Chapter 8: Tony Meets a New Love

Tony was now seriously anxious about how he would get back home to the UK. He knew that his name would be reviled all round the free world, and this troubled him, especially as it had all been for nothing. For the first time he began to realise just how much his defection might affect morale back in the UK In hindsight, he now wished that he had refused the assignment in the first place. The fact that he had been given only seconds to make up his mind, seemed in hindsight rather unfair. At this time he did not know why the operation had been called off, and it seemed that his life and that of Anne-Marie had been put in jeopardy for no good reason.

The thought struck him, that if he could not get out of Germany, and the invasion of Europe took place while he was still in Germany, he could be captured, and put on trial as a deserter, and traitor by the British or the Russians. Who would believe him? He had to trust that the people who had sent him would still be in their jobs, and still alive to get him out of trouble. He felt very much alone in enemy territory, and common sense told him that he would not be completely trusted by anyone in the Nazi regime. They were not that stupid. The only thing he could do, would be to go along with the charade, and hope that somehow, somewhere, opportunity would come his way.

Soon the time came, when he was told he was fit enough to leave hospital, and that he would be going to a recuperation centre. His wounds had fortunately healed quite quickly, and he very politely said goodbye, and thanked the nursing staff for being so good to him. He did not know, if or when he would ever meet Janine again, as he had not heard from her for a few days.

He was helped reluctantly by another wounded naval officer, who helped him get used to his new uniforms, and so resplendent in his new naval uniform, he was taken by car, closely escorted by two motor cycle outriders and two drivers to the convalescence centre. It was a long exhausting ride to the Black Forest, and his spirits sank the longer the journey took, as he knew that he was going to be a long long way away from the coast. Each hour took him farther and farther away from home and escape. Getting back to England now seemed a forlorn hope.

He realised too that he was still not fully fit, as he found the journey very exhausting, and he slept fitfully for a large part of the way. It was a long boring tedious journey through very wet winter countryside with occasional stops. His escort would not even let him go to the toilet alone, He was guarded at nights by one of his drivers when they stopped at hotels. None of his escort seemed inclined to socialise with him, and so during the journey he got increasingly very lonely and slightly depressed.

The rain fell constantly for the whole of the journey. They had to have an extra escort through Holland because of the threat of partisan activity directed at him. The underground fighters knew that if they could capture or kill him,. it would help redress the damage that had been done by his defection. It was pointed out to Tony by the officer in charge of the escort, that he was now a number one target on the partisans' hit list.

It took them three days to complete the whole journey. He arrived rather exhausted, and found that he was in a rehabilitation unit for German Officers, in a little town called Unterjoch near the German Swiss/Austrian border. There were about forty officers from the different services, who had been wounded, or had been seriously ill, at the centre. The hostel had been a Gasthaus at one time and was made of timber

Although it was not officially a Lebensborn hostel, there were a number of girls, who he understood were on the Lebensborn programme, who were resident, and who had been paired up with some of the officers. As soon as they were pregnant, he understood that they would be shipped out, and replaced by fresh volunteer girls, who were willing to provide pure Aryan children for the fatherland. When he was approached by the head nurse, he found that he had been paired up with a very blonde and a very actively fit girl whose name was Mona.

Tony was pleasant to her, and enjoyed her company on a social basis, she looked after his welfare in most other ways, but he pleaded that he still suffered some discomfort from his wounds, and did not feel that he could do her justice in the bedroom. She was not happy at his rejection. He felt that in the past few weeks, he had slept with too many women for a variety of reasons, and to some extent after the tiring journey he was feeling rather disinterested.

His rejection of Mona was not received very well by other officers, and increased his isolation from the rest of the officers who greeted him with suspicion. One officer said in his hearing that "Good German Fraulein's were not good enough for English traitors." Tony ignored this comment, and other similar snide remarks made in his hearing...

He enjoyed the views, and the fresh air of Unterjoch when the rain stopped, and he went for little strolls in the village, always with an escort, stopping for an occasional beer at a local Gasthaus bar. Being in a mountain range, and quite high above sea level, the rain had turned to snow quite early, and some of the officers were allowed to go skiing. Tony had been very nervous about being allowed to mix freely for the first time with other German Officers; he had not been sure what sort of reception he would receive. But usually his appearance in the dining room was met with a sudden deafening silence, as other officers turned to look at him, and then went on eating. Pointedly ignoring him.

In fact he soon found that he received a very mixed reception, many of the officers just ignored him, or made very sarcastic remarks in his hearing about traitors. It all came to a head one day when one army officer actually stopped in front of him, barring his way out of the dining area, and called Tony a traitor to his face. He said "Herr Nash many brave men die on both sides in this war no-one likes war, but very few are gutless enough to change to the winning side halfway through. I am told you won the Victoria Cross. I have no doubt, that you have killed many of my countrymen, who were, or are German heroes in doing that. Mein Herr in my opinion you are utterly contemptible you should be shot..."

Before Tony could make any sort of reply, a soft female voice spoke from just behind him "No doubt Herr Nieumier, I am sure the Fuhrer will be glad to hear your opinions, especially speaking to a senior officer in that manner,. I will make sure your observations come to his personal attention. It takes a brave man to change sides in a conflict like this, and it seems to me, that you have a very loose mouth, and are totally unaware of the circumstances of this case. Perhaps you feel safe enough behind your desk in a Wehrmacht pay office, to voice such an opinion, but I am sure that a man with such outspoken views about heroics, will be a most welcome addition in a fighting unit ... So Mein Herr I will gladly pass your comments and your unbounded enthusiasm for active service on to the proper authorities."

The army officer concerned scampered away, looking very unsure of himself. Turning Tony saw the reason why. He found himself face to face with one of the most elegant, and gorgeous women he had seen for a very long time. She was quite tall, slim and a very beautiful specimen of German womanhood. She smiled at him showing perfect white teeth.

"Guten Abend Herr Nash, ich bin Frau Elizabeth von Epp"

She was dressed in a fawn raincoat, which was soaked by the almost constant rain. Her face was flushed, and her eyes sparkled in anger, obviously leading to her outburst at the unfortunate officer who had been on the receiving end of her displeasure. Taken by surprise, Tony bowed slightly, and taking her gloved hand he kissed it. She blushed slightly, and turning towards the silent group of officers who were close enough to be watching and listening to the conversation. "For your information gentlemen Herr Nash won the Victoria Cross, for his bravery in saving lives, by defusing a mine lodged on the casing of the submarine he was serving on at the time, not for taking lives, as our desk bound hero here has suggested. Herr Nash has also spent most of his childhood here in Germany, his mother was German, and he went to school in Berlin for many years. He has a Grand mother in Berlin, and many other relatives as well. Some of whom are serving in the Waffen SS. I note that you all seemed to agree with Herr Nieumier, so I will pass all your names along with his."

Turning to Tony she smiled, and said in quite a loud voice. "I apologize for my lateness Herr Nash, and for the ungentlemanly remarks of some of our desk bound heroes, but I was delayed because of the weather. I was sent by the Fuhrer, to take you to Berlin when you are fit, to see your grandparents, and then we will go on to Burchesgarten when you are fully fit. My uncle the Fuhrer, is looking forward to meeting you and talking to you in great depth, as is of course Grand Admiral Doenitz."

As her remarks were absorbed by the watching Frau Elizabeth were left all alone. Turning towards Tony again, she said. "Perhaps Herr Nash you will be kind enough to escort me to dinner, after I have had a chance to have a bath and change. I understand that I am in the adjoining room to yours" Tony was only too pleased to accept her invitation, and for her support, and together they walked back to their rooms on the second floor. Later they had a very pleasant dinner, and he found that Elizabeth was very pleasant and interesting company. She had a good command of English, although Tony insisted that they spoke German, as he needed to bring his German up to speed. She kept the conversation on a very light level, and during the following week they became almost inseparable. They had most of their meals together, and they walked and talked for hours in the adjoining forests and mountains. Very often ending up in a nearby Gasthaus by a mill pond for a meal.

The attitude of the other officers at the centre changed rapidly, especially when they understood how highly he was apparently being regarded by the Nazi regime and the Fuhrer personally. She told Tony that she had been sent especially to look after him, but as their friendship developed he got several significant hints, that she was looking for a much closer relationship, he decided however, to play dumb, and see what happened. They had the use of a military car and driver, and they enjoyed driving to the adjoining forests, and walking in the woods in the area of Ulm. A trip to nearby Austria was also very enjoyable However when he suggested a trip across the border to St Gallen, in Switzerland that request was politely refused with a smile.

She told him that she was a war widow, having had her husband killed in the Battle of Britain over England. He was surprised to find that she did not seem to show any bitterness towards the British, or him personally for it. Eventually he explained to her, that he had been married to Anne-Marie, for just short of three weeks and that she had been assassinated on the orders of the Gestapo. He explained that shortly after the marriage both he and Anne Marie found that they were in some ways rather incompatible, they had married in haste and they had both agreed privately, that perhaps they should not have married ... Of course Tony knew this was far from the truth, but he thought it was probably the right thing to tell Elizabeth at the time. "I admit I did have some feelings for her and she helped me defect, without her it would have been virtually impossible..."