The Devil's Blessing Read Free Page A

starting to love these men?”
    Ingersleben scoffed at the thought and let out a small laugh. “No, of course not. It’s just…”
    The pause hung for what seemed a minute.
    “Just what? Out with it.”
    “It’s just…concerning. Concerning that we are now down to such resilient men. If they were to escape—” Haas raised a hand, “They won’t escape. They’ll be shot before they do that.”
    “So then why have them? I know the orders, but--” And Ingersleben really did want to know. He truly didn’t understand why command would want these men held captive. Especially since the war was happening all around them and they could be used on more important things. Things like killing the Soviets that were out there.
    “It’s more than just our orders,” Haas said. Ingersleben could tell that there was something on his mind, something he wanted to share.
    Oberfeldwebel Peter Haas hunched down, putting his face near the lamp, giving his face a strange glow. In what could only be explained as a loud whisper, he said, “You’ve heard the reports. You know the news. The British, with the help of the Americans and Canadians, are now in Germany, and the Russians are pushing us back as well. We’re being squeezed.”
    “I know that, Oberfeldwebel, which is even more reason. Why are we still holding these men prisoner?”
    Haas moved slowly away from the lamp. He started to smile. “The official story? Prisoners of war are to be treated well on both sides. We treat them well, they’ll treat us well. It’s what any self-respecting warrior should do. But you and I both know that the treatment of prisoners, on either side, has been the farthest from ideal.”
    So in a voice that was nearly pleading, Ingersleben asked, “Then again, I ask you, why are we keeping these men alive?”
    Haas rubbed his brow. “You don’t get it, do you? We are losing this war. We are going to lose this war. The only thing we have to save our lives is those men out there. The prisoners.”
    Ingersleben didn’t understand. Haas returned his face to the lamp.
    “When the Soviets come to take us prisoners, and they will, we will hand over their comrades. Hopefully they will show us the same mercy that we have shown them. That’s why I haven’t given you the order to kill them. That’s why none of us in command have given the order. It was decided that we’ll need them when we surrender.”
    Ingersleben couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Haas was one of the most decorated Germans he knew. He had fought in North Africa alongside the Italians. He was one of the most loyal men he knew, and now he was talking of surrender and bartering prisoners. This seemed like an otherworldly joke to Ingersleben.
    “Sir, I know that things are dire and hard right now,” Ingersleben said, “but there is no way we are going to lose this war. These are all just setbacks. Once it gets warmer, we’ll regroup, and then we’ll—”
    “We’ll what? Bring up our dead and have them fight? No. No. But there is another way, a way that doesn’t involve having to hand over these Russian monsters and ourselves to the Red Army. A different plan that I have come up with on my own.” To this, Ingersleben was more receptive.
    “You don’t seem to understand. You don’t see,” Haas said, and, putting his hands on the table and learning toward Ingersleben’s face, he said, “We are all already dead. We just don’t know it yet.”

    ❧

    Where they all already dead as Oberfeldwebel Haas had said? The news was conflicting. In one moment they were being told over the radio that triumph was just a few months away. But how long had they heard that? For several years now. And if they were winning the war, what about losing Paris? Why weren’t they in Moscow right now?
    Like all men at war, the soldiers all shared hushed conversations about the war and where it was headed. All outcomes were on the table—everything from victory to all out defeat. Every man