Any Survivors (2008) (28 page)

Edgar pushed me forwards and I began to stagger, disoriented. I could sense that we were still on the plush carpet but heading down some stairs. This must have been the way to the doctor. It appeared that some of the air was still reaching my lungs otherwise I would have been dead by now. I could hear someone saying to Edgar: ‘You are going down there at this time of day? You must be out of your mind.’ Edgar kept mumbling, ‘Hurry, hurry!’ And to himself he was saying, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’

I slowly regained my vision. A couple in civilian clothes passed us. The woman was saying: ‘That was the best hour of my life. I swear I will never forget it. What a saint, and so intelligent and clever and his manners so kind! Did you hear what his evening meal would be? Spinach with a fried egg and some fruit juice!’

That must be the neutral diplomat's wife, but judging by her accent she was German-born. Her husband spoke German with a distinctly foreign accent. ‘I wonder where I left my fountain pen?’ Then he grabbed his wife's arm and said: ‘Be careful Edeltraut! There's an epileptic having a fit. Come quick! You never know what he might do. We should get away!’ They hurried past us.

I had to cough again, this time so hard that I trembled from head to toe and my eyes filled with tears. Through the haze I could now make out my uncle coming towards us. I knew I could rely on him. He was not going to leave his nephew and foster-child alone in a strange house when he was in danger of choking to death. Then, what a relief: the raisin flew out in a long arch, thereby freeing my windpipe. I was saved! ‘Don't worry, uncle. I'm fine,’ I was about to say, but the words remained stuck in my throat.

The man I was facing, eye to eye, was dressed in the same clothes my uncle was wearing, and although there was a close resemblance, there was also a marked difference. He was a little thinner perhaps, a little shorter, with an expression in his eye that was truly terrifying. Could it be the real …? I did not dare finish the thought. His grooming was immaculate. But what was that I could see? A thin, narrow black object had stuck in his side parting, ruining the effect. I looked more closely and held my breath. It was the stalk from the raisin I had expelled from my windpipe. Thankfully the dictator had not noticed.

‘What is going on here? What are you doing?’ he demanded of the guardsman. I was relieved that he was not speaking to me and even gladder that Edgar was able to answer and had not lost the ability to speak. He reported: ‘Accompanying Iron Cross First Class U-boat
Maat
following his honorary visit.’

‘U-boat
Maat
, that is very interesting,’ the Führer spoke very quickly. He waved Edgar to one side. ‘Tell me,’ he began. ‘Last Thursday you dropped a magnetic mine in the Thames estuary, what is your opinion as a knowledgeable petty officer? How can we best intensify this method?’

I didn't know what to say. Last Thursday we had already arrived in Berchtesgaden. I had been nowhere near the Thames estuary and out of principle I did not read the papers in Germany. Edgar answered on my behalf: ‘Excuse me, my Führer. This man was not on the U-boat that infiltrated the Thames. He was on the U-XY, do you remember, three weeks ago they …?’

The Führer did not let him finish. He started to rant. ‘What are you saying?’ he shouted. ‘These men have been dallying around on the mainland for three weeks? When every five minutes, every five seconds spent in enemy waters could create the deciding moment that determines the outcome of this war? It is not as if we have so many U-boats and crews that we can send some on holiday. This is outrageous! And a disgrace! Where is their captain?’

‘He was called away. The Security Service ordered his return,’ the unhappy Edgar announced.

The Führer became increasingly irate: ‘I’ll have you know, I will eliminate every single person who is responsible for this extortionate waste of our resources. Three weeks – that makes at least four merchant ships a day, let us say each at 3,000 tons; that is 12,000 tons a day or a quarter of a million tons of enemy matter in three weeks and these opportunities are lost through sheer negligence!’

What I wanted to say was: ‘Don't shout at the poor man. He's only an
Ehrenkavalier
,’ but I didn't dare. I thought it might harm the poor man even more, coming from my mouth.

‘I will order the following,’ the Führer raved on, ‘that no U-boats will be allowed back into their home port except for emergency repairs. Auxiliary vessels will supply all the necessary: fresh ammunition, fuel, aspirin and Iron Crosses when required!’

I nearly piped up, ‘You forgot to mention the post’, but again I thought it better to keep quiet. Unfortunately, the Führer had noticed that I was about to say something.

‘Go on, you have something to say!’ he shouted.

This was the moment I had been waiting for. Now I could finally deliver my ground-breaking, world-changing speech, eye to eye with the Führer; his full attention upon me. But after all that, I decided not to seize the moment. I had already come to the conclusion that there was no point in persisting. This was not a man with an open mind who could be easily persuaded. I could see right through him. He did not care one iota about what anyone else thought and whether his people really wanted this war. His whole being was evil and he used his power to destroy and annihilate whatever crossed his path. Therefore, I gave up, right then and there.

‘Reporting, sir. I have nothing further to add to what I said in the hall,’ I responded briefly. I hoped that he would now regret not having spoken to all the sailors personally. Perhaps he would feel he had missed out on something important. But he did not seem bothered. He stormed up the stairs and took no further notice of us.

‘I thought the Führer was a bit unfair to you,’ I said to Edgar. He glared at me, cutting me short: ‘I am not talking to you.’ I think this may have meant the end of his career.

He must have spread the word about me to all of my comrades. Grimly we faced each other in the carriage of the train, not speaking a word. We set off that very evening to return to the naval harbour. We all knew what was expected of us. We were to follow this path of destruction and annihilation by order of the evil mind behind it all. We would be expected to continue on this futile course, following orders blindly until each and every one of us – or Hitler himself – fell victim to this terrible folly.

***

In the novel, Gotthold Griesemann has been given the rank of petty officer, although he is referred to as Unteroffizier, Obermaschinenmaat, Obermaat, Torpedomaat and Maat. For the translations of the German ranks, see Jak P. Mallmann Showell,
Companion to the German Navy
(Stroud: The History Press), 3rd edn published 2009.

The dash is replaced by the individual's trade, hence:

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