And this be law, that I'll maintain until my dying day, sir
That whatsoever king may reign, Still I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir.
~ Unknown,
The Vicar of Bray
The door slammed shut with deliberate aggression, causing Johann to sigh with relief at finally getting the chance to stretch his legs underneath the stocky table. He understood that the Reichswehr had crafted their men to act like automatons with a perpetual stick up their behinds but he never would have guessed they would have designed such uncomfortable office furniture to instill that in them.
“I don’t think we’ll be hearing from Major Von Manstein again.” Lars observed.
“Another one bound for South America no doubt,” Johann muttered whilst fishing out a packet of cigarettes from his new uniform, “we really should be getting some sort of commission from the Argentinian tourism department.”
Lars laughed at that as did the third man on the panel.
“Well, they can’t all be as enlightened as me,” Klaus added.
Johann liked Klaus, as did Lars, everyone in the Bendlerblock seemed to ever since they had set up in the old Reichswehr defence ministry. It might have been enough to make Johann suspicious of how a man who both he and Lars had fought against at Lehrte had managed to install himself so well into the People’s Guard. Then again, a year ago he was rioting in a Berlin park and now here he was within the Bendlerblock, in charge of the fates of men he had spent the last ten years fighting.
Since the United Front had officially disbanded the Reichswehr the People’s Guard was now in the process of supplanting it, raking through the remnants of their former enemy to see if there was anything left of value that might help them better establish themselves as an army that could defend Germany and her workers.
The job of their three man panel specifically was to interview old Reichswehr officers not currently under investigation for direct participation in Von Schleicher’s Third Reich. Johann found this definition ridiculous, if they were officers in the Reichswehr then of course they were involved, but it had been a concession brought about by the liberals in the Reichstag who had made their support for the disbanding reliant on it. Technically the People’s Guard was now combined with the Reichswehr and everyone had the chance to keep their positions. Johann cursed the fact the United Front had to rely on the support of the German Democratic Party for decisions such as this.
Most of the old Reichswehr men hadn’t even bothered to show up, perhaps out of contempt for the process or fear that it was an elaborate ploy to get them arrested. Most of the senior leadership was already in custody, excluding those who had fled to foreign lands. It was believed that the trials of Schleicher, Goering and Hugenberg were to be exhibitions of the new justice system and who knew where that would end?
Those who had shown up had often done so only to tell them to go screw themselves, albeit often in less diplomatic ways. Then there were those who had shown up merely to go through the motions out of some respect for the old institution only to storm off the moment the meeting was done, such had been the case with Major Von Manstein. Genuine believers in a workers Germany who had ended up in the Reichswehr by circumstance such as Klaus were incredibly rare it seemed. The closest thing to it tended to be careerists, men who had few scruples in the name of their advancement, whether that meant the Reichswehr or the People’s Guard. Many of these men could talk a good game only to then flounder on closer inspection and suddenly storm out with a newly found sense of principle. Then there were those who had been just as amoral but had proven to have some promising skills that could be an asset.
Johann wasn’t particularly happy with this set-up. He had seen Feder die full of ideological zeal and now his sacrifice had led to men with no principles applying to fill his place. Lars had tried to placate him by remarking that such men could always develop a conscience whilst on the job.
“So, who’s next?” Lars now asked.
Johann stubbed out his cigarette on the already overflowing ashtray and looked briefly at the list in front of them before calling out to those waiting outside the door.
“Major Heinz Guderian!”
The Major entered and nodded to them cordially before his face turned to a sneer upon seeing the ashtray. Without saying a word he grabbed it and proceeded to empty its contents into the wastepaper basket in the corner of the room.
“Have a seat Major,” Lars didn’t seem phased by the introduction. Johann guessed it would be best for him to do the same. There was no point giving such men a reaction.
The Major sat down by lowering his legs, his back still upright. He placed the empty ashtray back on the table.
“I feel this interview should be conducted by men of equal or superior rank to myself.” He finally commented.
“I am Lars Nayer of the People’s Guard and this is my superior Johannes Fischer of the Citizen’s Defence Council. Alongside us we have Captain Klaus Marcus of the Federal Reclamation Committee. Our remit here is to see whether or not would be applicable for service in the People’s Guard and to determine whether your current rank would be fitting.”
Johann enjoyed his friend dressing down these officers but Guderian, bizarrely, smiled as well.
“Two revolutionaries and a Captain of the Heer. I feel like I’ve heard the one about you gentlemen walking into a bar.”
“You were at Gottingen. Correct?” Lars asked.
“I was, briefly.”
Whilst Klaus, Johan and Lars had fought on different sides in the battle of Lehrte a similar battle had unfolded at Gottingen for the railhead there. Unlike in Lehrte the Reichswehr had initially succeeded, only to have to retreat due to the People’s Guard success elsewhere.
“And how would you feel being in an army you had previously fought against?”
“Well I got a good impression of your set-up. You fought hard and caught us by surprise when you used armoured vehicles of your own to destroy the rail lines. That was a nasty shock. Our armour was better of course, even if some of our leadership was poor.”
Johann didn’t want to look but he was sure he could feel Klaus blush.
“And what do you think of the United Front, Major?” Johann asked.
“I don’t think you’re Bolsheviks. But I have spent time in Russia. I’m not one of these secret converts, that apparently did exist after all,” he glared at Klaus, “but I realised the Russians were willing to accommodate white officers to improve their national defence when such men proved themselves competent.”
“This isn’t Russia, Major.” Lars stated.
“No but the principle is the same. You want to know if I’m competent? I would hope my actions at Gottingen would prove that. You want to know if I’m a secret Bolshevik? A pointless exercise, I’m a white who’s smart enough to see we didn’t lose on the strength of our ideas nor did you win on the strength of yours. You won on the basis of cohesion and innovation. That is what Germany needs right now, in Bolshevik form or otherwise, and as I am a patriot I am willing to join the army who is carrying that out.”
“We are conducting the interview Major,” Johann interjected.
“And you’re doing so poorly,” Guderian continued.
“You can discern my loyalty based on your competence gentlemen. If that extinguishes itself then the time has come to purge me.”
There was a bewildered silence in the room.
“I think that’s all we need for now Major.” Lars said finally.
“Good!” Guderian said jovillay, rising from his seat.
“Then you’ll excuse me, Gentlemen. I have another interview tomorrow morning in Sweden and I have a flight to catch.”
“It’s Comrades.” Johann replied.
“Sorry?”
“We prefer ‘Comrade’ to ‘Gentlemen’, for future reference.”
Guderian’s smile broadened at that.
“We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
---
The painting is
War Cripples by Otto Dix
