Page 9 of Library of Forbidden Books

“Tired?” the general asked his subordinate.

“No, sir,” Derek lied, though all he wanted to do was go to Helene’s apartment.

“You’re a bad liar, but I won’t take much of your time. I just need a drink.”

At the car, Derek asked where they were headed so he could instruct the driver.

“I love Die Katakombe. But if the Nazis hear that we’ve been to that dive, where they mock Hitler, it’ll be all over for me. At the Kakadu Bar I’ll run into too many people I know. We’d better go to the Casanova.”

Casanova Casino International was not far. They played good jazz, and the drinks were well-made.

When they walked into the smoke-filled room, the maître d’ seated them promptly. The place smelled of hair gel, cologne, and the sparkling perspiration of dancing women—the general’s favorite perfume.

“I think things are going to get very interesting. When my beloved wife died, I thought I had lost all interest in life. But Derek, don’t let anyone fool you: You’ve got to get all you can out of life. What are your aspirations?”

The general’s tone was so intimate that Derek clammed up. The heavy smoke in the air made him feel lightheaded, and his lips tingled with the alcohol that was slowly taking effect in his blood.

“I want to get married, have children, and enjoy being a family. Nothing original. For most of my peers that surely sounds boring, but Helene is the love of my life.”

Von Blomberg smiled. Derek needed higher ambitions than that. He lit a cigar and savored it before resuming the conversation. He had also aspired to a typical career, family life, and maybe a home in the country, but ambition had slowly and surely seduced him. It started small: a better position, a more prestigious transfer, a charming villa on the outskirts of Berlin. And along the way he had sacrificed the values impressed upon him in the academy: patriotism, loyalty, and honor. No one believed in those things anymore. The world he grew up in no longer existed. Yet his young assistant seemed to still be living according to that code.

“Is that why you joined the army? For a good salary and to retire young?” von Blomberg asked, polishing off his drink in one sip to wash away everything that had transpired at von Papen’s house. Yet the alcohol was not strong enough to silence his Prussian conscience.

“Well, the army was my father’s idea. When I’m on reserve or retired, I hope to open a jazz club. Music and sports are what I really love.”

Von Blomberg’s eyes followed the moves of the dancers. Their sweaty, sensual bodies captivated him. A glance at Derek showed that the young man was immune to their charms. Whatever he felt for his girl must be real.

“I don’t understand youth these days. They seem bored by it all. Your generation is too satiated, though you may be the exception.”

Derek did not answer. He had aspirations, and starting a family with Helene was top on the list. If, to serve his country, he had to get wrapped up in politics, he preferred to stay in the background and just quietly retire with a good pension. He did not like the things he had witnessed in the past few months, and he had zero trust in Hitler. Chills raced down Derek’s body every time he saw the man. Evil seemed to peer out from the Nazi leader’s eyes.

“My generation is not going to remake the world. We’ll be content as long as it doesn’t get destroyed again. It seems like if”—hesitant to invoke him, Derek dared not say Hitler’s name aloud—“that man comes to power, it won’t be long before we’re at war.”

“You think so? Sometimes I think that man is Germany’s only hope. And other times I sense he’ll be our doom.”

“I don’t think anything one way or the other, but I do know what happens every time the demon of war enters our country.”

Von Blomberg nodded gravely at Derek’s conclusion before turning his attention back to the show.

Chapter 7

The Elderly Professor

Berlin

March 25, 1933

Helene picked up Kaiser and, still brushing his hair, went out to the little balcony that overlooked the Pariser Platz.

Berlin was changing so fast she could hardly recognize it. The Nazis had maintained a low profile the first few days after Hitler was named chancellor, and most of the population had calmed down, as if accepting a lesser evil. But after the fire at the Reichstag at the end of February, things had sped up. To top it all off, Hitler had managed to come out ahead—just barely—in the elections in early March and had gotten his Enabling Act passed, thus securing for himself unprecedented powers of governance.

Things at the library had not improved. One of the new government’s first steps was to freeze all funds destined for community-facing projects. A memo from Rudolf Kummer—recently elected to the committee in charge of the DVB, the Association of German Librarians—arrived. It demanded detailed information about every staff member of all public libraries.

Helene was up to her ears in paperwork. To counteract Nazi incursions into the public libraries, some of the more renowned librarians had convened a secret meeting at Humboldt University. Helene knew that it was risky to attend, but she felt compelled to go. If everyone just crossed their arms and let the Nazis have their way, the cultural heritage of Germany would be destroyed within a decade. Yet Helene did not want to go alone. Lena, the braver and more resolute of the two, had agreed the moment Helene asked her.

Helene plopped Kaiser onto the floor and stroked him as she gave final instructions. “Be on your best behavior. Don’t pee outside your box, and be nice to Derek when he gets here.”

Kaiser meowed as if in protest but arched up and closed his eyes in pleasure when Helene ran her hand over his soft head.