"Let me give you a little of the background, if I may. Historical and philo-sophical." Goltz began. "The point to consider, to always keep in mind, is that we are all privileged to be participants in the early days of the Thousand Year Reich. The Thousand Year Reich. That's a long time. If I suddenly should travel through time to a.d. 2943-The Year of Our Lord'- I personally would not be surprised to find that the calendar
was no longer calculated from the date of birth of a Hebrew carpenter in Palestine, but rather from 1933, the year the Fuhrer took power, and that I was now in a.h. 1000-'The Year of Our F?hrer.'"
I really think this idiot believes what he's saying, von Lutzenberger thought. And there is really no one more dangerous than an idiot, a zealot, with power.
"With that thought in mind, that we are not dealing with years here, or with decades, or even with centuries, but with a millennium," Goltz said, "it has been necessary for our leaders-the disciples, if you like, of our Fuhrer-to think about matters most ordinary Germans would consider unthinkable."
"Why not?" Gradny-Sawz asked thoughtfully. "Why not start dating things from the time the Fuhrer assumed leadership?"
Why not? von Lutzenberger thought. After all, we already have, in Mein Kampf, (*My Struggle was written by Adolf Hitler while he was imprisoned in Landsburg Prison following the failed Munich coup d'‚tat. It was in as many German homes as the Bible, and the royalties therefrom were the major source of Hitler's personal wealth, used, among other things, for building his mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden.) the New New Testament. The Gospel According to Adolf.
"I don't think the Herr Standartenf?hrer, Anton, has come all this way to discuss a possible revision of the calendar," von Lutzenberger said. "What un-thinkable things, Herr Standartenf?hrer?"
"That brings us to history," Goltz said. "History all of us in this room are familiar with. The Armistice of 1918, and the Versailles Conference of 1919." (Under the Versailles Treaty of June 28, 1919. Germany lost 25,550 square miles of its land and 7 mil-lion of its citizens to Poland, France, and Czechoslovakia. Its major Baltic port, Danzig, became a "Free Port" administered by Poland. Most of the Rhineland was occupied by Allied troops. The Saar was given "temporarily" to France, and the Rhine, Oder, Memel, Danube, and Mosel rivers were internationalized. Austria was prohibited from any future union with Germany.
All German holdings abroad, including those of private German citizens, were confiscated. Almost the entire merchant fleet was expropriated. More than 140,000 dairy cows were shipped out of Germany as reparations, as well as heavy machinery and entire factories. And vast amounts of iron ore, coal, and even livestock were requisitioned by the Allies.
Billions of marks were assessed annually as reparations, and German colonies in Africa and else-where were seized by the League of Nations and then mandated to the various Allies, excluding the United States.)
"I don't think I'm quite following you, Standartenf?hrer," Gr?ner said.
"To put a point on it, let's think about the Armistice of, say, 1944, followed by the Washington Conference of 1945."
"Now I don't follow you, Herr Standartenf?hrer," von Lutzenberger said.
"Our leaders, the men who have given me this mission, had the duty to con-sider the unthinkable. An Armistice of 1944, not very different from the Armistice of 1918, followed by another conference like Versailles in 1919."
"You're not saying, are you," Gr?ner challenged, "that an Armistice of 1944 is a possibility?"
"Personally, of course not. I believe in the ultimate victory. What has had to be considered here is that if there should be an Armistice of 1944, it cannot- cannot-be followed by a repeat of the Versailles Conference of 1919."
"Frankly, Herr Standartenf?hrer," von Lutzenberger said indignantly, "if you had not come here cloaked in the authority of our leaders, I would consider such talk as dangerously approaching defeatism and perhaps even treason!"
I was expected to react that way, and I think I did so convincingly. What is this SS slime up to ?
"Herr Ambassador Graf," Gradny-Sawz said kindly. "I must tell you that until the Standartenf?hrer explained this to me, my reaction was very much like yours."
"I should hope so!" von Lutzenberger said.
"Let me try to put it this way, Graf von Lutzenberger," Goltz said. "Let us be realistic. The war has not been going entirely our way in recent times. And of course our leaders must deal with cold facts. Consequently-while by no means demeaning the courage and self-sacrifice of the Sixth Army at Stalin-grad-the cold fact is that the Sixth Army, six hundred thousand men strong, was wiped out there."
"As I understand it, they did their soldier's duty to Germany to the end," Gr?ner said.
"Indeed. And it would be senseless to deny that the situation in Africa is grave; that Allied bombers are causing great damage to the Fatherland; and that the F?hrer has not been able to provide the next level of weaponry as quickly as he hoped. Let me digress by saying that I was privileged to witness, at Peenem?nde, (German V-1 and V-2 rockets were developed at Peenem?nde under Wernher von Braun.) the testing of weapons I believe will not only sweep Allied aircraft from the skies but bring England to its knees. To our conference table, if you like, begging for our terms for an armistice,"
And somewhere in the Bavarian Alps, von Lutzenberger thought, there is a pig who really can whistle the Blue Danube Waltz.
"Really?" Gr?ner asked.
"Rockets, Herr Oberst, traveling at near the speed of sound," Goltz said. "And there are other weapons, propellerless aircraft, for example, faster than any-thing now flying. And we have under development new tanks-a whole arsenal of weapons-I feel sure will change the tide. But the point is that these weapons may not be available in time. Our leaders have had the duty to consider the un-pleasant alternatives. Which, if I may, brings us back to the Armistice of 1944."
"I have faith in the F?hrer," Gradny-Sawz said.
"We all do," Goltz said, an impatient tone in his voice. "But pray let me continue. Considering the impossible: Let us say, hypothetically, that in 1944 the F?hrer decides that seeking an armistice is best for Germany."
"The British, Americans, and Russians at Casablanca called for our uncon-ditional surrender," von Lutzenberger said.
"Rhetoric. If we offer an armistice, they will jump at it." Goltz said. "But the postwar conference following an Armistice of 1944 will be far worse for Germany than the Versailles Conference. Roosevelt is owned by the Jews. His Secretary of the Treasury, Morgenthau, is a Jew. England's not much better, and France, as we all know, is far worse. And Russia!"