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‘Ah, I thought there was something – a slight sense of desperation about him.’
‘I’m sure Joseph will persuade him in the end,’ Max went on. ‘He’s the perfect man for the job. And he has great plans to control all parts of the media – radio, film…even the newspapers. They must all be brought under his control – that’s what he thinks, and I agree with him. Everyone must be brought into line with our way of thinking.’
‘Ourway of thinking?’ she challenged him. ‘Max, I’m not a National Socialist, and I wasn’t aware you were either.’
‘I am now. I’ve just joined the Party.’
Minki’s jaw dropped.
‘Oh, don’t look so shocked, Minki. I’ll do whatever it takes…be whatever they want me to be.’
At that moment, a member of Hitler’s security squad tapped Max on the shoulder. ‘Excuse me, Herr vonZeller, but the chancellor has asked if you would like to join him.’
‘Of course,’ said Max, straightening his tie and smoothing his hair. ‘I’m sorry, darling, but I’d better go. Will you be all right on your own for a short while?’
‘Oh, I’ll be fine,’ said Minki coldly. ‘Well, hurry up…you don’t want to keep the boss waiting.’
As Max hurried across the room to join Goebbels and Hitler, Minki took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and found an armchair in a quiet corner of the room. She needed time to think. ‘I’ll do whatever it takes…be whatever they want me to be,’ Max had just said. Hearing the words spoken so baldly came as a shock. Suddenly she was faced with the harsh truth – that both she and Max had compromised their principles for the sake of advancement and an easy life. Minki reflected on what Leila had said months earlier, and her fears of what was happening to their country. Leila had stood up for what she believed in, risking her own safety to challenge National Socialism and all it stood for. Minki, by contrast, had closed her mind to the political upheaval around her, and had used motherhood as an excuse not to confront it.
At that moment, it was as if a switch had been turned in Minki’s brain. She realised she had lost her way in accepting an easy life. But that life came at a cost, and the cost was betrayal – the betrayal of people like Leila and Viktor. It was time to put a marker in the sand, she realised. Time to engage once again in the real world and stand up for what was right, however painful and difficult that might be.
21
MUNICH
February 1933
THIS IS HOW THE PRESS IS MUZZLED
That bold headline dominated the front page of theMunich Poston 5February.
Within days of the formation of the new government coalition, a decree was passed to suspend the publication of newspapers Hitler perceived as a threat.
Martin Gruber gathered his team together in the newsroom that morning. ‘Ironically, the government is calling this bill: “For the Protection of the German People” – as if it’s for the people’s benefit. When in fact it’s old-fashioned censorship. You can see the way this is going – their intention is to silence us. We will obviously do all we can to fight the ban, but I warn you – things will get rough.’
Two weeks later, theMunich Postwas temporarily shut down.
The following day the newswires reported that the Reichstag had gone up in flames. A Dutch anarchist had been arrested, and accused of arson.
‘Hitler claims it’s a communist plot,’ said Martin that morning, reading from the teleprinter. ‘He’s arrested over four thousand members of the Communist Party. But I think this Dutchman is being set up. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hitler organised the fire himself.’
‘But why would he do that?’ asked Leila.
The teleprinter again chattered into life. Martin tore out the message.
‘This is why,’ he said. ‘Listen to this: “Hitler’s cabinet has approved an emergency decree to be known as the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending many civil liberties, including the freedom of the press and freedom of assembly”.’
Martin turned to the room. ‘You see how this works? In a single day Germany has gone from a democracy to an authoritarian state. ‘
As soon as they were allowed to publish once again, thePosthit back with a front-page banner headline and defiant editorial:
WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED
Banning our newspaper was totally unjustified…TheMunich Postwill continue to engage in a battle for social democracy and for the freedom-loving working class.
Leila was proud of Martin and the rest of the team for showing such fearlessness, but she was also a realist, and she understood the danger they were in.
That night she shared her anxieties with Viktor. ‘Martin is determined we will carry on. We’re back on the newsstands, so you could argue we’ve won this battle – but they’ll just shut us down again. In the end, they hold all the cards.’
