in the British government in 1941?'
Natterman folded his hands together on his lap. 'It's very complicated,
Stern.'
'I think I can stay with you, Herr Einstein.'
'All right, then. Yes, there was a group of Nazi appeasers-very highly
placed-who wanted to make a deal with Hitler. That's been proved. Or
at least it's being proved, by an Oxford academic. The question is, was
that group sincere? Do you follow me, Stern? Were the members of this
group English fascists who loved the swastika? Or simply war profiteers
out for all the gold they could get? Were they paranoid anticommunists
who wanted peace at any price so that Hitler would be free to crush
Russia? Or d here's the rub-were they patriotic Englishmen leading
Hitler by the nose until it was too late for him to invade England?
Do you see my point about complexity?'
Stern waved his hand.
'And if they were genuinely pro-Nazi,' Natterman went on, 'were they
truly operating in secret? Or was British Intelligerice aware of them
all along? After all, what better stalling ploy could mI-5 have come up
with than to a real traitors to lead Hitler on-letting him think he
could neutralize England without an invasion-until he could no longer
wait to attack Russia? Remember, these 'traitors' weren't the class of
people one likes to arrest for treasonWe're talking about the backbone
of British government and industry. What if mI-5 decided to use these
blue-blooded turncoats while they could, and then slap them on their
noble wrists when it was all over? Are you with me, Stern?'
'I'm ahead of you, ProfessOr- What if the top officers Of British
Intelligence-expecting a few closet Reds from Oxford-were virulent
anticommunists? Brothers-in-spirit with your alleged aristocratic,
pro-Hitler clique? What if for strictly pragmatic reasons British
Intelligence wanted to do a deal with Hitler, thereby freeing him to
crush Stalin? Or ... British Intelligence could have been ordered to
explore such a deal. In that case the impetus to make peace with Hitler
would have originated at the highest level of British government.
And I mean the very top. Excluding Churchill, Of course. But including
the- monarchy.' Stern winked at Natterman. 'Are you with me,
Professor?'
Natterman gave him a black look. 'You should have been a historian,
damn you. You've struck the main pillar of my thesis-the Duke of
Windsor British Intelligence has been helping to conceal Windsor's
shadowy past for years. All records of the duke's wartime activities
are sealed forever by order of Her Majesty's government.
Yet in spite of that, there's a growing body of hard evidence linking
Windsor to the Nazis. It's almost certain that in 1940 the duke met
Hess secretly in Lisbon to try to reach an acconunodation with Hitler
that would put him back on the throne. Windsor was the archetype of the
privileged, Russophobic, Jew-hating British admirer of Hitler. And I'm
sure you're aware of the fact that many informed sources believe British
Intelligence murdered Number Seven in Spandau last month.'
'Yes. But I have my doubts about that. I'm not sure that in this day
and age the British would kill over the reputation of the royal family.
it's tarnished enough already.'
'If Windsor were merely the tip of an iceberg,' Natterman mused, 'they
might. Many historians believe that Lord Halifax, the British foreign
secretary during the war, and possibly as many as forty ranking members
of Parliament continued to try to make a deal with Hitler long after
Churchill declared: 'We shall never surrender!' I doubt if the most
revered families in England would care to have their names linked to
Adolf Hitler after all these years. And no Englishman in his right mind
wants Churchill's 'their finest hour' myth stained. Think about it,
Stern. Neville Chamberlain is excoriated today, and he was merely an
appeaser.
Men who sought to accommodate Hitler after the Battle of Britain would
be branded collaborators.' Natterman looked thoughtful. 'You know, I'd
be surprised if some of those noble English family trees haven't spread
quite a few branches into South Africa.'
'Branches,' Stern muttered. 'It's roots I'm interested in, Professor.
And not the roots of the past, either. I mean the roots of conspiracy
in the present. The here and now. That's where the threat to Israel
is.'
Natterman's eyelids lowered in meditation. 'I don't know about any
threat to Israel,' he said, 'but I think I've earned some information,
Stern.'
The Israeli shook his head slowly. 'Professor, what you have told me
thus far is available in libraries. I want your analysis. Amaze me
with the fruits of your years of scholarship!'
Natterman looked up at Stern, his lips pale with anger. 'If you know so
much, why don't you finish this conversation alone?'
When Stern didn't respond, Natterman said, 'All right, I'll give you
something. But you'd better be prepared to pay me back in kind.'
'Ask and it shall be given, Professor.'
'That's the New Testament, Stern.'
'You were saying?'
Natterman actually blushed as he whispered his next words. 'What I am
about to tell you, Stern, I learned by ...
by rather dubious means.'
Stern's eyes flickered interest.
'As I told you, several historians are currently working on the Hess
mystery. Two of them are at Oxford University.
You may not know this, Stern, but history is a very competitive field.
In the top rank anyway. And it pays to know all you can about your
competition.'
'Are you telling me that you have your own spies, Professor?'
A
SPANDAU PHOENIX Natterman averted his eyes. 'I prefer to call them 'g4
friends.' The Israeli chuckled. 'Naturally.'
'One of these friends,' said Natterman, 'managed to get a very close
look at the Hess research going on at Oxford.
It seems that there's a very mysterious fellow who figures in the Hess
case. A heretofore unheard of fellow, who seems to have done some
