Father of France

Chapter 91 I need to learn German!
Goebbels said, "Truth is not in the facts, but in what the people believe."

After reading the news that Berlin had been occupied by the Soviet Union to his comrades, Koeman spat and said, "Now the people believe they are dead. Be prepared, there will be large groups of unidentified people speaking German."

In present-day Germany, millions of Germans are like headless flies, running around aimlessly. Those in high positions who feel they still have value in the united front will contact the occupying forces in exchange for a dignified surrender.

The Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party, whose members had been suppressed by the Third Reich, would turn east to welcome the liberation of the Soviet Union.

Those who had been purged from the Jews fled Europe via Switzerland and Italy to the south, or as far north as Sweden, using it as a transit point. General Steiner was one such example.

Allied forces across Germany witnessed the collapse of a nation. When news of the fall of Berlin and the Führer's suicide arrived, the two million German troops scattered throughout the country seemed to melt away like snowflakes in the blazing sun.

The German Army Group Center, which was entrenched in Czechoslovakia and was the last fully-fledged army group in Germany, collapsed immediately.

Countless German officers abandoned their posts and fled westward using any vehicles they could find. Many German soldiers knew that their past actions in Eastern Europe would lead to certain doom in the hands of the Soviet Union, and the higher their rank, the more they understood this.

Otherwise, with so many field marshals in Germany, Paulus wouldn't have been the only one captured and left in the future East Germany. Wasn't his being captured the reason he stayed in East Germany?

Among the tens of thousands of people who have fled Germany, there are many high-ranking officials, such as Göring and Himmler, whose whereabouts have not yet been discovered. Himmler, in particular, as the supreme leader of the SS, is in the most dangerous situation, and the SS was heavily involved in the final solution.

Therefore, he chose to flee alone from the very beginning. Before fleeing, he arranged identity documents, escape routes, and money for his wife and daughters.

Now, with Germany's defeat, Himmler is no longer the supreme national leader; he's just an ordinary person, unable to do much. His wife and daughters are actually safer without him.

Before Berlin was besieged, Gudrun and his mother left the city, and the streets were in unimaginable chaos. Refugees surged westward like a tide, and only in the west were there no Soviet troops yet. People pushed wheelbarrows loaded with their belongings, strollers, and even hospital stretchers.

A one-legged veteran hopped along, leaning on a cane, a glass-framed Iron Cross on his back. In the distance, thick black smoke rose from the direction of downtown Berlin, turning the afternoon sky a dirty grayish-yellow.

Margaret knew all too well how conspicuous her daughter's striking blonde hair was—a sure sign of trouble in times of war. She found a headscarf commonly used by laborers and tied it around her daughter's head to cover her prominent blonde hair. "Don't make eye contact with anyone. Let's go."

When the two left Berlin, it was also the last time Himmler's power was manifested. They squeezed onto the last bus to leave. Gudrun sat close to his mother and smelled the stench of sweat, blood and fear mixed in the carriage.

The woman next to him stared at Gudlong's face and muttered, "Such a beautiful girl, she looks so familiar."

“We are all God’s children, and there is no difference in suffering,” Margaret replied quickly, pressing Gudrun’s face against her shoulder. Gudrun could feel his mother’s rapid heartbeat.

Now no one can protect them, mother and daughter. On the contrary, they are the most dangerous people. If they are discovered, the consequences will be unimaginable. The mother and daughter are not only forbidden from contacting any SS personnel, but they must also avoid them to prevent being recognized.

Now they could only be crammed into the third-class carriage like sardines. Gudrun was squeezed between a factory worker reeking of smoke and an old man who kept coughing.

Straw and vomit were scattered on the carriage floor, and the air reeked of urine and festering wounds. Gudrun, who had grown up in privileged circumstances, had never experienced such filth and overcrowding. She wanted to complain, but seeing her mother's warning look, she bit her lip.

Fortunately, the mother-daughter duo appeared harmless to most people, and Gudrun and her mother eventually arrived in Munich without incident. However, they once again lost their place to stay. Himmler's residence there had been requisitioned, and another villa was deserted.

Enemy soldiers were patrolling everywhere, making the environment still very dangerous for the mother and daughter. The whole of Bavaria was a place where it was not advisable to stay for long.

Margaret and Gudrun dared not stay long. They inquired in Munich and learned that Austria had already deployed occupying forces. They would have to avoid the Soviet-occupied areas and reach Italy to be considered safe.

However, upon seeing the German troops surrendering in the Alps and the prisoners being taken to the Rhine camp, Margaret, who was hiding with her daughter, changed her mind and decided to run to Switzerland first.

During her escape, Margaret experienced the coldness of human nature. Among the four occupying forces of the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, the French-occupied territory seemed the easiest, since Germany's defeat of France five years earlier had not been difficult, making the French-occupied territory appear somewhat harmless. Koeman, holding a German dictionary, questioned the teaching methods of translator Hans, saying, "I don't need to know German, just be able to have simple conversations."

"A few dozen more Germans came today. Do you want to take a look?" Alan yawned as he pushed open the door. He realized that he was destined to be a busybody. With the fall of Berlin, more and more Germans were crossing the border, and it wasn't as easy as it had been at the beginning.

"Let's see." Koeman used this as an excuse to get rid of learning German; he had already decided not to.

In any case, German is not a very widespread language. Germany's colonies were not large and did not last long. The same is true for the German-speaking areas of Europe. Eastern Europe is about to expel people of German descent. German has not many opportunities for use.

“Looks like you’re not interested in German classes.” Alan couldn’t help but chuckle. Koman claimed to speak English, French, Arabic, and Chinese. Except for the last one, which he didn’t know where he got it from, French was his native language, and he learned English and Arabic in Syria. This made his comrade think he had a talent for languages ​​and set his sights on German.

“I’ll learn it for nothing,” Coman grumbled. “It doesn’t have much practical use, and the pronunciation is off. It only works in Germany and Austria. Now I realize that the French education orders issued by the occupying forces are right. These defeated nations should accommodate us, not the other way around.”

"I've learned a lot. I never expected to see so many things, things I never dared to imagine before." Alan's face was full of satisfaction; the fleeing Germans really had everything.

Many of the items were manufactured by the German Reich Security Service, including the cigarette box camera, a light red cigarette box-shaped miniature movie camera used to film many top-secret military intelligence reports of NATO.

This camera is very sensitive. As soon as you move it over the document, it will automatically generate a light source for taking pictures. By moving the camera back and forth over the document three times, it can capture the entire page. It's like playing a game with a child, and you won't be easily detected.

The miniature film taken from these cigarette boxes was hidden in a necklace worn around a woman's neck. After the case was solved, it was discovered that the miniature film contained images of Swiss bank account information.

Many of these small items are actually made in Switzerland, but they're being used by the Germans. Alan couldn't understand, "Doesn't Switzerland, as a country, hold these things accountable?"

“It’s difficult. The world isn’t dominated by one country. Many countries need countries like Switzerland to do things, not just Germany,” Koeman said, shaking his head. “If the British, who hate Switzerland the most, can’t do anything, then other countries will be even less likely to get involved.”

Even the once-mighty British Empire couldn't fight a mountain war against Switzerland, let alone now that Britain is a thing of the past and has no leverage to compete with Switzerland based on its strength and status.

As they walked and talked, the two arrived at the place where the suspects arrested that day were being held. Koman called out in his newly learned German, "Look up."

Dozens of people, young and old, from various groups, all stopped obediently when they heard Koeman's call. Alan added from the side, "Stand apart and stand with your family."

Koeman's gaze swept over the Germans, not missing a single one, and then lingered for a moment on a group of mothers and daughters, his eyes filled with inquiry.

Margaret and Goodlone felt a pang of anxiety, but then immediately saw the gaze sweep past them, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Detain them separately, regardless of where they come from, and interrogate them all," Koeman commanded in a businesslike tone. "You need to learn German."

Koeman was quite familiar with several important figures in the German high command, but unfortunately, he knew that people of that level would never fall into his hands. However, he was surprised to see Himmler's daughter here. So the woman standing next to Himmler's daughter must be Himmler's wife.

For Koeman, this was a windfall. Although there were rumors that Himmler's love life was complicated, Himmler did not divorce in the end, did he? His wife and daughters couldn't possibly have nothing on them; either they had documents stored somewhere to protect their lives, or they had a huge sum of money.

The former, in particular, is something France desperately needs right now. If the classified documents are of great value, Koeman might even consider not liquidating their bank accounts.

“I will personally handle the case of the daughter from that mother and daughter pair,” Koman instructed Alan. “Now, make arrangements for them, but we must ensure their safety, as there are hidden clients among them.”

Marguerite and her daughter Gudrun were quite depressed at this point, not expecting that even the seemingly safest French-occupied territory was so strictly controlled.

(End of this chapter)