The Honor of Spies

Von Deitzberg knew that Sturmbannfuhrer Erich Raschner was one of the half-dozen SS officers--many of them Sicherheitsdienst--who could be found around Heydrich, but he didn't know him personally, or what his specific duties were.

"He's not of our class--he used to be a policeman, before he joined the Totenkopfverbande--but he's very useful. I'm going to assign him to you. But to get back to what I was saying, this is the way this works, essentially:

"As you know, the Jews are routinely transferred between concentration camps. While they are en route from one camp to another, members of the Totenkopfverbande working for Raschner remove two, three, or four of them from the transport. Ostensibly for purposes of further interrogation and the like. You understand."

Von Deitzberg nodded.

Heydrich went on: "Having been told the inmates have been removed by the Totenkopfverbande, the receiving camp has no further interest in them. The inmates who have been removed from the transport are then provided with Spanish passports and taken by Raschner's men to the Spanish border. Once in Spain, the Jews make their way to Cadiz or some other port, where they board neutral ships. A month later, they're in Uruguay."

"Uruguay?" von Deitzberg blurted in surprise. It had taken him a moment to place Uruguay; and even then, all he could come up with was that it was close to Argentina, somewhere in the south of the South American continent.

"Some stay there," Heydrich said matter-of-factly, "but many go on to Argentina."

"I see," von Deitzberg said.

"Documents issued by my office are of course never questioned," Heydrich went on. "Now, what I want you to do, Manfred, is take over the administration of the confidential special fund--I should say 'supervise the administration' of it. The actual work will continue to be done by Raschner and his men. Raschner will explain the details to you. You will also administer dispersals; Raschner will tell you how much, to whom, and when. Or I will."

"Jawohl, Herr Gruppenfuhrer."

"Raschner has suggested that we need one more absolutely reliable SS officer, someone of our kind, as sort of a backup for you. Any suggestions?"

Von Deitzberg had hardly hesitated: "Goltz," he said, "Standartenfuhrer Josef Goltz. He's the SS-SD liaison officer to the Office of the Party Chancellery."

Heydrich laughed.

"Great minds run in similar channels," he said. "That's the answer I got when I asked Raschner for his suggestion. Why don't the two of you talk to him together?"

On their third meeting Raschner had another suggestion to offer. They needed an absolutely trustworthy man--someone with sufficient rank to keep people from asking questions about what he was doing--to handle things in Uruguay. And someone who could be sent there without too many questions being asked.

"Does the Herr Obersturmbannfuhrer know Sturmbannfuhrer Werner von Tresmarck?"

Von Deitzberg did know von Tresmarck, didn't think highly of him, and told Raschner so.

"He does follow orders, and he would be absolutely trustworthy," Raschner argued.

"Absolutely trustworthy? What do you know about him that I don't, Raschner?"

Raschner had laid an envelope filled with photographs on the desk. They showed Werner von Tresmarck in the buff entwined with at least ten similarly unclad young men.

"Because the alternative would be going to Sachsenhausen wearing a pink triangle on his new striped uniform," Raschner explained unnecessarily.

When von Deitzberg went to Heydrich with the idea, he thought the probable outcome would be von Tresmarck's immediate arrest and transport to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Homosexuality was one of the worst violations of the SS officer's code of honor, topped only by treason.

Heydrich surprised him.

"I can see a certain logic to this, Manfred," Heydrich had said. "Von Tresmarck would certainly be motivated to do what he was told and to keep his mouth shut about it, don't you think?"

"That's true, Herr Gruppenfuhrer."

"Tell you what, Manfred. See if Raschner can come up with a female in similar circumstances we can marry him to. Make the point to her that if she can't make sure that von Tresmarck keeps his indiscretions in Uruguay behind closed doors, both of them will wind up in Sachsenhausen."

"Jawohl, Herr Gruppenfuhrer."

Raschner was prepared to deal with Heydrich's order. Von Deitzberg realized Raschner had expected Heydrich's reaction.

Raschner showed von Deitzberg the Sicherheitsdienst dossier of a woman believed to pose a threat to the sterling reputation of the SS officer corps.

She was the widow of Waffen-SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Erich Kolbermann, who had given his life for his Fuhrer and the Fatherland at Stalingrad. Officers' ladies in these circumstances were expected to devote their lives to volunteer work for the war effort by working in hospitals, that sort of thing.