After lunch, Monsieur de Gano and little Ella went back to their rooms for a nap as usual. Adele and Mrs. Roda made an appointment www.biquge.info go to the ship's shopping mall. John and Victor went to the common room in first class. There, they can find an intimate nook and enjoy coffee and cigars while continuing their unfinished conversation.

"Are you going to Germany on this trip to Europe?" Victor asked.

"I guess I'll go." John replied, "My uncle has some property in Berlin, and he has entrusted me with the task of disposing of it for him." I don't have any friends in Berlin and I might need your help in introducing suitable buyers. ”

"I don't know anyone in Berlin either, but I think the rest of my colleagues at the embassy would be willing to help." Victor didn't shirk John's request, and it would always be beneficial to be able to get closer to a figure like John.

"Is the situation in Germany already so bad?" Victor was more concerned about this issue, "Even your Vanderbilt family is planning to withdraw, will Europe really fight?" ”

"Things haven't come to that point yet, but who knows what the future holds." Although John knew that the Second World War would break out in a year's time, he could not say it explicitly, and could only hint at it implicitly.

"Germany is a very peculiar country today. On the one hand, old Germany still exists, with medieval churches, manors, Junker aristocracy, quiet countryside, clean big cities, everything is as orderly as a clock. ”

John lit a cigar as he spoke, "On the other hand, the Nazis were spreading like a rash all over the country, with the flags, stormtroopers, the Hitler Youth, and the torch parade, and the whole country seemed to sit on a crater, and fanatical nationalist sentiment could push the country to war at any moment." ”

"So what do you think? Is this a powerful force to wage war? Or is it just political propaganda and intimidation? Victor asked.

"Who can say that?" John extinguished the match in his hand, "In 1918, Germany believed President Wilson's "Fourteen Points" and gloriously laid down its arms. But the Entente regarded the "Fourteen Points" as a dead letter, and they concocted the crazy "Treaty of Versailles" to turn Germany into a madhouse in Europe. ”

"You mean that the current authorities in power in Germany are irrational and unpredictable?" This is bad news for Victor. His mission in Berlin was to gather information on Germany's preparations for war, and to provide Washington with the information necessary to determine whether Hitler would start a war. What is the point of his work if even the German authorities themselves do not know whether they will start a war or not?

"The Nazi Party is really not rational enough, it is an alliance between radicals and conservatives, rich and poor. A group of vulgar agitators, philosophers, idealists, opportunists, fanatics, thugs and adventurers united under the banner of reviving Germany and "against the Jews". Adolph? Hitler's rise to power can be said to be the product of revenge sentiment in Germany over the past two decades, which in itself has a great irrational component. ”

"But Victor, not all Germans have lost their minds." John sold: "You should probably ask Grock first what he thinks of the Blomburg-Flitch affair, and then consider the question." ”

Victor, of course, had heard of Blomburg and Flitsch. These two leaders of the Wehrmacht had just been dismissed by Hitler a few months earlier by some dishonorable means.

Field Marshal Blomburg was born into a traditional family of Prussian officers. In 1933, he was appointed Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht by President Hindenburg in Hitler's cabinet. The reason why Hindenburg broke with the convention and appointed this active-duty soldier as defense minister was to use his military position to balance Hitler's power in the cabinet. But the old president miscalculated, and this field marshal is not material for politics. Under Hitler's instigation, he soon became a sympathizer and supporter of the Nazis.

Shortly after Hindenburg's death in 1934, Blomburg ordered the Wehrmacht to swear allegiance to Hitler personally. This was later condemned by many Wehrmacht generals. Because from then on, the Wehrmacht was bound by an oath, lost its transcendent independence, and was finally firmly tied to the Nazi chariot.

Although Blomburg can be said to have made a "great contribution" to the Nazis. But when he expressed his opposition to the plan to annex Austria and Czechoslovakia, Hitler immediately turned his face and threw him into hell with a hard kick.

The whole affair was like a planned conspiracy from the start. Since the death of his wife in 1932, Blomburg has lived a life of widowhood. But in 1937, he and his beautiful young secretary, Miss Gruen, suddenly fell in love and prepared to get married.

Blomburg himself knew that marrying Gruen, a commoner, would certainly be opposed by the conservative officer corps. For this reason, he took the initiative to go to Hitler and Goering to be his witnesses, in order to silence the officer corps.

When the field marshal went to Italy for his honeymoon with Hitler's blessing and his new wife, a shocking news came out of Germany. This Miss Gruen used to be a (female) woman and also left a file at the Berlin Police Station. The officer corps in any case "cannot tolerate the marriage of a field marshal and a bitch." ”

So, Hitler quite naturally crossed this illustrious marshal from the army list forever. Hitler never appointed a successor again, but he himself took the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht.

As for the commander-in-chief of the army, Admiral Flitsch, who was originally seen as the preferred successor to Blomburg, became the victim of another conspiracy. The old-fashioned Prussian aristocratic officer was falsely accused of committing Article 175 of the German Penal Code, the crime of chicken (female drying).

Blomburg lost his official position because he had married the wrong woman. Flitsch never married, but this became evidence that he liked men. Although Admiral Flitch vehemently denied this, and strongly demanded that the trial be conducted by the Military Honor Tribunal. But Hitler did not agree, but forced Flitsch to take an indefinite leave of absence, dismissing him as commander-in-chief of the army in disguise.

John asked Victor to inquire about Grock's view of the "Blomburg-Flitch Affair" in order to draw his attention to the attitude of the German officer corps towards the Nazis. This group of military aristocracy, which had been formed since the Prussian era, had no more influence on Germany, although it had always adhered to the creed of non-political involvement.

At the moment, the relationship between the officer corps and the Nazis is very delicate. In fact, in the summer of 1938, the German generals had every power to overthrow Hitler and the Nazi regime. And they would have known about Hitler's "crazy plan", they knew very well what it would bring to Germany, but they did nothing.

Blomburg can be said to have resigned under pressure from his own robe. Although Flitsch was falsely accused of being a scoundrel, he accepted his dismissal without resistance. After that, 16 senior generals were forced to retire, and another 44 were transferred to the lower command, and they accepted it silently without resistance.

No wonder it is not entirely unreasonable that Hitler maintained contempt for the Prussian officer class until his death. They didn't even have the courage to stand up and fight, so they accepted the fate of being deposed without saying a word.

"Without the support of the Wehrmacht, Hitler would not have been able to wage war without the rabble of the SA alone." John reminded Victor: "Hitler is removing the stumbling blocks on the road to war, piece by piece. The populace had already been incited by him, and Navy Commander Raeder and Air Force Commander Goering were his die-hard supporters. Foreign Minister Niu Wright and Minister of Economy Shacht, who opposed the annexation of Austria, were also forced to resign. ”

"So the control of the economy, diplomacy, the military, and public opinion is now in Hitler's hands?" Victor listened to John's analysis and said with some stagnation.

"He hasn't fully mastered the officer corps yet." John reminded that "Blomburg, Flitsch, Cowwright, and Schacht were all representatives of the conservative forces, and they were the bridles that President Hindenburg brought to Hitler." The officer corps was the last line of defense to contain the expansion of Hitler's power. ”

"Will the generals in Berlin rise up against Hitler?" Victor was skeptical.

"I'm afraid it's hard." John sighed: "In recent years, the Wehrmacht has expanded rapidly, and Berlin is full of young officers who are eager to replace them and compete to serve Hitler. In the face of interests, the self-proclaimed solidarity of the officer corps may well be a joke. ”

"So war is inevitable? No wonder you want to sell your property in Berlin. Although Victor admits in his heart that John's analysis is reasonable, he is still a little unacceptable.

"That's not the point." John gave him a strange look, "Washington is well aware that sooner or later Europe will fight, and they have known it from the first day of the Treaty of Versailles. The key is when the war will break out. I guess the big boss of Constitution Road (the Admiralty is on Constitution Road in Washington, D.C.) sent you to Berlin to get to the bottom of that. ”

Victor smiled embarrassedly and didn't answer, which was a tacit acquiescence.

"So I advise you to keep in touch with Grock, he still has some connections in the military circles, which can help you understand the attitude of the officer corps." John thought about it for a moment and decided to reveal something shocking: "The Austrian affair has already sweetened those generals. If Hitler's adventure against Czechoslovakia had succeeded again this time, the attitude of the military could have changed radically. As soon as the officer corps begins to fall completely in favor of Hitler, then, Viktor, you should hurry up and write a report to Washington, Europe is not far from war. ”