Father of France

Chapter 99 Franco-German Solidarity
When Koeman appeared at the temporary welfare home, Gudrun Himmler was indeed there as well.

During this time, Gudrun Himmler would visit the temporary welfare home from time to time to see the war orphans. Koeman did not expect that the daughter of the Supreme SS Commander would be so kind to the children.

However, there is another possibility: Gudrun Himmler was simply nice to German-speaking children. Noticing Koeman's arrival, Gudrun Himmler walked straight over and asked, "Have you come to see me?"

Although it was a question, the tone was definitely certain. Koman was not one to remain silent and directly admitted, "I'm asking you to go hiking to get some exercise."

Not far from the town where the two lived was a mountain, located on the northern Alpine route. The mountain wasn't very high, but it was a great place for exercise.

There are many of these low hills in Guizhou, a country in the East. It is said that there is no flat land in the entire province. I don't even know if climbing mountains is as common as eating if you live there.

It's May now, and the temperature is very cool due to the altitude. Gudrunhimlai followed Koman up the mountain, and on the steeper parts, he reached out and grabbed Koman's hand as they climbed together.

Gudrun Himmler felt Koeman's strong and powerful hand, and a sense of security welled up inside him.

Half an hour later, the two stopped climbing on the mountainside and faced the town. The entire town was laid out before them, and the residents looked as small as ants, like the little people in Gulliver's Travels.

"Only by standing tall can one see far." At this moment, Koman realized why novels on the Xianxia channel always involve ascension. He hadn't ascended yet, but just standing at a high place filled him with a sense of pride.

Gudrun Himmler glanced at Coman, then mimicked her gesture by putting his hands on his hips, though it looked rather odd given his long skirt and the coldness below.

"Marshal Dönitz has been taken away." Koeman stood for a while, found a smooth stone to sit on, and pointed to his thigh. The stone was quite warm in the sunlight.

Gudrun Himmler walked over with a cold expression, then sat down. Instead of answering the question, he asked in return, "Koeman, your name is also a German name, isn't it?"

“It seems like my family lived in Lorraine a hundred years ago.” It wasn’t that Koeman didn’t want to answer the question, but rather that he didn’t know that this was the only way to answer it. “It’s no longer important. At this point, European countries are no longer large enough to influence the global landscape, and nationalism may have to make some concessions.”

Otherwise, de Gaulle would not have been working so hard on European unity. It was precisely because he knew that these European countries, which had been defined by the United States as middle powers before World War I, had now truly lost the ability to influence the world order that he took this path.

The two sat there for a while, and Gudrun Himmler couldn't help but ask, "Will Germany still exist in the future? Or is it like some people say...?"

"Of course it will exist, but it's impossible to replicate the breach of the Treaty of Versailles. Foreign troops will be stationed in Germany for a long time, and this will be fixed by treaty. However, this is probably how most European countries will be in the future."

What Koeman said is the norm for most European countries in the future. It seems that there are only a handful of European countries without foreign troops stationed abroad, with France being the strongest. In the eyes of some Europeans, Russia also counts.

Gudrun Himmler seemed to freeze in place for a long time before finally commenting, "Is this still a country? Germany might as well have perished."

During Gudrun Himmler's time, the boundaries between countries were very strict. It was unimaginable for a country to have foreign troops stationed on its territory for decades.

In her mind, such a country was practically doomed.

"Germany's sovereignty is certainly incomplete. This world is destined to submit to might, and Germany was a mighty power before." Koeman sighed. Many of Germany's philosophical logics are based on Socialism theory.

This belief is held by people in many different countries, especially appealing to countries that were once prosperous but are now in a poor state.

Take India, for example, a powerful and influential nation. At one time, Germany, a major Eastern power, also had many admirers. However, as long as development proceeds smoothly and people's living standards improve, they will gradually shed this mindset. After all, there are only a few ways out when life is difficult: Marx, Malthus, Maxim—ultimately, one must choose one.

As the saying goes, going up a mountain is easy, but coming down is hard. Koeman originally wanted to take Gudrun Himmler up the mountain to broaden his mind by looking out into the distance, before informing Himmler that he had committed suicide.

But after coming up and seeing the angle of the hillside, we decided to go down first, fearing that Gudrun Himmler might have a moment of despair and die young.

"You're acting strange today." On the way down the mountain, Gudron Himmler dared not let go of Koman's hand, as if they had become conjoined twins. The silence along the way eventually aroused Gudron Himmler's suspicion.

As Koman reached the foot of the mountain, he suddenly turned around, looked at the girl with a slightly flushed face, and said in a formal tone, "Gudron Himmler."

When Gudrun Himmler heard her name called, whether from exhaustion from the climb or from shock, her legs buckled and she was about to fall, but Koman, who had been watching her, grabbed her. Only then did she realize what was happening and denied it, saying, "Is there anyone else here? Who are you calling?"

“I called you.” Koeman grasped Gudrun Himmler’s soft hand and added slowly, “I recognized you as soon as you arrived. Your father is the Reichsführer of the SS, and you and your mother are planning to flee Germany. I don’t know where you’re going, but I’m guessing it’s a South American country. There are many South American officials there with close ties to Germany who can provide asylum for fleeing Germans.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gudrun Himmler continued to deny, trying to leave.

“I’m not interrogating you because girls your age are innocent,” Koeman said, ignoring Gudrun Himmler’s denial. “But I have something to tell you today: your father, Himmler, was intercepted by the British army, his identity was exposed, and he committed suicide by biting into cyanide.”

"What?" Gudron Himmler screamed, his whole being resembling a fighting lion, his eyes filled with rage, "You killed my father!"

"It was the British who intercepted him. Your father committed suicide, which can be considered as sacrificing everything for his ideals."

Koeman calmly reminded him, "Gudrun, you've lost your composure. You shouldn't react like this. You should control your emotions. Germany has already been defeated. You should be considering your own situation now."

Koeman meant well, and Gudrun Himmler couldn't do anything about it; in the end, he just reacted with anger. Any unnecessary emotions would only cause trouble for the foreseeable future.

“Isn’t my current situation that of a prisoner?” Gudron Himmler said with a sorrowful expression, still unable to recover from the news of his father’s death, looking as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

Although she had always appeared very strong, she couldn't help but tear up at this moment. She frowned, trying to hold back her tears, but they still fell in vain. "You know who I am now. What are you going to exchange me for? A higher military rank?"

“I can’t protect you, and the process of being questioned by the Allies is unavoidable, but I can control that process.”

Koeman couldn't possibly hide Gudrun Himmler; he was just a lieutenant, not someone who could control everything.

However, Koeman could claim that he had completed all the interrogations of Gudrun Himmler without needing to interrogate him at all; he could read and write the interrogation records himself without Gudrun Himmler having to answer.

"What...what are you going to do?" Despite being a young Sherman, Gudron Himmler possessed remarkable self-control. She understood that Koeman wasn't planning to use her as a stepping stone to promotion; he seemed to have other motives. "You can use capturing me to gain merit..."

"Can you make me a general?" Koman suddenly laughed when he heard about the promise they made a few days ago. "You see, you know you can't, so why should I do it? As long as you trust me, I will do my best to ensure that the post-war reckoning doesn't affect you and your mother. Unless you betray me."

“No,” Gudrun Himmler said seriously. “You are insulting me. If you are telling the truth, I will treat you with the same sincerity.”

(End of this chapter)