wight, the German's ninth victory.\n\n* * *\n\nThe month of May did not see a single Circus operation until the 21st. However, there was an event on the 15th that should be mentioned. With poor weather conditions Rhubarb sorties were authorised and two pilots of 303 Squadron went over, and they came across a Ju52 transport aircraft. Flight Lieutenant J. Jankiewicz and his wingman, Sergeant W. Giermer, attacked and it crashed and exploded, at Manillet, near Boulogne. While this was a welcome victory for the two Polish pilots, they had no way of knowing that aboard the aircraft was Generaloberst Ulrich Grauert, commanding Luftwaffe general of 1 Fleiger-Korps, who was killed along with the other occupants, including his quartermaster. This 52-year-old general had been decorated with the Knight's Cross.\n_Chapter 3_\n\n**Inland**\n\nMore than a month was to pass before another Circus was flown. Even so, two Circuses (10 and 11) were ordered as far back as 30 April, to be mounted on the first suitable day of good weather. It is not clear whether two Circuses were suggested to be flown in tandem, but that is what happened.\n\nPerhaps too, the delay, wanting to be sure of good weather, was because these Circus operations were, for the first time, to go inland from the French coast, rather than attacking coastal ports or aerodromes. Obviously the air strategists wanted to raise the stakes somewhat and start encouraging the Germans to fight, and whilst sending bombers over, they may as well go for targets that would damage the enemy's ability to produce war materials, etc. Fighter Command, having been brought up to a proper strength, despite having to supply pilots and aircraft to such places as Malta and North Africa, which had helped drain the Command's numbers while still recovering from the losses of 1940, was perhaps better placed now to take on the Luftwaffe.\n\nThe first nine Circus operations had been a success as far as bombing was concerned. Each target had been hit, no bombers had been lost to either flak or fighters, and although losses among the escorts had been suffered, claims of Me109s shot down had more or less kept pace with these casualties. At least on paper.\n\nThe first day that the weather appears to have been good enough for the ordered Circuses was Wednesday, 21 May. The day began with another Blot operation, with twelve Blenheims from 101 Squadron and six from 105, taking off at 0630 hours to attack Le Havre, escorted by three fighter squadrons. Six of 101 attacked a convoy of ships near the harbour while five others went for a small ship in the harbour at Quettehou, although the bombs fell on the railhead by the docks. 105 Squadron bombed some trawlers. One bomber had its bombs hang up, so only seventeen made attacks.\n\n**Circus No.10 \u2013 21 May**\n\nThis called for eleven bombers from 21 and six from 110 Squadrons to attack the power station, benzol plant and refinery at Gosnay, three and a half miles southwest of B\u00e9thune, so some 40 miles inland from the coast. Take off came at 1547, and rendezvous was made with their escorting Kenley Wing (1,258 and 302 Squadrons), while 92 Squadron flew what was known as a 'Sphere' operation, patrolling high above the route between the coast and the target, around 35,000 feet.\n\nAs a further innovation, there would now be two squadrons (56 and 242 from North Weald) covering the German airfield at St Omer, while 303 and 306 (Northolt) would cover the airfield at Berck. Both of these locations would be further covered during the withdrawal phase, with 609 Squadron over St Omer and 145 at Berck. There would also be support from Hornchurch Wing (54, 603 and 611), while 12 Group provided three squadrons, 19, 310 and 266 to patrol between Canterbury to Dover.\n\nThe all-important weather was high cloud at 18,000 feet but ground haze up to 8,000 feet over France, with visibility of three miles. The bombers reached Gosnay without any problems and crews watched their bombs fall across the refinery causing explosions. However, 109s attacked and one Blenheim (V6390) of 110 Squadron was shot down by Fw. Otto Wessling of 9.\/JG3, his ninth victory. The bomber was seen falling with its port engine and turret area in flames and one wing shattered. Blenheim gunners claimed one enemy fighter shot down.\n\nThe escort squadrons all had encounters with 109s, 258 Squadron losing one Hurricane, its pilot baling out to become a prisoner. This was the first victory for Uffz. G\u00fcnther Keil of 8.\/JG3. Two other Hurricanes were damaged, both pilots returning wounded, including the CO, S\/Ldr W. G. Clouston DFC. Meantime, Oblt. Willi Stange of the same Staffel, claimed a Spitfire for his twelfth victory. 302 Squadron was attacked near St Pol by 109s, and although one was claimed as destroyed, they lost one pilot, Sgt Marian Rytka. However, he managed to evade capture in France and eventually, with the help of the Resistance, got home via Spain and Gibraltar in August. He had been in the Polish Air Force since 1935 and for his escape he was made an MBE. Commissioned he later received the DFC in 1942 but was killed in a flying accident in December of that year.\n\nHurricanes of 1 Squadron were engaged by a number of Messerschmitts, but fought them off, claiming two 109s destroyed and four damaged, but one pilot failed to get home. The North Weald boys lost two aircraft. They had circled St Omer and while they had seen some 109s none came close. However, on the way back, other 109s attacked, shooting down one aircraft of 56 Squadron. A pilot of 242 Squadron began circling the spot, but he was then attacked too and went into the sea. Neither pilot survived.\n\nAs aircraft began returning, 609 Squadron orbited near North Foreland at 12,000 feet and began to encounter small formations of 109s. A fight developed and while 609 claimed one shot down, one of 609's Belgian pilots, was lost. He may well have been claimed by a 109 pilot, although 609 thought his Spitfire had broken up in a high-speed dive. To add to the day's misfortunes, two aircraft of 145 Squadron collided near Tangmere and both pilots were killed.\n\nIn all, this operation cost five Hurricanes, three Spitfires and their pilots, two pilots wounded, and one Blenheim lost. Claimants for the losses inflicted during the return to England, JG51, were credited with five Hurricanes, with one going to Oblt. Erich Hohagen of the 4th Staffel, for his eleventh victory. JG3 also claimed two Blenheims!\n\nThe RAF claimed five 109s with a further eight damaged. The Biggin Hill Wing Leader, W\/Cdr A. G. Malan DSO DFC, claimed one of the damaged, and he also reported seeing a 109 with rounded wing-tips, as opposed to the usual square ones. No doubt he was seeing one of the first Me109Fs that were beginning to be issued to front-line squadrons, 109Es having square wing tips.\n\nGroup Captain Bouchier again hailed the operation a success because the bombers had made a good attack on the target and it appeared several enemy aircraft had been shot down. He made no comment on RAF losses, but did say that the returning bombers and their close escort had reached the French coast five minutes before the time scheduled. That probably gave Luftwaffe pilots the extra time to gain height while the cover Wings were still back over the German airfields. This doesn't make too much sense and in any event, the main RAF losses were over the sea on the way back where the support Wings should have been ready for them.\n\n**Circus No.11 \u2013 21 May**\n\nIn the event this operation was cancelled \u2013 due to the weather. It had been planned for Blenheims to attack the airfield at St Omer\/Longuenesse but that would have to wait for another day. Because the operational orders etc. had been issued under Circus 11, then cancelled, the next Circus would be number 12, but that again would mean a long wait.\n\nIn the meantime, bad weather put an end to any thoughts of further Circus operations until mid-June. Weather forecasters predicted 14 June to be a likely day and so it was decided to again attempt to mount two operations, one in the morning and one in the later afternoon. As it happened the weather deteriorated as the day progressed and so the second plan, to attack a target at Chocques, was postponed.\n\n**Circus No.12 \u2013 14 June**\n\nThe first attack ordered by 11 Group, to bomb St Omer\/Longuenesse, was as far back as 27 May. It called for twelve bombers, which in the event comprised nine from 110 and three from 105 Squadrons operating out of Wattisham. Escort Wing was provided by Northolt (1, 312 and 303 Squadrons), while covering offensive patrols were laid on by Hornchurch (54 and 603) to patrol Dunkirk-Gravelines, Biggin Hill (74 and 92) for the Marquise-St Inglevert-Guines-Calais Marck areas, while a composite twelve aircraft from 145, 610 and 616 Squadrons patrolled the Straits of Dover. Weather was poor over the south-east, clear over the Channel, and variable cloud and ground haze over France.\n\nOn the way out two Blenheims had to abort and in the attack only nine of the remaining ten managed to bomb the aerodrome, explosions being observed in the south-west corner, and on the south end. The tenth aircraft had been forced back just before reaching the French coast and was not seen again. Aircraft of 9.\/JG26 spotted this straggler and it was shot down by Uffz. Gerhard Oemler (V6334 of 110). There were no survivors.\n\nThe Northolt Wing make no reference to the bomber turning back so presumably did not see it, for nobody was ordered to escort it back. In fact the three squadrons had little to report and only 303 Squadron was attacked by four 109s as they re-crossed the French coast, with no effect, and four more seen over the Channel were ignored.\n\nHornchurch pilots broke up into sections of four to patrol just off the French coast between 16\u201319,000 feet to cover the withdrawal. Several pairs of 109s were engaged and two were claimed shot down and two more damaged. 603 did the scoring but later they were only credited with 109s damaged. High above them the Biggin Hill squadrons at 27\u201332,000 feet, separated. One section of each squadron remained there making contrails so that enemy fighters could see the danger, while the other four sections reduced height to 9,000 feet. However, no enemy aircraft could be seen. As they made for home a couple of 109s were spotted but no engagement occurred.\n\nOnly 92 Squadron made any real contact. They too had left a section in the contrails height while the other two sections went down to 7,000 feet. The lower of these two was attacked by some 109s and in a brief scrap, 92's CO, Squadron Leader J. Rankin, shot one down, while another pilot claimed a damaged. III.\/JG26 lost Obfw. Robert Menge, an eighteen-victory ace, who was killed. One JG26 pilot, Oblt. Werner Kahse, baled out of his machine, while another, Ltn. Karl Schrader, who had been wounded, belly-landed back at base, his 109 slightly damaged. A 109 from I Gruppe also crash-landed at base without injury to the pilot.\n\nOne pilot of the high section had a burst of flak near his machine and a splinter wounded him. He rapidly began to lose height but was then spotted and attacked by a 109, a cannon shell exploding in his cockpit causing further injuries. He evaded the 109 and ejected his cockpit canopy in case he needed to bale out, but managed to reach Hawkinge where he made a successful landing. The pilot was Sgt Payne. Two other Spitfires of 92 returned with combat damage, flown by Flight Lieutenants Brian Kingcome DFC and Alan Wright DFC, both veteran fighter aces.\n\nBouchier in his report says that this was another successful mission, not only as regards bombing, but other than the one missing bomber that may not have been caused by enemy action, three 109s had been destroyed and another three damaged (later amended as already mentioned). He seems to ignore the four damaged Spitfires and a wounded pilot, but these were not serious casualties. He also praised the tactics of off-shore patrols although he didn't feel that fighter leaders, when reducing height to lower levels, should attempt to regain height later, especially when enemy aircraft were probably arriving on the scene. The Me109F is also mentioned for the first time officially, if only that one was destroyed and another damaged\n\nJamie Rankin was a pre-war airman, and an instructor during the Battle of Britain but after gaining some operational experience with 64 Squadron early in 1941, was posted to command 92 Squadron at Biggin. Unlike some former instructors thrust into combat flying, Rankin excelled. He had shared in shooting down some 109s but this was only his second personal victory. By the end of 1941 he had claimed more than a dozen, with numerous probables and damaged, and had led the Biggin Hill Wing in the autumn to win the DFC and Bar, and later the DSO. At 28 years of age, he was older than most of his contemporaries.\n\n**Circus No.14 \u2013 16 June**\n\nWith Circus No.13 postponed, the next one in date order became No.14, flown on the afternoon of 16 June. Six of 16 Group's Blenheims went for the gas works at Boulogne, with the Northolt squadrons (258, 303 and 306) flying close escort, 54 Squadron as high cover and Biggin's 74 and 92 on a supporting Sweep. It did not start well, the bombers (59 Squadron) turning up fifteen minutes late at the rendezvous and therefore twenty minutes late over the target.\n\nThe six bombers each unloaded two 500lb bombs over the target and hits were seen on a large building some 100 yards to the north of the works and on a railway line about half a mile to the north-east, although some did fall in the target area. This time however, flak and fighter opposition caused casualties.\n\nThe plan had been for the attack to be made in two sections but flak caused the bombers to come in singly and well below the 7,000 feet ordered. One was so low it even shot up a gun post. Cohesion was therefore lost. Blenheim V6386 had its observer and air gunner wounded, the starboard engine and undercarriage hit, forcing the pilot, P\/O Foster, to struggle back on one engine. Only 258 Squadron tried to follow the bombers as they lost height and they could see the flak bursting amidst the attackers as well as Me109s nipping in and out. They endeavoured to attack these 109s and claimed two destroyed and one probably so. However, 258 lost P\/O Dunn and another, F\/Lt A. M. Campbell, baled out but was rescued (no doubt the pair were shot down by Galland and Oblt. J\u00fcrgen Westphal (his eighth). The two Polish squadrons kept their height to give cover and only one pilot of 306 got close enough to knock some pieces off a 109.\n\nThe attacking 109 pilots were from JG26 led by Oberst Adolf Galland and among his pilots were some very experienced fighter aces. 54 Squadron kept their height and although they saw a few 109s low down, remained at their cover area. 74 Squadron, flying in 'fours', patrolled a few miles inland and encountered four and then another twelve Me109Fs as they edged out and attacked. They claimed three shot down and two more as probables. The CO of 74, S\/Ldr J. C. Mungo-Park DFC, claimed two of the 109s. The first one had its tail blown off by his fire, and went down in a spin. He was then himself hit by a 109 but evaded. Heading for home he was spotted by five more 109s, directed towards him, he reported, by exploding pink AA shells. The leading 109 attacked but overshot, allowing him to give the 109 a burst, whereupon the fighter burst into flames. Mungo-Park crash-landed at Hawkinge, but his Spitfire was a write-off. 92 Squadron got a warning of these Messerschmitts and then saw about fifteen of them and a fifteen-minute air battle ensued. They claimed two 109s plus two probables without loss but had great difficulty in evading the German fighters. Brian Kingcome, once free of 109s, headed for base, and saw two Blenheims heading north, and appointed himself their guardian. One was trailing smoke from one engine and it eventually ditched, the crew climbing into a dinghy. He climbed to try and give a radio fix but his R\/T connections had been shot away and being low on fuel had to leave. It must be assumed that the Blenheim crew were never found.\n\nIn total, the RAF claimed about seven 109s with another nine probables and damaged, for the loss of two Hurricanes (one pilot saved) and one Spitfire pilot, plus one Blenheim.\n\nThe 109 pilots of JG26 appear to have got carried away, claiming eight Spitfires, two Hurricanes, a 'Brewster' and the two bombers. Oberleutnant Josef 'Pips' Priller (twenty-second victory) and Hptm. Rolf-Peter Pingel (eighteenth) claimed the Blenheims, while Galland claimed a Hurricane for his sixty-fourth victory. Pingel also claimed a Spitfire (nineteenth), and so too did Priller for his twenty-first. Another high-scoring pilot, Oblt. Gustav Sprick, leader of the 8th Staffel, claimed a Spitfire for victory number twenty-four. The erroneous Brewster (Buffalo) claim was the first victory of Uffz. Albrecht Held, who was destined to die in July when the wing of his 109 broke away. German losses were Gefreiter (Gefr) Karl Deitz (flying his first mission) and Ltn. Gustav H\u00fcttner, killed. Another pilot baled out over the sea but was rescued, while another 109 was force-landed at Audembert with severe damage.\n\nAnother sortie that became embroiled in the events of the day as the operation was all but over, was an air-sea rescue (ASR) Lysander, escorted by 1 and 91 Squadrons, looking for missing pilots, and a similar mission with a He59 floatplane escorted by other 109s from JG26, also looking for downed pilots in the sea.\n\nFlying High Cover to the sortie, 1 Squadron, warned of enemy aircraft, saw the Lysander and 91 Squadron at the same time as they saw the German rescue mission. They attacked the Germans and three of their pilots each claimed a 109, while F\/Lt C. F. Gray DFC and his wingman, P\/O R. N. G. Allen shared the destruction of the Heinkel (of _Seenotflugkommando_ 3). 91 Squadron was bounced by enemy fighters. Sergeant Ken Charney heard his leader, P\/O D. H. Gage, call a warning, and then bullets began hitting his aircraft. As Ken Charney evaded he looked back and saw a Spitfire go into the sea. 91 damaged one 109, but lost P\/O Gage, while 1 Squadron also had a pilot shot down, Sgt A. Nasswetter (Czech). He was rescued from the sea but died later. Oberleutnant Martin Rysasvy, CO of JG26's 2nd Staffel, and one of his pilots, Fw. Ernst J\u00e4ckel, claimed these two victories.\n\nGroup Captain Bouchier's report mentions both the Circus and the ASR sorties, and only records two RAF pilots missing and one wounded (Nasswetter), whereas these operations had cost five fighters, with three pilots killed. To this can be added another Spitfire pilot lost from 54 Squadron in a late scramble to the area of operations, who was picked off by a 109 and baled out. He was, however, rescued by a RN launch.\n\nOnce again Bouchier recorded the operation a success due to the number of enemy fighters that had been shot down. However, he blamed the delay in arriving at the target as the reason why more 109s were not shot down, as 74 and 92 Squadrons should have been on the scene as the bombers came off target, but instead, swept over it before they arrived. All units were informed of the importance of keeping rendezvous times otherwise the whole operational planning would quickly go awry.\n\n**Circus No.13 \u2013 17 June**\n\nThe postponed Circus 13 called for another inland raid, to the Etabs Kuhlmann chemical works and power station at Chocques, which took place on the evening of the 17th. Eighteen Blenheims were required from 2 Group, but they provided six aircraft each from 110, 107, 139 and 18 Squadrons, making twenty-four in all.\n\nEscort Wing came from North Weald's 56, 242 and 306 Squadrons, with Biggin Hill's 74, 92 and 609 acting as High Cover Wing. 11 Group was now formulating an extension to their operations, assigning a Forward Echelon Wing (Hornchurch - 303, 54, 603, 611 plus 91 Squadron), a Rear Echelon Wing (Kenley's 1, 258, and 312 Squadrons) and a Flank Offensive Sweep by the Tangmere Wing (145, 610, 616 Squadrons). Support came from one Wing each from 10 and 12 Groups, 308 and 501, and 19, 65 and 266 Squadrons. Assuming each squadron put up twelve aircraft, this made a fighter force of 164 Hurricanes and Spitfires. It might protect the bombers but would it deter the German fighter pilots from attacking? How important did the enemy think the target was to try to defend?\n\nThe weather was fine, with ground haze up to 2,000 feet, no cloud and excellent visibility. In the event there was no holding back by the Luftwaffe fighters, 306 Squadron reporting almost continuous engagements from crossing the French coast to the target. After the bombing the 109s continued to attack in groups of four or eight but this squadron succeeded in preventing any enemy fighters getting to the bombers, and while doing so, claimed three 109s destroyed and one damaged without loss.\n\nThe bombers had mixed fortunes. All of 110 Squadron bombed successfully, seeing smoke and flame around the area of the cooling towers, but only two of 107 Squadron managed to drop their loads. Leaving the target the crews reported lots of white and brown smoke. Several bombers aborted, one from 139 Squadron landed at Manston. The leader of the raid also had a problem and decided to abort but, due to a misunderstanding, three other crews broke off as well.\n\nFour other crews saw their bombs fall 200 yards west of the target, and another three bombers turned back short of the target being unable to keep up with the main body. Of those who reached the target, all were hit by flak or fighters but all got home. Three crews of 18 Squadron saw their bombs hitting the south-west boundary where some incendiaries caused two fires. Three others saw their loads fall 200 yards to the west, while another two watched their bombs right on target. One Me109 was hit by gunners and seen to break off trailing smoke.\n\nMeanwhile, 56 Squadron, further back and behind the bombers, was followed by three 109s not long after crossing the coast which made no effort to attack. Once the bombing had been completed, 56 turned to engage these but they immediately broke off and went away. However, on the return flight anything up to an estimated twenty Me109s began nibbling attacks upon them, using dive and zoom tactics, making it extremely difficult to get shots at the 109s, while the German pilots were successful in knocking down four Hurricanes, one of whom came over the radio to say he was landing in France. 56 lost F\/Lt F. W. Higginson DFM, an exceptionally experienced fighter pilot, P\/Os P. A. Harris and P. M. Robinson, plus Sgt R. D. Carvill. He was heard over the radio to say he was baling out somewhere off the French coast but was not seen again. Apart from Taffy Higginson, who in fact baled out, all were killed in this action against JG26. The 28-year-old Welshman evaded capture and made his way to the Spanish border but was discovered by Vichy French police. In 1942 he managed to escape and got back to England, where he again flew with 56 Squadron, by then flying Typhoons, where he was awarded the DFC in 1943. In 1940 he had shot down a dozen enemy aircraft.\n\nThe third escort squadron, 242, was attacked by 109s some fifteen miles short of the target but they turned away when one Flight tried to engage. Then several 109s began attacking in small groups, again using dive and zoom tactics, 242 fighting what they described as a 'rearguard action' until the French coast was re-crossed, whereupon the 109s broke off. Of the estimated forty to fifty 109s engaged, 242 claimed one destroyed, three probables and nine damaged. However, F\/Lt B. A. Rogers had been killed, and two others brought down and taken prisoner. One was S\/Ldr E. T. Smith, a supernumerary attached to the squadron for experience(!), the other F\/O J. Bryks, a Czech pilot, who eventually ended up in Colditz Castle. The AOC later reported that the escort wing's efforts, despite the losses, made it possible for all the bombers to return home. In all, 242 put in claims for three destroyed, two probables and seven damaged. Bryks was credited with two destroyed while Pilot Officer R. D. Grassick claimed the other. He reported:\n\n'One [109] passed immediately under me heading for the tail of the last section of bombers. I opened up full throttle but he pulled away from me. By this time I was opposite the tail end of the bombers. Just then another Me109 attacked the last section of the bombers and turned to the starboard side. I moved over and had a good 2 seconds burst at him starting from about 150 yards until he pulled away from me. I saw white smoke coming from him and he turned slowly away more to the starboard and back towards the way from which he had come. Then saw bullets hitting my wings so took certain evasive action and shook him from my tail. I then moved back to my former position near the tail end of the bombers about 500 feet above. While watching another Me109 (old type \u2013 square wing tips [an 'E']) came up to attack bombers, so I turned on to him and at about 200 yards opened fire and slowly closed in on him and saw white and black smoke pouring out and he dived steeply towards the ground, completely out of control. I then found I had another on my tail and after shaking him off saw another coming up on the bombers so turned and took a quick shot but he turned away and I saw no definite result. I resumed my original position and saw the bomber formation safely over the English coast.'\n\nBob Grassick, from London, Ontario, had seen action over France and Dunkirk with 242 and would receive the DFC in July 1941.\n\nThe Biggin Hill Wing had some sporadic encounters, the CO of 74 who was also Wing Leader, Squadron Leader Malan, shot down one 109, but on returning found two pilots missing, one of whom was seen to bale out over France. Both missing pilots became prisoners. Roger Boulding was one and he once told me what happened:\n\n'I was leading one section of four and spotted a formation of Me109 climbing towards us. I radioed the sighting to Sailor who led us in a diving turn straight into them. I followed one down in a near-vertical dive but had to break off without apparently doing him major damage. At that time we had strict orders not to pursue down to low level over the other side \u2013 and Sailor was radioing us to reform. I tagged along some little while behind him, both of us using the familiar tactic of flying towards the sun in a weaving pattern so as to present a difficult target.\n\n'I looked behind and spotted another Spitfire following me in the same fashion. Shortly afterwards Sailor began to call for someone to \"look-out behind!\" and to take urgent evasive action. I looked behind, saw what I thought was the same aircraft guarding my rear and began to hunt round for the one in trouble. I had just spotted a Spitfire rocking its wings violently (probably Sailor) when my aircraft was hit from behind (the armour plate behind my seat took it and saved me).\n\n'The aileron controls went and the stick just flopped from side to side without effect. My aircraft went into a spiral dive, starting from about 25,000 feet, and I had to get out fast. I pulled the canopy release without too much trouble, undid my straps but could not get out because of the spinning so had to get my knee up and jerk the stick forward, which effectively catapulted me out. I pulled the ripcord and parachuted down from, at a guess, somewhere above 10,000 feet. The Germans had ample time to reach me when I landed and before I could stand up there were plenty of them threatening me with an assortment of weapons.'\n\nPilots of 92 Squadron also got mixed up with some twenty 109s, three being claimed, but the final analysis was one probable and two damaged, without loss. 609 mixed it with several 109s and claimed three destroyed for no loss.\n\nThe Forward Echelon fighters saw some action, although 603 and 611 were not involved. 54 Squadron claimed two 109s destroyed, two probables and one damaged for no loss, while 91 saw a couple of 109s but did not engage. 303 Squadron also scrapped with some 109s, claimed one destroyed and one probable. One Spitfire was hit and its pilot wounded in the leg, crash-landing back at Northolt.\n\nThe Rear Echelon squadrons patrolling mid-Channel had little contact, although three pilots in 1 Squadron saw some 109s dive through some bombers as they headed back. One pilot went after one of these and claimed it destroyed.\n\nThe Wing report claimed fifteen Me109s destroyed, seven probables and eleven damaged, while admitting the loss of nine pilots. Actual losses were four killed, five taken prisoner, plus one safe but wounded.\n\nThe Luftwaffe's JG26 had had a field-day, modestly claiming fifteen victories. Among them, Adolf Galland had claimed two Hurricanes (sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth), Pips Priller a Hurricane (twenty-third), Gerhard Sch\u00f6pfel a Hurricane (twenty-third), Gustav Sprick a Hurricane (twenty-sixth), Hptm. Walter Adolph, another Hurricane (sixteenth). Oberleutnant Hans-J\u00fcrgen Westphal had bagged two Spitfires (ninth and tenth) \u2013 presumably 74 Squadron's losses, although two other pilots had claimed Spitfires, one probably being the 303 Squadron casualty.\n\nJG26 had only one pilot killed, Fw. Bernhard Adam, shot down by a Hurricane, with another pilot crash-landing at Ligescourt.\n\nGroup Captain Bouchier's report noted the quick reaction by the Germans and the success of the RAF fighters in protecting the bombers, despite suffering losses. He remarked about the heavy casualties that had been inflicted on the German fighter force, although this appears somewhat over-optimistic. It was also apparent that German fighters were starting to engage the high cover squadrons, thereby making it impossible for them to protect the RAF squadrons at lower altitude, thus allowing other 109 pilots a better opportunity of engaging these lower squadrons. He thought that in future, it might be better for the High Cover Wing to have two squadrons from 1\u20132,000 feet above the Escort Wing and one or two dispersed at the same height on either flank of the bombers. The learning curve was still curving.\n\nSome things that stand out were that the 109Fs were on the increase, their rounded wingtips and lack of tail bracing struts made them easily identifiable. Also that the yellow paint on the 109's noses was now extending back to the cockpit, or even halfway along the cockpit. A problem with the R\/T was becoming more apparent when the Poles began to chatter in their native tongue, which the British pilots had no way of understanding of what was being said. This was a particular problem if the message was one of warnings of approaching danger.\n\n**Circus No.15 \u2013 18 June**\n\nWednesday, 18 June was another fair day with just a few scattered showers. Today, six Blenheims of 107 Squadron were to attack a hutted encampment at Bois de Licques, seventeen miles (twenty-seven km) south of Calais. There were a reported fifty army huts concealed in this wood and would be as good a target as any for a quick in-and-out sortie.\n\nEscort Wing \u2013 Kenley \u2013 with 1, 258 and 312 Squadrons, as Cover Wing, 616, 145, 610 and 303 from Tangmere, while an Offensive Sweep would be made by Hornchurch Wing, 54, 603 and 603. 601 Squadron would make a patrol east of the Goodwin Sands while other fighters would add more support off the south-east coast of Kent.\n\nRendezvousing at 1800 hrs over Hastings at 10,000 feet, and setting course for the target, they had climbed to 12,000 feet by the time the target came into view. Bombs rained down which left much smoke and although flak was met, no fighters interfered.\n\nThe Close Escort had no encounters until returning over the French coast. A couple of Hurricanes had been slightly damaged by flak on the way in but now several Me109s began nibbling at the edges. 312 claimed one probably destroyed, and 258 Squadron lost a pilot, although it seems flak caused his loss rather than fighter attack. Tangmere's squadrons either saw little or had brief encounters. 610 claimed one Me109 destroyed east of Dungeness, 303 mixed it with some 109s and claimed four 109s destroyed, while 145 became split up and became embroiled with 109s and lost two pilots, both becoming prisoners. One was claimed by Galland (sixty-seventh), while Sprick got the other (twenty-seventh).\n\nThe Sweep by Hornchurch produced a fight with a number of Messerschmitts and four were claimed destroyed plus three more probably so. One went down after the attentions of Flying Officer W. G. G. Duncan Smith of 611, his first confirmed victory of an eventual nineteen. In his book ' _Spitfire into Battle_ ', he recorded:\n\n'We were top cover at 28,000 feet to 24 Blenheims targeted on B\u00e9thune, supported by a gaggle of over 260 fighters. A few enemy aircraft appeared over the target area but on re-crossing the coast we were bounced by about twenty-five Me109s. Turning into an attack from four of them coming in over my left shoulder I got behind the last one and opened fire. The muffled boom-boom from the cannons was a welcome new sound but the orange flash from one of my cannon shells, quite vivid as it exploded against the enemy's cockpit cover, was even more startling. Closing in, I fired a second burst but my Spitfire pitched and yawed away from my line of sight and in a split second the 109 rolled onto its back diving steeply pouring smoke from a hit in the cooling system. It was then I realised one of my cannons had stopped firing thus twisting me sideways due to the recoil from the live gun.'\n\nOf the other support units, 609 from Biggin had a scrap with some fighters and claimed one destroyed but lost P\/O S. J. Hill. He was shot up by a 109 over the Channel and although he got his crippled Spitfire almost back to the English coast, crashed into the Dover cliffs and was killed. Syd Hill had shared in 609's 100th kill back in October 1940, with F\/Lt Frank Howell. JG26 made no individual credit for this Spitfire, but it was credited to the Gruppe. Thus the total loss was four pilots. JG26 suffered one 109 damaged that crash-landed at Sangatte. JG2 must have become involved in some of the action for it also had two fighters damaged, one crash-landing at St Ingelvert, the other landing in similar fashion at Morlaix.\n\nOnce again the overall report on this operation was one of success with serious casualties inflicted on the enemy. At least the RAF squadrons were virtually all now being encouraged to operate in sections of four \u2013 the 'finger four' formation. At long last the disastrous 'vics' of three were a thing of the past and pilots could operate far more effectively in fours with the two pairs covering each other and with four pairs of eyes looking out for danger, instead of one pair.\n\n**Circus No.16 \u2013 21 June**\n\nOn 20 June there was another Blot Operation, a force of 2 Group Blenheims going for Le Havre in waves. In 11 Group's area, there was almost no activity. However, the next day, Saturday the 21st, which was another fine summer day, two Circus operations were mounted. The first was for six 21 Squadron Blenheims to raid St Omer Aerodrome in the early afternoon, escorted by North Weald's squadrons, and Hornchurch and Tangmere Wings flying target support. Biggin's Wing, with a 12 Group Wing flying what was called Forward and Rear Support.\n\nThis operation was put on the schedule at a conference held at Northolt on the evening of the 20th, exactly why is not known. However, the bombers made rendezvous at noon over Maidstone at 8,000 feet and headed out on a course, Dungeness, Hardelot, St Omer\/Longuenesse. On the way one bomber (V6450) began to fall back and was picked off by a 109 over the French coast, parachutes being seen. Sadly none of the three NCO crew members survived. Galland had gained his sixty-eighth victory having taken off just eight minutes earlier.\n\nJG26's aircraft now began to engage the RAF escorts, allowing Galland to head in again towards the bombers. He shot up one, which he thought went down, but it struggled back to England in a damaged condition, the crew unhurt. Galland, having lost his wingman, was attacked by P\/O B. H. Drobrinski of 303 Squadron, was hit and forced to take violent evasive action, streaming coolant. He was obliged to make a landing on Calais-Marck airfield. The reason his wingman had failed to protect his rear was that S\/Ldr J. A. Kent DFC, leader of Northolt's Wing, had already shot him down. Feldwebel Bruno Hegenauer baled out without injury. It was Johnny Kent's eighth victory and 'Ski' Drobinski's third. This account of events has been written up by author and historian Don Caldwell, an expert on JG26. However, the RAF's action report indicates a different story.\n\nThe five Blenheims bombed the airfields at St Omer\/Longuenesse and Fort Rouge, explosions being seen amongst hangars, buildings and dispersal areas. 242 Squadron had two Me109s slip down behind the bombers and both were attacked and damaged. The leader of 242 Squadron and Tangmere's Wing Leader, W\/Cdr D. R. S. Bader DSO DFC and Norwegian Lt. H. O. Mehre were credited with these 'victories'. Bader was credited with a destroyed, and Helge Mehre the damaged. So was it Bader who shot down Hegenauer and the Norwegian who hit Galland? Mehre ended the war with six victories plus ten more enemy aircraft damaged, with the DSO DFC DFC(US) Norwegian War Cross with Swords, and became a Wing Leader. Post-war he rose to Major-General with the RNAF. Another 109 was claimed destroyed by 306 Squadron, and, as already mentioned, 303 made a claim, and another claim for a destroyed 109 on the return journey.\n\nAll fighter squadrons became engaged with Me109s and the day ended with a massive total of eleven destroyed, plus eight more probables and damaged \u2013 without loss! These included two JG26 pilots downed by 74 Squadron during the return flight, one coming down in the sea to be taken prisoner by the British, the other being chased north and shot down over Kent, again to be taken captive. The 9th Staffel also lost a pilot, Gefr Christian Knees over the sea to RAF fighters. Two other pilots from the 6th Staffel, Uffz. Otto Ewald and Obfw. Franz L\u00fcders, flying 109Es, were shot down off Ramsgate and captured. Therefore, five Me109s appear to have been casualties, including Galland's forced landing. Galland wrote in his book ' _The First and the Last_ ':\n\n'... my head and right arm were hit hard. My aeroplane was in a bad way. The wings were ripped up by cannon shells. I was sitting half in the open \u2013 the right side of the fuselage had been torn away by shellfire. Fuel and coolant were streaming out. Instinctively, I broke away to the north. I noted that my heavily damaged Me, its engine now shut down, was still controllable. I was at 6,000 meters [sic] [19,500 ft] and decided to glide home. My arm and head were bleeding, but I felt no pain \u2013 no time for that. My vital parts appeared to be all right. My calm deliberations were interrupted by the explosion of the fuel tank. The entire fuselage was enveloped in flames, and burning fuel ran through the cockpit. My only thought now was escape. I pulled the canopy release \u2013 no luck! Jammed! I unbuckled my seat harness and pushed on the canopy. Too much wind resistance. There were bright flames all around me. These were the most terrible seconds of my life. In mortal fear, I pressed against the canopy with all my strength. It moved slightly, and the airstream tore it away. I pushed the stick forward, but did not clear the wreckage as I had hoped \u2013 my seat pack had caught on the edge of the cockpit. I grabbed the radio mast and pushed with my feet. Suddenly I was falling free. In my panic I grabbed the quick-release knob of my harness instead of the 'chute handle. I caught the near-fatal error in time, opened the 'chute, and floated softly to earth.'\n\n11 Group had tried new tactics on this operation. Knowing that the bombers tended to 'tie down' the enemy fighters to the target area and along the withdrawal route, the RAF tried to take advantage of the Germans' increased tendency to press home their attacks on the bombers themselves. Therefore, Target Support Wings converged on the target area from both flanks, arriving over the target some five minutes before the bombers arrived. Good timing would ensure air superiority during the attack and then the withdrawal. The Forward and Rear Support Wing's squadrons, at all heights from 3\u201318,000 feet, would be able to engage those 109s following the withdrawal forces.\n\nAnother successful operation was hailed by 11 Group especially with the number of 109s claimed, and it was thought the bomber was lost more to engine trouble than enemy action, although with another bomber shot up it was more likely to have been caused by enemy action, even if it seemed as though it had fallen behind.\n\n**Circus No.17 \u2013 21 June**\n\nThis operation was also confirmed at the Northolt Conference and called for another six Blenheims, this time to the aerodrome at Desvres, just ten minutes flying time inland from Gravelines. 110 Squadron got the job and made rendezvous over Maidstone at 8,000 feet at 1600 hours, which was four hours after Circus 16 began. Close Escort was provided by Kenley, Target Support by Biggin Hill and Tangmere, Forward Support by Hornchurch, and Rear Support by North Weald.\n\nThe bombers reached the target at 1632 having climbed to 12,000 feet and bombs were seen exploding amongst hangars and buildings. They headed back without loss. 312 Squadron in the Close Escort Wing flew two sections of four either side of the bombers with two pairs weaving, one in front and the other behind and just above, but no hostile fighters were engaged. 258 operated in sections above the Poles at 13,000 feet. The third Squadron, No.1, flew in three fours at 14,000, 14,500 and 15,000 feet, where they encountered some twenty Me109s after the bombing. In fights that followed four 109s were claimed shot down and another damaged but lost one pilot in the process, an American 'Eagle' pilot, P\/O N. Moranz, who ended up as a prisoner. A Czech pilot with the Squadron, P\/O V. A. Kopecky, had his Hurricane shot-up and he eventually ditched off Folkestone and was rescued. Oberleutnant Sprick claimed one (twenty-eighth) and Ltn. Hans Naumann the other (his second). Unteroffizier Heinz Carmienke and Ltn. Hans Gries of the 8th Staffel were lost in this action and Ltn. Hans-Joachim Gebertig, wounded. With No.1 Squadron was Colin Gray DFC, who had considerable experience on Spitfires over Dunkirk and during the Battle of Britain, with 54 Squadron. I met him at his New Zealand home in 1990, just as his book ' _Spitfire Patrol_ ' was about to be published. He told me:\n\n'Hurricanes were very different after months of flying the Spitfire. By 1941 they were alright for operations over the Channel, but they were not quick enough for our offensive actions over France. If ever we turned to see what was happening behind us it became difficult to catch up the bombers we were escorting. I recall one hectic action when acting as top cover to Blenheims bombing Desvres airfield. We were attacked by several 109s from behind and although the Squadron claimed some of them, we lost one of our American pilots, Nathanial Maranz, who was acting as my No.2. Also one of our Czech pilots, Pilot Officer Kopecky.\n\n'Not long afterwards we were pulled out of the northern France shows, and I imagine most of the other Hurricanes units went also, or exchanged their aircraft for Spitfires. We went on anti-shipping operations and I didn't have any air combat for some months, except when I flew as a guest with 41 Squadron in mid-August and shot down a 109 near Le Havre.'\n\nSailor Malan (74 Sqn), leading the Biggin Hill Wing, had his three squadrons at between 15\u201318,000 feet over the bomber route. A single 109 was seen flying towards Boulogne which Malan shot down. Off Le Touquet six 109s were engaged, Malan downing one of these too while the rest dived away inland. 609 was not engaged until returning home and engaged four 109s claiming two destroyed and a damaged. 92 had dived to 15,000 feet to engage 109s, destroying one, with another probable. Another pilot was seen to shoot down a 109 but he was himself brought down (probably another victory to Sprick, his twenty-ninth), but baled out and was rescued unharmed. Another pilot in 74 Squadron claimed a probable. JG26 had two pilots make crash-landings at Clairmarais, their aircraft written off.\n\nTangmere had a few encounters. 616 and 610 saw many 109s and one section of 610 went after four of these coming up from behind and below and shot down one with another thought to be damaged. 145 Squadron claimed another 109 destroyed but had one NCO pilot slightly wounded. The pilot of this 109 was none other than the Gruppenkommandeur, Adolf Galland. Getting over his morning's shoot down, he had taken off alone, his wingman had not yet got back, and he attacked a Spitfire to the rear of 616's formation. This Spitfire went down on fire (P\/O E. P. S. Brown, killed) and Galland stupidly decided to follow it down, only to be picked off by Sgt R. J. C. Grant, and baled out. New Zealander Reg Grant had been in 145 since April and this was his first victory. He would claim two more and receive the DFM before being commissioned and going to 485 (NZ) Squadron which he eventually commanded and also won the DFC. In 1944, as leader of 122 Wing, he was killed in a crash that February. His score had risen to eight. Galland suffered some injuries but was quickly back with his command. That night he was told he had been awarded the 'Swords' to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, the first recipient of this high honour.\n\nHornchurch Wing broke into separate sections of four between 18\u201320,000 feet and encountered 109s, two of which were shot down, one by Canadian F\/Lt E. F. J. Charles, a future wing leader. It was only his second victory but he would end the war with a score of sixteen. 603 Squadron had F\/O D. Stewart-Clark shot up by Pips Priller of JG26 (twenty-fourth claim), yet despite his wounds the RAF pilot survived by crash-landing on the Goodwin Sands, his Spitfire being written off. The Rear Support Wing patrolled Dungeness to mid-Channel from 1,000 to 10,000 feet but saw nothing of enemy fighters.\n\nTotting up the claims, the score came to fifteen Me109s destroyed, three probables and two damaged, for the loss of two pilots and three aircraft. One of the probables was credited to a Blenheim gunner.\n\nThe fighters of I Gruppe of JG2 were also called into action, arriving on the scene after the bombing. They waded in to claim a massive ten RAF aircraft and had one of their fighters shot down near Etaples, with Uffz. L. Dessoy baling out wounded. Oberleutnant Kurt B\u00fchligen of 4.\/JG2 claimed three Spitfires and Ltn. Siegfried Schnell claimed two. Therefore some nine Me109s had been lost during these two operations and four damaged, with JG26 losing three pilots killed and two captured. 11 Group had claimed twenty-six victories, seven probables and six damaged. Little wonder Group Captain Bouchier in his report claimed a most successful day establishing complete air superiority with eleven and then fifteen enemy fighters shot down, for the loss of two pilots (plus two wounded) and five aircraft lost.\n\nIt had to seem to 11 Group and Fighter Command Headquarters that these Circus operations were producing good results and bringing the Luftwaffe fighters to battle. While both sides were over-claiming, Fighter Command was losing valuable pilots, not only those killed, but others brought down over France were lost to captivity. It seemed certain that Circus operations would continue, and things were about to change, a change that would make all offensive operations over northern France more of a necessity.\n_Chapter 4_\n\n**Supporting Russia**\n\nHitler invaded the Soviet Union at dawn on 22 June 1941, bringing war to what became more familiarly known as the Eastern Front, making northern France and Belgium, known once again as the Western Front. Support was obviously needed for the German Wehrmacht as it moved forward into Russia and Luftwaffe units were moved to the East. There was little hope of Britain being any more dangerous than it had been since the fall of France in June 1940, so all that was needed was to leave two main Jagdgruppen to oppose the RAF and its annoying incursions over the Western Front.\n\nTherefore, JG2 became responsible for an area from Cherbourg north-east to the River Seine Estuary, while JG26 continued the defensive line from the Seine to the coast of Holland. These two units were to remain Fighter Command's main antagonists for the rest of the war.\n\nWinston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, saw the invasion of Russia not so much an immediate problem, rather an 'ally' that would take some of the pressure from any notion Germany might still have of invading Britain, as well as taking any immediate heat off the Mediterranean and North Africa, where he was convinced Mussolini would soon be in desperate need of further German support. However, Joseph Stalin would soon be seeking help from Britain, not only by way of supplies, but also to do something to help Russia directly by hitting Germany from its rear: for the time being though little could be done. RAF Bomber Command was gradually building its forces to bomb industrial Germany but as yet these were little more than pin-pricks. Of course, there was simply no chance of opening up a 'second front' in France, which is what Stalin would have liked and was later to start demanding for.\n\nNo, for the time being, all Churchill could promise was to keep up a hostile presence over the Western Front, while continuing to support the Middle East actions, and try to keep his shipping supply lines out in the Atlantic from being overcome by submarine warfare. Daylight actions over the Western Front, Circus, Roadstead, Ramrods, Sweeps and Rhubarbs were all that could be promised in mid-1941. At least it would, perhaps, keep Germany looking over its Eastern Front shoulder and what hopefully would soon be seen as an increasing presence by Fighter Command and 2 Group of Bomber Command, while the latter's night bombing force could only move from strength to strength.\n\nAs a matter of interest, on 19 June, i.e. three days before the invasion, Churchill and his War Cabinet had been keeping a serious eye on probable developments on the Russian border, and a meeting set out the following points:\n\n  1. Enemy very sensitive about [recent] attacks in the B\u00e9thune-Lens area - so plan and develop day operations here.\n\n  2. Continue attacks on shipping in the Channel.\n\n  3. [Make] dummy preparations for invasion [into France].\n\nNumbers 1 and 2 were achievable by normal operations, No.3 would be more one of subterfuge through other agencies. Once the invasion of Russia happened, the RAF found itself with something of a tactical role to play. If pressure in the West could be increased, it might force any German fighter squadrons sent to the Russian Front to return to defend in the West. In the event, this did not happen. JG2 and JG26 were more than capable of keeping the RAF at bay.\n\n**Circus No.18 \u2013 22 June**\n\nThis operation was flown on Sunday 22 June and of course, had nothing to do with the assault upon Russia, having already been planned and the orders sent out. It was another inland target, the marshalling yards at Hazebrouck, which called for twelve Blenheims, six each from 18 and 139 Squadrons. North Weald would provide the Close Escort squadrons (56, 242 and 303) with Target Support coming from Hornchurch (54, 603 and 611), plus Tangmere (145, 610 and 616). Forward Support Wing from Biggin (74, 92, 609), Rear Support from Kenley (1, 258 and 312), plus Hurricanes of 601 flying Low Rear Support, made a total of sixteen fighter squadrons to protect the bombers.\n\nBombers and fighters made rendezvous over Southend at 1530 hours, at 8,000 feet and headed out via Gravelines, although two of the bombers aborted, leaving ten to make the bomb run, most bombs being seen to hit the target with just some undershooting to the south and east. Fighters attacked the bombers and air gunners claimed two shot down and suffered no losses.\n\nOnce again the enemy fighters did not become engaged with the Close Escort Wing until the bombers were heading away from the target. An estimated fifty Me109s tried to harass the RAF fighters but it seemed they lacked determination and concentration. 56 Squadron damaged two that they engaged. 242 Squadron saw a couple of 109s trying to attack the Wing and destroyed one of them. The successful pilot was the Frenchman, Lt. Jean-Francois Demozay DFC, who had, famously, been the liaison officer with 1 Squadron in France in 1940 and having escaped to England when France collapsed, piloting a Bristol Bombay, taken fifteen British soldiers with him. He had been operational with 1 Squadron since late 1940 gaining three kills, and had now claimed his fourth, flying with 242 Squadron. The Poles of 303 Squadron waded into fifteen 109s they found waiting for the opportunity to attack the Blenheims, and claimed six destroyed and one probable.\n\nThe Hornchurch Wing was down to two squadrons upon reaching the French coast, 603 having become separated. High above the attacking force, 54 and 611 engaged a number of 109s and their pilots claimed nine destroyed, four probables and two damaged, losing just one pilot, F\/O P. S. C. Pollard, shot down and killed near Dunkirk. Duncan Smith of 611 Squadron recorded:\n\n'As the last sweltering days of June reached new heights in temperatures, we seemed to get as many as four offensive sorties a day. One afternoon, with the sun scorching through the canopy of my Spitfire, I flew with 'Polly' Pollard as the Squadron climbed steadily for North Foreland. Our task was to act as high cover to bombers whose targets were the marshalling yards at Hazebrouck. We crossed the French coast at 28,000 feet, the sun glinting on the Perspex of our cockpit hoods and long vapour trails streaming behind us. Below, I could see the stepped formations of the lower escort squadrons stretching down to the neatly packed group of twelve Blenheims with their close escort of Hurricanes, at about 12,000 ft. We called it the 'Beehive' because with individual aircraft weaving and jinking the whole affair looked like a swarm of bees.\n\n'As we approached Hazebrouck a formation of ten Me109s, slightly below, came towards us. Eric Stapleton turned into them and started to dive; immediately the enemy formation rolled onto their backs and disappeared past the tail of the Beehive. Almost on top of the target another formation of fifteen 109s appeared below and we promptly dived for them. They saw us coming and broke into our attack. I stuck close to Polly as we waltzed around trying to get on their tails. One group of 109s then broke right with two sections after them, while Polly and I went with two others latched on to four Me109s circling across out left front. Swiftly we turned inside them and got into range. Polly called me: \"Take the right 109 Charlie Two, I'll get the other.\"\n\n'We were now well placed and the 109s stayed with us in a tight circle. They were staggered, the one on the right slightly above and behind the left-hand one with ourselves in a commanding position behind and a couple of hundred feet above.\n\n'I swung my nose across closing fast and as the 109 filled the width of my windscreen I blasted into the side of his cockpit and engine. Bits flew off and thick smoke gushed; the 109 rolled slowly over and plunged vertically down. As I prepared to follow, tracers streaked past my cockpit and over the top of my propeller. I broke sharply in a right-hand climbing turn. Polly's voice hit my earphones: \"Good boy, Charlie Two. Climb. I'm above.\"\n\n'Wildly I looked around for Polly. Turning, I saw two Me109s flash past behind me, then above them the unmistakeable wing pattern of a Spitfire. Giving my aircraft every pound of boost I had I rocketed upwards in a tight spiral. Polly saw me coming and nosed towards me. \"Did you get one, Charlie Leader?\" I asked. \"Think so, can't tell \u2013 had to break \u2013 attacked by six bastards.\"'\n\nMoments later, the two men were battling for their lives as more 109s pounced. Duncan Smith watched as Pollard fired at one and saw it glow red and trail black smoke but the two Spitfire pilots were outnumbered and Smith saw his leader rolling over and heading down in a right spiral. However, Smith was concentrating more on one 109 that had dived beneath him and following it down closed in so he couldn't miss. Opening fire the 109 became a sheet of flame, went over and dived into the ground. Returning to base the pilots put in claims for several 109s but Pollard had not returned.\n\nTangmere Wing had gone to St Omer where 616 orbited before heading back via Merville. They saw an air fight in progress and joined in, claiming two victories. 610 Squadron also went inland and covered the bombers' approach. Some 109s turned up but no engagement. One pilot strafed the sand-dunes at Gravelines causing casualties at two gun posts. 145 engaged ten 109s and when three made an attack, one was claimed as destroyed.\n\nSailor Malan led Biggin Hill to patrol Gravelines to Berques between 16\u201322,000 feet. 74 went after fifteen Me109s 5,000 feet below, destroyed two and damaged a third over an airfield at Dunkirk. 609 flew higher and attacked ten 109s, claiming four destroyed and two damaged. 92 Squadron was not engaged. Nor, indeed, were the other supporting Wings.\n\nBack at their bases and when the final tally of claims was put into Group, the numbers were impressive. Thirty-one Me109s had been destroyed, five more probably so and seven more damaged, including the two destroyed by Blenheim gunners. All this for the loss of just one pilot and aeroplane. The German fighters, the RAF reported, showed little inclination to fight. Interestingly G\/Capt Bouchier thought this might be due to less experienced units having moved into the area, the more experienced ones having moved to the Russian Front. One has to wonder if British Intelligence had found any signs of JG2 or JG26 having left for the East. Otherwise, 11 Group was more than pleased with the outcome of Circus 18, and they felt sure these '... operations were having the desired effect on the morale of the enemy.'\n\nGroup and Fighter Command HQ may have felt differently had they known the extent of German losses, and amazed at the number of Luftwaffe claims. JG26 had lost one pilot killed but had claimed five Spitfires \u2013 all credited to _Experten_ (aces). JG2 had claimed seven, including two Blenheims, by Major Wilhelm Balthasar, Stab\/JG2 for his thirty-second and thirty-third victories \u2013 none were lost! JG2 had lost two pilots while another had force-landed his 109 at Arques badly damaged. JG26 lost Ltn. Hans Glasmacher, to Spitfire attack.\n\n**Circus No.19 \u2013 23 June**\n\nSome readers may not be aware that until recently, RAF fighter pilots were not equipped with dinghies, their only floatation gear being their life-vests, more popularly referred to as the 'Mae West' after the well-proportioned Hollywood actress of the 1930\u201340s. This would have exercised the pilots' minds as they flew across the English Channel, and more so when trying to get back again, either with a damaged aeroplane or with fuel running low. Bomber and Coastal pilots all had had access to dinghies since the war began as they were obviously required to operate over the sea, but Fighter Command had planned for either a defensive war above England, or another WW1 type fight above France. Fighter pilots were now, however, all issued with a dinghy, so at least they could, if uninjured and safely on the water, climb in out of the cold sea, hopefully to await rescue.\n\nRescue at this stage was mostly by motor launch, either RAF or Naval, or even the Lifeboat Service. Rescue by aeroplane was no more than Lysander or Defiant aircraft searching the wave-tops. If they spotted a man in the water, either in Mae West or dinghy, the crew was equipped to drop a smoke float and mark his position in the hope that a boat would speed out and pick him up. This would be bettered shortly with the arrival of Supermarine Walrus amphibious aircraft that could land on the sea, if the conditions were not too horrendous, and bring the downed airman home. But these life-saving seaplanes would not start to operate in this role until 1942.\n\n* * *\n\nCircus 19, planned for the early afternoon of 23 June, would be followed by an evening operation, Circus 20. The first was to bomb the Etabs Kuhlmann Chemical Works and power station at Chocques, the same one attacked back on the 17th. The evening raid was to bomb Mardyck airfield.\n\nClose Escort came from Kenley, and comprised 1, 258, 312 and 303 Squadrons. Target Support came from Tangmere and Biggin. Forward Support from Hornchurch and a 12 Group (Wittering) Wing \u2013 19, 266 and 485 (NZ) Squadron. 71 (Eagle) and 306 (Polish) Squadrons acted as Rear Support.\n\nIt was a fine day with just some thin cloud over France, but visibility was estimated at some twenty miles. Twenty-four bombers were to make rendezvous over Southend at 1300, and in the event, eleven from 105, with six each from 21 and 110 Squadrons, joined up and crossed the hostile coast at Gravelines. The target was reached at 1330 but only twenty-one Blenheims made the run-in from 12,000 feet. Bombing wasn't perfect but some hits were seen near the power station. Flak had damaged a couple of the bombers as they crossed the coast and had to abandon their attack, but no enemy fighters interfered with the mini-armada. A pilot of 6.\/JG2, Uffz. Karl-Heinz Rotte, claimed one bomber as his first victory. Few fighters were seen by the Escort either. 303 saw a dozen high up but effective weaving prevented the 109s from having a go. When later a couple of actions did take place, the Poles claimed eight destroyed and two probables. Sergeant Mieczyslaw Adamek claimed two, his first victories since Poland in 1939. He had seen some 109s attacking the Spitfire ahead of him and having warned this pilot, fired a long burst into the 109 whereupon it exploded and went down a mass of flames. With a 109 then behind him, he turned sharply and was able to fire into it causing much smoke to pour from it and went straight down. These 109s, he noted, had red noses. Adamek received the DFM and Bar, and the Polish Cross of Valour but was killed as a flight lieutenant in May 1944. 312 Squadron did see some 109s, later reporting that in their pilots' opinions the mission was completely dominated by Spitfires.\n\nTangmere had no action either but Biggin Hill's boys made a large S-shaped sweep at between 19\u201321,000 feet and saw some. 609 Squadron was attacked by two 109s near Hardelot, that shot-up one Spitfire. 92 fared better when engaging several 109s after leaving the target, and four were claimed shot down, plus one damaged.\n\nForward Support patrolled off Cap Gris Nez to Boulogne and in some small skirmishes, 611 claimed one destroyed and one probable. The 12 Group Wing also had some brief encounters - as well as some flak fire \u2013 and 19 Squadron damaged a 109 while 266 claimed one destroyed and one probable.\n\nSo, in all, 7-3-2 claims. Wing Commander P. G. Jameson DFC, leading the Wittering Wing, claimed a 109, while Jamie Rankin, CO of 92 Squadron, had bagged two; he was about to receive a Bar to his DFC. JG26 had engaged some of the Circus aircraft but only Priller and Hptm. Johannes Siefert scored. They in turn had had two pilots shot down, one crash-landing at Hesdin, but both pilots survived. Casualties not mentioned in Bouchier's report included a 92 Squadron pilot, Sgt H. Bowen-Morris, who was shot down over France seriously wounded (he lost his right arm) and taken prisoner. He was repatriated in October 1943. Also, 485 Squadron had a pilot shot down and killed off the French coast, while 616 had another bale out over the sea due to lack of fuel, but he was rescued.\n\nTwo other pilots were wounded. Pilot Officer B. M. Gladych of 303 actually collided with a 109 (he claimed three in total), forcing him to crash-land near Ramsgate, while 603's F\/O W. A. Douglas returned, wounded by cannon shell fragments. As a result of this combat, Gladych was recommended for the DFC, the citation for which mentioned: _'... during a sortie over France, [he] destroyed one enemy aircraft and probably another. On a second sortie later in the day, he destroyed a second enemy aircraft but was then cut off by superior enemy forces. Whilst fighting his way back to the English coast his guns failed after they had been hit. P\/O Gladych continued his fight, and collided with and destroyed yet another enemy aircraft, part of which came into his cockpit and wounded him. Although only able to see with one eye and in a semi-conscious condition P\/O Gladych attempted to reach a home aerodrome; he was able to make a crash-landing, sustaining further injuries in doing so.'_ This was his first recorded combat action.\n\nMike Gladych would become an ace (eighteen victories) flying with the RAF and USAAF later in the war, while Bill Douglas was a future wing leader and a DFC and Bar winner, who also saw considerable action over Malta in 1942.\n\n**Circus No.20 \u2013 23 June**\n\nThis second such operation of the day called for six Blenheims of 107 Squadron to hit Mardyck Aerodrome in the early evening. One bomber had to abort but the others carried on after making rendezvous with their Close Escort (242 and 303) over Maidstone at 2000 hours. Three Wings were slated for Target Support, Biggin Hill, Tangmere and Hornchurch, with Rear Support provided by Kenley.\n\nThe bombers arrived early at the rendezvous and flew on but the Hurricanes caught up with them as they crossed the English coast. No sooner had they all crossed the French coast at Hardelot than they came under flak and fighter attack. The 109s came in from every direction, virtually swamping the escorting Hurricanes and two Blenheims were shot down, although five were claimed! Leutnant Siegfried Schnell of 4.\/JG2 (who had just shot down a Spitfire) claimed two for his twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth victories, and then bagged another Spitfire making four kills for this action (twenty-sixth). Oberleutnant J\u00fcrgen Heppe, the Staffel leader, claimed one for his sixth. JG26's Hptm. Gerd Sch\u00f6pfel, claimed the fourth one, for his twenty-fourth kill. 'Wumm' Schnell had received the Knight's Cross in November 1940 and went on to receive the Oak Leaves in July 1941 after forty victories.\n\nAnother Blenheim was badly hit and was escorted back by two of 242, and the other two bombers were forced to jettison their bomb load on a railway line they spotted and made for home, one landing at Manston. Of the two lost, one crew became prisoners, the others were all killed. It had not been a good trip for the 2 Group bombers.\n\nThe two Hurricane squadrons claimed 9-3-2 with just one of their number having to force-land at Manston. Crossing the French coast the Biggin squadrons saw fifteen to twenty 109s going down on 303. 92 Squadron attacked and shot down at least three, maybe four, with another damaged. 609 suffered from R\/T problems and failed to assist 92, while 74, way up at 27,000 feet, saw little activity of any kind.\n\nTangmere's leader was advised by the Controller that enemy aircraft were approaching Cap Gris Nez and that there was a battle developing off Dover. He led his three squadrons in that direction, up-sun, but failed to see any 109s. Hornchurch had flown slightly inland over France where all three squadrons spread out into 'fours' as they saw several groups of 109s at varying heights above them. 611 engaged and shot down one 109, and in the fight, claimed one 109 damaged but had a pilot wounded. The Rear Support Wing saw nothing.\n\nOther than two fighters shot up, the RAF suffered no losses, and only the two bombers failed to return. The Luftwaffe pilots of JG26 put in claims for five Spitfires, while JG2 claimed four Spitfires (in addition to the two bombers), so a total of nine. JG26 suffered no casualties while JG2 lost four pilots killed and two 109s written off in crash-landings, plus another damaged. JG26 pilot Oblt. Heinz Gotlob gained his sixth and final kill on the twenty-third, as his combat report records:\n\n'Saw three Spitfires approaching the rear of the Staffel. My Rotte broke into this attack; the Spitfires evaded my attack by sharp turns. I climbed above them and began turning, waiting for them to break out of their circle and head to sea. However, my Rotte was itself attacked from above, and I had to dive away. After I had shaken off this attack, I saw a lone Spitfire flying in a north-westerly direction. It was still over land, at 6,000 meters [19,500 ft]. I flew after it, approaching to twenty meters without being observed.\n\n'I then opened fire with all my weapons from behind and beneath it. The bottom of its fuselage started smoking: pieces then broke off the fuselage and wings. The plane pulled up, stalled, and fell away to the left. I saw the Spitfire hit the water \u2013 the pilot had not baled out.' Gotlob would be wounded on the 25th, but he later returned to the Geschwader as a member of the ground personnel.\n\nGroup Captain Bouchier made no comment or conclusion on his action report on the 29th, perhaps someone had finally told him that according to radio traffic, the Germans were not losing as many aircraft as 11 Group pilots were claiming. If the Germans had any similar way of gathering intelligence, what were they thinking about pilot claims? Young pilots on both sides can be forgiven for reporting things they thought they saw in the heat of combat. For instance, if a pilot of a 109 found a Spitfire on his tail, he often half-rolled and dived, increasing power as he did so. This usually produced a burst of black smoke from the exhausts that to the untrained eye might look like the start of an engine fire after a hit by .303 bullets or 20mm cannon. RAF pilots of the time could not easily follow the 109 in a similar fashion because their carburettors ceased feeding in conditions of inverted flight causing a temporary loss of power \u2013 thus allowing the fuel-injected 109's pilot to half-roll, dive, and pull away from danger.\n\nIt is well known that German fighter pilots suffered from something called 'sore throat syndrome' from wanting desperately to win the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, a decoration worn at the throat, so claims sometimes followed an excess of enthusiasm.\n\n**Circus No.21 \u2013 24 June**\n\nThe next operation came on the 24th, and this time 2 Group put up seventeen bombers from 18, 107 and 139 Squadrons. The target was the electric power station at Commines, north-west of Lille, crossing the French coast at Dunkirk. Rendezvous at 2000 hours with the Escort Wing, Northolt's Poles \u2013 303, 306 and 308 Squadrons \u2013 plus 71 Eagle Squadron from Martlesham, comprising the main body. The Americans, flying close to the bombers, only saw a few fleeting 109s and although one was fired at, no results were observed.\n\nSquadrons 306 and 308 on Medium Escort similarly saw little and just one 109 was claimed hit and probably destroyed. 306 also escorted a lagging Blenheim back home. The top Squadron, 303, found six Me109s as they left the target but weaving prevented any attack. Reaching the French coast four more 109s were engaged and two shot down, one by the CO, S\/Ldr W. \u0141apkowski. Wac\u0142aw Lapkowski had fought over Poland, in the Battle of Britain and now over France. This was his last victory (his eighth). He would be lost in July.\n\nHornchurch followed the bombers towards Dunkirk then flew back over the Channel, and later made a sweep inland towards Lille. Some 109s turned up later and a fight developed in which 54 Squadron claimed three destroyed, one probable and two more damaged. One of the claimants was F\/O E. F. J. Charles, born in Coventry but brought up in Canada. Jack Charles would become a wing leader in 1943 after commanding 611 Squadron. He would receive the DSO, DFC and Bar, and score sixteen victories, all of them fighters.\n\nNumber 611 Squadron claimed a probable while 603 also claimed a destroyed, but had two Spitfires damaged by flak. Strangely, the action report does not mention that 603 lost F\/O K. J. McKelvie (killed) or Sgt D. P. Lamb wounded and force-landing at Walmer. 611 also lost F\/Lt T. F. A. Buys, a Dutch pilot, who was killed, another casualty not mentioned.\n\nTangmere's Target Support operation followed the bombers in at 21,000 feet but saw no enemy aircraft. Heading back to the French coast, with haze and the position of the sun making cohesion difficult, the raiders headed for home. Six 109s were seen but not attacked, and they also experienced heavy flak as they crossed the coast.\n\nBiggin Hill pilots were over the target area at 2035, but they never saw the bombers or escort. On the way out a number of small 109 formations were seen above, some up to around 30,000 feet. In total, Wing pilots thought the overall number seen was in the region of sixty. Some encounters took place and three 109s were destroyed, four probably so and two damaged.\n\nA 12 Group Wing (19, 65 and 222 Squadrons), flying a diversion sweep along the French coast, engaged a couple of 109s and probably shot down one of them. Another formation from Kenley flew a similar sortie at between 20\u201325,000 feet but saw nothing of note.\n\nTotal victories claimed \u2013 nine destroyed, seven probables and five damaged for the loss of two pilots missing and one wounded. JG2 and JG26 both responded to this raid, with JG26 claiming three Spitfires, JG2 ten! G\u00fcnther Sprick, leader of the JG26's 8th Staffel, gained his thirty-first, while Oblt. Erich Leie of JG2 scored twice, victories thirteen and fourteen. JG26's 9th Staffel lost one pilot killed in action while another pilot crash-landed near Wissant. JG2 lost their Gruppen-Adjutant, Ltn. Heinz Bolze, killed, shortly after gaining his fifth victory, and had another pilot wounded and his 109 written off.\n\n**Circus No.22 \u2013 25 June**\n\nFighter Command's 11 Group and Bomber Command's 2 Group were now in full swing as they had flown Circus operations every day since 21 June and would do so until the 28th. On 25 June Circus 22, consisting of twelve Blenheims, six each from 21 and 110 Squadrons, were to go for the Hazebrouck marshalling yards with Kenley Wing as escort, with 303 Squadron as High Cover.\n\nOnce more a small armada of RAF fighters would fill the air. One has to wonder where the dividing line was, between trying to bring the Luftwaffe to battle and scaring them off! Extra High Cover over the target would be flown by Biggin Hill, Target Support by Hornchurch, Forward Support by Tangmere and Rear Support by North Weald, which would patrol the Goodwins area. In all, sixteen squadrons were involved which, assuming all were at full strength, would mean nearly 200 fighters in the sky, although admittedly, not all clustered together.\n\nJust minutes after midday, rendezvous was made once more over Maidstone, and having reached the target, bombed at the lower altitude of 7,000 feet. Most bombs were seen to burst in the yards, being observed to be full of railway traffic. Two rail bridges were destroyed with direct hits, one of which was across a main road. Despite the height there was no anti-aircraft fire, and no fighters were seen either.\n\nThe Escort Wing however, experienced heavy AA fire on the way out but hardly any enemy fighters showed up, although 303, at 14,000 feet, did engage four 109s and claimed two destroyed, one falling towards the sea, the other going down in flames. Biggin Hill's boys were at heights up to 30,000 feet. They found eight 109s and claimed two destroyed and possibly another, both by 92 Squadron. The successful pilots were F\/Lt A. R. Wright DFC, and P\/O N. F. Duke. It was Neville Duke's first confirmed victory and he would go on to claim twenty-eight (mostly in North Africa) by the war's end, winning not only the DSO but the DFC and two Bars. In his diary, Duke wrote:\n\n'Allan and self dived down on two 109s over St Omer \u2013 couldn't catch them \u2013 going at a phenomenal airspeed. 109s pulled up vertically \u2013 blacked out and broke away just avoiding stalling. Saw Allan and 109 diving with glycol coming from the 109.\n\n'I was attacked by two 109s from astern but saw them just in time and did a terrific turn, seeing tracer whistle past behind. Came out over Dunkirk and passed two 109s on way. Turned and saw dogfight going on near Dunkirk so went back and joined in. Sat on the tail of a 109 which was shooting at another Spit. Fired several bursts of cannon and machine-gun into him from about 50 yards range. Glycol streamed out and he started going down. Got just above him and look down into his cockpit. Pilot was crouched over stick and did not look up. Think perhaps I hit him.\n\n'The 109 went down and crashed a few miles inland. Sped home at sea level at terrific bat. Bad AA fire from a convoy, which I came out over at 1,000 feet, and also from Dunkirk. Engine stopped just as I touched down on 'drome for lack of petrol!'\n\nHornchurch had joined with the main formation over Southend at between 15\u201318,000 feet. Some 109s were encountered near the target and 54 Squadron shot down two, one of which was destroyed. Heading back to the coast, some twenty to thirty more 109s were circling at 32,000 feet and came down. In the ensuing battle, two 109s were probably destroyed but 54 lost one pilot killed and one wounded, plus W\/Cdr J. R. Kayll DSO DFC who was to have led the Wing. He became a prisoner of war. He later reported:\n\n'I was to lead the Escort but at the last moment, Gp\/Capt Broadhurst [Station Commander RAF Hornchurch] said that he would like to lead so I decided to go as his No.2. The raid was carried out successfully and the Wing headed for home but Broadhurst decided to fly back over France, detached the leading flight of four aircraft and headed west, climbing to gain height. While still climbing steeply, we were attacked by Me109s from out of the sun. Numbers 3 and 4 were shot down and did not survive [sic]. The Gp\/Capt managed to get back to the UK but I was hit in the engine and lost all power. I was not able to jump as any attempt to slow down was an invitation for further attacks so I landed wheels up in a pea field between two canals and was captured hiding in a cornfield after about thirty minutes. We were an easy target and I was lucky to survive.'\n\nFlying No.3 was Sgt John Beresford. In his mirror he spotted two 109s behind Kayll and called for a break. As he himself turned to port he found a 109 ahead of him and not having seen a 109 in front and within range before he delayed slightly to open fire, but then another 109 nailed him. A cannon shell set his Spitfire on fire and he baled out and was soon captured. Beresford's wingman, P\/O K. E. Knox, was also hit and wounded but unknown to Kayll, managed to get home.\n\nThe section had been attacked by pilots of JG2, Oblt. Rudi Pflanz, Fw. G\u00fcnther Seeger and the Geschwader Kommodeur, Hptm. Wilhem Balthasar, each claimed a Spitfire.\n\nMeantime, Tangmere headed in over Gravelines, with 616 circling between St Omer and the coast at 19,000 feet. When they began to return they encountered six 109s, destroyed one, probably two more and damaged another two. 610 Squadron, warned of the approach of thirty 109s, milled around and engaged some of them, claiming one and one probable. The Wing Leader, of course, was Douglas Bader, and his wingman was Sergeant J. G. West from New Zealand. Several years ago, Jeff West wrote to me about his days with the Wing, recalling:\n\n'I was quite happy to drop in behind Bader but on 25 June on my way home, DB suddenly stall-turned off after climbing after a 109 and I gave the EA an extra squirt for luck. On landing Douglas asked me if I had seen the pilot bale out. I said no, I was too busy catching up with him. He made me share \u00bd with him.'\n\nThe Messerschmitts of JG26 failed to make any effective assault but the First Gruppe eventually engaged the Tangmere fighters and claimed three. These would appear to be the three RAF aircraft that, whilst damaged in combat, each managed to get back to crash-land in England. JG26 lost one pilot and had another wounded.\n\nTotal claims by the RAF was seven destroyed, a further seven as probables and two damaged. Two Spitfire pilots failed to return. Luftwaffe pilots claimed nine, three by JG26 and six by JG2. JG2 lost one pilot (Uffz. Friedrich Otto) and another crash-landed, wounded (Oblt. Gottlob).\n\nWhile Bouchier's report showed no bombers lost, one of 21 Squadron crashed on landing at Southend airfield, although the crew survived.\n\nAt 11 Group HQ's Operations Room, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and his wife visited with Air Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas, seeing for themselves how the operation had developed and been carried out. Whether they stayed on for the second show of the day is not known for certain.\n\n**Circus No.23 \u2013 25 June**\n\nA second operation, Circus 23, twelve Blenheims, six each from 18 and 139 Squadrons, were tasked with an attack on St Omer Aerodrome in the late afternoon. Close Escort was North Weald's job, with 303 again as their High Cover. Extra High Cover was given to Hornchurch, while Target Support went to Tangmere and Biggin squadrons. Forward Support was provided by 12 Group while Rear Support was flown from Kenley.\n\nRendezvous was made above West Malling at 5,000 feet at 1600, and by the time they reached Hardelot another 1,000 feet had been added. They were met by heavy flak fire but the bombers headed for the airfield and bombed, seeing explosions among buildings and dispersal points. More heavy AA fire damaged several of the bombers, one going down in flames to crash in the target area. There were no survivors. No enemy fighters were seen by them or the escort. However, up at 9,000 feet, 303 Squadron met four 109s, claimed one as damaged but lost P\/O S. Paderewski, killed.\n\nHornchurch also saw a few 109s but no engagement took place, although Tangmere pilots, flying between 21\u201325,000 feet did. The Wing Leader sent 610 after a dozen 109s at 17,000 feet and a dogfight developed, and two were shot down, plus two damaged, for the loss of one pilot, who ended up as a prisoner. Another pilot was wounded in one leg but got home. As 145 and 616 continued to the target more 109s came from above. 145 claimed two and two damaged, while 616 claimed one but lost two pilots, both killed.\n\nBiggin Hill's squadrons at 25\u201329,000 feet gradually let down as the target came into view although they did not see any 109s till they were on their way out. They claimed one 109 destroyed, while P\/O T. S. Wade of 92 was slightly wounded but got back. The other Support Wings had no encounters.\n\nFighters from JG26 and JG2 were sent up and made quick attacks on the main formation as they withdrew and two Spitfires were claimed by JG26 and a further eight by JG2 for the loss of one pilot. In total the RAF lost four pilots and one wounded. JG26 had no losses, but JG2 suffered two killed and one crash-landed. The RAF claimed a total of six destroyed and five damaged.\n\n**Circus No.24 \u2013 26 June**\n\nThursday, 26 June 1941 was another fair, early summer day. There was some haze over the Channel but cloud over France might be a problem. Nevertheless, a large force of twenty-eight bombers had been assigned to attack the electric power station at Commines. This was the largest raiding force thus far, but in the end the cloud prevented them pressing on. They found 10\/10ths at between 9\u201315,000 feet and seeing this wall of cloud ahead of them as they reached the French coast, the mission was aborted, and they turned for home together with their Close Escort.\n\nHornchurch, the Cover Wing for the Dunkirk area, never saw the bombers so split up into sections and began to patrol Gravelines way up between 20\u201325,000 feet. At this height they encountered some twenty Me109s and in the fight that ensued, they claimed three destroyed, three probables and four damaged for the loss of one pilot killed.\n\nThe Tangmere squadrons also broke up, into individual squadrons, and then sections of fours. As 145 headed for the target area they ran into half a dozen 109s and shot down one but lost one pilot who was taken prisoner. 616 also engaged 109s and claimed one and another damaged, while 610, having flown some twenty miles inland encountered twenty-four 109s in loose formation at various heights. In the scrap that followed, they claimed one destroyed and two damaged for no loss.\n\nWith no message received from the Controller stating that the mission had been aborted, Biggin Hill's pilots continued to the target area way above the cloud layer and then returned towards Gravelines hoping to protect the main force, which in any event was well on its way home. 609 Squadron saw no enemy machines, while 92 and 74 became engaged with 109s and claimed three destroyed, one probable and two damaged for the loss of one pilot from 92, who became a prisoner. The other supporting Wings saw no enemy activity.\n\nFighter Command claimed nine 109s destroyed, four probables and eight damaged for the loss of three pilots. Despite the fact no bombers were present the Luftwaffe still scrambled to intercept \u2013 being unaware that they had turned back. No doubt the radar plotters, having detected so large a force, were misled into thinking that bombers must be present; had they realised the bombers had aborted they would probably have left well alone.\n\nAs it happened, JG26 did claim two of the RAF's losses, one by Hptm. Walter Adolph, CO of II Gruppe, for his eighteenth victory. JG2 was not very successful in forming up to engage but when they did, they managed to claim three Spitfires. However, they lost five of their aircraft with two pilots killed and one wounded.\n\n**Circus No.25 \u2013 27 June**\n\nFriday the 27th, yet another fair day despite thick haze up to 9,000 feet, but clear blue sky above. Another attempt at a large bomber force, this time twenty-four Blenheims, six each from 18, 21, 139 and 226 Squadrons, would proceed to bomb the Fives Steel and Engineering Works at Lille. Close Escort was again flown by North Weald, Biggin's 74 and 609 Squadrons were Escort Cover, with 92 at Extra High Cover. Support Wings were provided by Hornchurch and Tangmere. 12 and 13 Groups added a Wing each as Forward and Rear Support. This was the first time 13 Group had been involved in an 11 Group Circus.\n\nToday the bombers and their escort met over Martlesham at 2100 hours and heading out, crossed the French coast at Dunkirk, being met by some intense AA fire both to and from the target. Several bombers were hit but none lost. Bombs were seen to explode on the target and the nearby marshalling yards.\n\nThe Close Escort boys, as usual, appeared to deter enemy pilots from coming in too close and a couple that did were attacked by 306 Squadron who damaged one of them. Escort Cover Wing was at 18,000 feet and above as they approached Dunkirk. 74 Squadron was attacked by some 109s but the Squadron turned to meet them and damaged one of them seriously, however, the 'Tigers' suffered the loss of three pilots, including the CO, S\/Ldr J. C. Mungo-Park DFC who was killed. The other two were both brought down and captured. Mungo-Park was a successful Battle of Britain pilot who had around a dozen victories, and was about to receive a Bar to his DFC.\n\nUnfortunately the haze prevented 609 from being able to see 74 and therefore had no way of helping. They too were also engaged with some 109s, and damaged a Messerschmitt before re-crossing the coast. 92 Squadron, which was flying around 30,000 feet saw no sign of the enemy and after orbiting three times over the target, returned home.\n\nThe Hornchurch units were high too but could still see the flak fire as the main force went in. Only a couple of 109s were seen south of Lille and one was shot down, by F\/O Jack Charles of 54. Tangmere's squadrons became rather lost being able to see little below through the haze. At one stage they saw a dozen aircraft that they took to be 610 Squadron but turned out to be green-coloured 109s. In a quick scrap one of these was probably destroyed.\n\nThe Forward 12 Group Wing saw six to eight Me109s behind and below as they crossed the French coast at 25,000 feet then they found more in loose formations. For a change the 109 pilots seemed to 266 Squadron rather keen to mix it with the Spitfires but soon went into steep vertical dives if approached too keenly. 65 and 19 Squadrons also had skirmishes and claimed one destroyed and another as a probable. One pilot attacked four 109s and shot one down before he himself was hit in the glycol tank. With his engine stopped he managed to glide across the French coast and the Channel, to crash-land at Lydd. This was Sgt D. G. S. R. Cox, a successful pilot in the Battle of Britain and one who would go on to become a wing commander with the DFC and Bar. Another pilot, however, was not so lucky and failed to return.\n\nThe Kenley Wing orbited off Calais at between 20\u201330,000 feet then headed for the Goodwins reducing height. Several 109s were engaged over Gravelines and one was claimed destroyed.\n\nIn Bouchier's report he gave the RAF scores by Group. 11 Group had claimed two destroyed, two probables and two damaged. 12 Group \u2013 two destroyed, one probable and four damaged. The total was four destroyed, three probables and six damaged. 11 Group had lost three pilots, 12 Group one.\n\nLuftwaffe fighter pilots had had a busy day for in the morning Fighter Command had flown four operations before Circus 25 began. Hauptmann Pingel and his I Gruppe had engaged the main formation of this latter sortie and claimed four Spitfires without loss, but II Gruppe had lost a pilot to Spitfires and had another crash-land. During the day JG2 had claimed one Blenheim and three Spitfires for no loss. No Blenheim had been lost. Pingel and Priller had been credited with their twenty-first and twenty-seventh victories this day, Priller during the morning actions. JG2's Hptm. Balthasar was again in evidence claiming his thirty-ninth and fortieth victories, one being another 'phantom' Blenheim. This brought him the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 3 July 1941. His 'sore throat' had eased. Siegfried Schnell had claimed two Spitfires from Circus 25 to bring his personal score to thirty-one. He knew his award of the Oak Leaves was just nine kills away.\n\nIn other operations the RAF had lost three more fighter pilots. Wing Commander P. \u0141aguna, the Northolt Wing Leader, had been shot down by ground fire, leading 303 Squadron in a low-level strafing attack on Marck airfield. Some 109s were claimed on the ground during the run but \u0141aguna was hit by defensive fire, crashed and was killed. On an afternoon sweep by 19 and 266 Squadrons, three pilots were lost to 109s, one 19 Squadron pilot was captured, while 266 lost one killed and one prisoner. So in total eight fighter pilots lost, including one wing leader and one squadron commander.\n\n* * *\n\nIn a letter to the Air Ministry from the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff dated 27 June 1941, an appendix shows the targets being considered by the RAF at this stage:\n\nTargets in the Pas de Calais area.\n\nTransportation Targets.\n\nZ.437 | Hazebrouck | )\n\n---|---|---\n\nTgt map in preparation | |\n\n) Railway centres serving Calais, Gravelines\n\nArmentieres | ) and Dunkirk.\n\nZ.184 | Lille | )\n\nZ.440 | Abbeville | )\n\nPower Plants\n\nZ.195 | Comines | Steam electric Power Station (179,000 kw) 7 miles W.N.W. of Toucoing.\n\n---|---|---\n\nZ.246 | Sequedin | Steam electric Power Station (98,000 kw) 2 miles S.W. of Lille.\n\nZ.303 | Pont-\u00e0-Vendin | Steam electric Power Station (90,000 kw) 13 miles S.W. of Lille.\n\nTgt map in preparation | Bully | Steam electric Power Station (66,000 kw) 18 miles S.W. of Lille.\n\nZ.302 | Chocques | Steam electric Power Station (65,000 kw) 23 miles W.S.W. of Lille.\n\nZ.283 | Lomme | Steam electric Power Station (44,000 kw) 2 miles W.S.W. of Lille.\n\nZ.301 | Mazingarbe | Steam electric Power Station (78,000 kw) 16 miles S.W. of Lille.\n\nZ.573 | Labruissiere (Bruay) | Main distributing point from the industrial power stations to the ports of Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne.\n\nIndustrial Targets in the Pas de Calais Area\n\nZ.183 | Compaigne Fives-Lille, Lille | The most important manufacturer of locomotives in France and is known to be manufacturing on German account.\n\n---|---|---\n\nTgt map in preparation | Accumulator Tudor, Lille | The leading French manufacturer of submarine accumulators. It may now be making them for Germany, but there is no definite information on this subject.\n\nZ.447 | Kuhlmann, Hornes | Synthetic oil and methanol plant. Fischer-Tropech process. Coke ovens alongside (330,000 tons).\n\nZ.301 | Mines de Bully | Large coke oven batteries (500,000 tons B\u00e9thune, of coke per annum) synthetic nitrogen plant and small synthetic oil plant, also Bully & Mazingarbe Power Station of 66,000 kw and 78,000 kw respectively.\n\nZ.302 | Mines de Harles, Chocques | Coke oven batteries (190,000 tons) with Chocques Power Station (81,000 kw) and Marles-Kuhlmann chemical plant alongside. The latter is producing glycol which is being taken to Germany.\n\nZ.303 | Rayon & Staple Fibre Plant. Pont-\u00e0-Vendin, Calais | Produces 25% of the total French output. Manufacturing parachute material for Germany.\n\nZ.185 | Locomotive and Wagon repair and construction works at Hellemmes, S.E. of Lille | The most important works of this type in northern France. Recent photos indicate that it is being employed at maximum capacity.\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.26 \u2013 28 June**\n\nThere was no let up and Circus 26 came on the 28th, twenty-three Blenheims being sent to bomb once more the electric power station at Commines \u2013 the third time this month. It was an early morning show, the bombers coming from 18, 21, 139 and 226 Squadrons, although two aborted. Close Escort went to the Polish Wing, plus 3 Squadron. Tangmere flew a Cover Wing over Dunkirk while Support Wings came from Hornchurch and Biggin. 12 Group again gave Forward Diversion Cover, Kenley the Rear Cover.\n\nWeather was cloudy but improving, with just 3\/10ths cloud at 15,000 feet. Rendezvous was made over Martlesham at 0800 hours, at 5,000 feet, the bombers originally flying in boxes of six [sic]. Eleven tons of bombs went down on the target from 7\u20138,000 feet and explosions were reported on the boiler house, turbine room and switch-gear building. A few bombs went astray but landed on a small factory just to the east. Flak was heavy but only one bomber was damaged.\n\n3 Squadron weaved in pairs in close escort and while it too suffered from AA fire, no losses were suffered and no enemy aircraft seen. However, 306 Squadron, flying to the left of the bombers was suddenly attacked by four Me109s, Hptm. Sch\u00f6pfel picking off P\/O J. \u017bulikowski. As the four 109s continued their dive, \u017bulikowski's Spitfire was seen to go straight down and crash, so he was presumed killed. However, he survived and although captured, later managed an escape and returned to England via Spain, arriving by ship on 5 January 1942.\n\nMore 109s were engaged by 308 Squadron whose pilots claimed one in flames and another probably destroyed. 303, flying as top cover, had its rearmost section of four bounced by five 109s, whose pilots kept up harassing tactics before a more prolonged dog fight began, during which one Spitfire was shot down (P\/O J. Bondar killed, claimed by Uffz. Babenz), but one 109F was claimed too. Reforming at low altitude they flew over a German airfield and one pilot opened fire on a 109 that had been mounted on a tripod and claimed to have destroyed it. Along a road they attacked a busload of German soldiers and over the coast shot up a tug. One pilot (P\/O W. M. Drecki) was forced to bale out fifteen miles off Worthing but was rescued.\n\nThe Cover Wing did not see a lot, although one pilot of 145 spotted two 109s in line astern and attacked the rearmost and claimed it probably destroyed. The other two squadrons saw little and had no engagements. The Target Support Wings reached the target area around 0830 but the Hornchurch Wing saw little enemy activity. Biggin Hill saw some thirty 109s in total but most avoided combat, although two were engaged one being shot down by Sailor Malan. Diversion and Cover Wings reported little activity.\n\nWith just three aircraft and two pilots lost, it was not a bad day, especially with six 109s claimed destroyed plus a probable. The Germans suffered a severe loss by having Gustav 'Micky' Sprick of JG26 killed. All three of JG26's Gruppen had been ordered up to intercept the Circus and I Gruppe shot down one Spitfire west of Lille, which was one of the Polish losses. Meantime, Sch\u00f6pfel led his III Gruppe towards Calais and got up-sun as the bombers began to withdraw, but his high staffel was engaged by Spitfires and a fight started. Sprick was attacked by a Spitfire and when he made a steep turn, a wing collapsed and the 109 plunged to the ground. This was due to structural failure, and some of the Gruppen's 109s had to be flown to Antwerp for wing replacements. Pilot Officer W. M. Drecki of 303 made head-on attacks upon two 109s and both were seen to crash, but he was hit himself and, as mentioned earlier, later baled out into the sea and was rescued. JG26 had four other 109s damaged in combat, three of the pilots being wounded. Oberleutnant Harald Grawatsch, II Gruppe's Adjutant, had to bale out of his burning 109, suffering severe injuries, resulting in a leg amputation. Three of the 109s were written off in crash-landings. Sprick had now achieved thirty-one victories and Sch\u00f6pfel had claimed his twenty-sixth.\n\n**Circus No.27 \u2013 30 June**\n\nThe RAF had a break on the 29th, but Circus 27 was ordered for 30 June, involving eighteen Blenheims, ten from 18 Squadron, and eight from 139, attacking the power station at Pont-\u00e1-Vendin, north-east of Lens. The Poles from Northolt, and North Weald again got the Close Escort duty, with Hornchurch and Biggin pulling Target Support once more. Kenley, Tangmere and a 12 Group Wing had the Diversion and Rear Support tasks.\n\nThis day the RV (rendezvous) point was above the seaside town of Clacton, at 7,000 feet, timed for 1800 hours. They had gained another 2,000 feet by the time they crossed east of Gravelines, where they met heavy flak which continued more or less to the target. One Blenheim aborted but the others all dropped their bombs, five registering hits on or around the turbine building, the roof of which collapsed. Six others reported hits on the engineering works just west of the power house. Six more bombed a large factory at Haisnes, three and a half miles north-west of the primary target, securing two direct hits. All bombers returned home.\n\nThe Close Escort squadron - 242 \u2013 experienced the flak but saw no fighters. 303 Squadron saw a few 109s weaving up high but again nothing developed. 306 had two 109s try to attack the bombers but were driven off, one possibly damaged. 308 only saw a couple of 109s near the coast on the way back.\n\nThe Hornchurch Wing, at 15\u201318,000 feet followed the bombers to Gravelines and flew into France. Five miles inland, 603 Squadron was attacked from above by some 109s that came down in line astern, but it forced 603 to break away from the Wing and dive away. One section pulled round and went for a couple of 109s and destroyed one. The Squadron later reported that they had seen more 109s on this operation than ever before. One pilot failed to return \u2013 Sgt L. E. S. Salt \u2013 who was killed.\n\nThe other two squadrons, 54 and 611, continued to the target after circling near Merville, then split into fours. These pilots had no real encounters but reported that the German fighters appeared to be attempting to fly by or across the formation in order to entice the Wing to split up or to see if a section might detach itself and give chase.\n\nBiggin Hill's squadrons went over at between 23\u201328,000 feet and although some 109s were seen there were no engagements. Only 609 was fired upon at extreme range by 109s in 'nibbling' attacks. Then a dog fight developed and 609 claimed four destroyed, with another probably so and others damaged. It was noticeable that the 109s always seemed to have a height advantage. The Wing Leader, Malan, was one of the claimants, while F\/Lt P. H. M. Richey DFC bagged one and shared a probable with P\/O Roger Malengreau (Belgian), before becoming separated. Paul Richey is famous as the author of _Fighter Pilot_ , which concerned operations during the Battle of France in 1940. This was his tenth confirmed success. In Fighter Command's Form 'F' it recorded:\n\n'F\/Lt Richey, after linking up with other Spitfires at 16,000 ft., saw about 6 Me109Es diving in formation from above and behind. He had an ineffective engagement with one of them, then finding himself alone again, he dived for a patch of cloud at 800 ft., near For\u00eat de Clairmarais. At ground level he saw 2 Me109Es diving on his tail and a third opening fire from [the] starboard quarter. A violent climbing turn and side loop brought him on the latter's tail and two longish bursts with cannon and m\/g caused it to half roll and dive vertically at full speed from 1,000 ft. It is impossible that it recovered. After eluding the other 2 Me109s and accurate light flak from St. Omer area, F\/Lt Richey flew home alone sometimes below tree-top level.'\n\nOf the other supporting wings, only 145 Squadron got near to an enemy fighter, which was claimed as destroyed, while a pilot in 65 Squadron knocked pieces off another. The day's total came to six destroyed, two probables and three damaged for one 'loss'. JG26 claimed one Spitfire (Sgt Salt \u2013 Priller's twenty-eighth kill), while JG2 claimed two more but had one fighter lost in a crash-landing after taking hits in combat.\n\nFor a change, Group Captain Bouchier appended a conclusion at the end of his report, saying that enemy fighters seem to be keeping a height advantage and mainly trying to decoy RAF fighters rather than mix it. Over the last few Circus operations, he said, the enemy fighters seem disinclined to press home attacks on the bombers and their close escort fighters.\n\nPerhaps the Germans were beginning not to mind too much should damage be done to the small French targets being attacked, with the risk of losing pilots and aircraft for no real return. Attacking German airfields might produce more of a response provided they would react. Most fighter airfields were not too far from the Channel coast so the RAF bombers could reach them very quickly and soon be on their way home.\n\nAs June came to a close RAF fighter pilots must have been feeling reasonably pleased with themselves. After the struggles many of them had faced the previous summer, on the defensive, being now on the offensive and dishing it out rather than taking it, would make them feel a good deal better. Probably the more discerning, while happy to be 'dishing it out', were very aware that seats in the mess during the evenings were still emptying at an alarming rate. Often the good news that so-and-so was not only known to be alive although a prisoner, was welcome, even so the squadrons were still losing pilots.\n\nThey no doubt took comfort with the knowledge that they were knocking down the 'Hun' in equally, if not higher numbers, and while never officially acknowledged as such, the 'aces' were building up good scores of enemy aircraft shot down. However, senior officers at both Fighter Command HQ and the Air Ministry, would have been well aware that according to the radio intercepts of German communications, a different story was becoming more obvious.\n\nIt is always difficult to be precise about numbers as there are several imponderables to consider, but during January to May 1941, Fighter Command had lost something in the region of ninety-seven pilots in air actions, with another forty-one injured or wounded. Then in June more than fifty had been lost, including eighteen taken prisoner. To this must be added around a dozen pilots with varying degrees of wounds. In total, therefore, almost 150 pilots had left empty chairs in the messes and another fifty or more had been wounded.\n\nFighter Command had claimed around eighty-four Me109s destroyed and a further thirty-six as probably so during January to May, and in June, they estimated RAF fighter pilots had shot down over 150, plus a further sixty-four as probables. Therefore, these six months of bitter fighting over the Channel and northern France had achieved 237 Me109s claimed as destroyed, and 100 others probably destroyed.\n\nOf course, the assumed ratio of claims to losses could not be divulged to the general public and especially not to the fighter pilots at the sharp end. It is always glib to say that air combat claims were made in good faith, and generally speaking one would agree. Yet from time to time it becomes obvious that some pilots were keen to claim anything that looked possible. One famous pilot claimed a 109 shot down in particular circumstances and said he saw it splash into the sea. We now know the identity of the German pilot, and while he certainly dived down to evade trouble, he most certainly did not go into the sea. It was a case of saying it went into the sea in his combat report, in order to get the Intelligence Officer on the squadron to look more favourably at the claim.\n\nNor would it have done anyone any good to say that over-claiming went on. The man in the street was heartened that the RAF was giving the enemy a bloody nose, and the fighter pilots looking at those empty seats could at least hope that their loss had not been totally in vain. On the political front, it would have proved how successful the Germans were at shooting down Britain's young men, and the Russians, who were hoping for more support from Britain, would not have been impressed to know that the British air force was taking a hammering, so forget any immediate help from that direction.\n\nWhen one thinks about these things, it becomes clear that some of the RAF aces were building up scores way above actual enemy losses. Of course they were doing their best, almost daily facing the dangers of air combat, where the best they could hope for was a slight wound or a prison camp rather than a gruesome and perhaps painful death in a blazing cockpit, or drowning in a bitterly cold English Channel. Yet they were being rewarded with medals and gaining some notoriety as national heroes. What about the fighter pilot who was not able to claim many hits on a fleeting Me109, or was being a wonderful wingman, protecting his leader? He often survived months of combat with little or no reward. But he was there - and had survived.\n_Chapter 5_\n\n**July \u2013 and the Heavies**\n\nAs July began, the Wing Leaders were:\n\nBiggin Hill | W\/Cdr A. G. Malan DSO DFC\n\n---|---\n\nKenley | W\/Cdr J. A. Kent DFC AFC\n\nHornchurch | W\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton DFC\n\nTangmere | W\/Cdr D. R. S. Bader DSO DFC\n\nNorth Weald | W\/Cdr J. W. Gillan DFC AFC\n\nNortholt | W\/Cdr T. H. Rolski (wef 2 July)\n\nDuxford | W\/Cdr R. R. S. Tuck DSO DFC\n\nWittering | W\/Cdr P. G. Jameson DFC\n\n**Circus No.28 \u2013 1 July**\n\nJuly began with no let up, with Circus 28 on Tuesday the 1st. The assigned target was the Kuhlmann Works and Power Station at Chocques, the same as on 17 June (Circus 13). Twelve Blenheims made rendezvous over Canterbury with their Escort Wing at 1805 hours and headed out over North Foreland. However, they had only gone a few miles before thick haze made it impossible to carry on so the raid was aborted, with the main force heading back home. One problem was that the bomber leader failed to tell the fighters. Most of the fighter squadrons involved attempted to carry on with their task but there was no reaction from the German side so everyone came back. The odd Me109 was seen taking a 'look-see' but they quickly rolled away into the haze and cloud, thankful for the chance of an 'early bath'.\n\n**Circus No.29 \u2013 2 July**\n\nWhile the 1st had started fine then clouded over, the 2nd was a mainly fine summer day \u2013 even hot and sultry. Today's Circus operation would be against the City of Lille's Electric Power Station and if Fighter Command wanted a reaction, they got it.\n\nThe show began at 1150. Six Blenheims each from 21 and 266 Squadrons got the job with Northolt having the Close Escort assignment (71, 303 and 308). Cover Wing went to Biggin's usual boys, 74, 92 and 609, Tangmere's 145, 610 and 616 provided Target Support with Rear Support flown by North Weald and Kenley Wings. However, once over France the main force ran into a belt of hazy fog between 10\u201320,000 feet which made finding the target difficult but one bomber, running in to bomb, was attacked by three 109s, their fire wounding the pilot.\n\nHe called to the observer for help but seeing they were practically on top of the target, he first let go their bomb load, then went back to help. Meantime the gunner was returning fire and claimed to have hit one Messerschmitt. Three other bombers went for the railway junction to the south of Lille but they did not see what happened below as they were heavily engaged by six 109s. Six of the other Blenheims spotted the airfield at Merville and bombed that, explosions being seen amongst buildings and a dispersal area in the south-west corner. As they climbed away they were attacked by eight 109Fs and a running fight ensued for at least five minutes. One bomber went down trailing fire and smoke from its port engine.\n\nAs the bombers formed up and crossed out over Mardyck, a quick count found that another bomber was also missing, and on landing it was found that most of the bombers had flak damage from the defences of Lille. The missing aircraft were both from 226 Squadron, with five aircrew killed and one pilot surviving as a prisoner.\n\nThe Escort Wing was not engaged until heading away from the target and was continually attacked until almost halfway out over the Channel. 303 Squadron claimed two 109s shot down, a probable and a damaged, but lost two pilots, including their CO, S\/Ldr W. \u0141apkowski who was killed, and Sgt R. G\u00f3recki who baled out over the sea but was rescued seventy-two hours later. 303 also had two pilots wounded but both got home. 308 was attacked near the target by an estimated sixty enemy fighters, but the Poles weaved behind the bombers to prevent the 109s getting to them. The five weavers claimed two destroyed and a probable, while the rest of the Squadron fought off other 109s to mid-Channel as well, claiming 3-1-1, but also losing two pilots. One was killed, one becoming a prisoner; another pilot returned wounded.\n\nThe Eagle Squadron was also in action over the target and another running fight commenced to way out over the Channel. Yet they stayed with the bombers fighting a gallant rear-guard action, during which they claimed three 109s plus a probable and a damaged. One American, P\/O W. I. Hall, was shot down by Rolf Pingel of JG26, ending up in the famous Stalag Luft III prison camp.\n\nSailor Malan leading his Biggin Wing arrived over the target a few minutes before the bombers and several combats took place although his Tigers (74 Sqn) did not become especially involved. 92 Squadron, however, was heavily involved and claimed four 109s destroyed, with another damaged, and shared yet another with 74 Squadron, the latter unit losing two pilots. Both were taken prisoner. One \u2013 P\/O S. Z. Krol (Polish) - also ended up in Stalag Luft III, only to be murdered by the Gestapo following _The Great Escape_ , in March 1944.\n\nThe Target Support Wing had arrived at Lille by 1215. 616 Squadron immediately found a dozen 109s to the south and went off to engage them. They claimed three shot down and one damaged. One pilot, having broken away from the main battle had lost height and suddenly found himself approaching an airfield so opened fire at buildings, workshops, workmen and soldiers, finishing up with strafing a small boat as he crossed out over the coast. 610 Squadron had joined in the air battle and claimed a 109 destroyed and another damaged.\n\nSome 2,000 feet above the fight, 145 Squadron saw the action but remained in place as top cover. On the way home they saw small formations of 109s and a couple were fired at but no claims were made. However, one Spitfire pilot failed to get home. Sergeant J. G. L. Robillard RCAF was shot down by a 109 but survived and managed to evade capture. He was escorting a man in a parachute who he thought was his CO, when the 109s intercepted him. He was later to relate in his MI9 report (a report produced for MI9 following an evader's successful return to the UK):\n\n'We encountered Messerschmitts and I was boxed in by seven of them at 6,000 feet. I destroyed three of them, two I saw fall and French people subsequently told me that the third had fallen. I was actually trying to collide with it when a shell shot off my port wing. The aeroplane exploded and threw me out.'\n\nParachuting down he hid in a railway tunnel overnight and the next day met up with some Frenchmen who agreed to help him. He was taken to a farmhouse and provided with some civilian clothes before taking him to Lillers. He then met up with two British soldiers who had been at large since May 1940, and said they had actually seen the air action too, also confirming his three kills and seeing him get blown out of his exploding fighter.\n\nAfter a number of adventures with French escape lines, Joseph Robillard got to Gibraltar where he was flown home in a Sunderland flying-boat in August. He was awarded the DFM. Operational again by 1942, he later saw action over Normandy in 1944. Post-war he became a Lt-Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy.\n\nThe Kenley Wing saw a number of Me109s on their way in and on their way out but saw no major actions, although one pilot did strafe German troops and some huts on a beach.\n\nThe post-operation report declared the mission as successful even though the main target was not positively attacked although a secondary one was. The report also declared that it seemed the German reaction to these intensive Circus operations was to increase the number of fighters the Luftwaffe was putting up, and by so doing it was reducing its strength in other theatres of war. We now know this was wishful thinking on the part of the RAF's top brass. The report also suggested the Germans were more likely to react when larger towns inland were attacked rather than smaller targets of perhaps less significance.\n\nIn any event Fighter Command must have been happy with the claims of Me109s shot down. The score of 21-4-7 was most encouraging, two of the twenty-one being claimed by the bomber gunners. Two Wing Leaders had scored, Malan a 109 that brought his score to around twenty-five, and a 109 by Douglas Bader (Tangmere), that brought his score to around sixteen. Wing Commander Max Aitken, the son of Lord Beaverbrook, had been flying as a guest with 610 Squadron and had claimed a 109 destroyed. However, with two Blenheims lost and eight fighter pilots missing (one was later rescued), there had been a cost.\n\nOn the German side, I.\/JG26 had intercepted the main force, coming down from out of the sun as the Blenheims were starting to turn for home, and managed to get into the bombers. Adolf Galland and Hptm. Rudolf Bieber each downed a bomber while other pilots claimed three RAF fighters. One German pilot baled out but it was not thought to be combat-related. The other two Gruppen also claimed fighters. It was Galland's seventy-first kill, while the American Eagle, shot down by Pingel, was his twenty-second victory. Priller had gained his twenty-ninth victory in this action, while Gerhard Sch\u00f6phel scored his twenty-seventh.\n\nOnly Galland was a casualty, the Gruppenkommodeur being slightly wounded \u2013 again. JG2 had also become engaged and claimed five Spitfires shot down (and a Blenheim), but had suffered three 109 losses but no pilots, other than two wounded. One can only surmise that many of the nineteen claims by Fighter Command were actually Spitfires going down! \u2013 or 109s puffing out exhaust smoke.\n\nGalland in fact was still recovering from his injuries received back on 21 June but had returned to his command, and this morning was preparing for a test flight. New armour had been fitted to the cockpit canopy and when slammed shut by his rigger the clearance of the hood had been reduced slightly, and the armour hit Galland's injured head, much to his discomfort. Once in the air, the alarm had started, so he joined up with his pilots and led the attack on the bombers. He wrote in his autobiography:\n\n'I gave the order to attack and was the first to dive down through the British fighter escort on to the bombers. Flying in a shallow right bank, I fired from a distance of about 200 yards right down to ramming distance at one of the Blenheims in the first row of the formation. Pieces of metal and other parts broke away from the fuselage and from the right engine, then she went up in flames and smoke. The remnants of her were found later. I could not observe the crash because I got into a fight with the escorting Spitfires, and while I was chasing one, a second got me. Everything rattled inside my crate, my cockpit was shattered, and, what is more, my head got it again. Warm blood was running down my face. I was afraid of a black-out. I must not lose consciousness! With a great effort I succeeded in shaking off my pursuer and landed safely. My aircraft was shot up: a 20mm cannon shell had exploded on the new armour plating on top of the cockpit. At Hardinghem Hospital I had to [have my head] sewn up again. Without the armour-plating, nothing would have remained of this indispensable part of my body.'\n\n**Circus No.30 \u2013 3 July**\n\nThursday the 3rd was cloudy at first but cleared up to leave just haze up to 5,000 feet over the Channel, while visibility over France was perfect. The marshalling yards at Hazebrouck was to be the target for six Blenheims of 139 Squadron whose Close Escort today comprised the Northolt and North Weald Wings again.\n\nRendezvous was made over West Malling at 1100 and went out over Dungeness towards Hardelot. A report said that due to the sun, landmarks for the target were not picked out so the bombers went for railway sidings at St Omer but most of the bombs overshot. Heavy AA fire brought down one bomber, its three NCO crew being killed, while other aircraft received damage.\n\nThe Escort fighters saw only brief glimpses of some 109s and had one aircraft damaged by flak. Escort Cover - Tangmere - also only had brief sightings of 109s and had one pilot reported missing \u2013 Sgt D. B. Crabtree of 616 Squadron. However, he got down safely although he hurt his ankle. He set off after hiding in a hedge but ran into a German patrol and was captured. He was locked in a barn for the night, was not closely guarded, so managed to squeeze through a hole in the wall and got away. A French farmer gave him clothes and a bicycle.\n\nCrabtree later wrote: '[A German Me109 fighter] came hurtling in and I got separated from our main body.' Seeing a lone Spitfire being attacked by several 109s he went to its assistance, claiming one shot down before his Spitfire was hit in the engine. Despite trying to get towards the coast he was attacked again and his fighter set on fire. 'I came down in a cornfield and hid in a hedge until dark. I burned my parachute but kept the dinghy, intending to get to the coast.' Finally he left his hiding place but: 'then walked smack into a German patrol of five soldiers. It was then dark. I had hurt my ankle, and pretneded that it was very bad and that I could hardly walk.' As related, the Germans finally locked him in a barn but he managed to squeeze through a hole and get away. He was looked after at a farm for a few days before being given civilian clothes, a bicycle and location to ride to where help would be available.\n\nBeing passed around he eventually arrived at Lillers where he met Sgt Joe Robillard who had been shot down on Circus 29. With some other evaders, Robillard and Crabtree eventually ended up in Gibraltar and Crabtree also flew back to the UK in a Sunderland in August, to receive a Mention in Despatches. Sadly he was killed in a civil flying accident in June 1950.\n\nMeantime, 610 Squadron had engaged a couple of 109s and claimed one, plus another damaged. 145 Squadron saw nothing except suspected dummy aircraft on a landing ground by Calais\/Marck.\n\nThe Target Support Wings had mixed fortunes. 54 Squadron saw little, 603 claimed one 109 destroyed, noting the enemy fighters evaded by climbing and diving, emitting thick black smoke during the climb and the latter part of the dive. This was smoke from the exhaust of the 109's DB601 engine when given full power, which some RAF pilots took to be the result of a damaging hit. The Biggin Hill Wing fought some 109s while covering the withdrawal of the bombers, 609 claiming one, 74 two and 92 Squadron a probable, although one 74 pilot, Sgt R. H. Cochrane, failed to return. He ended up a prisoner. Kenley Wing had little to report.\n\nIn total five 109s were claimed destroyed, one probably so plus a damaged. The cost was one Blenheim and three fighter pilots. JG2 and JG26 had engaged the 'beehive' of aircraft, claiming three Spitfires, but lost Hptm. Bieber, the man who had attacked the Blenheims with Galland the previous day. He was killed over St Omer. Rudolf Beiber was forty years of age and described as an ardent Nazi.\n\nThe most serious loss was that of the Kommodore of JG2, Hptm. Wilhelm Balthasar who went down in flames over Aire. Balthasar had, by this date, amassed a score of forty-seven victories, including the seven he achieved in the Spanish Civil War. One view is that a wing separated from his fighter, although this was probably caused by a 20mm cannon shell from a Spitfire. In fact, the CO of 609, S\/Ldr M. L. (Lister) Robinson DFC, reported that the 109 he attacked lost its wing after he fired at it. There has also been a suggestion that Belgian pilot Vicki Ortmans, with 609, may have shot down Balthasar, although he was only credited with a damaged on the 3rd. Balthasar's replacement was Major Walter Oesau, posted in from commanding III Gruppe of JG3.\n\nMicky Robinson had seen two 109s below him and went down. The 109 wingman saw the danger and dived as Micky closed in on the leader who had started a turn. The Spitfire easily turned inside it, fired, but missed. A puff of smoke showed that the German pilot had opened up the throttle to full boost \u2013 what the RAF termed as 'using one's Ha-Ha gas'. The 109 began to climb, Micky firing at great range, and suddenly the enemy fighter seemed to stop in mid-air, allowing Micky a further chance to fire from dead astern. The 109 went down half inverted, pouring out black smoke, in a left-hand spiral. He then lost sight of it but his No.4 (Sgt J. A. Hughes-Rees) watched it further and saw its wings come off and crash. It was Robinson's 10th victory and he would achieve seven more by the end of August, as Biggin Hill's Wing Leader.\n\n**Circus No.31 \u2013 3 July**\n\nThis operation followed close on the heels of the morning's outing, and the target was again the Hazebrouck marshalling yards. With rendezvous timed at 1500, it was a follow-up raid, not one organised due to the morning failure. Close Escort this time was from Kenley, with Hornchurch as the Cover Wing. Target Support, Tangmere and Biggin, with Rear Support from a 12 Group Wing (257, 266 and 401). Two Polish squadrons from Northolt formed an independent support role.\n\nAgain visibility was good despite the haze up to 4,000 feet and some very high cloud. The Blenheims went in at 10,000 feet, the bombs exploding in the town, southwest of the actual target. Some 109s edged in and one was thought to have been hit by air gunners which was last seen diving steeply.\n\nThe Close Escort was flying between 1\u20133,000 feet above the Blenheims and the situation was not helped when three bombers left the RV early which the main body found difficult to catch up with. Once over France Me109s could be seen either side of the formation but none approached before the target area was reached. As they flew back towards the coast, two 109s pounced, one firing at a 258 Squadron aircraft, while the other headed for a rear flanking bomber but both were driven off. One pilot in 312 Squadron claimed a 109 during a skirmish with some twenty enemy fighters.\n\nThe Cover Wing had several actions with 109s, and a couple were hit but only claimed as probables. One 109 attacked and shot down a Spitfire, its pilot taking to his parachute. However, Group Captain Harry Broadhurst, had seen the Spitfire shot down and went after the offending 109 with his Red Section, although his Number 3 and 4 could not keep up. Broadie and his wingman cut across the curve being flown by the German pilot, Red 1 opening fire whereupon the 109 dived into the ground. The two Spitfires were then attacked by two 109s and the pair broke in opposite directions, shook them off and reformed. However, the Group Captain had blacked out, completing the circle and upon recovery one 109 was in front of him, and starting an attack on his No.2. Being unable to fire in case he hit his companion, he had to wait until this 109 overshot and turned away. Broadhurst gave it a snap burst, seeing the 109's propeller jerk to a stop. His No.2 warned of more 109s approaching so they broke off and headed for the coast. They were continually harried by several 109s but managed to evade and get away.\n\nA 54 Squadron pilot went for a 109 he saw shoot down a Spitfire and shot it down. The pilot was Canadian Flying Officer E. F. J. Charles. 603 Squadron saw some action, as their after-action report notes. Like most of the fighters on this operation, they had flown on the morning Circus and their ground crews had turned round the aircraft in less than two hours:\n\n'Yellow 3, Sgt Neill, saw a Me109 coming towards him in a slight dive, and turned after it losing the rest of the section. He then climbed and saw a Me109 in a climbing turn. He fired at it, as it started to dive, at extreme range, no results were seen. Yellow 1 and 2, Flying Officer Prowse and Pilot Officer Falconer, dived after 5 Me109s 1,000 feet below them in echelon starboard. Yellow 1 attacked the right hand E\/A which starting climbing. He closed to 350 yards and fired a short burst astern. E\/A put his nose down and Yellow 1 followed, but his engine cut and E\/A had drawn away to 500 yards and started climbing. Yellow 1 and 2 then at 15,000 feet, turned to port and saw an Me109F flying south near St. Omer. Yellow 1 got onto his tail. E\/A climbed, Yellow 1 was catching it up and fired from 350 yards. E\/A put his nose down, Yellow 1 followed but was slightly out-dived. Yellow 2 flew level waiting for E\/A to climb again. E\/A climbed again followed by Yellow 1, and Yellow 2 fired a five second burst from underneath Yellow 1, at E\/A from 300 yards as E\/A was on top of his climb. E\/A then dived. Yellow 1 and 2 followed, and by this time were at 9,000 feet over Fruges. E\/A then dived to 0 feet, Yellow 1 followed, and Yellow 2 stayed above. E\/A then climbed, but Yellow 2 when within range was prevented from firing by his windscreen oiling up. Yellow 1 then gave E\/A a final burst. Throughout this engagement E\/A was emitting puffs of black smoke, mostly when climbing. These gradually increased in duration and density until E\/A was last seen diving towards a wood with continuous thick black smoke. The E\/A is claimed as a probable.\n\n'Yellow 1 and 2 then went NW heading for Boulogne. They passed over Desvres, along the south perimeter of the aerodrome at 300 feet. They saw no gun posts or personnel, but about 12 'houses' with slits in the front through which they saw the airscrews of E\/A. Each 'house' was between two trees which overhung the roof. They then passed a gun post on their left just north of Samer, and saw people standing about in their shirt sleeves who ran to the gun but did not fire. Then north of Alprech, they saw heavy guns and M.Gs, the guns were pointing SE. Men were inside the enclosures, 4 men to each gun. They wound the guns round and fired. M.G. bullets fell into the sea behind Yellow 1 and 2 and black flak bursts were seen accurate to a height but 200 yards behind. The apparent speed of the fusing astonished Yellow 1 and 2.'\n\nThe Yellow Section pair were H. A. R. (Harry) Prowse and J. A. R. (Hamish) Falconer. Prowse became a prisoner the next day failing to return from a Sweep in support of Circus 32, while Falconer went into the bag on 8 December during a Ramrod Operation, in a fight with JG26.\n\nTangmere and Biggin had some skirmishes too, the enemy tactics appearing to try tempting Spitfires to break away from the main formations and be attacked by larger groups of Messerschmitts hovering above. 609 Squadron managed to destroy one 109 (Michael Robinson's second of the day) and damage another, while 74 damaged one more. One pilot of 92 Squadron did not get back, ending up as a prisoner.\n\nThe 12 Group Wing had a problem due to one squadron becoming separated from the other two. Finding themselves alone, 266 Squadron reduced height to 21,000 feet but over France they became embroiled with a dozen Me109s. Some of these dived right through the Spitfire formation, splitting them up. The RAF pilots were already trying to avoid exploding AA shells. A dogfight started in which one German machine was claimed destroyed and three others damaged, but two Spitfires went down. One pilot was killed, the other captured. JG26 claimed four Spitfires for no loss. JG2 lost a fighter, its pilot baling out, and another 109 force-landed with combat damage; both pilots were wounded. RAF fighters claimed 6-5-5 this day, and a loss of six pilots and one Blenheim crew.\n\nLeutnant Egon Mayer of 7.\/JG2 had scored twice on the 3rd, a Spitfire in the morning and another in this action, his ninth and tenth kills. Leutnant Seigfried Schnell of 9.\/JG2 claimed a Spitfire for his thirty-third. Mayer would achieve over 100 victories, all on the Western Front, until falling to American fighters on 2 March 1944.\n\n* * *\n\nAir Vice-Marshal N. H. Bottomley CIE DSO AFC, the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, wrote to the AOC-in-C of Bomber Command at the Air Ministry, on 3 July 1941, the following two letters. [Norman Bottomley had, until recently, been SASO at HQ Bomber Command (1938\u201340), and OC 5 Bomber Group (1940\u201341)]. The AOC-in-C of Bomber Command was still Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal:\n\nSir,\n\n  1. I am directed to refer to my letter of even reference date 27th June 1941, and to forward herewith a list of industrial establishments known to be working for the Germans in the Pas de Calais area.\n\n  2. I am to say that there are indications that the attack on these targets is likely to result in serious internal trouble, especially amongst the Communist element of the French workers, with consequent embarrassment to the Germans. There is even a suggestion that in view of the weakened German forces this unrest might develop into a revolt.\n\n  3. Such attacks are, moreover, considered to be the most profitable from the point of view of inducing the German fighters to accept combat with our own fighters.\n\n  4. These objectives are, therefore, to be regarded as having priority over those included in the appendix to my above quoted letter. see [Chapter 4]\n\n  5. I am to add that suitable leaflets, warning the French workers to keep away from factories now working for the Germans, have recently been dropped over the area in question. No restriction, therefore, is imposed on the attack of these targets, which should be delivered in strength as frequently as possible.\n\n  6. Any additions to this list will be forwarded as and when they are deemed necessary in the light of further information.\n\nAVM Bottomley.\n\nSECRET\n\nSir,\n\n  1. I am directed to refer to the daylight operations now being undertaken in the Pas de Calais area by No's 11 and 2 Groups in co-operation. The aim of these operations has up to now been to provide an opportunity for our fighters to engage and destroy the enemy fighters, and the activities of the bombers have been primarily directed to ensuring fighter combat.\n\n  2. In the light of the present strategical situation it is necessary to modify the aims of these operations. Their primary aim should now be the destruction of certain important targets by day bombing, and incidentally, the destruction of enemy fighter aircraft.\n\n  3. Although the tactical limitations of our fighter force must be given full consideration, targets are in future to be selected from the point of view of their value as bomber objectives. The fighter forces engaged are to be regarded as providing the bombers with the greatest possible freedom of action in carrying out their allotted tasks.\n\n  4. I am to say that a list of important targets within the area concerned have already been forwarded under cover of my letter of even reference, dated 27th June and 3rd July, together with an indication of priorities. I am to add that the change of aim indicated above is to be adopted with the least possible delay.\n\nAVM Bottomley  \nDeputy Chief of the Air Staff\n\nCopy to AOC-in-C, Fighter Command,\n\nStanmore.\n\nNo doubt this change of direction was partly to increase the pressure on the German defence forces now that Russia's Joseph Stalin was calling out for Britain to help alleviate their burdens on the Eastern Front. What Stalin really wanted was for Britain to invade France in order to divert enemy forces to the Western Front, but at this stage of the war any such plan lay years in the future.\n\nBottomley's letter caused Portal to ask his SASO, Air Vice-Marshal R. H. M. S. Saundby MC DFC AFC, to write to the AOC 3 Group, AVM J. E. A. Baldwin CB DSO, on 6 July, with a copy to Fighter Command HQ:\n\nMOST SECRET\n\n  1. It is now necessary to enlarge the scope of the daylight bombing offensive with fighter escort which has previously been undertaken by No's 2 and 11 Groups. It has therefore been decided to use Stirlings for these operations.\n\n  2. The aim of these operations has, up to now, been to provide opportunities for our fighters to engage and destroy enemy fighters; the effort of the bombers being primarily directed towards forcing the enemy fighters to give battle. The primary aim is now to be the destruction of certain important targets by day bombing; the engagement of fighters being incidental to the bombing operations.\n\n  3. Although the potentialities and limitations of our fighter force must be given full consideration, you are to select targets, in consultation with AOC 11 Group, from the point of view of their value as bomber objectives and the fighter force will provide the bombers with the greatest possible freedom of action in their allotted bombing tasks.\n\n  4. A list of targets is attached as Appendix 'A' which includes a new section containing important industrial targets. These industrial establishments are known to be working for the enemy and there are indications that successful attacks on these targets may result in serious internal trouble, especially amongst the Communist elements, with consequent embarrassment to the Germans.\n\n  5. Leaflets warning French workers to keep away from factories working for Germany, have recently been dropped over the area. No restrictions, therefore, are imposed on the attack on these industrial targets which are to have first priority and which are to be attacked in strength as often as possible.\n\n  6. The use of Stirlings in daylight bombing attacks with fighter co-operation is to have first priority up to a maximum of eight sorties per day, but any not required for these operations are to be used for night bombing.\n\n  7. Detailed arrangements for these daylight operations may be made direct between yourself and AOC 11 Group. It will be necessary to arrange the approach, bombing run-up and turn away, so as to avoid throwing into confusion the large fighter formations accompanying the bombers.\n\nRobert Saundby\n\n* * *\n\nAt this stage it will be of interest to see what the RAF Intelligence people thought was the strength of the Luftwaffe opposition. This was an Appendix to a memo on Delegation of German-Soviet Air War:\n\nEstimated Disposition of German Fighters on the Western Front | Single Engine | Twin Engine | Total\n\n---|---|---|---\n\nBrest & Cherbourg | 50 | 10 | 60\n\nLe Havre & Dieppe | 10 | \u2013 | 10\n\nPas de Calais | 230\/260 \u2013 | 230\/260\n\n|\n\nBelgium & Holland | 20 | 80\/95 | 100\/115\n\nN.W. Germany | 10 | 140\/155 | 150\/165\n\nNorway | 20 | 20 | 40\n\n|\n\n340\/370 | 250\/280 | 590\/650\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.32 \u2013 4 July**\n\nIt was back to the Khulman Works and Power Station at Chocques again, on 4 July, with twelve Blenheims, six each from 21 and 226 Squadrons. Rendezvous with the Escort Wing (North Weald) took place over Southend at 1430 hours. Cover Wing by Biggin's squadrons, Target Support Hornchurch and Tangmere, and a 12 Group Wing as Rear Support made up the Balbo.\n\nIn tandem with this sortie, a further twelve Blenheims from 16 Group, escorted by Kenley and one squadron from Northolt, were going for the marshalling yards near Abbeville as a diversion tactic. However, the bombers and fighters failed to meet up and the diversionary bombers aborted. The fighters decided to patrol the French coast but saw nothing.\n\nOnce again the weather was good and enemy fighters were in evidence as soon as Circus 32 reached the French coast at Gravelines. The escorts kept the bombers free from attack and a good run up to the target was made. The twelve bombers aimed their bombs on target and one unloaded on a railway junction at Aire. One Blenheim of 226 was hit by flak and crashed near Dunkirk, only the navigator surviving as a prisoner.\n\nThe escorting wings were hard pressed most of the time to and from the target, 74 and 609 each losing a pilot, but claims of six destroyed, four probably so plus ten damaged were reported by the returning RAF pilots. Hornchurch failed to join up at the RV point and so headed out alone and reached the target just ahead of the main body. As the bombers appeared several Me109s began to dive down and in warding them off, claims of 8-2-2 were later made. On the way back 603 Squadron, finding themselves alone, were attacked but shot down one of the aggressors.\n\nThe Tangmere squadrons had few contacts with the enemy, only 616 having something of a scrap, claiming one probable and one damaged. Likewise, the Rear Support Wing had little to report.\n\nThe results appeared good. Scores of 15-7-14 for the loss of one bomber and three fighters looked impressive. Group Captain Harry Broadhurst, leading Hornchurch at the head of 54 Squadron, was involved in a virtual repeat of his actions the previous day. Once again he saw a Spitfire being chased by a 109. Almost at once the Spitfire trailed smoke and its pilot baled out. Broadhurst and his No.2 went after this 109 and after a short burst by the Groupie, the fighter dived into the ground. The pair were then attacked by another 109, both RAF men pulling round in opposite directions. So steep was his turn that Broadhurst blacked out, but coming too, found himself, as he had on the 3rd, right behind the 109, with his own No.2 just ahead of it. As the 109 pulled sideways, Broadhurst got in a telling burst and the 109 went down.\n\nThe enemy fighter pilots suffered the loss of JG26's Ltn. Joachim Kehrhahn, killed on only his second mission, while another pilot baled out. JG2 lost three of their fighters, with one pilot killed and another injured. Of the four claims by JG26, Priller was credited with a Spitfire as his thirtieth kill. JG2 pilots put in eleven victory claims over Spitfires, and for good measure, claimed the Blenheim as well! Leutnant Siegfried Schnell, of 9.\/JG2, excelled himself, claiming and being credited with four Spitfires \u2013 victories thirty-four to thirty-seven. Twenty-five-years-old 'Wumm' Schnell was obviously keen to get his score to forty which should produce for him the _Eichenlaubs_ (oak leaves) to his Knight's Cross.\n\nOf the three missing RAF pilots, one had been killed (74 Sqn), while the two others (603 and 609) were captured. A veteran of the Battle of Britain, 609's Canadian F\/O A. Keith Oglivie DFC (who had also been wounded in the left arm and shoulder) had seen considerable combat with 609. As well as six confirmed victories, his record also indicated four probables and three damaged. In March 1944 he was one of those who escaped from Stalag Luft III. Recaptured and interrogated by the Gestapo, he was lucky not to be among the fifty who were subsequently murdered.\n\nOn this day awards to fighter pilots were announced. Wing Commander Douglas Bader added a Bar to his DSO, while DFCs went to S\/Ldr Ken Holden of 610, F\/Lt R. D. Grassick of 242, F\/O Jack Charles of 54 and W\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton, Wing Leader of Hornchurch (when Broadhurst wasn't leading it).\n\n**Circus No.33 \u2013 5 July**\n\nAlthough it must now be obvious to the top echelons of the RAF that casualties inflicted upon the enemy fighters over France were very much inflated, it was equally obvious they could not make this generally known. Had it been, support for these Circus operations would have floundered and the political fallout would have been considerable. They were left with little choice but to continue these operations, as well as the variety of other missions, such as Rodeos, Roadsteads, Sweeps and Rhubarbs, in order to show the Germans that they must keep looking over their shoulder while battling the Russians. Not that the Germans were any too worried at this stage of the war. Their offensive against Russia was going well, and the North African campaign, while not a sweeping success, was still going reasonably well for the Axis forces operating there.\n\nHowever, the 'powers that be' insisted operations not only continue but be increased, now that summer was upon them. What they hoped to achieve, other than losing even more fighter pilots, is unclear. It was almost like the First World War, where generals continued to send thousands of men 'over the top' into barbed wire and machine-gun fire, in the hope of a victory.\n\nAlthough losses amongst the 2 Group Blenheim squadrons had been comparatively light during Circus operations, a different, and bigger bait was introduced on Circus 33. Following the correspondence between Bottomley, Portal, Saundby and Baldwin, four-engined Short Stirling bombers from Baldwin's 3 Group would now be used. Just how the Stirling crews viewed this need not be asked. Bomber Command was now primarily a night-raiding force and few sorties were flown in daylight by the 'heavies'. In daylight operations the RAF's big bombers presented large targets, not only for fighters but flak gunners too, but at least their bomb loads would be heavier. It is interesting to note that while it had been suggested by Bob Saundby that up to eight sorties could be flown per day, only twice was this total achieved \u2013 or perhaps allowed by 3 Group \u2013 with individual raids generally comprising just three bombers.\n\nThe target for this first Stirling effort was again the Fives\/Lille Steel and Engineering works and the marshalling yards at Abbeville, missed on the 4th. The squadron chosen for this first Stirling operation was 15 (XV) based at RAF Wyton. Two bombers would go to Lille, one to Abbeville as a diversion. Squadron Leader S. W. B. Menaul and F\/Lt R. S. Gilmour would go to Lille, F\/O F. Thompson RAAF and crew to Abbeville. Sidling up to the first two as Escort Wing were 258, 312, 485 and 308 Squadrons from Kenley and Northolt. Escort Cover \u2013 Hornchurch; Target Support \u2013 Biggin and Tangmere; Rear Support, 12 Group Wing (19, 257 and 401) from Coltishall. The Abbeville Stirling was escorted by North Weald and Hornchurch Wings.\n\nThe Stirlings bombed from 12,000 feet, bursts being seen on a building in the north-east corner of the factory and also on a built-up area between the target and the railway. Flak was the main problem although some Me109s did attempt to penetrate the escort. These 109s came down in a power dive from 25,000 feet and getting a shot at them was almost impossible. One Messerschmitt, however, was claimed by 485 Squadron. Similarly, the Hornchurch Wing saw a number of 109s but were unable to give combat, although one 109 was damaged. 54 Squadron lost a pilot (killed), while 308 had a pilot bale out over the Channel and later rescued.\n\nTarget Support fighters also saw any number of 109s round the edges, and only a few tried to get to the bombers, and two of these were sent away damaged. Again, enemy tactics seemed more in tune with trying to tempt fighters away from the main group, while others refused combat altogether. Tangmere too had little success but 610 claimed a 109 destroyed, while 145 claimed a probable and a damaged. 616 Squadron also lost a pilot near Lille, who was taken prisoner.\n\nMeantime the third Stirling, dropped 18 x 500lb bombs across the target without the slightest opposition, and it and the escort all returned with nothing to report, so no enemy aircraft had been diverted from the main action. Total claims were 2-1-5 for the loss of three Spitfires and two pilots. JG26 claimed three Spitfires but possibly only two were confirmed, while JG2 claimed one also. No German fighters were lost.\n\n**Circus No.34 \u2013 6 July**\n\nThree Stirlings of 7 Squadron were on this show on the morning of the 6th, their targets being the power plants at Yainville (F\/O D. T. Witt DFC) on the River Seine and nearby Le Trait (W\/Cdr H. R. Graham and S\/Ldr R. W. Cox DFC) also on the Seine, near Rouen, in Upper Normandy. Kenley provided the Escort Wing, plus one squadron from Northolt, while Rear Support came from Tangmere. With such a small force it was obviously not thought to be a big event and so it proved. The force went out and back in over Beachy Head, bombs fell into the target area but were seen to either go into a river or on its banks. Just three 109s were seen, 303 Squadron claiming one probably destroyed.\n\n**Circus No.35 \u2013 6 July**\n\nObviously the big event on the 6th was this one, timed for the afternoon. This operation called for six Stirlings to make the raid, going back to Lille and the Fives\/Lille Engineering Works. 15 Squadron provided the bombers, flying in two vics of three, led by S\/Ldr S. W. B. Menaul and S\/Ldr T. W. Piper respectively.\n\nThe Escort Wing was a mix. Hornchurch provided 222 Squadron, 71 and 242 came from North Weald while Northolt provided 306 Squadron. Treble-Two had recently arrived from the north and were at Manston. Cover Wing went to Biggin Hill, Target Support Wings were those of Hornchurch, Tangmere and Northolt. A 12 Group Wing of 56, 65 and 601 Squadrons were given Rear Support and a Low Support Wing \u2013 something new \u2013 was assigned to Kenley, but they were only to maintain a Readiness State unless called for.\n\nThe day was generally fine and clear with just a hint of haze, but allowing visibility to extend to twenty miles or so. The six bombers made rendezvous over Manston, then headed south to make landfall at Gravelines. Lille was reached at 1428 hours and they made their bomb run from 14,000 feet, dropping 24 x 1,000lb and 56 x 500lb bombs. Those watching their fall reported at least two and possibly three sticks registering direct hits on the target, which was left enveloped in brown\/yellowish smoke. Other bombs fell onto the nearby marshalling yards and on the railway junction to the south, which caused more smoke. A couple of 109s made a brief attack, hitting and damaging one of the bombers, flown by F\/Lt R. S. Gilmore DFC, in the second vic, but they were driven off by Hurricanes. Sergeant Ward, in this Stirling's front turret, damaged a 109.\n\nIn all the Escort Wing counted some twenty-five 109s and it was F\/Lt C. G. Peterson of 71 Squadron that claimed the 109 \u2013 probably destroyed. This was the start of the Eagle Squadron's running fight with 109s back to the coast. Pilot Officer G. A. Daymond claimed one destroyed, while P\/O W. R. Dunn probably destroyed another, shared with a 306 Squadron pilot. It was Idaho-born Chesley 'Pete' Peterson's first claim and he would go on to score seventeen times by mid-May 1943, of which eight were deemed as destroyed. By the latter date he was flying with the US 8th Army Air Force's 4th Fighter Group (two victories). 'Gus' Daymond had scored his second confirmed victory, four days after his first. From Montana, Gus would go on to be the top-scorer from all three Eagle squadrons, with seven kills. Bill Dunn would also make a name for himself, although he had already been in the news. Acting as a Lewis gunner in 1940, serving with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, he had helped shoot down two Ju87 Stuka dive-bombers from the ground in August 1940. Joining the RAF in December 1940 he was, remarkably, a pilot with the Eagles by April 1941 and his first victory had also been scored on 2 July. An ace with 71 Squadron, he would later fly with the 406th US Fighter Group and would score further victories in 1944.\n\nTwo pilots of 242 Squadron also claimed hits on 109s, while 222, encountering twenty Me109s at 16,000 feet damaged one. One problem the close escort found was that the second vic of bombers had lagged behind the first three by about half a mile, which made protection difficult.\n\nThe Biggin Hill Wing flew in layers from 18 to 25,000 feet, with the top squadron weaving in sections slightly ahead of the main bomber formation. They engaged in a running fight with an estimated twenty 109s and the Wing claimed three destroyed but lost three pilots. Malan claimed one of them, while Sgt W. G. Lockhart, who often flew as Malan's wingman, but today was No.2 to S\/Ldr S. T. Meares (74's CO), bagged the other two. While the Circus report noted three losses, in fact four pilots of the Wing didn't get back. One of them was Lockhart, so it was other pilots that put in the two claims on his behalf. Two other 74 Squadron pilots went down, one, P\/O W. M. Skinner DFM, was a Battle of Britain veteran, shot down by JG26 to become a prisoner. Bill Skinner had achieved eleven victories in the Battle (including three shared) and damaged three more. 92 Squadron had also had a pilot killed. Guy Lockhart, baled out and was taken captive but he escaped and managed to evade to Spain and eventually Gibraltar from where he was flown home in October.\n\n(Lockhart later flew clandestine missions with Lysanders into France and received the DFC, but in 1942 he crashed and had once more to evade south and was back in England by September. He received the DSO but was not finished with operational flying for he became a Mosquito bomber pilot, receiving a Bar to his DFC, and then commanded a Lancaster squadron. Sadly he was shot down and killed by a German night-fighter in April 1944.)\n\nSailor Malan had decided to extract himself from the fight with the twenty-plus 109s after having become separated from his No.2 \u2013 who today was Biggin's Station Commander, Group Captain P. R. Barwell DFC \u2013 so headed down in a series of half-rolls and aileron turns. At very low level he straightened out and headed for the sea but then noticed two shadows on the ground, his and a 109. Discovering a lone 109 at 500 feet he swung in behind the German machine and shot it down. However, moments later his Spitfire took hits, three bullets actually grazing his flying helmet, ricocheting off the inside of his windscreen and into his instrument panel. A quick glance back revealed six 109s queuing up to have a go at him. By this time he had pulled into a hard turn and dropping to just 50 feet above the French countryside, evaded towards the coast, coming under much ground fire as he zipped over the beach and out to sea. Shells and bullets churned up the sea around him but he got away with it.\n\nThe pilots of 609 Squadron had also been in a fight. They had been top cover and had observed flak bursting at 20,000 feet! On the way back, two Belgian pilots, F\/O J. H. M. Offenberg and P\/O R. F. F. G. Malengreau were the last pair at the rear of the squadron. This was the first time they had flown together and when Jean Offenberg spotted a 109 coming in behind he called a warning, but used the wrong name. Roger Malengreau, unaware he was the target, made no move and as Offenberg watched, he saw his wingman's machine begin to trail glycol, with its engine stop. He called a 'Mayday' and summoned the rest of 609 to assist. With many Spitfires in attendance, Malengreau successfully glided across the Channel and over the English coast \u2013 at 2,000 feet \u2013 and crash-landed down-wind into a hayfield beside a road south of Deal. As other Spitfires circled, he climbed out and waved up at them, unhurt but more experienced! Jean Offenberg kept a written record of his wartime service which subsequently became the origin of the book ' _The Lonely Warrior_ ' published in 1956. It was his journal, edited by Victor Houart. Regarding his other experiences this day, Offenberg wrote:\n\n'We escorted four Stirlings to Albert, near Amiens. The raid was carried out without incident and we did not meet the least opposition. It was almost kid glove warfare. But I was certain that it could not continue like this and sooner or later a cloud would disclose a swarm of Messerschmitts. For a good hour we had been frolicking with impunity above their territory and nothing had happened.\n\n'I was Blue 1, and all went well until we got over Le Touquet, when I noticed an Me109 attacking my No.4. \"Blue 4, break immediately. Break, break.\" He broke off and I banked to port without getting excited. Yesterday in the same manoeuvre I had only managed to go down in a spin. Gently...\n\n'The Boche dived below me. I did a roll on the way down and followed suit and we both dived almost vertically. I must get him... I must get him... He had seen me and continued in his breath-taking dive. The water rushed up towards me and I was suddenly afraid. I no longer dared to look at my air speed indicator.\n\n'I was following him at 400 yards exactly on a line with him. We should both break our necks if we went on at that speed. The water drew dangerously close and I was afraid of a black-out. I pulled on the stick, flattened out and then for a second I saw nothing. I really had blacked-out. I have no idea how long I was in this state.\n\n'As soon as I could see again I noticed an enormous splash in the centre of a fleet of a dozen fishing boats some miles from the French coast. The Me, in this crazy dive, had not been able to pull out and had crashed at 500 mph into the sea. I had not fired a single bullet, but Sgt Evans, my No.4, was missing. I did not think that the Messerschmitt was in a good firing position when I first spotted him.'\n\nThe Hornchurch Wing also lost a pilot over Lille \u2013 Sgt N. J. Smith \u2013 who became a prisoner. However, 611 claimed three destroyed, one of them going to F\/Lt E. S. Lock, the other two to Sgt W. M. Gilmour. Eric Lock was another high-scoring veteran of the 1940 battles, having by this time achieved more than twenty victories, a DSO and a DFC and Bar. Mac Gilmour was about to receive the DFM for he had already claimed four victories plus a couple of damaged. He would later be commissioned and end the war as a squadron leader, with a DFC, and nine confirmed victories, flying in both North Africa and later, while commanding a Mustang squadron at the time of D-Day. Tangmere reached the target area and orbited it for twenty minutes as the bombers attacked. On the way back any number of 109s made half-hearted attacks on the Spitfires but never seemed to press home their assaults, which allowed the Wing to claim four 109s, one probable and one damaged for the loss of one pilot (the report said) but in fact two. One was 145's F\/Lt M. A. Newling DFC, who went down over Lille and was killed. Mike Newling, was yet another Battle of Britain veteran lost to Fighter Command.\n\nSergeant J. A. McCairns of 611 Squadron was the other loss, crash-landing at Gravelines. James McCairns was taken prisoner and ended up in Stalag IXC. In January 1942 he managed to escape and make his way through Belgium, and eventually helped by the Resistance, got into Spain, then Gibraltar and home. He was awarded the Military Medal, and like Lockhart, later became a Lysander pilot, taking agents into France. Commissioned, he went on to receive the DFC and Two Bars for this work with 161 (Special Duties) Squadron.\n\nThe two Polish squadrons from Northolt only saw a couple of 109s, one of which tried to attack them but dived away without firing. The 12 Group Wing had nothing to report although one pilot from 56 Squadron was forced to bale out over England and was not hurt. Kenley Wing was not called upon to support the raid.\n\nBouchier's report noted six RAF pilots lost, although in fact there were seven, plus the Spitfire of 56 lost over England. RAF fighter pilots claimed 11-6-5, recorded as a most successful operation '...in which the target was hit with great accuracy and weight of bombs and serious casualties inflicted on enemy fighters.'\n\nHauptmann Rolf Pingel's First Group of JG26 had made contact with Circus 35 over Lille and battled with the Spitfires until a shortage of fuel forced a break-off over the Channel. JG26 claimed seven Spitfires and reported just two of their own fighters as damaged. JG2 was soon engaged and claimed six Spitfires for no loss. Hauptmann Walter Adolph, leader of II Gruppe, shot down one from 74 Squadron for his nineteenth victory, while Ltn. Horst Ulenberg, leader of 2 Staffel, gained his twelfth and thirteenth kills. Leutnant Paul Galland, younger brother to Adolf Galland, flying with the 8th Staffel, gained his first victory\n\nAmong JG2's claimants was Ltn. Siegfried Schnell of the 9th Staffel, who gained his thirty-eighth victory, and Obfw. Rudolf T\u00e4schner, 1st Staffel, scored twice for his thirteenth and fourteenth victories. The lack of known losses is worrying, so again the RAF pilots were a trifle over-confident in their claiming.\n\n**Circus No.36 \u2013 7 July**\n\nWith fine weather (noted as perfect with no cloud) continuing there was no let up in day operations. Circus 36 on the morning of 7 July called for a single Short Stirling bomber to bomb Hazebrouck's marshalling yards. The escort was similarly modest with Close Escort of three fighter squadrons from North Weald (2) and Hornchurch (1), while Cover was provided by two Polish squadrons from Northolt. Hornchurch's other units took on Target Support with Rear Support going to 12 Group. The object, of course, was for this operation to be a diversion for Circus 37, scheduled for a short time later.\n\nThe lone 15 Squadron bomber, piloted by P\/O Stokes, picked up its escort over North Foreland at 0920 hours, proceeded to the target where 24 x 500lb bombs went down from 8,000 feet, although most fell in a nearby field. Some flak was encountered over the coast but none over the target. No enemy fighters deemed it necessary to engage.\n\nOf the close escorts, only 303 Squadron spotted four 109s but had no chance of attacking. Hornchurch saw a few 109s they assumed were decoys and made no attempt at intercepting, and on the way home ten 109s made an attack on 603 Squadron without hurt and two more came down on them over the Channel with similar results. Hornchurch squadrons had a slight tussle with 109s and Group Captain Harry Broadhurst \u2013 hit by gunfire, began to spin down to 6,000 feet where he was engaged again and chased by six 109s off Gravelines. He turned and engaged them, claiming two shot down. The Wing only suffered one Spitfire (603) slightly damaged by flak, and Broadhurst's machine that was shot about.\n\nThe Rear Support Wing patrolled at heights from 20\u201324,000 feet, in fours, and saw a few 109s but did not engage. Initial claims of one destroyed and three probables were made for no loss. Pips Priller of JG26 had in fact attacked \u2013 and claimed \u2013 the Spitfire flown by Broadhurst although he got home. It should have been his thirty-second kill.\n\n**Circus No.37 \u2013 7 July**\n\nIn Bouchier's report on Circus 36, he wrote that the main object (that of diverting enemy fighters from Circus 37 which closely followed) had been successful, however, there were so few 109s seen and engaged, that one has to wonder. Most probably British radar picked up enemy aircraft being scrambled, but the Germans appear to have quickly reasoned that this might be a feint and had either ordered their pilots not to engage, or perhaps they had themselves picked up signs of another build up of aircraft across the Channel. In any event, Circus 37, which consisted of four 7 Squadron Stirlings \u2013 led by S\/Ldr D. Speare - had made rendezvous with their escorts over Hastings at 1000. Their target, deemed important by Bouchier, was the Potez aircraft factory at M\u00e9aulte, south of Albert.\n\nCrossing the coast at Berck they ran into the target at 8,000 feet and dropped 20 x 1,000lb, 39 x 500lb bombs and 940 x 4lb incendiaries. One stick of bombs went straight across the factory buildings while a second hit other buildings and part of the factory. Two more sticks went across more buildings and houses west of the factory, while the incendiaries appeared to start fires across the whole target. Smoke, debris and dust covered the area as the bombers headed north-west.\n\nBiggin's squadrons, flying Close Escort, encountered six 109s on the return flight at 23,000 feet and a fight developed. Two 109s were claimed destroyed and two damaged. Two RAF fighters were shot down but their pilots, one each from 74 and 609, parachuted into the sea and were rescued, though wounded. Tangmere with the Support Wing task, saw some 109s but made no attacks, and all aircraft were reported back safely. However, one pilot of 145 Squadron had been wounded but managed to land back at base. His machine was so badly damaged that it was written off.\n\nJG26 had again been in the fight and claimed four Spitfires. Priller had claimed again, number thirty-three. There had been no 109 losses. Bouchier's report mentions that the earlier diversion had helped draw off German fighters from this main attack and this, together with good bombing results, made it yet another successful operation.\n\n**Circus No.38 \u2013 7 July**\n\nOn the afternoon of this 7th day of July, a third Circus was mounted, this time three Stirlings from 15 Squadron \u2013 led by S\/Ldr Menaul - would go for the Kuhlmann Power Station and Chemical Works at Chocques. Kenley would be Close Escort, Tangmere as Escort Cover, Northolt and Biggin got the Support Wing task while Hornchurch would 'Mop Up'.\n\nWeather had continued fine throughout the day and meeting up over Rye the bombers and close escort fighters headed for France shortly before 1500. The bombs went down from 9,600 feet \u2013 15 x 1,000lb and 42 x 500lb. A few undershot but the rest straddled the target, with a direct hit being seen on one of the cooling towers and another on one of the ammonic tanks, with others on nearby buildings. More bombs hit the power station and as the crews headed for the English Channel, the whole area behind them was enveloped in brown smoke.\n\nFlak had been heavy on the way in and only after the bombing did a few 109s come diving out of the sun through the Kenley fighters, but they kept going so fast and so steeply they could not be engaged. Tangmere's Wing was also attacked, but again suffered no losses, although one 616 pilot had to crash-land back at Hawkinge.\n\nThe Northolt Poles all saw 109s but only 308 Squadron was engaged with any result \u2013 claiming three destroyed with another probable. The pilot claiming the probable later said he came down very low after his 109 and as it went through cloud, debris and masses of smoke were then seen rising to 2,000 feet. Biggin Hill had a scrap, 92 Squadron claiming a 109 destroyed and another damaged and 74 Squadron said they lost a pilot when jumped by some 109s, but there appears to be only the two losses that occurred on the earlier Circus 37, so perhaps a clerical error somewhere!\n\nHornchurch had been stepped up to 30,000 feet and made a sweep over Merville and came out over Hardelot. Only then did they spot any 109s but they quickly dived when they saw the Spitfires overhead. One pilot was chased inland by 109s but managed to evade them.\n\nIn all, the RAF claimed four 109s destroyed, one probable and one damaged. This day one Spitfire was claimed by JG26, while JG2 reported three Spitfires and two Hurricanes shot down for the loss of one pilot, Obfw. Hans Tilly. Hauptmann Hans Hahn of Stab III\/JG2 claimed the Hurricanes for victories twenty-six and twenty-seven, even though no Hurricanes were lost. Leutnant Erich Rudorfer of Stab II.\/JG2 claimed Spitfires, kills number twenty-one and twenty-two, while Obfw. Kurt B\u00fchlingen's claim over a Spitfire brought his score to twelve. During the day JG26 had two 109s make force-landings, while JG2 also suffered one.\n\nAs a complete aside to this day's activities, some Blenheims of 105 and 139 Squadrons flew an anti-shipping sortie to the Dutch coast. One was shot down by a flak ship and two more to fighters of JG52. One of the German fighter pilots was 43-year-old Major Dr. Erich Otto Friedrich Mix. Mix had been a pilot in WW1 and achieved three combat victories in 1918. Despite his age he had flown with JG2 during the French campaign in 1939\u201340 and added five more kills to his total, then a ninth during the Battle of Britain. The Blenheim on this date was his eleventh and last victory. He survived the war and died in 1971.\n\n7 July 1941, with three Circus operations, saw the loss of just three RAF pilots wounded, but Fighter Command had claimed 7-1-4, while the Germans admitted one pilot killed and three 109s force-landed.\n\nSomething that came out of these operations was that it was suggested all support wings, particularly the rear ones, be given a definite time of withdrawal, for example, ten minutes after the bombers left the French coast. Also, that a rear support squadron be again used, flying at a very low height off the British coast. This followed the experience of Sailor Malan, who had been chased by 109s as far as Manston, while several of 74's aircraft had also been chased back and been hit by machine-gun fire. If a harassed RAF pilot thought he was in trouble he could call Control for help from the rear support squadron.\n\n**Circus No.39 \u2013 8 July**\n\nOn Tuesday, 8th July the weather continued fair, so Circus 39, with three 7 Squadron Stirlings, was mounted, led by S\/Ldr R. W. Cox. The target was the Works and Power Plant north-east of Lens, and the Power Station at Mazingarbe. Kenley gave Close Escort, Biggin the Cover Wing and Target Support by Hornchurch and Tangmere. Rear Support went to Hornchurch and Northolt Wings.\n\nRye was again the RV point - at 0600 - and making landfall near Boulogne they were met by heavy AA fire, causing the bombers to veer down the coast and cross near Hardelot. Two Stirlings went for Lens, the other to Mazingarbe. Both those going to Lens bombed the target, the second one putting its bombs right amidst the explosions of the first. A large mushroom-shaped smoke pall rose up, edged in red flames. This was soon followed by a sheet of flame as the bombers headed away. However, only one of the two bombers returned. One had been hit by flak which damaged the starboard inner engine and the other crew reported that they had seen it receive a direct hit by German AA. Soon afterwards the Stirling went down to crash near B\u00e9thune losing its starboard wing as it fell. Only two of the seven-man crew survived as prisoners, P\/O R. D. Morley and the others all perished.\n\nThe Mazingarbe bomber dropped 5 x 1,000 and 10 x 500lb bombs which mostly overshot, but one bomb did hit a gasometer which exploded in flames. As the crew looked back, smoke was rising to some 2,000 feet.\n\nKenley Wing protected the bombers the whole way and over the target some 109s attacked. One was shot down by 312 Squadron. On the way out several other 109s made attacks but did not press them home, but all the same, three Spitfires went down, one each from the three squadrons, 258, 312 and 485. One pilot was killed, one taken prisoner but a Czech pilot, Sgt J. Mensik, managed to evade capture. Given some civilian clothes by a farmer, he walked from the Pas-de-Calais to Paris, which took him two weeks and once there, it took him eight days to recover from it. He was then guided to Bordeaux by the end of July, then made his own way to Marseille. Staying there for two weeks he was finally guided over the Pyrenees, but he and two others, including Lockhart (74 Sqn), and F\/O D. N. Forde (145 Sqn who would be shot down on 23 July) were picked up by Spanish police. In early September the British military attach\u00e9 managed to secure their release. Eventually reaching Gibraltar, Josef Mensik was flown home on 21 October 1941. Sadly he was killed in a flying accident in 1943.\n\nBiggin Hill's pilots also had skirmishes with the Messerschmitts. Soon after crossing into France one 109 dived out of the sun and fired off two white Very lights as he half-rolled over the formation. On the way home further 109s arrived and in the subsequent dogfights, one 109 was destroyed and another damaged, although two RAF pilots came down in the sea, but were rescued by ASR, one from 609, the other from 92 Squadrons. Pilot Officer Percy H. Beake was the latter, who went on to be a successful Typhoon pilot and leader, receiving the DFC.\n\nHornchurch had similar experiences, having any number of combats, to and from the target. Its pilots claimed five 109s destroyed, with two more probably so and four damaged. One Spitfire was damaged and its pilot crash-landed near Canterbury, a second crash-landed at base, but both men were unhurt.\n\nSome ten 109s were claimed, plus three probables and seven damaged. One of the confirmed was by the Hornchurch Wing Leader, W\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton \u2013 his third confirmed success. The RAF lost four Spitfires, two Hurricanes with three pilots missing. 3.\/JG2 (Specht) got one of the Hurricanes, Siegfried Schnell claimed a Spitfire for victory number thirty-nine, and JG26 claimed two Spitfires.\n\n**Circus No.40 \u2013 8 July**\n\nIt was back to the Kuhlmann Works and the Lille Power Station on this sunny afternoon, some of the RAF pilots flying for the second time this day. Squadron Leader Piper led three 15 Squadron Stirlings, making RV over Manston at 1500; the plan being for two aircraft to attack the first target, the third one the second. With the targets reached, a total of 15 x 1,000lb bombs went down but by this time extreme evasive action was in progress due to heavy and accurate AA fire. In fact, all three bombers received flak damage, although Piper's aircraft was only slightly damaged. Flying Officer Campbell's Stirling was attacked and damaged by a fighter, while P\/O Needham's aircraft was badly damaged by the AA fire. As they flew north the crews could make out large columns of smoke in the target area. Only one Me109 attacked on the way back causing further minimal damage to Piper's aircraft.\n\nAll three squadrons from Hornchurch, flying Escort, had skirmishes with 109s, some being reported as having red noses. The 109s attempted to penetrate the screen to the bombers but all failed. The Cover Wing (Northolt) was also engaged without any results but 303 Squadron had two of its pilots shot down while a third returned wounded. One of the losses was its CO, S\/Ldr T. A. Arentowicz, aged 31, who, like the other loss, was killed. In this fight 109s came in and made simultaneous rear-quarter attacks from both sides.\n\nHornchurch, flying Target Support, operated at 22\u201326,000 feet above the target as the bombers approached, then came down to 20,000 where they circled until the bombers were over the target. Fourteen Me109s flew across from east to west at 26,000 feet then dived in echelon on a section of 603 Squadron, flying the middle layer, and the Spitfires split up. Four other 109s attacked 611 Squadron acting as rearguard. One pilot in 603 claimed two 109s \u2013 Sgt G. W. Tabor \u2013 while other Wing pilots added a further two destroyed, two probables and a damaged. Squadron Leader R. F. Boyd DFC and Bar, CO of 54 Squadron, claimed one of these, bringing his personal score, including shares, to nineteen of an eventual twenty-one (fourteen destroyed and seven others shared). 611 Squadron had one pilot killed.\n\nThe Tangmere Wing also lost one pilot from 610 Squadron while F\/Lt R. A. Lee Knight of this unit claimed a 109 destroyed. He was shortly to receive the DFC but would not survive the year. Meantime the 12 Group Diversion Wing (56, 65 and 601 Squadrons) patrolled from St Omer to Gravelines, shooting down one of two 109s they encountered. They then reduced height to maintain cover patrol and met an estimated fifty Me109s and in the combat that ensued, claimed two destroyed and one probable. One of the destroyed was claimed by the Wing Leader, W\/Cdr R. R. S. Tuck DSO DFC and Two Bars. Tuck had seen considerable action over Dunkirk and throughout the Battle of Britain and this was his twenty-eighth victory, of an eventual twenty-nine, plus innumerable probables and damaged.\n\nOnly one pilot of the Kenley Rear Support Wing saw anything, having been attacked by a 109. He turned sharply and claimed to have shot it down near the Goodwins. This was P\/O C. Stewart, who was to be shot down and killed three days later. Stewart's claim was one of a total of another ten 109s claimed destroyed, making twenty-one in all for the day. On this later operation three more were deemed probables and two damaged. The RAF recorded seven pilots as missing on Circus 40, thus ten missing for the day, plus two wounded. In total fourteen fighters lost or struck off.\n\nGerman radar picked up the raid at 1510 and sent three Gruppen of JG26 into the air. The First Gruppe claimed six Spitfires, II Gruppe claimed three. JG2 claimed eight Spitfires for the loss of one pilot; JG26 also lost one pilot, Uffz. Karl Finke. Another pilot, Uffz. Albrecht Held, was reported to have suffered wing failure north of St Omer and also died. Hauptmann Adolph, the leader of II Gruppe, gained his twentieth victory this afternoon, while Pips Priller scored his thirty-fourth. Seigfried Schnell of JG2 claimed his second victory of the day, making a nice round forty for his score, while Hptm. Hahn reached twenty-eight. The difference between RAF claims of 21-9-9, against three 109s actually lost defies adequate explanation! For Bouchier, he noted that this day saw yet another very successful operation.\n\nThe next day Schnell was notified of the award of the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. He would continue on the Western Front until early 1944, bringing his score to eighty-seven. Posted to the Russian Front he was killed in action in February 1944 having achieved ninety-three victories. Hans 'Assi' Hahn would gain his Oak Leaves in August 1941 when his score had reached forty-two. Walter Adolph had claimed his last victory, failing to survive August 1941.\n\n* * *\n\nAir Vice-Marshal Norman Bottomley was still busy letter-writing. On 8 July he sent a letter to the AOC-in-C of Bomber Command:\n\nSECRET\n\nEnemy tactics to counter daylight sweeps\n\nSir,\n\n  1. I am directed to inform you that a prisoner of war who was recently under interrogation gave particulars of the tactics adopted by the enemy in dealing with daylight sweeps carried out over Northern France.\n\n  2. It appears from this interrogation that the enemy are adopting the tactics which were instituted in Fighter Command towards the end of the Battle of Britain. Special high flying 'reconnaissance' fighter aircraft examine the British sweeps as they reach the coast and report whether bombers are, or are not, present. If bombers are in the formation then fighters are instructed to engage. On the other hand if no bombers are reported the enemy fighters are instructed to avoid combat.\n\n  3. It is suggested that in order to counter this manoeuvre it might be possible on occasion for bomber formations to accompany fighter sweeps to within sight of the French coast. The bomber formation would then retire and the fighters would go on in the hope of engaging the enemy fighters sent up to intercept the formation.\n\n  4. It is requested that this tactic may be considered by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Bomber and Fighter Commands in collaboration, with a view to employing it as circumstances permit.\n\nI am, Sir,\n\nYour obedient Servant,\n\nN. H. Bottomley, AVM\n\nThis tactic was introduced in due time, but rather than a bomber formation, when it was employed it tended to be a lone Blenheim from 60 Group that would be escorted from somewhere like Biggin Hill to the Kent coast around North Foreland, and then it would return, while the escorting fighters would head for the French coast.\n\n* * *\n\nIn the previous chapter mention was made of Jeff West's comments to this author about Douglas Bader. He further recorded:\n\n'When I first joined the Squadron our formation was generally twelve aircraft \u2013 two sections of three in a vic, from A and B Flights. A variation was a section of four aircraft, three in vic with the fourth flying in the box, behind and below each leader. It was found impossible to attack in either formation and we finished up with either three or four in line astern behind a leader. Naturally the leader got in the first shot and the remainder could not engage for fear of clobbering him. Once the leader broke away it was the understood thing for the No.2 to not lose touch with his No.1. After we had flown a few Sweeps, Douglas came down early one morning in his car, while the officers were still in their Mess, and we sergeants had been on Readiness for a dawn show and had not been advised of its cancellation the night before. Dogsbody3 fixed that!\n\n'However, he complained, in a nice way, that he could spend much more time over France looking for the Hun, if he did not have to return to base early because we were running short of fuel. He usually had plenty left with the similar tank capacity. I said to him that if he flew at the rear and had to weave furiously from side to side to see behind and below, he would find his fuel getting low, which was one of the reasons we experimented and designed the \"finger four\" formation, universally adopted by Tangmere [and all other fighter squadrons] in mid-1941.'\n\n3. Dogsbody was Bader's call-sign in the air.\n_Chapter 6_\n\n**Stirlings Forge Ahead**\n\nJuly 1941 continued with further raids by Short Stirling bombers. Not that this in itself gave any respite to the poor 2 Group Blenheim bombers, for they were heavily engaged in anti-shipping attacks, and some daylight raids such as bombing Rotterdam on the 16th (four lost). Two Blenheims were lost on anti-ship operations off Cherbourg on 14 July and three more on the 18th, then another two on the 19th off the Dutch coast, and yet another two on the 20th. It didn't end there. On 23 July six Blenheims went down to flak and fighters off the Scheldt Estuary, followed on the 30th with three lost bombing the Kiel Canal followed by four more lost against shipping off the Dutch coast. Another mass loss of Blenheims would occur on 28 August, seven lost again raiding Rotterdam.\n\n**Circus No.41 \u2013 9 July**\n\nThis operation called for three Stirlings of 15 Squadron, led by W\/Cdr P. B. B. Ogilvie,4 to attack the Synthetic Petrol, Ammonia, Alcohol, Tar and Coke plant at Mazingarbe, on the afternoon of 9 July.5 RV with the Escort Wing (Kenley) was made over Rye at 13,000 feet at 1330. However, over France thick ground haze dictated a switch to the secondary target \u2013 the Power Station north of B\u00e9thune - where 15 x 1,000lb and 30 x 500lb bombs fell piecemeal over the target, some exploding on the northern area, others on the west, while others fell on houses to the north.\n\nThere was no sign of flak until after the bombing but it was then very heavy, and all three bombers received some damage. Fighters also attacked, and one of these was claimed by the defending air gunners.\n\nOn the way in 109s tried to get at the bombers but were thwarted by Kenley's Close Escort tactics and a pilot of 312 Squadron claimed a 109. After the bomb run more 109s came in head on, the Wing damaging one. Then a more serious assault was made by two groups of eight 109s and a dogfight broke out. One 312 Hurricane pilot baled out to become a prisoner, while the Wing Leader, W\/Cdr J. R. A. Peel DFC, was forced down into the sea but was rescued. Johnny Peel had shot down a number of enemy aircraft during 1940, although he did not fly much again after this date, but the award of the DSO came in August. In response, one 109 was destroyed and another claimed as a probable.\n\nTangmere also suffered in this operation. The Wing, led by Douglas Bader DSO DFC, had broken up into sections of four and became embroiled in several fighter actions. Two pilots of 616 and another from 145 failed to return. The latter was killed, and one of the 616 pilots became a prisoner. However, the other one, S\/Ldr E. P. P. Gibbs, who came down twelve miles east of Le Touquet, managed to evade. Edward Gibbs was a pre-war pilot who had been retained as an instructor until early 1941. After gaining experience with other squadrons he was made CO of 616 Squadron, and in the action on 9 July was to claim one 109 plus a probable. However, having then crash-landed in a field he was picked up by the Resistance and eventually got into Spain, then Gibraltar, and was flown home in September. He was flying operationally again before the year was out, and was leading the Middle Wallop Wing at the time of the Dieppe Raid in August 1942, having received the DFC and been Mentioned in Despatches.\n\nThere were seven squadrons from Hornchurch, Northolt and Biggin Hill that made up the Target Support Wings. Over the target area, one section of 611 Squadron was bounced from behind, and lost one pilot, while a second, badly damaged, managed to struggle back to crash-land on the beach near Dover. Another Section got into a scrap but they claimed a 109 destroyed and another damaged. 54 Squadron became engaged before reaching the target and engagements continued to well over the target. One Me109F was shot down, but two RAF pilots failed to return. One was taken prisoner (although he died through a bone disease in April 1942) and the other was killed.\n\nBiggin Hill's boys reached the French coast stepped up from 25\u201330,000 feet and soon began to spot lurking Me109s. Three bursts of 'pointer flak' exploded from enemy coastal batteries and soon afterwards a small formation of 109s appeared. These and another group of six 109s were bounced and the Wing claimed six shot down and another probably destroyed. Jamie Rankin DFC, CO of 92, claimed one, his squadron getting all the others except one destroyed by F\/Lt J. D. Bisdee of 609. John Bisdee had seen action in the Battle of Britain and this was his eighth victory. He was about to receive the DFC.\n\nA pilot from 308 Squadron became separated and decided to head for home at low level. He came upon a lone 109 which he promptly shot down near St Omer. Other aircraft were seen by Wing pilots but no engagements resulted. All told twelve Me109s were claimed destroyed, plus one by the bombers, with three more probables and five damaged. The RAF admitted eight aircraft and seven fighter pilots lost, plus one wounded.\n\nJG26 and JG2 had engaged the Circus just after 1400. The First Gruppe claimed four Spitfires, while III Gruppe got another but this was not confirmed. One Me109 had to make a force-landing with combat damage. JG2 claimed ten victories in this action and had one pilot killed in combat. There are no other known German losses recorded! Priller gained his thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth kills. As for JG2, Ltn. Erich Rudorffer claimed a Hurricane and a Spitfire, bringing his score to twenty-four (he probably shot down S\/Ldr Gibbs). Leutnant Schnell managed to claim three Spitfires, while another up and coming ace, Ltn. Egon Mayer brought his score to twelve. Two hours after this action, Ltn. Schnell claimed to have shot down three more Spitfires, bringing his score to five for the day and forty-six overall. Would the award of his Oak Leaves sooth his 'sore throat'?\n\n**Circus No.42 \u2013 10 July**\n\nThat morning, and then later, there were two 'Gudgeon' Operations mounted, one against Cherbourg, the other to Le Havre. These operations comprised twelve Blenheims from 2 Group's 21 and 107 Squadrons, escorted by fighters from 10 Group. In effect these were 10 Group Circus missions. One Blenheim was shot down near Cherbourg on 'Gudgeon I' and all three crewmen were captured.\n\nGerman fighters had reacted to these raids, eighteen bandits being picked up by radar over the sea. 1.Erg\/JG2 (Erg\u00e4nzungsgruppe, a unit supplying replacements for the main unit) got in amongst the raiders, Uffz. Heinz Scheibner claiming the Blenheim for his first victory. Three other pilots of the same unit also claimed their first kills \u2013 three Spitfires. A training unit, 4.(Eins.)\/JFS 5 (Gruppe training unit) was also scrambled and although three pilots claimed Spitfires, only one was confirmed.\n\nTen Group fighters claimed five Me109s destroyed, one probable and one damaged, losing two Spitfires, with one Spitfire having Cat 2 damage, and its pilot wounded (234 Sqn). The losses were, W\/Cdr M. V. Blake DFC who survived a ditching, and one other of 234 killed. Minden Blake was a successful Battle of Britain pilot and was CO of 234 and claimed two 109s before he was shot down. Exiting his downed fighter he got into his dinghy and began paddling towards England. He continued paddling for twelve hours before being spotted and rescued. Force-landing on the sea, his Spitfire immediately sank before he could get free but eventually did so. Afterwards he wrote:\n\n'I remember seeing a seagull pass the wing tip then everything seemed to happen at once. Water flowed over me. Undid the straps and tried to get out but the parachute was holding me into the seat. The instinct was to release the parachute but I stifled the urge as the dinghy was in it. It was very dark and I realised the aircraft was over the vertical and well down, so twisted round in the cockpit and wriggled my head and shoulders out. I could see it was lighter in one direction which must be the way up. Kicked off and seemed to rise at an incredible speed. I felt like a cork as I burst out of the surface of the sea. I inflated the dinghy by turning on the CO\u00b2 bottle and scrambled in. Fortunately it was calm but there was no land in sight. And it was dreadfully quiet. However, a slight wind began to blow me steadily north towards the Isle of Wight.'\n\nIn August 1942 Mindy Blake had a similar adventure but this time, although he paddled some five miles south of Dover, he was picked up by the German ASR service and made a PoW.\n\n* * *\n\nTowards midday Circus 42 was starting out, which comprised of three 7 Squadron Stirlings attacking the Khulman Chemical and Power Station at Chocques, yet again. This was the seventh visit to this target, the last being only two days earlier. The three bombers were piloted by P\/O D. Witt, F\/O C. V. Frazer DFC and F\/O C. I. Rolfe. North Weald provided the Escort Wing with Northolt flying Cover, the Biggin Hill squadrons above them on High Cover. Hornchurch and Tangmere flew Target Support while three squadrons from Kenley and Northolt acted as Rear Support. There was 10\/10th cloud over the Channel up to 1,000 feet on this Thursday, with haze up to 12,000 feet, so it was going to be a day for careful watchfulness.\n\nThe bombers made RV over Rye at 1200 hours and although the plan had been to cross the hostile coast south of Hardelot, they went in near Boulogne amidst some heavy and accurate AA fire, resulting in one Stirling being hit and falling into the sea. One parachute was seen but in the event all seven crew members of F\/O Fraser's crew perished. Cecil Fraser had received the DFC in 1940 flying with 115 Squadron. Flak had scored a direct hit on the Stirling's port-inner engine which presumably ruptured a fuel tank, for almost immediately the bomber was blazing fiercely.\n\nThe other two pressed on, one bombing the Works, the other nearby marshalling yards. Pilot Officer Rolfe, who bombed the Works, had his machine hit about the tail unit by a German fighter but got back safely. However, the bomber's mid-upper gunner thought he had hit the attacking 109, despite which it followed them right across the Channel. The pilot was Hptm. Rolf Pingel, commander of JG26's First Gruppe. With his engine coughing he began to lose height, and was then set upon by Spitfires of 306 Squadron, and Sgt J Smigielski forced him to land in a wheat field near St Margaret's Bay, Kent. Pingel, who had achieved twenty-two victories during 250 combat missions became a prisoner, having delivered to the RAF its first intact example of a Me109F-2 that was quickly sent off to the Air Fighting Development Unit for evaluation, trials and mock combats. However, the Germans were soon using the F-4 model, which was a much improved version. Pingel was a very experienced fighter pilot, having gained four victories in the Spanish Civil War. In September 1940 he had been awarded the Knight's Cross. Jan Smigielski later had his claim rejected, but nevertheless he survived the war having gained the _Virtuti Militari_ (Poland's highest military decoration for heroism), KW and Bar (Cross of Valour), and the British DFC. (Reports show Pingel suffered from engine trouble, and that there were no bullet holes in his 109.)\n\nSome 109s began attacking the Escort Wing soon after crossing the coast but made no claims, the 109s just diving straight through the formation and away. One pilot of 222 Squadron did try to chase one without result but he then saw some aircraft on a landing ground at Colembert. He made a strafing run but did not see any results of his fire. However, due to the mist and cloud, most Luftwaffe fighters did not engage until the remaining two bombers and their escort were on the way home.\n\nEscort Cover flew over the main formation and although they saw a few 109s were not engaged. High Cover ran into trouble soon after starting out, the CO of 92 Squadron found his radio on the blink so went down and landed at Hawkinge. Unfortunately two sections followed him down and also landed. There was then an alert that enemy fighters were over the Channel, so three of these Spitfires were sent off to investigate. Finding some 109s they attacked but made no claims. One Spitfire was hit by a cannon shell and the pilot, Sgt G. C. Waldron, baled out. He was later rescued by a drifter in the Estuary.\n\nThe pilots of 72 Squadron became separated from the remainder of the Wing and between Fruges and Gravelines were jumped by two formations of six 109s and two of their pilots were shot down. Extricating themselves, the others headed for the coast but one straggler was picked off by another 109. All three RAF pilots were killed. Meantime, 609 was also engaged with 109s, S\/Ldr Robinson claiming one destroyed while F\/Lt Paul Richey damaged another. Richey's combat report also included his observations on German pilots' tactics:\n\n'I was Yellow One of 609 Squadron, sweeping St Omer area and Gravelines for withdrawal of our bombers from a target at Chocques. Shortly after crossing the French coast at Boulogne, sighted 109s ahead: three Me109Fs passed over formation on the left, going in the opposite direction at same height. Yellow Section turned left as EA did like-wise and circled to get on their tails. After about one circle, No.3 EA broke out of turn to the right. S\/Ldr Robinson and remaining two EA flew straight, in very fast but shallow dive. I fired three bursts at left-hand aircraft at long range and saw him emit smoke which I took to be boost. I later fired again as EA climbed to [the] right, then broke away into the sun on sighting many aircraft above. (Later identified as Spitfires.) Yellow Three and Red Three both reported seeing EA I fired at with propeller almost stopped.\n\n'Three Me109s sighted behind Yellow Section at 3,000 ft above. I led Section in a steep left-hand climbing turn as No.1 EA started to dive towards our tails. Other two EA started to dive but pulled up again as No.1 went below us and then regained his height in a steep climbing turn to the left. EA were now right above us and 2,000 ft higher. They circled as they continued to turn and then all dived very fast below and behind us in an endeavour to come up underneath our tails. This manoeuvre was foiled by turning and EA regained height. Manoeuvre repeated unsuccessfully twice more but on the third time EA continued down very fast to the ground and could not be overtaken.'\n\nOf interest is Paul's comment that the smoke from the 109 he fired at was once again probably the result of the German pilots increasing the throttle which blew smoke from the exhaust. This (as previously explained) often led inexperienced RAF pilots into claiming something.\n\nThe Hornchurch boys flying Target Support were stepped up to 30,000 feet when they arrived over the target area at 1224. They circled for nine minutes but without sighting any opposition began to head for home. Earlier 54 Squadron had been nibbled at by some 109s and 603 and 611 had also been involved in combats. The Wing claimed five 109s destroyed but lost one pilot of 611, who was killed. Tangmere fared even worse. Crossing out over Beachy Head 616 got into fights with 109s on the way back from the target while 610, similarly engaged, had three pilots fail to return.\n\nRear Support saw some 109s on the way home, 306 knocking down Pingel near Dover, while 312 Squadron also claimed a probable. This brought the number of RAF claims to 11-3-4 for the loss of one Stirling and eight Spitfires. Six fighter pilots had been killed, two taken prisoner with one more wounded.\n\nOn the German side, JG26 had claimed three Spitfires, Priller gaining his thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth victories, for the loss of Pingel and two more 109s with wounded pilots, with a fourth fighter damaged. JG2 claimed ten for no loss. Among the JG2 victors were Hans Hahn, victories twenty-nine and thirty, Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz, his twelfth, Obfw. Kurt B\u00fchelngen his thirteenth and fourteenth, Ltn. Erich Rudorffer his twenty-fifth, and Egon Mayer his thirteenth. This made a total for the day (Gudgeon I and Circus 42) of seventeen Spitfires and one Blenheim.\n\nAmong RAF pilots claiming victories was the leader of the Tangmere Wing, Douglas Bader, with one destroyed and one probable. 54 Squadron claimed two, 317 another two. The Circus claims were later reduced to 7-2-2, and Gudgeon I to 8-1-2 but this still made fifteen destroyed with actual German losses noted as only three and one damaged.\n\n**Circus No.43 \u2013 11 July**\n\nInitially this operation, the first of three for this day, called for three Stirlings of 15 Squadron to attack the Le Trait Shipyard in the late morning. In the event this primary target was under heavy cloud cover so Piper headed for a secondary target, Z437 \u2013 Hazebrouck marshalling yards. They had an Escort Wing (Kenley) of four Spitfire squadrons with two more (from Tangmere) in Rear Support.\n\nThe weather was known not to be good, which was perhaps the reason it was allowed to proceed with fewer escort fighters, but they hit the target with 15 x 1,000lb and 22 x 500lb bombs. A few 109s were seen but there were no engagements. All-in-all, a pretty low-key affair without much opposition.\n\n**Circus No.44 \u2013 11 July**\n\nIn contrast, Circus 44 began as a diversionary mission using just one Blenheim of 60 Group acting as a decoy, with eight Spitfire squadrons from Biggin and Kenley plus a 12 Group Wing. The lone Blenheim took off from Biggin Hill at around noon, but the fighters ran into heavy cloud soon after take off and found themselves over Essex. Becoming rather lonely, the Blenheim landed at Manston and at 1430 took off again to return to Biggin.\n\nIf all this served to confuse German radar operators then it succeeded. The fighters circled Manston and later headed out for the French coast at 1435, crossing into hostile territory east of Dunkirk. As they began to sweep inland the Wing's pilots began to see many black dots heading up from the south \u2013 109s trying to get up-sun \u2013 in order to hit the Spitfires as they flew out. Not wishing to put his back to the danger, the Wing Leader headed for Gravelines but then three more formations of 109s suddenly appeared. The first two were allowed to fly past, but the third was engaged.\n\nA combat ensued in which six 109s were claimed destroyed, with two probables and seven damaged, for the loss of just one pilot. As the Wing headed back over the Channel three 109s were seen shadowing them. The Wing reported that there were large numbers of 109s already up when the sweep began. 485 Squadron suffered the loss according to the 11 Group report (P\/O C. Stewart, killed), but 92 and 452 Squadrons also had pilots missing. Pilot Officer J. Dougall of 92 was shot down by a 109 and taken into captivity, while 452's Sgt A. C. Roberts baled out after receiving hits from a Messerschmitt. The Australian however, managed to evade capture and with the help of the French Resistance got back to England via Spain and Gibraltar, in October, along with S\/Ldr E. P. P. Gibbs, mentioned earlier.6 In all, eight 109s were claimed destroyed, with three more as probables and five damaged. Meantime...\n\n**Circus No.45 \u2013 11 July**\n\nThis operation was ordered so as to take advantage of a hoped-for scenario whereby Circus 44 had made Luftwaffe fighters respond and would now be landing to re-arm and re-fuel. Three Stirlings of 7 Squadron, led by W\/Cdr H. R. Graham (later DSO DFC), were sent out to bomb the Fives-Lille Steel Works with an Escort Wing, Cover Wing, Target Support Wing and a Rear Support Wing giving escort and protection. Haze up to 15,000 feet and cloud above this to 30,000 feet did not help the raid, forcing the bombers to divert and attack the marshalling yards at Hazebrouck instead. The bombers unloaded their 15 x 1,000lb and 36 x 500lb bombs across the yards and among sheds on both sides of the target. There was no AA fire or enemy fighters in the target area.\n\nEscort Wing comprising of 242, 71 and 306 Squadrons, similarly saw little in the way of fighters, just a few 109s south-east of Lille and a couple more that made a mild attempt at attacking one Section of Spitfires but were driven off. Northolt, the Cover Wing, only saw 109s on the return journey but neither side made any attempt at engaging. 303 Squadron did see a Spitfire shot down by some 109s, that appeared to be from 54 Squadron and saw a parachute open below.\n\nTarget Support from Hornchurch, on their way back too, saw four 109s dive behind the Wing and appeared to be a decoy for another ten or so that then came in overhead before wheeling round and diving onto the lower Squadron. This unit, 54 Squadron, turned to face the threat but one Spitfire was hit, caught fire and went down, its pilot baling out. One 109 was claimed as destroyed. Upon their return, 611 discovered they had a pilot missing too. This was New Zealander Sgt D. E. Fair who became a prisoner, while 54's loss was F\/Lt P. M. Gardner DFC who was also captured. Peter Gardner had flown in France with 3 Squadron and then with 32 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, receiving the DFC in August 1940. He had become a flight commander with 54 in June 1941. He had eight and one shared victories.\n\nThe Tangmere Wing, also flying Target Support spotted eight 109s briefly but they went into cloud. One pilot of 616 Squadron, having problems with his oxygen supply came down to ground level and found himself over an airfield. Seeing around ten aircraft on the airfield he made a strafing run on some Ju87s and flamed two. He headed away surrounded by ground fire, and later was fired on by an E-boat off the French coast. Rear Support only saw one lone 109 over the Channel which was lost in the haze before it could be attacked.\n\nThe operation netted just one 109 and two Stukas on the ground for the loss of two Spitfires and pilots. Again the Circus was deemed a success, despite having to bomb an alternate target, and the lack of opposition was a clear indication that German fighters had been caught on the ground refuelling after the earlier raid. (If the overall strategy was to bring German fighters into combat, this particular tactic appears to have achieved the opposite.)\n\nThe day had cost 11 Group five Spitfires with their pilots missing. The Germans made claims. JG26 seven \u2013 including Priller's thirty-ninth, while Ltn. Horst Ulenberg, leader of the 2nd Staffel, got his fifteenth and sixteenth kills, while Hptm. Johannes Siefert, I Gruppe's leader, claimed his twelfth. Leader of III Gruppe, Hptm. Gerhard Sch\u00f6phel, scored his twenty-eighth. One 109 was damaged but its pilot made a safe landing. JG2 claimed three Spitfires for the loss of one pilot killed over Calais. Erich Rudorffer got his twenty-sixth. Unteroffizier Valentin Nawrot was the lost pilot, from 4.\/JG2. Oberleutnant Siegfried Bethke, Staffelkapit\u00e4n of 2.\/JG2, crash-landed west of Dunkirk and Uffz. Willi Morzinek's 109 was slightly damaged, after combats with Spitfires.\n\n**Circus No.46 \u2013 12 July**\n\nOn the 12th three Stirlings from 15 Squadron, led by F\/Lt R. S. Gilmour, were sent to bomb the impressive ship lift at Arques near St Omer. Kenley had the Escort Wing slot, Hornchurch the Cover Wing, while Target Support went to Northolt and Tangmere. A 12 Group Wing provided Forward Support while Northolt and North Weald drew the Rear Support.\n\nConditions were haze with cloud in layers up to 19,000 feet. Rendezvous with the bombers over Manston at 1000 hours and upon reaching the target the leading Stirling's bombs failed to release but the other two dropped 43 x 500lb bombs from 12,000 feet, but all overshot. The leader then tried another target \u2013 the railway line and sidings at Lumbres \u2013 and this time 22 x 500lb bombs fell on the line at Remilly Wirquin. Flak was heavy and all three bombers received some degree of damage.\n\nThe Escort Wing also recorded heavy AA fire but almost no sightings of enemy fighters. 611 Squadron was not engaged but 603 on High Cover encountered eight 109Fs that approached from the south at their height, 21,000 feet. Five of these turned and dived on 54 Squadron while the other three climbed while being chased by 603, whose pilots damaged two of them, one by the Wing Leader, W\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton. At the same time six more 109s attacked them from astern and in the resulting m\u00eal\u00e9e, one 109 was claimed destroyed, probably another and damaged a third. Meantime 54 Squadron had one pilot shot down and baling out but they did damage one Messerschmitt. Sergeant F. E. Tulit became a prisoner, ending up in Kopernikus prison camp (Stalag 357).\n\nThe Northolt Wing had arrived at the target area just before the bombers and was attacked repeatedly in a series of diving attacks from both sides but they appeared not to open fire. One of these was claimed destroyed by 303 Squadron. 308 Squadron became involved as they left the area and in a dogfight claimed two 109s but lost a pilot \u2013 F\/O C. Weigus, killed \u2013 whose body was later recovered from the Channel. The Tangmere boys circled the target area at 1015 at heights up to 29,000 feet. After one orbit some twenty Me109s were seen climbing in line astern. They were engaged and in a series of fights, 616 Squadron scored 1-1-4. In fact Bader claimed the lion's share with one destroyed and three damaged.\n\nIn all five 109s were claimed destroyed on this operation, with two more probables and nine damaged, for the loss of two pilots. In addition, two pilots of 308 Squadron crash-landed, one at Manston and another, running out of fuel, near Hawkhurst, Kent, but both men were uninjured.\n\nJG2 and JG26 had opposed this operation, JG2 claiming one Spitfire north of Morlaix, but lost a fighter, its pilot baling out wounded near Hazebrouck. JG26 do not appear to have made any claims, but lost an experienced pilot, Ltn. Horst Ulenberg, who was killed over Coquelles. Ulenberg had achieved sixteen victories and had been leading the 2nd Staffel for the last ten days. Another pilot, Uffz. Gottfried Deitze, on his first combat mission, crash-landed his 109F-7 near St Omer.\n\n**Circus No.47 \u2013 12 July**\n\nThis operation, also on the 12th, comprising a lone 60 Group Blenheim, showing IFF, was sent off, hoping to confuse the enemy again as a diversion tactic, as per Bottomley's suggestion. When it reached North Foreland it returned to base with its escort of seven fighters; the hope being that they had given enemy radar sufficient 'contact' to entice fighters into the air. According to British radar, enemy fighters did rise to meet the supposed threat.\n\nThe bomber took off from Biggin Hill at 1215 hours and after it returned to base, the fighters headed back to carry out a sweep off the French coast. Squadrons from Kenley, Northolt and Biggin Hill had lots to report but this operation only claimed one Me109 shot down \u2013 609's Micky Robinson taking the honours.\n\n* * *\n\nAn interesting report dated 12 July, was produced by Squadron Leader Green (Air Tactics officer) and sent to Wing Commander E. S. Finch at the Air Ministry (Finch had been leader of No.63 Fighter Wing during the Battle of France in 1940):\n\n  1. I think you will be interested to read the following Circus reports, Circuses 39, 40, 41 and 42, in the light of the following remarks.\n\n  2. I have noticed that since No.3 Group have taken over from No.2 Group on the operations, certain matters of liaison have been rather inclined to be let slip.\n\n  3. To take the Circuses in order.  \nCircus No.39. The close escort squadrons report: -\n\n(i) | There was no warning given of the Stirlings' intention to split up over the target and bomb individually with a result that the Wing Leader of the close escort Wing was in his opinion, unable to give satisfactory close escort to the bombers.\n\n---|---\n\n(ii) | Bombers again crossed right over Boulogne and flew directly through very heavy AA fire.\n\n(iii) | Bombers appear to have taken the longest route possible back over the sea to the consternation of the Kenley escort Wing.\n\n(iv) | There appears to be some trouble with the escort cover wing which is alleged to have drawn away at a critical period, that is when leaving the French coast. However, the leader of this Wing, G\/Capt Barwell, suggests that the timing was not all that it might have been and the sun position made the withdrawal very difficult. He noted that the bombers chose to fly through heavily defended AA areas and to split up within the target area.\n\nCircus No.40. This operation appears to have been successful except that the Stirlings having dropped their bombs flew back at a speed so great that the close escort Wing (Hurricane II) were unable to keep up with them.\n\nCircus No.41. Here again the close escort seemed to have been confused by the manoeuvres of the Stirling aircraft and note should be made on No.3 Group's report, where it states that no 'Friendly fighters were near at the time'.\n\nCircus No.42. Here again the bombing force went straight through the heavily defended Boulogne area and one of the Stirlings was shot down before it had dropped its bombs or reached anywhere near the target. The weather during this operation is commented upon by every single formation and it may be of interest to note that No.72 Squadron, who were so foxed by the weather that eight of them landed at Coltishall, which is about 100 miles from their base at Gravesend. Two pilots of 222 Squadron based at Manston, force-landed in a field near Martlesham Heath, one with wheels up, and two aircraft of 54 Squadron, Hornchurch, also managed to get in at Coltishall.\n\n  4. In view of the foregoing, I think you will agree that in spite of our committed policy of bombing at all accounts the time has now come for a strong comment to be made on the following points:-\n\n(i) | Bombers persist in taking a route through the heaviest flak areas.\n\n---|---\n\n(ii) | When the weather is as it was on Circus 42, the result so far as the fighter force is concerned could easily be achieved by employing half the effort.\n\n(iii) | Length of trip. I have mentioned this subject to you before and perhaps you would agree to draw the attention of the Group Captain Ops, to this point. I tried to ring Wing Commander Bader at Tangmere today about this but without success.\n\nWing Commander Bader complains bitterly about the length of trip, they get very short of petrol, and some of our casualties have been for this reason being forced to bale out into the Channel.\n\nOne the other hand, Air\/Sea Rescue seems to be getting on very well.\n\nOn the top of this report, Wing Commander Finch had written after reading it: ' _I have spoken to Bomber Command Tactics and 11 Group Tactics about these points. 11 Group have been on to 3 Group about it, in fact have done so before and after every raid.'_\n\nUnfortunately I have been unable to find a response to Finch's points.\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.48 \u2013 14 July**\n\nNumber 11 Group had a day's breather, for Circus 48 did not take place until 14 July \u2013 and so therefore, did the Stirling crews. This operation called for six Blenheims to attack the Hazebrouck marshalling yards on this morning with good visibility over France above 12,000 feet but cloud above.\n\nThe Blenheims \u2013 from 21 Squadron \u2013 made rendezvous over Southend with North Weald and one squadron of the Hornchurch Wings, while the three other Hornchurch units provided Top Cover. Target Support went to Biggin and Tangmere, Kenley going for Forward Support while Debden and Kenley added one squadron each for Rear Support.\n\nCrossing the French coast at Gravelines, they reached the target at 1034. The bombers released two dozen 250lb and 40lb bombs across the target, the majority exploding on the yards. Flak was experienced, three bombers being hit, but while some 109s were seen, none made a move against them. The Escort Wing saw a few 109s but had little to report.\n\nUp above, the Hornchurch squadrons picked up the main formation on schedule and headed for the target. Several 109s could be seen high up in the sun but no attacks came until near the target. Four 109s flew over, and one broke downwards and attacked 603 Squadron \u2013 the top squadron \u2013 and shot down a Spitfire that went down trailing smoke. However, this 109 was reported to have been damaged. 603 continued to be nibbled at on the way back but attacks were not pressed home. 611 had also become embroiled with 109s and claimed two destroyed but they lost three pilots, two of whom it was thought, collided as both attacked a 109 simultaneously although one of the RAF pilots was seen to bale out. These were F\/O P. G. Dexter DFC of 611, who was killed, and Sgt J. W. Panter of 54 Squadron, who ended up as a prisoner. 603 lost Sgt A. C. Hunter, who was wounded and also ended up a prisoner. Peter Dexter was a South African who had come to the UK in 1938 to join the RAF. During the Battle of France he had flown Lysanders. He received the DFC for an action on 21 May 1940, during a fight with Me109s in which he shot one down with his front guns while his observer got a second with the rear gun! In the Battle of Britain he moved to 54 Squadron, then to 603. He achieved some successes to become a minor ace before his loss. It was reported he was found dead in his parachute.\n\nThe Target Support Wings saw German fighters waiting for them as they crossed into France and very soon Biggin Hill squadrons became engaged in combat. As a result they failed to get to the target area, and although they claimed one 109 (by 609), they lost Sgt W. M. Lamberton of 72 Squadron, who was wounded and taken prisoner. Bill Lamberton was claimed by Pips Priller as his fortieth victory. Priller's combat reports:\n\n'I wanted to attack two Spitfires that were high above us in the vapour trails, but my engine was acting up and it was impossible to overtake them. The Spitfires turned about and came towards us. I pulled my nose up and opened fire from about 100 meters, directly in front of them. I hit one in the cockpit and engine and its pilot baled out. I then had to dive away steeply, as I came under attack by the second Spitfire which was firing at me from very close range.'\n\nTangmere Wing did reach the target where they split into sections of four. One section attacked some 109s and the tail of one was literally blown off by a cannon shell hit. The pilot who achieved this was P\/O J. E. Johnson of 616, thus gaining his third victory. Of the other two squadrons, just one damaged 109 was all they could claim.\n\nThe Rear Support Wing had some skirmishes but only S\/Ldr P. E. Meagher, CO of 602 Squadron was able to claim a destroyed five miles south-west of Boulogne. Pat Meagher was another veteran of the 1940 French campaign during which he had flown Blenheims. Later in the war he would fly Beaufighters over Burma, winning the DSO and DFC and becoming a Group Captain.\n\nFive Me109s had been claimed this day with three more damaged, for the loss of four pilots. JG26 had claimed three, possibly four. Apart from Priller, Hptm. Siefert had gained his thirteenth kill. Gefreiter Robert Kleinecke was shot down and killed over Marquise. Another loss this date was Ltn. Werner Roll of Erg\u00e4nzunsdgruppe\/JG2, shot down and wounded by a Spitfire, but this was over Cherbourg on one of two Gudgeon (numbers III and IV) operations by 10 Group. 139 Squadron lost two Blenheims to 4.\/JFS 5 off Le Havre and 10 Group had a Spitfire from 234 Squadron damaged but the pilot got back although he was claimed by a 1.Erg\/JG2 pilot.\n\n**Circus No.49 and 50**\n\nIt seems that while these two operations had also been planned for the 14th, they did not take place, but the Circus numbers remained written into the records. Circus 49 should have been a raid on Arques by three Stirlings, which were to make RV over Clacton at 1800 hours. Circus 50 was to have involved three more Stirlings in an attack on Mazingarbe, rendezvousing over Rye forty-five minutes later, but once airborne the bombers were informed that bad weather was making things difficult and both operations were aborted. The weather was indeed recorded as very cloudy and with rain.\n\nOn 16 July came a daylight low-level raid on the shipping and docks of Rotterdam. Thirty-six Blenheims took off mid-afternoon. Over the target four of the raiders were shot down by flak, two from 18 Squadron, and one each from 21 and 139 Squadrons. Of the twelve missing men, just three survived as prisoners. No doubt the Blenheim crews thought the odds or survival were rather better when on Circus operations.\n\nThere were no Circuses on the 17th either, but Fighter Command flew fighter sweeps. Despite reports that German fighters rarely reacted to RAF intrusions unless bombers were in the mix seems a little hollow, for there was much fighter versus fighter action on this day. During two sweeps, one in the afternoon and another in the early evening, Fighter Command claimed ten Me109s destroyed, three more as probables, plus a He59 seaplane destroyed. Casualties amounted to four RAF pilots killed, two taken prisoner, and another killed on a Rhubarb sortie.\n\nThe Germans claimed only a couple of Spitfires on the first encounter, one each by JG2 and JG26. JG26 lost a pilot to 'friendly' anti-aircraft fire, while JG2 had three of its 109s crash-land with combat damage. Most of the action was either over the Channel or near to the French coast, but on the second show, 308 Squadron penetrated too far into France and met around sixty Me109s. The Polish pilots fought their way out and claimed 3-2-0 but lost three pilots. Unteroffizier H-G Adam of 2.\/JG26 claimed one of these (his first victory), while Ltn. Julius Meimberg of JG2 claimed one, gaining his eleventh victory (of an eventual fifty-three).\n\nBlenheims of 21 Squadron out on a Channel Stop anti-shipping sortie on the 18th lost two aircraft to AA fire and had a third so badly shot up that it was written off. Meantime an unusual mission on this day involved a lone Stirling of 15 Squadron, piloted by F\/O S. D. Marshall RAAF, being tasked with an operation to Wesel using cloud cover. JG26 had been involved with the Blenheims \u2013 claiming two! \u2013 but then Fw. Ernst J\u00e4ckel spotted what he described as an unknown type, close to the sea, with four Spitfires as escort. He and his wingman made five attacks on the bomber which turned back towards Dover, while another pair of 109s engaged the fighters. Eventually the bomber hit the sea and crashed. All seven crewmen were killed. Marshall had been the yachting correspondent for the _Sydney Telegraph_ in happier times. Being the first JG26 pilot to down a four-engined bomber, he received an honour trophy together with 500 _Reichsmarks_. The two Blenheims were shot down by the 3rd Staffel, while 222 Squadron flying escort lost one pilot to Obfw. Walter Mayer - his tenth victory. J\u00e4ckel's combat report stated:\n\n'My Schwarm was covering a convoy north-west of Dunkirk. At 1115, several enemy aircraft were reported approaching the convoy at altitudes between zero and 2,000 meters [6,500 ft]. My Schwarm climbed to 2,500 meters [8,000 ft], and circled directly over the convoy. At 1120, I saw four bombers approaching the convoy from the north-west; they were flying in a single row, about three meters off the water. They were covered by about 15 Spitfires at 2,000 meters. I dived on the Spitfires and opened fire from their rear, which caused the formation to separate. I continued the dive with my Schwarm, and overtook the bombers at great speed. The lead bomber, a Bristol Blenheim, had already dropped its bombs on the convoy. As I prepared to attack one of the Blenheims, I saw a large aircraft, type unknown, somewhat farther away. It was flying at three meters altitude and had an escort of four Spitfires. I immediately turned towards this aircraft, and approached it from the right rear. The Spitfires above me disappeared. I approached the bomber but did not open fire as I wanted to identify the type. At about 200 meters range its rear turret opened fire. At 100 meters I saw the roundels on its fuselage and wings, and opened fire on the turret with my cannon. I passed close by the left side, and saw damage to the turret, the fuselage and the cockpit. I also saw that the plane had four engines.\n\n'My wingman and the second Rotte7 of my Schwarm also made attacks from the rear. After my second attack the rear gunner stopped firing (probably dead). The aircraft had reversed course after the first attack and now flew towards Dover, about two meters above the water. I made two more attacks and my wingman made one, while my second Rotte protected us from the Spitfires. The bomber was less than three miles south-east of Deal when I made my fifth and last attack. I closed to about 20 meters. As I prepared to make yet another attack, I saw its extended landing gear strike the water. I saw an English speed boat approaching the crash site. At that I headed home, short of fuel.'\n\n**Circus No.51 \u2013 19 July**\n\nFinally the bad weather cleared to allow this operation to proceed normally on the afternoon of Saturday 19 July. 15 Squadron provided three Stirlings, led by S\/Ldr Piper, to go for the Power Station at Lille\/Sequedin. There was still some cloud around but it appeared good enough to operate in. However, the bombers failed to find the target due to these cloudy conditions so they turned back and headed for the secondary target \u2013 the Dunkirk docks.\n\nThe bombs went down from 14,000 feet, through gaps in the clouds, but on the run-in the leading bomber was seen to lurch violently and flames came from under and behind the port inner engine. The fire spread and the bomber began to lose height, apparently the pilot was making a controlled descent to allow his crew to get out. Although not seen by any of the escort, two 109s then nipped in and opened fire, following which the pilot baled out too. In the event only the pilot, Squadron Leader Piper and one Canadian crew member survived as prisoners, the other six perished.\n\nThere were plenty of scattered Me109s nipping about but the fighting became very confused due to the weather. The Escort Wing (North Weald) saw some on the way to Dunkirk but despite an exchange of fire, no claims were made. As the bombers let go their loads, four 109s dived through the Wing to engage the Stirlings and one was probably destroyed by 71 Squadron, and another damaged by 222.\n\nEscort Cover (Hornchurch) did not see anything either until near Dunkirk on the way back, when some 109s began diving towards the bombers from height. 611 Squadron got a probable and near the coast 54 Squadron claimed one and a damaged.\n\nTarget Support (Biggin and Tangmere) were forced to operate in individual squadron formations that appeared to confuse the 109 pilots they encountered, because they were finding smaller units rather than a large Wing group. However, 72 Squadron had a pilot shot down into the Channel and was lost, while 92 Squadron also lost a pilot. The latter was Sgt G. C. Waldern RCAF, who had been rescued from the Channel on 10 July. This time his luck ran out.\n\nTangmere flew out over Beachy Head and were above Hazebrouck at 1345, stepped up from 25,000 feet. The Wing Leader (Bader) kept everyone together because of the cloud, putting them in echelon from north to south so they covered a wide front. They spotted some fifteen 109s operating in pairs, attacked, and claimed two destroyed and three probables. Bader and P\/O H. S. L. 'Cocky' Dundas (616) shared one, while Bader got another on his own. 610 also claimed a probable, while a pilot of 145 Squadron, losing height, strafed a gun position 200 yards inland from the beach east of Dunkirk. The other Wings saw 109s but had little in the way of engagements.\n\nIn total 11 Group had claimed four destroyed, six probables and two damaged, for the loss of two pilots. Oberleutnant Christian Eikhoff, leader of JG26's 2nd Staffel, was credited with finishing off the Stirling, for his third victory. Priller and Ltn. Josef Heyarts of JG26 claimed the two Spitfires. Leutnant Heinz Rahardt of 2.\/JG26 was shot down and killed and another pilot was killed returning from this action. His engine suddenly stopped and in attempting a crash-landing hit a wall and burst into flames.\n\n**Circus No.52 \u2013 20 July**\n\nDespite it being high summer the bad weather continued on 20 July with more cloud and rain. Three Stirlings of 15 Squadron, led by F\/Lt R. S. Gilmour, were assigned to bomb the Hazebrouck marshalling yards this Sunday morning but the weather defeated them and they were unable to see the ground. Turning back, they jettisoned their bombs over the Barrow Deep, Thames Estuary, and went home.\n\n602 Squadron, part of the Escort, saw some 109s but no contact was made by either side. The Hornchurch Wing also saw a few but again no engagement took place. The same was the case for the Tangmere boys. It was similar experiences that confronted the other Wings and in one brief skirmish, Northolt's Wing Leader, W\/Cdr J. A. Kent DFC claimed a 109 off Gravelines, and that was that. Not a very inspiring operation, but at least there wasn't any losses \u2013 on either side! Of interest are the remarks made by Johnny Kent, former CO of 92 Squadron, and now leading the Northolt Wing, in his book ' _One of the Few'_.\n\n'[There were] two major mistakes we were making during this phase of the air war. One was that we had learned little or nothing from the German mistakes in 1940 and, like them, we tied our fighters to the bombers, their mere proximity supposedly giving protection. As we ourselves had found, a few fighters travelling fast can flash through a screen of escorting fighters, do their damage and get away while the escort is trying to accelerate and at the same time look around to see if any more of the enemy were about.\n\n'The second mistake was really very similar in its effect to the first but, if anything, was accentuated in the operations carried out as far afield as Lille which necessitated the fighters flying slowly not only to stay with the bombers but also to conserve fuel. The fact is that one could not afford to fight on such an operation as to do so properly meant that you would have insufficient fuel to get back across the Channel. All that we could do was to defend ourselves, but by so doing one failed to give adequate protection to the bombers. This was something we had noticed with the Germans in 1940 \u2013 the fighters were loath to join combat when escorting their bombers on the more deeply penetrating raids. The significance was not appreciated by us \u2013 or at least not by those who were more concerned with planning our operations than carrying them out.\n\n'The advantage of speed which allowed the Spitfire to be used to its best advantage against the enemy was proven on the fighter sweeps of relatively shallow penetration. This was demonstrated with particular emphasis by the Biggin Hill Wing under the leadership of first Malan and later Rankin. The aircraft were already travelling fast when they met the enemy and so could easily catch the 109s which were shot out of the sky in large numbers with very little loss to the Biggin Wing. This could not be said of the Wings, any of them, when employed on close escort work.'\n\n**Circus No.53 \u2013 20 July**\n\nThis was also scheduled for the 20th, three Stirlings going for targets in the For\u00eat de Eperleques. Although the fighter escort squadrons are known, there is no reference to this operation in 11 Group's Operational Record Book, so although rendezvous was made over Rye with the bombers, this mission too must have been abandoned due to the weather.\n\n**Circus No.54 \u2013 21 July**\n\nThe weather improved to fair on the 21st. The target for three Stirlings was the Accumulator Tudor factory at Lille, with the RV point over Clacton at 0800, now designated as target Z.565 of industrial targets. 15 Squadron, led by PO Needham, again provided the bombers which crossed into France east of Dunkirk dropping 15 x 1,000 and 36 x 500lb bombs. Direct hits were observed on one large and two small buildings just to the south-west of the target, despite heavy flak which slightly damaged all three Stirlings. Sergeant P. A. Tanton had to feather his starboard outer engine, and in consequence he began to lag behind the other two Stirlings. As he neared the French coast he was attacked by a 109, and his rear gunner was slightly wounded. The starboard fuel tanks were also holed and the inner engine now stopped too. Deciding to land at Manston, Tanton found that with only the two port engines working, he could not maintain flying speed once he lowered flaps and undercarriage; he was also coming in from an unsuitable direction. Finally lining up, he was almost committed to make a belly landing but at the last moment, lowered his wheels and landed without further damage to the aircraft. Peter Tanton received an Immediate DFM.\n\nOne of two 109s that made a pass at the formation was engaged by 71 Squadron, part of the Escort Wing (485, 602, plus 71 from North Weald), while other Eagle pilots drove off four more that had edged in. 602 Squadron saw 109s above that then dived down through the Squadron. Two pilots had squirts at them but made no claims. Yellow Section was also attacked by diving 109s and one RAF pilot was shot down. This was F\/Lt T. G. F. Ritchie, yet another RAFVR Battle of Britain veteran killed over France. Biggin's Escort Cover Wing had little to report but the Hornchurch squadrons (54, 603 and 611) saw several groups of 109s over St Omer. 54 Squadron was attacked but made no claims. Then another group came down and in the scrap that ensued, one 109 was claimed destroyed. Meantime, 603 went down on fifteen 109s that came in from the west, got behind them and shot down two, and damaged a third. One RAF pilot lost formation so dived to low level. He then spotted a 109F about to land at St Omer and shot it down. The Wing Leader, W\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton claimed two destroyed in this action, but 603 also claimed two and a damaged, so it is not clear what the Squadron score actually was. Another Wing pilot who had gone down to ground level shot up a long line of motor transport on a road leading to St Omer and then shot a man out of the Watch Tower in the For\u00eat de Clairmarais.\n\nThe Tangmere Wing orbited the For\u00eat de Nieppe before heading for the target. On the way back they were chased by 109s and in the subsequent fight two of these were damaged. One section dived on several 109s that were attacking some Spitfires from the rear. The 109 pilots broke off the attack and one German pilot was seen to bale out although none of the Spitfires had fired. One pilot of 610 Squadron claimed a 109, one of two he chased. They were joined by three more but Sgt E. W. Merriman continued attacking all five and claimed his victory.\n\nResults from air actions were claims of eight Me109s destroyed and five more damaged for the loss of three pilots. 609 Squadron lost one pilot killed and 611 another. On the German side, JG26 and JG2 had intercepted the raid. Seeing the bombers being set upon by AA fire, one bomber appeared to lose an engine, and was attacked by Hptm. Seifert who knocked out a second engine. Sergeant H. Taunton managed to reach RAF Manston where he landed his crippled Stirling safely. Meantime, JG26 also claimed two Spitfires in this engagement. The 602 Squadron pilot was shot down by Obfw. Walter M\u00e4rz, his fourth victory. They lost Obgfr. Heinrich Gleixner. Meantime JG2 got in amongst the Circus aircraft and claimed five Spitfires for the loss of one Me109F. One of JG2's claims was Hans Hahn's thirty-first kill.\n\n**Circus No.55 \u2013 21 July**\n\nDuring the late afternoon of the 21st, with weather continuing cloudy but fair, three more Stirlings of 15 Squadron, led by F\/O Campbell, were ordered out to bomb a target at Mazingarbe, but yet again the weather defeated the attempt. No sooner had they set course for Gravelines than the huge cloud formations ahead forced the leader to order an abort.\n\nBoth the Escort Wing and Escort Cover Wings aborted too, but the Target Support Wings carried on. Biggin Hill's squadrons (72, 92 and 609) caught fleeting glimpses of the French countryside north of St Omer before spotting what might have been 109s below. One section was sent down but in the swirling cloud nothing further was seen. On the way out a couple of 109s made a half-hearted approach but did not press home their attack.\n\nTangmere, the other Cover Wing, orbited over France and just before 2045 saw some 109Fs pass 500 feet below heading south-west. They were attacked but the 109s turned and got stuck in, with mixed fortunes. One 109 was probably destroyed and another damaged but one pilot of 616 Squadron didn't get home, Sgt F. E. Nelson going into the Channel. A second squadron pilot, Sgt S. W. R. Mabbett, was wounded but managed to belly-land in France. He was taken to hospital but died of his injuries. Both men were victims of JG26. They had been sent to engage but with the bombers missing the German pilots assumed this was a sweep rather than a bombing raid. Nevertheless, they claimed three Spitfires for one loss. Unteroffizier Gottfried Dietz made one claim, his first, no doubt Sgt Mabbett, while the other Spitfire may not have been seen crashing into the sea. Johannes Siefert was credited with a Spitfire \u2013 kill number fifteen \u2013 while Hans Hahn of JG2 claimed another. JG2 had a pilot wounded, lost a 109 and had another damaged. Pilot Officer J. E. Johnson was on this operation and recorded in his book _'Wing Leader'_ :\n\n'Leading a section of two Spitfires, I lost my wingman on a late evening show over France. We were badly bounced and didn't see the 109s until they had opened fire. The wingman was a sergeant-pilot, a kindly farmer's son from Gloucestershire, and the next thing we heard of Mabbett was that the Germans had buried him with military honours at St Omer.'\n\n'The bombers flew over France on every suitable day, and as the high summer wore on, so the resistance of the 109s seemed to increase and sometimes we had to fight our way to the target from the coast. One day in July we shot down Tangmere's 500th Hun, and the same fight witnessed the squadron's fiftieth victory. This was not a large squadron score since some units, including 610 Squadron, already claimed more than 100 kills, but we had got off to a poor start last autumn and our present masters seemed satisfied with our progress.'\n\nForward Support Wing came from 12 Group (19, 65 and 266 Squadrons), but upon crossing into France became split up due to the cloud. 19 Squadron saw several formations of 109s which they engaged, claiming one destroyed and one damaged. However, they lost two pilots killed and a third returned wounded. This operation should not have been contemplated, for the weather had already proved a problem during the morning. The day cost Fighter Command seven pilots missing (all killed) and one wounded, for little return \u2013 just a score of 1-1-3. Dundas got one of the damaged, while brother 616 pilots, Nip Heppell and Johnnie Johnson shared the probable. Douglas Bader also claimed a damaged leading his Tangmere Wing.\n\nIt was around this time that Bader received a Bar to his DSO, with Billy Burton, Ken Holden and Cocky Dundas receiving DFCs.\n\n* * *\n\nThese were the last efforts of the Stirling experiment, and the C-in-C Bomber Command withdrew them at the end of the month. While their presence had brought Luftwaffe fighters up to engage, then so had Blenheims. The weather had not helped and on clear days the large Stirlings had been pretty good targets for AA fire, especially at the heights they normally flew in order to get good hits on their assigned targets. 2 Group's Blenheims would now recommence co-operating with 11 Group on Circus operations.\n\n**Circus No.56**\n\nThere is some mystery about this operation. No Circus report could be found, there were no bomber losses, and no apparent fighters escorted any raid. If it was intended to mount a Circus after No.55, late on the 21st, then it was aborted before it had begun. If it was supposed to have been an early Circus for 22 July, then this too was not sent off. There were two operations on the 23rd, and six Stirlings were sent to bomb the _Scharnhorst_ in La Rochelle harbour that same afternoon (which cost them one bomber) but this could hardly have been a Circus.\n\n**Circus No.57 \u2013 22 July**\n\nSix Blenheims found themselves on the roster for a raid on Le Trait ship yard during the late morning of 22 July, yet another cloudy day. They made rendezvous with their escort over Beachy Head at 1230, Tangmere on Close Escort, Kenley doing Target Support, so a pretty limited affair with just six Spitfire squadrons in tow. They headed directly to the target, bombing north to south from 10,000 feet, many bombs bursting on sheds and slipways, bathing everything in smoke. There was no flak and no fighters.\n\nThe Close Escort similarly had no problems with the enemy, nor did the Kenley pilots. It was a cushy number and no doubt the Blenheim crews were relieved. Perhaps this was due to....\n\n**Circus No.58 \u2013 22 July**\n\n..... an operation, billed as a diversion for Circus 57. This must have been some sort of new ploy, for although mounted as Circus 58, there were no bombers involved, just three fighter wings, sweeping Dunkirk \u2013 St Omer \u2013 Gravelines shortly after lunch.\n\nThose involved were Biggin Hill (72, 92, 609), Hornchurch (54, 603, 611) and Northolt (306 and 308). Perhaps it was hoped that with bombers reported further to the south-west over Le Trait, the Germans would assume this operation also included bombers, and would rise to the occasion.\n\nThere was a lot of cloud over France and the Spitfires were well above 24,000 feet. Some 109s were seen below and attacked, but the German pilots wisely zipped into the cloud and disappeared. The rest of the Wing got mixed up with the Hornchurch squadrons and not being able to reform, headed home. With Hornchurch also scattered the three squadrons started to act independently.\n\nThen 603 was suddenly confronted with an estimated forty Me109s coming from the direction of Nieuport at 22,000 feet, stepped up in two gaggles of twenty. The 109s however, flew right by and kept going, no doubt looking for bombers. A couple of Spitfire pilots attempted attacks but made no claim. On the way over one pilot had been seen to drop away off Ramsgate, probably oxygen failure. 611 Squadron saw one of the two 109 formations turning south but did not attack. The second group were spotted by 54 Squadron, and some jousting took place with each side doing little but 'sabre rattling'. However, one Spitfire pilot was lost. Pilot Officer L. J. D. Jones was last seen going down with a 109 on his tail, and he ended up as a prisoner.\n\nNortholt's Polish pilots had skirmishes too. 306 had one pilot attacked by three 109s but they quickly climbed away as he turned to engage. Meantime, 308 Squadron, west of Dunkirk, saw eight 109s to port but when attacked they dived and flew off to the south. Not to be thwarted, the Squadron went down to almost ground level and proceeded to shoot-up an aerodrome next to a wood by Guines (one of St Omer's airfields). Every pilot joined in, giving the airfield a thorough going over, with cannon shells ripping into hangars, gun posts, buildings, personnel and some aircraft that were half-hidden beneath trees at the edge of the area. Heading back to the coast and climbing they met several 109s, and in the ensuing dogfight, the Poles claimed three or four and a probable. Still not finished the Poles shot-up a gun position on the coast and then strafed a boat they found offshore. However, two pilots did not get back, both being killed. Priller claimed one. Not to be outdone, JG2 put in claims for six victories! Hans Hahn reported he got two, his thirty-third and thirty-fourth, while Oblt. Rudi Pflanz claimed his thirteenth.\n\nThe operation report recorded claims of 4-1-2 for the RAF, at the cost of four pilots.\n\n* * *\n\nThe month of July saw the debut of the Focke-Wulf 190 fighter, which had been expected for some weeks. Early problems with the BMW engines during tests and trials were finally overcome and the 190A-1 was cleared for service. A group of II Gruppe, JG26 pilots began to swop its Me109s at Le Bourget, Paris and gradually the whole Geschwader had received the new fighter by the beginning of September. A new era was about to begin for the German Luftwaffe.\n\n4. W\/Cdr Pat Ogilvie received the DSO and DFC, the latter for his part in attacking the German battleships at Brest, in December 1941.\n\n5. 15 Squadron's Operational Record Book mentions Gosnay.\n\n6. Roberts came from Lismore, NSW. Unable to fly over France again, he was posted to the Far East, joining 258 Squadron. During 1943\u201344, he served as Air Liaison Officer with Orde Wingate's Long-Range Penetration Group (The Chindits) in Burma.\n\n7. A Rotte was a two-man formation; a formation of two Rotte became a Schwarm. German fighter pilots had always flown in twos and fours, whereas the RAF had generally flown in sections of three until the more intuitive fighter leaders began to adopt a four-man section, of two pairs, begun by 616 Squadron as mentioned earlier.\n\n**_Top:_** Summer 1941. Winston Churchill visits RAF Biggin Hill, on 11 July. Sqn Ldr M L Robinson DFC, CO of 609 Squadron, is on the left with Churchill with his back to the camera. Air Vice-Marshal Sholto Douglas, CinC of Fighter Command, slightly obscuring Group Captain P Barwell, Station Commander. On this day Barwell shot down a Me109 over France.\n\n**_Upper Middle:_** Hermann G\u00f6ring, head of the German Luftwaffe, on a visit to his fighter boys on the Channel front. On the left is Ltn-Gen Bruno Loerzer, while on the right is Adolf Galland, commanding JG26 in 1941.\n\n**_Lower Middle:_** Group Captain Victor Beamish DSO DFC AFC, both Station Commander and Wing Leader of the North Weald squadrons.\n\n**_Above:_** Wing Commander Douglas Bader DSO DFC, leader of the Tangmere Wing in 1941, climbing out of his Spitfire. Note his initials on the fuselage, a prerogative of wing leaders during the war.\n\n**_Top:_** Group Captain John Peel DSO DFC, had led the Kenley Wing in 1941.\n\n**_Upper Middle:_** Wing Commander A G 'Sailor' Malan DSO DFC, commanded 74 Squadron in 1941. On the left is Wing Commander Pat Jameson DFC, leader of the Wittering Wing.\n\n**_Lower Middle:_** Wing Commander John Gillan DFC AFC, killed in action leading the North Weald Wing during a fighter sweep on 29 August 1941.\n\n**_Above:_** Squadron Leader Johnnie Kent DFC led both the Northolt and Kenley Wings in 1941, receiving a Bar to his DFC in October.\n\nSergeant H D Denchfield of 610 Squadron, shot down and taken prisoner on 5 February 1941, seen here shortly after his capture.\n\nSergeant J McAdam of 41 Squadron, shot down by Werner M\u00f6lders of JG51 and taken prisoner.\n\nTwo outstanding fighter pilots. Brian Kingcome DFC, (left) saw considerable action with 92 Squadron during 1940 and 1941, and Peter Simpson DFC, who flew with 111 Squadron.\n\nThe Bristol Blenheim IV, which 2 Group of Bomber Command used on the Circus operations during 1941. This aircraft (V6240) of 21 Squadron was lost during a raid on Rotterdam on 12 July 1941.\n\nSpitfire of 74 Squadron, P7928, following its crash-landing in France, 6 May 1941. Sergeant A D Arnot became a prisoner of war.\n\nGeneral Ulrich Grauert, aged 52, was a Flieger Corps commander. The Ju52 transport aircraft in which he was a passenger, was shot down by Spitfires of 303 Polish Squadron on 15 May 1941, near St Omer.\n\n**_Top:_** Spitfire IIA (P8241) of 609 Squadron. P\/O Joe Atkinson had to make a forced landing near Rochester on 17 May following combat with Me109s over Dover.\n\n**_Above:_** Squadron Leader Ronald Kellett DSO DFC, second from the left, whilst CO of 303 Squadron. The three Polish pilots are Flight Lieutenant J Jankiewicz, who shared in the downing of General Grauert's Ju52 in May, Squadron Leader W Lapkowski, who commanded 303 from May 1941 until he was killed on 2 July, and Flight Lieutenant F Kornicki of 315 Squadron.\n\nBelgian pilot, R G C De Grunne, of 609 Squadron, was lost in action on 21 May 1941. He had flown for the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, in Italian CR32s and German Me109Bs and is reputed to have shot down 14 Republican aircraft.\n\nWing Commander Joe Kayll DSO DFC, leader of the Hornchurch Wing, shortly after his capture on 25 June 1941.\n\n**_Top:_** Spitfire R6923 of 92 Squadron, shot down off Dover on 21 June. Its pilot, Sergeant G W Aston baled out and was rescued.\n\n**_Above:_** A Messerschmitt 109E, recognised by its square wing-tips and bracing strut beneath the rear wing was the main opponent in 1941.\n\nPilot Officer N F Duke of 92 Squadron. He achieved a few victories in 1941 but later excelled in North Africa and Italy, receiving the DSO, DFC & 2 Bars.\n\nRoger Boulding of 74 Squadron, who occasionally flew as Sailor Malan's wingman, was shot down and captured on 17 June 1941.\n\nWing Commander Victor Beamish with three of his Polish pilots in 249 Squadron at Northolt in 1941. From the left is Sergeant M K Maciejowski, Sergeant M Popek and Pilot Officer J J Solak. Mike Maciejowski would later win the DFM and DFC.\n\nThe Me109F model began to appear in 1941, with rounded wing-tips and no bracing struts.\n\nFour other casualties of 74 Squadron. Pilot Officer S Z Krol, (PoW 2 July), Sergeant R H Cochrane (PoW 3 July), Sergeant W G Lockhart (shot down and evaded capture, 6 July) and Sergeant C G Hilken (PoW 27 June). Stanislaw 'Danny' Krol later became one of the escapees from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 (the Great Escape); he was recaptured and murdered by the Gestapo.\n\nTwo more 74 Squadron losses, were Squadron Leader J C Mungo-Park DFC, (front) (KIA 27 June) and Pilot Officer W M Skinner DFM (PoW 6 July).\n\n**_Top:_** Another loss from 74 Squadron on 27 June was Pilot Officer W J Sandman RNZAF, who also ended up in Stalag Luft III.\n\n**_Above:_** Three pilots of JG26. Hauptmann Rudolf Bieber, whose first victory was a Blenheim of 226 Squadron on 2 July, but was killed in action the following day. Hauptmann Rolf Pingel who was taken prisoner after chasing a Stirling back to England on 10 July, having achieved 22 victories (plus 4 in Spain), and Oberleutnant Josef 'Pips' Priller. By the end of July, Priller had scored 44 victories and would go on to achieve 101 by war's end.\n\nSergeant D B Crabtree of 611 Squadron, shot down on 3 July. Escaped and evaded, reaching England in June 1942.\n\nSergeant J A McCairns, captured on 6 July. However he escaped in 1942 and got back to England. He was awarded the MM and later the DFC & 2 Bars and French CdG for flying clandestine operations over occupied territory. Sadly he was killed in a flying accident in 1948 flying a Mosquito.\n\nAnother serious loss to the Luftwaffe was Major Wilhelm Balthasar of JG2. He had been credited with 7 victories in Spain and on 2 July 1941 was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross when his WW2 victories totalled 40. However, the next day he was shot down and killed.\n\nSergeant W H Lockhart became a prisoner on 7 July 1941 and evaded to return to England. He later became a Wing Commander, DSO DFC, flew with 161 Squadron and then commanded Mosquito and Lancaster squadrons but was killed in action in April 1944.\n\nSiegfried 'Wumm' Schnell of 9\/JG2 in 1941, and awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 9 July. Killed in action on the Russian front in February 1944 having achieved 93 victories.\n\nSergeant S W R Mabbett of 616 Squadron. Shot down by JG26 on 21 July he crash landed near St Omer but died of his wounds. He became the first victory of Unteroffizier Gottfried Dietze.\n\nIn order to further entice German fighters to combat, Short Stirling bombers were employed on Circus operations in mid-1941. Here Hurricanes are part of the escort to one Stirling of 15 Squadron over France.\n\nAdolf Galland's brother Wilhelm ('Wutz'), also with JG26. He gained his first kill on 23 July 1941, increasing this to 55 by the time he was killed over Belgium in August 1943.\n\nAnother successful pilot with JG2 was Erich Leie. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 1 August 1941 with a score of 21 victories. He was killed on the Russian front in March 1945 having achieved 118 kills.\n\nEgon Mayer of JG2 also received the Knight's Cross on 1 August 1940 following his 20th victory. He died over France in March 1944 with a total score of 102.\n\n**_Top:_** Adolf Glunz was a successful NCO pilot in 1941, firstly with JG52 and then with JG26. He received the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves in 1943-44, ending the war with 71 victories. He is depicted here by the tail of a FW190 on which is painted his Knight's Cross and victory marks\n\n**_Above:_** Flight Lieutenant Eric Lock achieved 23 victories during the Battle of Britain, winning the DSO and DFC. In July 1941 he was posted to 611 Squadron, claiming three more victories but on 3 August he failed to return from a sortie over France and was last seen diving on some German troops on a road.\n\nThe legendary Douglas Bader, leader of the Tangmere Wing. Falling into German hands on 9 August 1941, his biographer perpetuated Bader's story that he had collided with a Me109 and had to bale out.\n\nFlight Sergeant S Plzak, a Czech pilot with 19 Squadron. He was killed in action on 7 August 1941.\n\nFlight Lieutenant L H 'Buck' Casson DFC of 616 Squadron attacked what he thought was a Me109 on 9 August that is generally believed now to have been Bader's Spitfire. He admitted this to Bader in a prison camp, having himself been shot down shortly afterwards by Gottfried Sch\u00f6pfel of JG26.\n\nGerhard Sch\u00f6pfel who flew with JG26, commanding its III Gruppe in 1941. By the end of that year he had a score of over 40, having become Galland's successor as Geschwader Kommodore on 6 December.\n\nWing Commander H de C A 'Paddy' Woodhouse took command of the Tangmere Wing following the loss of Douglas Bader, and received the DFC in October.\n\nPilot Officer J B Kremski of 308 Polish Squadron, shot down and killed by JG26 on 14 August 1941.\n\nHans Hahn of JG2 received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 14 August 1941, his score having risen to 42. With a final tally of 108 victories he was captured by the Russians in February 1943.\n\nPilot Officer N R D Dick of 403 Squadron RCAF. Shot down by JG26 on 19 August 1941, he baled out off Dover and rescued.\n\nJohann Schmid of JG26. He was awarded the Knight's Cross after 25 kills, on 21 August 1941, but was lost on 6 November, his wing-tip hitting the sea as he circled a downed Spitfire of 452 Squadron RAAF.\n\nSquadron Leader W J Burnett of 408 Squadron RCAF in his Hampden on 30 September 1941.\n\nHandley-Page Hampden bombers also made a brief appearance during Circus operations in mid-1941.\n\nMembers of 408 Squadron RCAF on 12 August 1941. Rear: P\/O T W Dench, P\/O R Campbell, F\/L A C P Clayton DFC, W\/C N W Timmerman DFC, S\/L W J Burnett DFC. Front: Sgt A McMillan, Sgt J Ross, Sgt E Marshall, Sgt K McGrail, Sgt W Reinhart.\n\n**_Top:_** Spitfire IIA (P7308) flown by William Dunn of 71 Eagle Squadron, which he crash landed on 27 August 1941 due to battle damage. In the preceding action he had scored his 5th victory.\n\n**_Above:_** Bill Dunn, 71 Eagle Squadron. He was the first Eagle pilot ace.\n\nTwo successful Eagle pilots were 'Gus' Daymond and 'Pete' Peterson. Gus was to become the highest scoring pilot in 71 Squadron with seven victories while Chesley Peterson scored six plus two more with the US 4th Fighter Group in 1943.\n\nSquadron Leader J K J S\u0142o\u0144ski-Ostoja of 306 Polish Squadron was shot down and killed on Circus 88, 29 August 1941.\n\nSquadron Leader Jan Zumbach DFC VM KW of 303 Squadron, attacked and damaged a 'radial-engined fighter' on 13 October 1941, which would have been one of the first FW190 fighters to be met in combat.\n\nPilots of 609 Squadron in 1941. Pilot Officer I du Monceau, Flight Lieutenant J D Bisdee DFC, Pilot Officer R MacKenzie, Sergeant T C Rigler, with Flying Officer F H Zeigler (IO), Flying Officer 'Doc' Lawrence.\n\nFlight Lieutenant P H M Richey DFC, flight commander with 609 Squadron 1941. He received a Bar to his DFC in August 1941.\n\nA sergeant-pilot in 1941 with 315 Polish Squadron, Michel Cwyner scored twice prior to becoming commissioned. He later received the DFC and was still flying operationally in 1942\u201343 as a squadron leader with 315.\n\nSergeant Adolf Pietrasiak flew with 92 and then 308 Polish Squadron in 1941 and received the DFM. On 19 August 1941 he was shot down over France but evaded capture and returned to England via Spain. Returned to operations, he failed to return with 317 Squadron on 29 November 1943.\n\n**_Top:_** Squadron Leader Jamie Rankin, CO of 92 Squadron in 1941. He later led the Biggin Hill Wing from September that year.\n\n**_Above:_** Pilot Officer W C Crawford-Compton flew with 485 Squadron RNZAF. He ended the war with over 20 victories, the first three of which were scored in 1941. He received the DSO, DFC & Bar.\n\nSquadron Leader F D S Scott-Malden DFC, saw action in 1941 with 603 Squadron before taking command of 54 Squadron in September. In 1942 he led the North Weald Wing, adding a Bar to his DFC and the DSO.\n\nJosef Wurmheller of III\/JG2 was awarded the Knight's Cross on 4 September 1941 as his score reached 21. He had achieved 102 kills by the time he was killed in a collision on 22 June 1944.\n\nFlight Sergeant Don Kingaby DFM, 92 Squadron. In 1941 he received two Bars to his DFM, the only RAF pilot so honoured during the war. He commanded fighter squadrons in 1942\/43 and was awarded the DSO.\n\nAnother successful JG2 pilot was Kurt B\u00fchlengen who also received the Knight's Cross on 4 September, again having claimed 21 victories. His final tally was 112, but he had to endure a Russian prison camp from 1945 to 1950.\n\nWilhelm Philipp of JG26 ended the war with 81 victories and received the Knight's Cross in 1944.\n\nKlaus Mietusch of 7\/JG26 from September 1941. He had more than a dozen kills by October 1941. In 1943 he commanded III Gruppe of JG26 and his score had risen to 72 by the time he was killed in combat in September 1944.\n\nOberfeldwebel Emil Babenz if I\/JG26. By October 1941 he had achieved 21 victories and was awarded the German Cross in Gold.\n\nWalter Adolph Kommodore of II\/JG26. He claimed 29 victories, including one in Spain, before he was killed in action on 18 September 1941.\n\nThree pilots of 452 Squadron RAAF await take-off time on 20 September 1941 (Circus 100B). Sergeant K Chisholm DFM, Sergeant I Milne and Flight Lieutenant B E Finucane DFC.\n\nPilot Officer J H Whalen RCAF flew with 129 Squadron, claiming three victories in September 1941, as shown on the side of his Spitfire. Later he flew in Burma but was killed in action in April 1944. His DFC was announced in 1945.\n\nAmerican volunteer A G Donahue had been wounded in the Battle of Britain and in March 1941 was with 91 Squadron. By September he had two victories, including a Klemm training aircraft he shot down over France on the 26th. Following Japan's entry into the war he saw action over Burma (winning the DFC) before returning to 91 in 1942. He was killed in action on 11 September 1942.\n\nJoachim 'Jochen' M\u00fcncheberg won his Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross over Malta where JG26 had sent one of its Gruppen, awarded on 7 May 1941. Returning to France he took command of II\/JG26 on 19 September. His victory total upon his return was 48. He gained his 49th on 26 August over the Dover Straits, and his 50th on the 29th. On 8 November he made it 59, with two Spitfires from 412 RCAF Squadron. He later flew in Russia and North Africa and was killed in March 1943 on his 500th mission when his score stood at 135 victories.\n\nSquadron Leader N 'Fanny' Orton DFC & Bar had seen action in France in 1940 and in 1941 was leading 54 Squadron. Killed in action on 17 September, he had a victory tally of around 17.\n\nNew Zealander Al Deere had seen considerable action over Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain with 54 Squadron and was awarded the DFC & Bar. In 1941 he was commanding 602 Squadron. He later went on to command The Biggin Hill Wing in 1943, and was awarded the DSO.\n\nAnother notable pilot in 452 Squadron was Flying Officer K W 'Bluey' Truscott DFC. He would be lost in a flying accident in New Guinea in March 1943.\n\nFlying Officer P W E 'Nip' Hepple was in 616 Squadron of the Tangmere Wing in 1941, during which he achieved a score of 2-2-2, and received the DFC. In 1942 he was in action over Malta.\n\nFrenchman, Jean-Francois 'Moses' Demozay had been a liaison officer with a RAF Hurricane squadron during the French Campaign. Coming to England he served with 242 and then 91 Squadron in 1941 and had much success during the year, being awarded the DFC and several French decorations. He survived the war but was killed in a flying accident in December 1945.\n\nAnother very successful fighter pilot in 1941 was W G G Duncan Smith, flying with 611 Squadron, claiming six victories and as many probables, receiving the DFC. He continued operations during 1942, being awarded a Bar to this decoration and the DSO. He later saw combat flying from Malta and later Italy and was rewarded with a Bar to his DSO.\n\nFlying Officer T Nowak was awarded the Polish _Virtuti Militari_ flying with 315 Polish Squadron, but was shot down and killed by JG26 on 21 September 1941.\n\n**_Top:_** Pilot Officer E Q 'Red' Tobin was an American volunteer with the first Eagle Squadron in 1940, and shot down a German raider on the 15th of September. He remained with 71 Squadron during 1941 but was killed in action over Boulogne on 7 September, one of four Eagles lost this day.\n\n**_Above:_** Squadron Leader R M 'Dickie' Milne DFC, after a successful period fighting in the Battle of Britain, was posted to 92 Squadron in mid-1941, taking command in September. His action brought him a Bar to this decoration in November. In 1943 he commanded the Biggin Hill Wing until he was shot down and taken prisoner on 14 March.\n\n**_Top:_** Spitfire Vb (AB779) of 92 Squadron at Biggin Hill. It was lost on Circus 105 on 3 October 1941, its pilot, Sergeant G E F Woods-Scawen being killed.\n\n**_Middle:_** Sergeant A G 'Goldie' Palmer DFM of 609 Squadron, killed in action off Le Touquet, 21 October 1941.\n\n**_Above:_** Sergeant S L Thompson RCAF, 401 Squadron, killed in action 27 October 1941 by Adolf Galland's JG26.\n\n**_Top:_** Flying Officer C D Strickland of 615 Squadron was killed on 27 October 1941, hit by ground fire during an early morning Rhubarb operation over Belgium.\n\n**_Above:_** Pilot Officer W M Fessler's Spitfire AA855, 71 Eagle Squadron. He too was brought down during a Rhubarb sortie on 27 October, debris from an exploding train he was strafing put his aircraft out of commission. The American pilot ended up as a prisoner.\n\nFlight Lieutenant E P 'Hawkeye' Wells DFC RNZAF got in at the tail-end of the Battle of Britain with 41 Squadron. In 1941 he was a flight commander with 485 Squadron, where he received the DFC & Bar during the year. In 1942 he led the Kenley Wing, and in 1944 the Tangmere Wing, and awarded the DSO. He had questioned the claims of certain squadrons to Victor Beamish, but the Group Captain's loss over the North Sea in March 1942 put this on indefinite hold.\n_Chapter 7_\n\n**The Blenheims Return**\n\nThe RAF's Blenheim squadrons hadn't been idle while 3 Group had been sending Stirlings out on Circus operations; there was always anti-shipping tasks on hand plus the occasional deep penetration missions over France or the Netherlands. However, 2 Group were now tasked to return to fly Circuses in cooperation with 11 Group.\n\n**Circus No.59 \u2013 23 July**\n\nThe Blenheims returned for two operations on the 23rd. This, the first, comprised six aircraft from 114 Squadron attacking targets at the For\u00eat de Eperlecques. North Weald provided Close Escort, Biggin the Cover Wing position. Target Support came from eight squadrons of the Kenley, Northolt and Hornchurch Wings.\n\nInitial RV was over Manston at 1300 hours. Reaching the target area, a layer of 6\/10ths cloud made things difficult and although bombs went down through this, only one crew saw bombs bursting on target. No enemy aircraft were seen by the crews or the Escort Wing. Neither did the Cover Wing, and their only cause for excitement was strafing two small vessels two miles off the French coast.\n\nKenley's pilots saw little either, although 602 Squadron saw twelve 109s diving on them in loose line astern but they did not press home their attack. Five more were seen above and one Spitfire pilot took a shot but without visible result. The Northolt pilots however, were jumped by fifteen 109s at 23,000 feet and further enemy fighters came in from behind. The Wing turned to meet the threat with 308 Squadron forming a defensive circle. A general dogfight began that gradually lost height as it drifted towards St Omer where another twenty 109s waded in.\n\nThe Poles of 306 claimed two 109s with two more damaged, but suffered casualties. Two pilots were shot down and killed, another baled out with serious wounds to be rescued from the Channel. A fourth pilot, F\/O Witold Pniak, who had seen considerable action in the Battle of Britain with RAF squadrons, ran out of fuel and had to crash-land in Richmond Park, Surrey, his Spitfire having to be written-off. Hornchurch also had reactions from 109s and all three squadrons were engaged. 603 claimed one destroyed (Sgt J. Hurst) but lost a pilot, 611 claimed a probable (Sgt A. C. Leigh), while 54 Squadron got a damaged but also lost a man. In fact, 54 had P\/O C. Cookson killed and P\/O V. D. Page wounded, although he managed to get home, force landing near Whitstable. Vernon Page put in claims for two 109s destroyed later, and Jack Charles got the damaged.\n\nAdolf Galland, still grounded after his wounding back on 21 June, assumed this meant combat flying, so took off on a 'test flight'. He led JG26 into some Spitfires and shot one down, while his pilots claimed another three, amongst whom Hptm. Walter Adolph scored his twenty-first and Priller his forty-third. When pilots of JG2 landed, they put in claims of fourteen - perhaps a trifle excessive!! Total RAF losses were five killed, with two wounded and two other fighters lost.\n\n**Circus No.60 \u2013 23 July**\n\nThis second operation on the 23rd had six Blenheims from 114 Squadron going for the Synthetic Petrol, Benzol plant and Power Station at Mazingarbe. North Weald got the Close Escort slot, Hornchurch the Cover, Tangmere and Biggin the Target Support while 12 Group were handed the Forward Support (266, 401 and 601) and Kenley the Rear Support.\n\nCloud and haze were against the operation but then, over the French coast, the leading bomber was hit in a petrol tank by AA fire, and the pilot turned back. His two wingmen turned back as well, leaving the other three to carry on alone. With difficult conditions over the target, the bombers made two runs at it before letting go their bombs from 12,000 feet. All three were hit by flak, one having to make a crash-landing on its return to base, but the crew were safe.\n\nDue to the weather and then the bomber problems, 71 Squadron lost a section of two in cloud and they returned home. Of the ten remaining, five were sent back to escort the three aborting bombers while the other five bravely continued on. They saw a dogfight way overhead but were not themselves engaged. Cloud also caused two of 111 Squadron to collide. One pilot baled out safely, (Sgt. T. R. Caldwell) but the other was killed. Five of 111 also returned with the first three bombers, while the others also went on and also saw the dogfight above but, like 71, did not get involved.\n\nEscort Cover reported seeing some eighty-plus Me109s high above, their three squadrons stepped up to 20,000 feet, the top squadron alone, 603, counting a bunch of twenty-plus within a thin layer of haze. From time to time several small groups of 109s dived on the Wing and although some Spitfire pilots fired at fleeting glimpses of 109s, made no claims. However, they lost two pilots, one killed, one PoW.\n\nTangmere, stepped up to 24,000 feet, also saw large numbers of 109s \u2013 fifty-plus - but they seemed loath to engage in combat. Of those that did come down to fight, it resulted in a number of 'terrific dogfights'. As a result, the Wing was able to claim three 109s destroyed, another probable, plus three damaged, but lost one. This was P\/O D. N. Forde who, as mentioned earlier, in fact baled out and was hidden by French farm workers. With the help of Resistance workers, Derek Forde eventually crossed into Spain over the Pyrenees, later reaching Gibraltar from where he was flown home in October. Evading with him had been Sgt Lockhart and Mensik, brought down earlier in July. Forde, having seen action over Dunkirk and in the Battle of Britain, later saw action in North Africa and was awarded the DFC.\n\nBiggin Hill's Wing was also high up and saw many 109s milling about over St Omer and dogfights began that continued back to the coast. It claimed two 109s (Paul Richey of 609 getting one) and three damaged but also lost a pilot - Sgt J. W. Perkins of 72 - who became a prisoner. A worrying note in the Wing report was that it appeared some of the 109s were able to turn inside the Spitfires, the RAF pilots not being able to turn sharp enough to fire. The 12 Group Wing got in at the end of these fights but did manage to shoot down one Messerschmitt.\n\nThe score against the 109s appears to be in the region of five destroyed, one probable and eight damaged. RAF losses came to three killed, one captured, two wounded and one evading. That evening 603 lost another pilot who was flying on an Air Sea Rescue escort. P\/O H. Blackall RCAF ditched following engine trouble and although he was picked up, died later from his injuries.\n\nLuftwaffe fighters from JG26, again led by Galland, fought the Spitfires, Galland claiming two more, bringing his personal score to seventy-three. Oberleutnant Johann Schmid got his 11th. Galland's brother Wilhelm also put in a claim but it was not upheld. JG2 were also airborne and managed to claim another _TEN_ Spitfires plus _THREE_ Hurricanes, making a total for them of twenty-seven for the day \u2013 and they were not finished yet! They did, however, lose two pilots killed, while JG26 lost Obgfr. Ernst Kr\u00e4mer to a Spitfire attack. He is reported to have baled out after colliding with a Spitfire, but he took to his parachute while going too fast and his harness ripped apart.\n\nGalland was wounded again on this date, with yet another injury to his head, following the one received on 21 June when he had been forced to bale out. Galland, on this second occasion, had evaded his attacker and managed to land, doctors stitching him up once again. Soon afterwards he was off to meet Hitler in order for him to be presented with the Swords to his Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves.\n\n* * *\n\nThere were other actions on the 23rd. In a late morning anti-shipping strike, two Blenheims of 18 Squadron were shot down off Den Helder by Me110s of 5.\/ZG76, while in the afternoon more Blenheims were out on coastal operations and 21 Squadron lost four, off the Scheldt Estuary and Ostend. Fifteen crewmen died and three were taken prisoner. JG26 claimed the latter four bombers, Walter Adolph gaining his twenty-first victory. If the Stirling crews thought they were off the daylight hook they were wrong. 15 Squadron had a machine shot down on a raid on the _Scharnhorst_ at La Pallice. The bomber had been damaged by Ltn. \u00dclrich Adrian of JG2 and eventually crashed into the sea 50 miles out from Milford Haven. There were no survivors. (JG2 also claimed two Fortress bombers that were undoubtedly Stirlings too.) Adrian gets the credit due to identification, but the other two German pilots might just as easily have inflicted the damage on the one lost. 7 Squadron were also on this operation and at least one Stirling was attacked by three Me109s. JG2 did not suffer any losses although a rear gunner did claim two which he saw crash into the sea.\n\nThe excitement had occurred due to reports that the _Scharnhorst_ had moved from Brest to La Pallice. In all this day, JG2 put in claims for twenty-nine victories while JG26 recorded ten. Total losses by the RAF for the day were fifteen, including JG2's encounter with bombers over La Pallice.\n\n**Circus No.61 \u2013 24 July**\n\nThis Thursday started operationally with another raid on La Pallice by Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys on what was named a 'Sunrise I' mission. Eighteen bombers went, bombs were seen to explode on the docks, and no RAF aircraft were lost. There was also a Gudgeon operation, the RAF and the Royal Navy combining on a pre-dawn op. to engage any enemy aircraft that reacted to it. This was followed later by Sunrise II, this time eighteen Blenheims of 2 Group, that was a diversion against Cherbourg, for a much larger raid by medium and heavy bombers. This was escorted by 11 Group's Kenley Wing of 452, 485 and 602 Squadrons.\n\nCircus 61 was intended to be a diversion for the La Pallice raid, nine Blenheims of 16 Group's 59 Squadron going for the Hazebrouck marshalling yards, with North Weald taking the Escort Wing slot, Northolt the Cover, with Target Support going to nine squadrons from Hornchurch, Biggin and 12 Group. The weather was described as fair but with some fog, and over France 5\/10ths cloud lingered at between 5\u20137,000 feet.\n\nThe Blenheims carried out what they recorded as high-level bombing, releasing 10 x 500, 16 x 250lb bombs, plus 28 x 25lb incendiaries. Bursts were seen on the target and on railway yards but results, other than thick smoke, could not be seen. However, as they flew off the smoke began to mingle with large fires, some noted as particularly fierce. The bomber crews also commented on the efficiency of the fighter escort, although no enemy fighters approached the raiders.\n\nThe RV over Manston at 1415 was followed by entry into France east of Dunkirk, coming back out over Mardyck. Turning back at the target 71 Squadron did see three 109s in the distance, but 111 and 222 Squadrons saw nothing. The two Polish squadrons from Northolt, 306 and 308 did not have a lucky day, with a pilot of 308 colliding with another Spitfire. P\/O W. W. Chciuk became a prisoner while P\/O J. Czachowski was killed. The latter pilot was from 315 Squadron but flying with 308 on this mission. Reaching the target a few 109s were seen but climbed away when the Spitfires turned in their direction. 306 also saw nine 109s that came down behind them. One pilot who was attacked dived away steeply to 3,000 feet and upon levelling out discovered a 109 in front and just below him. He opened fire and the 109 hit the ground. This was F\/O S. F. Skalski who was fast becoming one of the top scoring Polish pilots. Stanislaw Skalski had seen action over Poland when the war began, then escaped to England to fly in the Battle of Britain with 501 Squadron. He had become a flight commander with 306 in the spring of 1941 and this was his first victory of the year \u2013 his fourteenth overall. He would later bring his score to twenty-four and survive the war.\n\nHornchurch were over France when they got a call from the Controller that the Close Escort needed help, although what help is not clear! They did head for the problem area and did see some 109s but nothing really developed until coming back. Several 109s appeared and 603 with two sections of 611 dived at them but they turned into France. Chased by the Spitfires the Wing Leader, Stapleton, claimed one destroyed and P\/O W. G. D. D. Smith (Duncan Smith) damaged another; later he claimed a 109 probable.\n\nBiggin Hill's three squadrons had as usual split into 'fours' as they crossed into France, seeing twenty to thirty 109s between 22\u201325,000 feet. Combats began in which two 109s were claimed destroyed, four probably destroyed and one damaged. However, they lost two pilots. One from 72 was shot down near St Omer and taken prisoner, while a 92 Squadron pilot went into the sea and was lost.\n\nThe 12 Group Wing (65, 257 and 401 Squadrons) patrolled Gravelines \u2013 St Omer \u2013 Hazebrouck \u2013 Cassel at 20,000 feet for a quarter of an hour. They saw any number of 109s way above them and several came down in pairs to attack. In the fights that followed, one 109 was claimed destroyed and two damaged. No losses were reported although one pilot, F\/Lt T. A. F. 'Taffy' Elsdon DFC, of 257, suffered an arm wound but got back to crash-land his Hurricane at Hawkinge. Elsdon would later command 136 Squadron in Burma.\n\nClaims of 5-4-4 were submitted for the loss of four pilots (and one wounded). JG26 claimed three Spitfires and two Hurricanes (although none of the latter were lost in action), Priller getting his forty-fourth and Adolph his twenty-second. II Gruppe JG2 claimed two Spitfires \u2013 and a Blenheim. No German losses are recorded.\n\n* * *\n\nMeantime, further along the coast this day, another main effort was being made over the Cherbourg area, and I Gruppe of JG2 were involved in the major Bomber Command raid on La Pallice and Brest \u2013 in daylight.\n\nThe Sunrise II operation mentioned earlier, had gone fairly well although one fighter pilot was lost while two 109s were claimed by 452 and 485 Squadrons. During the main attack, over 100 bombers \u2013 Wellingtons, Halifaxes and Hampdens \u2013 were subjected to flak and fighter attacks. Ten Wellingtons and two Hampdens were shot down on the Brest op. and five Halifaxes lost over La Pallice. JG2, whose I Gruppe was seeing its first major combat for some time, claimed a total of eleven Wellingtons, five Halifaxes, four Hampdens, and a Stirling(!), plus three Spitfires. Spitfires were in the escort and 152 Squadron lost two pilots, one dead, one PoW, while 485 Squadron had a pilot bale out into the sea on Sunrise II but he was not seen again. The 152 pilot killed was a Battle of Britain veteran, F\/Lt E. S. 'Boy' Marrs DFC, who had scored heavily in 1940. He was just thirteen days past his twentieth birthday.\n\nHauptmann Karl-Heinz Krahl claimed three, a Spitfire and two Hampdens, bringing his score to eighteen. Leutnant Julius Meimberg claimed two Hampdens to reach thirteen victories, although he was also wounded in this action. However, JG2 suffered heavy losses too. Five pilots were killed, two wounded and at least another 109 damaged. Erg.Gr.\/JG2 also had a pilot wounded, his fighter lost. These casualties were inflicted by 501 and 316 Squadrons. Squadron Leader A. H. Boyd DFC and Bar and F\/Lt J. H. Lacey DFM and Bar of 501 each claimed two. Ginger Lacey's two had actually collided as each tried to shoot him down. When the two Australian Squadrons claimed one each on Sunrise II, one was credited to F\/Lt E. P. 'Hawkeye' Wells. These three pilots now had eighteen, twenty-seven and six victories respectively. 316 scored one and a damaged.\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.62 - (see 7 August)**\n\n**Circus No.63**\n\nCircus 63 that had been organised against Le Trait for 25 July, was also abandoned. Certainly the 'wonderful' July weather was continuing to hamper events with cloud and rain. It may have been re-scheduled for the 27th too, but it did not happen.\n\n**Circus No.64 \u2013 27 July**\n\nThis was mounted on yet another rainy day, but without a target it was in effect merely a fighter sweep by Kenley, Hornchurch and Biggin Hill. The plan had been to attack the power station at Yainville but the six Blenheims of 114 Squadron abandoned the task because of the weather. Therefore nine Spitfire squadrons headed over to France at 2030 hours, saw nothing and came home.\n\nEarlier this day 242 Squadron were out over the Channel, escorting a Naval motor torpedo boat in the hope of attacking a reported destroyer. The Squadron found the destroyer, escorted by five E-boats but they saw no sight of the Navy boys. Over Calais they engaged some 109s, at 1340 claiming one destroyed and three probables but lost Sgt G. A. Prosser RCAF, shot down and killed by Uffz. Hans Fr\u00f6lich of JG26, for his fourth victory. JG26 recorded no losses. Possibly the 109 seen diving into the sea had instead been Prosser.\n\n* * *\n\nOn the afternoon of Wednesday the 30th, 139 Squadron lost four Blenheims to the Me110s of ZG76 off the Dutch coast. All twelve men died. ZG76 claimed five in all. It was a bad day for the Blenheims, with three more lost (by 18 and 82 Squadrons) on a sweep to the Kiel Canal area \u2013 six more crewmen dead and three captured.\n\nAt the end of July the decision to end Stirling operations on Circuses was finally made by C-in-C Bomber Command. Sholto Douglas at Fighter Command HQ was not happy as he was desperate to have them in order to entice Luftwaffe fighters into battle. However, 2 Group would continue to provide its Blenheims and the CAS agreed to continue basic Circus operations during the summer.\n\n* * *\n\nFighter Command's statistics for July 1941 make interesting reading. It had flown over 400 sorties on Circus operations, and claimed 161 enemy aircraft destroyed (virtually all Me109s). Fighter pilot losses totalled eighty-four killed, prisoners or missing. Adding all the other operations flown, total sorties amounted to 525, with 185 enemy machines destroyed and ninety-seven pilot casualties. Wounded pilots do not appear in this statistic. The loss of ninety-seven pilots would only be exceeded in August, by one (ninety-eight), so July had been a seriously bad month.\n\nRolf Pingel, who had been shot down over England on 10 July and captured had naturally been closely interrogated by the RAF's intelligence boys. While there is no suggestion here that he willingly gave more than his 'name, rank and number', the intelligence report contains some interesting comments made by him. These included the statement that he was pleased the RAF had started operating over France, because over England in 1940 many German pilots had been lost when having to bale out, whereas now, if forced to bale out, it was over their own territory. Until he was downed, he reckoned that over 100 RAF aircraft had been shot down over France while German losses had been between one fifth and one third of this number.\n\nPingel, when told that British claims totalled some 125 Me109s shot down, said that could not be correct as this would represent wiping out half the available fighter strength and they would not have been able to replace this number. His I Gruppe, during his pre-shoot-down period had lost just eight pilots but claimed around fifty RAF aircraft. As for the suggestion that the RAF were attempting to force the Luftwaffe to transfer fighters from the Russian front to combat the RAF daylight operations, Pingel said there was no need, because he felt that the supposed weak German opposition was a great temptation for the RAF to continue operations and thus lose pilots over France. The German intention was for the RAF to be so weakened that once Russia had been defeated, the Germans could concentrate once more against Britain, the opposition being far less than in 1940.\n\n* * *\n\nAs August began anti-shipping sorties brought more grief. On the morning of the 1st, 107 Squadron lost two bombers, four more dead and two prisoners. The next day the CO of 82 Squadron, W\/Cdr K. O. Burt DFC succumbed to ship's flak off Den Helder. His two decorated NCO crewmen also died. Burt had won his DFC in March in a similar attack and was lucky to escape being brought down. Despite severe damage to his aircraft he had brought it home on that occasion and landed safely.\n\nAlso on the 1st a Spitfire shot down another Spitfire over the Channel, killing a Canadian pilot of 242 Squadron. These things happen from time to time. The pilot responsible was an experienced fighter pilot with 602 Squadron, S\/Ldr A. C. Deere DFC, who had been particularly successful over Dunkirk and during the Battle of Britain and whose score currently totalled about a dozen victories. Al Deere had only just taken command of 602, so a sad start with his new command.\n\nOn 3 August, the RAF lost one of its most successful fighter pilots, 611's F\/Lt E. S. Lock DSO DFC & Bar. Eric Lock took advantage of poor weather to fly a Rhubarb sortie. He was last seen going down to strafe some soldiers he spotted near Calais and did not return. Other than a pilot of 92 Squadron being wounded during a Roadstead mission, Lock was the only loss. JG26's Oblt. Schmid of the Geschwaderstab claimed a Spitfire in the late afternoon, for his twelfth victory. Lock had shot down twenty-six German aircraft.\n\nWing Leaders remained largely the same for the new month of August, the only changes that would be recorded are that two Wings would have to replace their Leaders due to enemy action.\n\n**Circus Nos.65 & 66 \u2013 5 August**\n\nThe weather wasn't improving. Today 2 Group was to send out six Blenheims to bomb the airfield at St Omer-Longuenesse. The rendezvous happened over Manston at 1830 with the Escort Wings but the operation was aborted soon afterwards, just five miles from the French coast.\n\nCircus 66 called for three Blenheims to try for this airfield again (or a target at Lille), with a RV over Manston at 2100 hours. This operation is not recorded in 11 Group's ORB, nor in the Book's appendices. The only operation this day that saw any action was Operation 'Grab' which was a combined Air and Naval operation in the English Channel to destroy a small convoy between Le Tr\u00e9port and F\u00e9camp. Two Hunt Class destroyers from Portsmouth, together with two MGBs (Motor Gun Boats) and three Blenheims from Manston were escorted by 242 and 222 Squadrons, with others standing by in case they were needed. 242 claimed to have shot down a 109 off the French coast at 1800. 242 in fact flew similar sorties on this afternoon.\n\nTo confuse the issue still further, 603 Squadron lost a pilot on this evening during a reported Circus. His body was washed ashore on the coast of Holland towards the end of the month. JG2 appears to have been responsible, pilots claiming three Spitfires! Two by Ltn. Erich Rudorffer for his twenty-ninth and thirtieth claims, and one by Hans Hahn, for his thirty-seventh. JG2 were certainly spectacular and enthusiastic scorers!\n\n**Circus No.67 \u2013 7 August**\n\nAnother attempt to bomb the St Omer-Longuenesse airfield was organised for 7 August, six Blenheims of 107 Squadron heading off at 1000 hours. Escort Wing \u2013 Kenley; Escort cover \u2013 Biggin Hill; Target Support \u2013 Hornchurch; Mopping-Up Wing \u2013 Northolt. Mopping-up was still a new term but perhaps more in keeping with what was needed, i.e. aircraft to protect the withdrawing force, especially if being pursued and having perhaps been split up.\n\nAll bombers bombed and returned safely, explosions having been noted on the landing ground and some buildings. No fighters appeared and despite heavy flak, no bombers were hit.\n\nThe close escort squadron \u2013 452 \u2013 flew four Spitfires each side of the bombers with two pairs weaving in front of and above them. 602 Squadron put themselves 1,000 feet above and to starboard while 485 were 4,000 feet above and to port. As they approached the target 602 had eight 109s approach and one was damaged while the others broke away. Then another 109 was hit and destroyed nearer the target. All got back to the coast save one pilot of 602 who ended up a prisoner. Not mentioned in the overall report was the loss of Sgt C. S. V. Goodwin of 485 \u2013 also captured.\n\nThe Biggin Hill squadrons were under constant attack by pairs of 109s that, as usual, appeared to be trying mostly to pick off stragglers. As the Wing finally left the coast on the way back, they saw sixteen to twenty Me109s and in combats, two were probably destroyed and one damaged, for the loss of one pilot. Sergeant C. H. Howard of 92 also ended up in a PoW camp, while Sgt G. P. Hickman was forced to crash-land near Deal, injured.\n\nHornchurch found many 109s, at one stage approaching from the south-east, south and south-west, while 611 Squadron (Top Cover) were bounced by others. They fought it out and may have shot one down. One pilot, who had been late in taking off, was not seen again. This pilot was later reported a prisoner. Sergeant G. A. Mason, also of 611, was shot up and forced to land near Deal too, hitting a mine. He was badly injured and his Spitfire was destroyed.\n\nSo, one 109 destroyed, three probably so and two more damaged, for the loss of four pilots plus two injured. Luftwaffe pilots claimed eight Spitfires, including JG26's Galland one, Schmid two, Sch\u00f6pfel one, Siefert one, and Priller one. JG26 had one pilot wounded and two machines damaged. I met George Mason once and he recalled that his relief at making the beach was rudely shattered as the mine exploded!\n\n**Circus No.62 (67) \u2013 7 August**\n\nCircus operations planned to cover the last few days of July are anything but clear. Circus 62 was scheduled for 25 July, an attack on the Power Station at Lille that afternoon. Six Blenheims were assigned and so were the various Escort Wings, but it seems it was either aborted or cancelled. It was re-scheduled for the late afternoon of 7 August.\n\nSix Blenheims were alerted, with all the appropriate escorts but the weather again prevented an attack. Therefore the secondary target \u2013 barges on the canal at Gravelines \u2013 were bombed, but only five dropped their loads. The other aborted with engine trouble.\n\nThe Escort Wing, from North Weald saw nothing of enemy fighters, while Kenley, as Cover, did see some 109s, two or three making passes, but there were no engagements. Biggin Hill, Target Support, however, got mixed up with several 109s at 1130. 92 Squadron got into a fight and claimed a 109 as destroyed with another damaged, achieved by F\/Sgt D. E. Kingaby DFM, although it seems that he was only credited with a probable. Don Kingaby was another top scoring pilot from 1940 days with an already impressive score of more than a dozen victories plus many probables and damaged. He had just been awarded a Bar to his DFM and before the year was out he would become the only RAF man ever to receive a Second Bar in the war. Several other pilots of the Wing claimed hits on 109s, five in all. Paul Richey of 609 was attacked by what he described as 'a gaily coloured 109' whose pilot got in a telling burst into his Spitfire, smashing his glycol tank, losing most of its coolant. Spinning down away from trouble, he decided it was time to bale out but as he couldn't release the pin of his safety harness, decided he would have to make a try for home. Leaving a trail of glycol smoke, his engine overheating rapidly, he headed out to sea. However, his experience helped him bring his crippled fighter back, later deciding it had been 75 per cent skill and 25 per cent luck.\n\nHornchurch went into France at Le Touquet stepped up to around 30,000 feet and the top squadron \u2013 603 \u2013 ran into eight 109s and in a quick engagement, one was claimed as a probable. As they turned back more 109s appeared behind them but they were quickly driven off. 403 and 611 had orbited east of St Omer. Heading then for the For\u00eat de Guines, 403 spotted four 109s coming in but they quickly dived away. Then another gaggle of sixteen were seen, and as the Canadians started to attack, the 109s all dived into cloud and haze.\n\nTangmere also went in over Le Touquet and headed for the original target area and encountered a number of 109s that came down from the sun on the Spitfires' starboard quarter. Once more, as the Spitfires turned to engage, the 109 pilots broke away and dived, refusing combat. There followed several hit-and-run encounters, where the 109s tried to pick off someone then dive or climb away. Some scraps developed and the Wing claimed one probable and two damaged. One pilot from 41 Squadron was seen to bale out twenty miles inland from the coast. This was F\/Lt G. G. F. Draper, who became a prisoner.\n\nOnly the Rear Support Wing from 12 Group saw further combat. Heading for St Omer between 20\u201324,000 feet they spotted many 109s and engaged them, claiming two destroyed, with a third probably so. The Wing lost one Hurricane near Hazebrouck. Then 19 and 401 Squadrons became embroiled with further 109s and lost two more pilots.\n\nTotal losses were ten pilots for claims of 3-3-3. JG26 and JG2 engaged, Schmid of the former gaining his third victory of the day. Priller got his forty-sixth, Sch\u00f6pfel his second of the day (29th), and Oblt. Josef Haib\u00f6ck got one, for his eighth. Wurmheller of JG2 got his second of the day \u2013 Number 22 \u2013 and also put in a claim for a Curtiss P40 for Number 23. Hahn also claimed his thirty-eighth. Both Gruppen had 109s damaged.\n\nThe day had cost the RAF four fighter pilots killed, five taken prisoner with four injured, one of whom died of injuries after a crash-landing upon returning from a Circus, and 11 fighters.\n\n* * *\n\nPaul Richey, who had struggled back across the Channel, decided to write of his experiences in getting back, sending it to 'higher authority' in the hope that the contents might help others in similar circumstances to those just experienced. The following report was later reproduced in an 11 Group Tactics Memorandum, distributed by Group Captain Victor Beamish DSO DFC AFC, who by this time was at Group HQ. It should be noted that Richey refers to the operation as Circus 62.\n\n11 Group Tactical Memorandum No.10\n\nSpecial Report by Flight Lieutenant Paul Richey DFC & Bar. Circus 62 flying with 609 Squadron, attack received near St Omer. 15\u201320 Me109s at 25,000 feet.\n\n(1) | I was Yellow 1 of 609 Squadron taking part in Circus 62, 7 August 1941. Having failed to rendezvous with the main formation of the Biggin Hill Wing, proceeded to carry out a \"SPHERE\" entry into Dunkirk and flying over St. Omer with the intention of leaving France at Cap Gris Nez. 609 was top squadron, 92 middle and 72 bottom, and heights were originally from 25\u201328,000 feet.8\n\n---|---\n\n(2) | Over St. Omer many 109s were sighted far below against cloud and 72 led by Wing Commander Robinson, attacked. 92 lost height by diving and then circled for some time, followed by 609 Squadron. If I may suggest it, I think 92's tactics were mistaken, for both height and speed were lost and nothing gained. In addition the stepped-up formations of 92 and 609 were messed up and generally confused, while the Huns were able to gain height and time and get up-sun with a good view of what was going on.\n\n(3) | I was troubled with ice on my hood and windscreen. I was also very bored and cold and was flying sloppily. While my attention was concentrated on a formation above me, I was shot-up in no uncertain manner by a gaily coloured Me109 diving from behind. My glycol tank was pierced and all my glycol lost. I throttled back and went into an involuntary spin. I could see nothing but smoke, glycol, etc and could not recover from the spin which became very flat. I opened the hood to bale out but had great difficulty in removing my harness, I think because (a) I did not look at what I was doing, and (b) I was experiencing a lot of 'G'. When I got the pin out I was slowly deciding which side of the cockpit to get out. The smoke had abated and I decided to stay in and try to recover, by winding the tail trim-tab control fully forward and using considerable strength on the stick, I did so. (The tail was damaged.) I dived for cloud and the French coast, weaving, and was attacked by another 109 which I evaded by turning violently and entering cloud. My 'Mayday' was answered immediately and over the sea on Button 'D' and was given a vector.\n\n(4) | I was unable to use the vector because of having to weave and control the aircraft. Halfway across the Straits at 1,000 feet I tried my engine and was able to use it to the English coast by cutting down boost and revs to a minimum. I had great difficulty in doing up the straps again because of instability of the aircraft which necessitated strong forward pressure on the stick, but succeeded after five minutes. I was comforted by the sight of many rescue launches and buoys and by the Hurricane low cover off the Goodwins. On a fast belly landing at Manston with a still smoking aircraft I found the fire tender very prompt. I would like to stress the following points:\n\n|\n\ni. | Slackness in the vicinity of the Huns is easy but usually fatal.\n\n|\n\nii. | A Spitfire will last long enough without glycol and even practically without oil, if revs and boost are reduced to an absolute minimum.\n\n|\n\niii. | The sea is much more hospitable than German-occupied territory. It is well worth risking attempting reaching it. The chances of rescue are excellent.\n\n|\n\niv. | Do not try a slow forced landing, with damaged control surfaces.\n\n* * *\n\n**Circus No.68 \u2013 9 August**\n\nThe weather forecast over France for this Circus to the petrol refinery at Gosnay, four miles south-west of B\u00e9thune, promised 8\/10ths cumulus at 6\u20137,000 feet on the way in but with 10\/10ths over the target. The cloud would be in layers with breaks at higher levels. Just five Blenheims of 226 Squadron were the raiding force, escorted by North Weald, Hornchurch, Kenley, Tangmere and Northolt Wings.\n\nRendezvous over Manston was timed at 1100 hours, but once they had reached the target the cloud cover prevented any chance of bombing and nor did the secondary target prove anymore successful and so the bombs were dropped on the estimated position of Fort Phillipe at Gravelines. Someone reported some bombs fell on land and some in the sea. Not a particularly satisfactory operation as far as the bombing was concerned.\n\nThe Escort had two or three 109s make quick attacks on the force but suffered no loss but did manage to hit and claim one destroyed and one probable. Eagle pilot P\/O W. 'Bill' R. Dunn claimed the one destroyed. This was Bill Dunn's third combat victory, and if one adds two Ju87s he claimed while a ground gunner during the Battle of Britain, he reached acedom in very different circumstances to most airmen. One could say that several things were different about Bill's war. The events of 9 August prove this, as he wrote in his book ' _Fighter Pilot'_ :\n\n'On 9 August at 11.30 hours, while providing fighter escort for our bombers on Circus 68, I was leading White Section of A Flight. When we were about 15 or 20 miles into France my Spit's engine started to surge. Then it quit. I was left a mile and a half behind the rest of the formation, gliding down at 120 mph and planning to belly-land in a field just west of Mardyck. I fully expected to be captured by the Squareheads, to spend the rest of the war in a PoW camp.\n\n'At 4,500 feet, just above a scattered cloud deck, I saw a Me109E some 2,000 feet above me and coming after me fast. The Kraut pilot tried to shoot me down from his higher position, but he missed. I pulled my gliding Spit's nose up sharply and fired my guns from 100 yards range, hitting the 109 squarely in the cockpit hood as it passed by me, a lucky shot. Practically on a stall, I half-rolled and, following the Hun in his dive, fired three more bursts at him from a range of about 300 yards. Luckily, my engine started up again after the half-roll, but it was running very rough without much power.\n\n'We both went down through the clouds, then just as we broke clear, a second 109, flying under the clouds, flew between the first 109 and my Spitfire. Firing at this second enemy aircraft from 75 yards, I shot some pieces off its starboard wing. This 109 had already been shot up by someone else, since I observed that it was trailing white glycol with black smoke pouring from its engine. This second 109 went down on its back, but I did not see it crash.\n\n'I continued to follow the first 109 down to about 900 feet, from where I saw it smash into the ground and explode in a fiery sheet of flame. With my engine giving me at least enough power to stay airborne, I decided that this wasn't going to be the day the Huns captured me. So I headed westward towards Gravelines at about 800 feet.'\n\nBill Dunn got back despite being a low target for many ground gunners as he flew by, and calling a 'Mayday' was soon being escorted by two Spitfires of 403 Squadron to Manston were he landed. In 1943 he transferred to the USAAF and flew with the 406th Fighter Group, ending the war with nine confirmed and three unconfirmed kills, plus twelve more destroyed on the ground.\n\nEscort Cover was also engaged, 611 having a couple of attacks parried away, 603 were also nibbled at while 403 managed to claim a probable as other 109s lunged at them.\n\nTarget Support met 109s that came in and out of the cloud layers which developed into a series of dogfights, in which five 109s were claimed destroyed by 452 Squadron, but the Australians lost three pilots \u2013 two killed, one prisoner. F\/Lt B. E. Finucane shared one with P\/O R. E. Thorold-Smith, and one was claimed by P\/O K. W. Truscott. Paddy Finucane also got one on his own, sharing yet another with Sgt K. B. Chisholm, while Chisholm and P\/O D. E. Lewis shared one more between them.\n\nMeantime, 602 Squadron, spotting the fight below, sent one section down to help and after a skirmish, this section decided to head for home as they had lost height and position. Some other 109s attacked as they headed north and a couple of the attackers were damaged. 485 Squadron was also part of this Escort Wing, and one of its New Zealand pilots, Sergeant J. A. 'Jack' Rae, also had problems over France like Bill Dunn. He recorded in his book ' _Kiwi Spitfire Ace'_ :\n\n'Such were the fuel limitations that any show, which ran over two hours, was pretty close to being marginal, and if a large proportion of the flight was at full throttle, then fuel at the show's end would be very low indeed.\n\n'On this particular day the action had been exceedingly hectic. We had been on a Circus to Gosnay, led by Squadron Leader Marcus Knight, and were fighting our way back after protecting the bombers. I was in the lethal position of Tail-End Charlie. As each attack developed we'd turn to meet them, fight them off and reform. After one such skirmish I found myself very much alone \u2013 it was a case of turn and fight, turn and fight and slowly work myself towards the Channel.\n\n'I finally reached the beautiful English coast in a lather of sweat and with petrol gauges that said the tanks were on empty. Suddenly, bursting through cloud I saw a very welcome sight \u2013 an airstrip right in front of me. I lined up and began to let down on the grass airfield with no runways but plenty of room. Level off, touch down, turned to taxi over to the control tower and then stopped in disbelief. Everything was ominously still. Then, horror of horrors. I could see aircraft on the ground but they were all fakes!'\n\nRae had landed on a dummy airfield, one of many built to deceive enemy reconnaissance aircraft, and he had been fortunate not to run into some of the obstacles that abounded. Eventually a farmer came across to him and told him where the nearest real airfield was. Despite his tanks still showing empty he took a chance, flew off and as he landed at a proper base his engine stopped.\n\nThe Tangmere Wing were also hotly engaged, 616 Squadron encountered some sixteen to twenty 109s between St Omer and the original target. One section turned to engage and claimed four of them destroyed, and one probable for the loss of two pilots. In fact, when the pilots later totted up the score it came to six and one probable, one destroyed being shared with the Wing Leader, Douglas Bader. Johnnie Johnson bagged two, Nip Heppell one, Sgt J. G. West one and the shared. F\/Lt L. H. Casson DFC was one of the losses, the other being the Wing Leader; both became prisoners of war.\n\nAfter the war, Bader claimed he had been attacking a 109 but had then collided with another, which sliced off his tail-plane, forcing him to bale out, minus one of his tin legs. In fact his tail had been smashed by cannon fire and no doubt Bader, not wishing to admit being bested in combat, had preferred to say he had been in a collision. In fact the story is worse than that, for it appears that Buck Casson had accidentally shot him down, believing he was lining up on a 109! While in prison camp Casson had admitted as much to Bader who was even less inclined to acknowledge this turn of events. Whatever the truth, the Wing had lost two very experienced fighter pilots, for Casson in turn had then been attacked and shot down by Gerhard Sch\u00f6pfel of JG26 \u2013 his twenty-ninth victory.\n\nThe Poles (Support Wing) engaged some 109s, one squadron (306) remaining top cover as 308 and 315 went down on several pairs. 315 Squadron claimed one destroyed and three probables.\n\nJG26 reported the loss of two Me109s with both pilots baling out, one being wounded. The Geschwader scored seven Spitfires, including Galland's seventy-fourth, Obfw. Walter Mayer's eleventh and Johann Schmid's sixteenth. RAF losses amounted to five, plus one Spitfire of 315 whose pilot had to crash-land at Little Waldingfield, Suffolk due to lack of petrol upon his return. The aeroplane was later written off. RAF claims totalled 18-12-9, 452 Squadron claiming half a dozen. 92 Squadron got four, one by Neville Duke, as described in his combat report:\n\n'Attacked from astern by two Me109Fs at 2,000 ft over Boulogne. I saw the first one approaching to the attack and turned to the left until he was on the opposite side of the circle. I then immediately turned to the right as hard as I could. He went past me on the starboard beam and I gave him a burst from astern at 200 to 300 yards range. At this moment I saw tracer pass over my cockpit and another 109 passed me on the right. I gave him a long burst with some deflection from 50 yards rapidly increasing. The 109 went on its back and did a slow spin in this position into the cloud which was about 800 feet. I did not see it crash into the sea but do not consider it could have pulled out.\n\n'I was shortly afterwards jumped by another two 109s just above the cloud. I ducked into cloud hoping they would give up the chase but when breaking cloud, the 109s were still there and chased me down to sea level and to within 2 to 3 miles of Dover.\n\n'Their spinners appeared to be painted black and white. Tracer ammunition would have been a great asset as my reflector sight was u\/s. I suggest some tracer be used in future.'\n\nBader's place as wing leader went to W\/Cdr H. de C. A. Woodhouse. Paddy Woodhouse was a pre-war pilot, and although involved in non-operational duties in 1940, had joined 610 Squadron in the Spring of 1941, to gain operational experience, before taking command of 71 Eagle Squadron in June. Compared to Bader, his modest score of one destroyed plus another shared did not make him an obvious choice among the rank and file pilots, but his overall experience quickly cemented his position at Tangmere.\n\n* * *\n\nFighter Command was to lose more Spitfires during a Rodeo to Hardelot in mid-to-late afternoon. JG26 again rose to the challenge, claiming six Spits and one Hurricane. Schmid made it three for the day, Galland got another for his seventy-fifth while Priller also made it two for the day, forty-fifth and forty-sixth. Sch\u00f6pfel got his thirtieth, and CO of the 6th Staffel, Oblt. Walter Schneider scored twice, victories fifteenth and sixteenth \u2013 for no losses. The RAF had made claims. 92 Squadron 4-1-3, 315 Squadron 1-1-2, 111 scored a destroyed and 609 Squadron 0-1-1. Spitfires lost were five, four pilots killed (111, 403, 315 (2)). A pilot of 609 Squadron, Belgian P\/O A. J. G. Nitelet, was wounded when his machine turned over upon crash-landing. He suffered serious injuries, losing his right eye, but was rescued by a farmer and he managed to evade into Spain. Alex Nitelet later became a radio operator with the French escape line, being flown back to France by Lysander in May 1942, but was captured in September. A French camp commandant released him unofficially and he was back in Spain by December.\n\nThe day's total for JG26 was fourteen of which eleven were confirmed. Anti-aircraft claimed two. Fighter Command was credited with 18-12-9, and admitted losses of ten aircraft and six pilots.\n\nThere were two senior pilots with the RAF this day. One was Group Captain F. V. Beamish DSO DFC AFC, flying with North Weald, and Wing Commander T. H. Rolski, commanding No.1 Polish Wing, having earlier led 306 Squadron. He had fought in Poland before escaping to England via France. Both were much older than the men they commanded, Victor Beamish was nearing 38, while Tadeusz Rolski would be 35 in September. Beamish, despite his rank, age and position as Station Commander, was not a man to lead from the ground and often flew operationally. He would fly often on Circuses from North Weald, and especially when the Wing Leader was lost later in August.\n\n* * *\n\nOn the 10th, 2 Group were sent on an anti-shipping strike off Calais and ran into JG26. Two Blenheims of 226 Squadron were shot down, one falling to AA fire, although both were claimed by fighter pilots, Oblt. Walter Otte and Ltn. Paul Schauder. The 109s also got stuck into the escort, Oblt. Schmid claiming two Hurricanes (of 242 Sqn) and a Spitfire, to bring his score to twenty-one. Another pilot also claimed a Spitfire. However, only one of 242 failed to return. Obviously Schmid was anxious to acquire his Knight's Cross \u2013 which he did received on 21 August - by which time his score had increased to twenty-five. However, this 30-year-old was not destined to survive the year.\n\n**Circus No.69 \u2013 12 August**\n\nThis operation was flown in conjunction with Circus 70. Not only were these two missions a new departure by both being diversions for a major 2 Group raid by fifty-four Blenheims against Cologne's power stations at Knapsack and Quadrath, but both included, for the first time, Handley Page Hampdens from 5 Group of Bomber Command.\n\nIn the event the diversions hardly succeeded, as ten Blenheims were shot down, mostly by flak, and two more Blenheims, sent to assist the fighter escort with navigation, were also shot down. On this raid twenty-six aircrew died, ten more were captured. JG1 claimed two Blenheims, while JG26 claimed another four, including one by Galland for number 77.\n\nCircus 69, going for the airfield at St Omer, saw six Hampdens of 408 RCAF Squadron, escorted by North Weald, with Cover provided by Debden and a third North Weald squadron. Hornchurch gave Target Support. RV was over Manston at 1015, but cloud over the target prevented any form of identification so bombs were dropped on railway lines to the south. Flak was not intense but four bombers suffered slight damage. Close Escort saw a few 109s but they did not come close. Cover Escort saw little either, despite 54 having five of its pilots abort for various reasons before reaching the French coast. Once over France some 109s came down and another 54 Squadron pilot was wounded. However, the CO, S\/Ldr Newell Orton DFC and Bar, claimed two. 'Fanny' Orton had been successful during the French campaign and these victories brought his score to seventeen. 222 Squadron made claims of 1-1-1 but lost one pilot killed. Speaking to Graham Davies, who had been a flight commander in 222 Squadron in the summer of 1941, he told me:\n\n'We were out over France regularly in the summer of 1941. We often met 109s and the flak could be pretty heavy. Often the 109s would stay clear of us but on another day we would meet more aggressive chaps who would try to get at the bombers or hope to pick off a Spitfire or two. They would dive at top speed through us and although we would give the odd one a squirt, it was difficult to hit them and we could not follow them or we'd leave the bombers open to a more determined attack.'\n\nG. G. A. Davies had been shot down over Dunkirk in 1940, force-landing on the beach but had managed to get back to England on a boat. He fought in the Battle of Britain and in 1941 he flew around forty operations over France. In 1944 he commanded 607 Squadron in the defence of the Imphal Valley in Burma, for which he received the DFC.\n\nThe Target Support boys on the 12th were thrown into total confusion due to the bombers making a very short turn to the south over France and lost sight of them until they located them over Gravelines. Some 109s sniffed around but nothing developed.\n\n**Circus No.70 \u2013 12 August**\n\nWhile Circus 69 tried for St Omer, six Hampdens of 106 Squadron from Coningsby made for the power station at Gosnay, along with Northolt, Biggin Hill, Kenley and Tangmere Wings. Unlike their colleagues, they found their target and bombed from 14,000 feet, but most of the ordnance fell 100 yards to the west of the aiming point. Again flak was a nuisance and virtually every bomber received some flak damage.\n\nHaving met at 1133 over RAF Manston, the Escort Wing trailed across with the bombers and saw almost nothing of the enemy. Biggin Hill's fighters had their Spitfires stepped up from 18\u201323,000 feet, but finding the top squadron of the Close Escort at a higher level than they should have been, 609 Squadron had to go up to 24,500 feet, so they were almost level with the low squadron of the Kenley Wing. Six Me109s were seen above near the coast that appeared to be waiting to pounce once the Spitfires had passed by, but nothing developed.\n\nThe Kenley Wing, flying between 25\u201330,000 feet headed inland some 20 miles at which time a 109 dived through the upper squadron \u2013 602 \u2013 and picked off S\/Ldr Al Deere's wingman, P\/O H. J. Bell-Walker, who started down trailing smoke. He baled out lower down to become a prisoner. An Australian of 452 Squadron became detached and headed down through cloud. Coming out over Le Touquet Aerodrome he could see no aircraft on the ground so proceeded to shoot up some buildings. Coming in again \u2013 a real no-no \u2013 he met intense ground fire and was lucky to escape unharmed. The other squadron \u2013 485 New Zealand \u2013 had some skirmishes with 109s but nothing definite. On the way back a few 109s were seen harassing some Spitfires. Some pilots attacked and one 109 was damaged but lost a pilot. He lost an arm and was taken prisoner. The Tangmere Wing saw plenty of 109s but had no close engagements. Al Deere records in his book ' _Nine Lives_ ':\n\n'This show witnessed my first really narrow escape since returning to No.11 Group. When at briefing the Wing Commander Flying announced the target as Lille and said that 602 Squadron would act as close escort squadron, I had a premonition that it would be rough going. I noticed 'Mitzi's' [F\/L E. V. Darling] face turn white at the mention of Lille and the expressions on the faces of the other pilots in the room revealed the varying degrees of emotion caused by this announcement.\n\n'The towering banks of cumulus cloud, interspersed with layers of thin cirrus, which covered the route to the target, confirmed my worst fears. There was a sufficient amount of cloud to make escort difficult but not enough to interfere seriously with the operation. On the other hand, conditions were ideal for defensive fighters and the strong enemy reaction was proof that the Huns thought so too. The raid had barely reached mid-Channel before R\/T silence was broken by the Controller to warn us of heavy enemy activity.\n\n'Shortly before we reached St. Omer, where the first attack developed, the escort cover fighters, and those above, were screened from view by intervening cloud banks. To make matters worse, 485 and 452 Squadrons were forced to reduce height in order to keep the bombers in view. The scene was set, action was soon to follow. The first warning of attack came in the form of a surprise yelp from Johnny Kent. \"Christ! There are Messerschmitts diving through the clouds ahead of us.\"\n\n'A stream of Hun fighters had broken cloud ahead of the bombers and, wheeling round to port, they lined up for an attack. I was on the port side of the bombers with my section of four and could see Johnny taking a squadron across to cut them off. Anxiously I watched two 109s, which had separated themselves from the main formation, turning in behind me for an attack and as soon as I was certain that my section was to be the target, I gave the order to break to port. With my vision greying out under the mounting 'G' loading, I pulled hard around to meet them. A menacing yellow spinner passed within inches of my wing followed closely by a second as the two attacking 109s broke up and away.'\n\nIn a fight that lasted some time, Deere's Spitfire, too, suffered a hit just as he was firing a burst into the underside of a 109.\n\n'Too late, I felt the shock of impact on my aircraft as an unseen Hun found his target; like a crack of doom the sound of an exploding cannon shell came deafeningly through my headphones. Momentarily I panicked, but quickly realised that my aircraft was still airworthy though obviously badly damaged.'\n\nDeere dived into cloud to escape and then began the journey home. His engine temperature began to rise, with the coolant temperature also increasing. Heading for Manston he was keenly aware of the race between reaching it or losing his engine. Making a 'Mayday' call over the sea he gradually made the English coast and then Manston hove into view. Setting his damaged fighter down was a great relief to switch off the very hot engine. However, he had forgotten to cancel the Mayday call, and aircraft were already out trying to locate a downed pilot in the water. Inspecting his aircraft he found thirty-seven bullet holes in it, in addition to the cannon shell hit in the port wing root. The top fuel tank had also been punctured and the glycol line severed. He knew he had been just moments away from an engine seizure.\n\n**Circus No.71 \u2013 12 August**\n\nThe third and last Circus of the day comprised six Blenheims going for Le Trait ship yards, preceded by a sweep by Spitfires. This being the case Close Escort was just the Kenley Wing, with Tangmere providing Cover. Two bombers failed to make it through 'formation difficulties', but the other four dropped their bombs on target. One bomb was seen to hit a ship on the southern slipway. No flak or fighters interfered with the attack.\n\nKenley, on their second trip of the day, rendezvoused at 1800 hours over Beachy Head and took the bombers into France. 485 Squadron was again in combat and lost their second pilot of the day \u2013 killed. Other escort squadrons saw 109s but were not engaged.\n\nThis day cost Fighter Command four pilots killed, five taken prisoner and two wounded. They claimed six destroyed, five probables and eight damaged. Oberleutnant Erich Leie of JG2 appears to have got the second New Zealander on the Le Trait show, the unit's only claim of the evening, for his twenty-fifth victory. The Germans did well in their claiming on the 12th. JG26 had twelve, including Blenheims, while JG2 managed sixteen Spitfires and two Blenheims. The Stabstaffel were on top form according to the claims \u2013 Major Walter Oesau claimed five to bring his score to ninety-two, Erich Leie got three and Fw. G\u00fcnther Seeger one for his thirteenth. In addition, 4(Eins).\/JFS 5 claimed four Spitfires but only had one confirmed.\n\nIt had been a long and costly day for the RAF.\n\n**Circus No.72 \u2013 14 August**\n\nWith the improved summer weather the RAF continued its multiple Circus raids, mounting two on this date. This first one called for twelve Blenheims to attack a quite different target from the normal ones \u2013 German E-boats alongside the Quay in Boulogne Harbour. These fast-moving motor torpedo boats were often active during the night hours off the British coast and their fast and deadly strikes could prove costly to ships trying to head through the Channel during darkness.\n\nOnly eleven bombers took part in fact, with six from 107 and five from 114 Squadrons setting off at 1250 pm. Kenley's 452, 485 and 602 Squadrons took on the Close Escort job, while the Cover Wing was Biggin's task, with 72, 92 and 609. Two Support Wings, Hornchurch (403, 603 and 611) and Tangmere (41, 610 and 616) comprised the rest of the escorts. Being a coastal target there was no requirement for any Wings to help 'delouse' the target. Hopefully too, any enemy fighters that rose to counter the raid would be gaining height and waiting further inland in anticipation.\n\nLots of summer cloud made observation difficult when the 44 x 250lb and 28 x 40lb bombs went down from 11,500\u201312,000 feet, but all appeared to fall close alongside the target although actual results could not be observed. All the bombers returned and if nothing else, perhaps the E-boat crews felt a little more vulnerable if the RAF were taking time and effort to attack them in port.\n\nThere was a lot of flak over the target and one Blenheim, appearing to be hit, was escorted home by two pilots from 452 Squadron. A member of 485 Squadron was slightly wounded in one leg by this flak fire. No enemy fighters were seen. Biggin's pilots too saw the flak and the cloud but no hostile fighters.\n\nThe Hornchurch squadrons at 25,000 feet and above swept as far as St Omer, inland from Boulogne and Gris Nez, but nothing stirred. Tangmere was similarly unimpressed by the non-appearance of the enemy, until 616 spotted seven Me109s about 7,000 feet below them. Being the bottom squadron, 616 dived upon them and although three pilots opened fire, made no claims. This had split up the Squadron so everyone headed out over the sea and home.\n\nThe middle squadron \u2013 610 \u2013 also found Me109s, in fact some forty appearing, and in a brief engagement, they claimed one probable and one damaged. 41 Squadron, top cover, were dived upon by two 109s and one of them was shot off the tail of a Spitfire and claimed as destroyed. Another pilot, heavily engaged by three 109Fs succeeded in damaging one of them.\n\nTotal claims were for one 109 destroyed, one probable and two damaged, although combat reports seem to indicate a score of 2-2-2, 41 Squadron reporting 2-0-1. Two pilots failed to return, F\/Lt A. L. Winskill of 41 and Sgt L. M. McKee of 616. Archie Winskill in fact was one of the claimants, so his victory was not counted until much later, when he returned to England. In fact not only Archie Winskill but also McKee, both evaded and got home.\n\nArchie Winskill had been a pre-war Volunteer Reserve pilot and had participated at the tail-end of the Battle of Britain, during which he had the rare experience of having encountered Italian aircraft in November 1940, claiming two Fiat CR42 biplanes off the Essex coast on the 23rd, with 603 Squadron. His claim over a 109 on 14 August, was his first since that time. Having then been shot down, he was found in a slightly stunned condition by a French farmer who asked if he needed help. Saying yes please, the farmer took him to his house. No sooner had they arrived than a car turned up with two German soldiers who went and inspected the downed Spitfire. Winskill was hidden in some corn overnight. He was then turned over to a French escape line and on 5 September, met up with Sgt McKee, the other pilot who had been shot down on this day. Eventually, after some adventures, both RAF pilots arrived in Spain, then Gibraltar and Winskill got home on 23 November. McKee made it to England on 18 December. Winskill later returned to operations in North Africa, receiving a DFC and Bar. He was to retire from the RAF as an Air Commodore KCVO CBE DFC, having at one time been the Captain of the Queen's Flight. He died in 2005.\n\nThe 4th Staffel of JG26 was responsible for the two Spitfire losses, the fourteenth victory for Oblt. Hermann Segatz, while the other was credited to the Staffel as a whole. JG26 suffered no casualties.\n\n**Circus No.73 \u2013 14 August**\n\nThis early evening operation should have been for six Blenheims to attack the Shell Factory at Marquise, being escorted by North Weald, Hornchurch, Northolt and Biggin Hill Wings. In the event, however, heavy cloud at the rendezvous prevented a join-up and so the bombers turned back to base without even crossing the English coast. North Weald continued to the French coast in the hope of finding the bombers to make RV, but in the end had to turn back too.\n\nThe Cover Wing carried on into France seeing a number of vapour trails high up and then some 109s near St Inglevert. More 109s were seen over Gravelines. As the Spitfires approached some 109s began diving away while others tried to climb around behind them. One 109 did make a pass but caused no damage.\n\nThe Support Wings then met 109s and a huge scrap developed. Northolt had 306 as top cover, 308 at the bottom and 315 off to one side in the middle. As the Wing turned north, 308 and 315 went down after some 109s seen below, who in turn tried to turn in behind the diving Spitfires. The Poles screamed round towards six 109s but immediately fifteen others dived on 306 Squadron from all directions. A big fight ensued in which two 109s were claimed destroyed and another damaged by 306, but three pilots were lost, including its CO, S\/Ldr L. J. Zaremba.\n\nMeantime, 308 saw thirty-five Me109s below and to port, and the whole Squadron dived to attack claiming three destroyed, one probable and two damaged for the loss of one pilot. 315 Squadron also got in amongst the 109s, initially going down on eight they saw above a cloud layer. As they engaged, dogfights broke out and other Spitfires joined in while more 109s also appeared. The Squadron claimed eight victories, plus a probable and a damaged without loss. Afterwards the Wing reported that they had caught most of the 109s napping and none should have got away! Flight Lieutenant W. Szcz\u0119\u015bniewski reported:\n\n'I dived at a Me109E, opening fire at 200 yds range with one burst, slightly above and astern. Immediately thick black smoke poured out of its cockpit, and as far as I could see the cockpit was jettisoned in order that the pilot could bale out. I did not see what happened after this because I noticed another Me. coming up behind from below and slightly across me. I turned towards it, and I'm certain it did not see me because it banked and exposed the whole of the upper surface to my fire. I opened fire at 150 yds and rapidly along to point blank range 10 yds, firing all the time. The enemy aircraft simply broke up and seemed to fall into bits in the cloud. I had to pull up very sharply in order to prevent collision. I then caught sight of the leader of the Me. formation, together with another aircraft flying over my nose above me, but I was unable to fire quick enough on account of my bad position. These two aircraft disappeared. I rejoined the formation, landing at Northolt at 1825 hrs, and claim one e\/a destroyed, and one probably destroyed.'\n\nThe Squadron Intelligence Officer later noted that he had fired 700 rounds of .303 bullets but no cannon shells. The pilot had omitted to press the cannon button! W\u0142adys\u0142aw Szcz\u0119\u015bniewski failed to return from Circus 110 on 8 November, and became a prisoner. By that date he was commanding the Squadron.\n\nThe Biggin Hill Wing crossed into France penetrating to about fifteen miles inland, also to the St Omer area. A large number of 109s were seen in various formations and Sailor Malan kept his fighters up-sun of them. Finally, 72 Squadron moved to attack but the 109s merely moved off to avoid combat. The Spitfires returned without loss.\n\nTotal claims over the German fighters amounted to thirteen destroyed, two more as probables and four damaged for the loss of four RAF pilots. The Polish Wing had attacked the Third Gruppe of JG26 and had shot down two 109s, one pilot being killed, the other taking to his parachute suffering injuries. The Third Gruppe was the only unit engaged, losing just two pilots, so the Poles' claims were rather optimistic to say the least. Of the Pole's four losses, all were killed, one being S\/Ldr Jerzy Zaremba, the CO of 306 Squadron.\n\nAmongst the claimants were Oblt. Walter Schneider (his seventeenth), Ltn. Robert Unzeitig (fifth), Ltn. Erwin Biedermann (third), while Ltn. Heinz Schenk gained his first. Not wanting to be left out, JG2 also claimed four Spitfires, three of which were confirmed. Schnieder and Schenk of the 6th Staffel of JG26 were flying their new Focke-Wulf 190s, but none of the Polish pilots reported seeing a new type of fighter in this combat. It would not be long before everyone discovered the Germans had a new aeroplane at the front.\n\nOne of the successful Polish pilots was Jan Falkowski of 315. In his book _With the Wind in my Face_ (privately published in 1967) he wrote:\n\n'We were south of Calais when I spotted, some 17,000 feet below us, about 25 or 30 German aircraft. Petro [S\/Ldr S. Pietraszkiewicz] ordered the attack and we dived. We were in an advantageous position \u2013 much higher than the enemy and in the sun where we couldn't be seen. As we went in, 306 was tackling between eight and twelve Germans.\n\n'I picked out an Me109 and opened fire, never stopping until I saw his tail flying into pieces. Then I saw black smoke and he spun to the ground. Having despatched my German, I turned back to the squadron. I saw Sgt. Malczewski shoot down an Me., Petro bagged one... It was quite a sight.\n\n'On return to base, we learned that we had shot down thirteen enemy aircraft altogether, my squadron alone accounting for eight without any losses. But 306 Squadron, which had fought above us, had had a stiffer engagement and had lost three pilots. One was its commander.'\n\nAccording to Falkowski:\n\n'The Polish Wing received a flood of congratulations, including personal messages from the Secretary of State for Air, and the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief Fighter Command. The AOC No.2 Bomber Group sent his hearty thanks to the Wing, for the Poles had intercepted and destroyed German fighters sent out to attack the British bomber formation which, as a result, was able to bomb with accuracy the power stations which were its targets that day.'\n\nHe was wrong about the success of the bomber raid of course. One wonders too what the 'back room boys' in air intelligence thought about it all. It would not be long before German intercepts asking for replacement Me109s would suggest the losses suffered by JG26 (or even JG2) were far, far lower than thirteen. (It also appears that this total was later amended upwards to 16-3-5 by Fighter Command.)\n\nIn 315 Squadron's Intelligence Officer's Form 'F' report the comment was made: 'The opinion of all pilots is that the enemy aircraft were completely surprised, lost their heads [the German pilots that is], and each one adopted the suave _qui peur_ attitude. There were no attempts at co-ordinated escape, which possibly confirms the fact that the Squadron had just broken cloud and was not yet properly under control.'\n\n8. A 'Sphere' operation is a high altitude fighter sweep above cloud over enemy territory.\n_Chapter 8_\n\n**Summer at Last \u2013 Well, Almost**\n\nThe fickle summer weather had hindered many operations during the first half of August 1941 but in the second half it improved somewhat although summer showers were often in attendance. Fighter Command was now well into the swing of things as far as Circus operations were concerned and although the obvious dangers of combating German fighters over France occurred on virtually every occasion, there was to be no let up.\n\nTo many it was like a summer cricket season, with everyone gung-ho to get to grips with the Luftwaffe fighters, but in reality, for those who were able to look deeper into things, there seemed to be far more empty chairs in the Mess at dinner time, and it could only be hoped that the enemy fighter pilots were also giving sideways glances to their own empty chairs. The problem, of course, was that they didn't have the number of empty chairs the RAF fighter pilots imagined.\n\n**Circus No.74 \u2013 16 August**\n\nTwo more operations took place on this day. With the failure on the 14th, 2 Group put up another six Blenheims in the late morning to try again to bomb the Shell Factory at Marquise. The weather was a bit better, fair but with showers and 5\/10ths cloud. This time it was aircraft from 82 Squadron and RV was made over the seaside town of Hastings at 1230. Escort Wing came from North Weald, Cover Wing from Hornchurch, Support Wings were those of Northolt and Biggin Hill, while a Mopping-up Wing was provided by Kenley.\n\nBombs were released at 1244 from 10,000 feet through gaps in the cloud, the same cloud that obscured results although it was thought most fell slightly south-west of the target hitting a railway junction. No fighters turned up to interfere but flak was heavy. One bomber was hit and set on fire; however, the fire was ably put out by the air gunner. A second bomber was also damaged by shellfire while two crew members of a third were slightly wounded by shrapnel.\n\nThe Close Escort squadrons (71, 111 and 222) had nothing to report, nor did the Cover Wing, although they did see six Me109s some way off. However, the Northolt boys got into the action. At 22,000 feet over St Omer, 306 Squadron saw fifteen 109s in three small formations and climbing towards them. The Poles dived and began to mix it with the German fighters, claiming six 109s destroyed. They lost one pilot who was seen to bale out over Cap Gris Nez, and believed to have been picked up by German ASR. Two pilots, forced down during the fight, spotted a landing ground near Boulogne and proceeded to shoot it up, and strafe a party of soldiers. The other two Polish units, 308 and 315, remained above to give protection and were not engaged.\n\nSome dozen Me109s were seen by the Biggin Hill Wing as they swept the St Omer area but did not make contact. One pilot, whose windscreen frosted up, went down and suddenly met a 109 at 1,000 feet which he fired at and claimed as damaged.\n\nHeading over the coast, the Mopping-Up Wing (452, 485 and 602) saw several groups of 109s and as the time came for the Spitfires to head north, single 109s made attacking passes four times and fire was returned but neither side scored any hits. 602 Squadron spotted eight 109s at 27,000 feet which turned in behind them and then made a dive past the Spitfires. Two sections followed but made no claim. However, one pilot did not return. 485 Squadron saw six 109s making vapour trails way above but they did not come down. Another 109 came in and it was fired at, the RAF pilot seeing it go down in an uncontrolled vertical spin.\n\nThe missing Pole was indeed reported a prisoner later but the 602 Squadron pilot was killed. JG26 had the action with 602 Squadron and actually claimed four Spitfires, which was a bit excessive. There were a lot of German claims on the 16th and some recorded times seem a little suspect.\n\n**Circus No.75 \u2013 16 August**\n\nThis same Saturday an evening operation against the German airfield of St Omer\/Longuenesse needed six bombers which were supplied by 21 Squadron. RV with the Close Escort Wing (Kenley) was made above Hastings at 1800 hours, with Cover being down to Biggin Hill, Target Support by Tangmere and Northolt, with Forward Support being flown by Hornchurch.\n\nThe cloud that had been a problem for Circus 74 had now cleared, certainly over the target where the sky was clear with perfect visibility. 24 x 250 and 24 x 40lb bombs went down, bursts being seen across the aerodrome and along its northern boundary. There was no sign of enemy aircraft, either on the ground or in the air. Of interest is the comment by the Close Escort Wing that the Blenheim's camouflage was so good it had been difficult to maintain visual contact with them.\n\nThe Escort Wing squadrons had very mixed reports. 602 Squadron saw some 109s above and climbing into the sun but no attack came. However, 452 Squadron saw around fifty Me109s, all operating in small formations and on re-crossing the French coast, eight 109s attacked from behind and a dogfight broke out. Apparently 452 not only shot down six enemy fighters, but they also saw them crash into the Channel. This battle had caused the Spitfires to lose height and they headed for home at zero feet. 485 Squadron saw just one Me109 but failed to see the battle going on overhead before 452 dived.\n\nBiggin Hill's squadrons, flying between 16\u201321,000 feet, also had some action. 72 and 609 had fights, initially with eight 109s that came down from the sun. 72 destroyed one as did 609 but the latter had one pilot fail to return \u2013 later reported killed. One pilot of 72 who had lost a lot of height, strafed a German sound detector near Gris Nez while another shot-up gun posts on the beach near Hardelot.\n\nTwo pilots in the Support Wing also shot up gun posts near Boulogne while others had indeterminate scraps with 109s. Tangmere's 610 Squadron claimed a damaged. Northolt's three Polish squadrons all saw combat but had little in the way of claims. The CO of 315, S\/Ldr Stanislaw Pietraszkiewicz, had some difficulty with his R\/T just as a warning of 109s was made. Believing he saw something to his left he broke away and became separated from his pilots. He then spotted seven 109s, got behind one and opened fire as he rapidly overtook it. The 109 broke up and went down.\n\nHornchurch crossed the French coast at 1822 and immediately saw two 109s coming from the south at 23,000 feet. Red Section of 603 went for them and shot one down. More 109s began to sniff around but every time the Wing made an attempt to engage the 109s dived away.\n\nTotal kill claims for this operation came to ten destroyed and one damaged, for just one loss. Hauptmann Adolph of JG26 claimed one Spitfire, victory number twenty-three, while JG2 reported having shot down another four. JG26 lost one pilot to a Spitfire. He was hit and baled out but his harness had been damaged and gave way as his parachute opened. Two other 109s got home damaged. JG2 had one pilot make a crash-landing near Calais and another 109 sustained slight damage while making a wheels-up landing at Moorsele airfield. The RAF's adjusted total for the day was 19-3-4, for the loss of four Spitfires.\n\nIt certainly seems as if the Australians of 452 Squadron were a little over-zealous in their claims, attempting to obtain confirmation by stating that their victims were seen to crash into the sea. Flight Lieutenant B. E. Finucane DFC claimed two, Sgt K. B. Chisholm two more, P\/O K. W. Truscott one, while Sgts E. B. Tainton and A. R. Stuart claimed one each which in fact makes seven in all. The Irishman Paddy Finucane and Aussie 'Bluey' Truscott were certainly starting on a mission to see who could score the most victories and perhaps this made them over keen to claim. No doubt this also rubbed off on the other pilots in the Squadron. Finucane had now been credited with fourteen victories, including shares, while Truscott had achieved his second, but by the end of the 'shooting season' Finucane would have raised his score to twenty-six, Truscott to eleven. The story goes that later in 1941, S\/Ldr E. P. 'Hawkeye' Wells, once he became CO of 485 Squadron, was actually suggesting to G\/Capt Victor Beamish, that 452's claims should be investigated, but before Beamish could agree or not, he was lost over the North Sea. Certainly feelings were running high between the Australians and the New Zealanders at the time. Al Deere refers to this in his ' _Nine Lives_ ':\n\n'I was most interested to hear Bill's [Hawkeye] views on the present operations and particularly to discuss with him my frustrated efforts to get near enough to the Hun fighters. \"Frankly, Al, I fail to see how many of the squadrons shoot down the numbers they claim. On a very great number of operations, 485 Squadron has been on the same show, and in the same area of sky, and none of us has seen more than a few stray Messerschmitts. It always mystifies me, therefore, to find on landing that a particular squadron has destroyed a large number of enemy fighters when we were in spitting distance of that squadron throughout the operation. I have, in fact, reported my beliefs to the Station Commander.\"\n\n'\"It certainly worries me, Bill,\" I said, \"602 Squadron is breaking about even at the moment and, as for me, I just cannot seem to get decisive results. As you know, we have had more than our share of close escorts as a squadron and that, perhaps partly explains the reason. Mind you, I defy anyone to get results on close escort duties, unless he is an exceptional shot, and damned lucky into the bargain.\" \"I agree\" said Bill. \"It's difficult whatever the task, and the Kenley Wing has had more than its share of the less fruitful ones.\"'\n\nAl went on to write how difficult it was regarding claims and confirmations. He said that in most cases there was no intention on the part of the pilot to mislead; it was more a case of imagination, fired by the excitement of battle, causing him to dream up a picture in his mind which, in the process of telling, became so real that what started as a probable victory now became an enemy aircraft destroyed. He also realised there were definite cases of exaggeration but the offenders were usually taken to task by their fellow pilots. The RAF he was sure over-claimed, but not nearly to the same extent as the Germans.\n\nVictor Beamish said he would look into it. Whether he did is not known to this author, and when Beamish was lost in early 1942, that appeared to be an end to the matter.\n\n**Circus No.76 \u2013 17 August**\n\nAfter the euphoria of the 16th, this Sunday operation was very much a non-event. Six Blenheims from 139 Squadron set off at 0620 for an attack on the Le Havre docks. Having made RV with the escorts over Tangmere, the bombers headed out, losing one bomber soon after RV, but over the Channel the leader's starboard engine cut out and his followers overshot. By the time the pilot had got his engine going again, the other four bombers had turned back too, thinking the show was not proceeding. The escorting Wings were ordered to abort a few miles from the French coast.\n\n**Circus No.77 \u2013 17 August**\n\nIn some records this operation was also to take place on the same day as Circus 76, a raid on the power station at Gosnay. There is even mention of six Blenheims being assigned along with the various escorting fighter Wings, with a RV above Manston at 0900 hours. However, there is no entry in 11 Group's ORB, nothing in the Appendices, and nothing noted in 2 Group's ORB, so we must assume that this too was cancelled and the circus number not re-used. There was a Roadstead operation that evening that cost the lives of two Hurricane pilots from 242 Squadron (JG2 claimed four Hurricanes of course). 242 claimed two 109s, and F\/Lt F. D. S. Scott-Malden of 603 claimed another. JG2 lost one pilot and had another wounded, with a third having to make a crash-landing at Berck-sur-Mer.\n\n**Circus No.78 - 18 August**\n\nNine Bristol Blenheims, five from 226 and four from 110 Squadrons, went for the Fives-Lille Engineering Works this Monday afternoon, escorted by North Weald's 71, 111 and 222 Squadrons, Covered by Hornchurch's 403, 603 and 611 Squadrons, with Target Support provided by Biggin and Tangmere (72, 92, 609 and 41, 616, 610). Kenley drew the Cover Withdrawal slot (452, 485 and 602) while Rear Support was taken by 12 Group's 56, 65 and 121 Squadrons.\n\nDespite a discouraging 10\/10ths cloud up to 6,000 feet over southern England, once nearing France this became 4\/10th to 5,000 feet, then clear up to a layer of cirrus at 30,000 feet above France itself. The bombers and close escorts were to meet over Manston at 10,000 feet at 1430 but failed to do so. However, all nine raiders carried on and bombed at 1501 from 8,000 feet. Photographs confirmed hits on the north end of the Works, but all aircraft were hit to some degree by heavy flak fire. One Blenheim of 110 Squadron struggled back towards Wattisham but eventually crashed off Lowestoft, with all three aboard being lost.\n\nWith the failure of the rendezvous, 71 and 222 orbited hoping for something to happen but only 111, who had become separated from the other two squadrons, met up with the bombers and acted as escort throughout the mission. No doubt due to the cloud, Hornchurch also failed to meet up and after waiting around for thirty-five minutes, set out for the French coast. They did see seven enemy fighters but no engagements took place. 92 lost a pilot.\n\nBiggin Hill's pilots saw the bombers with just one escorting squadron and joined up although 72 Squadron lost position and became separated. Eventually small numbers of 109s began to turn up but again nothing developed into actions. Tangmere, at 21,000 feet and above, headed for Lille and seeing fifteen Me109s near Hardelot, the top squadron \u2013 41 \u2013 broke away to engage. Several dogfights ensued in which one 109 was probably destroyed and four damaged, but at the cost of two pilots. One was reported killed and the other a prisoner, although there is a suggestion they may have collided. Nevertheless, JG2's Obfw. Josef Wurmheller claimed two Spitfires for his twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth victories, while Ltn. Walter H\u00f6hler of JG2 probably got the 92 Squadron Spitfire, bringing his score to five.\n\nWithdrawal Cover made no contact with the enemy while 12 Group had some action, claiming 1-1-1 without loss. Neither JG26 or JG2 reported any losses.\n\n**Circus No.79 \u2013 18 August**\n\nThis operation was postponed, probably because of the weather that caused problems for Circus 78.\n\n**Circus No.80 \u2013 18 August**\n\nBy the late afternoon the weather had improved to 'fine' with good visibility and just 2\/10ths cloud over France. Just five of the six Blenheims from 18 Squadron carried on to attack the Shell Factory at Marquise this afternoon, with Northolt flying Close Escort, Kenley as Cover Wing, Hornchurch taking Target Support and Biggin Rear Support.\n\nDespite the better weather, all the bombs were seen to over shoot by at least 200 yards, but perhaps it was the heavy flak that accompanied the bombers from Gravelines to the target that put them off. One bomber was hit and although the pilot got back across the Channel, he brought back his dead air gunner. The machine finally crash-landed north-east of Rye, injuring pilot and observer.\n\nNortholt's 308 Squadron was the only unit of the Close Escort to make a satisfactory rendezvous over Dungeness at 1800 hours and took the bombers across alone. Over France some twenty Me109s were seen above and some others below but they made no attempt to engage the Poles. The other two squadrons orbited for some minutes before aborting the show.\n\nKenley Wing likewise saw nothing of the main formation so carried out a Sweep on their own. Arriving in the target area they found four 109s above but no engagement was made, and on the way back another four 109s made a sudden attack from out of the sun but failed to capitalise on their chances. Hornchurch Wing was also unable to find any enemy fighters over France and just one quick pass by two 109s also caused no hurt to the Spitfires.\n\nOnly Biggin Hill's 609 Squadron was able to make any claims. The Wing began orbiting Hardelot when they spotted some 109s towards Le Touquet, then another twenty could be made out over Boulogne with others hovering around Calais. 609 became embroiled in a fight and claimed two 109s destroyed and one probably so. The two destroyed were by Belgians, F\/O V. M. M. Ortmans and P\/O Y. G. A. F. D. DuMonceau. Vicky Ortmans was an experienced fighter pilot, having flown in the Battle of Britain with 229 Squadron, and was always in the action during 1941. This was his sixth confirmed victory. The probable was scored by P\/O D. A. Barnham but may not have been confirmed as such. Dennis Barnham was later to operate successfully over Malta and wrote of his experiences in the book _One Man's Window_.\n\n**Circus No.81 \u2013 19 August**\n\nThis show became known as 'Operation Leg'. When W\/Cdr Douglas Bader had been shot down on 9 August, he had lost one of his tin legs whilst baling out of his Spitfire over France. It was arranged that the Germans would accept delivery of a replacement but the RAF decided it would be dropped during a normal raid, and 18 Squadron got the job. Six of their Blenheims would be going for the power station at Gosnay, probably the raid that was to have been made on the 17th. However, the 19th was going to prove an arduous Tuesday.\n\nClose Escort today was flown by the Tangmere Wing, with Cover being provided by Kenley. Target Support came from Northolt and Hornchurch, while Biggin Hill got the Rear Support position. The summer weather had still to make an appearance, for today there was 10\/10th cloud at 8\u201310,000 feet with large masses of cumulus cloud up to 20,000, plus storm clouds over the target area. RV was made over Manston at 1030 and the bombers proceeded via Dunkirk to St Omer where Bader's parcel was parachuted down. However, cloud made it impossible to see the target so the bombers returned without dropping their ordnance. On the way in all the bombers had received some flak damage and on the way out cloud forced them all down to 1,000 feet before they broke cloud.\n\nTangmere stayed with the bombers all the way, saw just a few fighters, but as they seemed disinclined to come close there were no combats. Of the Cover Wing, 452 Squadron had one aircraft damaged by two cannon shells from a quick diving pass by a 109 and he had to return home wounded. As the Squadron headed back at 29,000 feet they were continually sniped at by 109s and two pilots were lost, claimed by JG2, and killed. 485 claimed one fighter destroyed and another probable. 485 also lost a pilot to JG2 on the way back, but pilots claimed 1-1-1 during several combats. 602 Squadron had a fight but neither side scored any decisive hits. Paddy Finucane claimed the destroyed, while he and Truscott also claimed a probable each, the damaged being upgraded.\n\nThe Poles from Northolt were stepped up from 22\u201327,000 feet and upon crossing into France a red star shell burst near their formation and five minutes later some fifteen 109s dived on them before splitting into two groups, one climbing the other diving. 308 Squadron followed the climbing bunch but to no avail. One pilot went down on the diving lot and claimed one destroyed. 306 Squadron, when attacked, went into a defensive circle and one pilot shot down a 109 that pulled right across him. The three squadrons had become split up due to the cloud and the third unit, 315, did not get into the action. The claim by 306 was made by S\/Ldr Stanislaw Skalski.\n\nThe lion's share of the combats went to the Hornchurch squadrons, up at between 28\u201332,000 feet. 611 Squadron had a fight above Poperinghe with ten Me109s and chased them off, but 403's Canadians, in the same area, claimed 4-1-2 for the loss of one pilot, then shot down a fifth over the Channel. The lost pilot became a prisoner. Another pilot, P\/O N. R. D. Dick, who claimed three victories (but may have only been credited with two), was himself hit over the sea and had to bale out but was rescued. He was shot down by Oblt. Harry Koch of JG26, his seventh victory. Norman Dick's report:\n\n'I was Yellow 4, 403 (Canadian) Squadron, on circus 81. When at 26,000 ft North of St. Omer I sighted 15\/20 e\/a heading N\/W below at 15,000 ft and Squadron Commander ordered us to attack. Whilst diving I saw an Me109F attacking Yellow 3 from behind and fired a 2-second burst at 400 yards range, but missed and e\/a took evasive action by half-rolling to port. I was flying then at 24,000 ft in a northern direction and made a sharp right-hand climbing turn and pulled up. I then saw 3 Me109Fs in line abreast above flying east at 26,000 ft. I fired a 7-second burst from 250 yards range at centre one and thick black smoke poured from its belly\n\n'I saw tracers strike cockpit and fuselage, a further 2-second burst was then given at 75 yards range and e\/a blew up and spun down vertically in flames.\n\n'The other two e\/a then dived away towards the south. I was then alone and could see none of our aircraft and was about to turn for home when I sighted 6 Me109s in sun, 2,000 ft above me at 24,000 ft flying N\/W in loose formation. I made for cloud cover and when making the coast near Gravelines I saw a Spitfire at 1,000 ft above me at approx. 18,000 ft being attacked from rear quarter starboard side by one Me109F.\n\n'I pulled my nose up and fired a 4-second burst into his belly at 150 yards range. Shortly after, black smoke and flames came from his belly and he was last seen diving to starboard with flames coming from his belly. I then saw another e\/a below at 15,000 ft and used up the rest of my ammunition with a 2-second burst at 350 yards range, but did not see result, although I think I hit him.\n\n'During this time I was attacked on port and starboard side by 2 e\/a. My starboard wing tip was struck by 3-cannon shells and broke off. The port wing was also hit by cannon. On making a left-hand turn I found a cannon shell had struck the base of my control column, rendering my right aileron useless and being unable to straighten out I used heavy right rudder to pull her up.\n\n'When at 6,000 ft I see-sawed for cloud cover and was again attacked from astern. The radiator panel was hit and also my reflector sight and the cockpit filled with smoke. I yanked the emergency cockpit cover, which blew off. On my port side I saw another Me109F 1,000 yards away about to attack. I went down in a slow left-hand dive and lost 3,000 ft. As I recovered from the dive, I saw e\/a turn for France. I levelled out and found engine failing, so I used the hand pump and injected fuel to keep going. When at 2,500 ft over Channel I found myself losing control and on sighting the Cliffs of Dover I realised I could not make land, and jettisoned my helmet.\n\n'From 2,500 to 2,000 ft I called Mayday on button 'D'; and at 1,800 ft, baled out clear from port side of aircraft. My parachute opened easily. Whilst floating down I inflated my Mae West. On the way down I lost one flying boot and my revolver. As my feet touched the water, I tried to release the parachute, but I missed hitting the release. I was dragged 2 or 4 feet below the surface and then managed to release myself.\n\n'I pulled the Dinghy towards me and partially inflated it by giving one full turn, then being exhausted I hung on to the dinghy and when on top of a high wave I saw 6\/7 Spitfires orbiting me and also a Rescue Boat approaching which reached me about 10 minutes later.'\n\nThe pilots of 603 Squadron found twenty Me109s heading in their direction and one section was detached to engage, while the rest kept cover at 30,000 feet. Flight Lieutenant Scott-Malden destroyed one, Sgt D. F. Ruchwaldy another, while others claimed two probables and a damaged for no loss. This was Desmond Ruchwaldy's second victory, having bagged his first three days earlier. By the end of 1941 he would have achieved a score of 2-2-3, and later, with 129 Squadron in 1943 brought his total to 7-3-6, having been awarded in the meantime, the DFM and then the DFC. Flying Mustangs in 1944 he shot down a number of V1 flying-bombs. Sadly he was killed in a flying accident two weeks after VE-Day. 609 Squadron damaged two 109s but lost one Spitfire. The Belgian, Vicki Ortmans, came down in the sea but was rescued later.\n\nTotal victory claims for this operation was ten destroyed, six probables and eight damaged, for the loss of four pilots and seven fighters. Adolf Galland had scored his seventy-ninth kill and Hptm. Siefert his eighteenth, but JG26 had suffered casualties. Two 5th Staffel pilots were shot down and killed, one baling out but opening his parachute while going down too fast, snapped his harness and he fell to his death. A 3rd Staffel pilot also went into the Channel after the fight with Kenley Wing. JG2 claimed a total of nine Spitfires. Among the claimants, Ltn. Erich Rudorffer got three, bringing his total to thirty-four, and Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz two more bringing his war total to twenty-one. Someone also claimed a Blenheim but none were lost.\n\n**Circus No.82 \u2013 19 August**\n\nThis late afternoon mission was to attack the marshalling yards at Hazebrouck with six Blenheims of 107 Squadron making up the raiding party. North Weald was to fly Close Escort, Northolt the Cover Wing, with Tangmere and Hornchurch giving Target Support. Withdrawal Cover Wing would be provided by Biggin Hill. The morning cloud had gone leaving a clear sky over France, the sun making a slight ground haze, otherwise visibility was excellent.\n\nWith a successful RV over Southend at 1800 hours, the bombers were releasing their bombs thirty-four minutes later from 12,000 feet. A number of direct hits were recorded leaving much smoke while buildings to the north and south were seen to be hit. Flak scored hits on four bombers but they all got back.\n\nFighters that attacked the main formation on the way out were engaged by 71 Squadron that claimed two damaged, but one Eagle pilot was shot down into the sea. He baled out but was not rescued; the body of P\/O V. W. Olsen eventually being washed ashore on the coast of Holland some weeks later. Treble-Two Squadron, the middle squadron, was also attacked and although one pilot claimed a probable, a Czech pilot, Sgt R. Pt\u00e1\u010dek, was shot down by Johannes Schmid of JG26 (victory number twenty-four) and baled out.\n\nRudolf Pt\u00e1\u010dek had just been firing into a 109 that had begun to trail smoke when he was hit from behind. He brought his crippled Spitfire down to crash-land with a dead engine near Rubrouck, north-east of St Omer. Setting his Spitfire on fire, he headed away but on looking back he saw the fire had gone out. Before he could go back, two German soldiers turned up. Moving away, he was taken in hand by some Frenchmen, and he later met the nurse who had helped Douglas Bader to get away from the hospital in St Omer. Being able to speak fluent French, the Czech had no trouble buying a train ticket to Lille, then went to an address he had been given during an escape lecture back in England. This became the start of his trek south and he was back home via Spain and Gibraltar by 5 January 1942. Sadly he was shot down again in March of that year and did not survive.\n\nTreble-One Squadron also engaged 109s, claimed two but lost three pilots and had another wounded at the hands of JG26. One pilot was killed and two taken prisoner. 111's CO, S\/Ldr J. S. McLean who made the claims, was 29-years-old and a pre-war pilot. In September he would lead the North Weald Wing. He retired from the RAF as a Group Captain OBE DFC on 19 August 1960, exactly 19 years after this action. The Wing Leader, J. W. Gillan DFC AFC, also put in a claim for another 109 destroyed. John Gillan was famous for a record-breaking flight in a Hurricane on 10 February 1938. Having flown from Northolt to Turnhouse (Edinburgh) he refuelled before heading back to Northolt, this leg taking just forty-eight minutes, helped by a tail wind! His squadron (111) had been the first to be equipped with the Hawker Hurricane.\n\nThe three Polish squadrons of the Northolt Wing crossed the French coast at Mardyck at 1826, stepped up from 17 to 21,000 feet. Eight Me109s dived on 308 Squadron from out of the sun some fifteen miles inland but no engagement developed. Not long afterwards twelve Me109s made a similar warlike approach but again nothing happened. On the way back Sgt E. Watolski's Spitfire developed engine trouble and he was forced to take to his parachute, coming down in the Channel, but was rescued.\n\nA similar scenario met 306 Squadron, with 109s approaching but making no real attempt to engage. 315, the high squadron, was also attacked by four Me109s some ten miles inland, but this time the Polish pilots got stuck in and claimed three 109s shot down but one of their own failed to return. The missing pilot was Sgt A. Pietrasiak who was officially with 308 Squadron although, for this operation, it has to be assumed he was flying with 315.\n\nAdolf Pietrasiak baled out of his crippled Spitfire, hurting his leg in the process. He was lucky enough to get help from the Resistance although he had to remain with a doctor for a while who attended his injured leg. Eventually he was passed along, ending up in Gibraltar where he was sent back to England by ship early in January 1942. He later received the DFM (as well as the Polish _Virtuti Militari_ ) and was Mentioned in Despatches. He had been in action during the French campaign and his companions confirmed that he shot down a 109 before he was himself brought down, this bringing his score to seven destroyed and four others shared. Unhappily, just like Pt\u00e1\u010dek of 222 Squadron above, (whom he met soon after being picked up by the Resistance) he was to lose his life later in the war (29 Nov 1943), having returned to 308 Squadron.\n\nTangmere's Target Support squadrons headed out over Beachy Head and into France at Hardelot, starting with 41 Squadron at 25,000 feet with 610 and 616 above. All three saw 109s but no serious encounters ensued although 616 became split up as some Messerschmitts dived at them. Seven Spitfires came home in formation while the other five returned separately, having claimed just one 109 as damaged.\n\nUp at between 28\u201330,000 feet the Hornchurch Wing had encountered four 109s but they evaded two sections of 603 Squadron that tried to engage them. Various other enemy fighters were seen but all evaded contact for the most part, but eventually 611 Squadron got into a scrap and claimed two 109s for no loss. One of the 109s might have been that flown by Obfw. Willy Vierling, who is known to have crashed from high altitude over Cassel.\n\nThe Biggin Hill Wing arrived in the target area at 1834 to provide withdrawal cover. They saw many 109s but had no engagements.\n\nThe final tally was seven 109s destroyed, one probable and five damaged for the loss of eight RAF pilots missing. JG26 and JG2 had been involved in these actions and apart from Oblt. Schmid's victory over Pt\u00e1\u010dek of 222 Squadron, Galland had claimed one of 111's losses, and Hptm. Siefert another. Galland had also shot down the 71 Squadron Hurricane, and these two kills made it three for the day, and brought his personal score to eighty-one. Leutnant Sternberg had shot down one of the Polish losses. JG2 made a modest single claim for a Spitfire and two of their 109s sustained slight combat damage.\n\nThe two operations this day had cost the RAF thirteen Spitfires, two Hurricanes with another seven Spitfires damaged. This resulted in the loss of five pilots killed, four taken prisoner, two missing but evading capture, two wounded, and three more rescued from the sea after baling out. A revised claim total by Fighter Command raised the estimated German losses to twenty destroyed, eight probables and one damaged. German losses amounted to five pilots killed.\n\n* * *\n\nWhile this latter operation was in progress, further north Blenheims of 114 Squadron had left West Raynham to fly an anti-shipping strike, and were intercepted by Me110s from 5.\/ZG76, whose pilots shot down three of them. Of the nine aircrew, only one survived as a prisoner. Among the losses was 114's CO, W\/Cdr J. L. Nicol DSO.\n\nThe next day, the 20th, this German Staffel ran into Spitfires that were escorting Blenheims in an attack on Alkmaar Aerodrome, Holland. The 110s were also covered by Me109s and the German aircraft came onto the scene as the RAF formation was heading away from the Dutch coast. In a fight that ensued, 66 Squadron lost two Spitfires to ZG76, one pilot killed, one taken prisoner. A pilot of 1.Erg\/JG3 also claimed a Spitfire. ZG76 lost one aircraft to 152 Squadron, and 56 Squadron also claimed a 110. 66 Squadron claimed a 109 probably destroyed, and the CO, S\/Ldr A. S. Forbes DFC claimed a 109 with Sgt Green.\n\nAlso on the 20th, JG2 claimed two Spitfires during two engagements, but Fighter Command suffered no casualties.\n\n**Circus No.83 \u2013 21 August**\n\nCircus 83 called for six Blenheims of 88 Squadron to bomb the chemical works at Chocques this Thursday morning, the bombers taking off from Swanton Morley at 0805. Kenley got the Close Escort job, with Biggin Hill flying Cover. Target Support went to eight squadrons from Hornchurch, North Weald and Tangmere, while Rear Support was given to Northolt.\n\nOnce over France the main formation ran into 10\/10ths cloud at 5,000 feet with just a strip of clear weather along the coast. Because of this cloud the bombers were unable to locate the target so they released their bombs on a 'last resort target' \u2013 the railway lines between St Omer and Watten. Five of the Blenheims let go 20 x 250lb bombs but results went unobserved. The sixth bomber brought its load home.\n\nThe RV with the bombers over Manston did not go to plan, 71 Squadron arriving a couple of minutes late and failed to link up, so were ordered to go home. 485 and 602 did meet up and proceeded with the escort and although half a dozen 109s tried to engage, they failed. Up above the Biggin Hill pilots saw the 109s too but there was no reason to go down to engage as the 109s began to depart. Only 92 Squadron became embroiled, having become separated from the Wing during a turn near Gris Nez and were heavily engaged by more 109s out over the coast. Although one 109 was probably destroyed, the Wing lost one pilot from 92 and one from 609. Another pilot from 92, P\/O P. L. I. Archer, received leg wounds during the combat but got home.\n\nThe Hornchurch squadrons were stepped up to 28,000 feet and went into French airspace at 0911 but although they spotted the bombers, they became separated as they tangled with some 109s. 403 Squadron had a brief encounter that cost them one aircraft, its pilot becoming a PoW. 603 became embroiled with four more and had one pilot wounded. He baled out off the English coast and was rescued by two soldiers, all three then being picked up by a launch. Heading back, the rest of the Wing got into scraps, probably destroyed one fighter and damaged five others. JG26 claimed four Spitfires, JG2 another four.\n\n**Circus No.84 \u2013 21 August**\n\nCircus 83 had been laid on as a diversion to Circus 84, but as it didn't start till six bombers of 18 Squadron took off at 1330, the term 'diversion' seems to have been a misnomer. Despite, or perhaps because, the morning raid on Chocques had failed, this sortie was to be a return to that target.\n\nNorth Weald got the Close Escort, with Cover from Hornchurch. Target Support went to Biggin, Tangmere and Northolt, while a 12 Group Wing patrolled south of Gravelines. One bomber aborted the raid and again the target was not reached due to cloud. However, 109s were once more able to get above the raiders and Oblt. Kurt Ebersberger's 4th Staffel of JG26 came down on the Tangmere Wing and shot down four Spitfires in quick succession, the Staffelf\u00fchrer claiming one for his eleventh kill.\n\nFlight Lieutenant D. Crowley-Milling DFC was one of the four lost, coming down near Ergny. Two others were brought down to become prisoners, the fourth being killed. Denis Crowley-Milling had been with Douglas Bader's 242 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, but he was another of those fortunate enough to evade long enough to be picked up by the French Resistance and eventually he returned home by ship having travelled to Spain and then Gibraltar from whence he sailed on 1 December 1941, arriving in Plymouth on the 21st. He went on to receive a Bar to his DFC and, in 1943, the DSO. He later became Air Marshal Sir Denis KBE.\n\nThe Canadians of 403, on their second operation of the day, were also hit badly, losing their CO, S\/Ldr B. G. Morris RAF, and an American, Sgt C. E. McDonald, who both become prisoners. 92 Squadron also lost a pilot as he took off for this operation from Biggin Hill. In other operations this day, 130 Squadron lost two pilots to Erg.\/JG53, one killed and one taken prisoner, during an anti-shipping mission, and 65 lost two more on a fighter sweep, again one killed and one prisoner.\n\nTotal RAF losses for the day were six killed, five taken prisoner, three wounded and one missing but evading. Fourteen fighter aircraft were lost with two more with Cat.2 damage, while total claims only amounted to one destroyed, ten probables and six damaged. JG26 had one pilot killed, Fw. Adolf Garbe, who, having baled out, had his parachute catch on the 109's tail, dragging him to his death. JG26 claimed a total of ten Spitfires, while JG2 put in claims for another eight for a single loss.\n\n* * *\n\nThere were no Circuses on the 22nd but the Tangmere Wing flew a Sweep and destroyed two 109s, one falling to F\/Lt C. F. Gray DFC, a very experienced New Zealand pilot, his score being around eighteen at the time. The other victory went to F\/Lt C. R. Bush, another New Zealand Battle of Britain veteran.\n\nColin Gray was a guest this day with 41 Squadron, as he recalls in his book _Spitfire Patrol_ (Hutchinson, 1990). He was with 1 Squadron who had arrived at Tangmere in July. On this day... 'I managed to persuade Nobby Fee, who commanded a Spitfire squadron in the Wing, to let me go on a sweep with them. Nobby's squadron, No.41, was led on this occasion by Douglas Bader's replacement9 and I flew as his number two for a sweep of the Le Havre area. The weather was fine but quite cloudy, and at 10,000 feet east of Le Havre Aerodrome we came across a Messerschmitt 109 diving down through the clouds. He did not seem to have seen us, so I followed him down and pumped in all my ammunition at fairly close range. His starboard wheel and flap fell down amidst much smoke, and the aircraft finally crashed on the southern boundary of the airfield just as three other 109s were taking off. Having no ammunition left and as the rest of the squadron had disappeared in the clouds, I did not stay around to see what they were after.'\n\nI once spent a morning with Colin Gray at his New Zealand home, and having some years earlier done the same in England with his wartime pal, Al Deere, I felt honoured to have met and spent time with both these famous Kiwi aces.\n\nIt is thought that Circus operations had been planned for 23 August, but in the event flying was virtually non-existent due to adverse weather, until the 27th. However, on the 26th a late-evening raid on St Omer's satellite airfield at Wizernes was intercepted by JG2 and Hptm. Schmid claimed one Blenheim shot down, although it returned badly shot up but safe. Not so fortunate were Blenheims that were on anti-shipping sorties to Heligoland. Six failed to return, either shot down by flak or by Me109s of JG52.\n\nFurther south Fighter Command flew sweeps and anti-E-boat missions, losing two pilots killed.\n\n**Circus No.87 \u2013 26 August**\n\nThere was obviously some reason that the next two Circus operations were put in motion out of numerical sequence because of some delay in mounting Nos.85 and 86, which will be seen below for 27 August. Circus 87 called for six Blenheims of 18 Squadron to attack St Omer airfield at Longuenesse on this late Tuesday afternoon.\n\nRendezvous was made over Hastings, at 1800 hours with the Kenley Wing as Close Escort and Biggin Hill giving cover. Target Support this time was by Tangmere and Hornchurch, while Northolt took on Forward Support and North Weald Rear Support. Weather over the target was clear of cloud giving good visibility, although cloud tended to be worse further inland.\n\nBombs went down on the airfield at 1821, hits being seen on buildings and across the main landing ground, plus a hit on a camouflaged hut. The bombers experienced no opposition, although AA fire did probe for the bombers on the way back, and three 109s were also encountered. All three came in but only the last of them scored hits on one Blenheim which hit the turret as well as damaging the hydraulic landing gear. None of the crew was injured. This damaged bomber had to make a crash-landing at base.\n\nThe Kenley squadrons became split up and 602 remained over mid-Channel before returning to base. In this case 485 Squadron took the close escort position and although several 109s came up behind, no attacks developed. 452 Squadron saw the bulk of enemy fighters \u2013 they estimated around fifty \u2013 and had some action in which two 109s were claimed destroyed, one falling to F\/Lt A. G. Douglas, a Welshman flying with this Australian outfit. It was his first victory. 'Pinky' Douglas had been in the RAF since 1928 but had not managed to get himself posted onto operations till early 1941. After gaining a second victory in September he took command of 403 Squadron RCAF and in 1942, 401 Squadron RCAF.\n\nBiggin Hill had encounters with 109s, trying unsuccessfully to chase several. Somehow in the m\u00eal\u00e9e one pilot of 92 Squadron was shot down and killed. All the other squadrons had some sort of encounter with 109s, 603 Squadron making a couple of claims, while 611 Squadron also lost a pilot. Oberleutnant Joachim M\u00fcncheberg of 7.\/JG26 claimed one for his forty-ninth victory. Sergeant A. E. Gray ended up in Stalag Luft VI. JG2 pilots put in claims for four Spitfires, Josef Wurmheller being credited with his twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth kills. The Circus Report noted a total of 1-2-3 claims but was later adjusted to 3-1-2, for the loss of two pilots.\n\n**Circus No.85 \u2013 27 August**\n\nNumber 11 Group cut the orders for this operation on 22 August and as it was set to be a diversion for Circus 86, the delay in putting this into motion is why both are out of chronological sequence. Blenheim crews of 139 Squadron were briefed to RV over Rye to start the diversion, and although cloudless over the town and the sea, the bombers became split up. Three arrived at 0645, some thirty minutes before the appointed time and three minutes later a fourth bomber arrived, followed soon afterwards by a fifth. Instead of remaining over Rye in order to meet their escort, the five bombers headed north-east towards Manston via Hawkinge.\n\nTheir Escort Wing, from Northolt, arrived a few minutes before the arranged time and, unable to find the Blenheims, continued to search around until 0705, when they headed out towards France. Over the Channel they saw Spitfires returning from France and turned to give cover, but this allowed two Me109s to make a sudden attack. Pilot Officer Z. Radomski was hit and badly wounded, being forced to make a crash-landing at Deal, losing an arm.\n\nKenley, the Cover Wing, arrived over Rye and saw a number of aircraft but no bombers, so headed south in the hope of picking up the main formation somewhere near the target. Instead they became embroiled in a number of dogfights with, some estimated, to have involved up to 100 enemy fighters. 452 Squadron claimed three 109s for no loss; Finucane claiming two. In fact P\/O R. E. Thorold-Smith was also credited with two, so the Aussie squadron may have claimed four in total. 485 was continually dived upon by some thirty Me109s from the sun and in taking evasive action became split up. Heading for home the pilots were still harassed by 109s but they only lost one pilot, who baled out too low near Calais and was killed.\n\nTarget Support \u2013 Tangmere \u2013 had its three squadrons stepped up to 21,000 feet but by the time they crossed into France the top squadron was at 30,000. All pilots saw 109s but other than 41 Squadron, who claimed one destroyed and two damaged, there were no engagements.\n\nAnother 41 Squadron pilot, having also become separated was flying back across the Channel and saw eight 109s circling, apparently awaiting a chance to pounce on any returning aircraft from the Circus. He stayed well clear.\n\nThe Biggin Hill Wing arrived over Hazebrouck at 0658, the top squadron flying at 27,000 feet. 609 Squadron called in the warning that 109s were in the sun and the Wing Leader, Micky Robinson, turned the aircraft towards them. Many 109s could be seen in twos and fours but none came near enough to engage, presumably because the German pilots saw no bombers below, so decided there was no real need to attack the Spitfires. However, on the way out, some 109s were seen below and in an attack two were destroyed, one by Robinson and one by his French wingman, Lt. M. Choron FFAF (Free French Air Force).\n\nAccording to Group Captain Bouchier he was unable to understand, given the good weather conditions, just why the bombers and fighters did not meet up as planned. However, he thought the overall objective was achieved in that enemy fighter reaction seemed quite extensive. Reports he had seen indicated some fifty Me109s had taken to the air and by the time Circus 86 arrived on the scene (see below) enemy activity had subsided to inland patrols.\n\nIt appears seven Me109s were claimed destroyed, with another probable and three more damaged. However, six fighter pilots had failed to return and one had been wounded. One more had baled out and been rescued from the Channel. JG26 claimed seven Spitfires and had one 109 shot down but its pilot survived, while an Erg\u00e4nzungruppe 109 also crashed, again its pilot surviving.\n\n**Circus No.86 \u2013 27 August**\n\nThe idea of this operation, which had been scheduled to take place fifty-five minutes after Circus 85, was to get German fighters into the air and as they began to land back at their bases, this second Circus would be heading out, its target being the Lille Power Station. For this, twelve Blenheims were chosen, but in the event only nine from 18 Squadron flew the mission.\n\nVariable cloud from the French coast to some eight miles inland, where it cleared gave excellent visibility, some Spitfire pilots reporting that they could see Lille as they crossed into France. Rendezvous was successful with the Escort Wing (North Weald) and the Cover Wing (Hornchurch) while a 12 Group Wing acted as Rear Support.\n\nThe day continued to be jinxed as this time, instead of crossing into France where planned, the bombers went in west of Dunkirk, missing the spot by twenty miles. What made it worse was that the bomber crews did not realise their navigation error and carried on as if they had crossed east of Dunkirk. Subsequent course changes brought them to St Omer from where they headed south and then east to B\u00e9thune, and finally south again to the Albert-Amiens area. By this time they realised that they were some fifty miles south-south-west of Lille and so had to head north-west, crossing out of France near Boulogne where flak damaged four of the Blenheims. As an effort it was totally wasted.\n\nThe Close Escort Wing stayed with the bombers but fared worse. 402 Squadron lost a pilot as they headed out to sea on the way home, while another pilot collided with a Spitfire of 222 Squadron. The Canadian baled out and was not recovered, while the body of the New Zealander from 222 was later washed ashore at Dunkirk where he was buried.\n\nThe Eagle pilots of 71 Squadron fought off eight Me109s and claimed two destroyed the victorious pilot being wounded in the right leg and foot. This was P\/O W. R. Dunn who had thus become the first ace of the Eagle Squadron as a result of his double victory. 403 Squadron apparently confirmed Bill Dunn's claims, reporting seeing both 109 pilots baling out. We have read about him earlier.\n\nHornchurch pilots flew their escort cover but no doubt due to conflicting courses 611 became separated and linked up with four of 54 Squadron to fly towards Lille as briefed. Meantime, 403 Squadron who found itself over Albert-Amiens saw thirty 109s at 24,000 feet which were attacked by 603 Squadron, claiming two probables and one damaged. One of the successful pilots in 603 was Flight Lieutenant Wilfred Duncan Smith DFC who had only recently joined this Squadron from 611. Today had been his second trip with 603, the first had been the previous evening. After the mix-up with the bombers, 603 was attacked by several 109s. Duncan Smith reported:\n\n'I was flying as Green 1 in Squadron formation when on the return journey north of Amiens we encountered upwards of 6 e\/a at our own height. I turned starboard to engage these and attacked an e\/a from head-on but saw no results. I then turned to port and dived to engage an Me109E which was manoeuvring to fire at a Spitfire. I opened fire at 150 yards on a fine quarter closing to 100 yards astern. Pieces flew off the e\/a and it looked like Perspex splinters whereupon e\/a rolled over to port and dived away steeply. I turned to follow but lost sight of him. After this I climbed up and rejoined the bomber escort which was some distance to the west.'\n\nSmith's wingman, Flying Officer R. V. L. Griffiths saw his leader going after the 109 but also spotted a 109F about to attack him. He pulled up under this fighter and fired, blowing away part of the fuselage beneath the cockpit area. The 109 curved down and away. Now alone, Griffiths flew to catch the bombers but then saw two 109s with the same idea. He opened fire on the leading German but his fire hit the second one! Seeing bits fly off its starboard wing, it half-rolled and went down. Back at base he claimed a probable and a damaged.\n\nSmith did not mention in his report that after his engagement he had been badly hit but managed to get back across the Channel to make an emergency landing at RAF Manston. On his approach he ran out of fuel but managed to glide down and land. He would end the war with a DSO DFC and Bar, with a score of almost twenty kills.\n\nThe Wing Leader, F. S. Stapleton, and a pilot of 403, saw three 109s shoot down a Spitfire from 611 Squadron. These 109s were then engaged and two were shot down east of Boulogne, before heading out over the Channel. The WingCo claimed one.\n\nWith the 12 Group Wing not seeing any appreciable action, the fight ended and the bombers and remaining fighters headed for home. Four Me109s had been claimed destroyed, with two more probably so with another damaged. The RAF had four pilots missing, but two others returned wounded, while another had also been wounded and forced to bale out over the sea. Luckily he was rescued.\n\nJG2 had been in action against this Circus, JG26 having been on the ground after the earlier fight. They claimed a modest three victories but recorded no losses \u2013 at least no pilots killed. Two of the victorious pilots had been Josef Wurmheller, who reported his thirtieth victory, while Ltn. Egon Mayer scored his twenty-first. Known as 'Sepp', Wurmheller was about to receive the Knight's Cross following his twenty-fourth victory. He would later command JG2's Third Gruppe and score over 100 kills before colliding with his wingman shortly after D-Day 1944. Mayer had received his Knight's Cross four days earlier, 23 August 1941. Oberleutnant M\u00fcncheberg attained his forty-ninth victory, downing Sergeant A. E. Grey of 611, who became a prisoner.\n\nThis day's actions had cost the RAF eleven Spitfires and two Hurricanes, with another six fighters damaged. Seven fighter pilots had died, three taken prisoner and a further four wounded. An amended claim figure against the Luftwaffe was 11-3-5.\n\n* * *\n\nA Rhubarb sortie on the 28th cost 41 Squadron the life of one of its pilots near Le Havre, while a night strike against Morlaix airfield resulted in one Hurricane pilot of 247 Squadron being brought down and taken captive. Who shot down the 41 Squadron machine is unclear but 4.(Eins)\/JFS 5 managed to claim nine Spitfires! One pilot reported three shot down, and two other pilots claimed two each.\n\nEighteen Blenheims of 21, 88 and 226 Squadrons were sent to bomb shipping in Rotterdam docks from low level. While at least two large cargo ships were hit and some damage was done to dock installations, seven bombers failed to return \u2013 mostly to AA fire - while another crashed on take off. In all, sixteen aircrew died, and five became prisoners. Leutnant Hans M\u00f6ller of 6.\/JG53, claimed two (perhaps three) of the Blenheims, and this Staffel also claimed two others. No doubt there was some interesting discussions between the Luftwaffe and the flak units!\n\n12 Group of Fighter Command made a sweep to Rotterdam but were bounced by other Me109s of 6.\/JG 53, losing three Spitfires. Two pilots of 19 Squadron were shot down, including the CO, S\/Ldr W. J. Lawson DFC, who was killed, and F\/Lt W. Cunningham DFC, taken prisoner. Both were Battle of Britain veterans. 152 Squadron also had a pilot brought down and captured.\n\n**Circus No.88 \u2013 29 August**\n\nThis operation began just after 0600, with six Blenheims of 139 Squadron assigned to bomb the marshalling yards at Hazebrouck \u2013 the 11th time this target had been chosen for attention. There was lots of cloud over the Channel, up to 20,000 feet, but this was much less over France and totally clear over the target. Kenley got the Close Escort position, Northolt's Poles the Cover slot, while Support Wings were provided by Hornchurch, Biggin and North Weald. Just one Hornchurch squadron \u2013 402 \u2013 got the Rear Support task.\n\nThe bombing operation was knocked into a cocked hat as the Blenheims reached the French coast at Hardelot. Heavy flak was experienced and the leading bomber was hit which damaged the bomb-release gear causing most of his ordnance to drop. This was taken by the other crews to mean they should drop too. The farce was followed by all six bombers heading for the target where the leader's one remaining bomb was dropped into the yards. Fortunately all the bombers returned safely.\n\nThe Escort Wing took the bombers in and although several 109s were sighted none attacked until they were coming back. One section of 485 Squadron became involved with three 109s, one of which was destroyed and another claimed as a probable. One Australian was hit and baled out, but was rescued. 602 had a brief exchange with several 109s short of the target but neither side did any damage to the other.\n\nThe Poles were attacked by up to thirty Me109s and as dogfights developed the Wing became broken up. 306 Squadron claimed one destroyed, and despite reporting later that they were heavily outnumbered, 308 Squadron damaged three, while being chased almost to mid-Channel. 315 Squadron claimed two destroyed. Each squadron lost a pilot of whom, two were killed and one became a prisoner. 306 lost its CO, S\/Ldr J. S\u0142o\u0144ski-Ostoja \u2013 killed. He was 31-years-old and had fought in Poland before escaping to England via Romania and France. He had taken command of 306 just fifteen days earlier, following the loss of S\/Ldr Jerzy Zaremba on 14 August.\n\nHornchurch squadrons became separated because the top lot, 54 Squadron, were in thick cloud at 30,000 feet and decided to abort. 603 and 611 continued on into clear sky and had some 109s shadowing them for a while. Then a pair of 109s attacked 603, but were driven away.\n\nThe Biggin Hill boys also became separated while climbing through cloud, and radio silence had to be broken once over the French coast in order to get everyone back together. Heading for the target, the Spitfires arrived three minutes before the bombers and German vapour trails could be seen above at 35,000 feet while more 109s were located down-sun of the target. Once battle commenced, the Wing claimed 3-2-4 for the loss of one pilot of 72 Squadron who was killed.\n\nThe North Weald Wing had been briefed to patrol five miles out from Dunkirk above 20,000 feet but due to cloud were forced to fly well below this height. Twenty Me109s came down and attacked 111 Squadron, being led by the Wing Leader, W\/Cdr J. W. Gillan. He was hit in the first pass and went down. His death was later confirmed. He was 34-years-old. Initially Gillan came over the R\/T to confirm he had been hit but was alright. Presumably he was either hit again, or the damage to his Spitfire was more severe than he imagined. The other squadrons were not engaged, although 222 Squadron was requested to give cover to an ASR Lysander, sent out to look for Gillan. Landing back at Manston the squadron refuelled and went out again, but found no sign of the missing wing leader. However, 402 Squadron RCAF on Rear Support also assisted an ASR launch to a downed pilot who was rescued but this was Sgt L. P. Griffiths of 485 Squadron.\n\nTotal enemy fighters claimed came to seven destroyed, three probables and eight damaged for the loss of five pilots missing. JG26 and JG2 had been engaged with this Circus. JG26 claimed three Spitfires one being M\u00fcncheberg's fiftieth victory. Oberleutnant Hermann Seegatz had shot down the 72 Squadron machine for his fifteenth kill. However, they lost Uffz. Werner Hetzel who crashed near Hazebrouck. JG2 initially claimed four Spitfires but later one was accredited to M\u00fcncheberg. JG26, that had started to convert to the new Focke-Wulf 190 fighters, suffered the first loss of a 190. Leutnant Otto Schenk was hit by German AA fire and was killed crashing on the beach south of Dunkirk. Josef Wurmheller of JG2 scored his thirty-first victory.\n\nPeter G\u00f6ring, nephew of Hermann G\u00f6ring, crash-landed his Me109 near Hazebrouck the following day and was slightly injured. He was on a combat sortie but it is not clear if his fighter had been damaged by enemy action, suffered engine trouble, or if it was merely pilot error.\n\nOn other operations, 19 Squadron was out searching for their CO (Lawson), lost off the Dutch coast the previous day, in case he had come down and was in a dinghy. They did not find him but enemy fighters found the Spitfires off Goeree Island. Amazingly the Me110s of 6.\/ZG 76 shot down four, all the pilots being killed. One of the German pilots was Ltn. Martin Drewes, who became a successful night-fighter pilot, receiving the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves. The 110 pilots in fact claimed seven in all. All the RAF pilots could claim were four 110s damaged.\n\n**Circus No.89**\n\nThis was an operation that was planned and scheduled for 30 August but in the event did not take place. Twelve Blenheims were to have attacked the shipyards at Le Trait, after making a rendezvous over Biggin Hill at 0700, but it was then cancelled.\n\n**Circus No.90 \u2013 31 August**\n\nThe day began with 10 Group conducting a Gudgeon operation, a force of Blenheims attacking Lannion Aerodrome, escorted by five fighter squadrons. The raid was completed without interference from the Germans.\n\nCircus 90 was virtually a repeat of the abandoned Circus 85 on this Sunday morning, with six Blenheims alerted. In reality this was mounted as a diversion for Circus 91. The target was to have been the St Omer airfield, 21 and 82 Squadrons providing the bombers. They crossed out over Rye at two minutes past midday and were crossing the French coast twelve minutes later but cloud prevented the target being seen so the bombs went down on the railway line just west of Audruicq, SE of Calais. Heavy flak accompanied the bombers but all returned unharmed.\n\nThe Northolt Wing escorted the bombers, although one 306 machine had a problem and had to be escorted back by two other Spitfires. The Kenley Cover Wing saw a few 109s but had no engagement, but Tangmere's 616 Squadron had a scrap with some 109s, Sgt R. D. Bowen claiming one and damaging a second. Biggin Hill, one of the Support Wings, also became embroiled in a fight and 92 Squadron claimed one destroyed (by the CO, S\/Ldr Jamie Rankin), with another probable plus two damaged. One of the latter went to P\/O N. F. Duke. It was Neville Duke's last combat action over France for he was soon posted to North Africa where he would become one of the most successful fighter pilots operating over the desert and later Italy, receiving the DSO, DFC and two Bars.\n\nTotal claims for this operation came to a modest 1-2-3 for no loss.\n\n**Circus No.91 \u2013 31 August**\n\nTwelve Blenheims, six each from 18 and 114 Squadrons, headed off at 1153 hours, their target being the power station at Lille, so virtually another repeat, this time of Circus 86. Only eleven aircraft bombed the target, but cloud prevented seeing any results. The twelfth bomber had R\/T trouble so it bombed the railway line east of Dunkirk. No hostile fighters were seen but heavy flak was encountered.\n\nThe Escort Wing (North Weald), Cover Wing (Hornchurch) and Rear Support (12 Group Wing) all saw enemy fighters but no real engagements occurred, although one pilot of 54 Squadron became separated and was spotted being chased by six 109s. This was F\/Lt R. Mottram, whose death was later confirmed. Roy Mottram was another very experienced fighter pilot, having flown with 92 Squadron during the Battle of Britain.\n\nLeutnant Jakob Augustin of 8.\/JG 2 claimed his fourth victory two miles north of Merville at 1434 (German time). Mottram is buried in Merville's Communal Cemetery.\n\n**Circus No.92 \u2013 31 August**\n\nThis raid was put on because Circus 89 had been cancelled, so the target was again the shipyards at Le Trait. It was also the third Circus of the day. Six Blenheims of 139 Squadron took off at 1755 hours and met up with their escort over Beachy Head at 1830, this being the Tangmere Wing that provided the fighters. It was a pretty low-key affair for other than Tangmere's 41, 129 and 616 Squadrons, only two Kenley Wing Squadrons (452 and 602) went too, as Rear Support.\n\nThe formation found haze right up to 8\/10,000 feet although it was clear above, and the bombers had no problem in finding the target at 1906 which they bombed from 8,500 feet. Two of the 24 x 250lb bombs were seen to explode on a shed by the slipway, four more overshooting but the remainder fell on the western slipway. Only one lone Me109 was seen, flying west at 8,000 feet.\n\nOther 109s were seen by the escorts and during a short engagement, one Spitfire went down in flames and in return, one 109 was claimed as a probable. The downed pilot was Sgt P. Hind of 41 Squadron, who was destined to die in captivity on 8 July 1942. Other than this, the operation was quiet and all the bombers returned.\n\nThe 109s of JG2 had intercepted this raid and claimed two Spitfires. Major Walter Oesau claimed his over Rouen at 2007 for his ninety-sixth victory, and Fw. G\u00fcnther Seeger claimed his one minute later for kill number sixteen. Oesau had already received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords after eighty victories. He had flown in Spain, over England and would shortly leave for the Russian Front. In mid-1943 he would return to the west to command JG2 and later JG1. He was the third German fighter pilot to attain 100 victories but would die in combat in May 1944. Seeger had been flying with JG2 since early 1940, and would see later action over the Mediterranean with JG53. He ended the war with the Knight's Cross and fifty-six victories.\n\n9. Wing Commander H. de C. A. Woodhouse AFC.\n_Chapter 9_\n\n**Thoughts from the Top**\n\nCircus Operations during August 1941 had been much reduced from July, mainly due to the adverse weather conditions prevailing, yet Fighter Command had flown a recorded 321 operational missions, claimed 100 German fighters destroyed, and lost seventy-two pilots, either killed, missing or taken prisoner. Don Caldwell, historian of JG26's operations, noted ninety-eight Spitfires and ten Hurricanes lost, (although a more accurate count makes these totals 105 and 18) while JG26 and JG2 had lost thirty of its fighter aircraft \u2013 to all causes. Therefore, if the RAF and Fighter Command were still hopeful that a war of attrition would eventually pay dividends, things were not going exactly to plan.\n\nAlthough the RAF fighter pilots were claiming Me109s shot down in good numbers, the intelligence network must have been receiving information indicating a much lower loss rate by the Germans via 'Y' Service interceptions. This Service monitored German radio traffic and the Bletchley Park people would be de-coding this traffic almost on a daily basis. German quartermasters needed to replace lost aeroplanes for their units and if the unit requested replacements, it suggested that either that unit had lost the same number of machines on operations, had others lost in flying accidents, or had aircraft sufficiently damaged to warrant replacement. Certainly, a significant contradiction existed if RAF pilots claimed twenty Me109s destroyed in one day while German quartermasters were only requesting four replacements.\n\nIn his book ' _Years of Command_ ', Sholto Douglas referred to the book by Denis Richards and Hillary St. George Saunders, ' _Royal Air Force 1939\u201345_ '), which stated:\n\n'The objectives were manifold. To destroy enemy machines in the air or on the ground. To shoot up and bomb airfield buildings, ports and communications \u2013 all these were within their province. The chief motive underlying the offensive, however, was not so much to cause direct damage as to force the enemy to maintain strong air defences in the West. At the same time powerful moral advantages would accrue as our pilots grew accustomed to exercising the initiative, and as the enemy became thoroughly imbued with the idea of our superiority in the air'. Sholto Douglas subsequently remarked:\n\n'But in speaking of the results achieved during the first six months \u2013 up until the time of the German attack on Russia on the 22nd of June 1941 \u2013 Richards is too inclined to pour cold water on what we were able to achieve, and I cannot agree with his reference to \"... the completely ineffective mass sweeps at high level by fighters without bombers\". This is overlooking altogether the tremendous value of the experience alone which was gained by our pilots. All too often the need for a severely objective approach by the official historians is inclined to smother features of what is being written about in a fashion that drains the events of their true colour.\n\n'In his official history of this period, Basil Collier speaks about the sorties flown by our early and smaller, formations of fighters accompanying our bombers in their attacks on targets just across the Channel. \"... but neither their value as targets nor the readiness of the Germans to lose fighters in defending them could be defined in terms convincing to all schools of thought.\" he wrote. And regarding the lack of any outstanding results from these early sweeps, Collier states: \"The operations failed, therefore, to achieve their primary object, though the part they played in developing qualities which stood our pilots in good stead on other occasions deserved to be remembered.\" These pallid summaries of their work must strike some lively sparks in the minds of those pilots who actually flew on the operations.\n\n'Of the overall results of the offensive sweeps up to June 1941, Collier concludes: \"On any reckoning the operations cannot, therefore, be judged more than moderately successful if a quantitative standard is to be applied to them. On the other hand, their moral value is generally held to have been substantial.\" That is such a cursory dismissal of the work of our air crews. From the point of view of Fighter Command these were major fighter operations, involving at times large numbers of squadrons, and if the results were not spectacular, by a \"quantitative standard\" they were nevertheless very effective.\n\n'After the Germans attacked Russia in June 1941, it became of even more importance that we should keep up the pressure over France and so prevent the enemy from moving their Air Force in any large numbers to the Eastern front. At about this time, Trafford Leigh-Mallory wrote to me pointing out that our casualties in the sweeps were becoming such that he doubted if they were paying off. After thinking that over I wrote to the C.A.S. [Portal] and asked for a review of the whole idea of our operations out over France. As had happened when I had expressed my doubts before, the answer that I got from Portal was a balanced and wise appreciation of the whole situation. The important point that he emphasised was one that Leigh-Mallory and I had already discussed: the value of our offensive operations in helping the Russians.'\n\n* * *\n\nWriting about Fighter Command in his book of that title, Peter Barnes, who retired from the RAF as Air Marshal Sir Peter Wykeham KCB DSO OBE DFC AFC, records the following, and includes how Fighter and Bomber Commands initially had differing views of the Circus idea following the first two:\n\n'There was an immediate inquest at Bentley Priory, and the Prime Minister asked for a report. Apart from the detailed misfortune of the missed rendezvous, it appeared, to everyone's embarrassment, that Bomber and Fighter Commands had different ideas regarding the intention of the \"Circus\" operations. The former had given the objective as:\n\n'... to deny the enemy the use of the nearer ports as invasion bases or as bases for his coastwise shipping and to put him on the defensive in the narrow waters. The secondary aims are to force him to put his fighters into the air and to accept combat under conditions tactically favourable to our fighters.\n\n'Fighter Command, however, understood that the purpose was:\n\n\"To bomb selected targets, and to take advantage of the enemy's reaction to shoot down his fighters under conditions favourable to our own fighters.\"\n\n'Neither was quite compatible,' continued Sir Peter, 'with that of the Air Ministry, which was that the bombers were only needed to make the enemy come up and fight and that after dropping their bombs they should get away at once. C-in-C Bomber Command [ACM Sir Richard Peirse], however, did not take kindly to the idea that his squadrons should be used as bait, and a meeting had to be held between the two Commands before an agreed intention could be produced, as follows:\n\n'The object of these attacks is to force the enemy to give battle under conditions tactically favourable to our fighters. In order to compel him to do so, the bombers must cause sufficient damage to make it impossible for him to ignore then and refuse to fight on our terms.'\n\nThis at least cleared the decks, but it appears that everyone was assuming that the Germans would allow the RAF to 'fight on their terms' or 'on conditions favourable to the RAF'. These phrases that became well used were more or less wishful thinking. As the Germans found in 1940, close escort sorties handicapped fighters whilst they defended their bombers over England. So too the close escort squadrons of Fighter Command over France, which forced extra cover squadrons to be employed to cover them. Squadrons given the close escort role knew how restricted it made them. In any event, the Germans dictated their own conditions of combat and if a situation did not look favourable, they simply refused to engage.\n\n* * *\n\nBy mid-1941, Sholto Douglas at Fighter Command HQ must have been getting some intelligence reports on his desk and must have been wondering as to actual German losses, but he could probably guess. Yet he was still endorsing recommendations for decorations and awards to his pilots for achieving victories in air combat. On 29 August he wrote to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfred Freeman KCB DSO DFC and Air Ministry:\n\nMy Dear.............,\n\n  1. I want you to consider the future policy during the next few weeks in regard to our offensive sweeps.\n\n  2. We started these sweeps of course, some time before Russia entered the war - in fact we made our first sweep last January. But we have intensified our efforts very considerably since the entry of Russia into the war, with the object of doing our bit towards drawing the pressure off the Russian Front. At present, Leigh-Mallory and I aim at having two large sweeps on every fine day. This, I think, is about the most that the squadrons of No.11 Group can do over a prolonged period of fine weather.\n\n  3. When we first started these sweeps they were a spectacular success. For the first few weeks we shot down considerably more enemy fighters than we lost ourselves. The enemy became largely demoralised and we were right on top. This position, however, has changed during the past month or six weeks. Whether or not the enemy has increased the number of his fighters in occupied territory I cannot say. The Intelligence people say that he has not done so. My 'fighter boys' say that he has. The reason for the discrepancy however, may well lie in the fact that, taught by experience, the enemy has vastly improved his RDF [radar] warning system of reporting the movements of our fighters after they come into visual contact with his observer corps. We hear the German fighters receiving their instructions in the air about the approach of our main force when the latter are still over British territory. In the course of the battle over occupied territory we frequently hear the enemy giving accurate information to his fighters about the whereabouts and direction of flight of our own patrols. (Sometimes on the other hand, his information is wide of the mark.) The consequence of this improvement of the enemy's defence organisation is that a large proportion of his fighters are brought into the battle from the right direction and at the right height to give him the greatest possible tactical advantage. This does not happen of course on every occasion but it does quite frequently.\n\n  4. Then again, there is no doubt that the quality of the German pilots has improved. The majority of German fighter pilots that my 'fighter boys' were meeting three months ago were described by the latter as 'OTU boys'. The 'OTU boys' however, have now learnt a good deal in the hard school of experience, while there is no doubt \u2013 in fact this is confirmed by Intelligence Reports \u2013 that the enemy has drafted a considerable number of experienced pilots into fighter units in the Pas de Calais area, either from the Russian Front, or more probably, by combing his training schools in Germany.\n\n  5. The result of all this is that the battle is now much more even. On occasions we have lost more of our fighters than we have shot down of the enemy's \u2013 on one or two occasions, very considerably more. The balance is probably still slightly in our favour, but it is, as I say, more or less even. In fact, considered purely from the parochial Fighter Command point of view, this particular view has ceased to pay dividends.\n\n  6. What I want to ask you, therefore, is how long ought we to continue with these offensive sweeps to give the fighter boys a 'jolly' and some practical training, and to keep their spirits and morale up? It will also annoy the Hun and keep him on his toes if he never knows when we are going to put over another fighter sweep. At the present time, however, he knows that, if the day is fine enough, we are bound to do a sweep sooner or later.\n\n  7. How long then should this policy of intensive sweeps continue? I take it that the answer is \u2013 at the present rate until the Russian Front stabilises and the intensity of the warfare dies down on the Eastern Front. If this is the answer, then I would likewise have the best possible estimate of when that will be (one sees such varying estimates). Since my plans with regard to the change round of squadrons, replacements of aircraft and pilots from O.T.U.'s, reequipment of squadrons, etc., depend to some extent on the answer to this question.\n\n  8. I am afraid this is rather a rambling letter, but what it boils down to is this: -\n\n---\n\n(a) | Do you agree that, if and when the Russian Front stabilises, we should reduce the intensity of our offensive operations over occupied territory? We should of course continue periodical sweeps at irregular intervals, but we should definitely 'take as much of the war as we wish'.\n\n(b) | If the answer to this question is 'yes', can I have the best estimate available of when that date will be?\n\n  9. There is one more point about these sweeps which has to do with our conversation yesterday. We quite definitely find that, if we send fighters alone to do a sweep, or fighters with a small force of bombers (e.g. three Blenheims), the Hun will not come in and 'mix it'. He hangs about high up round the outskirts of the fighter wings, waiting for some inexperienced pilot to straggle, or for 'flak' to cause the formation to open out. He then takes a quick dive at any of our fighters which have become isolated; has one squirt, and goes diving straight on down to the ground. In this way he is able to pick off a proportion of our fighters with very small chance of loss to himself. It is only if we can hit him really hard in a place that he values (e.g. the Lille Steel Works) with an adequate bomber force that he will really come in and 'mix it', and try to shoot the bombers down or spoil their bombing run. It is only when he does this that our fighter wings have a chance of getting a really good bag. That is why I am so keen for you to let me have a sufficient number of bombers, preferably heavy bombers, for these offensive sweeps. If you don't, then I am afraid that, so long as the enemy adopts his present tactics, our own losses and the enemy's, are liable to be much on a par, and at times we shall lose more than we shall shoot down.\n\n  10. I should be grateful therefore if you would consider this aspect of the problem also and let me have your views.\n\nYours,\n\n(Sholto Douglas)\n\nWhile this letter was being digested by the Air Ministry, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, who had obviously received a copy, quickly put pen to paper and became busily engaged in writing a Memorandum to all who mattered, about his Group's results and his thoughts about the possible future conduct of Circus operations. This was sent out on 5 September 1941.\n\nMEMORANDUM BY AOC NO. 11 GROUP ON THE RESULTS OF \"CIRCUS\" OPERATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THEIR FUTURE CONDUCT.\n\n  1. Since it became possible to start regular offensive sweeps over FRANCE on the 14th June 1941, we have averaged two to one aircraft destroyed in our favour \u2013 without taking into account \"probably destroyed\" and \"damaged\" enemy aircraft, the fate of which cannot always be known over enemy territory. The average was as much as three to one after the first month of the fighting, but as the German warning system improved and his fighter pilots became more experienced and were reinforced, the fighting has become more even.\n\n  2. It varies tremendously. Sometimes we have good days, such as Saturday, August 16th, when we destroyed 16 Germans for a loss of three of our own [ _author's note: actual German losses were one and five damaged_ ]. On the other hand we have bad days, such as the 21st August, when we had eleven aircraft missing [ _author's note: fourteen lost in total_ ] and only destroyed one German aircraft, though in addition ten \"probables\" were accounted for, confirmation being difficult owing to thick cloud.\n\n  3. In fact sometimes we manage to surprise the Germans, or bring them to action on satisfactory terms, and sometimes we ourselves are outnumbered locally or have a number of our Fighters picked off without a general engagement. The occasions on which we do less well are usually when the conditions are cloudy, and visibility poor in haze, which have enabled concentrations of enemy Fighters to jump smaller numbers of our own Fighters who temporarily have lost touch with their Squadrons or Wings.\n\n  4. During August, 101 German Fighters have been destroyed, and 48 probably destroyed for the loss of 74 British fighter pilots. Over the period of these \"CIRCUS\" operations from the 14th June to the 3rd September, 437 German Fighters have been destroyed, and 182 probably destroyed, for the loss of 194 British fighter pilots.\n\n  5. As regards the Bomber aspect of these operations, targets have been attacked mainly in the LILLE-LENS-BETHUNE industrial area. During 72 \"Circuses\" actually carried out since June 14th, 520 Bombers in all have been escorted, (BLENHEIMS, STIRLINGS and HAMPDENS). A total of 10 have been lost due to flak, and only 4 due to Fighter action. It is therefore evident that from the Bomber point of view the results of the \"Circuses\" have been highly satisfactory, and that under present circumstances we can take Bombers in to the limit of the Fighter endurance with comparative impunity from enemy Fighter attack whenever the weather is suitable.\n\n  6. With the assumption of the offensive we have thus gained the initiative over the Germans, with the result that they are forced to maintain a high state of \"Readiness\" while we are free to give our Squadrons adequate time for meals, recreation and rest. This, coupled with a reluctance to come and \"mix it\" with British Squadrons, even though the Germans are fighting over their own territory, must have a very adverse morale effect on their Fighter pilots. To maintain this morale ascendency is vitally important when considering future air operations, for it seems highly improbable that the German Fighter force will ever be prepared to fight harder over ENGLAND than they are now doing over FRANCE.\n\n  7. In considering \"Circus\" operations and the results obtained in air fighting, there are certain tactical factors to be borne in mind:-\n\n---\n\n(a) | The 109F has a slightly superior performance to the SPITFIRE V, which in itself confers a certain tactical advantage on the Germans.\n\n(b) | As we are the attackers, the Germans know approximately where we are going and the height band within which our Bombers operate. They are thus able to climb away \u2013 to return to the attack at moments favourable to themselves, and come in only when they have attained an initial height and sun advantage.\n\n(c) | In all operations the moment comes when the formation has to turn for home. Owing to the fact that we are operating to the limit of our petrol endurance when over the LILLE-BETHUNE area, it means that on the homeward journey there is little scope for our Fighters to fight the Germans freely and follow them down, as they invariably break off and dive away south-east if they are not in a favourable position.\n\n(d) | In raids of deep penetration the chief fighting usually takes place near the target area and continues right back to the coast. Experience now shows that for these raids the proportion of Fighters accompanying the Bombers and their Escort Wing and Escort Cover Wing needs to be increased and other Wings should be located at a favourable point on the return route. In raids of shallower penetration, however, it pays to give a number of Wings _carte blanche_ to operate in loose formation with freedom to seek out and destroy the enemy.\n\n(e) | Diversions, e.g. a raid of shallow penetration carried out some 45 minutes before the main raid of deeper penetration, are very successful in that the enemy Fighters are caught refuelling, but they must not be practised too regularly or these will lose their effect.\n\n(f) | Generally the sun is unfavourable to us during the whole of the morning, as it is difficult to withdraw other than down-sun and that, of course, is the most favourable condition of light from the German's point of view.\n\n(g) | Any of our aircraft which are damaged by a lucky shot, (such as a bullet in the glycol tank from a long-range shot), are likely to be missing as we are fighting over enemy territory.\n\n(h) | The German warning system has improved out of all recognition since these operations commenced. In the earlier operations our formations were generally only reported as they crossed the coast, and the German Fighters were slow to take the air. Now German Fighter formations are generally plotted over the ST OMER, LILLE and BETHUNE areas as soon as our Fighters leave the English Coast, and the fact that they are plotted means that they have already gained a considerable amount of height. It is, therefore, more difficult for our formations to surprise the Germans and easier for them to surprise us.\n\n(i) | The Germans have withdrawn their Fighters from the coastal region and operate from such areas as AMIENS, ALBERT, LILLE, BRUGES and ST OMER. The only coastal aerodromes regularly in operation are LE CROTOY and LE TREPORT, and this has made it impossible for us to jump on his Fighters in the neighbourhood of their aerodromes as we could have done had they continued to occupy the group of aerodromes in the north-west corner of the PAS DE CALAIS.\n\n(j) | One of the chief essentials in these operations is for our formations not to be surprised. I consider that at present the training of the Wings is of a high standard, and it is a rare thing for any of the formations to be surprised in good weather conditions. However, it is far more difficult to avoid surprise, especially when the penetration is deep, and it is under these conditions that comparatively heavy casualties have occasionally been suffered.\n\n(k) | Failure of the Bombers to navigate direct to the target or to make the French landfalls selected on the outward and homeward journeys at points comparatively free from Flak, to bomb without waste of time, or to keep good formation and withdraw in cohesion have usually proved expensive to the bombers themselves, and to the Fighter escort who are thereby placed at a disadvantage. I do not wish to stress this point, for generally the co-operation of the Bombers has been good and they are occasionally embarrassed by unskilled leaders and crews. I would point out, however, that a small formation of Heavy Bombers is a far more powerful striking force, uses far less trained pilots, and is far easier to protect than a larger formation of BLENHEIMS.\n\n  8. This brings me to a point of the first importance, i.e. that unless the Bombers hit hard and well, the enemy Fighters are not forced to risk a direct and determined attack upon them in the face of the escort \u2013 but content themselves with pecking at our Fighters under conditions when, as para. 7 above shows, are generally advantageous to the enemy. There have been periods during these \"Circus\" operations when our Bombers have placed heavy loads on the right spot to such effect that the Germans have been forced to go for the Bombers themselves; on subsequent Circuses we have profited accordingly by this pinning down of German Fighters to medium altitude fighting at the bomber height. On the other hand, a succession of light or abortive bombings encourages the enemy to ignore the Bombers and to fight only when with tactical advantage it suits him to do so. Under these latter conditions the dispatch of some 200 of our Fighters over enemy territory is not so profitable.\n\n  9. Despite the difficulties referred to in paras. 7 and 8 above, however, experience has shown that we can take in and escort in comparative safety sufficiently powerful forces of bombers to the important industrial objectives in the LILLE \u2013 LENS \u2013 BETHUNE industrial area to compel the enemy to attack them and so give our Fighters the opportunity to fight on satisfactory terms and consequently with favourable results.\n\nI realise that the general policy of the Air Council is to utilise every available heavy Bomber for bombing GERMANY rather than occupied territory, but I believe that the diversion of even say 5% of our heavy Bombers to regular \"Circus\" operations would enable our Fighters to maintain such a high toll of enemy Fighter pilots as to embarrass his Eastern Operations.\n\n  10. It is for consideration to what extent pressure should be maintained on the enemy by the use of \"Circuses\". It is clear that as the position becomes stabilized on the Eastern front it will no longer be essential to maintain our daily pressure, but it will still be necessary to maintain our present air superiority and moral ascendency in Northern France and to continue to use this fighting for the training of our Squadrons which have such a high proportion of new pilots. Moreover, it is desirable to maintain such degree of disorganisation of industry as has been attained in Northern France, and to pin down the enemy Fighter Units. Further, I believe that occasional offensive operations will be essential during the winter months in order to maintain the morale of our own squadrons, as any fighting force tends to deteriorate if subjected to long periods of inactivity.\n\nRECOMMENDATIONS\n\n  11. I therefore wish to make the following recommendations: -\n\n(i) | \"Circus\" operations should be continued but the best opportunities of weather only should be taken \u2013 rather than maintaining daily attacks.\n\n---|---\n\n(ii) | The aim of \"Circus\" operations being to relieve enemy air pressure on the Eastern Front, the immediate object should remain that of exploiting to the full enemy reaction to the attack of his industrial targets by destroying enemy Fighters in Northern France.\n\n(iii) | To enable our Fighters to engage the enemy on satisfactory terms, a Squadron of Heavy Bombers \u2013 either STIRLINGS or HAMPDENS should be allotted until the end of October, 1941, and trained in formation bombing for regular day operations on \"Circuses\". After October bombers should be made available during spells of fine weather.\n\n(iv) | If possible these Bombers should be camouflaged in day colours to reduce their vulnerability to Flak.\n\n(v) | The efforts of these heavy Bombers should be supplemented by the use or substitution of HURRICANE Bombers on certain classes of \"Circus\" operations.\n\n(vi) | When this force of heavy Bombers trained for day operations begins to make their weight felt, they will force the enemy to the regular attack of the Bombers, as opposed to their present tendency to ignore the Bombers and to pick at our Fighters from a height advantage. \"Circuses\" should then alternate raids of deep and lesser penetration. The raids of deep penetration to areas such as LILLE \u2013 BETHUNE are essential to force the enemy into action, but these raids do not produce the most satisfactory conditions for our Fighters to engage and destroy the enemy. Raids of shallow penetration are, therefore, also necessary to enable our Fighters to engage the enemy on favourable terms.\n\n(vii) | Continued use should be made of both deliberate heavy attacks as well as diversionary attacks in the ROUEN \u2013 HAVRE area in order to force the enemy to spread out his Fighter forces and thus make it more difficult for him to concentrate his forces in the North-East areas of France.\n\n  12. In conclusion, to summarise my views, I submit that Circus Operations have enabled us to gain the initiative, to develop our offensive tactics, and to take Bombers with comparative impunity, in daylight, to the attack of important objectives heavily defended by enemy fighters. They have enabled us to train Squadrons which have been full of untried pilots to fight under difficult circumstances, and by so doing to train Flight Commanders and Wing Leaders of the future. In addition, they have been the means of disrupting war industry in an area where production is important to the Germans, and as a result of these operations since 14th June of this year, we have destroyed over enemy country 437 German aircraft compared to the loss of 194 of our own pilots. In achieving these results we have established very marked moral ascendency over the German Air Force in that part of France close to England.\n\nI consider that it is important to carry on with this work which has been to our own benefit and the detriment of the Germans.\n\nT Leigh-Mallory  \nAir Vice-Marshal  \nAir Officer Commanding No.11 Group\n\n11G\/S.500\/13\/Ops.\n\n5th September 1941.\n\nDouglas mentions this memo in his memoirs: 'Leigh-Mallory doubted whether the sweeps were really paying their way.' so he was fully aware of the problems. In one of his despatches, Douglas wrote:\n\n'It would be unwise to attach too much importance to statistics showing the claims made and losses suffered by our fighters month-by-month throughout the offensive. The experience of two world wars shows that in large-scale offensive operations the claims to the destruction of enemy aircraft made by pilots, however honestly made and carefully scrutinised, are a most inaccurate guide to true situations.'\n\n* * *\n\nA few days later Sholto Douglas received the following letter from Leigh-Mallory:\n\nSECRET\n\nFrom HQ 11 Group, Uxbridge. 11 September 1941\n\nDear Sholto,\n\n  1. Thank you very much for your D.O. letter of the 7th September regarding the results of \"Circuses\" and other offensive operations. I am very glad to learn that the losses inflicted on the German Fighters during \"Circuses\" and the continued threat to objectives in Northern France have combined to effect in our favour the German Fighter dispositions on the Eastern Front and in the Mediterranean.\n\n  2. At my request Gibbs10 came up to see you yesterday and you were good enough to let him see the draft Chief of Staff paper to which you refer. I understand that in that draft the figures for \"Circuses\" gains and losses from January until the present date are given as: -\n\nOur Fighter losses | 273\n\n---|---\n\nOur Bomber losses | 39\n\nEnemy aircraft destroyed | 460\n\nMy own figures for that period are: -\n\nOur Fighters lost | 218\n\n---|---\n\nOur Bombers lost | 15 (of which only 5 are due to fighters)\n\nEnemy fighters destroyed | 444\n\n(& e\/fighter prob destroyed | 192\n\n(& e\/fighter prob damaged) | 240\n\n  3. The differences would appear to be accounted for by the fact that you include under the heading of \"Circus\", the losses (and the small gains) incurred in operations such as the attacks on Brest and La Pallice, and certain bomber operations off the German coast.\n\n  4. I realise that you wish to present to the Chief of Staff a picture of the results of the day offensive operations as a whole, but I feel that incorrect deductions may arise from the inclusion of such operations under \"Circuses\" \u2013 which are conducted under entirely different conditions. \"Circus\" is the code name - I might almost say trade mark, which I do not want to see infringed \u2013 of the combined Fighter and Bomber offensive operations which have been carried out between Cherbourg and Lille. Operations in this area are carried out within normal Fighter range, and we employ very powerful forces \u2013 up to 200 or more fighters at a time. Consequently, this class of operation is entirely different from those carried out in other areas at long range with comparatively small fighter escort, and in fact these latter operations are not described as \"Circuses\" in operational orders.\n\n  5. No doubt, even using your present draft figures for \"Circus\" gains and losses, you would be able to get a recommendation from the Chief of Staff for the modified continuance of the daylight offensive \u2013 but I feel that an incorrect picture of what can be done within normal fighter range will be given unless you show separately the results of the \"true\" \"Circuses\", and once wrong impressions have taken root the results on future direction are incalculable.\n\n  6. I hope you will agree with the foregoing, and be able to amend your draft paper accordingly, though I know what a nuisance it is to make yet another alteration to a paper which is about to be approved.\n\nT Leigh-Mallory\n\nAfter the war, the RAF would learn that between 14 June and 3 September 1941, the Germans had only lost 128 fighters with a further 76 damaged. Not all of these casualties were caused simply as a result of Circus operations.\n\n* * *\n\nSholto Douglas presented the following policy directive three days later:\n\nFrom: | Headquarters, Fighter Command\n\n---|---\n\nTo: | HQ 10 Group, 11 Group and 12 Group\n\n|\n\nCopies to HQ No.2 Group and Air Ministry (DF. Ops)\n\nDate: | 14th September 1941.\n\nCIRCUS OPERATIONS \u2013 OFFENSIVE POLICY\n\n  1. In forwarding a copy of the memorandum by AOC No.11 Group on the subject of \"Circus\" Operations (circulated under No.11 Group ref 110\/S500\/13\/Ops, dated 5th September), I have informed Air Ministry that I am in agreement with the memorandum. In addition I have stressed the need for co-operation of a squadron of heavy bombers in these offensive operations.\n\n  2. I now wish to modify the policy which we have been applying to these Circus operations in the light of results which they have recently shown. We can no longer expect to maintain the highly satisfactory results achieved in our earlier offensive operations, since the enemy is prepared to engage us in strength only when conditions are in his favour. His defensive organisation, particularly in the Pas de Calais area, is much improved and he maintains there a large concentration of fighters at a high state of readiness.\n\n  3. It is my intention therefore that we should scale down the effort slightly against the Pas de Calais area by restricting our major efforts in that area to days in which the weather conditions are particularly in our favour. At the same time, in order to keep the enemy's fighter forces in this area at a high state of readiness we should, when occasion is suitable, make feint attacks using fighters only and without necessarily penetrating enemy territory.\n\n  4. It is my intention also to endeavour by undertaking more widespread attacks against suitable fringe targets along the broader front from Texel to Brest, to force the enemy to disperse the fighter force now concentrated in the Pas de Calais area. Such attacks involve less penetration and meet with less opposition than those against the Lille district, and can be undertaken in smaller strength and in less favourable weather.\n\n  5. The spreading of attacks along the broader front of the enemy's coast will call for effective coordination between the Bomber and Fighter Groups concerned and I look to the Fighter Group Commanders to ensure that the necessary inter-Group liaison is maintained. A memorandum FC.\/S.24752\/Air dated 14th September has already been issued on the organisation of these operations.\n\n  6. In regard to the employment of Hurricane bombers, which is mentioned in this memorandum, I do not at present intend these aircraft to be employed as bombers on raids of deep penetration against land targets. Supplies of aircraft of this type will be limited, at least for a time, and their primary task at first will be to engage enemy shipping in the Straits area. There is however, no objection to their use against suitable land targets in open country near the coast such as enemy aerodromes, provided they are not employed to the detriment of their more important anti-shipping role.\n\nW S Douglas\n\nThe following extract from the memorandum Sholto Douglas refers to, was originated and sent out by Air Vice-Marshal Douglas Evill CB DSC AFC, at Fighter Command:\n\nMETHOD\n\n  7. Land Targets \u2013 The areas of Fighter Group responsibility for the support of bomber attacks of targets on land will be as defined in paras. 14, 15 and 16 below, extending to the depth of fighter range.\n\n  8. The daylight attack by bombers of land targets is the task primarily of No.2 Group; targets will therefore be selected as a rule by AOC No.2 Group and details of each operation will be decided in consultation between AOC No.2 Group and the Fighter Group Commander concerned. On occasions heavy bombers of No.5 Group or other Bomber Groups may be allotted for this purpose, and similar arrangements will then be made between the two Group Commanders concerned.11\n\n  9. The greater part of the offensive effort is likely to be directed against the Pas de Calais area, but it is most desirable that we should exercise and so wear down the enemy's defences along the whole of his front within range of our fighters between Den Helder and Brest. It is thus most essential to maintain a measure of co-ordination between the various operations undertaken.\n\n  10. It has been decided, therefore, that the Bomber sorties which No.2 Group can make available for these operations will be divided as between Fighter Groups concerned, and a basis that will be notified from time to time by this Headquarters after consultation with Bomber Command.\n\n  11. Fighter Groups are to ensure that fighter operations are carefully co-ordinated as between Groups.\n\n  12. Shipping Targets \u2013 Responsibility for attacking shipping with bomber or torpedo aircraft in the Channel and the North Sea has been allotted as follows:\n\n---\n\n(a) | Between Cherbourg and Wilhelmshaven \u2013 No.2 Group.\n\n(b) | In other areas \u2013 Coastal Command.\n\n  13. In the case of attacks on shipping in the area west of 1\u00ba W. (Pte. De Barfleur incl.) fighter protection and support for bombers of No.2 Group and of Coastal Command will be provided by No.10 Group. Squadrons available in No.10 Group for this purpose will include one squadron of long-range fighters in the Portreath Sector.\n\n  14. In the case of attacks on shipping in waters between 1\u00ba W. and Ostend, fighter protection will be provided by No.11 Group. To this end No.2 Group maintain one squadron at Manston, of which one flight is maintained at 30 minutes notice for attacks on enemy shipping. A further striking force of one Blenheim squadron is maintained by No.2 Group standing by at one hour's notice to reinforce the Manston squadron when necessary. No.11 Group is to maintain one fighter squadron at Manston available to give close support to these bombers and is to provide adequate escort and cover according to the situation.\n\n  15. It is the intention in the near future to relieve No.2 Group of the task of engaging shipping in the vicinity of the Straits [of Dover] by employing two Hurricane bomber squadrons in Fighter Command against shipping targets in the area Manston \u2013 Ostend \u2013 Dieppe \u2013 Beachy Head; the bombers of No.2 Group will then only operate against shipping in the Straits if specially called upon by No.11 Group to do so.12\n\n  16. In the case of attacks on shipping in the Coastal waters between Texel and Ostend, fighter protection and support for bombers of No.2 Group will be provided by No.12 Group. To this end No.12 Group includes one squadron of long-range fighters in the Coltishall Sector and will give further support as necessary.\n\n  17. The areas of responsibility allocated to Fighter Groups as above are not intended to be rigid, but close liaison must be maintained between Fighter Groups regarding any operations encroaching upon other Group's areas.\n\n* * *\n\nA few days later, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief-Marshal Sir Charles Portal KCB DSO MC, produced a memorandum covering aspects of the RAF's daylight raids over France.\n\nMOST SECRET\n\nDAYLIGHT RAIDS ON NORTHERN FRANCE AND GERMANY\n\nMemorandum by the Chief of the Air Staff\n\n  1. The Chiefs of Staff at their 302nd meeting held on the 29th August discussed our losses in daylight operations over Northern France and Germany and invited the Air Staff to circulate a short note giving a comparison of daylight sorties flown and casualties sustained in relation to the military value of the attacks delivered.\n\n  2. The raids may be divided into two phases; a non-intensive phase from 5th January to 15th June, and an intensive phase from 15th June to 31st August. The following table gives the figures called for: - | 5th Jan-15th Jun | 15th Jun-31 Aug\n\n---|---|---\n\nFIGHTER COMMAND | |\n\nOffensive Sorties | 2,411 | 13,896\n\nAircraft Lost | 40 | 265\n\nProportion of losses to sorties | 1.6% | 1.9%\n\nThese figures show that the casualty rate in Fighter Command is very low. The bomber casualties, although proportionately heavier, have not been serious except in certain particularly hazardous operations such as the daylight raids on Brest, Rotterdam and the Cologne Power Stations. It may be added that over the whole period the strength of Fighter Command has increased by nearly 50% and the strength of the bomber group principally concerned has remained practically constant.\n\n  3. Comparable figures for German effort and losses are not available but the following table illustrates the positions: - | 5th Jan | 15th Jun | 31st Aug\n\n---|---|---|---\n\nEstablishment of German S\/E [single engine] fighter Units in the West, excluding Reserve Training Units. | 1,027 | 621 | 222\n\n|\n\n5th Jan-15th Jun | 15th Jun-31st Aug\n\n---|---|---\n\nAverage establishment. | 902 | 340\n\nAircraft lost (excluding probables and damaged) | 30 | at least 400\n\n  4. These operations have not succeeded in compelling the withdrawal of short-range fighters from the Eastern Front, principally because the area within range of the fighter escort does not include industrial objectives of vital importance to the enemy's war effort. It is certain that withdrawals of enemy aircraft from the East would follow heavy sustained daylight attacks upon objectives in Germany itself; we have demonstrated our ability to make such attacks deep into enemy territory, but this is beyond the range at which fighter cover can be provided and the losses inevitably incurred have been such as cannot at present be accepted in sustained operations.\n\n  5. The operations have nevertheless, been in other respects highly successful. In particular:\n\n---\n\n(i) | Serious damage has been done to German warships, to MVs in harbour or under construction, and to industrial objectives in France, Belgium and Holland, and NW Germany. In particular, there is evidence that the output from the important coal producing area and steel industries in the Lille-Lens districts has [sic] been considerably reduced by the successful attacks on the principal power stations and plants in this region.\n\n(ii) | Greater losses in aircraft have been imposed on the German fighter force than we have ourselves incurred. There is as yet no sign of a shortage of aircraft, and many enemy pilots probably escaped by parachute. The cumulative effect on German morale is reported, however, to have been considerable, and the morale of our own forces is undoubtedly raised by taking the offensive.\n\n(iii) | The morale of the population in the occupied territories has been sustained.\n\n(iv) | Although the enemy's fighter strength in the west has been greatly reduced, his policy in other theatres has been affected by the necessity of continuing operations on an intensive scale in Western Europe. For example:\n\n|\n\n(a) | Reserve training units have been considerably used in operations in the West; some of these reserve units have belonged to firsttime units operating in the East. This procedure inevitably has the effect of retarding the flow of reserve crews and aircraft.\n\n|\n\n(b) | The existing German fighter forces in the East are known to have proved inadequate, and it has in the Southern sector been found necessary to use fighters from the Italian, Rumanian and Hungarian air forces. Thus even the limited number of fighters retained in the West would have been of substantial importance in the European campaign.\n\n|\n\n(c) | It has not been possible for the Germans to maintain a fighter force in Sicily, in spite of the extreme urgency of providing convoy protection in that area and the number of German fighters in North Africa is barely adequate to the task.\n\n  6. Conclusions\n\n(i) | Daylight bombing of objectives in occupied territory has not been and is not likely to be effective in forcing the enemy to withdraw short-range fighters from the Eastern front.\n\n---|---\n\n(ii) | In spite of this our offensive operations have shown a very substantial balance of advantage in our favour.\n\n(iii) | The balance of fighter losses has recently tended to become less favourable to us than at the beginning of the intensive phase of operations, and weather conditions are also likely to be less favourable as winter approaches. It is, however, essential that daylight offensive operations should be maintained, although at a reduced level. In addition to the advantages enumerated in para.5, the continuance of these operations is necessary in order to keep the morale ascendency we now hold to provide fighting experience for the pilots of Fighter Command.\n\n18th September 1941\n\n* * *\n\nThere are any number of interesting extracts mentioned in these letters, memos and reports. Not the least, of course, is the assumption that Leigh-Mallory was either not privy to intelligence coming from the 'Y' Service or was ignoring it. And perhaps even Sholto Douglas was not given access to it either. If they had they would presumably not have been happy to record the number of enemy fighters being claimed as destroyed.\n\nPerhaps it was only those Air Force personnel above the position of Command and Group leaders who knew the facts. Churchill and the Chief of the Air Staff must have had some knowledge that, according to intercepted radio traffic, German fighter units were not requesting from the quartermasters anything like the number of aircraft needed to replace the reported losses indicated by Fighter Command claims.\n\nIf this is true it must have had something to do with maintaining morale amongst the RAF's fighter pilots. These pilots could see the empty chairs at meal times after operations and it would have been soul-destroying to think that the Germans were not suffering the losses that the claims indicated. Bomber crews of 2 Group might also be peeved if they thought that being bait for enemy fighters, with all the strain and danger that that entailed, was not producing some sort of positive result against the German Air Force.\n\nThere is also the question of decorations for the fighter pilot's efforts. If pilots were not actually inflicting the combat casualties against the Me109s, yet individual pilots were being credited with, quite often, a high number of victories, was it right to give decorations to them? Perhaps again, this was all part of the front to maintain morale in the face of Fighter Command losing more pilots and aeroplanes than the Germans were. Not that there is any question as to the bravery and courage of the RAF fighter pilots. During 1940 many of them had fought themselves to a standstill, not only during the Battle of France, but during the even more important defence of Britain throughout the summer and autumn of that year. Now they were being asked to fly over miles of unforgiving sea, then to fight an enemy that were more than happy to engage but only when in a favourable position. Once battle was joined the fighter pilots had to survive combat with that nagging thought that soon they would have to break away in sufficient time to reach England, with drying fuel tanks and, in all probability, either low or out of ammunition.\n\nYet the thought of those in charge of the 1941 offensive must have been that they were losing more pilots and aircraft than the Germans, and that if they thought all this was of any help in deflecting German efforts on the Russian Front, they must have known it was not. The intelligence boys knew almost exactly what the numbers were and how many Gruppen the Luftwaffe had in France and the Low Countries, and that no units were being withdrawn from the East in order to help the German pilots engaging the RAF's efforts over northern France. However, it was all that could be done. Britain simply did not have the operational strength to do more, and the demands coming from the Mediterranean and North Africa for more and more pilots and planes continued to drain Britain's aircraft industry and training abilities. Unknown to them as September 1941 began, was the fact that before the end of the year, events in the Far East was going to increase the pressure still further on the British fighter force.\n\n10. Group Captain Gerald E. Gibbs MC**, SASO, No.11 Group, Fighter Command.\n\n11. Commanding 2 Group was ACM Sir James Robb GCB KBE DFC AFC. Both he and Gerald Gibbs had been successful fighter pilots during WW1.\n\n12. The two squadrons later employed on such operations would be 607 and 615.\n_Chapter 10_\n\n**September**\n\nWhile all this correspondence was going on, Fighter Command and 2 Group of Bomber Command, continued with the 'season' as it was being called by the fighter pilots.\n\nAs Circus operations continued the RAF was increasingly flying other types of missions. Gudgeon operations had already been in evidence and so were Ramrods and Roadsteads. Ramrods were similar to Circuses, but with the emphasis being on the destruction of a specific target rather than merely putting up a threat to entice German fighters into combat. Roadstead was the name applied to anti-shipping operations. Enemy shipping in the North Sea and the Channel never seemed to slacken despite the efforts of Bomber and Coastal Command to stop them operating. Blenheims suffered more losses in these types of operations than they ever did flying a Circus. Two Hurricane squadrons operating from RAF Manston, 607 and 615, were flying what was called 'Channel Stop' missions, trying literally to stop enemy shipping from operating. They might not suffer the high casualty rate Blenheims did, but their hitting power was a little less, although four 20mm cannon had their effect.\n\nAs the month began the various 11 Group Wing Leaders were:\n\nBiggin Hill | W\/Cdr M. L. Robinson DSO DFC\n\n---|---\n\nKenley | W\/Cdr J. A. Kent DFC AFC\n\nHornchurch | W\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton DFC\n\nTangmere | W\/Cdr H. de C. A. Woodhouse AFC\n\nNorth Weald | W\/Cdr F. V. Beamish DSO DFC\n\nNortholt | W\/Cdr T. H. Rolski VM KW\n\nDuxford (12 Gp) | S\/Ldr R. R. S. Tuck DSO DFC & 2 Bars\n\nThese Wings comprised:\n\nBiggin Hill | 72, 92, 609 Squadrons\n\n---|---\n\nKenley | 452 RAAF, 485 RNZAF, 602 Squadrons\n\nHornchurch | 54, 603, 611 Squadrons\n\nTangmere | 41, 129, 616 Squadrons\n\nNorth Weald | 71, 111, 222, 402 RCAF Squadrons\n\nNortholt | 306, 308, 315 Polish Squadrons\n\nDuxford | 56, 266, 601 Squadrons\n\n10 Group escorted a Roadstead to Cherbourg on the afternoon of the 1st, 118 Squadron losing a pilot. Leutnant Siegfried Schnell of 9.\/JG2 claimed a Blenheim for his forty-seventh victory, although none were lost.\n\nThe next day saw two fairly uneventful fighter sweeps and a Roadstead to Ostend. 452 Squadron escorted the Blenheims on the latter and, as Me109s came in to attack, two pilots engaged them and claimed two shot down, although in the event only one pilot of JG26 was lost.\n\n**Circus No.93 \u2013 4 September**\n\nThe first Circus of the month called for twelve Blenheims to attack the power station at Mazingarbe. North Weald got the Close Escort slot, Biggin the Cover. Target Support went to Kenley and Hornchurch, Forward Support to Northolt and Rear Support, Tangmere. Low cloud over the Channel became hazy over France with just fragments of cloud.\n\nThe bombers, all from 18 Squadron, operated in two boxes of six, and made RV over Manston at 10,000 feet at 1800. Seventeen minutes later they were crossing the French coast at Mardyck and reached Mazingarbe ten minutes after that. Bombs from the first box all overshot, but the second six saw their bombs fall on the Ammonia Plant, on the coking ovens and across the nearby rail line. However, on the way in a single Me109 dived on the rear section near Hazebrouck and opened fire on one which pulled out with black smoke pouring from its starboard engine. It then burst into flames and just before it blew up, one of the crew baled out. The attacking pilot was none other than Adolf Galland who thus achieved his eighty-second victory.\n\nThe Escorts became embroiled in fights with Me109s going to and returning from the target and while 222 Squadron lost two pilots, the Wing claimed 2-3-1 before the 109s broke off. Both NCO pilots ended up 'in the bag'. 111 Squadron also had one pilot forced to bale out over the Channel, but he was later rescued. This was Sgt T. R. Caldwell's second bale out, having done so back on 23 July. Of the three Blenheim crew, only the pilot survived, joining the two fighter pilots in captivity.\n\nThe Biggin Hill Wing was similarly engaged, flying between 17 and 20,000 feet. 92 Squadron lost a Canadian pilot, another prisoner of war, but three 109s were claimed as probables. One 609 pilot had his Spitfire damaged in combat and then, running out of fuel, had to crash-land at Detling, further damaging his machine which was consequently written off. Kenley's Wing was up at 25\u201326,000 feet and had no encounters until coming back. They saw several 109s but no engagement took place.\n\nHornchurch, however, flying higher, became engaged with 109s. During numerous dogfights, four 109s were claimed destroyed, with three more probables and two damaged. Two pilots did not get home and another (Sgt G. W. McC. Neil of 603) returned wounded in the left shoulder and foot. The two lost were from 54 Squadron, both being killed.\n\nThe Poles also had some scraps, claiming one Messerschmitt with a second damaged, but lost a pilot from 308 Squadron, who ended up a prisoner. Tangmere engaged a few 109s, 129 Squadron claiming one as damaged, while 616 claimed a probable for no loss.\n\nTotal claims came to seven destroyed, ten probably destroyed and five damaged for the loss of six pilots and another wounded. Eight Spitfires were lost in total. Apart from Galland and his Blenheim, JG26 claimed eight or nine Spitfires, with Priller gaining his forty-seventh kill, M\u00fcncheberg his fifty-first and fifty-second, and Schmid his twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth. JG2 claimed three Spitfires, one credited to Maj. Walter Oesau \u2013 victory number ninety-seven. The only casualty to either Geschwader was one FW190 pilot damaging his fighter's undercarriage in a hard landing at Moorsele.\n\nNo mention has yet been made by RAF pilots about the arrival of the new Focke-Wulf 190 fighter, but JG26 had been using them for several weeks, mostly during conversion flights from the trusty old Me109s. They had yet to make an impact in air actions, but that would soon come. Once RAF pilots began to return with reports of seeing a radial-engined fighter, as opposed to the in-lined engine of the 109s, it was thought the Germans were using old French Curtiss Hawks, captured in 1940. They quickly discovered the new fighter was far superior to the old Hawk 75.\n\nThis day also saw another Gudgeon IV operation, with Westland Whirlwinds of 263 Squadron escorting 2 Group Blenheims to attack a tanker observed in Cherbourg Harbour. One report says the tanker was hit, another that it was missed and the bombs fell on the south end of the harbour. Me109s of JG2 intercepted the formation and several pilots became engaged. Feldwebel Erwin Philipp shot down one Whirlwind for his first victory. As one might expect, JG2 erroneously claimed a total of four other Whirlwinds and a Hurricane. Leutnant Schnell claimed two Whirlwinds and the Hurricane, to bring his score to a nice round fifty!\n\nThis date also saw Knight's Crosses awarded to two of JG2's aces, Kurt B\u00fchligen and Josef Wurmheller, both Oberfeldwebels (Senior Warrant Officers), with scores of twenty-one and twenty-four victories.\n\n* * *\n\nBack in 1969 (was it that long ago!?) I had the pleasure of meeting Galland in Manchester when he was giving a talk to aviation enthusiasts. My main reason in doing so was to follow up on correspondence we had had about a specific Hurricane he had shot down in late 1940. However, I managed to slip in a question of how he felt about the early operations by the RAF over France in 1941. He said he had admired the way Fighter Command quickly developed their tactics in protecting the small bomber formations, and also admired the way the majority of fighters were not tied to the close protection flights as the Luftwaffe had been in 1940. He rarely was able to use all of his three Gruppen in these actions, generally sending up just one at a time, or even just sections of staffel strength. What he and Oesau had devised, when possible, was for their pilots to try to engage and divert the close escorting fighters leaving the more expert pilots (aces) to take advantage of any gap created to dash in and have a crack at the bombers. Sometimes, he said with a smile, it worked.\n\n**Circus No.94**\n\nIn the two weeks between Circuses 93 and 94, at least two Roadstead missions had been carried out, some sweeps and Rhubarbs. On the 7th, 71 Eagle Squadron got caught in the grinder that was JG26 and had three Spitfire pilots shot down, two killed and one taken prisoner. A fourth got back slightly wounded. One of those killed was F\/O E. Q. Tobin. 'Red' Tobin and had been among the first American volunteer pilots to see action with the RAF in 1940. Galland had led his pilots into the attack and in all six Spitfires were not only claimed but credited. Galland (eighty-third victory), M\u00fcncheberg (fifty-three) and Schmid (thirty) were the 'big hitters'. Should anyone think that it was only JG2 and sometimes JG26 that over-claimed, I.\/JG52 reported shooting down four Spitfires off Den Helder on the afternoon of the 12th. One 12 Group Hurricane failed to return from an escort to some Blenheims attacking a target in Holland.\n\nAs for Circus 94, the records appear particularly lacking in clarity. One states that eighteen Blenheims attacked Le Trait ship-yards on either 16 or 17 September, although the more accurate reference probably lies in an undated 2 Group document which states that six bombers each from 88 and 114 were recalled after an 1100 take-off due to unsatisfactory weather.\n\nOn the 16th the Polish Wing flew a sweep and near Boulogne was attacked by Me109s of JG2 and JG26. 306 and 315 each lost a pilot killed, and this attracted claims of one Spitfire by JG26, and one Hurricane and two Spitfires by JG2. M\u00fcncheberg of JG26 thereby got his fifty-fourth kill, while Oblt. Egon Mayer of JG2 claimed two Spitfires for victories twenty-two and twenty-three.\n\n**Circus No.95 \u2013 17 September**\n\nThere were two operations this day, the first calling for twenty-four Blenheims to bomb the synthetic petrol plant and power station at Mazingarbe. Twelve of the bombers came from 114 Squadron, six from 82 \u2013 although one had to abort \u2013 plus another six from another un-named squadron but they may not have joined in. There was only slight cloud over the Channel.\n\nAs a prelude to this operation, one fighter squadron from Manston (615) and one from Debden (403 RCAF) made rendezvous over Hastings at 1310 with one Blenheim in order to carry out a diversionary operation. Manston's 607 Squadron was to have taken part but they were late at the RV so flew direct to Le Touquet. The formation crossed the French coast south of Berck at 14,000 feet, swept from Frevant to St Pol then came out just north of Le Touquet without interference. More than twenty Me109s were observed climbing as the RAF headed out. In all an estimated fifty to sixty enemy fighters had risen to investigate.\n\nThe main event was for twenty-three bombers, escorted by North Weald, Northolt and Biggin Wings with Target Support supplied by Kenley and Hornchurch. Forward and Rear Wings came from Tangmere and 12 Group. They headed in over Dunkirk at 1430 and bombs went down from 12,000 feet, setting fire to a large tank and a hangarlike building in the middle of the target. Several explosions were seen on the north and south-east corners and explosions continued in another spot. The bombers made the French coast but flak caught one Blenheim, blowing off a propeller, and it went down in flames. It was an 82 Squadron machine from which nobody survived.\n\nThe first thing the Escort Wing noticed at the RV was that the bombers were in two boxes of six rather than the expected four boxes of three, so had to rapidly redeploy their positioning. Over the French coast they came under sporadic AA fire but most of it exploded behind the bombers. To and from the target several 109s made attacks either singly or in pairs but did not linger to press home these passes but dived away after a quick squirt. In these encounters the Wing claimed two 109s probably destroyed and another damaged but lost two pilots, both from the Eagle Squadron. One was killed, the other baled out and was rescued from the sea by the Germans.\n\nThe Northolt Wing was stepped up above and behind the main formation from between 14 and 16,000 feet. All three Polish squadrons became involved with small groups of 109s during which three 109s were destroyed and another damaged, but 306 lost one pilot, who was taken prisoner, and 308 Squadron, P\/O C. Budzalek, collided with a 109 from JG26, piloted by Obfw. Max Martin. Budzalek did not survive but Martin successfully baled out although he was injured. Two of the 109s were credited to 306's CO, S\/Ldr S. F. Skalski, bringing his score to eighteen. Stanislaw Skalski had flown against the Germans in Poland in 1939 and been successful during the Battle of Britain. His two victories today were his last until 1942 and 1943, by which time he would bring his score to around twenty-four. His decorations included the DSO, DFC and two Bars, the Polish _Virtuti Miltari_ , and the Cross of Valor (KW) with three Bars.\n\nThe German pilots kept up similar sniping attacks against the Biggin Hill squadrons that were stepped up from 18 to 23,000 feet. The RAF boys split up into fours and although one 109 was claimed as a probable, 92 Squadron had one pilot killed and another returned wounded.\n\nKenley reached the target at 1440 and orbited up to 30,000 feet. Some 109s were seen above but they did not come down, therefore at the briefed time the bombers should have started back, the Wing headed north too. The Hornchurch Wing, on the other hand, did get into action. They too were stepped up to 30,000 feet and 54 Squadron became engaged with several 109Fs while 611 saw others and dived to attack. 603 Squadron lost contact with the other two squadrons and headed back towards Le Touquet where they spotted fifty 109s in several formations. In numerous air fights, the Wing claimed two 109s probably destroyed and two damaged but lost three pilots, all from 54 Squadron, with another wounded. He crash-landed back at Hornchurch. Among those killed was the CO, S\/Ldr N. Orton DFC & Bar. 'Fanny' Orton, as mentioned previously, was a veteran of the Battle of France, and at the time of his death he had achieved some seventeen combat victories with others unconfirmed and damaged. This was another severe loss to Fighter Command.\n\nTangmere Wing had some skirmishes, 616 Squadron damaging one 109, while P\/O J. H. Whalen of 129, claimed two destroyed and damaged a third. Jimmy Whalen, from Vancouver would score three victories in 1941 and in 1942, flying in the defence of Colombo against the Japanese, and would bag three dive bombers in one action with 30 Squadron. He would die in 1944 over Burma and be awarded a belated DFC after the war's end.\n\nThe 12 Group Wing saw plenty of 109s up high but none came down to engage and quickly flew away. Once the operation ended and the squadrons began to land back at their bases, several ASR boats were out, covered by Spitfires, to search for downed pilots in the Channel.\n\nThis operation cost Fighter Command six pilots killed, two taken prisoner, plus three wounded. Nine Spitfires lost too. Among the German pilots, Priller gained his forty-eighth victory and Siefert his twentieth, while the 306 Squadron loss was credited to Adolf Galland's brother Paul, his third victory. RAF claims seem to be in the region of eight destroyed, five probables and five damaged.\n\n**Circus No.96 \u2013 17 September**\n\nNo sooner had Circus 95 set off than six Hampdens from 408 Squadron were starting out to bomb the Shell factory at Marquise, escorted by North Weald and covered by Hornchurch and Kenley. 408 was led by S\/Ldr W. J. Burnett DFC RCAF, who had earlier been with 49 Squadron. Target Support went to Biggin and Tangmere, plus support from 12 Group's Wing. There was good visibility over France but ground haze made things difficult up to 3,000 feet.\n\nThey reached the area of Marquise in one box formation but the bomber leader was unable to identify the factory and his formation was also being harassed by heavy flak and fighters. Five of the bombers were damaged. Burnett's aircraft was among them and he lost his hydraulics, so was unable to open his bomb doors. In the end the bombers aborted the attempt and brought their bombs home. An air gunner claimed a 109 damaged.\n\nAll the escorting fighters had been turned round in record time to take part in this second Circus of the afternoon, which is probably why North Weald again got the Close Escort slot. They had made RV over Dungeness at 1730 hours and headed out; the target area was reached at 1751. The Hampdens were flying so slowly the Wing had trouble keeping behind them and had to weave continually. Added to this, they had already been warned over the radio that a number of 109s were waiting for them long before they reached the French coast! They were not disappointed. Some pilots counted up to fifty enemy fighters in small formations and most began to adopt the now familiar hit and run tactics, diving out of the sun, firing, then continuing to head down, knowing (but hoping) the Spitfires would not follow and leave their charges. They too received their share of flak, but not much fighting took place, in fact only one 109 was claimed as damaged.\n\nThe Hornchurch Wing too was heavily engaged once they entered France and its pilots were involved in numerous dogfights, and for once it appeared the Luftwaffe pilots were keen to get involved. 54 Squadron claimed a damaged but Sgt F. L. Preece collided with a Messerschmitt, and had to ditch in the Channel, from where he was later rescued. 603 and 611 Squadrons had fights but no losses or claims.\n\nThe Kenley Wing was made up of 485 (New Zealand), 452 (Australian) and 602 Squadrons, together with 123 Squadron. Some 109s came down on 602 Squadron but 602 shot one of them down, although they lost one of 123's pilots, who was killed. 452 and 485 were both attacked but no damage was inflicted by either side.\n\nSpitfires of the Biggin Hill Wing reached St Omer at 1745 at 25,000 feet and above. Some red marker AA puffs were seen some way behind them when they were ten miles in from the coast. The Wing turned back towards Boulogne where many 109s could be seen and some fights developed. One enemy fighter was damaged but 609 had one pilot shot up and forced to bale out over the Channel, from where he was rescued later. This was P\/O J. A. Atkinson, one of the longest serving pilots on 609 \u2013 in fact it seems that the postings people had forgotten all about him. He went on to be a flight commander and receive the DFC on Typhoons. He later became Sir Alec Atkinson KCB, a wonderful and helpful gentleman whom I met on a few occasions at his home.\n\nTangmere and 12 Group Wings were not engaged although they too saw many 109s in the areas of France they had been covering. Both reported heavy AA fire.\n\nTotal claims came to two destroyed, five probables and two damaged, with one pilot missing and two rescued from the sea. JG26 had two aircraft downed and one shot down into the Channel. Another had baled out over St Omer. One pilot, flying one of the new FW190s, chased the RAF formation back over the Channel and claimed a Spitfire. JG2 claimed three for no loss, which was added to a single claim against the first Circus. German claims for the day amounted to the four by JG2 and ten by JG26, with JG26 losing three pilots killed and two wounded.\n\nGroup Captain Bouchier mentioned in his report the fact that the Hampdens had caused problems for their escort by flying too slowly, at perhaps 120 mph. It was requested that in future operations the bombers fly at a minimum, between 140\u2013145 mph indicated air speed.\n\n**Circus No.97 \u2013 18 September**\n\nHampdens were again the bomber of choice on the 18th, six from 408, and led by its CO, W\/Cdr N. W. Timmerman DSO DFC RCAF, who, like Burnett, had also been with 49 Squadron earlier, assigned to go for the marshalling yards at Abbeville. Five mixed Spitfire and Hurricane squadrons were providing the Close Escort position, 402 from Hornchurch, 607 from Debden, plus 41, 129 and 616 from Tangmere. The Polish Wing gave Escort Cover, with Target Support provided by North Weald and the other three squadrons of the Hornchurch Wing. 12 Group gave Forward Support.\n\nThe weather was not good. 10\/10th cloud with fog or mist over the English coast and Channel that gave way to ground haze over France although it was clear above. RV had been planned above Hastings and the bombers reported their arrival had been right on time, although no fighters appeared. After circling for twenty-five minutes the Hampdens broke off and went home.\n\nThings did not improve. The five squadrons of Close Escort fighters met up near Tangmere and then Beachy Head where they found eleven Blenheims in two boxes of six and five respectively, but apparently no escort. 607 Squadron attached themselves to the box of five, 402 to the box of six, and headed south. They had mixed themselves in with Circus 99, with 18 and 139 Squadrons bound for the power station at Rouen. Meantime, the Close Escort Wing to Circus 99, Kenley, came to the RV to find the two Hurricane squadrons attached to the Blenheims.\n\nThe Tangmere pilots made the correct RV time but found Hastings covered in cloud. After a short wait they headed south, even seeing more RAF fighters below but eventually the Wing was recalled, when they spotted the Hampdens flying away north.\n\nThe Poles arrived over Hastings too at 1430, and saw the Blenheims turning to fly out to sea. Unable to comprehend why they were seeing Blenheims and not Hampdens, they decided to go with them but even though they got as far as the north of Rouen, they then received the recall. As they headed back a few 109s were surprised below but their pilots took rapid evasive action when the Spitfires made a turn to engage.\n\nThe Target Support Wings reached the target just on 1500 but could not see any bombers, so orbited for eight minutes in case they should show. North Weald saw a few 109s and a single 109 that dived down in front of 71 Squadron was claimed shot down by F\/Lt C. G. Peterson. Chesley Peterson was to become a leading light with the Eagle Squadron with a victory score of 6-3-6 and receiving the DFC. When the Eagle squadrons became the American 4th Fighter Group in late 1942, he became the Executive Officer. He added two more victories to his tally in 1943, by which time the British had awarded him the DSO. Colonel Peterson was later Combat Operations Officer with the US 9th Army Air Force and added to his decorations by receiving the American DSC DSM, Legion of Merit and Air Medal.\n\nThe three Hornchurch squadrons all made attacks on scattered 109s, 603 Squadron probably destroying two. Otherwise, both Wings headed for home, still wondering where the bombers had got to. Meanwhile 12 Group Wing patrolled their assigned area and had ten 109s circle above them and although four or five dived towards them they did not press home an attack.\n\nAll that this operation achieved was two 109s destroyed, three probables and two damaged, for the loss of one Hurricane pilot of 607 Squadron. He was picked off by Joachim M\u00fcncheberg, for his fifty-fifth victory, timed at 1605 (German time).\n\nGroup Captain Bouchier's report did not make for comfortable reading. He said it had not been anticipated that the rendezvous would have to be made above 10\/10th cloud, and that things were further complicated because the second Circus (99) had been arranged for the same time and in roughly the same place, just fifteen to twenty miles further along the coast. In future, when two operations have targets in the same areas, the RVs will be chosen with enough space to ensure this sort of thing did not happen again and thereby confuse the escorts. All very well, but it should not have happened in the first place.\n\n**Circus No's 98 and 99 \u2013 18 September**\n\nCircus 98 called for an attack upon the Lille railway repair shops but it never materialised. As we read above, Circus 99 became entangled with Circus 97. The eleven Blenheims had proceeded to the target and bombed with 22 x 250lb instantaneously-fused bombs and 21 x 250lb delayed-action bombs. Some fell on the target, others over or undershooting. Flak and fighters were a problem, with one bomber being damaged by AA fire. One air gunner claimed hits on a 109.\n\nWith the two Hurricane squadrons of Circus 97 horning in, 452 Squadron of the Kenley Wing had difficulty in carrying out their Close Escort role, forcing them to fly in two sections in line astern either side of the bombers. The Kenley Wing encountered an estimated fifty Me109s that tried to get to the bombers all the way to the target as well as on the return, to some halfway out across the Channel. 54 Squadron saw much of the action and claimed four 109s shot down. One was seen to explode in the air and two more to crash inland. However, four of 452's Australians did not make it back. Two were killed and two became prisoners of war. The New Zealanders of 485 were similarly engaged, losing one pilot killed but claiming three 109s destroyed. 602 Squadron suffered no losses and damaged one 109.\n\nThe Biggin Hill Wing, who had been assigned as Escort Cover, arrived at the RV above Beachy Head but could see no sign of the bombers. They orbited for five minutes before the Wing Leader was told by the Controller that the Blenheims had already started out so he led his fighters towards St Valery. Reaching a position twelve miles from Rouen without sighting any bombers, and deciding they must have turned back, the Wing reversed course too. Then they spotted a large gaggle of 109s and turned towards them but whether or not the German pilots saw them isn't known as they headed off in the direction of Abbeville, so Biggin's pilots headed for home too. Seven 109s had been claimed destroyed with three more damaged on this Circus but it had cost the RAF five pilots.\n\nIt had been M\u00fcncheberg's 7th Staffel of JG26 that had ploughed into the Australians, M\u00fcncheberg himself claiming his fifty-sixth kill, and Oblt. Klaus Mietusch his eleventh. Another pilot scoring over the Channel was Hptm. Schmid, bringing his personal score to thirty-one, while Priller achieved his forty-ninth.\n\nJG2 got into the mix and claimed four Spitfires, which brought the German total to twelve \u2013 for no loss to either Geschwader \u2013 on this afternoon, despite the RAF's asserted claims of 16-8-7.\n\n* * *\n\nEarlier on this day, a Roadstead had been flown to Ostend by Blenheims of 88 Squadron and Hurribombers of 615 Squadron, escorted by 41 Squadron's Spitfires. They were engaged by Me109s and FW190s from JG26 and P\/O C. F. Babbage found a radial-engined fighter in front of him and shot it down. He reported it as a Hawk 75, although he later remarked: 'No Hawk ever had the performance of that brute!' In fact it was a Focke-Wulf, the first one shot down by the RAF. The pilot had been Hptm. Walter Adolph, who had taken over from Rolf Pingel after he had been captured during Circus 42 back in July. Adolph went straight into the sea. He had flown in Spain and with JG1 and JG27 in WW2 before taking command of JG26's II Gruppe. He had achieved twenty-eight victories and been awarded the Knight's Cross.\n\nCyril Babbage DFM was an experienced fighter pilot, having flown with 602 Squadron in the Battle of Britain. Adolph was his eighth victory, and he ended the war as a wing commander.\n\nWhile off Ostend, 41 Squadron's pilots claimed two 109s and a probable, also a Hs123, and a Ju52, although in fact they were a Gotha 145 and a JuW34 respectively. Two Blenheims were shot down with all six crewmen killed. One was brought down by Ltn. H-H K\u00f6nig of 5.\/ZG 76, the other by Obfw. W R\u00f6th of JG26, for his twelfth victory. A pilot from 2.\/JG52 also claimed a Blenheim. It was while circling the crashed Blenheim that Adolph had been surprised by Babbage and killed. 615 had two pilots brought down; one baled out and was later rescued, but the other was killed. 41 Squadron also had a pilot ditch off Freeston, through combat damage, but he too was rescued by HSL 145 rescue launch.\n\n**Circus No's: 100A, 100B and 100C - 20 September**\n\nAs can be seen over the last few operations, the commanders of 11 and 2 Groups had obviously got together in the light of recent directives from Sholto Douglas, _et al_. The use of Hampdens had recommenced, with the help of 5 Group's commander, AVM J. C. Slessor DSO MC, and diversion tactics had been employed. Diversion tactics were going to be used today, although it does seem a little curious, because if the aim overall was to bring German fighters to battle, why was the RAF trying to get enemy fighters into the air in order that they would be back on the ground when the main attack began?\n\nHowever, today saw a new innovation. Three Circuses were to be flown, the first being 100A, employing three Blenheims of 88 Squadron, taking off from RAF Manston to bomb - as a diversion - the Hazebrouck marshalling yards, escorted by the Hornchurch Wing, with North Weald as Cover, while 12 Group provided a Wing in support.\n\nThe Blenheims did not cross the French coast until 1534 hours, reaching the target to drop 12 x 250lb bombs and 12 x 25lb incendiaries from 14,000 feet. Many explosions were seen in the target area and several sheds appeared to be hit and burning as the bombers withdrew. Several formations of 109s were seen high above, either in pairs, fours or sixes, and they started to dive prior to the bombers' approach to the target, during their attack, and on the way out, and up to five miles out to sea. They mostly dived and tried to come up underneath the main formation. All the time flak fire came up and all the close escort fighters were engaged, especially by a group of around ten 109s that came in from the west at 18,000 feet. By the time the 109s broke off, one pilot from 611 Squadron had been shot down, while just one Me109 was thought to have been probably destroyed.\n\nThe missing pilot was another Battle of Britain veteran, F\/Lt R. G. A. Barclay DFC. By this time, George Barclay had been reasonably successful and flying with 249 Squadron had achieved some six victories with another six probables and four damaged. After a rest he had been made a flight commander with 611, in August 1941. The weather was cloudless with good visibility, and Barclay was flying No.3 to W\/Cdr Stapleton, with Sgt Ormiston as his wingman. Over St Omer Barclay spotted half a dozen 109s diving in behind the Squadron and called a warning, but apparently his R\/T had gone u\/s and nobody had heard his call. One 109 attacked his No.2 and as it flew over, Barclay took a squirt at it but saw no results. Then bullets began to hit his Spitfire and in taking evasive action fell behind the others. But his engine had been hit and he was unable to increase speed.\n\nMe109s began attacking Barclay, but he managed to evade despite losing height. In his diary, Barclay recorded:\n\n'I was immediately confronted by high tension cables \u2013 I had no speed to fly over them so flew between two trees underneath them. I missed most of the cables but hit one with more sag than the others \u2013 there was a flash and bang and the cable wrapped around the nose and then dropped. I put the flaps down and made a normal wheels-up landing in a very large field.\n\n'I sat in the cockpit of poor FY-K [W3816] and pretended to be dead while the 109 circled around at 150 feet. It was the first time I had heard the noise a 109 makes \u2013 a mixture of a Spitfire's whistle, some stones in a tin can and a harsh grinding sound. It circled about three times and then flew off south-west. I got out, leaving my flying kit in the aeroplane and began to run eastwards.'\n\nGeorge Barclay, helped by French civilians, eventually received assistance from the French Underground, and was passed along to Spain, then Gibraltar, flying home by Catalina in December. He later returned to operations in North Africa but was killed in action in July 1942.\n\nThe North Weald Wing began encountering 109s as soon as they reached the French coast and concentrated attacks began as the main formation turned left at Hazebrouck, allowing the enemy pilots to get up-sun. Around fifty 109s were reported and the vast majority came down to engage, 111 Squadron receiving the brunt of this assault. Two of its pilots were shot down, one Spitfire exploding in mid-air. This was probably F\/Lt L. S. Pilkington DFM who was killed. Lionel Pilkington, yet another experienced fighter pilot, had won his DFM in France with 73 Squadron. In the Battle of Britain he was an instructor with 7 OTU, and in September 1940 he had shot down a Ju88 over North Wales flying an armed Spitfire.\n\nThe other loss was Sgt D. G. Harwood, who survived as a prisoner. One Me109 was claimed as destroyed by F\/Lt M. Kellett. Mike Kellett had got in on the tail end of the Battle of Britain and would survive the war as a squadron leader and be awarded the DFC. Four more 109s were thought to have been damaged.\n\nIn direct contrast, the 12 Group Wing saw just one hostile fighter during its sweeping patrol and no flak was encountered either. Thus the results remained at three pilots missing for claims of 1-1-5.\n\n* * *\n\nCircus 100B, consisting of six Hampdens from 5 Group's 408 Squadron, again led by its CO, W\/Cdr Timmerman, going for the Abbeville marshalling yards, escorted by the Biggin Hill Wing, plus one squadron from Debden, with Kenley flying Cover. Visibility over France was good despite ground haze. The bombers released 1,900lbs of ordnance (six bombs), five of which were seen to burst in the centre of the target.\n\nIf the first Circus had been flown to divert enemy fighters, then it worked for the bombers had no trouble with either flak or fighters and bombed successfully. However, 109s began nibbling at 92 Squadron of the Close Escort halfway to the target and some dogfights developed. 72, 609 and 607 Squadrons flew on and had no problems with enemy opposition of any kind. 92 meantime claimed one 109 destroyed (but may only have been credited with a probable) but lost Sgt G. P. Hickman to a German prison camp.\n\nKenley got the bad luck. Stepped up above 20,000 feet they were engaged by a large number of 109s at the French coast, coming down in fours from above. Massive dogfights began in which six 109s were claimed destroyed but three pilots were lost. 602 Squadron had two pilots killed, while 452 had Sgt I. A. L. Milne rescued from the sea by the Germans and taken prisoner. The main claimants were 452 Squadron, with Paddy Finucane and Bluey Truscott claiming three destroyed and two destroyed and one damaged respectively. Truscott now had five official victories, Finucane twenty, including shares. Sergeant K. B. Chisholm got the sixth. This was Keith Chisholm's seventh victory (five and two shares) and he was about to be the first RAAF pilot to receive the DFM. Figures for Circus 100B came to 7-1-1 for the loss of three pilots.\n\n* * *\n\nCircus 100C saw twelve Blenheims from 82 and 114 Squadrons heading for the Rouen shipyards, with three Tangmere squadrons and one Hornchurch squadron providing Close Escort, leaving Northolt's Poles to fly Cover. RV was to be made over Shoreham but no sooner had this been achieved than one box of six bombers was seen to turn inland into some haze at 13,000 feet. The other box of six proceeded to the target with their escort. Reaching the target, 24 x 250lb bombs went down, together with 12 x 25lb incendiaries. Explosions could be seen on buildings immediately south of the shipyards and south of the paper mills there. Other bombs fell on what was thought to be a cellulose factory, from which enormous smoke clouds were produced. No flak was experienced on the way in and only some inaccurate AA fire came from the target area.\n\nOver the RV, 402 Squadron left the formation to follow the Blenheims seen to fly inland, but when the leader decided he was following the wrong formation, turned back out to sea but failed to contact the main body so he was ordered to return to base. The others all went with the bombers and also experienced little flak except near the target. Then a large number of 109s began circling round the Wing at all heights and during attacks by them, three were claimed destroyed without loss.\n\nNortholt formed up above and behind the main force as it crossed the Channel at 1520 hours. About thirty miles out the Wing was ordered to orbit, but the leader decided to ignore the order as he was still in sight of the main body of bombers and fighters, and crossed into France stepped up from 22\u201324,000 feet. No sooner had the bombing been completed than 308 Squadron became heavily engaged with numerous 109s during which four 109s were claimed destroyed for no loss. This made it seven enemy casualties to nil. One was credited to the CO, S\/Ldr Marian Pisasrek:\n\n'On the way back to the Channel flying at 20,000 feet I was leading the Squadron \u2013 the whole formation was retiring. I saw an Me. attacking P\/O Zbierzchowski from close range; he was flying in my group of four. I warned him to turn to the left and as he did so, I approached the Me. giving 5 short bursts from 100 yards, closing to 50 yds from behind, to port and above. The Me. broke away sharply. Later the same Me. attacked me from above and a dogfight ensued. I lost height in tight turns, and then suddenly shot up so the Me. overshot me and found itself below me. I then got on to his tail, and putting my nose down gave a long burst from 50 yds. The e\/a belched smoke and getting into a steep dive, plunged into the Channel. I was then at 3,000 feet. I claim this Me109F as destroyed.'\n\nPisarek was an experienced fighter pilot, having flown during the Polish campaign and in the Battle of Britain with 303 Squadron. By the end of 1941 he had achieved twelve victories, been awarded the British DFC and the Cross of Valour and three Bars. He was killed in action as a Wing Leader in April 1942, being awarded a posthumous _Virtuti Militari_ in 1947.\n\nGroup Captain Bouchier was very pleased with the results of this combined 'three-ringed' Circus, which, according to reports, netted fifteen Me109s destroyed, two probables and six damaged. One of his comments was: 'The dearth of 'Y' messages during the progress of this operation (from German ground control to German fighter patrols in the air) confirm the impression gained that the confusion it was hoped to create in the mind of the enemy as to where our main thrust was coming was, in fact, satisfactorily achieved.'\n\nWhy the two Blenheim boxes got into trouble was thought to be because both boxes were some way apart at the RV and in orbiting, one had turned left, the other to the right, increasing the distance between them. With such a delay and confusion it reduced the chance of them forming up, so one had aborted.\n\nWhile Bouchier may well have been pleased with the results, the Germans were probably much happier. JG26 and JG2 had been in combat, JG2 with the Blenheims. According to the Germans, JG26 had claimed eight Spitfires, two by Adolf Galland (eighty-four and eighty-five), and one to Schmid for his thirty-second. JG2 had claimed a total of thirteen victories for the loss of just one pilot killed (Uffz. Heinz Hoppe), and another 109 damaged. Among the high-scorers were Erich Rudorffer who got his thirty-sixth, and Hptm. Karl-Heinz Greisert, his 20th. JG26 hadn't lost anyone! In addition the Einsastz-staffel, JFS 5 claimed three Spitfire shot down off F\u00e9camp, although other records note this unit with nine Spitfires and Hurricanes shot down, with three more unconfirmed. JFS 5 suffered one loss and another 109 damaged.\n\nSomething within the confirmation system employed by Fighter Command was going seriously awry. The Germans too, with twenty-five claims against seven known RAF losses appeared more than a little over-confident too.\n\n* * *\n\nOn anti-shipping sorties this day, 18 Squadron lost one Blenheim and crew during an attack on a convoy off Zandvoort, Holland, while 226 Squadron lost two more with their crews, off the Hook of Holland. One of these was caught in the blast of its own bombs, the other shot down by flak.\n\n**Circus No.101 \u2013 21 September**\n\nOn this Sunday afternoon 2 Group supplied twelve Blenheims, six each from 18 and 139 Squadrons, to attack the power station at Gosnay, the bombers taking off at 1411 hours. Close Escort went to Tangmere's 41, 129 and 616 Squadrons, accompanied again by Hurricanes from Debden. Cover went to Kenley's 452, 485 and 602 Squadrons, while Support came from the Polish Wing at Northolt, 306, 308 and 315. It was planned to coincide with Circus 102, six Hampdens attacking the Lille Railway Repair Shops.\n\nJack Rae of 485 Squadron noted in his log-book: '12 a\/c led by F\/Lt Wells to take part in Circus 101 to Gosnay. Very large numbers of E\/A were seen. The Squadron was heavily engaged and became split up. 3 E\/A were destroyed, 2 by F\/Lt Wells and one by P\/O Francis and one probably destroyed by P\/O Compton. Pilot Officer Knight failed to return and presumably landed in France. One a\/c crash-landed in vicinity of Bagshot. Telegram from International Red Cross Society that Sgt Russell is a PoW and has had his arm amputated.' [Russell went missing on 12 August.]\n\nThe fighters began taking off at 1530 and made RV without too many problems, although Kenley Wing failed to pick up the bombers, and within ten minutes, German fighters were starting to take off too. This quick start allowed the 109s to intercept for once, before the target was reached rather than on the way back. JG26 was well to the fore, and even though Joachim Muncheberg's new FW190s took longer to get airborne, their greater speed soon had them joining their 109 comrades high above the Pas de Calais. The Kenley Wing headed over alone and as it crossed the French coast was attacked by Me109s that shot down two Spitfires of 129 Squadron. Before the operation was over they lost another, while 616 also took a loss. The 8th Staffel lost Ltn. Ulrich Dzialas to the incoming Spitfires.\n\nMeantime, Northolt came under attack from JG26's II Gruppe, whose pilots bagged two Spitfires of 315 Squadron, one pilot killed, one captured. The pilot captured was the CO, S\/Ldr S. Pietraszkiewicz who had to make a forced-landing. The other was F\/O Tadeusz Nowak. Nowak had seen action over Poland, and once in England, flew in the Battle of Britain with 253 Squadron, and later 303 Squadron. He moved to 315 upon its formation at the beginning of 1941. He had claimed five victories and received the KW and two Bars, the latter two posthumously. 6.\/JG6 claimed the Spitfires from 315 including Nowak. He was heard to give a Mayday call and survived a ditching in the Channel but rescuers failed to locate him,\n\nStanis\u0142aw Pietraszkiewicz was 35-years-old and had been in the Polish Air Force since 1926. Once Poland had fallen he moved to France and then to Britain where he helped form 307 Squadron before flying with 303 Squadron late in 1940. He had just begun to get into his stride when he was shot down, remaining a PoW for the duration. He was awarded the VM and KW with two Bars.\n\nThe Polish pilots of 308 claimed five 109s destroyed, plus two probables and two damaged, and 315 put in claims for four, two 109s and two 190s. Pietraszkiewicz's pilots confirmed two for him upon their return. This equates with their claims for radial-engined fighters, a French MB151 and an Italian Mc200! Meanwhile, JG26's First Gruppe managed to get into the main Close Escort fighters, which lost five, another from 129 Squadron who had to bale out into the Channel, where he was later rescued by friendly forces. 607 also lost a pilot who ended up as a guest of the Germans.\n\nFinucane and Truscott were scoring again \u2013 Finucane with two destroyed, Truscott one, while other Aussies claimed a further two and two damaged. 485 claimed three destroyed plus a damaged, and 602 just a modest one damaged. 485 had one pilot shot down and captured and 602 had a pilot killed (Sgt A. R. Hedger) and one bale out over France. A third Spitfire was written off in a crash back in England but the pilot was OK. Sergeant P. H. Bell was the one down in France. He successfully evaded to Spain and Gibraltar, with the help of the French Resistance, and was back home in the first week of January 1942. Sadly he was killed in July 1943 with 19 Squadron.\n\nJG 26 claimed a total of fifteen victories but only lost one pilot. Fighter Command claimed twelve plus probables and damaged. Adolf Galland scored his eighty-sixth kill, Sch\u00f6pfel his thirty-fourth, Schmid his thirty-third and thirty-fourth, Oblt. Klaus Mietusch his twelfth and thirteenth, and Walter Schneider his eighteenth and nineteenth. JG2 put in claims for thirteen Spitfires, while pilots from 5.Erg.\/Staffel claimed three Spitfires for one loss near F\u00e9camp. Don Caldwell, in his splendid history of JG26, _The JG26 War Diary_ (Vol 1) included the following regarding this day:\n\n'F\/O Franciszek Surma of No.308 Squadron had a long, inconclusive dogfight over the Channel with an experienced German pilot. His opponent was almost certainly from JG2, but these comments from his combat report are pertinent: \"From my experience on this Circus I have formed the opinion that the Me109F is superior to the Spitfire V in both speed and climbing power. The German pilots'... tactics have changed as they did not attack from high above, but mostly on the same level.\" This was a prescient observation. The superiority of the Spitfire in turning combat was drummed into the German pilots from flight school, especially by instructors who had been withdrawn from the Western Front for a rest. The pilots of the Kanalgeschwader now had enough confidence in the 109F to take on the Spitfires on the latter's own terms.'\n\n**Circus No.102 \u2013 21 September**\n\nThis operation was timed to coincide with Circus 101 and there is no doubt that a number of German pilots were back on the ground and in the process of re-arming etc., when the alarm came. The Hampdens of 408, led by S\/Ldr Burnett, escorted by North Weald, plus one squadron from Debden, with Hornchurch and Biggin Hill as Cover, flew high above the low haze and in good visibility reached and attacked the Lille target, dropping 1,900lb and 500lb bombs from 15,000 feet, some of which exploded around the target but others went into nearby fields. Flak was heavy and all six bombers received some sort of minor damage. One Me109 dived on the formation but sheered off when met by return fire from the Hampdens' gunners.\n\nEscort fighters made RV at 1550 over Manston, reaching Lille at 1626 where the flak was equally heavy for them. Shortly after turning for home, fifteen to twenty Me109s came into the attack, heading in from all directions. In the fighting that took place to the coast, three 109s were claimed destroyed but two 111 Squadron aircraft were lost, one falling to Galland for number eighty-seven.\n\nHornchurch had a slight rendezvous problem which left them one minute late and in trying to make it up, reached Lille five minutes early. The Wing made a right-hand circuit short of the target and positioned themselves up-sun of the bombers as they began to withdraw. Some 109s were seen but they appeared unwilling to engage. While not mentioned in the report, 603 Squadron had a pilot bale out over the Channel after an attack by a 109. He was rescued by a HSL. 609 had a pilot injured. He ran out of fuel trying to land at Gravesend, crashed, and wrote off his machine.\n\nThese two operations cost Fighter Command five pilots killed, five taken prisoner, one lost but evading, plus two more Spitfires lost over the Channel, with two others written off in crashes. Fifteen fighters in total.\n\nJG2 had only managed to claim two RAF fighters in Circus 102. Total claims for JG2 for the day came to twenty-two, so with JG26's ten, made it thirty-two altogether, for one loss.\n\nAccording to 408 Squadron's records, six Hampdens, led by S\/Ldr Altman, took off to bomb Mazingarbe on the 22nd but were recalled after 1\u00bd hours. Whether it was meant to be a Circus operation is unclear.\n\n**Circus No.103A and 103B \u2013 27 September**\n\nThe commanders of 2 and 11 Group were obviously putting their heads together now in order to try and confuse the enemy, for today they mounted a further two-pronged operation. Both were afternoon raids, the first \u2013 103A \u2013 was for eleven Blenheims (originally twelve) from 110 and 226 Squadrons to attack the Amiens marshalling yards. Close Escort came from Kenley, Cover from Tangmere, with High Cover provided by Northolt.\n\nWeather was hazy over the Channel and France up to 2,000 feet but visibility was fine above that although with some 5\/10ths cumulus cloud at 5,000 feet over the target area. With one bomber having dropped out, the other eleven placed bombs and incendiaries all over the target while above, RAF fighters were busy with enemy fighters.\n\nThe Escorts made RV over Hastings at 1403, flying at 14,000 feet but the leader of Kenley Wing had to return owing to an injured back, and three pilots of 602 followed him. Several 109s were seen, a couple of which made attacks but were driven off, so the Wing returned home with nil claims and nil losses.\n\nTangmere also encountered 109s, although they had been slightly split up due to 41 Squadron's heavy weaving. Four 109s made an attack after which one Spitfire was seen to glide away trailing smoke. The Wing now became completely split-up as dogfights developed. One Me109s was claimed but two pilots failed to return, one from 129 and one from 616. Another pilot from 616 got as far as the south coast of England before he was forced to bale out, to be rescued off Bexhill by ASR. The pilot was New Zealander Sgt J. G. West DFM.13\n\nNortholt's Polish squadrons were up at 22\u201324,000 feet and became heavily engaged with enemy fighters on reaching the French coast, becoming split up. Again they saw radial-engined opposition, noting they were probably captured French Bloch 151s. One pilot in 315 Squadron opened up on one of these and saw it break up and go down. 308 Squadron was also engaged, one pilot calling to say he had just shot down one enemy fighter but had been hit himself and was baling out. This was Sgt E. Watolski, who became a prisoner. 306 became involved with a large number of fighters over Amiens, and they claimed a number of Germans shot down, Sgt S. Krzyzagerski claiming 1-1-2. In all, the Wing claimed 6-2-3 for the one loss.\n\nJG2 was mainly involved in these actions and claimed six or seven Spitfires. Hans Hahn thereby achieved victory number forty-five, Erich Rudorffer his fortieth, and Hptm. Greisart his twenty-first. JG2 had had two pilots force-land with combat damage during the first operation.\n\n* * *\n\nMeantime, Circus 103B, with another eleven Blenheims from 114 Squadron (again quickly reduced from twelve), went for the Bully power station at Mazingarbe. Hornchurch did the Close Escort job, with 402 Squadron from Debden, North Weald the Cover, Biggin the High Cover and 12 Group took on the Forward Support.\n\nRendezvous was made over Manston at 1415 hours, ten minutes later than scheduled, so presumably the plan had been for both bomber formations to head out within a couple of minutes of each other. This was followed by an error in navigation which caused the bombs to be dropped on a railway station, one mile south-west of La Bass\u00e9e. It looked like two sheds were hit but several bombs fell into nearby fields. Despite something like forty to fifty 109s waiting for the formation not a single bomber was touched and all landed back between 1550 and 1600 hours.\n\nThe link up with the bombers had failed, due to the haze but the formation stuck to the flight plan and crossed the French coast at Mardyck. Some ten miles inland two large formations of Me109s made determined attacks coming in from below and from the same level. A second bunch of 109s headed down from the sun. 403 Squadron and half of 603 Squadron were split up and forced away from the main formation. Flak was heavy and several RAF fighters were hit. Claimed victories came to nine destroyed, four probables and five damaged, but five Spitfires did not return. 402 Squadron lost one, 611 one, 403 one, and 603 two. 403 Squadron also had a pilot wounded by flak but he got home. This same squadron had its CO, S\/Ldr R. A. Lee Knight DFC, as one of the casualties. A Blenheim fighter pilot in 1940, he had converted to single-seaters and before taking command of 403 had seen action with 91 and 610 Squadrons in 1941, claiming several victories.\n\nNorth Weald also believed this large formation of 109s had been waiting for them up-sun as they crossed into France, for they immediately came into the attack from above and behind. The attacks continued intermittently all the way to the target and back again. Several pilots of 222 Squadron were able to fire short bursts, making no claims, but the main assault was upon the Eagle pilots of 71 Squadron, although they did not suffer any casualties and were able to claim 2-1-2 victories.\n\nBiggin Hill's squadrons were also attacked inland, north-west of St Omer by a great number of 109s, continually trying to get in behind the Spitfires. This did split the Spitfires and many dogfights ensued. Claims of 3-4-6 were made for the loss of two pilots of 72 Squadron, both killed. Another pilot, the Belgian Vicki Ortmans of 609, was so heavily engaged by two 109s he ran out of fuel and had to bale out off Dover, where he was picked up by HSL 147. This was the second time he had baled out and been rescued, the first being on 19 August.\n\nThe 12 Group Wing was not immune to assault by this large armada of 109s, flying at 25\u201328,000 feet over the Montreuil region. In a chase and scrap with fifteen 109s, they claimed one damaged but they lost one Spitfire to AA fire. The pilot almost got back to the English coast before he was forced to bale out over Dungeness. He survived but was injured.\n\nTotal claims came to 14-10-13 for the loss of seven pilots. Thirteen Spitfires were lost. This made a grand total of claims for the day of 20-12-16. Among the Wing Leaders who made claims were W\/Cdr Jamie Rankin, one destroyed, two damaged; W\/Cdr T. H. Rolski, one probable, and G\/Capt Harry Broadhurst, one destroyed.\n\nCircus 103B had been engaged by JG26, whose pilots put in claims for ten Spitfires and one Blenheim! JG26 had just one loss when Uffz. Gottfried Dietze was shot-up, slightly wounded, and forced to bale out near Clairmarais. The pilot who claimed he had shot down a Blenheim [none lost] was Johann Schmid, who had also shot down two Spitfires shortly beforehand, so had brought his score to thirty-seven. Gerhard Sch\u00f6pfel had gained his thirty-fourth victory in the action.\n\n13. When the author of this book first moved to Bexhill in 1998, there were pieces of Jeff's Spitfire in the window of a small shop used by the local RAFA Club, the pieces having been dredged up from the sea.\n_Chapter 11_\n\n**Autumn**\n\nSeptember had seen much action, but by now the 'shooting season' was nearing its end. So what had been achieved during September 1941? Certainly Fighter Command's statistics looked very different to earlier months. Eighty-three German aircraft had been claimed as destroyed for the loss of forty-nine pilots killed, prisoners or missing during Circus operations. Overall, taking in fighter sweeps, antishipping sorties, Rhubarbs, etc, these totals grew to 114 enemy aircraft destroyed for the loss of sixty-three pilots. A more accurate figure overall is forty-three killed, twenty-five taken prisoner, ten wounded, two evading capture in France, and a possible total of at least ninety-four fighters lost.\n\nAs October began the front-line Wing Leaders were:\n\nBiggin Hill | W\/Cdr J. Rankin DSO DFC & Bar\n\n---|---\n\nKenley | W\/Cdr E. N. Ryder DFC & Bar\n\nHornchurch | W\/Cdr F. S. Stapleton DFC\n\nTangmere | W\/Cdr H. de C. A. Woodhouse AFC\n\nNorth Weald | W\/Cdr F. V. Beamish DSO DFC AFC\n\nNortholt | W\/Cdr T. H. Rolski VM KW\n\nDuxford | W\/Cdr R. R. S. Tuck DSO DFC & 2 Bars\n\nThe Wings comprised:\n\nBiggin Hill | 72, 92, 609 Squadrons\n\n---|---\n\nKenley | 452 RAAF, 485 RNZAF, 602 Squadrons\n\nHornchurch | 54, 603, 402 RCAF, 611 Squadrons\n\nTangmere | 41, 65, 129 Squadrons\n\nNorth Weald | 71, 111, 222 Squadrons\n\nNortholt | 303, 308, 315 Polish Squadrons\n\nDuxford | 266, 411 RCAF, 412 RCAF Squadrons\n\n**Circus No.104**\n\nThis operation appears to have been requested to take place on 30 September, but in fact was postponed till 2 October. However, the bombers, from 88 Squadron, failed to meet up at the rendezvous and so the fighter escort Wings from North Weald, Hornchurch and Biggin Hill carried out a fighter sweep instead. Whether it was cloud or just 'finger' trouble is unclear, but after the six bombers had circled Shoreham four times, they were ordered to return to base.\n\nA new tactic this day was a Diversionary Fighter Sweep by nine squadrons from North Weald, Hornchurch and Biggin Hill, but with all the mix-up over Shoreham it turned into being the main operation. North Weald ran into 109s over Abbeville and during a turn, 71 Squadron was placed on the inside and came directly over some 109s. The Wing Leader ordered them to be engaged, so the Eagles dived and claimed four shot down. None of the 109s took evasive action and the general feeling by the Americans was that they had run into a training unit.\n\nSeveral more Me109s were engaged by Biggin's pilots and the Spitfires claimed eight enemy fighters for the loss of three pilots of 92 Squadron killed, with a fourth shot-up and forced to crash-land near Ashford, Kent, its pilot injured. JG2 had done the damage and managed to claim eight Spitfires, although the combat times might indicate five claims between 1503 and 1514, but with another at 1643, and two more at 1850 and 1852.\n\nHauptmann Hans Hahn was the 'big hitter' with one at 1505 and those two late ones, which brought his score to forty-eight. Egon Mayer claimed his twenty-fifth and Ltn. Walter H\u00f6hler his eleventh. Hauptmann Schmid of JG26 appears to have had a hand in this combat although his timing too is rather late, but he was credited with his thirty-ninth victory. Despite the RAF's claims, JG2 had just two of their fighters make belly-landings after these combats.\n\nA further, smaller scale, Fighter Sweep by Tangmere and Kenley Wings also resulted in combat claims. Two 109s destroyed and one damaged for no loss.\n\n**Circus No.105 \u2013 3 October**\n\nDespite their losses on the 2nd, 92 Squadron was part of the Biggin Hill Wing on the 3rd, to escort six Blenheims making for the Ostend power station. Close Escort went to North Weald, Cover to Biggin, Forward Support to Kenley and Northolt, while Rear Support was assigned to Hornchurch.\n\nThe weather gave slight cumulus at 6\u20137,000 feet with some haze up to 4,000 feet, otherwise, visibility very good. RV was made above Clacton at 10,000 feet at 1400 and the force headed for Nieuport on the Belgian coast. Penetrating inland some fifteen miles it then turned towards the target, where 23 x 250lb HE bombs went down along with 24 incendiaries. The bombs that were seen to explode did so, on the far side of the nearby canal and the other side of the power station, although some buildings or perhaps warehouses were hit and set on fire. Some of the North Weald pilots thought some bombs had hit the target however.\n\nFlak was experienced almost the whole way across the Belgian coast in addition to some flak ships positioned off Ostend, but no enemy fighters were seen until leaving the coast again, although they did not attack. The Biggin Hill pilots were amazed at the amount of AA fire that came up, especially from around the target area, with shells bursting as high as 17,000 feet. 609 Squadron had become separated prior to the target, so when the force turned for home, 92 saw a dozen aircraft where 609 should have been and thought they were them. However, these aircraft were 109s, therefore 92 was 'jumped' as the coast was crossed and two of their Spitfires were shot down before it was realised they were German. Both pilots were killed. Finally realising what was happening the Wing Leader turned back, leading his section into some 109s, and F\/Sgt D. E. Kingaby DFM claimed one 109 destroyed.\n\nKenley and Northolt saw virtually no signs of enemy fighters, and those that were seen did not come near. Meantime, the Rear Support Wing headed over in three formations of eight aircraft to Ruytingen Lightship, fifteen miles north of Mardyck, flying at between 15\u201320,000 feet. After flying a circuit to the north and then south-east they met the returning bombers ten miles out to sea. As they were turning to the left to follow the main 'beehive' of aircraft, 54 Squadron made rather a wide circuit and got themselves 'jumped' by six 109s. Two of them seemed to act as decoys by diving in front of the Squadron and almost immediately one of the remaining two pairs dived on the Spitfires to port while another pair came in from starboard. At the same time two radial-engined fighters, with three 109s behind them, were seen above, with another six 109s hovering above those. The majority of the Wing's pilots extricated themselves from the danger, however, one Spitfire failed to make it back. Sergeant J. C. Ward went into the sea, his body later being washed ashore several days later. The final count was one claim for the loss of three pilots.\n\nAll three Spitfires were claimed by JG26. 92's losses went to Hptm. Siefert, his twenty-first victory, the other to Ltn. Paul Schauder for victory number seven. Ward fell to Johannes Schmid, bringing his score to a round forty. While there are no recorded losses, the 109 claimed by Don Kingaby brought his score to sixteen plus numerous probables and damaged. He was the only RAF fighter pilot to receive the DFM and 2 Bars, and later would receive the DSO and raise his score to twenty-three.\n\n**Circus No.106**\n\nTwo operations were given the numbers 106A and 106B, planned for attacks on Boulogne and Dunkirk Docks for 7 October, but no such operations took place so they must have been cancelled, probably due to adverse weather. The autumn weather was now starting to affect operations over the French coast, and in any event, according to a letter from Sholto Douglas to Leigh-Mallory, he wanted Circuses to be scaled down. This letter is dated 7 October:\n\nMy Dear Mallory,\n\n  1. I am under the impression \u2013 possibly an erroneous impression \u2013 that you are still not fully seized of the position with regard to 'Circus' ops. Your request to use No.402 Squadron on 'Circus' ops is a 'straw in the wind'. I do most definitely want you to scale down on your 'Circus' effort.\n\n  2. Let me say at this point (lest you should think that I am ungrateful) that I am most appreciative of the way you have conducted these 'Circus' ops. The organisation of them and the careful planning that you have put into them are first rate, and they have been a most valuable contribution to our war effort this summer. All the same I do seriously want the effort scaled down, quite apart from the restrictions of weather.\n\n  3. I had thought of putting a definite limit of, say, four to six 'Circus' ops per month until further notice. I do not want to do this however, since obviously weather conditions must to some extent control the number of ops; but I do want you to turn your mind away to some extent from 'Circus' ops in other directions. My reasons are as follows:\n\n---\n\n(a) | We are going to be desperately short of fighters for the next six months and we cannot afford heavy losses, however large the gain.\n\n(b) | During the next few weeks the Russian campaign will be temporarily decided one way or the other until the spring, so that whatever we do will have little effect on the enemy's air effort in Russia.\n\n  4. What I want you to concentrate on for the next few months are:\n\n---\n\n(a) | Rhubarb ops. These are far more suitable to winter weather and are less expensive in casualties. We ought to make a definite plan for 'Rhubarb' ops and carry them out against specific targets. A directive with a list of suitable targets is being got out for you.\n\n(b) | Night-Fighting. There is little doubt that the enemy will within the next month or two, transfer a suitable proportion of his bomber force back to the Western Front, with a view to conducting bombing ops at night against our shipping, commercial ports and possibly industrial centres. It is of supreme importance that we should be able to meet this effort and inflict heavy casualties.\n\n  5. I should be grateful therefore if you would bend your mind in these directions.\n\n  6. I am ready to discuss these questions with you at any time if you wish.\n\nYours,  \nWSD\n\nSo, things were about to change now that the 'shooting season' was nearing its end. What exactly Douglas knew, or thought he knew, about events on the Russian front are unclear, but it seems certain that he was beginning to realise, even if he had not already been aware, that Fighter Command was losing more fighters over France than his pilots were scoring victories. And it is still unclear if he was privy to the German losses as might be indicated via the 'Y' Service. The effort had been a progression following the defensive battles of 1940, and it had given the RAF a chance to hit back. Had the cost been fully realised or even envisaged, air operations in 1941 might have proved very different. In any event, at least the Russians, and Joseph Stalin in particular, knew that Britain was at least trying to ease pressure on his country by the Germans, even if there could be no promise of an early invasion from the West. The phrase 'leaning into France' had been formulated to indicate the RAF's effort of hitting back, and it was a phrase referred to by Sholto Douglas in his book _Years of Command_ , published by Collins in 1966. Douglas wrote:\n\n_In addition to night bombing being done by Bomber Command, it continued to be the task of Fighter and Bomber Commands to carry out strikes by day at objectives which were within range of the escorting fighters; and from the point of view of the fighters it quite often went beyond leaning into France and became almost a stretching into France_.\n\n_The industrial area around B_ \u00e9 _thune, Lens and Lille \u2013 which was so well known to all the senior commanders in the RAF from our own flying over it in the first war \u2013 was considered to be the most sensitive spot for attack by air in daylight from England, and we hoped that these daylight raids would induce the Germans to concentrate their own fighters in north-eastern France. These combined Circus operations led our fighters to the limit of their endurance, and one of the serious problems in our planning was that such long flights did not allow much time for actual fighting over the area once it was reached. The fighters always had to make sure that they had enough fuel left to get back to their bases in England_.\n\n_In the introduction of new aircraft with improved performance it was still, as always, a see-saw, with first one side and then the other gaining the upper hand. With our improved Spitfires we had caught up with the Me109F. The struggle had remained on a fairly equal footing until towards the latter part of the summer of 1941; and then we were caught flat-footed. My pilots reported seeing over Amiens a new type of radial-engined fighter. It was in the course of one of the Circus operations, and there were some particularly experienced pilots flying in the wings from Kenley, Tangmere and Northolt. Our Intelligence people ridiculed the idea. But what the pilots reported was correct; they were seeing for the first time the Focke-Wulf 190_.\n\nCircus operations did begin to scale down, but a spot of reasonable weather on the 12 and 13 of October, gave Leigh-Mallory the chance to mount three more.\n\n**Circus No.107 \u2013 12 October**\n\nWith the target being the docks at Boulogne, this operation was clearly replacing Circus 106A originally scheduled for the 7th. A force of twenty-four Blenheims was sent, twelve from 110 Squadron and six each from 21 and 226. They began taking to the air at 1115 am and had Hornchurch as Close Escort, North Weald as Cover, Biggin Hill High Cover, Kenley and Northolt as Target Support and Tangmere as Rear Support. In total nineteen fighter squadrons.\n\nDespite some cloud at 5,000 feet and with some haze below, the bombers found a clear patch over Boulogne itself. One bomber pilot found it impossible to keep up with the rest and eventually turned back, but the other twenty-three all bombed and most of the explosions occurred in the target area, between Docks 4 and 6 and some south of Dock 4. Flak was again heavy and two Blenheims received some damage but no crew members were hit. By 1217 the bombers were heading for home.\n\nAs far as the Close Escort was concerned it was a completely uneventful operation, although its pilots did see an estimated sixty Me109s well below and astern of them as they headed back across the Channel. Similarly, the Escort Cover Wing saw very little, just one lone 109 that was chased inland and got away. Biggin Hill had nothing to report either.\n\nHowever, the Target Support boys did see some action, with 452 Squadron getting into a running fight with numerous 109Fs between Le Touquet and mid-Channel. About thirty 109s were seen to the starboard side and when combat was joined, a further twenty came down out of the sun from the port side. These succeeded in getting between Northolt and Kenley Wings. When the fight ended the pilots could only claim just one 109 destroyed with another damaged but had lost two of their number. Sergeant K. B. Chisholm DFM of 452 and Sgt A. Meredith of 602, had both been shot down and captured. Finucane of 452, claimed the destroyed, while Truscott in fact claimed one probable and one damaged.\n\nKeith Chisholm came down in the sea off Berck sur Mer. He was rescued by the Germans but later he escaped from prison camp, or to be exact, from an outside working party. This was only the start of many adventures by this Australian, and it took him till August 1944 to finally return to England. For his escaping activities he received the Military Cross.\n\nThe Northolt Wing crossed into France at Gravelines upwards to 28,000 feet then flew south and after passing St Omer made their way to Le Touquet, at which point the Controller warned them of 109s south of Boulogne. The Wing wheeled in that direction and 308 Squadron encountered enemy fighters, claiming two destroyed without loss. 303 Squadron became engaged too, and a 109 was shot off the tail of one 308 pilot. 315 came to the aid of both the other units, found four 109s chasing two Spitfires but when they were engaged, the 109s dived away and escaped.\n\nRear Support did their job although the Tangmere pilots saw no action but covered the withdrawal of the bombers and escorting Spitfires, then continued along their patrol line but no 109s were chasing anyone out of France. Total for the day, four 109s destroyed and one damaged according to the Circus report, for the loss of those two pilots already mentioned.\n\nJG26 had claimed the two Kenley Wing Spitfires without loss, but it seems that JG2 was also in action at this time, and also claimed two Spitfires, and suffered one loss. The JG26 claimants were Priller, his fifty-second, and Seifert, his twenty-second. Leutnant Jakob Augustin claimed both of JG2's victories, his eighth and ninth kills.\n\nA few hours later Ltn. Seigfried Schnell of JG2 claimed two Spitfires for his fifty-third and fifty-fourth victories, and Fw. Erwin Philipp claimed a third flying with 1.Erg.\/JG2, but there are no record of any losses this day other than the two referred to above. 118 Squadron, of 10 Group, was flying an armed reconnaissance over Jersey where it came into contact with JG2 over Cap de la Hague, but they suffered no loss. 118 Squadron did, however, claim three 109s and a damaged. Leutnant Rolf Byer of Erg.Gr.\/JG2 was shot down and killed in this action, flying a 109E.\n\n**Circus No.108A and 108B \u2013 13 October**\n\nThis was another two-Circus operation, 108A, to the Arques ship lift, and 108B to the Mazingarbe chemical works. 139 Squadron provided six Blenheims for each raid and Circus 108A began at 1215 hours, while 108B started fifty minutes later. Close Escort went to Kenley, Cover to a 10 Group Wing (501, 118 and 234 Squadrons). Northolt flew High Cover, Target Support went to Tangmere, while 12 Group fielded 266, 411 and 412 Squadrons as Rear Support Wing. There was no cloud and visibility was noted as being exceptional.\n\nManston was the RV point and from here they headed out but two bombers were unable to keep up and had to drop out. Over the French coast at Gravelines by 1316, height 13,000 feet, some 109s came down through cloud to attack one Blenheim that fell to the ground. Flight Lieutenant R. J. Chamberlain DFC and his crew all died. Richard Chamberlain had received his DFC following the massive raid on Cologne on 12 August. The raid had seen participating aircrew receive two DSOs, ten DFCs and three DFMs. Adolf Galland was the pilot who downed this Blenheim, having already, according to the timing of his combats, shot down a Spitfire, thus raising his score to eighty-nine. A second Blenheim was credited to his wingman, Ltn. Peter G\u00f6ring, he was hit by return fire from the Blenheim gunner and crashed to his death. The crediting of this victory to young G\u00f6ring was merely a 'courtesy' claim.\n\nThe remaining three bombers attacked the target at 1321 but the crews were unable to observe results due to the presence of more enemy fighters, but they got away and back, although two were slightly damaged by AA fire.\n\nBoth Escort Wings were subjected to continuous attacks by 109s into and back out of France. They were in large formations, some pilots estimating anything up to sixty 109s, and 485 Squadron reported that some thirty of these pressed home their attacks on both bombers and escorts. In some heavy fighting, six Me109s were claimed shot down, with two more probably destroyed and seven more damaged, but three pilots failed to return. 452 had one pilot killed, while another baled out over the Channel from where he was rescued. 602 lost two, one killed and one taken prisoner, so four Spitfires lost in total. Among the Australian Squadron pilots claiming was Paddy Finucane with two destroyed and one damaged, while Bluey Truscott claimed two more destroyed. 602, led by veteran S\/Ldr A. C. Deere DFC, claimed a more modest five damaged. 485 claimed 1-0-1. Al Deere's combat report noted:\n\n'I was leading 602 Squadron as close escort to 4 Blenheims. My section of 4 aircraft were on the port side and slightly above the bombers. Other than 452 Squadron there was absolutely no cover as protection to either the bombers or my section from the port side. We were attacked repeatedly, by pairs of Me109s, and had no alternative but to fight back. I was unable to warn Sgt Brayley, Red 2, (as my transmitter was U\/S) that he was about to be attacked, and saw him go down with smoke and glycol coming from his machine. I also saw another Spitfire (I think Sgt Ford, Yellow 4) go down in similar manner, and a 109 spinning out of control. I was by now alone, and had to ward off repeated attacks on my return. I managed a short burst at two 109Fs, the second from about 150 yards and above. I feel sure his hood disintegrated and caved in, as if hit by a cannon shell. (I cannot definitely confirm this.) He went onto his back and then vertically down from 13,000 feet.'\n\nThe 10 Group Wing's first jaunt with an 11 Group Circus, gave cover to the escort and over the target area they too became involved with 109s and fought them all the way back to the coast. They claimed one destroyed and two damaged. The Poles were up between 21\u201326,000 feet and over the target at 1322; they saw some twenty 109s below them but most of the pilots were unable to attack. However, 308 went for seven 109s halfway between Gravelines and the target and destroyed three for no loss. By this time the Squadron had lost considerable height and one pilot attacked the airfield at St Omer\/Fort Rouge, shooting up a hangar, while another pilot strafed a heavy AA gun post in the Gris Nez area. One 303 Squadron pilot also claimed a Bloch fighter damaged \u2013 in reality a FW190. In fact, Sgt M. Adamek appears to have been credited with a destroyed, but in any event, the evidence from his camera gun finally gave some solid confirmation of the FW190 in action.\n\nThe Tangmere Wing gave support to the operation, heading into France to approach the target from the north-west, before turning right to withdraw. As they did so small formations of 109s appeared from all directions and a series of engagements followed, resulting in the Wing becoming split up for a time. 129 Squadron, at 23,000 feet, was attacked by four 109s and then two sections went down on six radial-engined fighters with square wing-tips. In other actions, one 109 was destroyed and another probably so but two RAF pilots were missing when they reformed. Both pilots were killed.\n\nThe top Squadron, 41, at 25,000 feet was assailed by numerous formations of 109s and in the fighting one of these was probably destroyed but again, two RAF pilots were shot down, both being killed. 65 Squadron had seven 109s come down on them shortly after leaving the target area, and a fifth pilot from the Wing was killed.\n\nMeantime, Rear Support by 12 Group patrolled as instructed and they were soon starting to see formations of 109s milling about them, some pilots counting up to forty. In combats, three 109s were claimed destroyed, with two more and one unidentified fighter claimed as damaged. Although the Circus Report does not mention it, 411 Squadron had one of its Canadian pilots shot down. Pilot Officer R. W. McNair took to his parachute and injured his back as he splashed down into the Channel, from where he was rescued by a High Speed Launch. Buck McNair would later become a leading Canadian ace with the DSO, DFC and 2 Bars, seeing action over Malta and later again over France.\n\nFlying what was termed a 'Spotting Patrol', Spitfires of 91 Squadron were engaged in looking out for downed pilots and they did indeed find one, and giving a fix, helped direct a rescue boat to the man. Whether this was P\/O R. W. McNair or Sgt J. R. H. Elphick of 452 Squadron is unclear.\n\nToday's action had been costly, for quite apart from one Blenheim shot down, 10 RAF fighters were lost, resulting in seven pilots killed, one taken prisoner, with two rescued from the sea. The Circus Report only noted eight pilots missing, but it did record the following claims. Fifteen Me109s destroyed, four probably destroyed, plus twelve 109s, one Bloch and one unidentified fighter damaged.\n\nCircus 108B. As Circus 108A was ending, 108B was on its way to bomb the power station at Mazingarbe with eighteen Blenheims, six from 139 and twelve from 114 Squadrons. This had begun fifty minutes after the first show, with North Weald Wing and one Hornchurch squadron (412) acting as Close Escort, Hornchurch taking flying Cover with Biggin Hill up at High Cover.\n\nRendezvous was above Manston at 1350 hours and heading for the target, all bombed the power station and adjoining Coking Ovens and Synthetic Petrol Plant. Bombs were seen to explode on the power station and among the condensers, two cooling towers, nearby marshalling yards and on slag heaps. Intense flak fire hit and damaged no fewer than fourteen of the bombers but there were no personnel casualties. No enemy fighters were seen either.\n\nHowever, there were some around, North Weald seeing several on the return journey, just after they had survived the gauntlet of AA fire. This fire had hit and brought down a Hurricane pilot of 402 Squadron, who was captured. As the 109s started to nibble at the RAF fighters, one pilot of 71 Squadron was shot down and wounded, baling out into the sea. His pals saw him get into his dinghy about five miles off Boulogne, but in the event he was picked up by the Germans and made a prisoner. This was P\/O G. C. Daniel RCAF, who was in fact a Native American, having been born on an Osage Indian Reservation. When he joined the RCAF his birth certificate recorded his birth as November 1921, but he looked much younger than his eighteen years. After the war it was discovered he had been born in 1925, so was still a month from his sixteenth birthday when he was shot down.\n\nHornchurch also went through much AA fire and then some 109s attacked, shooting down one pilot of 603 Squadron, who was killed. 54 Squadron claimed a 109 shot down into the sea near Boulogne. 611 Squadron was attacked by two 109s but were driven off without injury to either side.\n\nBiggin Hill's squadrons also became engaged with a few 109s, 609 Squadron claiming one destroyed and one damaged. A pilot of 92 Squadron returned alone from St Omer because of an oxygen leak. However, upon his return to base, he claimed three 109s destroyed, two of them colliding when he attacked, and damaged a fourth. The pilot was the CO, S\/Ldr R. M. Milne DFC, and this mission was rewarded by a Bar to his DFC. A report noted:\n\n'S\/Ldr Milne of 92 Squadron broke away from the wing owing to a bad oxygen leak and continued into France at a lower level. When S.E. of St. Omer, S\/Ldr Milne was attacked by a 109F which made off when the S\/Ldr got round onto the e\/a's tail. Finding himself alone, he proceeded homeward and was able to attack two 109Es, shooting one down in flames and damaging the other. A little later, S\/Ldr Milne spotted two 109Fs in time to evade their stern attack and swung round quickly. He was able to get in a burst from about 70 yards on one which then emitted smoke and crashed into the other e\/a. Pieces flew off and both a\/c went down together, the pilot of one baling out.'\n\nSo, in all, five 109s destroyed and two damaged for the loss of one Spitfire pilot killed, one taken prisoner, plus a Hurricane pilot taken prisoner. This brought the total for both Circuses to twenty destroyed, four probables and sixteen damaged (or by another count, 22-2-18), for the loss of thirteen RAF pilots shot down, two of whom were safe after rescue. Apart from Galland's two kills, JG26 claimed a further seven Spitfires, one by Priller for his fifty-third, one by M\u00fcncheberg for his fifty-seventh, and two more for Schmid, for his forty-first and forty-second. JG2 claimed eleven Spitfires for no loss! The big names of JG2 to claim were Oesau, his ninety-eighth and ninety-ninth, Erich Leie his twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth, and Rudi Pflanz his twenty-fifth.\n\nDespite the RAF's claims, only young G\u00f6ring had been lost, and that to a Blenheim gunner, with one FW190 having to make a crash-landing on Moorsele airfield. Oberleutnant Klaus Mietusch of JG26 landed at St Omer with only slight combat damage to his 109F-4.\n\nPilot Officer Truscott, of 452 Squadron, reported that he had fired at a German pilot who was descending in his parachute, an action met with much disapproval by his fellow Australians. However, as no German pilots were shot down in combat, let alone baling out, Truscott must have been firing at an RAF pilot!\n\n* * *\n\nOn 15 October 10 Group mounted Ramrod 69 at midday, twelve Blenheims going for an oil tanker at Le Havre. The bombers and their Spitfire escort were intercepted by Me109s that shot down two Blenheims, with all six men aboard being lost. One Spitfire and its pilot were also lost. Claims by the escorting Spitfires came to 5-1-5.\n\nThe Germans who made the interception were from 4.(Eins.)\/JFS 5, and while two pilots did claim the two bombers, six Spitfires were claimed, although probably only three were credited. Two of these went to Uffz. Peter Gerth, for his tenth and eleventh victories. Losses were one pilot wounded, two 109s lost and another damaged.\n\nIt was another bad day for the Blenheim boys, for 139 Squadron lost three during anti-shipping operations, while 114 Squadron lost another two. 5.\/ZG76 claimed at least two.\n\nOn the 21st anti-shipping sorties cost 2 Group another three Blenheims, one to flak and two to fighters of 3.\/JG53 off the Dutch coast.\n\nThings were now about to change. Circus operations for the year were about to stop, and Sholto Douglas issued in letter form his views on policy for future operations, dated 21 October. This letter was sent to 10, 11 and 12 Groups within his Command, and the HQs of Bomber and Coastal Command:\n\nOFFENSIVE OPERATIONS \u2013 POLICY\n\n  1. With reference to my memorandum FC\/S.21552 dated 12th October 1941, I now wish to lay down for guidance a statement as to approximately the amount of fighter effort that may be expended upon the operations in support of bomber aircraft referred to in paras. 3 and 4 of that memorandum.\n\n  2. Such a statement can only be an approximate guide to Group Commanders as to my intentions, and will be subject to alteration from time to time. The fact also that the effort is expressed in terms of sorties per week does not mean that these figures can or should be closely adhered to. On the contrary, variations in the nature and the scale of our operations from week to week are necessary in order to surprise the enemy and keep his defences on full tension.\n\n  3. Subject to these remarks, the general measure of effort should be as follows:-\n\nCircus Operations by 11 Group\n\n[Only] One full scale operation per week or a maximum of six in one month, each operation comprising approximately 18 to 24 squadrons.\n\nRamrod Operations\n\nThese are fighter escorted bomber attacks on fringe targets, the strength of escort varying according to the target involved and being anything from one up to nine squadrons. Such operations can be accompanied by feint attacks by other fighter formations to draw off the enemy defences without committing our fighters to heavy engagements. The scale of effort envisaged for these operations is roughly:-\n\n10 Group | - | 10 squadron sorties per week\n\n---|---|---\n\n11 Group | - | 18 squadron sorties per week\n\n12 Group | - | 6 squadron sorties per week\n\nRoadstead Operations\n\nThese are attacks on shipping by bombers with fighter support which is provided for the purpose of engaging flak ships and providing light overhead cover during the attack. It is not contemplated that these operations will be pressed against strong fighter defences. The effort expended per week on these operations may be additional to that allotted to Circus and Ramrod Operations and is left to the discretion of Fighter Group Leaders.\n\n  4. Occasions may arise from time to time when fighter support is called for at short notice in support of bombing attacks against important fleeting targets. In these circumstances there is no question of refusing support on the grounds that this additional fighter effort exceeds for the current week the scales laid down in para 3 of this letter. The effort should, however be averaged out over a period, and in case of doubt, reference should be made to Fighter Command Headquarters.\n\nWSD\n\nAir Marshal\n\nAir Officer Commanding-in-Chief\n\nFIGHTER COMMAND, ROYAL AIR FORCE\n\nThis edict was later scaled down, on 24 November 1941, from one full-scale Circus operation per fortnight to a maximum of three per month. From some of the wording it certainly seems that Sholto Douglas was appreciating that his losses were no way comparable to enemy losses, despite the exaggerated claims by his fighter pilots. So while these operations were not being totally cancelled, the defensive element had overtaken the desire to 'bring the enemy to battle'.\n\n* * *\n\nSo, with this scaling down of offensive actions, certainly of the Circus variety, and with the winter weather fast approaching, the types of operations laid down in Douglas's letter began to exercise the RAF's daytime planning and thinking. As October drew to a close 11 Group became more active by flying Low Ramrods, such as the one flown on Friday 31 October, sending six Hurribombers of 607 Squadron to attack the Transformer Station at Holque, accompanied by one flight of 615 Squadron for antiflak, plus Spitfires as escort. Later that afternoon, 607 and 615 flew a similar operation to knock out barges at Bourbourgville.\n\nOn 1 November it was twelve Blenheims on a 10 Group Rodeo (No.15) against the German airfield at Morlaix, although nearby Lannion was attacked in error. Further east, Low Ramrods 3A and 3B went for German army huts at Neuchatel, and Berck Aerodrome. These sorts of operations continued during the first week of November and it was not until the 8th that the next \u2013 and last \u2013 Circus was flown in 1941.\n\n* * *\n\nThere appears to be no record of a Circus 109 and it can only be assumed that it was either cancelled or perhaps Circus 108B had been mistakenly recorded as the missing 109.\n\n**Circus No.110 \u2013 8 November**\n\nThis day was to see the final Circus of the year and not surprisingly, with all the letters and talk about all those that had gone before, this one stood out as something completely different. Circus 110 would be flown in three parts, and be made up of one Circus, one Rodeo and one Ramrod - Parts I, II and III.\n\nThe weather for this combined show consisted of a thin layer of 5\/10ths cloud at 4,000 feet with good visibility below. The Rodeo part was an attack against the area of Dunkirk, on this Saturday morning, with three fighter squadrons, 71 and 222 from North Weald, and 111 from Debden, otherwise the Debden Wing. They made rendezvous over Manston at 1100 hours stepped up from 15 to 18,000 feet. After orbiting Manston for five minutes they headed south and made a sweep to a point five miles north of Dunkirk, which they reached at 1120. They then flew back towards Deal but when about halfway across the Channel they returned in the direction of Dunkirk and continued their patrol until 1142 before heading for home. They began landing back by 1205 without incident or action.\n\nThe Ramrod was against an alcohol distillery plant at St Pol \u2013 normally a rhubarb target. Eight Hurribombers from 607 Squadron, with another four Hurricanes from 615 Squadron as anti-flak aircraft, made the attack. Close escort to these was provided by 65 and 41 Squadrons from Tangmere, while Biggin Hill's 72, 401 and 609 Squadrons gave Escort Cover.\n\nThe eight Hurribombers and their flak suppression friends, plus escorts, made RV over Dungeness, at 10,000 feet at 1102, headed south and crossed the French coast just to the south of Baie D'Authie. 615 Squadron was leading, 607 in the middle and the Spitfires to the rear. Once over the coast the formation went into a shallow dive, passing over Hesdin by which time they were down to 5,000 feet, so that just before they reached the target, they were more or less on the deck. 615 flew in from the west-south-west and fired at the still tower, from which dense blue and yellow smoke arose. 607 followed in from the west, with their machine guns blazing as they approached their target and all pilots dropped their bombs on or near to the distillery building and the surrounding factory. One bomb was seen to lodge in the base of the still tower and another passed clean through it, knocking great lumps of debris from it. The Hurricanes made two left turns and came out at low level back along the same route. As they flew away the still tower was seen to break into pieces, while the whole factory appeared to be a mass of smoke and falling debris.\n\nOn the way to the coast several pilots machine-gunned a factory south-west of Hesdin which may also have been a distillery building but results were not observed. The only flak experienced came from a single machine-gun post on some high ground north-east of Vron and inaccurate fire from the Port of Mahon. The factory itself seemed totally undefended. Once again, no casualties, and no encounters with enemy fighters.\n\nMeanwhile, the Close Escort, after covering the Hurricanes to the target, saw three Me109s flying in from the north-east, making a half-hearted attack on the Hurricanes but two were turned away, one by a pilot of 41 Squadron and another from 65 Squadron. However, one Czech pilot from the latter squadron failed to return, and must have been hit by the third 109. His death was later confirmed.\n\nThe Cover Wing, however, ran into 109s of JG2 that began to menace them, with some 109s diving on the top squadron from up-sun, and continued to do so until the Wing was way off the French coast. They then orbited, so that stragglers could catch up, and at this time the Wing Leader went down to 3,000 feet in pursuit of some 109s that were attacking a Spitfire. He shot down one and damaged another before he was himself engaged. Several other pilots were jumped by enemy fighters and while four pilots failed to get home, the rest did, but were pretty much scattered, landing at five different aerodromes in southern England.\n\nIn fact, the Wing lost five Spitfires. 72 Squadron had three pilots shot down. One baled out over the Channel \u2013 probably due to engine trouble \u2013 and was rescued, but the other two missing men were killed. 401 Squadron had one pilot killed with another taken prisoner. So in all, five pilots were reported missing, with a sixth rescued, for claims of 1-1-1.\n\nGerman fighter pilots filed seven Spitfire claims. The early sweep had alerted the fighters which were already aloft and at a good height when the Hurricanes arrived; further, the sun's glare helped to shield the German fighters whilst it silhouetted the Hurricanes and Spitfires against the ground haze. JG26 claimed the two Canadian pilots of 401 Squadron.\n\n* * *\n\nThe last part of the operation saw twelve Blenheims, six each from 21 and 82 Squadrons, start out at 1050 hours to bomb the railway repair shops at Lille. They were escorted by the Northolt Wing, 315, 308 and 303 Squadrons, covered by fellow Poles from 10 Group's 302, 316 and 317 Squadrons, while Kenley took the High Cover slot with 452, 485 and 602 Squadrons. Rear Support was provided by 12 Group's 411, 412 and 616 Squadrons, plus 54 Squadron from Hornchurch. Unfortunately, and in retrospect surprisingly, it was led by a wing commander who had not flown any operational missions, much less led one! Another problem was fog which caused one of the support wings to remain stuck on the ground.\n\nThe 12 Group Wing arrived over the French coast in good order, but it was early and the leader began to circle the formation rather than proceed towards Lille. The orbit became too tight and some of the outside sections became spread out. AA fire from Dunkirk did not help and the formation disintegrated. Seen by Hauptmann M\u00fcncheberg's II Gruppe FW190s, they began picking off three 412 Squadron stragglers of the high squadron. The Leader, Wing Commander D. R. Scott AFC did not return. The last anyone heard of him was over the radio, saying: 'I guess I'm too old for this, boys.' He was 33-years-old and the Germans buried him at Dunkirk.\n\nSix of the bombers turned back early due to R\/T failure in one leading Blenheim and another failed to take off. The others carried on, but somehow they did not locate their target and bombed another instead. The report noted that this target was unknown at the time and the photographs had not been identified by the time this report was written. We now know it was Gosnay. Whatever the factory was thought to be at the time, several bombs hit it. Flak was heavy and accurate, causing the bombers to take evasive action on several occasions.\n\nAs the Northolt Wing joined up with the bombers and headed south, they were thrown into confusion by the 10 Group Wing, which was flying ahead of the bombers when they turned, but once sorted out they all headed into France. Several 109s were seen below and these tried to engage the bombers and then started nibbling from behind. The CO of 315 Squadron called to say he was running short of fuel when near Dunkirk on the way back and no more was heard from him. Squadron Leader W. Szcz\u0119\u015bniewski failed to return and was later reported a prisoner. He had seen action over Poland and France before arriving in England, where he participated in the Battle of Britain with 307 and 303 Squadrons. In February 1941 he was made flight commander with 315 and CO in September.\n\n308 Squadron had tried to catch up to the bombers after becoming separated over Manston but did not find them. They patrolled over Dunkirk-Calais and later fought some 109s and one pilot was shot down and killed by Hptm. Sieffert, of JG26, the German's twenty-third victory. The Poles damaged two 109s. Meantime the other Poles from 10 Group had flown into France, seen the bombs going down and then, on the way back, became involved with 109s and Focke-Wulfs. In an intense dogfight, one FW190 was claimed shot down and seen to crash about five miles south-east of Dunkirk, while a 109 went down in flames between St Omer and Hazebrouck. However, 302 Squadron lost a pilot (captured), and 316 Squadron lost its CO, S\/Ldr W. Wilczewski, who was badly wounded and also became a guest of the Germans. Adolf Galland was in this action and, while Wilczewski thought he had been hit by flak, it is probable that Galland shot him down. Galland in fact, claimed two Spitfires this day, bringing his score to ninety-five. Priller was also involved and was credited with his fifty-seventh and fifty-eighth victories. The Wing claimed 2-1-1 for the loss of two pilots.\n\nOver Manston, the Kenley Wing, having arrived shortly ahead of schedule, did not see bombers or fighters so headed south after delaying some minutes. Over France they still did not see any sign of the main formation so headed for Lille, orbiting there at 1155. Seeing AA fire to the south-west they finally picked up the bombers but also saw numerous 109s in the distance. As the Wing approached the French coast again several 109s started to make attacks which lasted till well out to sea. 452 was particularly engaged but they shot down one 109F and probably another \u2013 both by Bluey Truscott. However, the Australian was eventually forced to bale out east of Ramsgate from where he was later rescued along with another 452 pilot, who was also running short of petrol.\n\nRear Support Wing became depleted due to fog, which kept all but 54 Squadron who managed to take off, on the ground. The 12 Group Wing was therefore short of cover but headed over France, although at a different height than briefed, dictated by the loss of Hornchurch's other two squadrons. The Wing was flying at between 20\u201323,000 feet and came under heavy AA fire which caused the Wing to split up somewhat just as many 109s were spotted. Nobody seemed fully aware if the 109s were going to attack and later, when four pilots failed to return it was supposed that flak may have been the major factor in their downfall, for no major engagements had been reported. It appears, however, that 412 Squadron was hit by JG26 and all four missing men were killed, including the CO, S\/Ldr C. Bushell. Overall this day, the three operations had netted claims of 3-2-4 but at the cost of eight pilots missing, with another three rescued from the sea. However, the cost was a little higher than the report suggests, with nine killed, four captured, plus the three rescued \u2013 sixteen fighters lost. German losses were one pilot killed from JG26 and one severely injured during a crash-landing. Three more fighters sustained damage that also resulted in crash-landings. Among the aces M\u00fcncheberg had brought his score to fifty-nine with two kills, Obfw. Mayer had got his twelfth and Oblt. Kurt Ebersberger, his sixteenth.\n\n* * *\n\nOn the 9th, Trafford Leigh-Mallory wrote the following report on Circus 110:\n\nSECRET\n\nReport on 11 Group Operations \u2013 \"Circus 110\"\n\nPart I, II and III \u2013 8\/11\/41\n\n  1. These operations were carried out in 2 phases. The first phase consisted of an attack by 8 Hurricane Bombers, assisted by 4 Hurricanes for anti-flak work. This force was covered by 2 Spitfires squadrons from Tangmere which acted as escort, and the Biggin Hill Wing which acted as high cover.\n\n  2. The squadrons for this attack rendezvoused at Dungeness, and approached the French coast between Berck and Le Touquet.\n\n  3. At the same time as this attack, a diversionary operation was carried out by the North Weald Wing, which rendezvoused at Manston and approached the French coast east of Dunkirk, and then flew back towards England again. These two operations were intended partially as a diversion to get the German fighters into the air before the main attack which was to take place 30 minutes after the first operation.\n\n  4. The main attack was directed against the locomotive works at Lille, and was to be undertaken by 12 Blenheims with 3 Wings in immediate attendance, and two other Wings located to cover the withdrawal.\n\n  5. The first two operations worked out very well with the exception of the Biggin Hill Wing, which suffered 4 casualties for one EA destroyed. The attack of the Hurricane Bombers accompanied by the anti-flak aircraft of 615 Squadron, was particularly successful. It was the first time that we had attempted a diving attack from the coast into the target. They crossed the coast at 10,000 feet and dived right down to ground level into the target area, accompanied by the 2 Tangmere squadrons. The attack was entirely successful. Only a few enemy aircraft were encountered on the way out, but these did not press their attack. One sergeant pilot of the Tangmere Wing was missing, but cannot be accounted for.\n\n  6. Meanwhile the Biggin Hill Wing had crossed the coast and arrived at Hesdin, where it orbited twice. There is evidence to show that the Wing got split up during this process which indicates a lack of judgement on the part of the Wing Leader as to the speed or size of circuits with which he carried out these manoeuvres. This resulted in the loss of 4 pilots for only one EA destroyed. It is most unfortunate that the normal Wing Leader, WC Rankin, had been given 48-hours leave owing to indisposition, and was not leading the Wing.\n\n  7. The operation of the North Weald Wing passed off without incident. It is estimated that these 2 actions brought up some 60 EA, which was exactly the kind of reaction hoped for when the operation was planned.\n\n  8. In the main operation 12 Blenheims rendezvoused at Manston at 11.30 hours with the Northolt Wing as close escort, the 10 Group Polish Wing escort cover and the Kenley Wing as high cover. The Northolt Polish Wing arrived at the rendezvous about 10 minutes early. The bombers also appeared early, and I think there is no doubt that the bombers left the rendezvous 5 minutes before the time laid down. This was apparent at the time and in the plotting which appeared on the table. The Kenley Wing arrived at the rendezvous one minute before the rendezvous time, and they could see no trace of the bombers, the escort and the escort cover. They orbited for 3 minutes, and then set course. In the meantime, the Flight Commander of one of the flights of Blenheims experienced trouble with his aircraft and turned back; unfortunately the remainder of his flight accompanied him. This upset the escort wing as it took place just after they were setting course for the French coast, and one of the Northolt squadrons accompanied the box of 6. This squadron later realised its mistake, went back over France and eventually picked up the bombers in the B\u00e9thune area when the bombers were on their homeward journey, thus 6 Blenheims started off for the French coast accompanied by 2 squadrons of the escort wing, and the escort cover wing. The high cover wing was not in contact.\n\n  9. The bombers were due to cross the coast 5 miles east of Dunkirk. They actually crossed the coast between Calais and Gravelines. Instead of going to Lille they went to Arras, turned over Arras and consider they bombed Gosnay on the homeward journey. As the bombers turned over Arras, 10 Group Wing turned inside them and got in front of them and at this time caused some confusion of the 2 close escort squadrons. The 10 Group Wing continued in front of the bombers throughout the journey home.\n\n  10. From this time onwards, the 2 Polish squadrons of the close escort were engaged frequently.\n\n  11. In the meantime the Kenley Wing had made straight for the target, and then wheeled westwards as they saw AA bursts some way to the south-west of them. They picked up the bombers and their escort somewhere in the B\u00e9thune area, and from that time onwards fulfilled their role as high cover. Their top squadron was continuously engaged, and owing to this some of their pilots ran out of petrol, three of them actually landing in the Channel and being subsequently picked up.\n\n  12. Altogether in this part of the operation we had 4 casualties which, considering the penetration and the fact that our forces were incomplete most of the time, can only be regarded as extremely fortunate. In this phase 3 EA were destroyed, 2 probables and 3 damaged.\n\n  13. At 11.40 hours the 12 Group Wing were due to rendezvous at Manston and proceed to patrol 5 miles south-east of Dunkirk. This Wing was ordered to patrol at 24,000 feet to 27,000 feet. They did, in fact, patrol at 20\u201323,000 feet. It must be pointed out that this was the original height that they were ordered to patrol when a complete wing was available to patrol above them. Owing to the fog at Hornchurch this arrangement had to be altered when it appeared it would not be possible to supply any high cover for this wing. The height was accordingly altered, and this was not telephoned by GC Beamish to WC Scott. The Wing reports that it was broken up by flak in the Dunkirk area. It would appear that the Wing did not get together again after its initial break up, as they lost the Wing Leader, one Squadron Leader and 2 pilots. No definite engagement is reported, and only one EA is claimed as being damaged.\n\n  14. As the weather at Hornchurch improved slightly one squadron was despatched rapidly to fly above the 12 Group Wing at between 28\u201330,000 feet. This squadron finally escorted the bombers out, and reports seeing attacks on the tail of the main formation; they dived down and drove off the EA but made no claim.\n\n  15. In conclusion, it appears that on the main penetration the casualties were not high but the Germans were able to deliver their attacks with much fewer casualties to them than if our higher wings had been in position to exploit the tactical advantage which the high escorting wings usually have. Still it could not be regarded as one of the more successful operations as we lost 4 aircraft for only 3 of the enemy destroyed. The casualties which appear unjustifiable are those in the Biggin Hill and 12 Group Wings. In the Biggin Hill Wing I consider that this was in no small measure due to the poor judgement on the part of the Leader. In the case of 12 Group, it would appear from the information available that the Wing flew at a lower height than it was ordered to, thereby giving the EA a tactical advantage, they flew over the flak area which was not necessary in carrying out their role, and by doing so got split up, enabling the enemy to make use of his height advantage by diving on stragglers.\n\n  16. During the second operation the enemy fighter reaction appeared to be on a moderate scale only, but it is difficult to gauge their numbers owing to lack of enemy plots during the operation.\n\n  17. The weather was fairly good but there was some haze. The Kenley Wing Commander reports that he could see St Omer from the coast, and had no difficulty in finding his way to Lille.\n\nTrafford Leigh-Mallory - 9\/11\/41\n\nAir-Vice-Marshal\n\nCommanding No.11 Group\n\nOn this same date, Sholto Douglas replied to a call from Air Commodore J. Whitworth Jones at Air Ministry concerning this operation. He wrote:\n\n  1. You asked me this morning to let you have a report on yesterday's Circus Operation. I attach a report by AOC No.11 Group.\n\n  2. There is one factor which the AOC does not mention but which, I think, had an appreciable effect on the high casualty rate. Whilst the wind on the ground was only about 5 mph, there was a wind at 35,000 feet of 75 mph, from the north-west. This means that formations returning to the English coast took appreciably longer than usual to get away from enemy fighters and flak. Moreover, the wind undoubtedly caused a shortage of petrol, which again would have the effect of causing pilots to run for home instead of staying and fighting it out. At least 2 pilots (both of No.452 Squadron) ran out of petrol on the way home, after being heavily engaged at full throttle, and force-landed in the sea. Fortunately both were picked up, but this factor may have been responsible for some of the other casualties.\n\n  3. In view of the results of this operation and of the need for conserving our resources in order to form new squadrons in replacement of those sent overseas, I have told the AOC 11 Group to scale down still further the number of Circus and other big operations that he does. I now propose to do not more than two, or at the outside three, Circuses per month for the time being.\n\nYours, WSD.\n\nThey were not only scaled down, but stopped, at least for 1941. They returned in 1942, a year that saw a further 130 flown with 11 Group fighters, while 10 Group put on at least ten more and several Ramrods.\n\nBy that time the Japanese war had begun, resulting in even more men and machines being needed overseas. Malta, North Africa, Burma \u2013 it was going to be a long war.\n_Chapter 12_\n\n**Aftermath**\n\nWhile Circus 110 was the last of the type flown in 1941, other operations continued for the remaining few weeks of the year. Circuses did not come to an end; Circus No.111 was mounted on 11 February 1942. The operations flown in these latter weeks were mostly called Low Ramrods, which had been around for some time. There was obviously some numbering system for them because one flown on 15 October 1941 is shown as Ramrod 69, while 10 Group had their own system too. On this same date 10 Group noted their Ramrod No.12. Towards the end of October there were Ramrods numbered in Roman numerals, IVA and IVB on 4 November for instance, with Ramrod V on 6 November, followed by VIA and VIB on the 7th.\n\nWith the deteriorating weather more Rhubarbs were being flown, but they were no safer than they had been earlier. Some Rodeos are recorded too, and fighter sweeps. Strangely there is reference to two Circuses on 8 December, but they did not feature in Bomber Command's list of Circus Ops. In the afternoon Ramrod XV, with Hurricanes attacking Hesdin produced a lot of action, as had some morning sorties. Eight fighter pilots were killed on these missions, and two lost to captivity, including one Air Sea Rescue Spitfire pilot killed by FW190s. JG26 claimed six Spitfires between 1255 and 1515 for the loss of two fighters, a FW190 shot down by a Spitfire, while a 109 pilot hit the ground during a low manoeuvre and had to belly-land at St Omer-Arques. M\u00fcncheberg brought his personal score to sixty in these actions. JG2 put in claims for another three Spitfires and one Hurricane although no Hurricane was lost.\n\nOn the 13th, two Hampdens of 44 and 144 Squadrons failed to return from early evening 'Gardening' missions \u2013 laying mines off Brest. Both fell to Me109s of JG2. It had been a good day for JG2, for around noon they had shot down two Curtiss P40 Tomahawks of Army Co-operation Command off the Somme Estuary.\n\nShortly before Christmas there was Rodeo II on the 18th, the same day that Operation 'Veracity' was mounted \u2013 an attack on the German battleships _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ in Brest. JG2 engaged the bombers, claiming four Stirlings and one Manchester, plus two Spitfires. Number 7 and 15 Squadrons lost five Stirlings. A Halifax of 35 Squadron, also on this raid, was crippled by flak and its pilot (and Squadron CO) W\/Cdr B. V. Robinson DFC, had to ditch his bomber sixty miles off the English coast \u2013 and survived. 97 Squadron lost one of its Avro Manchesters to fighter attack off Brest, while the Squadron CO, W\/Cdr D. F. Balsdon, had to return with his aircraft severely damaged, only to stall and crash at RAF Coningsby. All eight crewmen died.\n\nOperation 'Veracity' (II) was conducted on 30 December, by 10 Group. Nine Spitfires squadrons escorted bombers to Brest again, losing three fighters with all pilots listed as missing. One was killed, and the other two were taken prisoner. This raid also cost the RAF three Halifax aircraft, one each from 10, 35 and 76 Squadrons. JG2 claimed all three although AA fire seems to have done the major damage. Oberleutnant Erich Leie claimed one of the bombers for his thirty-second victory. Three Spitfires also failed to return. One of the pilots, Sgt A. E. Joyce of 234 Squadron, was captured, ending up in the famous Stalag Luft III prison camp. However, he was shot during an escape attempt in June 1943 and died on the operating table before doctors could save him. One of the others, from 306 Squadron, may have been hit by flak as it was seen to lose a wing over Brest while engaged in combat. Another Polish pilot, from 317 Squadron, ended up as a prisoner of war.\n\nThe escorting Spitfire pilots put in claims for seven destroyed, seven probably destroyed and three damaged, later revised to 8-6-3, most claims coming from the Polish Wing. JG2 lost two Me109s with one pilot killed.\n\n* * *\n\nThe year of 1941 had been a desperate one for the Allies on all fronts. Allied armies in North Africa were on a see-saw of operations back and forth across the desert, Malta was being pounded by Italian and German aircraft, German U-boats were decimating ships bringing supplies across the Atlantic, Russia had been invaded, and in early December Japan had brought America into the war by attacking Pearl Harbor. There had been one or two high spots, such as the sinking of the German battleship _Bismarck_ in May, and the London _Blitz_ had come to an end that same month, but everything seemed to be going rapidly downhill. Bomber Command was doing its best to strike back, but without the navigational aids and target identification methods that were to come, the damage inflicted was less than supposed, or hoped for.\n\nFighter Command, along with light bombers from 2 and 16 Groups, and later with Stirlings and Hampdens from 3 and 5 Groups, had taken the air war into the skies of northern France and Belgium, but at what cost? If success was being thought to be made because losses were far less than German aircraft shot down, then success was elusory. In the beginning, the idea was merely to take the air war to the Germans following the hard fought actions during the Battle of Britain. It helped morale if the RAF fighter pilots could hit back and feel they were 'dishing it out' rather than constantly 'taking it'.\n\nAfter the Germans moved on Russia in mid-June, there was another incentive in taking this air war to the enemy. Russia wanted Britain to harass the Germans in the West in the hope that the pressure in the East could be eased somewhat. Britain's war leaders thought that by keeping up attacks over northern France, it would force the Germans to reduce the number of aircraft being used on the Eastern Front. As we now know this did not happen, and leaving just two fighter Gruppen in France and the Low Countries was more than enough to cope with these RAF incursions.\n\nThe idea that massed fighter sweeps by Fighter Command would encourage Luftwaffe fighters to rise and do battle was very na\u00efve. While many German pilots were keen to engage in dogfights, if for no other reason than to increase personal victory scores, their leaders saw no percentage in shooting down a few Spitfires or Hurricanes while risking perhaps a similar number of losses. The RAF had found this out in late 1940, knowing that fighter sweeps, or _Frei Jagd_ as the Germans called them, posed no threat to military or civilian targets, and were mostly left alone, thereby eliminating the loss of valuable pilots and aircraft. The Germans had countered by using their bomb-carrying _jabo_ staffels to make it difficult for RAF interceptors to ignore. Now, in 1941, the Germans had to be encouraged to engage by using small formations of bombers as bait, and when this started to pall, the RAF introduced four-engined Stirlings to entice air combat.\n\nAs 1941 progressed, the RAF was encouraged by the number of German fighters that were being shot down, or in truth, being 'claimed' as shot down. Even in the 1914\u201318 war it was known that fighter claims bore little or no relation to the number of enemy aircraft that were actually destroyed. In that conflict, the RFC, RNAS and then the RAF, were constantly over the German side of the lines in France, and the chances of a German falling on the Allied side were few and far between. In order to produce some measure of success, the only guide to what damage was being inflicted was by corroborated reports by the pilots themselves.\n\nThis was all very well, but put simply, the conditions that prevailed made this a very hit and miss affair. Aeroplanes, and therefore airmen, flying at high speed, and, if they were not stupid, constantly looking out for danger, had very limited access to a clear picture of what was happening around them. Certainly if they were firing upon a hostile aeroplane and it burst into flames in front of them, or perhaps a wing or two came adrift, then it was fairly certain the aircraft was destroyed. Even seeing it go down and strike the ground resulted in making a good claim, but it could rarely, if ever, be known with absolute certainty if the crashing aircraft was in fact the one you had shot at. Several pilots shooting at several aircraft, and as the whirling and turning continued, looked down when an opportunity occurred, and saw an aircraft crash, believed it was the one they had been firing at moments before. In this way, one crashing aircraft produced two or three claims by the squadron as a whole.\n\nCloudy or misty conditions did not help in the claiming game either. Firing at and seeing an opponent go spinning down into cloud, could never be turned into a confirmed kill, so it was frustrating for the fighting pilots not to be able to claim a definite scalp. Therefore, it was not long before these sorts of actions resulted in what was termed as an 'out of control' claim. That is to say, someone else saw the action and confirmed that their colleague had indeed hit an enemy aircraft so badly that it had gone down 'out of control' (adding the word completely also helped). Pilots were supposed to understand the difference between an aircraft really out of control, rather than one with a pilot simply spinning out of the fight, and once below the cloud into which he was seen spinning, flattened out and went home, a better and a wiser man. This inevitably became, what in WW2 would be known as a 'probable' victory. Of course, the 'ooc' aircraft might well have continued down through the cloud or ground mist, to smash to pieces over the French countryside, but unless it was near enough to the lines for an Allied soldier to witness it, the 'victorious' pilot could only report one enemy aircraft 'out of control'.\n\nAs things progressed, the word 'victory' became synonymous with 'destroyed', and the armchair historians in later years, added confirmed victories together with these 'ooc' aircraft (or probables) in order to create a total victory list for the man. Therefore, if the pilot was given credit for three enemy aircraft destroyed and four 'out of control' his score became seven. In citations for medals this separation was not always recorded and the journalists of the time, and then the pulp fiction writers of the 1920\u201330s invariably ignored (or did not fully understand) the two types of claims, and listed the victory scores as enemy aircraft destroyed. This in itself didn't matter a hoot, but this is why many WW1 pilots appear to have achieved a considerable number of victories \u2013 of which some, in reality, were merely probables.\n\nIn WW2 this did not happen. Fighter pilots could claim an enemy aircraft destroyed, probably destroyed or damaged. If confirmed as destroyed it had to have been witnessed by an independent person and seen to crash, crash in flames, break up in the air, or the pilot take to his parachute. If it merely fell or spun away out of sight trailing smoke or flame but not actually seen to crash, blow up or its pilot bale out, then it was a probable. Even if the victorious pilot reported it had crashed but had no witnesses to the event, the squadron intelligence officer could only give credit for a probable, although it became obvious that certain pilots \u2013 those with a track record for shooting down enemy machines \u2013 were often given credit. Whatever the result, only those aircraft confirmed as destroyed were credited as victories, and were not, like WW1, added to probables to show an overall score. As camera guns were fitted to day fighter aircraft, often a confirmed victory could be given if the pictures showed the enemy aircraft being destroyed, or at least, so heavily damaged that it was more than probable that it was destroyed. Anything less, even if the attacker saw the aircraft crash after he had stopped firing, was more often than not given as a probable or even a damaged.\n\nThe German pilots had similar categories of victory credits, especially the confirmation by another pilot or ground observer. However, neither side, obviously, kept to these rules, as witnessed by the number of claims and credits against actual losses. It was generally a case of the head seeing what the eye did not. If a pilot was convinced that his opponent had been destroyed, even if he had to admit to himself he had not actually seen it, he might easily report it destroyed because he could not believe it could have survived the damage he had inflicted.\n\nIf the problem of speed in WW1 contributed to over-confidence in claiming a victory because, having fired at an opponent, then taking his eyes from it to check his own safety, then having turned or banked looked back and saw what he assumed to be the aircraft he had just attacked crash, it was easy to assume it was his. In the Second World War, the speed of combat compared with World War One meant that a pilot very quickly exited the immediate combat zone. It was this more than anything else, especially in a fight where there were several aircraft of both sides involved, that one falling aircraft could become the 'victory' of several pilots. And if an aircraft was seen to fall into the sea or crash several thousand feet below, it was easy to say that it was a German aircraft when in fact it might well have been a British one.\n\nWhat of course becomes very clear from the earlier chapters in this book, is that both sides were claiming vastly more of their opponents as destroyed, than were actually lost or even damaged. On Circus operations during 1941, the RAF's own score of enemy fighters destroyed came to 556, which added to other types of operations that showed 219 victories, the total then became 775. Of the 219, eighty-two were under the heading of 'fighter sweeps' and often these sweeps were in support of Circuses, so one could argue that Circuses had accounted for well over 600 victories. As the Germans only lost 103 fighters between 14 June and 31 December on the Western Front in 1941, it does not take a mathematical genius to see that the RAF pilots were vastly over-claiming. Often in good faith one has to say. To say otherwise would not be very gallant. However, there are some examples of pilots being credited with a confirmed victory with untruthful combat report narratives.\n\nToday's Internet figures record that the Germans lost 236 fighters from all causes, 103 of them in combat. RAF claims, however, amounted to 711 [another source says 731] enemy aircraft, while the RAF lost approximately 411 Spitfires and ninety-three Hurricanes [or about 505 in total].\n\nIt is only human nature to discover that if the intelligence officer was not keen in giving a confirmed victory or if a pilot's report did not mention a realistic demise of enemy aircraft or pilot, that an extra couple of words would make the difference. There is the case of one successful British pilot who claimed a 109 shot down, and ended his report by saying he saw it dive into the sea. We now know from German evidence that this particular German pilot, while heading for the sea, did not crash but pulled out and went home. But as the RAF pilot's report said it dived into the sea, it helped his claim for a confirmed victory. Don't forget that most of these RAF pilots were little more than boys and with the adrenalin flowing, heart pumping and breathing heavy, it is all too easy to guild the lily, and come home a champion rather than an also-ran.\n\nIt happened on the German side too. One has only to compare RAF losses with German claims to see that the same was just as true as with the RAF, especially on the rare occasions when Blenheims survived the fighter onslaught and _all_ returned home, yet some were claimed as destroyed anyway. Despite the assumed strict confirmation rules, it has to be said that those German aces with growing scores, appear to be among the most prolific over-claimers. Their carrot was the award of the Knight's Cross for approximately twenty victories, it was a definite aim.\n\nLuftwaffe claims according to one report noted almost 1,500, broken down into 850 Spitfires, 100 Hurricanes, 161 Blenheims, 149 Wellingtons and 1 Lancaster (but no Stirlings).\n\n* * *\n\nWe armchair historians are great at levelling judgements long after the events, but there are questions to be asked, even if they cannot be answered now by those who were 'running the show'. One question is where does wishful thinking end and common sense (logic) begin?\n\nAs already mentioned in earlier chapters, was Air Ministry \u2013 that is to say, the top brass who were over-seeing the day to day, week to week, month to month activities of the offensive operations being carried out \u2013 blinkered to common sense, or did they just go along with everything? Did they really think that Fighter Command was actually inflicting so such damage on the Luftwaffe? Surely Intelligence gathering sources could reveal that there was a vast difference between claims of losses and actual losses?\n\nAt the end of August 1941 for instance, Fighter Command gave an analysis of enemy casualties during that month. Total enemy losses attributed to RAF fighters was 146 with another seventy-seven as probables. While this did include some sixteen Me110s, He111s, Do17s and Ju88s, it still made 131 Me109s lost by the enemy. Staying with the fighter losses, these figures estimated (and assumed) personnel losses of the same number, i.e. 131, plus a possible sixty-eight more casualties in the probable category, making 199 pilot casualties. This analysis also estimated, by adding total and probable losses together, that the Luftwaffe had suffered a possible loss of 227 during the month.\n\nWe imagine that the Chief of the Air Staff and his immediate inner circle read these figures and jumped up and down with joy, believing the war was not far off being won if their fighter pilots could inflict such pain on the enemy. However, there had to be some officers questioning the 'intelligence' reports. Presumably everyone looked with less favour on RAF losses. During the year the figure of lost pilots recorded by Fighter Command who had been on Circus operations totalled 296 killed, taken prisoner or were still missing. Another fifty-five had become casualties on fighter sweeps, while overall, for all operations (including Rhubarbs, anti-shipping escorts, etc.), pilot losses were 462.\n\nA good number of these losses were veterans of the Battle of Britain, in fact over 200 pilots that had seen action in the defence of Britain in the summer and autumn of 1940 had become casualties from late 1940 and during 1941 \u2013 some eighty-two being killed in action with twenty-six others taken prisoner. Some, naturally, had lost their lives in flying accidents \u2013 about fifty-three \u2013 while about twenty others had been lost or shot down after being sent to Malta or North Africa, but that still meant that over 100 had become casualties, mainly over France and the Channel, while 'taking the war to the enemy'. A number had also been wounded, some never to return to operational flying. A few had also been brought down, evaded capture and eventually managed to return to England.\n\nDuring the second half of the 1941 'offensive', the RAF lost around 600 fighters, as opposed to some 920 in the Battle of Britain. Luftwaffe records seem to indicate around 100 Me109s lost.\n\nThe two main Geschwaders, JG26 and JG2, generally had around 250 fighters on strength, although serviceability often reduced this overall figure \u2013 sometimes by up to a third. After Rolf Pingel was interrogated following his capture in early July, it became clear to Fighter Command leaders that their task of reducing Luftwaffe effort on the Eastern Front so as to counter the offensive over France was not working. It also became clear that German losses were not in accord with RAF claims. Following a conference on 29 July, it was decided to reduce somewhat the intensity of the offensive. Ironically, the RAF failed to realise that their efforts were in fact having some impact on Luftwaffe fighter serviceability which was at this time down to 70 per cent. More ironically, the respite enabled the serviceability to increase to around 80 per cent by August. However, this brief lull was over by mid-August and Circus operations returned to normal. In late August the question of continuing with these operations was still being considered.\n\nThis book records what occurred during this momentous year of 1941 and brings into clear focus the very great trial imposed on Fighter Command. Yet, as we like saying today, it gave the leaders of the day - 'lessons to be learned'. Everything is new every day in war. The trick is to keep going, take the blows and fight on. There is no doubt that in Fighter Command, the Wing and Squadron commanders, in the main, learnt the lessons and continued the fight, and the youngsters that followed them helped achieve ultimate victory for the British people.\n_Appendix A_\n\n**Circus Operations flown during 1941**\n\n_Appendix B_\n\n**Single-seat Day Fighters Order of Battle January 1941**\n\n**11 Group**\n\n**10 Group**\n\n**12 Group**\n\n_Appendix C_\n\n**Single Seat Day Fighters Order of Battle 1 June 1941**\n\n**11 Group**\n\n**10 Group**\n\n**12 Group**\n\n_Appendix D_\n\n**Statistics Relating to Day Offensive Operations by Fighter Command, 1941**\n\nIn addition, fighter pilots lost on - anti-shipping sorties = 23  \nSome 404 sorties were flown in addition covering operations where the following losses were incurred:\n\n\u2013 other bombing ops = 50\n\n\u2013 miscellaneous ops = 5\n\n\u2013 recce missions = 5\n\n(Total = 83)\n\nThese figures were issued by Fighter Command HQ, and on the face of it there does seem to be some discrepancies, so they are shown here for information.\n\nIn total, the Command had flown 2,288\u00bd operational sorties, claimed a total of 775 enemy aircraft destroyed (including 156 on other operations), while acknowledging fighter pilot losses of 461.\n**Bibliography**\n\n_The JG 26 War Diary (Vol One)_ , by Donald Caldwell, Grub Street, 1996\n\n_Bomber Command Losses, 1941_ , by W. R. Chorley, Midland Counties\/(Ian Allan), 1993\n\n_Spitfire into Battle_ , by G\/Capt Duncan Smith, John Murray, 1981\n\n_The First and the Last_ , by Adolf Galland, Methuen, 1955\n\n_Fighter Pilot_ , by William R. Dunn, University Press of Kentucky, 1982\n\n_Kiwi Spitfire Ace_ , by Jack Rae, Grub Street, 2001\n\n_Nine Lives_ , by G\/Capt Alan C. Deere, Hodder & Stoughton, 1959\n\n_Spitfire Patrol_ , by G\/Capt Colin Gray, Hutchinson, 1990\n\n_With the Wind in my Face_ , by W\/Cdr J. P. Falkowski, Privately Published, c1967\n\n_Fighter Command_ , by Peter Wykham, Putnam, 1960\n\n_Fighter Pilot's Summer_ , by Norman Franks & W\/Cdr Paul Richey, Grub Street, 1993\n\n_The War Diaries of Neville Duke_ , edited by Norman Franks, Grub Street, 1995\n\n_One of the Few_ , by G\/Capt J. A. Kent, William Kimber, 1971\n\n_Aces High_ , by Christopher F. Shores & Clive Williams, Grub Street, 1994\n\n_Those Other Eagles_ , by Christopher Shores, Grub Street, 2004\n\n_Commanders of the Polish Air Force Squadrons in the West_ , by J\u00f3zef Zieli\u0144ski and Tadeusz Krzystek, Posna\u0144, 2002\n\n_The Canadian Years (242 Sqn)_ , by Hugh Halliday, Midland Counties, 1982\n\n_Years of Command_ , by MRAF Lord Douglas of Kirtleside, Collins, 1966\n\n_Die Ritterkreuztr_ \u00e4 _ger der Luftwaffe_ , by Ernst Obermaier, Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, 1966\n\n_RAF Evaders_ , by Oliver Clutton-Brock, Grub Street, 2009\n","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaBook"}}
+{"text":"#  \n#  \nThank you for purchasing this eBook.\n\nAt Sourcebooks we believe one thing:\n\nBOOKS CHANGE LIVES.\n\nWe would love to invite you to receive exclusive rewards. Sign up now for VIP savings, bonus content, early access to new ideas we're developing, and sneak peeks at our hottest titles!\n\nHappy reading!\n\nSIGN UP NOW!\nCopyright \u00a9 2017 by Linda Skeers\n\nCover and internal design \u00a9 2017 by Sourcebooks, Inc.\n\nCover and internal design by Jillian Rahn\/Sourcebooks, Inc.\n\nCover and internal illustrations \u00a9 Livi Gosling\n\nCover image\/type \u00a9 Gleb_Guralnyk\/Thinkstock\n\nSourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.\n\nAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems\u2014except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews\u2014without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.\n\nThis publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.\u2014From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations\n\nPublished by Sourcebooks, Inc.\n\nP.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567\u20134410\n\n(630) 961-3900\n\nFax: (630) 961-2168\n\nsourcebooks.com\n\nLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.\n\n# Contents\n\nFront Cover\n\nTitle Page\n\nCopyright\n\nDaredevils\n\nAnna Olga Albertina Brown\n\nAnnie Edson Taylor\n\nBessie Coleman\n\nElinor Smith\n\nFlorence Chadwick\n\nGeorgia \"Tiny\" Broadwick\n\nHelen Gibson\n\nLillian Boyer\n\nLillian Leitzel\n\nMary Lillian Ellison\n\nMay Emmeline Wirth\n\nMildred Burke\n\nShirley Muldowney\n\nSophie Blanchard\n\nValentina Tereshkova\n\nAdventurers\n\nAda Blackjack\n\nBarbara Hillary\n\nBeatrice Ayettey\n\nEmma \"Grandma\" Gatewood\n\nDr. Eugenie Clark\n\nFanny Bullock Workman\n\nFerminia Sarras\n\nIda Lewis\n\nJeanne Baret\n\nJoan Bamford Fletcher\n\nJunko Tabei\n\nLibby Ribbles\n\nLillian Riggs\n\nMargaret Bourke-White\n\nMary Anning\n\nMina Hubbard\n\nRosaly Lopes\n\nSylvia Earle\n\nYnes Mexia\n\nRebels\n\nAlia Muhammad Baker\n\nAnnette Kellerman\n\nAnnie \"Londonderry\" Cohen Kopchovsky\n\nBelle Boyd\n\nBessie Stringfield\n\nElla Hattan\n\nIrena Sendler\n\nJohanna July\n\nKate Warne\n\nKeiko Fukuda\n\nLyda Conley\n\nMargaret \"Molly\" Tobin Brown\n\nMary Edwards Walker\n\nMary Fields\n\nMinnie Spotted Wolf\n\nRose Fortune\n\nSusan La Flesche Picotte\n\nSybil Ludington\n\nBibliography\n\nAbout The Author\n\nAbout The Illustrator\n\nBack Cover\n\n#\n\n1858\u20131919(?) \u2022 Germany\n\nIn the 1800s, circuses were a popular form of entertainment around the world. In 1858, two acrobats had a baby girl and named her Anna Olga Albertina Brown. It's not surprising that she joined the family business. From a young age she was an accomplished trapeze artist, tightrope walker, and gymnast.\n\nAnna performed under the stage name \"Miss La La.\" She was tiny\u2014under five feet tall. Although she looked like a child, she had the strength of a grown man\u2014a very STRONG man. And that's what set her apart from the other trapeze artists.\n\nBeing biracial also gave her an air of mystery, which publicists capitalized on when they released stories about her background before her appearances. Rumors were rampant before performances. The more outlandish the story, the more tickets were sold.\n\nAnna's act was astonishing and unique. She'd start out by hanging a hook with a dangling leather strap over a trapeze bar. She'd then bite down on the strap and hang there by her teeth\u2014and spin!\n\nThat was just the warm-up. She'd also hang by her knees from a trapeze bar while holding a leather strap connected to another trapeze bar in her teeth. But then, a child, a woman, and a man would hang on that trapeze bar!\n\nBy that point the audience would be amazed by her poise and strength. But there was more to come. Much more.\n\nAnna would be lifted to the top of the circus tent, and with just one leg swung over a trapeze bar, this dainty acrobat in a ruffled skirt would hold three grown men aloft\u2014one on each arm and one hanging onto a strap she held in her teeth.\n\nHer big finale was a booming success\u2014literally. She would lift a cannon attached to a leather strap into the air with her teeth, and then it would be FIRED! She'd be flung back from the blast\u2014still clenching the cannon\u2014earning her the nickname \"Iron Jaw.\"\n\nWhen she was twenty-one, Anna was immortalized in a painting by the famous French impressionist artist Edgar Degas. He'd seen her perform several times in Montmarte, Paris, and wanted to capture her beauty, strength, and grace on canvas. The painting depicts her suspended from a rope attached to the roof of the circus tent\u2014a rope she's holding in her teeth. The oil painting, Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, hangs in the National Gallery in London. One art critic proclaimed it to be one of the artist's finest works. It certainly portrays one of the finest, strongest, and bravest women the circus has ever known!\n\n1838\u20131921 \u2022 United States\n\nIn 1901, in the small town of Bay City, Michigan, Civil War widow Annie Taylor was thinking about retiring. For years, she'd been giving dance and etiquette lessons to children. But as she got older, the students stopped coming. She had no savings and wasn't interested in getting an ordinary job\u2014she wanted fame and fortune!\n\nShe just didn't know how to get it.\n\nOne evening, she was reading a newspaper article about all the tourists flocking to see Niagara Falls. She decided to show them something far more exciting than waterfalls, something never seen before\u2014the first person to go over the falls in a barrel!\n\nAn ordinary pickle barrel wouldn't do, so Annie designed one herself. It was made of white oak and reinforced with iron bands. A blacksmith's anvil was set in the bottom to keep the barrel upright. She would grip metal handles and be secured with leather straps.\n\nAnnie was ready to take the plunge but wanted to make sure people were there to watch. For weeks, newspapers and posters advertised \"the fearless Mrs. Taylor\" and her daring, death-defying stunt.\n\nOn October 24, 1901, on her sixty-third birthday, Annie rode to the falls in a carriage. Thousands had come out to witness the spectacle. She strapped herself in and crammed pillows around her. The barrel was sealed and fastened with screws.\n\nPeople gasped as the barrel tumbled and tossed its way closer to the edge. The roaring of the Falls drowned out the excited and terrified roaring of the crowd as Annie went over and down!\n\nAt first, nothing could be seen in the swirling water. Then, Annie's barrel bobbed to the surface!\n\nIt floated to the shore, and workmen frantically sawed off the top of the barrel.\n\nAnnie slowly crawled out. She was bruised and battered, but ALIVE! The first thing she said was, \"I prayed every second I was in the barrel except for a few seconds after the fall when I was unconscious.\"\n\nAnnie may not have made the fortune she'd hoped for, but she loved sharing her story.\n\nShe set up a souvenir stand near Niagara Falls and sold postcards and booklets about her life. The \"queen of the falls\" will go down in history as one fearless\u2014and perhaps a bit reckless\u2014daredevil.\n\n1892(?)\u20131926 \u2022 United States\n\nBessie Coleman was born in a tiny cabin in Texas, but even as a child she had big dreams. She picked cotton and helped wash and iron clothes, but she also attended school and excelled at math. When Bessie was eleven years old, something happened that caught her attention\u2014and changed her life. The Wright Brothers flew their first plane! She read everything she could find about airplanes, dreaming about the day she would soar through the sky.\n\nAs a young woman, Bessie moved to Chicago, where her older brothers lived. She worked as a manicurist and saved money for flying lessons. She applied to flight school...and was rejected. She kept applying. And she kept getting rejected for the same two reasons\u2014she was a woman and she was African-American.\n\nBessie refused to give up, so when she learned that women were being taught to fly in France, she knew what she had to do. She worked harder to save money and took classes to learn French!\n\nBessie sailed to Europe, and soon she was finally taking flying lessons. Even though she had to walk several miles each day to school and she witnessed fatal crashes, her desire to fly never wavered. Bessie even managed to graduate from the ten-month course in seven months. In 1921, she became the first African-American woman to earn an international pilot's license.\n\nWhen she returned to the States, parades were held in her honor. Newspaper articles were written about her. She was a celebrity\u2014a celebrity without a job. There were no aviation jobs for a woman. She returned to Europe and studied air acrobatics. Bessie returned to the States again\u2014this time as a stunt pilot. She amazed thousands of spectators at her shows\u2014doing loop-de-loops, figure eights, and barrel rolls.\n\nThe press nicknamed her \"Queen Bess\" and wrote about her breathtaking stunts. In 1925, the show didn't go as planned. She had a serious crash and broke several bones. But instead of being upset about her physical injuries, she was sad that she had disappointed the fans who had bought tickets to see her fly. A year later, she was back in the air.\n\nAs Bessie traveled the country, she frequently talked to young girls and women about aviation. She wanted to encourage and inspire the next generation to pursue their dreams of flying, just as she had. And that's exactly what she did.\n\n1911\u20132010 \u2022 United States\n\nWhen Elinor was six years old, her family was driving through the country when they saw a sign that said AIRPLANE RIDES $5.00. Elinor and her little brother climbed into the cockpit, and off they went. Before the plane had even landed, Elinor knew she was born to fly!\n\nShe started taking flying lessons when she was ten. Since she was too short to reach the pedals, her instructor tied blocks of wood to them. She also sat on a pillow so she could see where she was headed.\n\nIn 1928, when she was only sixteen years old, Elinor became the youngest person to receive a pilot's license\u2014signed by Orville Wright!\n\nElinor was an inspiration to other girls who wanted to fly. But not everyone believed in her\u2014male pilots often teased and ridiculed her. One stunt pilot went even further and bet she wasn't good enough to fly under one of New York's bridges\u2014something no one had ever done before. He expected her to back down and admit she wasn't capable. She didn't. Elinor not only accepted his dare, she said she would fly under all FOUR bridges in New York.\n\nElinor carefully prepared for this spectacular feat. She studied tides, measured, and calculated her route. On Sunday, October 21, 1928, the seventeen-year-old was ready. Before she took off, the legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh personally wished her luck.\n\nNewsreel reporters lined the bridges as she took off. She flew under the Queensboro bridge, just feet above the river. Then she ducked her plane under the Williamsburg Bridge. Halfway done! She waved to spectators and swooped under the Manhattan Bridge.\n\nOnly the Brooklyn Bridge was left\u2014but there was a problem. A tanker and a Navy ship were chugging away under the bridge. Would she fit? She turned her plane and flew sideways under the bridge and between the ships!\n\nHer stunt played on newsreels in movie theaters all over the world. It also came to the attention of New York's mayor. What she had done was illegal. She could lose her pilot's license forever. Instead, it was suspended for ten days. Rather than being considered a criminal, she was hailed as a hero!\n\nElinor went on to set speed, altitude, and endurance records\u2014too many for her to count. She also became the first woman test pilot for two airplane manufacturers.\n\nNot only was Elinor born to fly, but she opened doors\u2014and the skies\u2014to future generations of female aviators!\n\n1918\u20131995 \u2022 United States\n\nFlorence grew up in sunny San Diego, California and started taking swimming lessons when she was six years old. Before long, she was competing in swimming meets, and she won her first one when she was ten. But the smooth, still water in swimming pools didn't provide enough of a challenge. Florence was drawn to the rough, unpredictable nature of the ocean\u2014that's where she felt the most at home. At ten, she was the youngest person to swim across the mouth of San Diego Bay.\n\nFlorence was always looking for her next challenge, and she set her sights on swimming the English Channel in record time.\n\nIt wouldn't be an easy feat\u2014long endurance swims are unpredictable. Besides the currents, the cold temperatures, and the blowing winds, Florence could encounter seaweed, sunburn, stingrays, jellyfish, sharks, and debris. No two swims are ever the same.\n\nIn July 1950, she attempted to swim the English Channel.\n\nShe failed.\n\nBut she refused to give up on her dream.\n\nA month later, on August 8, 1950, Florence tried again. She swam from France to England in thirteen hours, twenty minutes, breaking a speed record that had stood for twenty-four years. But she wasn't satisfied. A year later she swam the Channel again\u2014from England to France\u2014the first woman to swim the Channel both ways!\n\nOn July 4, 1952, Florence set a new goal: to swim between Catalina Island and the California coast, a twenty-one-mile stretch. Small boats surrounded her, frequently fending off sharks when they got too close to her. A thick fog rolled in, making it impossible for her to judge how close she was to the coastline. After almost sixteen hours in the water, exhausted and disoriented, Florence asked to be pulled into one of the boats. She was disheartened to realize she was less than a mile from the shore.\n\nNever one to dwell on defeat, two months later she tried again. And again, a thick fog rolled in. But this time she ignored it and just kept swimming\u2014and she succeeded!\n\nFlorence continued to find and conquer bodies of water all around the world, adding to her list of women's \"firsts\" in swimming. In 1970, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.\n\nFlorence is remembered as not only an amazing swimmer but also a woman with a fierce determination to set goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them.\n\n1893\u20131978 \u2022 United States\n\nGeorgia weighed only three pounds when she was born, which earned her the nickname \"Tiny.\" Despite her size, she was fearless and active. At fifteen, she watched Charles Broadwick's World Famous Aeronauts parachute from a hot-air balloon. The dangerous stunt fascinated her, so she asked to join his troupe of performers. Not only did he agree, she became an important member of his skydiving family.\n\nAs a petite teenager, Georgia wore a silk dress, ruffled bloomers, and a bonnet and was promoted as the \"Doll Girl.\" The nickname may have helped sell tickets but she always hated it. Georgia would sit on a trapeze bar suspended from a hot-air balloon and jump off and parachute to the ground.\n\nIn January 1912, the Los Angeles Times wrote about her daring jumps, and that caught the attention of a pilot who asked if she was ready for something more dramatic\u2014parachuting out of a plane! She didn't hesitate.\n\nSoaring high above the ground, Georgia crawled out of the cockpit and stood on the side of the biplane. She wore a bulky parachute attached to the plane by a static line. She stepped off into space, the line pulled the parachute open, and she floated to the ground\u2014landing on her feet. She was the first woman to parachute from a plane\u2014and she was just getting started!\n\nNot all of Georgia's landings were on target. She landed on a windmill, in a swamp, in trees, on a roof, and on the top of a caboose as it rolled down the tracks. Despite broken bones, sprained ankles, bumps, and bruises, nothing could dampen the excitement over her next jump.\n\nIn 1914, the U.S. Army took an interest in her parachuting skills. In four successful jumps, she demonstrated how the parachute was deployed by a static line attached to the plane. But as she made her fifth jump, something went wrong! The cord got tangled, and she was left tossing and twirling under the plane as it flew. She stayed calm, quickly cut the static line, and deployed the parachute by hand\u2014making her the first person to free-fall from a plane. Georgia was also the first to prove to the military that airmen could safely bail out of airplanes and live. This led to the invention of the ripcord, and it changed the way parachutes were packed and deployed from then on.\n\nGeorgia retired in 1922, after approximately 1,100 jumps. In 1964, she donated one of the silk parachutes she used\u2014handmade by Charles Broadwick\u2014to the Smithsonian Institute, at a dinner celebrating her legacy. She may have been tiny, but she had big dreams\u2014and the passion and determination to achieve them!\n\n1892\u20131977 \u2022 United States\n\nHelen was working at a boring job in a cigar factory when she went to a Wild West show. It was an evening packed with excitement and thrills\u2014something she wanted more of in her own life. She headed to a ranch in Oklahoma to learn to ride horses and soon excelled at trick riding. Helen performed in rodeos, but then a new form of entertainment popped up\u2014movies! Helen was hired to ride horses in Westerns, earning fifteen dollars a week, which was a lot of money at that time.\n\nShe became the stuntwoman for the popular movie series, The Hazards of Helen. When the star got sick, Helen took over as the lead and did several episodes. It continued for years, with Helen doing stunts in sixty-nine of them.\n\nTotally fearless, she tackled each stunt the writers came up with. One of her most dangerous ones had her driving a team of horses, detaching them from the wagon, standing on their backs, catching a rope hanging from a bridge, and swinging from the horses onto a moving train. She did it without getting hurt\u2014but she did get a raise!\n\nHelen became known as the first professional stuntwoman in Hollywood and was given her own movie series called A Daughter of Daring. And her stunts got even more daring. For one of her most famous scenes she practiced jumping from the roof of a train station onto a train while it was standing still. But when the cameras started rolling, so did the train! She jumped, landed, and rolled almost off the back of the train! Luckily, she grabbed onto an air vent at the last second. She then dangled over the edge, making the scene even more dramatic.\n\nIn 1924, Helen joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus as a trick rider. It was exciting, but not as exciting as doing movie stunts. After three years, she returned to Hollywood, trading her horses for motorcycles and even more incredible stunts!\n\nOne of her most impressive scenes involved riding a motorcycle onto a train platform, through the open door of a boxcar, and onto a flatcar\u2014all while the train chugged down the tracks!\n\nHelen's last appearance in a movie was in 1961, when she was sixty-nine years old. This amazing and talented daredevil not only led an adventurous life, but blazed a trail for other fearless stuntwomen to make their mark in both movies and television.\n\n1901\u20131989 \u2022 United States\n\nWhen Lillian was in her early twenties, she worked as a waitress in Chicago. Two of her regular customers were barnstormers\u2014airplane pilots who flew so low they skimmed the roofs of barns and did stunts for entertainment. It was the early days of flight, and the public was fascinated by aerial acrobatics. When the barnstormers asked Lillian to go for a ride in their open-cockpit biplane, she didn't hesitate. It was love at first flight!\n\nA few days later Lillian went up again, but this time she wasn't content to just enjoy the scenery. She climbed out of the cockpit and walked back and forth on the wing!\n\nLillian left her waitressing days behind her and became a wing-walker performing in front of huge crowds at fairs and festivals all over the country and Canada. During her career, she stated many times that she never felt scared\u2014even though she performed without safety gear or a parachute. She had complete trust in her partner, Billy Brock, a barnstormer and former World War I pilot.\n\nBefore attempting a trick in the air, Lillian practiced in a barn. She also trained to keep herself in top physical shape. Their act was called \"Lillian Boyer's Flying Circus,\" and she did some of the most death-defying tricks of any of the daredevils of the day.\n\nTo begin her thirty-minute show, Lillian would stand on a speeding car as the plane swooped low over her. She'd grab onto a ladder and pull herself up onto the wing. Then she'd hang by one hand or dangle by her knees\u2014the first woman daring enough to hang like that in midair.\n\nAnother thrilling trick involved Lillian sliding her feet into straps on the plane's wings. Then Billy would do loops in the air\u2014hoping that the straps didn't break!\n\nOne of her most spectacular stunts was also the most dangerous. Lillian would crawl out of the cockpit and attach a thin cable to the wing's supporting bar. On the other end was a mouthpiece that she bit down on. Then, she'd slowly slide off the wing and hang by her teeth! Lillian also did parachute drops. Once, after jumping from the plane, she realized she was descending too close to a Ferris wheel. The operator stopped it just in time for her to land safely in one of its cars.\n\nIn 1928, federal flying regulations changed, putting an end to the dangerous sport of barnstorming. Even though \"The Most Daring Girl in All the World\" had her feet on the ground, she still captivated listeners with tales of her escapades in the air.\n\n1892\u20131931 \u2022 Germany\n\nLillian was born into a family of circus performers. She was a good student and studied literature, music, and ballet. Her parents hoped she would be a concert pianist instead of a circus performer. But Lillian was determined to join the circus.\n\nShe practiced gymnastics and aerial acrobatics, and at fourteen, she joined her mother's female troupe. In 1910, they traveled to America and performed for the Barnum and Bailey Circus. The act didn't get the rave reviews they were hoping for, and they headed back to Europe. Except for Lillian\u2014she stayed, determined to become a star.\n\nHer billing, \"Lillian Leitzel, the World's Foremost and Most Daring Aerial Star,\" was almost bigger than she was. She performed in a nightclub\u2014hanging from a rope and doing poses, twirls, and spins. A scout for the Ringling Bros. Circus caught her act. The tiny aerialist with the big personality signed a contract and was on her way to stardom!\n\nWhen the two circuses merged into the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, she became their headliner\u2014and stayed in that lofty position longer than anyone else. As their star, she had her own railroad car\u2014complete with a baby grand piano!\n\nLillian's act was as dramatic as she was. The lights dimmed and she appeared in the glow of a spotlight. Not content to just climb the rope, she rolled and twirled her way up until she was fifty feet off the ground\u2014with no safety net. Hanging by a pair of silver rings, she twirled, spun, and did breathtaking acrobatics.\n\nThe second part of her act featured her signature move. She slipped her wrist into a rope loop attached to a swivel. A drum roll began...all eyes focused on her. She would then swing her body around like a human propeller while cymbals crashed and the audience counted the turns. She was known for doing over 100 turns at a time\u2014her record was 249!\n\nAs the act went on in a blur, Lillian's hair would slowly come undone, making it look like she was flying apart\u2014and that was partially true. Each turn caused her shoulder to dislocate and then pop back into the socket.\n\nTwenty-five years after her death, this \"Queen of the Air\" twirled her way into the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1958, a spot she earned as the \"darling of the Big Top.\"\n\n1923\u20132007 \u2022 United States\n\nLillian, as she liked to be called, was born in South Carolina and spent her early childhood picking cotton and playing with her twelve older brothers. One night, her dad took her to a professional wrestling match. At that time, wrestling was more about acting and showmanship than athletic ability. It was a wild night of colorful characters and over-the-top action, and Lillian wanted to be a part of it! Her dad and brothers were against the idea of her becoming a lady wrestler\u2014but when anyone told Lillian she couldn't do something, she was determined to prove them wrong.\n\nAnd she did!\n\nShe started out as a valet, or ringside assistant, for a male wrestler known as the Elephant Boy. She would enter the ring, brush his hair to make it wild and bushy, and kiss him on the cheek. He'd grunt and growl and toss his opponent around.\n\nBut Lillian wasn't content to be anyone's valet. She wanted to be a wrestler, and a star! On May 26, 1949, she had her first match\u2014a very boring match. She needed a gimmick, something to make people pay attention. When asked why she wanted to wrestle, Lillian had a sassy answer: \"For the moolah!\" That was when Lillian became the Fabulous Moolah!\n\nShe started getting more matches and quickly realized that crowds loved a villain, so she gave them what they wanted. Lillian used a lot of flashy\u2014and not quite condoned\u2014wrestling moves. Flying dropkicks, scissor holds, body slams\u2014the more outrageous, the better. Her signature move was the \"Moolah Whip.\" Lillian would grab her opponent's hair and whip her around the ring.\n\nLillian was also known to hide a pipe in her tights and take it out when the referee wasn't looking. She'd bonk her opponent with it and then hide it again. Soon the fans would be screaming wildly at the referee to disqualify her. But she wasn't done yet. She'd wave the pipe, let her opponent grab it, and then have the referee disqualify her!\n\nLillian didn't care if the fans cheered, booed, or called wrestling fake\u2014just so they paid attention. And they did! The Fabulous Moolah held the title of Women's Championship of the World for almost thirty years\u2014winning her last match when she was seventy-six. In 1995, she was the first woman inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame. And \"entertaining\" sums her up perfectly!\n\n1894\u20131978 \u2022 Australia\n\nMay grew up in Australia with her family of circus performers. As a child she was a tightrope walker, contortionist, and acrobat. But this pint-sized powerhouse was really born to ride!\n\nBy the time she was ten, she was a bareback trick riding star. In the audience for one performance was one of John Ringling's scouts looking for new talent. And when May did back somersaults from one galloping horse to another, he knew he had found it!\n\nFor two years she toured with the Barnum and Bailey circus in the United States. Crowds loved this smiling young equestrian in her signature pink bow. She was billed as \"the world's greatest bareback rider\" and was determined to prove it.\n\nMay wasn't content to do the same act for every show, so she was always creating new and more amazing\u2014and dangerous\u2014stunts. She somersaulted through rings\u2014backwards. She knelt on the horse's back and then did a forward flip, landing gracefully upright. Then she tried something no one had ever attempted before. May stood on a galloping stallion facing its tail. Then she would somersault high in the air, spin, and land back on the horse facing forward!\n\nMay performed her trick routines while music played\u2014and she occasionally danced the Charleston, a popular dance at the time, while standing on the horse's back as it galloped around the ring.\n\nOne of her more unusual tricks was also a crowd favorite. May would stand in the ring, but instead of shoes, she would have wicker baskets on her feet. She would then jump up onto the back of a galloping horse. To make it even harder, she would do this while wearing a blindfold!\n\nMay liked to boast that she could ride anything with four feet. One day a lawyer challenged her to prove it by riding his untamed prize bull, King Jess\u2014bareback. A talented equestrian as daring as May was not about to back down from a dare! May not only rode the bull, but she did a handstand on its back!\n\nMay's trick riding career lasted over twenty-five years. As one of the most admired and beloved circus performers, she was inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame in 1964.\n\nMay was born to ride\u2014and she did that better and more spectacularly than most!\n\n1915\u20131989 \u2022 United States\n\nMildred was a young mother without a high school diploma working as a waitress. She needed a change, but what else could she do?\n\nShe went on a date to a pro-wrestling match, where she was one of the few women among thousands of men. Mildred was fascinated by the strength, power, and control of the wrestlers. She wanted try it\u2014and asked a wrestling manager to train her. He refused. She kept asking. Finally, he told her he'd set up a match with an eighteen-year-old male wrestler. Mildred didn't know the wrestler had been told to body slam her so she'd stop pestering the manager.\n\nBut he didn't get the chance, because Mildred pinned him!\n\nThe manager asked for a rematch.\n\nMildred pinned the same wrestler again.\n\nShe was on her way to becoming one of the world's best lady wrestlers. Mildred took training very seriously: lifting weights, watching her diet, and exercising daily.\n\nShe started wrestling in carnivals. Her manager would offer $25 to anyone\u2014male or female\u2014who could pin her in ten minutes. Nobody could.\n\nMildred (or \"Millie\" as she liked to be called) was strong, but she was also smart. Science was her advantage\u2014she used her opponents' own weight as leverage against them. She studied all types of moves and holds and practiced until she mastered them. Her signature move was the \"alligator clutch,\" a speedy spinning maneuver that tied her opponent up like a pretzel! Mildred's quickness in the ring earned her the nickname the \"Kansas Cyclone.\"\n\nIn 1936, she moved from the carnival circuit to sporting arenas. As her reputation grew, so did her fame. Newspapers and magazines wrote about her. Newsreels showed her wrestling by day in lots of makeup and going out at night in silk dresses and high heels. She wanted to prove that women could be successful athletes in a tough, male-dominated sport and still maintain their femininity.\n\nAll through her career, she encouraged women to try wrestling. In November 1954, she took a group of women wrestlers to Japan for several matches. At first, the Japanese were stunned\u2014the idea of women wrestling shattered long-held traditions of proper female behavior. But slowly, they accepted the strength and grace of the sport. A year later the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Association was formed!\n\nAfter winning more than five thousand matches, Millie retired from the ring and became a trainer and manager. Her wrestlers were known as \"Millie's Girls,\" and they continued to prove that women are quite capable of being \"queens of the ring.\"\n\n1940\u2013 \u2022 United States\n\nShirley's life has always been zooming along the fast track. She dropped out of high school and got married at sixteen. Her husband, Jack Muldowney, had a passion for cars\u2014he built them, fixed them, and raced them. And after Shirley learned to drive, she discovered a love of racing too. At first, it was just for fun. But the more she raced, the more serious she became about the sport.\n\nDrag racing usually takes place on a straight, quarter-mile track with two cars racing head to head. It's about fifteen seconds of excitement at speeds upwards of 250 miles per hour! When the cars zip past the finish line, a parachute shoots out the back of the car to help slow it down.\n\nShirley was the first woman to enter the world of professional drag racing. She received her license from the National Hot Rod Association in 1965. It was tough being a woman in a male-dominated sport. She found it almost impossible to find sponsors to help defray the costs involved. It was also hard to find crew members to work on her car. But Shirley refused to be intimidated or give up, and people changed their minds when she started winning, and winning, and winning!\n\nFans also loved her because she made quite a sight at race tracks. Her car was painted hot pink, which matched her pink uniform and helmet. She wanted people to know there was a woman racing! During her career, as she piled up wins, she gained respect and the nickname \"The First Lady of Drag Racing.\"\n\nBut racing is a dangerous sport, and Shirley found that out the hard way. During a race in Montreal, Canada in 1984, a front tire tube snapped, her wheels locked up, and her car spun and somersaulted down the track. She survived\u2014barely. Emergency personnel spent hours scrubbing her with wire brushes to remove the grease and grit from her skin before she could undergo surgery to repair her shattered legs, broken pelvis, and crushed fingers. Doctors weren't sure she would ever walk again\u2014let alone drive a race car.\n\nTwo things happened after her accident: improvements were made to racing wheels and tires to make them safer; and Shirley surprised the doctors. Not only did she walk after several surgeries and eighteen months of grueling physical therapy, but she returned to racing in 1986!\n\nShirley was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2006 after a long\u2014and speedy\u2014career!\n\n1778\u20131819 \u2022 France\n\nBy all accounts, Sophie was a shy, nervous, and skittish young girl. She didn't like loud noises or riding in horse-drawn carriages. And that makes her chosen profession even more surprising!\n\nShe married the much older Jean-Pierre Blanchard when she was just a teenager. He was a talented balloonist but a lousy businessman. He needed something new that would attract the ticket-buying public to help him pay off debts. He decided a female balloonist would draw big crowds, and Sophie agreed to give it a try. She made her first ascent in 1804 and fell in love. While Sophie was fearful on land, she was calm, bold, and fearless in the sky.\n\nAfter Pierre's death, Sophie continued to put on demonstrations across Europe\u2014even drifting over the Alps!\n\nBallooning was an incredibly dangerous endeavor at that time. A hot-air balloon has a fire that needs to be stoked constantly to keep the balloon aloft, so Sophie switched to a balloon powered by hydrogen gas. But that didn't lessen the danger. One wayward spark could turn the balloon into a blazing inferno. To Sophie, the thrill of ballooning and entertaining audiences was worth the risk. And using gas enabled her to fly higher, stay up longer, and kept her hands free. She loved flying at night\u2014sometimes all night. She would attach parachutes to little baskets of fireworks and let them float down to the ground. Audiences loved the sizzling, flickering spectacle and the dainty and daring balloonist.\n\nSophie became such a beloved performer of Napoleon Bonaparte that he proclaimed her to be the \"aeronaut of official festivals.\" She flew over his wedding reception, and when his son was born, she soared over Paris and dropped birth announcements to the people below. She also set off fireworks from her balloon for his baptism.\n\nSeveral times, Sophie lost consciousness while ascending too high. Temperatures could be freezing, and one night she fell asleep in the balloon\u2014and woke up with icicles on her hands and face. Another time she crash-landed in a marsh and nearly drowned before rescuers could pull her out.\n\nSophie bested the danger and defied social norms, stereotypes, and even gravity itself to prove that women could successfully achieve their high-flying dreams.\n\n1937\u2013 \u2022 Russia\n\nValentina was born in 1937, in a poor village in central Russia where her parents had immigrated from Belarus. Her father died when she was just a toddler, and life was tough for her and her mother. But Valentina always looked to the sky\u2014and forward to her future.\n\nWhen she was twenty-two years old, Valentina took up skydiving. She loved it and had over 125 jumps to her name when she set her sights even higher. During this time, the United States and the Soviet Union were in an unofficial competition known as the \"space race.\" Each country wanted to prove it had the most advanced space exploration program in the world. Each country one-upped the other to implement new technology and make its way into outer space.\n\nValentina was working in a textile mill but still wanted to do her part. She wrote to the Soviet Space Commission and asked if she could become a cosmonaut.\n\nThe odds were against her.\n\nNo women had ever been in the space program.\n\nShe had no scientific background.\n\nShe had no flight training.\n\nBut she was a skilled parachutist\u2014and that helped Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev choose her for an intense, eighteen-month-long secret training session. Valentina learned to fly a jet and studied rocket theory and spacecraft engineering. There were also grueling physical challenges such as being spun in a centrifuge, enduring weightless flights, and long periods of isolation.\n\nOn June 16, 1963, when she was twenty-six years old, Valentina was shot into space in Vostok 6. During the launch she shouted, \"Hey, sky, take off your hat! I'm coming to see you.\" Her radio name was Chaika, which is Russian for \"seagull.\" It was fitting because she soared through space for over seventy hours\u2014orbiting the earth forty-eight times! During her trip she took photos and kept a log of the effects of space flight on her body.\n\nBesides airsickness, she faced two glitches during her mission. First, she forgot a toothbrush! She made do with toothpaste and her finger.\n\nThe second glitch was more serious. Valentina realized there was a problem with the control panel. If mission control couldn't fix the computer program, she wouldn't be able to return to Earth. Instead, she would have floated off into space...forever.\n\nThe problem was fixed, and she successfully ejected from the capsule four miles from the earth's surface.\n\nValentina was hailed as a national hero and proved that the sky is NOT the limit for a woman who has set her sights high!\n\n#\n\n1898\u20131983 \u2022 United States\n\nAda was a shy single mother with a sick child. She desperately needed a job.\n\nFour geographers and scientists (and a cat named Vic) were heading off on a grand adventure to the uninhabited Wrangel Island\u2014fifty-five miles off the Northeast coast of Siberia. They needed a cook and seamstress.\n\nAda was hired. Her son Bennett was too ill for such a dangerous journey, so Ada made the heart-wrenching decision to leave him at an orphanage where he could get medical care. Her dream was to make enough money so they could be reunited.\n\nThe two year \"grand adventure\" quickly turned into a sad tale of survival.\n\nThe men had taken enough food to last six months\u2014figuring they would hunt, trap, fish, and live off the land for the other eighteen months. Except none of them were hunters or trappers. At first, the men explored and studied the vegetation, rocks, and wildlife while Ada stayed behind. They kept journals, collected specimens, and created maps.\n\nBut then they ran into problems. Arctic storms raged, and they spent days huddled close to the fire. They worried about being attacked by the many polar bears roaming the area. Most of their food supplies had rotted.\n\nThey were slowly starving. It was time to abandon the expedition. One scientist was too ill to travel, so it was decided that Ada would stay and care for him while the others sought help. Ada collected seagull eggs for meals. She collected roots to eat, and found greens that tasted a little like watercress. She didn't know how to trap animals, but learned through trial and error. Ada walked for miles every day to check the traps\u2014too often finding them empty.\n\nShe hated guns but taught herself to shoot\u2014although she couldn't practice much for fear of running out of bullets. After a close encounter with a polar bear, Ada gathered wood and built a tall platform so she could keep an eye on them in all directions.\n\nDespite her best efforts, the scientist died. Ada was now alone with only Vic, the cat, for company. A typewriter had been left behind, so she wrote about her days. It was almost like having a conversation with someone. Almost.\n\nIt would have been easy to give up, but Ada was determined to see her son again and just kept going, day after day. Then, two years later, Ada heard a loud rumbling noise. She grabbed her binoculars and stared through the fog. A ship! Rescued at last!\n\nAda's desire to see her son again gave her the courage and willpower to survive. Against all odds, she managed to do both!\n\n1931\u2013 \u2022 United States\n\nAs a young girl being raised by a single mother in Harlem, Barbara loved reading exciting survival stories like Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Maybe that's when she realized she had the soul of an adventurer!\n\nNever one to shy away from hard work, Barbara accomplished many things during her lifetime\u2014she earned her master's degree, worked in the healthcare field for over fifty-five years, and founded a nonprofit magazine.\n\nBut she wasn't done yet\u2014far from it!\n\nAfter winning a courageous battle with lung cancer, she decided to travel. But she wasn't interested in relaxing on a beach or being a typical tourist. Instead she wanted adventure! So she went dog-sledding. Then she photographed polar bears in Canada. Barbara fell in love with the beauty of the Arctic. And she set her sights on her next trip\u2014going to the North Pole.\n\nThe North Pole isn't exactly an easy place to get to\u2014you're dropped by helicopter onto an ice floe and then must ski to the Pole, pulling a sled with supplies.\n\nEven though she had never skied before, Barbara was up to the challenge. She practiced by dragging a plastic sled across the beach\u2014until the sand destroyed it. She also worked with a trainer to get into top physical shape.\n\nThe trip would be expensive\u2014over $20,000\u2014so she asked for donations and raised enough money to fund her expedition. Nothing was going to stop her. Not her age, her diminished lung capacity due to her cancer surgery, or her lack of funds. On April 23, 2007, this feisty, wisecracking, seventy-six-year-old dynamo set foot on the North Pole!\n\nBarbara was the first African-American woman and possibly the oldest person to achieve this goal. She could have just sat back and relaxed while she reflected on her incredible feat. But that just wasn't in her nature. Instead, in 2011, she took another trip. This time she stood on the SOUTH Pole!\n\nStill not ready to retire, Barbara has taken on new roles\u2014as an inspirational speaker for cancer survivors and as an outspoken global-warming activist.\n\nShe shows no sign of slowing down\u2014she's probably quietly planning her next adventure\u2014although it will be hard to top her treks to both Poles. But if anyone is up to the challenge, it would be Barbara.\n\n1955\u2013 \u2022 Ghana\n\nBeatrice grew up on the coast of Ghana\u2014home to spectacular waterfalls, lakes, and sandy beaches. But she was not allowed to go near water\u2014her mother considered it too dangerous. So she didn't learn to swim.\n\nUnlike most girls in Ghana, who were expected to marry, stay home, and have children, Beatrice was in school planning on a career in medicine. But she was bored with her studies. Then an advertisement caught her eye\u2014and changed her life!\n\nIt was an ad for Ghana Nautical College looking for applicants to be trained as cadets to man the country's fleet of merchant ships. Enrolling meant a complete change in her life's direction, a new field of study, the possibility of prejudice and resistance from male students and teachers, and once again, going against traditional gender roles. It also meant a life of adventure on the seas.\n\nAdventure won. Surprisingly, she didn't encounter any hostility or discrimination while in class. That's because the men didn't take her seriously and expected her to drop out.\n\nShe didn't.\n\nBeatrice graduated, became one of the first female cadets, and finally learned to swim. The work was physically and mentally demanding, but she was up to the task.\n\nIn 1990, Beatrice obtained her captain's license, a first for a woman in Ghana. It meant she would be responsible for the crew, the cargo, and the ship. Even though this tiny, barely five-foot-tall woman may be the only female on board, she still commands respect\u2014and gets it. When she's at the helm of the 16,000-ton cargo ship Keta Lagoon, doing her job is the easy part. Dealing with long-held African superstitions can be harder. Many sailors believe that having a woman on board drives the fish away, or that she will anger and antagonize mermaids, resulting in devastating storms. By being successful in her duties, she is slowly putting long-standing superstitions to rest.\n\nAfter twenty years at sea, Beatrice sought out new responsibilities. She went to work for the International Maritime Organization, which oversees shipping and helps prevent pollution of the world's oceans.\n\nHer life may be unconventional, but Beatrice was a born sailor who was always ready and willing to accept and conquer the next challenge whether on land or at sea. She has steered a course, not only for her ship and her career, but for other women who aspire to a life of adventure, purpose, and excitement.\n\n1887\u20131973 \u2022 United States\n\nEmma's life was anything but easy. She married at nineteen, but her husband soon became violent. To escape his cruelty, she often ran into the woods where she found peace. Getting a divorce was difficult for a woman back then\u2014and she had eleven kids to think about. Finally, after thirty years of a disastrous marriage, she did something that was rare at that time: she obtained a divorce. Emma was now free to do whatever she wanted! She just didn't know what that was yet.\n\nEmma had once seen breathtaking photographs accompanying an article in National Geographic magazine about the Appalachian Trail. It stated that a woman had never hiked the entire 2,050 miles. She decided to be the first!\n\nMost hikers pack their supplies carefully, making sure they have the proper equipment. But Emma wasn't like other hikers. She had no special gear. In fact, she didn't even have a sleeping bag, compass, tent, or hiking boots. Emma did have a homemade denim bag, a raincoat, sneakers, a blanket, and a shower curtain. Her supplies barely weighed seventeen pounds.\n\nIn May 1955, at sixty-seven years old, off she went! The Appalachian Trail is not an easy walk\u2014it meanders through fourteen states from Georgia to Maine. Emma encountered bears, rattlesnakes, two hurricanes, flooded streams, harsh brush, and huge boulders. She suffered lots of sprains, cuts, and bruises. She ate berries and plants along the way. But she mostly survived by what she called \"trail magic\"\u2014other hikers sharing their food or giving her shelter when her shower curtain \"tent\" couldn't keep her dry and warm.\n\nThe hike was more difficult than she'd expected, and many times during her 146-day trek she wanted to quit. But she just kept going, overcoming all the obstacles she faced along the way.\n\nIn September, four months after she began, she reached the end of the trail in Maine. She celebrated being the first woman to do so by singing \"America the Beautiful\"!\n\nBut Emma wasn't done. Two years later, she hiked it AGAIN!\n\nThe publicity and media coverage she received during her hikes shined a much-needed spotlight on the Appalachian Trail and led to upgrades and restoration. It also captured the attention of a new generation of hikers who have attempted to follow in her footsteps.\n\nEmma proved that it isn't where you come from, but where you're going that counts. And with hard work, dedication, and some worn-out sneakers, you can achieve success and inspire others to do the same.\n\n1922\u20132015 \u2022 United States\n\nEugenie's life changed forever one Saturday afternoon when she was nine years old. Her mother had to go to work selling newspapers, and she didn't have a babysitter\u2014so she dropped Eugenie off at the New York Aquarium. Eugenie's mother thought it would keep her busy and out of trouble. It did that\u2014and so much more!\n\nEugenie marveled at all the different fish and sea creatures\u2014she felt like she was in a magical world. And she went back, Saturday after Saturday. Soon their tiny apartment was filled with aquariums and fish tanks, and Eugenie became the youngest member of the Queens County Aquarium Society.\n\nThis wasn't a passing fad but a lifelong passion. She knew she wanted to become an ichthyologist\u2014someone who studies fish and sharks. But her very first dive didn't go as planned. Deep below the surface, she realized something was wrong\u2014she was running out of air! After being pulled up and into the boat, barely conscious, she saw that her air hose was leaking. It would have been easy to quit, but the lure of the ocean floor was too strong. Her hose was repaired by a crewmember and over the side she went!\n\nEugenie spent years diving and studying all types of fish and sea creatures around the world. But one species captured her attention the most\u2014sharks. People perceived sharks as evil eating machines with little or no intelligence. Eugenie disagreed and made it her mission to prove otherwise.\n\nTo do so, she captured several lemon sharks and developed a test for them at her marine laboratory in Florida. Eugenie taught the sharks to swim into a target, which would ring a bell and release a bit of food as a reward. Then she made it harder\u2014using different colored targets and different shapes. The sharks quickly adapted. Her groundbreaking research proved that sharks are highly intelligent and can be taught to do visual tasks.\n\nShe was up close and personal with sharks and never felt afraid. Once while she was diving, a forty-foot-long whale shark passed by, and she grabbed on for a great ride\u2014letting go only when she saw how far away her boat was!\n\nDuring her seventy-five-year career, Eugenie wrote, taught, and lectured about marine biology. She received numerous awards and honors, but her most important legacy was inspiring others to learn about, and fall in love with, her magical undersea world.\n\n1859\u20131925 \u2022 United States\n\nFanny Bullock's childhood was one of wealth and privilege\u2014fine schools, world travel, and fancy society parties. When she married Dr. William Hunter Workman in 1881, she could have stayed home and been a woman of leisure. But that lifestyle didn't suit Fanny. She wanted adventure and excitement!\n\nDuring 1895, Fanny and William rode a bicycle built for two across Europe and Asia, through Spain to Morocco, over the Atlas Mountains, and into the Sahara Desert! William pedaled and steered from the front seat. They traveled light with only the most basic provisions, writing materials, a first aid kit, and a tire repair kit\u2014which they used multiple times a day. For once, Fanny took a back seat to her husband, but only because she was armed with a revolver and a whip to discourage bandits they encountered along their way. She was a one-woman security team!\n\nAs they rode along, Fanny paid close attention to the local women and their living conditions, frequently snapping pictures with her Kodak camera. She kept careful notes on their travels, and these, along with her photos, were later published in eight travel books.\n\nAfter bicycling about four thousand miles across the land from southern India to the Himalayas, they decided to travel up!\n\nAt that time, explorers had determined that the highest altitude climbers could reach\u2014and survive\u2014was 21,000 feet.\n\nBut they hadn't met Fanny!\n\nIn 1906, Fanny and William were the first Westerners to climb Pinnacle Peak\u2014estimated at 23,000 feet\u2014in the Nun Kun Range of the Himalayas. Fanny climbed very slowly in her long woolen skirts, alternating between boots and snowshoes. But her slow ascent was actually a benefit\u2014it helped her to acclimate easily and avoid altitude sickness.\n\nBesides traveling and trekking up mountains, Fanny's other passion was women's rights. She combined these two in 1912 when she posed for a photograph standing atop Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas holding up a newspaper with the headline VOTES FOR WOMEN.\n\nIn 1914, at the onset of World War I, Fanny hung up her snowshoes but continued to write about her travels and scientific observations. She was one of the first women to be admitted to the Royal Geographical Society and the first to lecture at the Sorbonne in Paris. She frequently hit the lecture circuit giving talks in English, French, or German, depending on where she was!\n\nNot only was Fanny a courageous mountain climber, she was also proud to call herself a \"New Woman,\" which meant she was equal to (and sometimes tougher than ) any man!\n\n1840\u20131915 \u2022 Nicaragua\n\nHistorians don't know exactly how Ferminia got from Nicaragua to Nevada, but they do know why she went there: gold fever!\n\nIt was during the time when men\u2014and very few women\u2014were willing to leave everything they knew behind in the hope of striking it rich.\n\nAll miners had to register in the County Courthouse before going prospecting. Ferminia signed her name \"Ferminia Sarras, Spanish Lady.\" Two things about this new miner were shocking: first, she was a woman, and second, she bought herself pants! In those days, women wore only dresses.\n\nFerminia didn't care what anyone thought, and she bought herself the tools needed for prospecting: pickaxes, shovels, and boots. She added the most basic camping gear: a tin cup, a plate, and a tarp to use as a tent. Lugging her forty-pound pack, she set off into the hills to seek her fortune.\n\nIt wasn't easy. She endured extreme weather conditions\u2014freezing temperatures in the winter, scorching heat in the summer. She hiked hundreds of miles in and out of canyons, through springs and up and over rocky hills, always on the lookout for snakes and coyotes. This went on for years, but she refused to give up.\n\nIn April 1883, Ferminia finally filed her first claim. That meant she had discovered a place worth mining and registered it as belonging to her. It would be the first of many!\n\nFerminia found bits of gold and silver, but she had a special knack for discovering copper. The more claims she staked, the more attention she received, until she became known as Nevada's \"Copper Queen.\"\n\nOnce she had staked her claim, she would sell it to another miner or group of investors. Then she'd head back to the hills to find another one. Ferminia didn't trust banks, so she always insisted she be paid in gold. It was said she stashed the gold in her chicken coop because if anyone bothered the chickens, they'd squawk and raise a ruckus\u2014making them an excellent burglar alarm!\n\nFerminia wasn't content to sit back and count her money\u2014she loved to go to San Francisco and live it up. She'd buy fancy dinners and new clothes and stay in ritzy hotels. When her money ran out, she'd head back to the hills with her prospecting tools and search for another mine. When she met someone down on their luck, she didn't hesitate to invite them in and give them a hot meal. She was as generous as she was unconventional.\n\nFerminia lived a rich and adventurous life, not just because she was a miner, but because she had the courage to live life on her own terms.\n\n1842\u20131911 \u2022 United States\n\nIda Lewis's father was the Lime Rock lighthouse keeper in Rhode Island. The only way to get to the lighthouse was by boat. Ida loved the water and wanted to tag along. That meant she had to learn to row\u2014and she did. Ida soon became as comfortable in a rowboat as she was on land! When she was fifteen, the family moved into the newly built lighthouse on Lime Rock. A few months later, her father became ill, and Ida took over his duties.\n\nTo keep ships from crashing into the rocks, the light had to burn all night, warning sailors of the danger. That meant Ida had to fill it with oil twice a night, trim the wick, and keep the glass clean and polished. That meant dropping out of school. But she still rowed her young siblings to and from school every day.\n\nWhen she was sixteen, she made her first sea rescue. Four young men had capsized in the rough waters. Ida rowed out to them and hauled each one aboard her boat! It was a tremendous act of courage and strength for a young woman.\n\nOn March 25, 1869, two soldiers were caught in a storm. Their boat capsized and they were tossed into the freezing water. Despite the weather, Ida didn't hesitate. Without bothering to put on a coat, she sprinted to her boat and battled the crashing waves to ferry them to safety.\n\nIda didn't talk about her rescues\u2014but the soldiers did! Soon, newspapers and magazines published stories about her courage and daring rescues. She was hailed as the \"bravest woman in America.\" Congratulatory letters poured in from around the world. Thousands of people came to meet her, including one very famous visitor\u2014President Ulysses S. Grant!\n\nIn her fifty-four years as a lighthouse keeper, she was credited with saving eighteen people. But the number is probably much higher\u2014she never kept track.\n\nIda even inspired musicians\u2014the \"Ida Lewis Waltz\" and \"Rescue Polka Mazurka\" were both written in her honor.\n\nIn 1881, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded Ida with the Gold Lifesaving Medal, and in 1907 she became the first woman to receive the American Cross of Honor.\n\nIn 1924, the name of the Lime Rock Lighthouse was officially changed to Ida Lewis Rock Lighthouse. It was an appropriate honor for this modest, brave, and steady-as-a-rock woman.\n\n1740\u20131807 \u2022 France\n\nJeanne Baret grew up in poverty in France. But she still received an education\u2014it just wasn't the kind one gets in a classroom. She received her education from nature. As a child she learned about the healing power of plants from her parents. She later became known as the \"herb woman.\"\n\nShe eventually worked as a housekeeper for the naturalist Philibert Commerson. He shared her fascination with botany\u2014the study of plants.\n\nIn 1766, the French government decided to send a ship on a scientific journey around the world. They needed a botanist to collect plant specimens along the way. Commerson was hired. Jeanne wanted to go too\u2014but at that time it was illegal for a woman to sail on a French Navy ship.\n\nJeanne wasn't going to let that stop her from embarking on the trip of a lifetime, so she hatched a dangerous plan. She would disguise herself as a man, show up as the ship was about to set sail, and have Commerson \"hire\" her as his assistant.\n\nCommerson agreed to help, and the plan worked! Jeanne wore baggy clothes and worked alongside the men. No matter how difficult or backbreaking the situation was, she continued on\u2014earning her the nickname \"beast of burden.\"\n\nFor two years, Jeanne dodged the suspicious crew, collected and catalogued over six thousand species of plants, and survived harsh living conditions in tight quarters. This was no vacation cruise. They endured foul weather, stormy seas, rats, and disease\u2014on a diet of salted meat and hard biscuits.\n\nOne of their most famous discoveries was of a beautiful flowering plant. Jeanne gathered the seeds to bring back with her. Today, the plant is grown worldwide. But this amazing discovery doesn't bear Jeanne's name. It's known as the bougainvillea\u2014after the French Admiral leading the expedition, Louis Antoine de Bougainville.\n\nNobody knows exactly how Jeanne's masquerade as a man was discovered\u2014but it was. Even though she had broken the law, she'd been a valuable asset to the expedition, so she escaped imprisonment. But as punishment, Jeanne and Commerson were left on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean while the ship returned to France. They continued to discover and study plants, amassing one of the world's greatest collections of specimens. Five years later, Commerson died, and Jeanne returned to France\u2014becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.\n\nIn 2012, Jeanne finally got the recognition as a botanist she deserved. A new South American flowering plant species\u2014Solanum baretiae\u2014was named in her honor. It's unique and interesting\u2014just like Jeanne herself.\n\n1918\u20131979 \u2022 Canada\n\nJoan grew up on a dairy farm in Canada. Her family was originally from England, so she attended boarding school there when she was old enough. She furthered her education in France and Belgium.\n\nJoan eventually returned to Canada. And when World War II began, she wanted to do her part to help. She first trained as an ambulance driver for the Canadian Red Cross. It wasn't enough. Joan then joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) and was sent to drive ambulances in Scotland for the exiled Polish army.\n\nShe still wanted to do more\u2014and she got her chance, just as the war ended.\n\nOn September 2, 1945, the Japanese surrendered. But the plight of Dutch civilians held captive in the jungles of Sumatra did not end. They were living in horrible conditions. Disease was rampant. Food was scarce. They desperately needed help.\n\nThe entire area was in chaos. Japanese soldiers were trying to get back home. Allied soldiers had not arrived to protect and evacuate the prisoners. Indonesian rebels and other groups were still fighting for control.\n\nJoan, now a twenty-three-year-old Canadian lieutenant, was sent to transfer the prisoners safely through the mountainous jungle to a port on the Indian Ocean\u2014all two thousand of them. It would be an incredibly difficult, perhaps impossible, task.\n\nShe didn't hesitate.\n\nThe first thing she did was convince the Japanese army to loan her vehicles, armed soldiers, and a translator. They did\u2014although they resented taking orders from a young woman. At least, at first.\n\nJoan divided the prisoners into groups, and for six long weeks, she accompanied them on the hazardous twelve-hour journey to safety. Bridges had been blown up, so they had to use makeshift boats to get across rivers. Monsoon rains turned the already treacherous mountain roads into mud. The Indonesian rebels barricaded other roads while machine-gun toting Japanese guards kept them at bay. One day the rebels got too close, and Joan was hit by one of their trucks. After being stitched up and bandaged, she rejoined the convoy.\n\nDespite the danger, Joan personally accompanied the prisoners on every single trip\u2014all twenty trips. Although reluctant at first, the Japanese soldiers grew to respect and admire Joan's determination to complete her mission. One of the Japanese officers was so impressed by her courage that he presented her with his 300-year-old ancestral samurai sword.\n\nIn 1946, Joan was awarded the Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) for her bravery and dedication to saving lives\u2014an honor this hero so richly deserved.\n\n1939\u20132016 \u2022 Japan\n\nAs a young girl growing up in Japan, Junko was frail and sickly. She frequently battled pneumonia, fevers, and breathing problems. She never expected to do anything athletic. And besides, girls were expected to grow up, marry, and take care of their children and their home.\n\nWhen Junko was ten years old, she went on a school field trip to climb Mount Asahi and Mount Chausu. That same year she climbed Mount Nasu with her fourth grade class, and a whole new world opened up to her. She was mesmerized by the breathtaking beauty of nature and the joy and peace she felt while climbing.\n\nJunko continued to climb all through college, despite being ridiculed by male mountaineers who refused to climb with her. Junko would not give up her passion. So in 1969, she formed Japan's Ladies Climbing Club and spearheaded an all-female expedition to the Himalayas. Mountain climbing is expensive, and trips are usually funded by sponsors. But sponsors were scarce for female climbers. To keep costs down, the women made their own sleeping bags with goose feathers they bought from China, and waterproof bags and gloves from recycled materials.\n\nWhat Junko loved most about mountain climbing is that it's not competitive\u2014it's just you conquering the mountain at your own pace. And she was determined to do just that in 1975 when she set her sights on scaling Mount Everest. Near the top, disaster struck, and Junko was buried in an avalanche! She lost consciousness under several feet of snow and had to be dug out. Undaunted, she kept climbing. On May 16, 1975, she became the first woman to stand atop Mount Everest. Taking this amazing feat in stride, she remarked, \"I can't understand why men make all the fuss about Everest. It's only a mountain.\"\n\nAnd she was just getting started! Junko now had a new goal\u2014to be the first woman to reach the highest point on all seven continents, known as the Seven Summits. And that's just what she did! After many years of climbing and persevering, she finally achieved her goal in 1992.\n\nJunko's passion for the mountains she climbed grew and expanded into a new area\u2014environmental conservation. She felt a great responsibility to care for the mountains that had given her so much joy. She regularly led \"clean-up climbs\" to pick up the trash left behind by the ever-increasing number of climbers in Japan and the Himalayas.\n\nJunko passed her love of mountain climbing and the importance of caring for the environment to a new generation who are happily following in her footsteps.\n\n1956\u2013 \u2022 United States\n\nLibby Riddles spent much of her childhood outdoors\u2014exploring the woods, eating berries, splashing in creeks, and climbing trees. When she was inside, she was enjoying her family's menagerie of animals, which included dogs, cats, fish, and birds.\n\nHer dream was to live in the wilderness surrounded by animals. When she was just sixteen years old, Libby made that dream a reality. She graduated early from high school and moved to Alaska.\n\nShe built her own wood cabin, drank fresh water from a mountain stream, and chopped wood for her fireplace. In 1973, she was in the crowd watching the Open World Championship Sled Dog Race. She was captivated by its speed, power, and beauty. Libby had fallen in love at first sight\u2014with dog mushing.\n\nTraining a sled dog team was much more difficult than training a pet. But Libby dedicated herself to the challenge. She worked closely with each individual dog to help it reach its potential. She believed in using her most important tool in the process\u2014her common sense. And her training motto? The dogs come first.\n\nIn 1978, she entered her first race\u2014and won!\n\nLibby then set a goal\u2014to race in the Iditarod, known as \"the Last Great Race on Earth.\" It's a prestigious long-distance sled dog race and one of the most grueling. Held annually in Alaska, it tests the skill and endurance of the dogs and the musher as they race over one thousand miles in harsh weather conditions and rough terrain.\n\nIn 1980, Libby ran her first Iditarod. She came in eighteenth place. She tried again. And came in twentieth. Instead of giving up, Libby trained harder. In 1985, she was ready to try again. Sponsors weren't willing to put their money behind an unknown female musher, but the townspeople of Teller, Alaska, knew how dedicated, talented, and tough she was, and they donated their bingo money to help her out.\n\nDuring the 1985 Iditarod, the weather was so treacherous that the race was shut down for days at a time. Libby battled blizzard conditions, temperatures of fifty degrees below zero, and long, dark nights with almost no visibility. After eighteen days, Libby crossed the finish line in first place\u2014the first woman to win the Iditarod!\n\nLibby continues to train her dogs and share her passion and love of sled dog racing through her books and lectures.\n\n1888\u20131977 \u2022 United States\n\nLillian grew up on the ranch her parents had built as one of the first families to settle in Bonita Canyon in Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains. It was fondly referred to as \"Faraway Ranch\" because it WAS far away from everything!\n\nAs a young girl she helped with all aspects of cattle ranching\u2014branding, roping, and herding. Her circumstances taught her to be self-sufficient and adaptable. If something was broken, you fixed it. If a cow was sick, you nursed it back to health. If you were hungry, you picked vegetables from the garden. That lesson stuck with Lillian throughout her life.\n\nShe left home to further her education and spent several years teaching. Faraway Ranch went through some hard times after a severe drought, so the family opened it up to visitors wanting to experience life on a working ranch. Lillian returned to help with both enterprises\u2014raising cattle and operating a \"dude ranch,\" a vacation destination where people learned how a cattle ranch was run by helping out.\n\nOne day while Lillian was hiking with her husband, Ed, they discovered several stunning rock formations\u2014an area that is now known as the Wonderland of Rocks. Lillian and Ed built hiking trails so more people could enjoy them, which also helped bring in more guests to the dude ranch. The area eventually became part of the Chiricahua National Monument.\n\nIn 1942, Lillian went blind. Then in 1950, more tragedy struck. Lillian's mother and Ed both died. Everyone expected her to sell the ranch\u2014it would be impossible for her to remain in charge. Or so they thought.\n\nLillian had no intention of leaving. Just as she had done as a child, she adapted. She still covered her ranch on horseback\u2014one hand on her reins, the other holding a rope attached to her riding companion's saddle.\n\nShe continued to be a hands-on cattle rancher\u2014literally! As the cattle went through the chute, she felt their teeth and shanks to decide which ones to sell and which ones to keep. It was said she could recognize each cow by touch!\n\nTo check the condition of the pasture, she knelt on the ground and touched the grass to determine if it was fresh and tall enough for the cattle to graze upon.\n\nLillian remained in charge of Faraway Ranch into her eighties, never letting her blindness slow her down. She fully embodied the rough-and-tumble, can-do spirit of the American West!\n\n1904\u20131971 \u2022 United States\n\nMargaret didn't like to stay in one place for very long. She attended six different colleges before graduating from Cornell in 1927. She became interested in photography and took pictures of the campus buildings\u2014and sold them for extra money.\n\nAfter graduating, she developed a reputation for having a keen eye for architectural and industrial photography. Margaret would go anywhere to get the perfect shot! She once perched on a stone gargoyle outside her studio, sixty-one stories high, to get a bird's-eye view of New York City.\n\nShe combined her love of photography with her passion for travel. Wearing snowshoes, she braved freezing temperatures to capture the rugged beauty of logging camps. She also hiked down into South African mines and sat in the open door of a helicopter\u2014anything to capture just the right shot.\n\nIn 1930, in a field dominated by men, she became a photographer for Fortune magazine.\n\nShe was sent on an assignment and became the first Western photographer allowed in Russia. She captured images of not only the factories, but the workers as well. Margaret realized she wanted to share their stories with the world so her focus shifted to people rather than buildings. She captured many emotions with her lens, from joy to despair.\n\nIn 1934, Fortune sent her to document the Dust Bowl, a huge swath of drought-stricken land stretching across the southwestern states. Margaret took photos of the devastated farmlands from an airplane but also captured the pain and emotion on the faces of those affected.\n\nIn 1941, during World War II, Margaret was sent to Moscow. She risked her life to photograph twenty-two German bombing attacks from atop the U.S. embassy. She became an Air Force photographer, and despite the danger, she was placed on a troop ship headed to North Africa. The ship was torpedoed by a German submarine! She managed to board a lifeboat and was rescued the next day.\n\nUndaunted by her brush with death, she convinced the Air Force to let her fly with the crew of a B-17 bomber. She spent two weeks with them, and her photos appeared in Life magazine.\n\nMargaret also traveled with General Patton's troops and took haunting photos of the Nazi concentration camps. Her images brought the horrors of war to the public in ways they'd never seen before.\n\nThroughout her career, Margaret fearlessly risked her life to accurately photograph and document events around the world. With her keen eye, she captured some of humankind's greatest moments and achievements and also some of the most dire and tragic situations. But one thing always shone through her work\u2014the incredible power of the human spirit.\n\n1799\u20131847 \u2022 England\n\nMary spent her whole life in the seaside town of Lyme Regis in Dorset, England. As a child she loved to hunt for interesting rocks, seashells, and fossils with her father and brother. They then sold their discoveries to tourists as vacation souvenirs.\n\nWhen Mary was eleven years old, her father died, leaving the family in a tough situation. To help out, Mary left school and continued her dangerous hobby of collecting trinkets to sell. She spent her days hiking, climbing, and dodging rocks as they tumbled down the crumbling cliffs. She nimbly avoided tides and crashing waves along the beach. Mary continued to sell fossils, rocks, and seashells\u2014so many that the tongue twister \"She sells seashells by the seashore\" was written about her!\n\nShe soon made her most important discovery. After a storm, she spotted something interesting. Mary used her hammer and chiseled out something big. And strange.\n\nIt was a skeleton of a creature nobody had ever seen before! It had the head of a crocodile, the body of a lizard, flippers, and a shark's tail.\n\nMary had discovered an ichthyosaurus, which is Latin for \"fish lizard.\" The word \"dinosaur\" didn't even exist at that time. She hired workmen to carry it to her home. A wealthy businessman bought it and placed it on display in a museum.\n\nHer find shook up the scientific world in many ways. Before this, nobody had realized a species could become extinct. The skeleton was two hundred million years old, which shattered the previously held belief that the earth was only six thousand years old. And paleontology, an entirely new field of study, was born. Scientists were forced to accept the fact that the natural world changed over time.\n\nMary continued to scour the cliffs for fossils and made even more astonishing discoveries! She found an almost complete plesiosaur or \"near lizard.\" She also found a fossil that was the missing link between stingrays and sharks. And some of the interesting stones that she collected turned out not to be stones at all! They were actually bezoars\u2014essentially, mineral-laden hairballs formerly believed to have medicinal properties.\n\nMany of Mary's fossils have since been displayed in museums and have been written about in books and journals by geologists and scientists. But at that time, Mary didn't receive any credit. And not because it wasn't deserved\u2014but because she was a woman.\n\nJust as the natural world changes over time, however, so has the attitude about women scientists\u2014thanks in part to the daring discoveries of Mary Anning!\n\n1870\u20131956 \u2022 Canada\n\nMina was born on an apple farm in Ontario, Canada, but unlike some of the other girls her age, she wasn't content to stay there. She wanted a career. Mina completed her nurse's training and was soon taking care of an interesting patient. Leonidas Hubbard was a journalist suffering from typhoid fever. He became much more than her patient\u2014the two fell in love and got married.\n\nAs an assistant editor for Outing magazine, Leonidas frequently went on wilderness camping trips\u2014and Mina occasionally accompanied him. In 1903, he set out on a bold expedition without Mina to map the wild and virtually unexplored Labrador region of eastern Canada. Mina waited patiently for his return. Unfortunately, Leonidas died on the journey, leaving Mina grief-stricken.\n\nLeonidas's travel partner, Dillon Wallace, barely survived the trip.\n\nMina encouraged Dillon to write a book about the expedition. She expected him to hail her husband as a talented explorer and hero. He did not. Instead, he claimed Leonidas was incompetent and responsible for his own death.\n\nNow, besides sorrow, Mina was filled with another emotion\u2014anger. She decided to retrace her husband's steps and complete his journey, hoping to restore his reputation.\n\nOn June 27, 1905, Mina and four men who would help carry supplies and paddle the canoes set out on the 576-mile trip through the unmapped area of Labrador to Ungava Bay. But Dillon Wallace was also ready to try again. The two set out on the same day\u2014the race was on!\n\nMina followed her late husband's route and used a sextant to carefully navigate their course. The group encountered miles of rapids and rough waters. Occasionally they carried the canoes and supplies over rough terrain to the next body of water. Mice got into their food supplies. Flies, insects, and mosquitos were a constant nuisance.\n\nNo matter how difficult the journey got, Mina refused to turn back.\n\nAll along the journey, she collected plant specimens, took photos, and carefully drew accurate maps of the area. They ate berries, baked biscuits over the open fire, caught fish, and made jerky out of caribou. Although the meat helped them survive, Mina didn't like killing such beautiful animals.\n\nShe also met and took photos of both the Naskaupi and Montagnais tribes, taking careful notes of their clothing, homes, diet, and customs.\n\nOn August 27, they reached their destination, six weeks before her rival, Dillon Wallace!\n\nMina finished what her husband had started\u2014and fulfilled both of their dreams.\n\n1957\u2013 \u2022 Brazil\n\nFor as long as she can remember, Rosaly has been fascinated by science. As a young girl, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she immediately answered\u2014an astronaut! She loved gazing up into the night sky dreaming of a future job at NASA.\n\nIn 1978, she was a student at the University of London, still on the career track she'd chosen as a child. Then something happened that threw her off course. Mount Etna erupted off the coast of Sicily! Rosaly's attention suddenly shifted from outer space to the earth. Studying volcanoes sounded more exciting than staring at distant stars and planets through a telescope.\n\nA year later, Rosaly was doing graduate school fieldwork in Sicily when Mount Etna erupted again a mile away! When she saw hot, flowing lava for the first time, she described it as being alive and breathing\u2014and she fell in love with its awesome power and otherworldly beauty. While she respected the danger, she was mesmerized and wanted to see more volcanoes up close and personal. Once she even cooked on a lava flow!\n\nIn 1981, Mount Etna erupted again and Rosaly and other scientists rushed to Sicily. Travel delays meant they arrived after the volcano had quieted. Rosaly was disappointed but still wanted a closer look. She quickly discovered it hadn't cooled yet and could erupt again at any second. And it did! Rosaly dodged exploding lava bombs and fiery rocks while sprinting to safety.\n\nIn 1989, Rosaly fulfilled her dream of working at NASA in its Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It allowed her to combine her two passions\u2014astronomy and volcanoes. She studied volcanoes on moons, and applied that knowledge to better understand volcanic eruptions on Earth.\n\nThere are many different types of volcanoes, and each one is unique\u2014information she wanted to share with others. She did just that in her book The Volcano Adventure Guide\u2014the first travel guide ever written for adventurers wanting a closer look.\n\nIn 1991, she was a member of the Galileo Flight Project, where she studied Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. During that time, she discovered seventy-one active volcanoes\u2014more than any other person in the world\u2014landing her in the Guinness Book of World Records.\n\nRosaly has written books and hundreds of articles on volcanoes, both here on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system. Her passion for science and the desire to educate others has never wavered. This very busy volcanologist has been featured in over twenty science documentaries and has received many awards and accolades in her field.\n\n1935\u2013 \u2022 United States\n\nYou could describe Sylvia Earle as a child in one word\u2014CURIOUS! She was born in New Jersey and loved exploring the nearby woods and ponds. She studied everything from weeds to rocks. And she wrote about what she observed in notebooks. Her mother called these her \"investigations.\" When she was twelve, her family moved to Florida, and she had something new to explore in her backyard\u2014the Gulf of Mexico!\n\nSylvia became one of the first female oceanographers. She loved everything about oceans\u2014the creatures, the reefs, and especially the plants\u2014cataloging over twenty thousand plant specimens during her career.\n\nSylvia enjoyed scuba diving but wanted to know what it was like to actually live underwater. In 1970, with four other women, she spent two weeks in the deep-sea station Tektite II. It was fifty feet below the water's surface off the Virgin Islands. This allowed her to swim for hours\u2014both day and night\u2014without having to surface. While she was there, she discovered twenty-six new underwater plants.\n\nAfter the women surfaced, the media took notice, and the aquanauts were given a ticker-tape parade and a reception at the White House. This publicity gave her a platform from which she could educate people on ocean conservation and the devastation of pollution.\n\nIn 1979, she made a record-setting dive of 1,250 feet. She wore an atmospheric diving suit called a JIM suit, which looked like an astronaut's pressurized suit. She went deeper than anyone else ever had. Sylvia explored for two and a half hours, untethered and alone. The tiniest tear in her suit would have crushed her immediately due to the immense underwater pressure\u2014yet she was never afraid while diving. She even planted an American flag while she was down there!\n\nDiving can be dangerous. Sylvia was once stung by a poisonous lionfish, and another time had to kick a shark to keep from being bit. And swimming too close to humpback whales caused her body to vibrate so hard it hurt\u2014but it was worth it to hear them \"sing.\"\n\nShe spent over seven thousand hours underwater, earning her the nicknames \"Her Deepness\" and the \"Sturgeon General.\" She was named \"Hero of the Planet\" by Time magazine and received over a hundred national and international honors and awards, including being named Conservationist of the Year in 1998.\n\nSylvia founded the nonprofit Mission Blue to fund ocean exploration and protect the oceans\u2014a cause she believes in wholeheartedly.\n\n1870\u20131938 \u2022 United States\n\nWhen Ynes was a young child, life was carefree and fun. She spent more time riding horses and exploring outdoors than she did in school. And she liked it that way!\n\nThen things changed. Her parents divorced, and life got tough. At first, she lived with her mother in Texas. Later, she lived with her father in Mexico City. Ynes was unhappy and restless. She married and divorced\u2014twice. Finally, when she was fifty-five years old, she moved to San Francisco for a fresh start. Her doctor encouraged her to exercise, so she started hiking. It changed her life. Her love of the outdoors blossomed into a new passion: botany, the study of plant life. She no longer felt she was wandering through life\u2014now she had a purpose!\n\nYnes studied botany at the University of California in Berkeley, not caring that she was the oldest student in class. But reading about plants wasn't enough. She wanted to go out and find plants\u2014ones that nobody had ever seen before!\n\nIt wasn't going to be easy. Women weren't taken seriously as plant collectors\u2014expeditions were considered too difficult and physically demanding. And an inexperienced middle-aged woman trekking through forests and jungles? No way!\n\nYnes didn't care what anyone said, and she boarded a steamship to Mexico. She spent the next seven months exploring and collecting plants. Much of the time she worked alone. Other times she hired guides who took her to remote areas both on horseback and on foot. She took photographs of trees, plants, shrubs, and moss. Then she dried the specimens, packed them up, and shipped them back to the States. No matter what challenges she faced\u2014mosquitoes, ticks, snakes, spiders, storms, heat, rugged terrain, primitive camping\u2014she just kept going. Only after she tumbled off a cliff and broke several ribs did she take a break!\n\nInteresting plants were everywhere\u2014and that's where Ynes went. For twelve years, she explored dry highlands, low wetlands, mountains, and rain forests in Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Alaska.\n\nYnes's dream of finding a new plant species came true\u2014several times! Many plants have been named in her honor. Because of her hard work and determination, she's considered to be one of the most important and skilled botanists of the twentieth century. She collected over 150,000 specimens\u2014many of which are still being studied today.\n\nYnes proved that you are never too old to follow your passion\u2014wherever it may lead.\n\n#\n\n1953\u2013 \u2022 Iraq\n\nAlia Muhammad Baker loves books! She was proud to be the chief librarian in the Al Basrah Central Library in Basra, Iraq. The collection had books in many languages. There were new books and old books. Really old books. One was a seven-hundred-year-old biography of Muhammad!\n\nThe library was much more than bookshelves\u2014it was also a community center. People gathered there every afternoon to discuss a wide variety of subjects.\n\nIn 2003, Iraq was at war. American and British forces were planning to oust Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, from power. Troops were coming closer to Basra, and people were worried about their town, their homes, and their lives.\n\nAlia was also worried about the library and its priceless books.\n\nFirst, she went to the government and asked for the books to be moved to safety.\n\nHer request was denied.\n\nEven worse, government officials moved into the library and situated an anti-aircraft gun on its roof.\n\nWould the library now become a target?\n\nAlia began taking books out of the library and to her home for safekeeping. Before long, her house was crammed full of books\u2014but there were still so many at the library.\n\nThe war was inching closer. Explosions and gunshots pierced the air. Fire and devastation were all around. Buildings were looted\u2014including the library. The furniture, carpets, and light fixtures were gone. But the books remained!\n\nAlia knew she had to act quickly. She talked to Anis Muhammad, who owned the Hamdan, a popular restaurant next to the library. They enlisted family members, friends, neighbors\u2014anyone willing to help. They bundled priceless books in the library curtains and formed a book-moving brigade. They passed them over a seven-foot wall into the restaurant. Book by book, hour after hour. Not everyone who volunteered could read or write, yet they knew the books were precious.\n\nDays later, disaster struck. Between the gunfire and bombs, the library caught fire and was destroyed. But thanks to Alia and her helpers, 70 percent of the collection had been rescued\u2014thirty thousand books were stacked safely in the restaurant and at her home!\n\nAlia wasn't finished. She hired a truck and moved the books to the homes of friends, family members, neighbors, and shopkeepers.\n\nThe library was rebuilt in 2004, and the books were returned. Before she could return as the librarian, Alia suffered a stroke. But that was not going to stop her! After she recovered, she returned as the chief librarian of the library that she loved\u2014and had saved.\n\n1887\u20131975 \u2022 Australia\n\nWhen she was born in 1887, nobody ever expected Annette Kellerman to do anything athletic\u2014least of all herself.\n\nDue to illness, she had weak, crooked legs and wore heavy braces for support. This caused her to walk slowly and stiffly. To avoid being teased, she kept to herself.\n\nWhen she was six, her doctor recommended routine exercise to strengthen her legs. So Annette took swimming lessons. And hated them! But the more she practiced, the better she got. Her legs grew stronger, and soon she no longer needed braces.\n\nBy fifteen, she was a talented swimmer and diver and started competing\u2014and winning! Her passion led her to a unique job. Dressed in a mermaid costume, Annette did two shows a day swimming among fish at the Exhibition Aquarium in the largest glass tank in the world.\n\nShe was a star swimmer in Australia but wanted to further her career, so she moved to London. Sadly, no one was interested in a mermaid show. But she'd had a taste of fame and wanted more. What could she do to get attention? Her talent was swimming...so she swam thirteen miles down the Thames River\u2014something no man had ever done! People were astonished, and she became front-page news. The British media called her the \"Australian Mermaid.\"\n\nAnnette then decided to take her skills to America. She performed water ballets in vaudeville shows wearing elaborate costumes. Her career was on the rise. But then something awful happened.\n\nIn 1907, she was arrested. Had she robbed a bank? Blackmailed someone? Committed murder? No. She had worn a one-piece bathing suit to Revere Beach in Massachusetts. It covered her from her neck to her ankles\u2014but it exposed her bare arms.\n\nScandalous! Shocking! And illegal.\n\nIt was similar to what she'd worn in Australia and London, but in the States, women were not encouraged to swim. They would daintily dip their toes in the water\u2014dressed in swimming suits with stockings, skirts, sleeves, bonnets and rows of ruffles.\n\nDuring her court trial, Annette told the judge, \"I can't swim wearing more clothes than you would hang on a clothesline.\"\n\nShe won. And she started a line of women's bathing suits called \"Kellermans.\" They did not have stockings or sleeves!\n\nAnnette wrote swimming manuals, and books about beauty, health, and exercise. She was also a silent film star in underwater spectaculars with stunts like diving into a pool of live crocodiles!\n\nShe believed her greatest achievement wasn't holding ALL the women's swimming records in 1905, or the books she wrote\u2014it was creating a suit so women could freely enjoy swimming as much as she did.\n\n1870\u20131947 \u2022 Latvia\n\nAnnie was born in Latvia and immigrated to Boston as a child. At twenty-three, she was a restless wife and mother. She heard that two wealthy businessmen had made a wager\u2014if a woman rode a bike around the world in fifteen months, they'd pay her $10,000. Nobody knows exactly who made the wager, or if it actually happened, but either way, Annie was ready to go!\n\nAfter just a few bicycling lessons, Annie packed one change of clothes and a pearl-handled revolver in case she ran into bandits along the way. Dressed in heavy long skirts, a high-necked collared shirt and a flat hat, she mounted a forty-two-pound Columbia bicycle. The Londonderry Lithia Springs Water Company gave her a sign to hang on her bike and $100 for advertising their product during her trip. She also agreed to go by the name \"Annie Londonderry,\" which helped promote both of them along the way.\n\nOn June 25, 1894, Annie waved to a large crowd in front of Boston's statehouse and pedaled away on her round-the-world journey.\n\nRiding the heavy bike was harder than she expected. In Chicago, the Sterling Bicycle Company gave her a much lighter men's bike in exchange for her carrying advertisements and banners for their company. Annie changed more than her bike\u2014she changed her attitude toward women's fashions. Pedaling in long skirts was hot and difficult, so she switched to bloomers\u2014baggy pants gathered at the knee which were considered scandalous at the time. Later she wore men's pants and a vest. Some people were shocked. Others were intrigued. Annie encouraged women along the way to take up bicycling and her new manner of dressing. Many women did both!\n\nAnnie had planned on riding across the country to the West Coast, but she realized that would be impossible during the winter. She changed direction and headed to New York. Then she boarded a steamship to France, biked, and boarded another ship to Egypt. She was an enthusiastic and spellbinding storyteller and captivated audiences who paid to hear of her adventures. She didn't hesitate to \"embellish\" her stories to make them more exciting and suspenseful. Annie also earned money along the way by selling autographed photographs of herself and carrying advertising signs, banners, flags, and posters for all types of products\u2014like what race car drivers do today with their cars!\n\nFifteen months to the day, Annie returned home triumphant. The New York World proclaimed it to be \"the most extraordinary journey ever taken by a woman.\" She had proved to be an excellent athlete, self-promoter, human advertisement, and fashion icon.\n\nAnnie's journey was so much more than a long bicycle ride\u2014it helped change attitudes about fashion and about women and their roles in society.\n\n1844\u20131900 \u2022 United States\n\nWhen Belle Boyd grew up in the South, girls were supposed to be ladylike, demure, and quiet. But she was none of those things!\n\nAfter she was told she couldn't join her parents and their guests at dinner because she was a child, Belle rode her horse into the dining room in protest.\n\nBelle attended a fancy boarding school to learn how to be a well-rounded young lady. Instead of taming her rebellious ways, she became even more mischievous, even carving her name into a window.\n\nThe Civil War broke out when she was in her teens. She was fiercely loyal to the South and wanted to do her part to help the Confederacy. Belle attended parties and flirted with the Union soldiers\u2014and uncovered information about their upcoming missions. She then sent messages to the Confederate soldiers in a variety of clever ways. Belle hid notes in her hair, sewed them into the soles of her shoes, and stuffed them inside loaves of bread.\n\nWhen she was seventeen, a message she'd sent was confiscated. It was written in her own handwriting, and she'd signed her name. Belle was arrested for being a spy. It could mean years in prison\u2014or possibly execution. But she charmed the Union soldiers and was released because they didn't believe a young girl posed a threat.\n\nThey were wrong.\n\nBelle became bolder. She attended social gatherings with Union soldiers. They would remove their weapons and leave them in a room before entering the party. Belle would hide their guns and swords under her hoop skirt and later give them to Confederate soldiers.\n\nIn May 1862, Belle learned of an important meeting being held in a nearby hotel. She eavesdropped through a knothole in the wood. She then rode her horse fifteen miles in the middle of the night to warn General Thomas \"Stonewall\" Jackson of the plans she'd heard. The more daring she became, the more people talked about her exploits. Newspaper articles were written about the \"Siren of the Shenandoah.\" Belle was arrested and released several times\u2014usually after charming her guards.\n\nAfter the war, Belle needed a new outlet for the skills she had learned as a spy, and she found the perfect one. She became an actress. Belle also wrote about her experiences and gave lectures in a show called The Perils of Being a Spy. This allowed her to relive her exciting adventures while sharing them with others. Belle's courage and cleverness were always underestimated and that's what made her so successful. She proved that a woman could be bold and daring, over and over again.\n\n1911\u20131993 \u2022 Jamaica\n\nBessie was born in Jamaica. She and her family moved to Boston when she was a young girl. When Bessie was only five years old, her parents died. An Irish woman adopted and raised her.\n\nOn her sixteenth birthday, Bessie asked for just one thing. Even though women at that time didn't ride motorcycles, that was what she wanted. And she got one! She quickly taught herself to ride and became quite skilled.\n\nAt nineteen, she started taking \"penny tours\" across the country. Bessie would flip a penny onto a map, and that's where she'd go! This allowed her to visit all forty-eight lower states during eight cross-country trips. Not everyone was supportive of a woman traveling alone on a motorcycle. Bessie also frequently encountered racial prejudice, but she didn't let that stop her from doing what she loved. If she was refused a room at a hotel, Bessie would just sleep on her motorcycle outside a gas station. She'd put her jacket on the handlebars for a pillow and stretch out along the seat.\n\nTo earn money during her trips, she would perform motorcycle stunts at carnivals and fairs. Her signature move was riding her motorcycle while standing on the seat. Bessie once entered a motorcycle race disguised as a man. She won! But when she took off her helmet and revealed that she was a woman, they refused to award her the prize money.\n\nDuring World War II, Bessie worked as a civilian courier for the U.S. Army. She would deliver documents and important papers on her motorcycle from base to base across the United States.\n\nWhen she settled in Miami, she again faced prejudice and resentment. Once Bessie was run off the road by a man in a pickup truck. She was also pulled over and harassed by local policemen who didn't believe a woman\u2014especially a black woman\u2014should be riding a motorcycle. Bessie asked the police captain to meet her in a nearby park. She then proved what a talented rider she was\u2014and the harassment stopped.\n\nBessie founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club and encouraged other women to learn to ride. In 2002, she was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. The AMA (American Motorcycle Association) created the Bessie Stringfield award in her honor. The award is given to outstanding women motorcyclists. She owned twenty-eight motorcycles during her lifetime and rode right up to her death at eighty-two, earning her the much-deserved nickname \"the Motorcycle Queen of Miami.\"\n\n1859\u20131907(?) \u2022 United States\n\nElla's father was a tailor who died in the Civil War. Her mother was Spanish and taught her to fence when she was just a child. When Ella was about eighteen years old, she enrolled in the School of Arms to be trained by the famous swordsman Colonel Monstery. He didn't take it easy on her just because she was a woman, and soon she had mastered broadswords, foils, daggers, lances, and bayonets. If it had a blade, Ella knew how to use it!\n\nFencing and sword fighting were popular spectator sports in the 1880s. But dueling on solid ground wasn't exciting enough\u2014so the sport evolved into equestrian fencing\u2014sword fighting on horseback. Opponents would mount their horses, race towards each other, and try to knock each other off\u2014looking like medieval knights in a jousting contest.\n\nElla was also an actress, and when she combined her love of performing with her skill with blades, she became a popular attraction. She traveled the country billed as \"The World-Renowned Jaguarina, the Ideal Amazon of the Age.\"\n\nIn April 1896, she faced U.S. military veteran Sergeant Charles Walsh in front of four thousand spectators. She mounted her horse Muchacho and galloped across the field toward him. Without hesitation, she knocked him off his horse. She had struck him so hard her sword had bent backwards! Instead of dusting himself off, remounting, and continuing the match, he sprinted off the field.\n\nElla was declared the winner.\n\nShe kept training and won match after match after match. Ella wasn't just good with a sword\u2014she was almost too good. By 1897, she had beaten over sixty men in contests\u2014both on foot and on horseback. She was having trouble finding new opponents\u2014nobody wanted to compete with the \"Queen of the Sword\"!\n\nElla placed advertisements in newspapers offering $5,000 to anyone who could beat her. Nobody took her up on her offer.\n\nWith no willing opponents, she began teaching fencing to other women. She also went back on stage, appearing in small theaters across the country. Ella even trained to become a matador but quickly realized that wasn't going to work out\u2014she would much rather give the bull hay than hurt him.\n\nElla was the greatest swordswoman of the nineteenth century\u2014excelling in a sport usually dominated by men. This incredible athlete carved a wide path for other women to follow in her footsteps.\n\n1910\u20132008 \u2022 Poland\n\nWhen Irena was in high school she realized that not everyone was treated equally. She and her Catholic friends were separated from the Jewish students and told not to sit with them. She refused to obey and was suspended. Her sense of fairness and courage to stand up for her beliefs would last a lifetime.\n\nIrena was working for the Social Welfare Department in Warsaw when World War II broke out. In 1940, over 500,000 Jews were imprisoned by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto, which was surrounded by tall brick walls and armed guards. Living conditions were horrible. There wasn't enough food, fresh water, or medicine.\n\nA secret organization\u2014code name: Zegota\u2014formed to help the imprisoned Jewish families. Irena was one of the first to join.\n\nShe was permitted to enter the ghetto to look for signs of disease, but she was doing something else\u2014smuggling out children.\n\nIrena came up with clever ways to sneak the children out\u2014sometimes right in front of the guards. She carried babies out in packages, suitcases, and potato sacks. She hid them under the floorboards of the ambulance or in the garbage truck\u2014buried beneath trash. Older children would sneak into the back door of a church, change clothes, and walk out the front door. They were carefully coached to answer questions by the guards. None of them were caught.\n\nThe children would be given forged documents and sent to live with foster families or relatives. Irena carefully wrote down each child's true name\u2014and their new identity\u2014on a slip of paper. She placed the names into a jar and buried it underneath an apple tree. She hoped that someday the children would be reunited with their families.\n\nIrena risked her life smuggling children to safety almost daily for eighteen months. But on October 20, 1943, she was arrested. For three months, she was imprisoned and tortured, but she refused to give up the names of the children or her coworkers. She was saved from execution when members of the Zegota bribed her guards and they released her.\n\nShe returned to Warsaw using a false name and continued rescuing children. In 1945, when the war ended, Irena dug up the jar and gave the children's names\u2014all 2,500 of them\u2014to the Jewish National Committee.\n\nIrena always wished she could have done even more. She never saw herself as a hero\u2014but that's exactly what a true hero would say.\n\n1857(?)\u20131946(?) \u2022 Mexico\n\nAs a child living in northern Mexico, Johanna didn't do what girls were \"supposed\" to do at that time. She didn't cook, sew, or clean. Instead, she tagged along with her father and brother, hunting and fishing right alongside them. They lived on a settlement with other Black Seminoles\u2014descendants of escaped slaves and Seminole Indians. Johanna loved being outside\u2014but she hated wearing shoes and spent most of her life barefoot!\n\nIn 1871, the family moved to Fort Duncan, Texas. Her job was to take care of the horses, making sure they always had fresh water and hay, which meant cutting and hauling it home herself. Horse thieves were a constant threat. Once she spied some thieves in the distance, and she had to jump on her horse and gallop wildly to safety, the herd following along behind her.\n\nShe was also expected to herd the family's goats and cattle. It was a lot to handle for a young girl, but she was up to the task.\n\nWhen Johanna's father died, she took over his job too\u2014taming wild horses. This was a dangerous task even for a strong man, but this petite young girl developed her own unique method for wrangling wild mustangs.\n\nDressed in colorful homemade dresses, with lots of necklaces and long dangly earrings, she stood out among the other ranch hands and cowboys. But they soon learned not to underestimate her skills.\n\nJohanna didn't like using a saddle, but preferred to ride bareback. Instead of leather reins, she used an old rope looped over her horse's nose. She would ride her tame horse to circle a herd of wild horses, then she'd choose one horse from the herd and drive it into the Rio Grande River. Then she'd slip off her horse, wade into the river, and swim up to the wild mustang. Walking against the current would wear the wild horse out, and Johanna would be able to gently climb onto its back and talk softly to soothe the horse. Eventually, the horse would relax, and she would be able to coax it back onto land. It was as if she and the horse had an unspoken bond, and a mutual admiration for one another.\n\nJohanna soon became known as the dormadora, or the breaker of horses. Not only did she tame horses for her family, but she also worked for the U.S. Army and nearby ranchers who appreciated her remarkable skill and technique.\n\nJohanna spent her entire life around her beloved horses\u2014and that's just the way she liked it.\n\n1833\u20131868 \u2022 United States\n\nWhen Kate was twenty-three years old, there were no female police officers. No female detectives. Women didn't even have the right to vote. So when she walked into the Pinkerton Detective Agency and asked for a job, the odds were against her. Yet somehow, she was hired as the first female detective in America!\n\nKate insisted she could ferret out information that a man couldn't and that no one would ever guess a woman was a detective. Against his brother's wishes, Allan Pinkerton was open-minded enough to give her a try. In 1858, she was put to the test when she worked undercover in a major embezzlement case. Kate made friends with the suspect's wife and was able to get her to spill her secrets! With the information Kate received, the man was arrested, convicted, and sent to prison.\n\nShe was also a master of disguise. Sometimes she gathered information dressed as a fortune teller, other times as a wealthy widow. Kate often used fake names and accents\u2014whatever the job required.\n\nIn 1861, Kate had her biggest and most important case. The Pinkerton detectives were hearing disturbing rumblings from a group of secessionists\u2014southerners who wanted to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln before he could free the slaves. The detectives needed specific details if they were going to thwart the diabolical plot. They needed someone brave and clever to get close enough to infiltrate their group. They needed Kate.\n\nShe went undercover dressed as a southern belle\u2014with an accent sweet as molasses. Kate put a black and white ribbon in her hatband\u2014a secret signal that she was a secessionist\u2014and joined the festivities and meetings at the Barnum Hotel. Kate was able to uncover more details of the assassination plot. The attempt on Lincoln's life would take place during his journey to Washington, D.C. Part of his route required him to change trains in Baltimore. The assassination was to take place while he was on a mile-long buggy ride between stations.\n\nThe detectives needed a plan to keep Lincoln safe. And Kate had one. She reserved four berths on the D.C.-bound train for her ailing brother and family members. When Lincoln's train arrived in Baltimore, Kate accompanied a weak, limping man in a shawl to the next train. Nobody realized it was Lincoln in a disguise. He made it safely back to Washington, D.C.\n\nAfter Kate proved that women were just as capable as, and in some situations, more valuable than their male counterparts, Pinkerton hired more women as detectives. Kate was put in charge of training an all-female investigative staff\u2014forging the way for countless other women to have successful careers in law enforcement.\n\n1913\u20132013 \u2022 Japan\n\nWhen Keiko was a young girl growing up in Japan, she may not have realized how revered or important her grandfather was in the area of martial arts. Fukuda Hachinosuke had been a samurai, a jujitsu master, and a teacher. One of his students, Jigoro Kano, was the founder of judo.\n\nAs a child, Keiko followed tradition and learned the art of flower arranging, calligraphy, and the precise and intricate details of tea ceremonies.\n\nBut one day she went with her mother and watched a judo training session.\n\nKeiko was hooked!\n\nIn judo, you use your opponent's strength, weight, and momentum against them. That was perfect for Keiko. She had a lot of determination and dedication, but at just under five feet tall, her tiny size would be a hindrance in most physical sports.\n\nAt first, Keiko trained alone, mirroring the moves she had seen. But soon, Jigoro Kano himself agreed to be her instructor. There were very few women at that time learning martial arts\u2014most women were still encouraged to follow more traditional pursuits.\n\nKeiko's mother and brother supported her because they believed she would end up marrying a judoka (judo expert). She surprised them by becoming a judo master herself!\n\nIn 1937, Keiko began teaching judo. She traveled between Japan and the United States, teaching and lecturing passionately about her beloved sport of judo. Years later, she settled in San Francisco, California, and became a U.S. citizen.\n\nThere was a separate ranking for women, no matter how skilled they were at judo. Only five levels of black belt achievement were recognized. Yet, men could work toward ten levels. Many people felt this was unfair. But Keiko never complained. She just kept training and teaching. In the 1960s, the attitude toward women began to shift. But it wasn't until 2011 that Keiko was finally awarded the highest rank in martial arts\u2014the coveted tenth dan\u2014with its rare red belt. She is the only woman to ever achieve that honor.\n\nHer love and passion for judo never wavered or diminished. She taught for almost seventy years and received many awards for her dedication and achievements. In a physically demanding and combative sport, she always remained humble and graceful.\n\nKeiko believed that the goal of judo was to learn to be gentle on the outside and strong on the inside. It's a trait she fully embodied throughout her long and amazing lifetime.\n\n1869\u20131946 \u2022 United States\n\nLyda and her sisters were members of the Wyandot Nation. It was divided into two groups\u2014one in Kansas and the other in Oklahoma.\n\nTheir parents encouraged them to pursue their education, and they did, which meant rowing across the Missouri River to attend Park College. Lyda graduated from the Kansas City School of Law in 1902. She was dedicated to representing Wyandot tribe members. But the biggest legal battle of her career would be her own.\n\nIn 1906, Kansas City was booming, and developers set their sights on a prime location\u2014the Huron Cemetery. Lyda was horrified. This was where her parents and ancestors had been laid to rest. It was sacred burial ground! But the Wyandot tribe in Kansas didn't have legal control of the land. The group in Oklahoma did. And they wanted to sell.\n\nWith Lyda as their leader, the Conley sisters made it their mission to protect the cemetery. They built a crude six-foot-eight shack in the cemetery called \"Fort Conley.\" The sisters moved in and took turns guarding the property twenty-four hours a day with their father's Civil War musket.\n\nThey also built a fence around the cemetery. It was torn down by law enforcement. They rebuilt it. It was torn down again. This went on for years\u2014too many times to count.\n\nIn 1907, Lyda filed a legal petition to stop the sale of the cemetery. She lost. But she refused to give up.\n\nIn 1909, Lyda became the first Native American woman admitted to try a case before the United States Supreme Court.\n\nShe lost. But she wasn't defeated. The case attracted a lot of publicity and support\u2014and that made Senator Charles Curtis take notice. In 1916, he passed a bill that protected the cemetery as a National Park. That kept the developers at bay but didn't end the battle. The controversy over who could decide the fate of the land continued for more than one hundred years. In 1971, the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name was later changed to the Wyandot National Burying Ground, and it remains intact.\n\nLyda died on May 28, 1946, and was buried among her ancestors in the cemetery that she so proudly and valiantly protected.\n\n1867\u20131932 \u2022 United States\n\nMargaret grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, with her Irish immigrant parents and siblings. Maggie, as they called her, loved to climb the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River and explore the nearby caves.\n\nHer family was poor, and when she was thirteen years old, she took a job stripping leaves off tobacco plants in the Garth Tobacco Factory. It was boring work, but it gave her time to dream about traveling and having adventures when she grew up.\n\nAs soon as she got the chance, she followed her brother to a mining town in Colorado. Maggie's adventure had begun! She married a mining engineer, and in 1893 they struck it rich.\n\nMaggie wanted to fit in with wealthy high-society women, so she hired tutors to teach her proper grammar and French. She bought new clothes and threw lavish parties.\n\nBut Maggie didn't fit in\u2014and that wasn't a bad thing! She remembered what it was like to be poor. And she had seen how dangerous it was to work in the mines that had made her rich. She still threw parties\u2014but now they had a purpose. Maggie would invite influential friends to charity balls to raise money to improve working conditions for miners. She also formed the Denver Women's Party in 1893 to fight for voting rights across the country.\n\nMaggie's dream of traveling the world came true\u2014and almost ended in disaster. In April 1912, she was headed back to the States from England on the maiden voyage of a new luxury ocean liner\u2014the Titanic.\n\nThis modern, \"unsinkable\" ship hit an iceberg and began to sink.\n\nEven though she was frightened, Maggie remained calm and helped others into Lifeboat 6. She grabbed an oar and helped row\u2014and continued to reassure the others that they would be rescued.\n\nAnd they were. The ship Carpathia picked them up. Their nightmarish ordeal was over.\n\nBut not forgotten.\n\nMaggie wrote about her experiences on the Titanic for the Denver Post. She also raised money for the families of the survivors and helped erect a memorial in Washington, D.C. for those who had perished.\n\nOthers also wrote about her adventures and mistakenly called her \"Molly\" even though she never used that nickname. When a musical was written about her, \"Molly\" fit into the lyrics better than \"Margaret\" so the nickname stuck.\n\nFor the rest of her life, she helped others, even turning her house over to the American Red Cross in World War I to use as a temporary hospital.\n\nIn 1932, this flamboyant and outspoken woman was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her \"overall good citizenship.\" Maggie was a good citizen\u2014and so much more.\n\n1832\u20131919 \u2022 United States\n\nMary didn't believe in following society's rules. In 1855, she became one of the first female doctors\u2014when few women had careers outside the home. Then she did something even more outrageous. She wore bloomers! Instead of a constrictive corset and petticoat, she wore trousers under a knee-length skirt. People were shocked and appalled and she became the object of ridicule. Mary ignored the nasty comments and laughter and insisted that women should be allowed to wear comfortable clothes.\n\nMary had a difficult time as a doctor\u2014nobody trusted a female physician, especially one wearing pants! But as the Civil War raged, she realized she could be of help to wounded soldiers. She moved to Washington, D.C. and tried to join the army as a surgeon, but was rejected. Never one to give up, Mary went to the battlefield anyway.\n\nAgain, the army refused to use her as a surgeon, so she found herself doing menial tasks like writing letters for the soldiers, taking temperatures, and changing bandages.\n\nFinally, in 1863, she was appointed as the first female assistant U.S. Army surgeon. Mary made her own blue uniform\u2014complete with pants and a stylish hat. She didn't wait for the wounded soldiers to be brought to the medical tent. Instead, she rode on horseback to the battlefields, frequently dodging bullets! She tended to soldiers on both sides of the conflict\u2014if a soldier needed help, she was there to give it.\n\nIn 1864, her disregard for battle lines caught up with her, and she was caught by Confederate soldiers and imprisoned as a spy in Richmond, Virginia. Four months later, Army officers made a deal\u2014a Confederate Army surgeon and Mary would be part of a prisoner exchange\u2014and they were both released. It meant that the army finally saw her value as a surgeon, despite her gender and odd manner of dress.\n\nWhen the war ended, Mary joined the celebration by reading the Declaration of Independence on the steps of Virginia's State Capitol.\n\nIn 1866, two things happened to Mary. President Andrew Johnson awarded her the Medal of Honor for her valor and courage during the Civil War\u2014making her the only woman to ever receive this award. And she was arrested for wearing pants in public!\n\nMary spent the rest of her life writing and lecturing about women's rights. She believed every woman should be able to pursue her dreams and wear whatever she wanted while doing so!\n\n1832(?)\u20131914 \u2022 United States\n\nMary Fields never knew her exact birth date. When you are born into slavery, things like birthdays aren't important. As a young child, she was expected to work on the plantation. And she did\u2014plowing the fields and growing stronger each passing season.\n\nWhen slavery was abolished, Mary stayed to work on the plantation. By that time, she was known for making her own rules\u2014and cigars! She wore an apron, which covered her men's trousers\u2014and her gun. She was known as a crack shot and enjoyed shooting bottles for target practice.\n\nWhen she was about fifty, she was hired to work at a convent in Montana. This gun-toting, rough-and-tumble woman must have been quite a sight among the nuns! Mary supervised the hired hands and the crew building a school for Native American children. She did laundry, tended the garden, and took care of hundreds of chickens. And she drove the convent supply wagon and stagecoach\u2014which earned her the nickname \"Stagecoach Mary.\"\n\nOne man refused to take orders from her, even though she was the boss. To settle matters, she challenged him to a gunfight. Guns blazed! Bullets flew!\n\nHe lost. She winged him, but he lived.\n\nShe won. But she lost her job.\n\nMary then opened a caf\u00e9 and proved that she also had a softer side. She made it a point to feed everyone that walked through the door\u2014whether they could pay her or not. She was a kind soul but a lousy businesswoman. Her caf\u00e9 closed. She later reopened the caf\u00e9, but Mary didn't change her ways, and it soon closed again\u2014this time for good.\n\nIn 1882, she started a new job\u2014as a stagecoach driver for the United States Postal Service. Mary was not your typical mail carrier. She drove her route brandishing a bullwhip and her trusty gun!\n\nDuring one blizzard, the icy road was too narrow and the snow too high for the stagecoach to pass. Mary simply heaved the mail sacks onto her mighty shoulders and trudged through the snow to make her deliveries.\n\nMary was well known in the town of Cascade for both her toughness and her kindness. Since she didn't know her birthdate, she'd celebrate twice a year, whenever the mood struck her. Children would get the day off school to join in the festivities.\n\nWhen Mary died, the town held a huge funeral to mourn the loss\u2014and celebrate the life\u2014of a truly remarkable, one-of-a-kind woman.\n\n1923\u20131988 \u2022 United States\n\nMinnie grew up on a ranch on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northern Montana. She loved riding horses and being outdoors. Never one to shy away from hard work, she cut wood, mended fences, and herded cattle. She trained horses alongside her father. Minnie was as comfortable behind the wheel of a truck as she was on the back of a horse\u2014whatever it took to get her where she was going!\n\nShe was eighteen years old when World War II began. Minnie felt a strong desire to serve her country and made the bold decision to join the U.S. Marine Corps. But when she went to enlist, the recruiter turned her down\u2014telling her war was no place for a woman.\n\nMinnie, disappointed, returned to ranching. Her patriotism grew stronger as the war raged on. Attitudes toward women in the military slowly changed, and in 1943, the Women's Reserve was established. It was the opportunity Minnie had been waiting for! Just after she signed up, tragedy struck. Her father died, and she was torn between fulfilling her dream of military service or staying home and helping out. Her mother and sisters told her the country needed her and she should follow her heart\u2014and make them and the Blackfeet Nation proud.\n\nAnd she did! Minnie became the first Native American woman to join the U.S. Marine Corps. Her years of hard work on the ranch paid off\u2014helping her make it through the physically grueling boot camp. She was assigned to drive huge trucks\u2014something else she had learned on the ranch. Minnie transported soldiers, equipment, and weapons. She also drove visiting officers around the base. Many of the male marines were skeptical of her at first, until she proved that not only could she keep up with them as an excellent driver, but she could also take apart an engine and put it back together again!\n\nMinnie quickly earned the respect and admiration of her fellow marines, and she was featured in a dramatic four-page comic book included in Calling All Girls magazine, which was very popular with teen girls in the 1940s. It told the story of her background and her current accomplishments in the military.\n\nAfter her time in the Marines, Minnie went to college, earned a degree, and taught for twenty-nine years, encouraging a new generation of children to pursue their dreams\u2014just as she had.\n\n1774\u20131864 \u2022 United States\/Canada\n\nRose was born into slavery in Virginia. When she was ten years old, just after the Revolutionary War, she escaped with her family and fled to Canada. She eventually settled in the bustling seaport town of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.\n\nIt was difficult for a woman, especially a black woman, to find work. But that didn't stop Rose. If no one would hire her, she'd start her own business. In 1825, she began toting suitcases in a wheelbarrow from the docks to hotels for arriving passengers. If anyone got in her way, she'd poke them with a stick!\n\nBut she was much more than a delivery person. Being a well-known figure on the docks, she was often asked to watch property, guard belongings, and patrol warehouses. Her reputation as being trustworthy and loyal soon grew\u2014and so did her responsibilities. Rose bravely enforced curfews and kept an eye on unsavory characters. She also maintained order on the wharf, scolding children if they misbehaved.\n\nAlthough it was never official, she was hailed as the first woman police officer in Canada. It was said she knew everyone\u2014and everyone knew her.\n\nRose was easily recognizable by her outfit\u2014which was captured in a watercolor painting around 1830. This stout, no-nonsense woman wore a man's heavy coat over a dress with a white apron\u2014and a ruffled petticoat peeping out below it. She had work boots with heels, and a cap under a straw hat tied under her chin.\n\nRose always paid close attention to what was happening on the dock. And what she saw gave her the idea for a new business. Many travelers had to hurry to board ships on time\u2014being late could mean waiting weeks for another one. Rose stepped in to help and created a \"wake-up call\" service. She'd go to the nearby inns and hotels and personally wake up passengers so they wouldn't miss their departure time.\n\nRose eventually traded her wheelbarrow for horse-drawn wagons to expand her baggage transportation business, which later became known as Lewis Transfer. Over the years she enlisted the help of her children and grandchildren\u2014who kept the company going for over a hundred years.\n\nRose's legacy as an entrepreneur and keeper of the peace has been celebrated by the Association of Black Law Enforcers, who created a scholarship in her name\u2014a fitting honor for a woman who was proud to serve and protect those in her beloved adopted seaport.\n\n1865\u20131915 \u2022 United States\n\nSusan was raised as part of the Omaha Nation of Nebraska during a time when the lives of the Plains Indians were rapidly changing. Her father was chief of the Omaha tribe, and her mother was the daughter of the first Army physician in Nebraska. They wanted their children to learn to live in both worlds, so they sent them to an English-speaking school. Susan was so young\u2014and small\u2014that she could take naps inside her lift-lid school desk! She was a curious child and a talented student.\n\nStraddling two cultures wasn't easy, and one incident demonstrated the deep divide between them. An Indian woman became ill, and the local white doctor was sent for\u2014but he refused to come. Susan watched the woman die. It had such a powerful impact on her, she dedicated her life to improving the health care for her people.\n\nWhen she was fourteen, she attended the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies and later the Hampton Institute in Virginia\u2014which once again placed her in a tug-of-war between new beliefs and lifestyles and her old traditions and heritage. But her success as a student gave her the confidence and courage to do something bold: apply to medical school. She was accepted by the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania.\n\nSusan graduated and returned home as the first Native American physician in the country. But that's when the hard work really began. Susan never turned down a patient\u2014Indian or white. She had over 1,200 patients spread out over 450 square miles! That meant making house calls on horseback in all types of weather. Frequently the ride was so rough she arrived only to find a saddlebag full of broken thermometers and bottles. She endured snowstorms, blazing heat, and everything in between. But her patients always came before her own comfort or safety.\n\nNot only did Susan tend to the sick, she also taught the importance of proper hygiene and preventive care. She witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of alcoholism and fought tirelessly to combat it by educating people about addiction.\n\nDespite everything, she was paid only $500 a year, while male doctors made at least ten times more.\n\nSusan married, had children, and still continued to work as a doctor.\n\nFinally, in 1913, two years before her death, the Susan La Flesche Picotte Memorial Hospital was built in Walthill, Nebraska, honoring the woman who devoted her life to healing wounds\u2014in both bodies and attitudes.\n\n1761\u20131839 \u2022 United States\n\nLike most sixteen-year-old girls in the 1770s, Sybil Ludington was expected to do a lot of ordinary chores. She had to watch over her younger siblings. Cook. Clean. Sew. Help around the farm. Tend to her beloved horse, Star.\n\nShe also had one not-so-ordinary chore: guard duty.\n\nHer father, Colonel Henry Ludington, had worked alongside General George Washington at the beginning of the Revolutionary War when the colonists wanted to break ties with Great Britain and form their own country. He later became the militia commander for troops in New York. The British offered a reward for his capture\u2014dead or alive.\n\nSybil was determined to keep him safe. One night, she realized the house was surrounded by British soldiers and the family was in danger! She quickly gave all of her brothers and sisters lighted candles and had them walk through all the rooms of the house\u2014and in front of the windows. From the outside, it looked like the house was heavily protected. It would be foolish to attack.\n\nAnd they didn't.\n\nOn the stormy night of April 26, 1777, Colonel Ludington got word that the British were burning the town of Danbury, where most of the troop's precious supplies were stored. He needed to plan a counterattack. But he also needed someone to ride over the dangerous and rugged roads to warn the militia members of an impending attack and tell them to meet at his farmhouse by daybreak.\n\nHe needed someone brave. Someone willing to risk death for the cause. That someone was young Sybil.\n\nMounting her horse, Star, Sybil rode over forty miles, evading highwaymen and enemy soldiers. She raced through towns shouting a warning that the British were burning Danbury. Village bells rang out to alert the militia and send them to the Ludingtons' farmhouse.\n\nWhen Sybil finally returned home at dawn\u2014weary and rain-soaked\u2014she was met by over four hundred men who had answered her call for help. Because of her brave and historic ride, the patriots were able to force the British troops out of the area.\n\nSybil was not the only patriot to dash through the night to shout the warning \"The British are coming!\" Paul Revere is famous for his midnight ride, even though it was half as long and less dangerous than Sybil's!\n\n# Bibliography\n\nAllen, Nancy Kelly. Barreling over Niagara Falls. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 2013.\n\nAlter, Judy. Extraordinary Women of the American West. New York: Children's Press, 1999.\n\nAnema, Durlynn. Ynes Mexia: Botanist and Adventurer. Greensboro: Morgan Reynolds Publishing, 2005.\n\nBaker, Daniel B., editor. Explorers and Discoverers of the World. Washington, D.C.: Gale Research Inc., 1999.\n\nBarnes, Susan. \"A Visit with the Shark Lady: Dr. Eugenie Clark.\" Odyssey 18, no. 5 (May\/June 2009): 42\u201343.\n\nBeckner, Chrisanne. 100 African-Americans Who Changed History. Milwaukee: World Almanac Library, 2005.\n\nBirchfield, D. L., general editor, The Encyclopedia of North American Indians. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1997.\n\nBlack, Dennis H. Profiles of Valor: Iowa's Medal of Honor Recipients of the Civil War. Des Moines: Lexicon, 2010.\n\nBorden, Louise and Kroger, Mary Kay. Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman. New York: Margaret K. McElderry, 2001.\n\nBranzei, Sylvia. Rebel in a Dress: Cowgirls. Philadelphia: RP Kids, 2011.\n\nBriggs, Carole S. Women Space Pioneers. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2005.\n\nBrown, Tami Lewis. Soar, Elinor! New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2010.\n\nButts, Ed. She Dared: True Stories of Heroines, Scoundrels, and Renegades. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2005.\n\nCaravantes, Peggy. Petticoat Spies: Six Women Spies of the Civil War. Greensboro: Morgan Reynolds Publishers, Inc., 2002.\n\nCarpenter, Suzanne. \"Confederate Spy.\" Cobblestone 20, no. 9 (December 1999): 18.\n\nCasey, Susan. Women Heroes of the American Revolution: 20 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Defiance, and Rescue. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2015.\n\nChampagne, Duane. Native America: Portrait of the Peoples. Detroit: Visible Ink, 1994.\n\nCummins, Julie. Women Daredevils. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2008.\n\nCummins, Julie. Women Explorers. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012.\n\nDavis, Linda M. \"One Small Step.\" Aviation History 19, no. 6 (July 2009): 15.\n\nDelano, Marfe Ferguson. American Heroes. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2005.\n\nDown, Susan Brophy. Irena Sendler: Bringing Life to Children of the Holocaust. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2012.\n\nEidelman, Tamara. \"The Extraordinary Destiny of an 'Ordinary' Woman.\" Russian Life 46, no.3 (May\/June 2003): 19.\n\nEllison, Lillian. The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. New York: Regan Books, 2002.\n\nFarquhar, Michael. A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans: Pirates, Skinflints, Patriots, and Other Colorful Characters Stuck in the Footnotes of History. New York: Penguin Books, 2008.\n\nFeldman, Heather. Valentina Tereshkova: The First Woman in Space. New York: The Rosen Publishing Company, Inc., 2003.\n\nFerris, Jeri. Native American Doctor: The Story of Susan La Flesche Picotte. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1991.\n\nFreeling, Elisa. \"When Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail.\" Sierra 87, no. 6 (November\/December 2002): 26.\n\nFreese, Gene Scott. Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s\u20131970s: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, 2014.\n\nFurbee, Mary Rodd. Outrageous Women of Colonial America. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.\n\nFurbee, Mary Rodd. Outrageous Women of the American Frontier. New York: Jon Wiley & Sons, 2002.\n\nGilliland, Ben. 100 People Who Made History. New York: DK, 2012.\n\nGourley, Catherine. Gidgets and Women Warriors: Perceptions of Women in the 1950s and 1960s. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2008.\n\nGourley, Catherine. Rosie and Mrs. America: Perceptions of Women in the 1930s and 1940s. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2008.\n\nGrace, N. B. Women in Space. Chanhassen: The Child's World, 2007.\n\nGregory, Mollie. Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2015.\n\nGrimes, Nikki. Talkin' about Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman. New York: Orchard Books, 2002.\n\nGueldenpfennig, Sonia. Women in Space Who Changed the World. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2012.\n\nHanbury-Tenison, Robin, editor. The Great Explorers. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2010.\n\nHarness, Cheryl. Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero. Chicago: Albert Whitman & Company, 2013.\n\nHarness, Cheryl. Rabble Rousers: 20 Women Who Made a Difference. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2003.\n\nHaven, Kendall. Amazing American Women: 40 Fascinating 5-Minute Reads. Englewood: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1995.\n\nHearst, Michael. Extraordinary People. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2015.\n\nHorn, Robert. \"No Mountain Too High for Her\u2014Junko Tabei Defied Japanese Views of Women to Become Expert Climber.\" Sports Illustrated (29 April 1996).\n\nJanuary, Brendan. Amazing Explorers: A Book of Answers for Kids. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001.\n\nJensen, Dean. Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love & Tragedy at the Circus. New York: Crown Publishers, 2013.\n\nJuettner, Bonnie. 100 Native Americans Who Changed American History. Milwaukee: World Almanac Library, 2005.\n\nKeenan, Sheila. Scholastic Encyclopedia of Women in the United States. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1996.\n\nKenyon, J. Michael. \"Mildred Burke...She Never Met Her Match.\" Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1981.\n\nKimmel, Elizabeth Cody. Ladies First: 40 Daring American Women Who Were Second to None. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2006.\n\nKlobuchar, Lisa. Elizabeth Blackwell: With Profiles of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Susan La Flesche Picotte. Chicago: World Book Inc., 2007.\n\nKrohn, Katherine. Wild West Women. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2006.\n\nKrull, Kathleen, and Kathryn Hewitt. Lives of the Explorers: Discoveries, Disasters (and What the Neighbors Thought). New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.\n\nLandau, Elaine. Heroine of the Titanic: The Real Unsinkable Molly Brown. New York: Clarion Books, 2001.\n\nLangley, Wanda. Women of the Wind: Early Women Aviators. Greensboro: Morgan Reynolds Publishing, 2006.\n\nLedbetter, Suzann. Shady Ladies: Nineteen Surprising and Rebellious American Women. New York: A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2006.\n\nLeen, Jeff. The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009.\n\nLetchworth, Beverly J. \"Annette the Mermaid.\" Cricket 43, no. 9 (July\/August 2016): 23\u201325.\n\nLohse, Joyce B. Unsinkable: The Molly Brown Story. Palmer Lake: Filter Press, LLC., 2006.\n\nLopes, Rosaly. The Volcano Adventure Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.\n\nMacy, Sue. Winning Ways: A Photohistory of American Women in Sports. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.\n\nMadden, Annette. In Her Footsteps: 101 Remarkable Black Women from the Queen of Sheba to Queen Latifah. Berkeley: Conari Press, 2000.\n\nMahon, Elizabeth Kerri. Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women. New York: Penguin Books, 2001.\n\n\"Marine Biologist Eugenie Clark Remembered as Passionate Shark Advocate.\" All Things Considered. National Public Radio. February 26, 2015. Radio.\n\nMarkey, Kevin. 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century. Des Moines: Meredith Publishing Group, 1998.\n\nMartin, Paul. Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2012.\n\nMcGovern, Ann. Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark. New York: Scholastic, 1978.\n\nMcGraw, Eliza. \"A Rebel to the Core.\" American History 38, no. 2 (June 2003): 14.\n\nMillar, Ruth Wright. Saskatchewan Heroes & Rogues. Regina: Coteau Books, 2004.\n\nMiller, John, editor. Legends. Novato: New World Library, 1998.\n\nMitchell, Saundra. They Did What? 50 Unbelievable Women and Their Fascinating (and True!) Stories. New York: Puffin Books, 2016.\n\nMontgomery, Ben. Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2014.\n\nMontgomery, Ben. \"Train Blazer.\" Rodale's Organic Life 2, no. 4 (July\/August 2016): 46.\n\nMoss, Marissa. The Bravest Woman in America. New York: Tricycle Press, 2011.\n\nNewby, Eric. A Book of Traveler's Tales. New York: Viking, 1985.\n\nNiven, Jennifer. Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic. New York: Hyperion, 2003.\n\nNivola, Claire A. Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012.\n\nOtake, Tomoko. \"Junko Tabei: The First Woman Atop the World.\" The Japan Times, May 27, 2012.\n\nRappaport, Doreen. We Are the Many: A Picture Book of American Indians. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.\n\nRappoport, Ken. Ladies First: Women Athletes Who Made a Difference. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 2009.\n\nReese, Diana. \"Grandma Gatewood Survived Domestic Violence to Walk the Appalachian Trail Alone at 67.\" The Washington Post, January 5, 2015.\n\nRiddles, Libby. Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod. Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2002.\n\nRidley, Glynis. The Discovery of Jeanne Baret: A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2010.\n\nRoehm, Michelle. Girls Who Rocked the World 2. Hillsboro: Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., 2000.\n\nRooney, Frances. Extraordinary Women Explorers. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2005.\n\nRoss, Michael Elsohn. A World of Her Own: 24 Amazing Women Explorers and Adventurers. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2014.\n\nRubin, Susan Goldman. Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto. New York: Holiday House, 2011.\n\nRubin, Susan Goldman. Margaret Bourke-White: Her Pictures Were Her Life. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1999.\n\nRuffin, Frances E. \"Unsinkable\" Molly Brown. New York: Powerkids Press, 2002.\n\nSilvis, Randall. North of Unknown: Mina Hubbard's Extraordinary Expedition Into the Labrador Wilderness. Guilford: The Lyons Press, 2005.\n\nSmith, Elinor. Aviatrix. Thorndike: Thorndike Press, 1981.\n\nSnow, Richard F. \"Belle Boyd.\" American Heritage 31, no. 2 (February\/March 1980): 94\u201395.\n\nStamaty, Mark Alan. Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.\n\nThimmesh, Catherine. Girls Think of Everything. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000.\n\nThimmesh, Catherine. The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002.\n\nVan Allsburg, Chris. Queen of the Falls. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011.\n\nVaughn, Marcia. Irena's Jar of Secrets. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2011.\n\nVon Berge, Emily. \"The Mysterious Kate Warne.\" Hopscotch 26, no. 5 (February\/March 2015): 26\u201327.\n\nWeatherford, Doris. American Women's History: An A to Z of People, Organizations, Issues, and Events. New York: Prentice Hall, 1994.\n\nWhitley, Sharon. \"Lillian Boyer Remembers Days Winging It as Aerial Daredevil.\" The San Diego Union, March 24, 1987.\n\nWilner, Barry. The Best Auto Racers of All Time. North Mankato: Abdo Publishing, 2015.\n\nWinkler, H. Donald. Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War. Naperville: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2010.\n\nWinter, Jeanette. The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2005.\n\nWinter, Jonah. Wild Women of the Wild West. New York: Holiday House, 2011.\n\nYoshikawa, Mai. \"Mountain Queen Not Done Yet: Junko Tabei.\" The Japan Times, February 25, 2003.\n\nZanjani, Sally. Mine of Her Own: Women Prospectors in the American West 1850\u20131950. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997.\n\nZeinert, Karen. Those Remarkable Women of the American Revolution. Brookfield: Millbrook Press, 1996.\n\nZhuelin, Peter. Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride Around the World on Two Wheels. New York: Citadel Press, 2007.\n\nZhuelin, Peter. \"Chasing Annie.\" Bicycling 46, no. 4 (May 2005): 64\u201369.\n\n# About The Author\n\nLinda Skeers is the author of several critically acclaimed children's books. She also teaches picture book writing workshops, including sessions on writing humor for kids. She lives in Iowa. Visit her at www.lindaskeers.com.\n\n# About The Illustrator\n\nLivi Gosling has always been inspired by powerful, creative women. Learning about these amazing women and hearing their stories has been wonderful. She is so glad that their stories are being shared. Livi studied illustration in Cornwall and currently lives in Hertfordshire village in the UK. Visit her at www.livigosling.co.uk\nThank you for reading!\n\nAt Sourcebooks we are always working on something new and exciting, and we don't want you to miss out.\n\nSo sign up now to receive exclusive offers, bonus content, and always be the first to get the scoop on what's new!\n\nSIGN UP NOW!\n\n#  \n","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaBook"}}