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‘A
Waffen
-
SS
officer leads from the front, eh, Johann?’ he had said when first describing how he received his injuries, which Johann understood to be a dig at the officers of the
Wehrmacht
—the regular army—who on the whole seemed more inclined to lead from a safer distance.

Köhler was already sitting up as Johann stirred, and Johann noticed that he was gazing along the line of beds to his right, towards the entrance. Looking around, Johann saw that he was the last on the ward to wake, and that several of the men were also looking towards the entrance. Johann sat up to get a better look, and the sharp pain in his chest caused him to wince, reminding him that he was not long out of surgery. His movement drew Köhler’s attention.

‘Looks like an inspection,’ Köhler said.

‘At this time of the morning? We’re in hospital for pity’s sake.’

‘Well, that’s what it looks like from here. Why else would we get a visit so early in the day from such a high-ranking officer?’

Johann tried to glimpse the detail on the officer’s uniform to better gauge his rank. He was certainly highly decorated, and Johann noticed that his collar tabs bore silver oak leaves, meaning that he had command of a regiment-sized unit at least. His adjutant was beside him, holding what Johann thought must be the senior officer’s briefcase.

‘He’s working his way along the beds,’ Köhler said. He laughed to himself. ‘Do you think I should tell him one of my jokes?’

‘No, Ernst. I don’t.’

‘Not even the one about Hitler and the French prostitute.’

‘Definitely not that one. Not unless you want to be shot. And keep your voice down. He might hear you and have us both shot.’

When the senior officer arrived beside Ernst Köhler’s bed, Köhler sat to attention. He raised his right arm in salute, all trace of mirth gone. Now that Johann could see the officer more clearly, he saw that his collar tabs bore two silver oak leaves, signifying that his rank was that of SS-
Oberführer
—a senior leader of the
Waffen
-
SS
. He was a slim-figured, softly spoken man who looked to be in his late thirties. As he addressed Köhler, Köhler began to tell him how he came to be at the hospital, and Johann got to hear how
Scharführer
Köhler received his injuries all over again. They spoke for a few minutes, and then the
Oberführer
and his adjutant came to Johann’s bedside.

The
Oberführer
studied Johann’s chart at the foot of his bed briefly before greeting him with a sympathetic smile. ‘And how are you doing today?’

Lying in a bed next to that of a double amputee, Johann felt he had no cause or right to complain. At least his limbs were intact, which meant there was a good chance he would soon be able to rejoin his Division. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing my release papers,
Herr
Oberführer
.’

‘That’s the spirit. Your country is most proud of you. How were you wounded?’

Johann recalled his encounter with the Soviet Army in the woods north of Romanovka the previous month—how he and his small Reconnaissance Company had found themselves cut off and heavily outnumbered by the enemy. His account of the events was not of bravery or courage, but of the mistake he felt he had made in his eagerness to push forward, which to his mind had cost the lives of several
Kameraden
under his command. It was a mistake that now haunted his dreams.

‘You are too hard on yourself,’ the
Oberführer
said. ‘And while it does you credit, it does little to serve our cause. It is, after all, a Reconnaissance Company’s duty to venture into harm’s way. You are often at the very tip of the spearhead of your division. I might add that such fighting spirit that drove you forward in the first place is the very thing that makes the
Leibstandarte
the elite Division it is.’

Johann knew the
Oberführer’s
comments were well meant, and he could not deny that they had put him a little more at ease over what had happened, but it was perhaps too soon for Johann to accept that he was without blame for the deaths of his men. He nodded sharply to the
Oberführer
, and had he been standing he would have clicked his heels.

‘And what of your wounds?’ the
Oberführer
continued. ‘I saw on your chart that you received more than one.’

‘They tell me I’m lucky to be alive,’ Johann said. ‘I was shot in the leg, but that was no more than a flesh wound. After that we became caught in mortar fire and a piece of shrapnel struck my chest. From the clearing station I was initially sent to a temporary hospital in Western Ukraine, but the shrapnel was very close to my heart and they didn’t have the facilities to remove it without running a high risk of killing me.’

‘So they sent you here. I’ve heard the facilities in Vienna are first class.’

‘Yes,
Herr
Oberführer
. I’m sure they are.’

‘And how is your family bearing up under the strains of war?’

‘So far as I know they’re managing quite well. I was able to write a few letters before I arrived here, but I suppose the mail service is having a difficult time keeping up with my whereabouts.’

The
Oberführer
nodded. ‘Well, good luck,’ he said, and with that he moved on to the next bed, across the ward from Johann, to continue what was evidently a morale boosting visit.

‘No medals for us yet then,’ Köhler said, his shoulders slumping. ‘For a moment I thought the
Oberführer
might have had them in that briefcase of his.’

Johann turned to Köhler and smiled. ‘I wondered the same thing.’

Just about everyone on the ward had been told they were to receive awards of one kind or another. For Johann, the Wound Badge Third Class in black, and the Iron Cross Second Class for his bravery in combat. He was glad to know that
Sturmmann
Sachs, who had gone with him to rescue their
Kameraden
in the woods near Romanovka, had also been awarded the Iron Cross, albeit posthumously. Ernst Köhler was to be awarded the Wound Badge Second Class in silver for the loss of his limbs, which, following a decree from Adolf Hitler the previous year, meant that he was also automatically awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. Johann thought Köhler deserved it far more than he did.

Later that morning, after they had eaten their breakfast and the nurses had been in to wash those who could not wash themselves, Johann was told that he had a visitor. The news came as something of a surprise to him because he didn’t think anyone who knew him enough to want to visit him could possibly know where he was. He had supposed then that it must be another high-ranking
Waffen
-
SS
officer, come to hand out the medals, but Ernst Köhler had received no such news.

‘Then who is it?’ Johann asked the nurse who had come to see him. ‘What does he want?’

‘It’s not a man, it’s a young woman,’ the nurse said. ‘And she didn’t say why she was here, other than to see you. She told me her name was
Fräulein
Bauer.’

Johann
couldn’t believe it. At first he thought Ernst Köhler was playing another trick on him. Johann had talked about Ava Bauer often enough for the mischievous
Scharführer
to have come up with some self-amusing jape at his expense, but as Köhler was giving nothing away, Johann knew there was only one way to find out.

‘Could you please bring my uniform?’ Johann asked the nurse. ‘I don’t want to see her in bed like this. Where is she?’

‘She’s waiting in a room along the corridor just outside the ward.’

‘When you fetch my uniform, would you please tell her that I’ll be out to see her shortly. And please don’t let her leave,’ he added, rushing the words out.

‘I’m sure she’s not going anywhere until she’s seen you. She was very insistent.’

Johann couldn’t help but smile to himself as the nurse retreated towards the doors at the far end of the ward. He glanced over at Köhler, who was reading a newspaper, and thought that if he was playing a joke on him, he was being very nonchalant about it.

Within fifteen minutes, Johann was dressed and on his feet, with a crutch beneath his right arm to help take the weight off his leg, which was still painful to walk on unaided. His chest hurt every time he moved, but he was prepared to endure it for Ava, and he’d been told that now he was over the worse, regular exercise would lead to a speedier recovery. As he adjusted to the pain and the awkwardness of movement he felt with every step, it took him a few more minutes to follow the nurse to the room where she’d said his visitor was waiting. When she opened the door for him and he entered, Johann held his breath and continued to hold it as Ava stood up. He began to smile and shake his head at the same time, as though a part of him still needed to be convinced that she was really there.

‘Ava!’ he said at last. She was wearing a dark green, belted peplum suit, and she had a matching felt hat in her hands. ‘But how did you know where to find me? How are you? Oh, it’s so good to see you. It’s been far too long. However did you get here?’

Ava laughed. ‘Slow down, Johann, you’re garbling like an excitable child.’

‘Looking at you makes me feel like a child again, Ava.’

He let go of his crutch and rushed towards her, throwing his arms around her. He kissed both of her cheeks without waiting for an invitation.

‘Shall we get out of this place?’ he said. ‘Heaven knows, I’ve had enough of hospitals by now.’

‘Are you allowed to leave?’

‘I don’t know, and I don’t care. It looks like a beautiful day outside, and I’m sure the fresh air would be good for my lungs.’ He took Ava’s hand and stooped to pick up his crutch again. ‘Come on. If we don’t look suspicious I’m sure no one will question us. There’s so much I want to tell you, and I can’t wait to hear your news.’

They left the hospital without issue, and the bright, mid-morning sunshine caused Johann’s cheeks to flush further. Ava was on his arm to help support him as they made their way towards the nearby Prater—a large area of public parkland where Johann thought they could walk and sit and talk until he felt his presence at the hospital might be missed, which he didn’t think would be until at least lunchtime.

‘So, first tell me how you knew where I was,’ Johann said. ‘I couldn’t have mentioned it in my letter because at the time I had no idea I was coming here myself.’

‘It wasn’t so difficult,’ Ava said. ‘When I received your letter I was very worried about you. I knew I had to come and see you if I could, so I asked Volker to find you for me.’ She smiled to herself. ‘He’s been very helpful to me and my family lately. He sends his wishes and told me not to worry about you because you’re a survivor. He said it would take more than a Russian shell to stop you.’

‘Someone was certainly looking out for me that day, I’m sure of it.’

‘Were you very badly wounded? You didn’t say much about it in your letter.’

‘It was nothing, really,’ Johann said, not wishing to worry Ava with the details. He had survived the ordeal, and he saw no purpose in telling her how lucky he was to be standing there beside her. ‘I’m sure everyone has made more fuss over me than was necessary. They tell me that with a little rest I should make a full recovery in a month or so.’

‘It must have been terrible for you,’ Ava said, gazing into the sky as though trying to imagine the horrors of war.

Johann began to recall some of those horrors, and he began to see the faces of his fallen
Kameraden
again, many of whom had also become good friends.

‘Let’s talk about you, can we? How have you been? Are your parents well?’

‘Well enough, considering. Papa had to stop teaching his music because no one comes to him any more. He’s looking for work. Mama and I took laundry jobs, but the pay is very low.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

‘Mind you,’ Ava continued, ‘it’s not easy to spend what little we do earn. There doesn’t seem to be enough food to go around, even for those who can afford it. People are beginning to wonder whether this war was such a good idea.’

‘Shh, Ava. Don’t let anyone hear you talking like that. It will be different when the war is won.’

They reached the Prater and followed a path beside a lake, heading towards the
Wiener Riesenrad
—a giant Ferris wheel with thirty gondolas that seemed to dominate the skyline. Johann pointed to it.

‘I should like to ride the wheel with you before you return to Munich, but perhaps not today. Were you planning to stay in Vienna long?’

‘I hadn’t really made any plans other than to see you. Now that I have, I’d like to visit you again tomorrow, if that’s okay. I’m sure I can find lodgings somewhere close by.’

‘I’d see you every day if I could, Ava,’ Johann said, turning to her. Their eyes met and neither seemed in any hurry to look away again. ‘We’ll just go and look at the wheel today then, but tomorrow we’ll go for a ride. How about that?’

‘Can you make it that far today? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather turn back?’