Page 25 of Tides of Resistance
‘Anything else I may bring you, Herr Sturmbannführer?’
Heinrich dismissed her in his silken, impeccable upper-class German, and she closed the door behind her.
Hitler had recently issued the order for the Atlantic Wall strategy, throughFührer Directive No. 40. The order was to create impregnable defences along the coasts of northwestern Europe. St. Malo was strategically positioned as a key port, so the goal was clear. They must put all their energy into fortifying against invasion and that was what Heinrich would turn his full attention to next.
After his short break, he resumed his position at his desk and sipped the coffee. It was from a large batch of luxury goods that had been confiscated from a Jewish business, and the fine blend was his current favourite. The reality was his position as an SS officer provided him a high standard of living in occupied France, much better than his family back home in Germany who frequently complained of terrible rationing and a shortage of even the most basic supplies.
He savoured the coffee as he scanned the list of successfully Aryanised businesses, and he ticked off the various criteria on the records as completed and flagged the occasional anomaly for follow up. Jews were sneaky and scheming, so he was careful never to underestimate them.
A stickler for protocol, he resolved to do a random check before submitting his final report on theAryanisation of Jewish Businesses in St. Malo.
Several names caught his eye, and he added a firm tick next to each one. He would visit those that most interested him in person. It would be a pleasant diversion and get him out of the office. The rain had finally subsided, and the pale-yellow sun battled for prominence in the moody sky. He nodded his golden head as if confirming the sense of his own plan. Heinrich considered it important to show his presence in the walled city regularly, and not stay hidden at the mansion.
The locals must see their new leaders ruling and be in no doubt of the new order. Increasing reports of Resistance groups implementing bold attacks on the transport system and on German property throughout France angered him, and he was determined St. Malo wouldn’t become another base for these dangerous agitators.
Not on his watch. Not in his city.
His browsing continued, and his eyes lit on the nameLivres Cohen,now operating asLivres Beaumont.
He vaguely remembered that the bookshop had been owned by the Cohens for generations and was taken over by a non-Jewish family before the official Aryanisation. He could picture the quaint shopfront, located on the Grand Rue. One of his men had queried the situation with him before rubber-stamping the transfer as legal.
Heinrich shuffled his papers.The Final Solutionwas being implemented, and Europe would be cleansed of Jewish vermin. Berlin had made it clear—there would be total liquidation, but in the meantime, the plan remained top secret, and his spies told him that many French Jews clung to the hope their French citizenship would protect them despite the increasingly harsh anti-Jewish regulations. The Cohens had fled, and Heinrich had given instructions to seize their home and its contents.
An avid reader, he awaited military packages of new books and reading material with anticipation. To his disappointment, there had been no deliveries for quite some time, and the dusty old books in the mansion library didn’t appeal. It was unlikely that the provincial bookshop would stock much German literature, but he was a proficient French reader, and perhaps he would find something to pique his curiosity.
A visit to Livres Beaumont would tick two boxes. He could check the shop was being run according to the strict procedures and look for a new book at the same time.
Heinrich drank the last of the now lukewarm coffee and unlocked his desk drawer, where he always kept his pistol. Clipping his holster to his belt, he checked his weapon and, satisfied, inserted the Luger P08 into the holster.
Glancing out the window and noticing a patch of thick dark cloud, he shrugged his wide shoulders into his black leather coat over his uniform and wore his peaked cap with the SS eagle and death's head insignia.
The Nazi eagle emblem complimented his Adler family crest and had been part of the pull for him to join the SS when he could have chosen to remain in Munich and work in the family steel and armaments business like his older brother. In honour of the family name, their ancient coat of arms that traced their lineage all the way back to the medieval knights was dominated by a golden eagle, and he saw himself astheGolden Eagle, with his regal bearing and bright blond hair.
His father and brother handled the business and money, but they all agreed Heinrich had the knack for cultivating power. He would secure the Adlers’ place in the Thousand-Year Reich.
It was his destiny.
CHAPTER 16
Lizzie slept into the afternoon until Aunt Giselle tapped on Sophie’s bedroom door.
‘I thought I’d check on you and see if I can get you anything,’ she said, popping her head into the room.
Lizzie’s sleepy eyes peeled open, and her night’s adventures came flooding back. She’d been so tired from the swim; she had slept better than she had in months, and it reminded her how well she used to sleep in her youth.
Before the war, when life was innocent, and she knew no genuine fear.
Lizzie pulled herself up in bed and stretched. ‘It’s wonderful to see you after so long, Aunt.’
Giselle extended her hand to Lizzie and guided her out of the bed and to her feet. Lizzie’s muscles burned from the intensive swim and rock climb, and her stomach clamoured for food.
‘What can I get you, my love?’
Lizzie replied with a sheepish expression, ‘I’m ravenous again.’
‘Come down to the kitchen and let’s see what I can find,’ her aunt replied, beaming at her niece. ‘Your uncle is out today, but both of us can’t wait to hear more of your news from thefamily in England. It’s like an angel has fallen out of the sky, so unexpected was your visit!’
Her aunt’s enthusiasm touched her, and the wry thought that she was more like a mermaid crossed her mind.
