A Man Without Breath

‘And what is that?’

‘I should think that anyone in Germany who is related to one of our men taken prisoner at Stalingrad would find it profoundly worrying to be reminded of what the Reds are capable of. I mean there’s no telling that our boys haven’t met or will meet the same fate as those Polish officers.’

‘That’s true,’ he said. ‘And it’s a terrible thought. But if they’re dead, they’re dead, and there’s nothing we can do about that. On the other hand, if they’re still alive I tend to think that shining a light on this particular crime might actually help to keep them that way. After all, the Russians are certain to deny responsibility for these poor Poles, and it would hardly support their argument if they were unable to show the world that their German POWs are alive.’

I nodded. Joey could be pretty persuasive. But he hadn’t finished with me yet. In fact, he’d hardly even started.

‘You know, it’s right what you said – about lawyers. I’ve never liked them very much. Most people think I’m a lawyer myself, because of my Ph.D. But my doctoral thesis at Heidelberg University was about a romantic playwright called Wilhelm von Schutz. He was the first to translate Casanova’s memoirs into German.’

For a moment I wondered if this might be why Joey was such a womanizer.

‘I even wrote a novel, you know. I was a very open, Renaissance sort of fellow. After that, I was a journalist and I gained a real respect for policemen.’

I let that one go. During the Weimar Republic, my old boss at Kripo, Bernhard Weiss, had been a frequent target of the Nazi newspapers because he was a Jew, and at one time Weiss had even sued Goebbels for libel and won. But when the Nazis took power, Weiss had been obliged to flee for his life to Czechoslovakia, and then England.

‘And of course two of my favourite movies are about the Berlin police: M and The Testament of Doctor Mabuse. Subversive and hardly conducive to the public good, but really quite brilliant, too.’

I had the vague memory that the Nazis had banned Mabuse, but I couldn’t remember for sure. When the minister of propaganda is interested in your opinion it tends to affect your concentration.

‘So, I agree with you one hundred per cent,’ he said. ‘A policeman is what this investigation needs most. Someone who’s in charge but not obviously in charge, if you know what I mean. It could even be someone authorized by this ministry to do everything, from securing the area – after all, there might be some Russian saboteurs down there who’d like to conceal the truth from the world – to ensuring the full cooperation of those damned flamingos at Army Group Centre. They won’t like this any more than the Gestapo. Von Kluge and Von Tresckow. Believe me, I’ve had to put up with that kind of snobbery all my life.’

This sounded worryingly like my own opinion.

Goebbels took out a cigarette case and quickly lit a cigarette, warming to his own train of thought. I had a horrible feeling that he was measuring me up for the job he was starting to describe.

‘And of course it will have to be someone who can make sure that there is no wasted time. Perhaps you’re right about that, too. About Stalin’s maths. And think about it, Captain Gunther. Think about the sheer diplomatic and logistical nightmare of making sure that all those foreigners and journalists are allowed to do their jobs without interference. Think about the overwhelming need for there to be one man behind the scenes, making sure that everything runs smoothly. Yes, I do ask you to think about that, please. You’ve been there. You know what’s what. In short, what this investigation needs is a man to manage the site and the situation. Yes, it’s obvious to me that his investigation needs you, Captain Gunther.’

I started to disagree, but Goebbels was already waving away my objections with the back of his hand.

‘Yes, yes, I know you said you didn’t want to return to Smolensk, and I can’t blame you for that. Frankly, I can’t think of anything worse than being away from Berlin. Especially when it’s a dump like Smolensk. But I’m appealing to you, captain. Your country needs you. Germany is asking you to help clear her name of this bestial deed. If like me you want the truth about this awful crime to be laid at the door of the Bolshevik barbarians who carried it out, then you’ll accept this task.’

‘I don’t know what to say, sir. I mean it’s flattering, of course. But I’m not at all diplomatic.’

‘Yes, I’d noticed that already.’ He shrugged apologetically. ‘If you do this service for me you will not find me ungrateful. You’ll soon find that I’m a good person to have on your side, captain. And I’ve a long memory, as you already know.’ He started to wag his finger at me in the same way I’d seen him do on the newsreels. ‘Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I never forget my friends.’