Berlin blood

Summer 1943 Every day the situation became more and more alarming. The war, which the Germans expected to win quickly, failed. Things went from bad to worse, which could not but worry the top of the Third Reich. The Germans retreated and gave up positions, the allies doubted whether to provide help and support, but Hitler assured all the people around him that everything was not so bad, and they still believed him. However, most educated people and officers already felt how it would all end. And if the officers knew at least something, then everyone else was completely in the dark. This, of course, could not but affect people, their mood and the atmosphere as a whole. Gotter increasingly went to meetings, after which he locked himself in his office for a long time and drank a lot. Tilika, in addition to documentation, had to take on the training of cadets. Gotter was pleased that he had found such a person as his assistant. Thielike himself was in a gloomy mood. He weighed the odds and felt that Germany would lose. The forces are not equal. Depressing thoughts, of course, could not help but affect Tielike’s reaction and attentiveness. Coffee, the very sight of which had already made him sick, no longer affected him. He became addicted to cigarettes, but what he became even more addicted to was drugs that had a relaxing narcotic effect. Codeine was his favorite, and yet Thielike tried not to drink too much of it. His story of acquaintance with this drug began in early spring, when he foolishly came down with a cough. It was then that he was prescribed this miracle drug. It really helped with his cough, and Tilike, sitting in his office late at night, drank it now so as not to fall from fatigue. In the last month, Hitler drove everyone, he did not like the number of casualties at the front. He sent thousands of his people to certain death, and not only his own, but also allied soldiers, who were sometimes not ready to make such sacrifices. Thielicke asked the Oberführer many times why they couldn’t just let the soldiers go before all was lost and they were completely destroyed? He only answered: “We have gone too far.” Thilike understood everything. Sitting in the same office, he remembered Hilda, who did not recognize him at arm’s length… No matter how much he tried to understand what came over her. He wanted to meet her again, but could not find any trace of her. It was as if she had disappeared, evaporated. Well, that wasn’t the most worrying thing about his situation. If Thielicke were asked what he would not like to experience again, he would definitely answer — fear on the battlefield. He thought that he had said goodbye to the front line and real combat forever, but one morning everything turned upside down. *** Walking through the narrow corridors of the headquarters in the evening, Thielike felt pressure. The Oberführer never called him outside of working hours. He knocked and, receiving a short “yes,” entered. “Did you call me, Oberfuehrer?” “Yes, I called you, come in,” Gotter pointed to a chair and a table nearby, on which the map and drawings were located. They sat down. — Tilika, early tomorrow morning you will need to set out on the Polish-Belarusian border, the platoon will be under your control. Your task is to delay the enemy and push him back. “I understand,” they plunged into the cards, and the boss began to explain the plan. *** In the morning, Thielicke went to Gotter to get permission to leave. — Oberführer, everything is ready, can we go? “Tilike stood in his field uniform; it consisted of a fairly light brown shirt, trousers, and a light jacket that did not restrict movement. — Yes, you can, Sturmbannführer. “Gotter,” it was the first time he addressed me like that. — we are constantly told that we are doing this for the good. That we kill and destroy other people’s culture for the good… Is this true? “Boy, you are young and smart beyond your years,” Gotter put his hand on his shoulder. — Listen, I’ll tell you what. I don’t know who we do good to, or whether we are good, but I do know that we are now living in a time when society talks about equality, which benefits themselves. Society needs slaves who will easily obey whatever they are told. Everyone should be the same, but at the same time consider themselves individuals. — I’m understood, thank you. — Follow the order and then no one will get into your soul. And you will not appear before the terrible court — the court of society. — Yes sir. Thielike said goodbye and went out to his crew, who were just waiting for him. He stood and looked at the first rising rays of the sun. I understood my commander Jens, who, as a commander, was very fond of solitude. After all, this is the only way to put your thoughts in order and calm your nerves. He understands that the mood and spirit of the team and the entire platoon will depend on his mood, and now there is no way to undermine the confidence of his people. Especially when you have young guys in front of you who understand that there is a fight ahead. Their first fight, and there will be no concessions here. *** — Tanks! Interval twelve meters, march! They were taken to the Polish border, and then they moved on their own. The tanks walked as if on a line and this was commendable. Either slight nervousness affected the fact that the soldiers gathered, or they did not want to embarrass themselves and were in a hurry to show everything they had learned at the academy. For the first kilometers they drove quite calmly and quietly, but Thielike felt that something was wrong here, there must be a catch. Everything can’t be so beautiful and smooth. — Group commanders, look carefully. If you don’t see anyone or everything looks calm, it doesn’t mean that everything is really like that. Tielike stuck to the device and focused all his attention on the road ahead.