The Flames of Discord
IV. An Unwelcome Visitor
On February 25, 1940 Reich Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop’s plane touched down at Lufthavn Fornebu-Oslo. The announced reason for the visit was to engage the Norwegian government in talks regarding the release of the impounded oiler Altmark and her crew. The visit had been requested a week earlier by Berlin, Prime Minister Johan Nygaardsvold, feeling some political pressure between factions in Parliament reluctantly gave his assent to the visit. In truth, he heartily wished that the entire issue over the Altmark would swiftly disappear. The British as well had been relentless in their request for release of the English POWs now in Norway’s custody. It was widely speculated in the press and in the cafés of the capital that von Ribbentrop might well have other items on his agenda. Those familiar with statements by Dr. Goebbels in the Völkischer Beobachter knew that the official position of the Hitler government was that The German crew and the Altmark herself were being wrongfully detained by the Norwegian government and that “English lackeys” and “Jewish elements” in Norway were unduly influencing the Norwegian government and endangering the friendly relations that the Reich desired with its “Nordic cousins.” The Oslo newspapers announced that the Foreign Minister planned to have private discussions with the government over several days.
That night a gala reception was held at the German Embassy featuring musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic as entertainment. Many of the diplomatic corps were in attendance, although the English and French diplomats were, of course, nowhere to be seen. Not that they were unaware of the goings on at the reception. Both the English and French governments had observers present that night. The French had Duclos, a Belgian diplomat reporting to them. The English had procured the services of Magnus Palme, a Norwegian naval officer (In Palme’s case an energetic MI 5 agent in Oslo had discovered that Palme had incurred serious debts from his indulgences in gambling and pretty women. It hadn’t been difficult to recruit him.)
Late that same night, Palme had typed up his observations and the following morning passed them to his contact, a nondescript-looking man who sat next to him on the tram he always rode to his office. By the 27th, the typescript was in the hands of the Prime Minister.
The contents were to Chamberlain’s thinking rather suspicious. Besides the usual diplomatic and ministerial people, Palme had noticed that Vidkun Quisling and several of his Nasjonal Samling people had been present. Quisling himself seemed to be constantly at the elbow of von Ribbentrop during the entire evening. Perhaps more ominously, the NS bully-boys were seen drinking together with one Alfred Naujocks, a man known to be an SD officer and suspected to be closely allied with Reinhard Heydrich.
“Now why would a man like Naujocks be in Oslo?” Chamberlain asked.
“He’s a Party man, definitely not Abwehr,” said Cummings, liaison to MI 5. “He’s known to have been involved in a number of bits of nasty business in Germany, including a political murder or two before Hitler rose to power."
“I wonder if he was involved in that killing up in Narvik? Or
perhaps the Germans have got some other scheme afoot there?”
“Public figures simply are not assassinated in Norway, even in these troubled times. Our people in Oslo are investigating very closely whether the Germans were somehow involved. If the Reich has become aware of our planning for the Narvik operation, it would seem likely that they would attempt to destabilize matters there. Given von Ribbentrop’s visit, and with SD people in tow, it may mean some kind of action by them may be in the works, perhaps very soon.”
“I see that Sverdov was there as well. He’s a Bolshy spy, isn’t he?”
“Officially he’s a Russian émigré businessman, but yes, we think he’s likely OGPU.”
“And Sverdov seemed to be very interested in dealing with von Ribbentrop as well...”
“All very curious gentlemen.”
"Next item. May we have a report on the status of plan R4?"
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The Third Reich and the USSR remain allies?
It's in The Flames of Discord!