A Grave Man (6 page)

Edward was deeply shocked. ‘I simply cannot believe what you say, Professor. I have long recognized that the Nazis are gangsters but surely . . .’

‘I only tell you what I have been told but my sources are reliable,’ Blacker said grimly.

‘At least we . . .’ Edward began but was interrupted by Churchill.

‘I wish our hands were clean, Lord Edward, but I very much fear they may not be. Tell him, Leonard.’

‘In America,’ Blacker continued remorselessly, ‘the same ideas were developed independently without anyone taking them seriously. A key figure is an American – a zoologist by the name of Charles Davenport. He grew up in Brooklyn Heights and suffered under a tyrannical father imbued with an exaggerated respect for God’s word as passed down to us in the Bible. As a young man he made a reputation of sorts as director of the Brooklyn Institute of Art and Science’s biological laboratory on Long Island. At a place called Cold Spring Harbor on the coast he further developed his studies of what became known as eugenics. He became obsessed with race and came to the conclusion that Nordic types were far superior to southern peoples such as the Spanish, Italians and, in particular, people with black skins.’

‘I have read about this kind of thing,’ Edward said. ‘These are the sort of madmen who gave Hitler the idea of the Aryan master race. I recall the fuss there was in Germany when Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Olympic Games. Hitler was furious to see a black American beat his Nordic heroes and stormed out of the stadium.’

‘Precisely. Davenport developed the idea that each racial type possesses not only its own physical characteristics but also moral and intellectual ones which are not visible to the naked eye. These are passed down from generation to generation. The Germans, according to Davenport, are thrifty, intelligent and honest while the southern peoples are lazy, feckless and . . . well, you get the idea.’

‘So why is Davenport important? Surely he’s just another madman?’ Edward inquired.

‘That would be true if he had not had the luck or the cleverness to get the backing of the Carnegie Institution. He persuaded it to fund a Biological Experiment Station at Cold Spring Harbor “to investigate the method of evolution”. Davenport made it quite clear he would be studying ways of purifying America’s racial stock. He hoped to develop a race of super-Nordics and keep out what he called the “cheaper races”.’

‘That’s disgusting,’ Edward interjected, ‘but, surely, that was all before the war. The Americans aren’t still funding such research?’

‘I am afraid they are. Davenport’s ugly eugenic visions attracted Andrew Carnegie who flung money at him, as did John D. Rockefeller and the Ford Foundation. All of which gave Davenport not just the wherewithal to continue his “experiments” but a degree of respectability. He explained that America needed to “purge its blood” and “eliminate” the “feeble-minded”, the poor, the crippled and the criminal. He offered up his theories as the “solution to America’s negro problem”.’ Grimly, the Professor added, ‘You won’t be surprised to learn that he found much support, particularly in the Southern States. By the time America joined the war in 1918 several states had legalized eugenic sterilization. Before the war, German and American scientists worked closely together to refine eugenics into a “respectable” science. Schools were being taught eugenics illustrated with doctored photographs purporting to show children how to recognize “inferior” races. They invented the word “moron” to describe human beings regarded as being of subhuman intelligence. This led to further so-called scientific tests. By 1913 even the President, Teddy Roosevelt, was saying that “society has no business to permit degenerates to reproduce their kind”.’

‘I have never heard that English scientists got involved in this madness,’ Edward said.

‘That’s why I am particularly interested in Leonard’s story,’ Churchill said, sounding very subdued. ‘I have a confession to make to you, my boy. I was, for a short time, one of the deluded and I still feel guilty. Eugenics became very fashionable in the twenties. We had read about Darwin’s theories of evolution and the survival of the fittest. Francis Galton had taught that you could measure character and produced graphs and charts to “prove” that most foreigners were inferior to us Anglo-Saxons and that women could never be scientists. Complete balderdash, of course.’

‘But you opposed giving women the vote,’ Edward could not resist pointing out.

‘But not because they are inferior. They are often very much our superiors but their strengths and talents are different from ours. They can wield much more influence holding themselves above the political fray . . . but I see you are laughing at me. I admit that I fought that battle and lost and it was probably a battle I ought not to have fought but it is easy to be wise after the event, young man, as you will discover.’

‘I am sorry, sir – please, do go on.’

‘Yes, well, where was I?’ Churchill was obviously put out. He did not like to be interrupted when he was in full flow. ‘In Galton, Darwin had a disciple who took his ideas much further than was justified by the science. He believed that mankind progressed through a constant struggle among nations with weaker races going to the wall, and his views were adopted by clever men like H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw.’

‘Shaw!’ Edward said contemptuously. ‘I hear he praises Hitler as the greatest man of his time.’

Churchill went on with his apologia. ‘We had heard of Gregor Mendel and his peas. If we could improve our maize, our wheat, our peas through selective breeding, surely we could improve our human beings? It seemed obvious to us that we had to improve our stock in order to provide strong, healthy young men to rule the empire. So many of the best of us had been killed in the war – like your brother, Lord Edward, and several young men close to me. My interpretation of eugenics was that we had to feed the population better and house working people in light, airy homes, not fetid slums. It seemed a democratic theory. The upper classes would have to justify their position in society or be replaced by fitter men.’

‘But in fact it was a gift to the dictators,’ Blacker put in.

‘I still think it is right that we should improve the health of our people but, of course, we could not know how these common-sense ideas would be perverted.’ Churchill sighed and hunched his shoulders. ‘When I was Home Secretary, I was persuaded to put my trust in a man called Ernest Lidbetter who had worked in Bethnal Green with the Poor Law Authority but who, I later discovered, was neither a scientist nor a doctor. He was very convincing. He believed that pauperism was hereditary. I admit I fell into the trap and believed his claptrap, though I soon realized that this was a gross error. Poverty is only hereditary because society makes it so. It is almost impossible for people to hoist themselves out of it. Without education, with bad health and no money how can a man improve his lot? When he is young and fit he gets a manual job which, in time, takes its toll on his health. The moment a man’s health begins to suffer from the rigours of his work, he can quickly become unemployable and quite useless to himself and to society. It seems ingrained in our society that the man who sits behind a desk as a clerk or, for that matter, a government minister looks down on the manual worker whereas we should respect him and improve the conditions under which he works.’

Edward wished Verity was here to listen to Churchill. She might not think he was the enemy of the people after all. ‘Lidbetter is still publishing what he would call scientific books on the subject of race and how poverty should not be alleviated by charity as it merely encourages pauperism,’ Blacker said indignantly. ‘We thought the man had been laughed out of court but it appears that here and in America he still has a following. In Britain, he has been repudiated by all respectable scientists and starved of funds – we have seen to that. In the United States, the Carnegies and the Rockefellers have no wish to be seen to be bankrolling the Nazis and are very slowly seeing the error of their ways. However, their money has allowed Lidbetter and his like to go much further than they ought.’

‘So if these people are being starved of money,’ Edward rejoined, ‘surely that means they won’t be able continue with their “research” or whatever they call it?’

‘That was what so alarmed me when I stumbled on this new “foundation”,’ Professor Blacker replied. ‘It has refinanced the eugenics movement in Britain and we suspect it has close links with Nazi scientists doing the same sort of experiments in Germany.’

‘So, just close it down,’ Edward said.

‘We can’t without some solid evidence,’ the Professor said in exasperation, ‘and that we have not been able to find. Money has gone to perfectly respectable scientists interested in eugenics but, as far as I can find out, the main laboratories are in Hamburg and beyond our reach. One thing though, Sir Simon Castlewood – you know who I mean, Lord Edward? The millionaire – appears to own what I understand is called a “beauty institute” in the South of France. It may all be above board. We don’t know for sure but it might be worth investigating.’

‘What do the French police say?’

‘The French police are not interested in stirring things up,’ Blacker said sourly.

‘So who runs it – this beauty institute?’

‘Its director is a plausible rogue called Dominic Montillo. He calls himself a cosmetic surgeon. To be fair, he has done some good work remodelling the faces of unfortunates with disfigurements. What else he does we do not know for sure but there is some suggestion that he carries out abortions, which are illegal in France as they are here, of course. Worse still, rumour has it that he has carried out castrations of the mentally retarded and even what the Nazis call “mercy killings”. Simple murder, in other words.’

‘He must be a monster! Montillo – is he English? He doesn’t sound English.’

‘He has a British passport, Lord Edward.’

‘Who else is involved?’

‘The Castlewood Foundation has the support of several MPs and at least one bishop but its driving force is Sir Simon. He makes all the important decisions himself. And why not? It’s his money.’

‘The authorities can do nothing?’

‘No,’ Churchill said decisively. ‘Castlewood is a well-respected philanthropist. He has sponsored several expeditions to the North and South Poles as you probably know from the newspapers. He’s popular with the public and there would be an outcry if he was accused of anything as disgusting as . . . well, you understand. We would have to have overwhelming evidence to take any action against him. He’s seen as a force for good – someone who does something while others merely talk.’

‘What else do we know about him?’ Edward asked.

‘He’s a leading light in the Anglo-German Fellowship – Colonel Meinertzhagen’s organization – which, encouraged by the German Embassy, leaps to the defence of Nazi Germany at every opportunity,’ Churchill said, ‘but there is no evidence that he has broken the law, at least here in England. In any case, the last thing the Government wants is a row about science. The PM has too much on his hands to open a new can of worms. We don’t want any publicity about secret government laboratories and scientific establishments such as Bawdsey Manor or Porton Down. One question in the House about the Castlewood Foundation’s financing scientific research and MPs would feel they could name any of our secret establishments.’

‘Sir Simon lives at Swifts Hill in Kent, doesn’t he?’ Edward said meditatively.

‘That’s right,’ Churchill said. ‘Why, do you know him?’

‘I don’t but, as it happens, my friend Verity Browne is staying with the Castlewoods at this very moment.’

‘The journalist, Verity Browne?’ Churchill asked.

‘Yes, sir.’

‘I would very much like to meet her. I have admired her reporting from Spain though I don’t always agree with her conclusions.’

‘I fear she does not wholly approve of you, sir. She is a member of the Communist Party and is inclined to see you – if you will forgive me saying so – as the enemy.’

Churchill’s brow furrowed and then his face cleared and he chuckled. ‘What you tell me makes me even more interested in meeting her. Tell her I look forward to a spirited exchange of views.’

Blacker, impatient with this badinage, said roughly, ‘I shall leave you now, Mr Churchill . . . Lord Edward.’ He gave a stiff little bow. ‘I have done what I can. It is now up to you to find out if there is anything . . . which needs seeing to. I confess I am relieved to have done what I believe is my duty but, as you appreciate, I can go no further while I am attached to the War Office.’

It was a pompous little speech and Edward expected Churchill to show irritation but in fact he could not have been more gracious and showed Blacker out to his car with many kind words. On his return to the study, Edward asked point blank what he thought of him.

‘I do not presume to judge a man’s character from a few minutes’ conversation. I think you cannot understand what it means to the civil servants, Foreign Office officials and soldiers, airmen and sailors who make their way to Chartwell to air their concerns. They know they are right to follow their conscience but it nevertheless goes against everything they have been brought up to believe. It is very hard to betray a trust even if you are convinced that a greater trust is betrayed by keeping silent. You, Lord Edward, are lucky enough always to have been independent. I don’t just mean financially, though of course that is a rare blessing, but also – if I may put it so – emotionally. You can say what you want and choose whom you wish to serve, though I don’t doubt that when you do pledge your loyalty to an organization or person you are faithful to the end. Men like Leonard Blacker have less room for manoeuvre. They have served their superiors and their country faithfully. For them it is a very big step to come to an outsider such as myself, with what your Miss Browne would no doubt call an unsavoury reputation, to “spill the beans”. Only the most overwhelming imperative makes it possible for them to do so.’

Edward felt rebuked and wondered if Churchill was warning him that he had a choice which, once made, was irrevocable. If he accepted a permanent position with the Foreign Office he would be bound to do what was asked of him without questioning the rights and wrongs. If he chose to work for Churchill he would, Edward was sure, rightly demand his absolute commitment. And yet so far, puzzlingly, Mr Churchill had made him no offer and he was certainly not going to raise the subject. Perhaps this business with the Castlewood Foundation was some sort of test. As it happened, he was not unwilling to take on the job of investigating it if that was what Churchill wanted. It would give him more time to think about what he wanted to do in the long term. In any case, what Leonard Blacker had said was horrifying. He was sure that Britain had clean hands when it came to this perverted science. It could not be denied that there was anti-Semitism in Britain. It pervaded society from top to bottom. He found it obnoxious but it was a long way from the institutionalized policies of ‘racial hygiene’ pursued by the Nazis which were utterly unworthy of a civilized country. It was ironic, as Churchill had pointed out, that this new prison camp, Buchenwald, was situated so close to Weimar, the city of Goethe and everything that was to be admired in German culture.