Opening Moves

Immediately losing his bearings he took a wrong turn from his bedroom, the former Empress’s Chamber, and found himself descending the spiral stairs before being rescued by a passing orderly, who directed him along the first level walkway to climb a different spiral staircase to the dining room. On arrival at the top of the stairs he greeted two of his comrades warmly, immediately noticing that their uniforms had been replaced by civilian suits of a superior cut in a fetching dark grey and pinstripe, which if not a perfect fit, were close enough. Yet again, he had been left with his uniform. Both men lacked enough meat on their bones to make the suits sit perfectly, but if the standard of hospitality continued then that would soon be remedied.

^{Fig#4 – Château second floor plan}

0857 hrs, Saturday, 7th July 1945, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace.

And so it was that the group came together on the morning of 7th  July, refreshed and more than ready to enquire as to the purpose of that which they had committed to. Unlike the previous evening, when the galleried dining room belonged solely to them, the flags and orderlies, they were now joined by a stranger in an impressively cut lounge suit. Seated at the head of the long wooden table was an imposingly large Frenchman. He was deep in discussion with Wolfgang Schmidt, Knocke’s former Chief of Staff, until recently an Obersturmbannfuhrer in 2nd SS Panzer Division. Another comrade from Das Reich walked in from the stairs, distanced respectfully behind Ernst, a position Dr Jurgen Von Arnesen had occupied on many occasions when he served as a Sturmbannfuhrer of Panzer-Grenadiere’s in Rolf’s division.

The Frenchman, solidly built and looking about forty-five, rose and bore down upon Knocke, extending his hand and speaking in accented German.

“Herr Knocke, welcome. Georges De Walle at your service. I trust you slept well?”

“I slept very well thank you Monsieur De Walle”.

The hands shaken, certainly warmly for the Frenchman’s part at least, the ballet of first introductions took place.

“This is Von Arnesen, and this is Rettlinger,” Knocke first motioned to his right and then indicated the second officer who he had met at the top of the stairs. “I have little doubt you know that anyway, and are intimate with every personal detail of this assembly”.

More handshakes.

“Gentlemen, welcome. Forgive me Herr Knocke but you are, of course, quite right. No introductions are necessary, save my own and I will do so properly after we have eaten.”

“Please sit and enjoy breakfast” and Knocke was ushered to sit opposite Schmidt at De Walle’s left-hand.

On his way to the seat, Knocke acknowledged every member of the group.

An orderly appeared by Knocke’s right hand waiting for some indication of his requirements. “I can recommend the cooked breakfast here. The English may be awful at most things culinary but they do have the right idea when it comes to mornings, not that most of my countrymen would agree.”

A modest ripple spread through the ensemble, indicating that everyone was, if not totally at ease, sufficiently relaxed to recognise a weak attempt at humour.

A simple nod to the orderly and the preference was relayed to the cooks ensconced in the newly created facility crammed into the Spartan lower kitchens.

“My apologies Herr Knocke but for some reason your orderly could not bring himself to remove your uniform last night. He has been replaced and a comfortable suit is waiting in your bedroom at this moment.”

Knocke looked up at the Frenchman and considered his response.

“I would wish to retain my uniform for appropriate occasions obviously but am happy to wear a suit if we must all do so.”

“I did not mean to remove your uniform and not return it. I meant for its cleaning Herr Knocke. All uniforms will be returned to you, as I have no instructions to the contrary. Here there is no dress code of uniform or non-uniform,” and with a chuckle, “Although it intrigues me what would happen if the intended meetings of this symposium go ahead as planned and convene with all of you wearing the uniforms of our former enemy. I can see that adding a certain edge to proceedings. I will think on that some more”.

“In that you have most of us at a disadvantage… Monsieur?” The word hung there, like the enquiry it was.

“In good time Herr Knocke, all in good time. Please enjoy your food.”