After some small talk, Himmler got right to the point.
“How many canisters have you ready for transport?”
“Eleven hundred, Reichsführer Himmler,” Dr. Blome quickly replied. “We are beyond the testing phase now. We have paused our other projects to manufacture more of the nerve agent for insertion into the—”
“Tell me about this poison,” interrupted Eichmann. If Mengele, a physician, was the Angel of Death, Eichmann was the person responsible for delivering the condemned individuals to Mengele. Like Himmler, Eichmann really didn’t care how the Jews were killed. He believed in swift extermination by whatever means. “How will they die?”
Dr. Blome was no saint, but Eichmann’s question turned his stomach. He had to be careful with his reaction and response. These were three of the deadliest, most sadistic killers in the Reich.
“Sarin is colorless, odorless, and has a high vapor pressure that allows us to use a wide variety of delivery methods. At room temperature, it is liquid. It can be converted into an aerosol spray. It can be frozen under extreme temperatures at approximately negative fifty-six degrees Celsius. And it can be absorbed into other solid substances, including sponge material, as requested by Reichsführer Himmler.”
“Have you been successful?” asked Himmler.
“Yes, Reichsführer. With the materials provided, we have successfully soaked the sponges and sealed them into the titanium canisters. When an individual sponge is placed into water, it will expand to ten times its initial size. Large volumes of sarin can be released into the water.”
“Will it then dissolve?” asked Eichmann.
“Nein, Obersturmbannführer. It is miscible.”
“Miscible?” asked Himmler.
“Similar to mixing,” replied Mengele, who was fascinated by the conversation. “Like ethanol and water.”
“You applied this sarin to the sponges?” asked Eichmann.
“Yes, ObersturmbannFührer. Some chemical weapons kill not just if they are inhaled but if they’re absorbed through the skin as well. For many chemicals, simply washing off exposed skin with soap and water will suffice to decontaminate the area. Not so with sarin.”
“There are many other methods of delivery,” interjected Mengele. “In addition to water, aerosol sprays can create a vapor or gas, or a liquid spray can be released into the outside for a larger target. It can also contaminate food.”
Eichmann furrowed his brow as he considered this information. He turned back to Dr. Blome. “How fast does it work?”
“It is the most toxic and deadliest of nerve agents. Even slight exposure to the skin, such as a single milliliter, can cause death in minutes.”
“How? How do they die?” Eichmann was insistent on knowing the pain that would be caused.
“Sarin interferes with the body’s central nervous system. It specifically targets the neuromuscular junctions where nerves meet muscles. The result is the body immediately begins to convulse. The muscles that control breathing become paralyzed, and the person dies of asphyxiation.”
“Good,” muttered Eichmann, an odd but sadistic response.
Himmler, like the others, stared at Dr. Blome throughout the questioning. “As I understand it, you have already reached the required amount of production for the September 15 deadline. Next, please focus on the raw nerve agent for use in aerosol containers. Contact SS-WVHA for your needs. They will not delay you.”
“Yes, Reichsführer Himmler. Anything else?”
Mengele stood and rubbed his hands together. “We want to see it work.”
Chapter Nineteen
September 1944
Oslo, Norway
By September 1944, the German Army was in dire straits. German panzers were mired in a month-long struggle with General Patton’s Third Army. The Soviet Red Army had begun its invasion of East Prussia, driving German forces back toward the center of the country. The British Eighth Army was bringing the Axis power to its knees in Italy. And Himmler’s most trusted field general, Erwin Rommel, had been charged as a co-conspirator in the failed Operation Valkyrie assassination plot.
Himmler still held out hope for victory, and Project Tabun was the best possible means to drastically change the course of the war. However, the first stage of the attack on the Allies was not going to be undertaken until mid-November, based upon the schedule he’d established. He was beginning to fear for the safety of the children he’d fathered. In short, his legacy was at risk.
Himmler was married, having met his wife, Margarete Boden, in 1927. After their marriage, they had a daughter, Gudrun, and fostered a young boy, Gerhard, whose father, an SS officer, had died before the war. Himmler and Margarete were estranged but never divorced. The stress of his duties within the Reich took its toll on their marriage, as well as an illicit affair with his secretary Hedwig Potthast, with whom he also had two children.
They were all provided for by the Reich, but they were not loved like the two Jorgenson sisters and his Norwegian children by them. As Himmler began to feel the walls closing in, he implemented his own plan of protection under Odessa.
In August, both sisters had given birth to healthy baby boys within a few days of each other. They were barely six weeks old when Himmler hastily had them gathered up from their homes and brought to the airport in Oslo, Norway.
The facility, seized by the German Army years prior, still operated some commercial flights via KLM airlines to destinations like Iceland and Italy. Any point in between was too precarious, as all aircraft were at risk of being shot down by anti-aircraft fire or Allied jet fighters.
Himmler had spent the night with each of them and explained his plans for them. They were both distraught about leaving their beloved Norway, but they also understood they would be in grave danger if invading Allied forces learned of their relationship to Himmler. They were convinced their children by him would be taken away
