Speer and I proceeded down the hall away from the group lead by Colonel Stauffenberg. We halted at doors I had never seen before. The plaque to the right of the door indicated that the room was Hitler’s work study; which stood a jaw-dropping four hundred square meters. When I was the Chief of Staff of the Reserve Army, I had met the Führer at a minimum of once a week, often within this very building; however we had never met above ground because of security purposes. The room felt enormous compared to the large conference room within the Führerbunker or the Vorbunker. I would much have preferred to have meetings in the well lit, spacious room, compared to the cramped, stuffy and damp smelling rooms of the bunkers.
The decoration was quite simple, yet seemed more elegant that what was provided in the bunkers. I later learned that the furniture had been taken from the Chancellery to decorate the bunker interiors, but I still do not believe such a statement. On the far side of the room from where we stood, there was a simple wooden desk with a comfortable looking chair. Both pieces of furniture were overshadowed by a gigantic picture of a godlike Adolf Hitler. To the sides of the rooms were numerous pictures and busts of the Führer’s personal hero, Frederick the Great who was responsible for the enlargement of the Kingdom of Prussia; which later formed the German Empire.
Hitler's Work Study in the Reich Chancellery building.
“Tristan, the Führer knows, because as I said earlier, I told him.” Speer did not need to repeat the obvious, I was like the rest of the group – I shared the thought of reaction against this second traitor; however the action was subdued because as a general of the German people, one must have better behavior than simply brute force. Speer paused for three seconds before continuing “but he does not know the full extent of the truth. None of you do,” he said rather ominously.
“What?” is all I could muster in response, my face was visibly shaken.
“Three weeks ago, I received intelligence that Colonel Stauffenberg was planning a full scale drill of Operation Valkyrie to act as cover for his actions today. I was intrigued by this communication I received and thoroughly investigated and followed the leads, leading to a disturbing find,” he paused for emphasis and suspense, hoping to make me ask why, but I patiently waited.
“Stauffenberg has been turned, not against the conspiracy to remove Hitler and the regime, but rather he has been working with the Soviets. It all goes back to the betrayal by Joseph Stalin on April 1st, 1942. I believe you can recollect the events and how quickly we were gave up territory in the hopes of eventually stemming the bleeding. Though the loss of territory allowed us to consolidate our forces and eventually cease Soviet gains, the majority of Bavaria was loss.” I nodded, well aware of the past events.
“Though trivial in the overall picture, but relevant in this current situation, one town cannot be overlooked. The township of Jettingen, the home of the Stauffenberg Castle, was captured in the last days of 1942. We had attempted to evacuate as many citizens as possible during the difficult period after the invasion; however the Soviet forces always seemed to move faster than we could. Unfortunately, it did not come to my attention until after receiving the intercepted communication, that Stauffenberg’s family was captured.”
I interrupted, before he could continue. “You mean the main I appointed as my replacement has always been working with the Soviets?” It was a disturbing thought then, as much as it still is. If I had known I never would have nominated the man to the vital position.
“Yes, but he is not a communist,” Speer pointed out with emphasis. “His family and estate are being held ransom. They are to be released if Stauffenberg fulfills his end of the agreement. Ironically in this situation, the Führer is not the primary objective of the plot. I will let you read,” he said while pulling out a bound document from the breast pocket of his trench coat. I eagerly accepted the document from Speer’s extended right arm.
‘The elimination of generals Guderian, Rundstedt, Model, Ringel, Rommel of OB West Dietrich of 1 SS Panzerarmee, and Hoth of 2 SS Panzerarmee are important targets that are to be eliminated. Your family will be not be harmed,’ I stopped reading the document after that; afraid if I continued I would drop the document. My eyes quickly scanned the top part of the document, and re-read three letters of a name that had been crossed out, Sch----.
I still find the words I said next ironic. “If I understand this correctly, the best way to save the Reich is to save the man we are trying to overthrow?”
Speer nodded. “Exactly, I wish we could simply remove Hitler at this current date, but without Goring or other top members of the regime here, it would all be for naught. The conspiracy would simply achieve Stauffenberg’s current objective if the Führer is killed at this present time.”
I agreed with the Armaments Minister’s assessment of the situation. If Stauffenberg “failed” to kill Hitler; would trigger an enormous purge of generals defending the Reich. Without competent leaders, the troops crumble allowing for the Soviets to overrun them and occupy the country without major resistance. Not only would the entirety of the Fatherland be under communist rule, Europe would fall under Stalin’s rule. While not necessarily agreeing to the premise of saving a man I despised, there were no other alternatives that promised a better future. I did not want to trade one dictator for another.