Page 80 of The German Mother

‘I’ve been thinking, Max, that perhaps I ought to get back to work.’

‘Back to your women’s pages, you mean?’

‘Yes…that sort of thing.’ She kept her tone light-hearted. ‘Ida seems good with Clara. What do you think?’

Max shrugged his shoulders. ‘I think it’s a splendid idea. I’ve said for ages you should go back to work. It would be good for you – give you less time to brood about those Jewish friends of yours. Go back to your knitting and cooking column, darling – distract yourself, have a bit of fun.’

Irritated at being so patronised, Minki nevertheless bit her tongue. ‘I’ll call my old boss, then – first thing in the morning.’

Helmut Müller, Minki’s old editor on theDeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, was delighted. ‘We’ve missed you, Minki. The women’s pages haven’t been the same without you.’

‘Oh, good. Perhaps I could pop in later and we could discuss it.’

‘Marvellous. Come in after lunch…around two?’

Settled in her editor’s office, Minki explained her proposal. ‘You know I’ve been very happy editing the women’s pages in the past, Helmut, but I wonder if it’s time to move on…change tack, as it were.’

‘What, leave knitting and cooking to one side?’ He gave a wry smile. ‘I have to say, I was always surprised by your enthusiasm for all matters female, as you clearly have good political instincts…’

‘It’s as if you read my mind, Helmut. You’re right, I’ve always been fascinated by politics. But my time onDer Stürmerall those years ago rather stymied any aspirations I might have had in that area. No decent newspaper would look at me after that.’

‘Well I’m looking at you, Minki. Through your friendship with Goebbels, you’ve given us some good leads over the years, and I’d be happy to discuss a change of direction.’

Minki smiled. Did she consider her relationship with Goebbels to be a friendship? Not any more…Goebbels was more like the enemy. But it would be better if Helmut didn’t know her true feelings. ‘Yes, it’s useful meeting him socially. His guard can slip occasionally and one gets useful titbits of information that way. Which brings me to my proposition…If you agree, I’d like to ask you to put me on the political team.’

Helmut smiled, gently raising an eyebrow.

‘I realise I’m inexperienced, so I don’t expect any privileges. I’ll start at the bottom and work my way up. But I can give you the inside track – for example, my husband tells me that Goebbels is about to launch daily press briefings and I think if I were to attend I could offer you a novel perspective.’

Helmut studied her for a moment. ‘You do realise these briefings might be incredibly dull. And I’m not sure how much freedom we’d have to be critical of the government, for example.’

‘I realise that…but I’d like to see if there’s a way of challenging the official line – not in a dangerous way, but to subtly call into question the Party’s view of the world.’

‘It’s worth a try, I suppose. That is, after all, what journalism is supposed to be…’

‘One other thing…I think it would be best to keep my real identity secret. I’m not sure I should use my real name.’

‘Why ever not?’

‘Well, for a start, would readers accept a political story from a woman who’s spent the last few years giving them household advice?’

‘Good point.’

‘And secondly, I’d prefer that neither Goebbels, nor my husband – who works for him – knew what I was up to. For a start they’d be furious, which would destroy my value to you. So it would be better if I were…undercover.’

‘How intriguing.’ The editor sat back in his chair and studied her. ‘If you’re to attend these briefings, we’ll have to get you an accredited press pass – and create a bit of a backstory. Make you out to be a new rookie reporter. And you’ll need a false name, of course.’

‘So you think it could work?’

He smiled. ‘Yes possibly…but surely, won’t Goebbels recognise you?’

‘I’ve thought of that…I think some sort of disguise might be in order.’ She laughed. ‘It might be fun, and don’t worry about a name – I’ll think of something.’

‘Well, I’ll leave the finer details to you,’ said Helmut, standing up, indicating the meeting was over.

‘Thank you, Helmut, for being so open to the idea. I appreciate it.’

‘Something’s happened to you, Minki. You’ve changed.’