he sat stiffly on the edge of a narrow bed. An hour,passed. When he
next heard footsteps in the hall, he knew they belonged to the Fuhrer.
Standing deliberately, he straightened his silver-bordered collar and
faced the door. As it opened, he cried, 'Heil Hitler!' and gave a
whip-crack Nazi salute.
Adolf Hitler stood blinking in the doorway. He looked like a man
suddenly pulled into a quiet alcove from a beer hall where a violent
brawl was in progress. 'Heydrich,' he mumbled.
'My Fuhrer.'
'We haven't much time. I have to get back to my generals.
They've taken a break for food.' With sudden ffitler s@ into the room
and walked to the window. 'Food!' he cried, pounding his right fist
into his palm. 'They think I am a fool, Heydrich! Adolf Hitler!
My God, if I had listened to my generals we would never even have
crossed into the Rhineland. And now that we stand ready to begin the
greatest land invasion the world has ever seen, they counsel me to be
cautious!' Hitler whirled, evangelical fire burning in his eyes.
'Would caution have won us Poland, Heydrich?'
'No, my Fuhrer!'
'Would it have won us France?'
'No!'
'Then how can it win us Russia?' Spittle flew from Hitler's quivering
lips.
'It cannot, my Fuhrer!'
'Exactly! You should hear them ... Halder, Jodl, even Guderian's
reports sound like the whining of an old woman.
They speak as if we have allies. We have none! For hours the fools
have gone dyer and over the North African situation.
The situation is clear! On January third the British captured
thirty-eight thousand lwian soldiers at Sidi Barram. Did you know that?
That's more prisoners than the British had soldiers!'
'The Italians are swine,' Heydrich declared, watching Mtler wind up,
again.
'What does Africa matter, I ask you? All my generals proudly display
Mein Kampf on their mantelpieces. I don't believe one of the idiots has
read it! Russia is the keY to el erything! When Russia falls, Japan
will be free to attack the United States. And with Roosevelt's
attention turned there, Churchill will be forced to sue for peace. it's
so simple a child could see it.'
Hitler's left eye twitched angrily, 'Perhaps _ I should place my armies
under the command of the Hitler Youth!'
Heydrich said nothing to this remarkable suggestion. Hitler smoothed
his unruly forelock, then clasped his hands behind him and said, 'Do you
know what my Prussian peacocks are afraid of.'
Heydrich swallowed. 'England, my Fuhrer?'
c my own words back at me as if I 'Pre isely! They throw did not write
them myself. 'Germany should never again become embroiled in a
two-front war. Never will I fight a twofront war.' Enough! England
lies prostrate beneath our bombs, yet my sniveling generals call her a
western front. A front! When we turn east, Heydrich, the cowards will
learn what a front truly is!'
Heydrich suppressed a sadistic grin.
Hitler squared his shoulders. 'Directive Twenty-one commands that all
preparations for Plan Barbarossa be completed by May fifteenth of this
year. Do you know why?'
'So that we may defeat the communists before winter sets in?'
'Exactly. And why this year, Heydrich? Because Stalin is arming Russia
even faster than I am arming Germany! The purge of 'thirty-seven slowed
him down considerably, yes, but he has a new program in place-a total
reorganizationr will be too late! All that we have If we wait another
yea it accomplished will be dust! Do you understand?'
'Perfectly, my Fuhrer.'
'I believe you do. And that is why you are here.' Hitler carefully
read his watch, holding it close to his face because of his poor vision.
'I have no intention of fighting on two fronts, Heydrich.
But can I trust my spineless generals with my plans?' He waved his hand
impatiently. 'My brilliant generals. imbeciles, every one.
England doesn't want warNo matter what your agents tell you, Heydrich, I
know.
Withstanding aerial bombardment is one thing-fighting a land war is
another. The English people will do almost anything to keep from
sending their sons to die at another Somme or Ypres. Believe me,
Heydrich, I was there- No, the only obstacle to an Aryan peace is
Winston Churchill.
Churchill and his warmongering cronies! Do you agree?'
'Absolutely, my Fuhrer.'
'Tell me,' Hitler said in a confiding tone, 'what do you think.of our
chances of making peace with the British?'
Heydrich tried to guess which answer Hitler wanted today.
The Fuhrer did not tolerate equivocation; it had to be one absolute or
the other. 'As things now stand,' he ventured carefully, 'we have no
chance whatsoever.'
Hitler's eyes sparkled. 'You seem certain. Yet I suspect that some of
your superiors might disagree with you.'
Heydrich f@it his chest tighten.
Hitler's voice cut like a blade. 'What do you know, Herr
Obergruppenfiihrer, of attempts by my officers to make clandestine
contact with the British?4' Heydrich felt the tingle of opportunity in
his palms. 'May I speak frankly, my Fuhrer?'
'You had better!'
'My Fuhrer, so far, despite exhaustive efforts, I have not uncovered any
proof of treason around you. However, I am aware of efforts on the part
of certain individuals to make clandestine contact with British citizens
in various neutral countries. I've taken the liberty of compiling
dossiers on the activities of each for your review.'
Hitler frowned disdainfully. 'The Haushofers, for instance? Karl and
Albrecht?'
'Yes,' said Heydrich, surprised by Hitler's knowledge.
'You know of their communications with Hess.
