Page 13 of The Last Safe Place
“I’ll phone you tomorrow.” And with that, Eberhard hurried away to the Bendlerblock. Once again, he was grateful that his practice was in such a central location, unlike Anton’s on the other side of the city.
He arrived to find Herr Marbach had already been relieved by a night watchman who didn’t recognize him. “What is your business here?”
“Good evening. I need to speak to Lieutenant Ruben urgently. Do you think he might still be in his office?”
“Business hours are over for the day.”
“I understand, but it’s an urgent matter of the utmost importance to the Reich.” Eberhard slid his visitor’s identification under the glass partition. “I have a permanent visitor’s permit for exactly such cases as these.”
The watchman inspected the identification from all angles before leaning to pick up the phone and ask for Lieutenant Ruben. He turned back to Eberhard. “You’re in luck, Herr Lange. Lieutenant Ruben is still in the building and prepared to see you.”
Relieved, Eberhard stepped through the gate and into the building. He was sure the Abwehr would find a way to prevent Anton and Gerda’s deportation.
Lieutenant Ruben was striding down the corridor toward him. He led Eberhard to his office, which lay on a different floor from Dohnanyi’s. “What can I do for you, Herr Lange?” he asked, as soon as he had closed the door.
Eberhard showed him the letter from the Gestapo. There had been a few isolated deportations in the past, particularly of Jews of foreign origin, but in October 1941, mass deportations to camps and ghettos in the East had begun.
“I’m glad you came to see me right away. I’ll report to the Gestapo first thing in the morning and have Herr and Frau Seifert’s deportation rescinded.”
“Thank you.” Eberhard hesitated. He barely knew Lieutenant Ruben, having only met him once before. But Hans von Dohnanyi had appointed him as his contact person, and he certainly wouldn’t task anyone he didn’t trust unconditionally. “First of all, I would like to say that it has always been a pleasure to work with Herr von Dohnanyi. He’s a man of the highest integrity, who shows genuine sympathy for the situation of our Jewish population, and is always ready to help.”
Lieutenant Ruben looked him in the eye, but said nothing.
“I am prepared to work with you on the same basis, and hope to change many things for the better.”
“That’s a very optimistic view. We do what we can, but it’s just a drop in the ocean.”
Eberhard nodded thoughtfully. “The important thing is that we never give up. I survived the Great War, the subsequent famine years, hyperinflation, and the Great Depression. I never believed things could get worse than they were back then. Regrettably, I have learned otherwise. Nonetheless, I am firmly convinced we will survive these times as well. It is possible thatI personally may not, since I’m over fifty and not in the best of health. But as a nation, we will overcome Hitler’s rule, I’m certain.”
“Perhaps the end of the Thousand-Year Reich will come much sooner than most suspect,” said Lieutenant Ruben with a sphinxlike expression.
An involuntary shudder ran down Eberhard’s spine, though whether it was of fear or joy, he couldn’t say. Whichever it was, this meeting had restored his belief in the existence of other honorable men.
“Tell the Seiferts not to complete the statement of assets under any circumstances. Nor should they comply with any order to present themselves at an assembly point.”
Eberhard swallowed hard. The thought of defying a Gestapo order was outrageous. “But?—”
Lieutenant Ruben raised his hand. “That’s a worst-case scenario. Most likely, it won’t come to that. As I said, I’ll take care of their case first thing tomorrow morning and apply to the Gestapo for suspension. But you know that when the mills of state begin to grind…”
Eberhard nodded. From his many years of professional experience, he knew the official processes all too well. Once a procedure was set in motion, it was difficult to stop. And that was exactly what worried him.
“Once the Gestapo get their hands on the Seiferts, there is very little I – or my superior – can do about it. Therefore it’s important not to let that happen in the first place. It’s much easier to get a charge of evading justice dropped than it is to get a Jew out of a transit camp.”
Lieutenant Ruben was right, of course. Eberhard knew of a few cases where they had succeeded in getting a detainee released from Sachsenhausen concentration camp – but thenumber of prisoners for whom every intervention had been in vain was considerably higher.
“I owe you a huge debt of gratitude.” Eberhard gave a slight bow. Although the representatives of the Abwehr always worked within the legal framework, every employee who stood up for a Jew risked his career, if not his life, if there was any suspicion this was done for humanitarian reasons.
“I wish that wasn’t the case.” A great sadness spread over Lieutenant Ruben’s face.
“The political situation in Germany is not your fault.”
“Probably to a lesser extent than other people. But I haven’t even managed to dissuade my closest family from idolizing Nazi racial ideology.”
Eberhard felt an urge to comfort this man, who was young enough to be his son. He knew nothing about Ruben’s family background and could only guess at the grief he was carrying with him. “Please, don’t blame yourself. Each person is responsible only for their own actions. Of course, we can, we must, try to keep others from straying down false ideological paths. But if we have tried, and our arguments fall on deaf ears, then we have nothing to blame ourselves for.”
Eberhard was proud of his understanding of human nature, something which he had refined over many years in the courtroom. He paused briefly to gaze at the tall, blond man, whose eyes seemed to hide a sad secret. “You will not change people’s minds. The important thing is that deep in here,” he held his hand to his heart, “you feel that you are doing the right thing. All else is secondary.”
“You have no idea how much I needed those words.” Ruben seemed to need a moment to collect himself before continuing.