The Fellowship (26 page)

He extended his left hand and walked slowly in front of the boys, displaying the
Totenkopfring,
or skull ring, worn on his left index finger. A gleaming chunk of silver with skull and crossbones at the front. Sig and hagall runes were carved into the sides. “This ring,” he continued, “was earned through blood and sweat. Himmler placed it on my finger himself. If you are very clever, and very brave, you will return to this room someday to receive your ring.”

Nagel
opened the wooden chest. “Come pay your respects to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the Fatherland.”

Wolf was suddenly filled with dread. He stood his ground in the back of the room as the others went toward the open box. The
castle commandant was staring at him now. He gestured for Wolf to come forward and witness what was inside.

But
Wolf’s mind was elsewhere. His thoughts flashed to
his father’s wake. Gertrude took him by the arm, pulling him toward the pine coffin. “Come look,” she begged, gripping his arm and pulling him. “Why won’t you pay your respects to your father?” Even from a distance, the sight of the expressionless face was too much to bear. He did not look at peace. He looked sullen, sickly. Wolf was suddenly dazed. He lost his balance and stumbled against the coffin, his mother’s palm against his back, pressing him forward.

“Kiss him,” his mother had
demanded. “Kiss your father goodbye.”

Now
Nagel’s hand was pressed firmly into Wolf’s back, pressing him toward the open chest. “Bear witness to those who have served before you.”

T
he other cadets parted before him, clearing a path. To Wolf’s great relief, there was no body in the iron chest. It was instead filled with thousands of skull rings. The front of each ring bore the death skull and crossbones emblem of the SS.

“Closer,”
Nagel urged, pressing harder, and as Wolf bent down, he saw that the rings were far from identical. The type and number of Nordic runes engraved on the sides varied. The insides of the bands were personalized, with the surname of the soldier and the date of issue.

“
Read the names,” Nagel demanded.

Wolf
knelt closer. “
Maier, 4-4-1939. Muller, 12-5-1941. Patzwall, 9-3-1937.”

“Wh
en an SS officer dies, his ring is sent to the castle to rejoin the others in this chest.” Nagel pointed to the copper containers. “His ashes are placed there, in view of the eternal pyre, which is never extinguished. My hope for you, my boys, is that you will have the privilege of revisiting this room exactly twice. Once in body, and once in spirit.”

The
sheer number of rings was staggering. So many dead. And these were only Germany’s so-called elite, Wolf realized. SS soldiers were not multi-ethnic, as were the
Waffen-SS
and
Wehrmacht
, and so there were far fewer of them. They did not form regular combat divisions and so, he had assumed, they did not die in great numbers when compared to Germany’s regular land or naval forces. And yet the chest was filled to the brim. So much sacrifice. So much wasted blood.

He
straightened himself and backed up, stepping on the steel toes of his fellow cadets’ shoes. He looked around, studying the boys’ faces. He saw conviction. Earnestness in their tight-lipped expressions. Only this morning, any of them would have preferred to rush a line of Russian machine guns rather than join the Ahnenerbe. But that had all changed. Wolf could feel it. Now they were ready to be wedded to this ideal of eternal brotherhood. Nagel had presented the boys with an opportunity not just to join the SS, or the Ahnenerbe, but also to be eternally sealed in a family of modern-day Teutonic Knights.

*

They marched again. Up
a twisting staircase, down a hall filled with deer taxidermy, and down again. Through a cold, unlit passageway that left Wolf disoriented and unaware of anything except the hunger pains in his stomach and the sound of the other boys’ boots on the castle floor.

At
last they approached a warm orange light. Squeezing through a tiny corridor, they did not walk into the castle’s north wing so much as they were born into it. Like the Vault, it was circular with a high-domed ceiling and a marble floor and was illuminated by candlelight from four iron chandeliers. At its center was a black sun symbol with 12 jagged arms. Twelve stone pillars were arranged in a circular pattern, and between them hung six red floor-to-ceiling tapestries bearing the swastika emblem.

Over the center of the black sun
was a modest wooden reclining chair, a stool and a tray full of sharp-looking knives and needles. A shiver coursed through Wolf’s legs. His knees felt weak.

“
Attention!” Nagel shouted. The boys lined up shoulder-to-shoulder and stiffened their posture. “This is the Hall of Supreme Generals. This room is the center of the Reich and, in fact, is the center of the universe. Here you will assume the mark of the Ahnenerbe and enter officially into the sacred brotherhood of the SS.”

Wolf
had been so entranced by Nagel’s oratory that he had not noticed two men standing near one of the pillars. SS officers with silver physician’s patches on the lapels of their uniform.

“
You will now recite the oath of allegiance to the
Schutzstaffel
,” Nagel stated. “Repeat after me. I vow to Adolf Hitler imperturbable loyalty.”

The boys
repeated in unison.

“I
vow to him and to the leaders that he sets for me, absolute allegiance.”

The recruits
mimicked his tone, their voices stronger now.

“Adolf Hitler:
Sieg Heil
!”

The feeling of speaking as one, moving as one, was
oddly comforting. He thought of Beck and the sensation of being led through synchronized calisthenics – at times in full darkness – with 200 of his fellow cadets, acting as one collective organism, was as essential as breathing. He dreaded the absence of his morning routine more than he feared the castle itself.

Sensing Wolf’s wandering attention,
Nagel placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him out of line. “First initiate,” he announced, guiding Wolf to the chair in the center of the room alongside the tray of knives and needles. “This is Sebastian Wolf,” Nagel told the physicians. “Age 15. Blood type O.”

He was
ordered to remove his jacket and shirt. He obeyed quickly, hoping to disguise the trepidation coursing through his body. One of the physicians pressed him into a reclining position and raised his left arm over his head. The physician held a large, two-coil tattoo machine that had the letters MADE IN THE USA imprinted on the copper-colored metal. The needle was fat, tapering to form a point at the end. A wire covered by thick black insulation protruded from the bottom, snaking across the floor to some unseen power source.

“This will hurt,” the
attending physician said unapologetically. He took hold of Wolf’s arm, pressing it alongside his head, flush with Wolf’s left ear. The primary doctor touched the tattoo machine needle to the underside of Wolf’s bicep. Painful vibrations flashed through his body as the machine whined.

Nagel
turned and spoke to the other boys. “The identification of blood types was innovated through the ingenuity of the German people,” he said. “But SS officers alone have the privilege of wearing the blood type tattoo. In the event that you need a transfusion and are unconscious, this mark may save your life.”

T
he physician was not gentle, but he was at least efficient. In less than a minute, a seven-millimeter ‘O’ was tattooed on the underside of Wolf’s arm. Wolf allowed himself a tight smile as the physician wiped the blood away. He had no sooner let his guard down than the assisting physician gripped his right arm and pressed it back against his right ear. 

The primary moved in
with the needle and began the procedure again, boring into the soft, sensitive skin. Now Wolf was delirious with pain. He closed his eyes and tried to think of his mother. But he could not. He saw only his dead father, cold and sullen in the coffin.

At last the
high-pitched grind ceased. Sensing a shadow over him, Wolf opened his eyes and found Nagel holding a small pocket mirror, angling it so that Wolf might see the new markings. He focused on the tiny smudge of newly inked skin. Not another “O.” This was Tyr, the spear-shaped rune.

Nagel
gave no explanation for this, and none was needed. Lessons about the meaning of ancient Nordic myths dominated Reich School literature classes. Tyr, the Nordic god of war. Tyr, the symbol that German runologists associated with energy and magic, connecting the heavens and earth with man. Tyr, the rune Himmler ordered carved into the steel of daggers, swords and even infantry rifles.

But to carve
Tyr into one’s flesh was overtly mystical. It was said to have been done by ancient Nordic warriors so that if a Valkyrie decided that they must die in battle, they might be recognized as a true warrior and brought to Valhalla, the magnificent hall of dead warriors ruled by the Norse god Odin.

The commandant helped Wolf
to his feet, where he stood shirtless and bleeding from both arms. Nagel held a golden chalice before him, on which an eagle with eyes of garnet clutched a swastika-emblazoned world.

The newly marked recruit took
the chalice in both hands. It was heavy, containing several semi-coagulated ounces of reddish-purple fluid. He did not know whether the blood in the chalice was human or animal. His stomach soured at both prospects, but it did not matter much. He would have to drink or die.

“Now you will share in the eternal bond of the
Ahnenerbe,” Nagel said.

Wolf
brought the cup to his lips. As the metallic-tasting slime passed his teeth, tongue and throat, he tried to imagine that it was his mother’s sausage gravy.

Central Train
Station

Frankfurt

The night train bound for Paris smelled of pipe smoke and
boot polish. Wolf and Lang followed an elderly conductor through a coach car, occupied largely by
Wehrmacht
soldiers, en route to a separate car that consisted entirely of private cabins.

Other than the MP-40 submachine guns and their packs, they had no baggage.
The conductor opened a door for them, and the boys they stepped into what was easily the most spacious and elegant mode of travel they had ever seen. The private cabin was nearly as large as Wolf’s bedroom in Munich. Opposing brown leather couches were accented with golden stitching. A small bar stocked with liquor and highball glasses was built into shelving just beneath the window.

The
silver-haired conductor entered the room, shut the door behind him and pulled an overhead handle, revealing a fold-out bed. “Silk linens,” he said smiling. “Imported from Istanbul.”

“We won’t be sleeping
,” Wolf assured him. “We’re expecting a third.”

In their first official assignment, they were to board this train, w
here they would meet Dr. Rudolph Seiler and accompany him on a mission to Paris. Dr. Seiler’s security was their sole concern. They had been given no other details.

Seiler was a noted authority on Rome, ancient Nordic society and the Middle East
. Wolf had, in fact, seen his work referenced in the official Ahnenerbe journal,
Germanien
. His new book,
The Mastery of Runes
, had quickly become a staple of the Reich School curriculum.

Wolf caught his reflection in a full-length mirror behind the door. It was the first time he had seen himself in uniform
, as they had only been issued and tailored a few hours earlier. Brown shirt with black leather buttons, tied with a black tie. Black pants. Shiny black jackboots. Black tunic with the red, white and black swastika armband on the left sleeve. The Ahnenerbe Tree of Life stickpin in his lapel.

On his collar, sig
runes on one side and a silver button pip on the other indicating his rank:
unterscharführer
, or junior squad leader. Several ranks more than he had deserved, to be sure. It seemed that graduates of the Reich School never started at the bottom, even when they had been recruited two years ahead of schedule.

The conductor opened a storage compartment and lifted Wolf’s pack. He raised it to waist-level and then fell back against the door, apparently dizzy.

Wolf relieved him of the heavy pack as Lang guided him to one of the leather seats.

“My dear boy,” the conductor said as he caught his breath. “I apologize.”

“You shouldn’t be lifting baggage at your age,” Lang scolded.

“
I retired in 1934, and not a moment too soon. Can you imagine my surprise when a minister from the
Reichsbahn
called me? Said they were desperate for labor.  Obviously the tourist trains are no longer running, but it seems there are substantial military needs. He said they were running 40 times the number of routes that they had during peacetime. Forty times! Can you imagine?”

“
Astonishing,” Lang answered without enthusiasm.

“
It seems the train crews have been decimated by Wehrmacht conscription, and also by saboteurs. You must have heard.” He paused, waiting for further comment from the soldiers. When none came, the conductor seemed to backpedal, saying, “Not that I mind the risks, you understand. The Fatherland needs every man, woman and child right now. I am happy to serve.” 

With this, he
stood, saluted and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Both boys laughed. After six of the most intense weeks of their lives, they could hardly believe their luck.  Lang picked up a crystal decanter with a stag head on top. It was full of amber
liquor. “Should we live a little?”

A knock at the door
interrupted the celebration. With his submachine gun still slung over his left shoulder, Wolf opened the door.

He recognized
Dr. Seiler from an official Ahnenerbe photograph that Nagel had given him. The professor’s small blue eyes searched Wolf from behind wire-rim spectacles. Although he was a civilian, he nevertheless wore a red, white and black swastika band around the left arm of his black overcoat. Lang took his luggage – a small leather overnight bag – and showed him into the private compartment where they would spend the next five hours together.

Seiler
was irritated, demanding to know why they had not left for Paris from Cologne. He explained in excited, verbose sentences that he taught at the University of Halle, in Mittenburg, and that Frankfurt was several hours out of the way, costing him a full day of extra travel.

“
We are sorry for the inconvenience,” Wolf said. “Cologne has suffered heavy air raids since May. I’m sure the obergruppenf
ührer
had only your safety in mind.”

Wolf was merely speculating.
He and Lang had in fact assumed that Frankfurt had been chosen to accommodate Dr. Seiler. Nevertheless, his explanation seemed to satisfy the professor, who removed his heavy coat and sat down just as the train began churning away from the platform.

“
Please,” he said, gesturing to the opposite couch. He removed a silver cigarette case from the inside pocket of his brown blazer and offered the boys a smoke. Lang demurred. Wolf took one, lit it, and puffed it in an exaggerated manner, not knowing whether to inhale or exhale. The government campaigns against smoking had been remarkably effective with the boys at the Reich School. This was his first cigarette.

“
You must be hungry,” Lang said.

Seiler
shook his head, studying his young bodyguards. “Bavarian accents. Well-spoken. Are you from Munich?”

“Yes.
But for the past two years we attended the Reich School in Feldafing.”

Seiler
’s eyebrows danced. “So you’re not just any SS brutes,” Seiler said. “You must have a few brain cells between you.”

He removed his black fedora. He was bald, and made no attempt to comb over what hair remained on the sides of his head. Wolf had originally taken him for a man in his 30s. Now it was clear that he was older, perhaps in his late 40s.

“Have you been to Paris?” Seiler asked. Wolf and Lang shook their heads. “I see. Well, the charms of Paris can be quite distracting, so be warned now that this is not a pleasure trip. We must be alert. Despite what you might hear Goebbels say on the radio, we are still very much at war in France. The resistance is always looking for opportunities to kill Germans. That goes double for those who are seen as threatening of its cultural heritage. I expect you to be vigilant so that I can focus on my work.”

A
polite knock interrupted Seiler’s rant. The conductor had returned. He passed a yellow telegraph envelope to Dr. Seiler. The professor opened it immediately. His face tightened as he read, as if he had eaten something sour. “SS-1 will rendezvous and pickup at
Gare du Nord
upon arrival.”

Wolf did not understand.
“SS-1?”

“Himmler
’s personal car,” Seiler said with distaste. “Unexpected. This was to be a quick fact-finding trip. I can only assume something new has come to light that will undoubtedly turn it into a circus. With Himmler it is always a circus.”

Suddenly deflated
, Seiler leaned against the train window, removed his eyeglasses and rested the fedora over his eyes. Within minutes, he was asleep.