Letters from Berlin by Tania Blanchard

Author:Tania Blanchard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Published: 2020-10-07T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Life quickly returned to a semblance of normality, but Julius felt distant somehow. He never mentioned the plot again – it was as though something had died in him.

‘What do you want me to say, Susie?’ he asked when I pushed him on his ambitions of leading the ministry towards a better Germany. ‘Everything’s changed. It’s time to keep our heads down. Nothing’s going to plan.’

‘What do you mean?’ I was beginning to see that the way Julius saw the world was complex. For Leo and Tante Elya, life was black and white because of the constant peril they were in. It came down to survival and instinct – how they believed they could remain safe. But Julius’s life wasn’t in danger, and that had allowed the line he walked to become less distinct, more shades of grey.

He sighed, putting down the papers he was reading. ‘We can’t even transport the new engines that the Luftwaffe has been waiting on.’

I put down my tea, anticipation swirling through my belly.

‘Why not?’

‘They’ve had problems with the manufacture of the engines and production has slowed down to a trickle. It’s almost laughable how inefficient the whole process has been. These new engines were supposed to change the course of the war, making our planes unbeatable in the sky, but with the Allies marching across France, Paris within their sights and the Soviets advancing on Warsaw, we’re running out of time.’

I felt sorry for Julius’s frustration, but I wanted to shout with glee. These were the engines the resistance had been targeting because of my intelligence. ‘If we continue on our losing streak,’ he said grimly, ‘we’ll soon be fighting a war on home soil – fighting for Germany’s very existence. We’re losing, and that makes the Führer nervous, meaning he’s unpredictable and capable of anything. We just have to survive now by staying under the radar.’

Julius believed that the best course of action was to steer Germany through the remainder of the war with as little impact to the economy and governance as possible. I didn’t agree. Despite the Führer’s new vigilance to opposition, the resistance remained committed to bringing down the Nazis any way they could, even by contributing to Germany’s losses in the war. Julius knew I supported their cause but he didn’t prevent me from returning to Gut Birkenhof where he suspected I’d be involved in resistance activities. He only kissed me, held me tight and asked me to be careful.

I continued to bring small pieces of information to Leo whenever I could. Although Bästlein, Jacob and Saefkow had been captured, the resistance was more determined than ever to strike a blow to the Nazi heart for the sake of those they’d lost trying. In fact, some of their plans were finally producing rewards and every action that brought the Allies closer gave the resistance something to celebrate, especially each battle won by the Soviets in the east. They would be first to liberate the remaining ghettos and

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