Himmler hesitated, gathering himself before interrupting his leader. Adolf Hitler was the only man Himmler genuinely admired; the one man who could raise the Fatherland to its rightful place in the world. At the same time, he was wary of the Fuhrer’s notorious moodswings.
‘ Guten Tag, mein Fuhrer.’ Himmler clicked his heels.
‘Ah, Himmler.’ Hitler turned back towards the Alps, brushing at the black thatch of hair hanging over his left eyebrow. ‘You see that?’ he asked, sweeping his hand towards his native Austria. ‘Soon that will all be part of the greater Reich!’
Himmler nodded as he surveyed the vista of the Austrian Alps. It was a cold, clear day and, far below, the Berchtesgaden Valley reached towards Austria. It was as if they were on the roof of the world. Up here, the power of the Reich seemed limitless.
‘I have a proposal for you, mein Fuhrer,’ Himmler began, emboldened by Hitler’s ebullience. ‘We believe we may be able to discover new archaeological evidence that will prove the Aryan master race to be the driving force behind some of history’s great civilisations.’
‘Excellent!’ Hitler responded, slapping his thigh. ‘We’ll discuss it over lunch. I have some ideas for you as well, on this Jewish question and the Catholic Church.’
Lunch included one of Hitler’s favourite dishes: baked potatoes and curd cheese with unrefined linseed oil. The two men sat in the pine-panelled Scharitzkehl room, where an expensive Gobelin tapestry hung on the inner wall. The large window afforded both men views over the snow-dusted pine trees to the Austrian border.
‘I met with the Pope’s financial advisor, il Signor Felici, this morning,’ Hitler said. ‘He tells me that Pius XI’s health is causing increasing concern in the Vatican.’
‘Terminal?’ Himmler asked.
‘It would appear so. Heart disease and some complications from diabetes.’
‘A new pope will need careful watching, mein Fuhrer, and we can’t trust Felici. He’s very close to that pompous Cardinal Secretary of State, Pacelli, whom, I’m informed, is taking a close interest in our archaeological expeditions.’ Himmler was wary of the Vatican. It was not the first time Rome had intervened in the affairs of the Maya. In 1562, during the Spanish Conquistador’s conquest of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Catholic Church ordered that the priceless Mayan libraries be burned. The literary history of an entire civilisation was destroyed and only four codices had survived. Himmler suspected Friedrich Waltheim was right: the Vatican’s interest in the jungles of Guatemala was probably related to the Maya Codex.
Hitler nodded. ‘You are right. The Vatican is not to be trusted, but there are twenty-three million Catholics in this country, and once we return Austria and the Sudetenland to their rightful places in the Reich, there will be over half that number again. The German and Austrian bishops must be kept on a tight leash, and we stand a much better chance if Secretary of State Pacelli takes over as Pope.’
‘Do you know where Pacelli will stand if he’s elected?’
‘I’ve asked von Bergen to find out.’ Diego von Bergen had been Germany’s ambassador to the Vatican since 1920. ‘But if Pacelli wants me to sign a concordat so he can retain control over the German curricula in his precious Catholic schools, then he’d better support us. And I’ve told von Bergen to pass on to Pacelli that if the German Catholic Centre Party continues to oppose us in the Reichstag, there will be no concordat.’
Himmler looked thoughtful. ‘Do you think Pacelli… if he gets up… do you think he might side with the Jews?’
‘I think Pacelli takes the view that the Jews have brought retribution on themselves, so it will be useful for us if he succeeds Pius XI. But it’s one thing to exterminate the Jews here,’ Hitler added, looking towards the Austrian Alps. ‘There are a lot more of them across the border.’
‘ Jawohl, mein Fuhrer. As best as we can estimate, about 185 000.’
‘Which is 185 000 too many. The question is, what do we do with them?’ Hitler mused matter-of-factly. ‘Dachau is already full of them, not to mention all the homosexuals, squinters, gypsies and other subhuman species.’
‘We’ll need many more camps,’ Himmler agreed, ‘and I’ve already drawn up plans for the Austrian takeover. I’ve been informed that several camps can be built around Gusen, and we have a proposal for another large one at Mauthausen. There’s an old quarry there that can be brought back into use – the Jewish scum can quarry the stone.’
‘Preferably with their bare hands.’
‘You’ve only to give me the word, mein Fuhrer, and by the time Gusen and Mauthausen are finished, you’ll be able to walk around any quarter of Vienna and not encounter a single Jew.’
Hitler nodded thoughtfully. ‘Good. However, the Austrian Chancellor is somewhat obstinate. I’ve arranged a show of force on the border to compel him to comply. I’m also having an agreement drawn up for the Austrians to sign. Kanzler von Schuschnigg’s ban on the Austrian Nazi Party is to be lifted and our people in his jails are to be released!’ Hitler banged his fist on the table. ‘It shouldn’t be long before you start construction, Himmler.’
A cold smile spread across Himmler’s sallow face.
‘Now, what’s this archaeological evidence you were talking about?’
‘I’ve received a cable from our ambassador in Guatemala City. There’s a possibility the Aryans were instrumental in the rise of the great Mayan civilisation.’
‘That wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I’ve been reading Der Mythus des Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts – it’s excellent, excellent,’ Hitler emphasised, slapping his thigh again. ‘Alfred Rosenberg has it absolutely right. The lower race of Jews has corrupted the Aryan culture, and we must pursue the purification of the master race with every fibre of our being. We are building the foundations for a Reich that will last a thousand years!’ Hitler’s eyes blazed as he warmed to his theme. He got up from the table and placed his hands on the window casing.
‘With that in mind, mein Fuhrer,’ Himmler said, quickly seizing his moment, ‘I’m planning to set up a research establishment to promote the purity of our ancestral heritage. The bulk of the funding will come from big industrial conglomerates like Bayerische Motoren Werke, which will also fund archaeological expeditions to the Middle East, Tibet and Guatemala. For Guatemala we’re planning to use an Austrian, Professor Levi Weizman.’
‘Weizman? That sounds Jewish?’
‘We’re looking into that, mein Fuhrer,’ Himmler replied evasively. ‘The Mayan hieroglyphics are notoriously difficult to decipher, however, and Weizman is one of the most eminent scholars in the field.’
‘I wouldn’t trust him,’ Hitler warned, ‘any more than I’d trust Felici or Pacelli.’
‘Weizman will not be difficult to control. We already have a great deal of information on him, including the fact he has a young wife and family. After our mission is complete, we can dispense with all of them.’
Hitler grunted.
‘The expedition will be led by Hauptsturmfuhrer von Hei?en, a promising young SS officer,’ Himmler continued.
‘Ah, yes, I met him at the Reichstag. A fine young man. If we’re to undo the damage the Jews and the Christians have inflicted on the Fatherland, Himmler, we’re going to need many more like him.’
3
T all and blond, with piercing blue eyes, Hauptsturmfuhrer von Hei?en embodied Himmler’s vision of the powerful male of the master race. Von Hei?en stood at the bar of Heim Hochland, the first of the Aryan-breeding homes Himmler had set up in the countryside to assist German girls to give birth to racially pure children. In a memo to the SS, Himmler had stressed the need for German births of good blood and urged his SS officers to spread their Aryan seed. Heim Hochland provided von Hei?en with the opportunity to sleep with a young woman of the right breeding, one who was free of the syphilis he’d encountered more than once in the brothels of Berlin.
Doctor Rainer Drechsler, a small, thin man with a nervous twitch in his right eye, watched without interest as one of the women under his care put on a gramophone record. Couples began to circle the dance floor to the sounds of a Decca recording of ‘Darling, My Heart Says Hello To You’. Von Hei?en had never mastered the art of dancing. Time to plant some seed, he thought, and he poured himself another Glenfiddich, spilling the malt whisky
