Before the Books Were Burned: A Novel About Young Adolf Hitler by Lawrence Samuel Shaw

Author:Lawrence Samuel Shaw [Shaw, Lawrence Samuel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TruBambu, LLC.
Published: 2023-05-17T22:00:00+00:00

XI

BIRTH OF A NAZI

Massive slaughter did not bring victory, and with a seemingly endless supply of replacements for the fallen, the trench’s denizens grimly concluded that the fighting could go on indefinitely. The behavior of most soldiers new to the front fits a pattern. Initially they would go out of fear, soil themselves, vomit and sometimes cry, but with time they turned sullen and cynical. However, no matter how hardened and adjusted to the horror, nobody could get used to the screams of the wounded, or the stink of the rotting corpses lying in no man’s land as they were being devoured by rats and flies. German boys raised with the belief that it was their destiny to have rewarding lives in a rich, cultured nation were disabused of this view, it being replaced by the idea that they were just sacrificial lambs to the battlefield’s insatiable thirst for blood. One of the few never falling victim to despair or cynicism was Corporal Adolf Hitler, whose upbeat patriotic mood remained intact. While his attitude often lifted the spirits of his fellow soldiers, it also made them think his optimism under these ghastly conditions was evidence of an abnormal, perhaps perverted soul. He was thus the outfit’s official eccentric.

But Adolf was not totally immune to emotional upset. On one occasion when the outfit was about to change their position, Schmidl came upon an agitated Adolf seated on a stool in the trench.

“Adolf, what’s the matter?”

“What’s the matter? A terrible thing happened. Foxl is missing.”

“How long has the dog been gone?”

“Hours. This isn’t like him. Foxl knows not to wander off.”

“Don’t be so down. He’ll probably show up.”

“No Schmidl, I know he’s gone for good. This is terrible! What the hell am I gonna do?”

He rubbed a tear from his eye.

“Schmidl, some shit head in our outfit killed Foxl.”

“You can’t be serious. Why would anybody wanna harm Foxl? He probably just wandered off. You know how dogs are. They’re always following scents. Why, it was his wandering away from the British lines that led you to get him in the first place. Maybe he returned to the Brits.”

Adolf stared into space.

“I tell you that somebody purposely got rid of him just to spite me.”

“Spite you? Who would want to spite you?”

“Schmidl, I wasn’t born yesterday. I know that there are men in our outfit whose jealousy of me would drive them to commit evil acts.”

“Jealous about what?”

Adolf gesticulated with his right hand.

“I’m no naive simpleton. I know that some of our fellow soldiers are crazy with jealousy because I made corporal and was awarded the Iron Cross.”

“Adolf, I think you got it wrong. The guys admire you for your bravery and good soldiering.”

“That’s what you think. I learned a long time ago that people are usually up to no fucking good, are full of resentment, and can’t be trusted.”

Schmidl thought that his friend was probably suffering from exhaustion. In any case there was no time to look for his pet. The officers ordered the troops to move, and since Adolf was, if nothing else, an obedient soldier, he complied.

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