And besides, that message offered von Deitzberg a personal opportunity.
The only trouble with his job was that he was so good at it. That meant, in other words, that he had become indispensable to the Reichsführer-SS. And that meant Himmler always listened sympathetically to his requests for an assignment in the field, and more or less promised one at the earliest opportunity; but that never seemed to happen.
He didn’t want to stay in the field, and wasn’t asking for that. What he wanted was a brief assignment in the field—ten, fifteen days, no more than a month—so it would appear on his record when he was being considered for promotion. And besides, he had no doubt that he could clean up this Warsaw insurrection nonsense in ten days.
Moments after the teletype from Warsaw had reached his desk, von Deitzberg had ordered Raschner to call the Luftwaffe and order a Heinkel bomber flown to Templehof Airfield, where it was to be prepared to fly “senior officers of the office of the Reichsführer-SS” to Warsaw on twenty minutes’ notice. Raschner had also reserved two compartments on each of the next three trains departing for Warsaw, in case the weather should preclude travel by air. Von Deitzberg’s orderly had been instructed to pack luggage containing uniforms sufficient for a week in Warsaw.
Even before Himmler had ordered him to his office, as he had indeed just done, Von Deitzberg had the scenario clear in his mind: Himmler would summon him to ask him why he hadn’t been immediately informed of the Warsaw affair, even if that meant interrupting his luncheon with his wife. Von Deitzberg would explain that the Reichsführer had left orders that he was not to be disturbed; and in any event, he had already done all that he felt the Reichsführer-SS would have ordered. An airplane was waiting at Templehof, et cetera, et cetera.
At that point, Himmler would wonder if the insurrection of some Jews was worth his personal attention.
“I think I had better tend the store, Manfred,” he would say. “Who else could we send?”
At which point, von Deitzberg would say, “It would have to be someone who could act for you, Herr Reichsführer.”
And then Himmler would say, “I hate to do this to you, Manfred, but I think it would be best if you went there. You will be acting with my authority, of course.”
“Good afternoon, Herr Reichsführer. I trust you had a pleasant lunch?” von Deitzberg said as he entered Himmler’s office.
“We have two problems on our hands, Manfred,” Himmler said.
“Two, Herr Reichsführer?” von Deitzberg asked, surprised.
Obviously Löwzer brought the second one. Did I make a mistake in letting him in to see Himmler without knowing what he wanted?
“Deputy Foreign Minister von Löwzer was just here. To show me a message to von Ribbentrop from Buenos Aires,” Himmler said. He paused and looked at von Deitzberg before going on, somewhat dramatically. “Goltz and Grüner are dead,” he announced.
It took a moment for Oberführer von Deitzberg to absorb what he had just been told.
“Dead, Herr Reichsführer?” he finally asked.
“Murdered by person or persons unknown. Their bodies are aboard the Océano Pacífico…which, by the way, the Argentine government has ordered from Argentine waters, on the grounds of attempted smuggling.”
“And the cargo of the Océano Pacífico?” von Deitzberg asked carefully.
“The Océano Pacífico was not able to unload her cargo,” Himmler said. “Von Lutzenberger was obviously reluctant to go into all the details in a cable, but he made that point quite clearly.”
Von Deitzberg nodded.
“And said more details were available,” Himmler went on. “Three people are familiar with them, in addition to the Ambassador himself. He suggested that von Ribbentrop arrange for at least one of them to come to Berlin on the next Lufthansa Condor flight.”
“Did he provide their names?”
“Yes. Gradny-Sawz, von Wachtstein, and Sturmbannführer von Tresmarck. I think your first order of business would be to have their dossiers sent up, so that you and I can have a fresh look at them.”
“Jawohl, Herr Reichsführer.”
“There will be a meeting of the others, and I would like to have that information before I go to that.”
“I understand, Herr Reichsführer.”
“And then I’d like your recommendations for someone to send to Warsaw to deal with that incredible problem.”
“Before I knew of this, Herr Reichsführer, I made arrangements to take you there. There is a Heinkel at your disposal at Templehof.”
“I thought perhaps you might suggest yourself.‘’
“If the Reichsführer-SS had decided going to Warsaw was not worth his time, yes, sir.”