Warsaw (30 page)

"At the very least it's about time they were made to
salute. If they were also made to swear to our oath ("Loyalty is thine
honour" - a motto penned by Himmler one afternoon) then perhaps some of
them might believe in it and start making a difference." The Reichsfuhrer
himself conveniently forgot his own oath however at the end of the war when he
attempted to negotiate his own surrender whilst Berlin was falling.

Although Kleist agreed with some of the arguments of his
superior officer he feared that the beer-swilling Major might upset one of his
guests or make a scene. He was already starting to wave his hands around,
clenching his fist, spitting as he spoke. Swaying. Perhaps he'd had a few
drinks before arriving Kleist surmised. He glanced again at the Corporal to see
if he too was getting drunk. Christian had instructed one of the Polish
waitresses to keep his glass full at all times during the evening. It would
make his humiliation all the more likely Kleist told himself, should his victim
be drunk when the sport commenced later on in the evening.

Adam could still feel her warm, soft hand upon his back -
like butter melting upon toast. Adam raided his sensory archive and felt the
magical tingle upon his cheek again where Jessica had kissed him the other day.
He even put his fingers to the sacred spot again. Had he read the signals
right? Should he go into her room? He had everything to win - and lose. Duritz
cursed himself, as it had been his suggestion that they all get an early night.
If only he had stayed up a little later with her whilst waiting for Kolya to
drift off to sleep, then he could have judged Jessica's intentions. Did she
think that same thought as him that tonight could be their only chance to be
together? He tried in vain to come up with a believable excuse to go into her
room. Despite losing the precious heat from underneath his blankets Duritz
raised himself up from his bed upon the floor to see if he could spy into the
other room but it was too dark and the curtain was pulled too far across the
door.

"Corporal, Walter, would you join us? I fear that we
might need an adjudicator soon for our friendly discussion."

The two men, who were still annexed (or annexed themselves)
from the rest of the party turned to their convivial host.

"Gentlemen, would you be so kind as to help settle a
disagreement, or contest, that we're having?"

Christian Kleist formed part of a trio of officers who were
standing together. To the left of the Lieutenant stood Captain Peter Strasser, a
merry looking officer with prematurely greying hair. Next to him stood a
po-faced, bespectacled Lieutenant, Erwin Rinser. Drinking carrot juice the
vegetarian seemed to be forever arching his eyebrows in scepticism or snobbery.
One was also drawn to looking at the Lieutenant's middle-aged visage, rather
than that of the open and welcoming countenance of the Captain's, due to a
persistent tick which afflicted one side of Erwin's face. It was as if a
prankster had placed a fishing hook in the corner of his mouth and pulled upon
the line every now and then.

"I'm used to provoking, rather than settling arguments
- but the novelty at least should keep me interested. What's the matter so to
speak?" Fest remarked. His pink lips were unable to suppress an impish smirk
and the deep-set eyes within his chubby face veritably sparkled.

"The question is this. Who in History can be considered
our greatest or most influential figure? For argument's sake we have removed
the Fuhrer - and Christ - from the discussion."

"Heavens, I'm not sure who should be the most honoured
to be separated and placed above the discussion so."

"If Herr Fest cannot take this seriously –“

"Then what Erwin? - you're going to take away your toys
and say you're not playing anymore?"

The Lieutenant's mouth twitched more than it was accustomed
to do but his response was but to glower intently at the civilian. Thomas could
scarcely believe that Walter had dared to say - and then got away with his
comment. Fest did confess to him earlier in the evening that he owned friends
in high places and was, for the most part, untouchable by "most of the
cretins and deviants here tonight". Thomas couldn't help but be curious as
to the extent of the man's wealth and influence.

"Gentlemen, please," Christian quickly remarked,
half amused by the way Fest had riled the conceited Rinser - and half annoyed
by his disruptive influence.

"My apologies Erwin, it was the drink talking. Was it
Hamlet that wronged Laertes? No, never Hamlet?" Walter issued, his tone
still laced with an unrepentant irony.

In response Erwin arched an eyebrow - so that it rose almost
a full inch above the gold-plated rim of his glasses - and affected an
expression of being dismissive of his fellow guest's facetiousness.

"Surely you have no need for two referees though
Lieutenant? With your permission I'd like to join the discussion, rather than
judge it. I'm sure Thomas can live with the pressure of being sole
adjudicator," Fest asserted.

"Of course, you haven't been introduced. This is
Corporal Abendroth. Don't ever play a game of chess with him gentlemen. Thomas,
this is Captain Strasser."

"Please, call me Peter," the amiable Captain said,
leaning over, smiling and shaking the Corporal's hand whilst doing so.

"And Thomas, this is Lieutenant Rinser".

The Lieutenant made no similar gesture of cordiality towards
the Wehrmacht Corporal. Thomas could not decide whether it was a prolonged
twitch, or half-smile, which he received as a response. Erwin Rinser thought
himself gracious and sociable enough however in that he was even tolerating
such indifferent company.

"Now, firstly, Lieutenant Rinser here proposed that
Frederick the Great is indeed the greatest figure ever to grace History's
stage. His principle argument is that he was the founder of Germany's military
greatness, which will in turn be the fulcrum and lever which goes on to conquer
and civilise the entire world."

The supercilious Lieutenant here looked down his beak of a
nose at the small group for their reaction, not that he cared much for its opinion.
In his mind Rinser was right. It was an original and forward-looking answer he
judged.

Jessica peered over her blankets and tried to look through
the narrow gap between the scraggly curtain and chipped doorframe to see if
Adam was still awake, but he was out of sight. She briefly wondered, on the
cusp of an even deeper pensiveness, if Adam found her attractive? Maybe that
was why he hadn't come. She saw herself in the windowpane one evening a week or
so ago. Looking dowdy, she then felt dowdy. Jessica once joked to herself that
it was only the rotten odours which held her clothes together, but this time
the joke failed to cheer her up. Her hair was sometimes greasy, sometimes dry,
but always lifeless in colour and body to how it had once been. She thought to
herself if she had any perfume or make-up left but then remembered how she had
used the very last of it up when she had met Thomas once. As swiftly as this
cloud of diffidence passed over the young woman though a more powerful sun
banished such thoughts for the girl beamed realising again how much Adam loved
her. He made her feel desirable, a woman, again. Jessica could understand also
why he had not come to her tonight. He had already said how he wanted to wait
till after leaving the ghetto before telling Kolya about them. Or maybe he just
hadn't read the signs she tried to give during and after dinner - that she
wanted to be with him. Maybe he thought he'd be spoiling things. Jessica
suddenly, darkly thought that it might bring back awkward, hateful memories for
both of them of... But she had told him how much he had changed. She loved him
because he had changed. Jessica wanted to be with Adam now to prove to him how
much she loved - and had forgiven - him.

With his back turned to Christian Dietmar succumbed to the
temptation and started working his way through the morish chocolate truffles
which were piled up upon each other on a large china plate at the end of the
tables of food.

After wiping any evidence away of his greed upon a napkin
the adjutant suddenly found himself in front of the imperious looking Second
Lieutenant who Dietmar noted earlier on in the evening. Dietmar smiled, almost
femininely so, at the sculptured officer who he had never seen before. He was
greeted with the same revetted expression that had hung upon the Second
Lieutenant's face for most of the night. With the wine gifting the adjutant a
certain confidence - and with feeling that there was nothing to lose - he
addressed the young officer.

"Are you new to Warsaw Lieutenant?"

At first the Second Lieutenant made a face as if to express
that he was a little vexed for having to lower himself to speak to the
adjutant, but then he replied with due civility.

"No, my regular posting is in Berlin. I am here this
evening as a guest of the Lieutenant's. We met recently in Berlin on his last
visit there."

Dietmar's heart sank, his stomach churned. The sensitive
adjutant suddenly found it difficult to speak, as if he were swallowing a golf
ball. Suffocating feelings of envy, inferiority and impending disaster attacked
Christian's lover with a chilling maliciousness. Dietmar felt like being sick.
He remembered again how earlier on in the evening Christian had been laughing
and joking with the handsome Second Lieutenant, introducing him to fellow
officers and affectionately clasping him around the shoulders or patting him on
the back (as he had once done to Dietmar himself when he was a Private). A
short, awkward silence ensued.

"Excuse me," the Second Lieutenant finally said,
nodding his head and forcing a quick, barely polite smile.

"I'm not sure," Captain Strasser answered
honestly, partly because he had just not given the academic subject that much
thought. "Napoleon," he answered, albeit more in the tone of a
question than answer.

"He would've doubtless thought so himself, but is that
your answer Captain? Unless you say Winston Churchill Peter, there is no wrong
answer," Walter Fest issued.

"I was thinking also of maybe Alexander the Great as
well. Or Charlemagne. I'm afraid History is not really my subject," the
ex-Physical Education instructor exclaimed, scratching his head.

"Well if you're truly in two minds then I for one don't
mind you having two answers Peter," Fest added.

Erwin Rinser made a face, though one could not tell if his
vexation was directed at his Captain for being so undecided or at an
overbearing Fest for trying to take over what was once a serious debate.

"Now, we come truly to the matter Christian. As you
first proposed the question I'm guessing that you have the most considered, and
prepared, answer. Have you already rehearsed a speech?"

"I wish now that I did Walter, if only to give someone
else the opportunity to get a word in edgeways. But my candidate is Caesar.
Most people will select someone because of one virtue. They may have been a
great General like Napoleon or Frederick the Great, or a great writer like
Goethe, or statesman like Bismarck. Yet Caesar was great for encompassing all
these noble traits. He was soldier and General, statesman and writer. He was a visionary,
whose ambition was married to his singular abilities. Whatever he put his mind
to he achieved, whether it was the project to build a road, or become Emperor.
He truly "bestrode the world like a colossus", as another great man
once wrote. Caesar is all great men," the Lieutenant exclaimed, with not a
little profundity or affection in his voice.

"As Napoleon once issued to Goethe, ‘You should write
about the death of Caesar in a full worthy manner, grander than Voltaire's. It
could be the greatest task of your life. The world would be shown how happy
Caesar would have made it, how different everything would have been, had he
been given time to bring his lofty designs to fruition."

Thomas was strongly tempted here to insert a quote of his
own into the discussion, from Goethe ("We have become too humane not to be
repelled by Caesar's triumphs") - but he decided against it. Not only did
the guest not wish to antagonise his host, but equally so Thomas was unsure
whether he actually believed in the poet's sentiments, especially in light of
recent history.

"Now, Walter, as you so desired to take part in the
discussion, rather than adjudicate, I imagine that you have a considered or
pre-prepared candidate for us also," Christian exclaimed.

"Well, if it is aut Caesar, aur nihil then in some ways
I choose nihil. I dare say my candidate would not have called himself great,
for he would have rightly questioned the criteria - though perhaps more than
most he knew what this quality entailed. If nothing else I'd deem him great for
making me feel good about myself - and less alone in the world. For I too must
confess that all I know is that I know nothing, partly in thanks to his
teaching."

"But who is it Walter?" a slightly bemused, mildly
curious Captain Strasser asked.

"I'm not sure Thomas, would you call that a piece of
Socratic ignorance?" Fest asked, amused.

"But what did Socrates achieve in terms of making
History?" Lieutenant Rinser inserted, annoyed that the flippant Farben
parasite was turning a civilised discussion about History into a cryptic,
pseudo-philosophical debate.

"I don't know is the only answer I can rightly give you
Lieutenant. Would you call that a piece of Socratic wisdom?" he said
smiling and turning to the Wehrmacht Corporal. "Socrates enlightens
individuals. And I would like to believe that History is made up of individuals
Erwin."

"Gentlemen, if you would excuse me for a second or
so," Christian remarked, after the host appeared to be distracted by
something - or someone - from across the other side of the room. The abruptness
of the Lieutenant's departure also acted as a full-stop somewhat in regards to
the group's debate as well.