“TheNordland SS Division?”
“Exactly. Three mechanized regiments, one comprised mostly of Danish volunteers, one of Norwegians and one of Swedes. Not a unit with a bad reputation as SS units go. Which means of course that it stinks in the nostrils of civilized people.”
Rommel sighed to himself. There would have been a time when he would have risen in the defense of the German armed forces but those days had long gone. He7d learned too much, seen too much of what he had closed his eyes to before.
For all that, he'd done quite well. Most of the Ninth Army was out and those that the Russians had detained had been sent to “Mild Regime” camps. That meant working in the destroyed Russian cities, clearing rubble and rebuilding the ruins so people could live there. Some of the prisoners had written back, saying that the Russians had told them they could leave once the city they were working on was repaired. It was fair enough in a way, he supposed.
Skorzeny had even managed to get some of his SS troops into the Mild Regime camps. There'd been no possibility of getting them released of course but he'd taken the units the Russians were likely to have had least objection and used them to force the handover of the ones they hated the most. The first such unit to pay the price for the release of others had been Dirlwangers 36th Independent Motorized Brigade. When Rokossovsky had looked in the back of the trucks carrying their bodies his reply had a grim gallows humor to it. “Ah, some good Germans,” he'd said. But he had upgraded the status of the troops who'd put down Dirlwanger's rebellion from “Severe” to “Mild” Regime.
“Erwin, first of all, before all that. I have had a reply from the Red Cross. It appears Mannheim was south of the worst area of attack but it was not spared. The Americans dropped a single atomic bomb on the city. One of their more powerful ones. I have a list of the known survivors for you. There are none with your family name but perhaps you may recognize some of them. I regret to tell you, it is not a long list, only a few hundred out of many tens of thousands:”
Rommel took the list, reluctantly almost as if seeing what he had feared as words on a page would make its reality final.
“President Goering has attached a message for you. He wishes it to be known that he commends your conduct here and views with favor our efforts to find a just solution to the surrender of Army Group Vistula. He asks, however, that no persons be returned to Germany in the short term since there are no facilities to care for them and the available resources are strained to feed the population there already. He asks you and your men to be patient and to wait until there is a country you can return to.”
“Quite.” The two Army commanders laughed quietly with each other. They both knew what Der Dicke really had in mind. His authority and that of the new German Government was still very weak. Weak enough for large bodies of organized men to find the possibility of a power-grab too tempting. Better to get the state established first, then bring the men back. “Thank you Konstantin, it was kind of you to make this happen. Now, the Nordland Division.”
“The Nordland SS Division.”
Rommel swore quietly under his breath, he'd hoped he'd get away with that. If he could establish a mindset where the Nordland were regarded as an extension of the Heer rather than the SS he might have reached better terms for them.
“It is our position that these men are still citizens of our countries and should be returned to us. It is for us to try any who are accused of war crimes.'“ It was the Swedish representative who spoke. Rommel had noted that Sweden had been particularly generous when accepting demobilized soldiers as refugees. He'd guessed there would be a price for that generosity and it looked like the bill was about to be presented. He winced at the thought.
The Russians had won the war on the Eastern Front and they were prickly about their rights and status as the winners. Rommel had played on that, appealing to their pride to get as many of his men out as he could. If the Swedes tried to throw their weight around, they'd be cutting their own throats. Idly, Rommel wondered how long it would take the Russians to occupy Sweden. Judging by the amount of equipment within a few miles of this headquarters, not long. Even less if the Americans helped their Russian ally along by using their hellburners to blast a path through the Swedish defenses. The Swedes were playing a dangerous game and Rommel didn't think they understood just how dangerous.
“I would like to point out that, although the men for this unit are now represented by independent Governments, they were recruited while the areas in question were under German military occupation. In fact, the majority of these men were recruited in the period 1945 to 1947 when the SS was conscripting its troops rather than seeking volunteers.”
“That is true of Norway and Denmark. But not of Sweden.” Rokossovsky leaned back in his seat, eyeing the Swede in much the same way a hungry wolf might eye a particularly succulent sheep.
Rommel took over smoothly, before the Swede could have a chance to reply and turn cutting his own throat into radical decapitation. “A very sound point, Konstantin. The Nordland SS Division represents two quite different cases. The Danish and Norwegian regiments are mostly composed of conscripts, taken from their homes, almost at gunpoint and certainly regardless of their opinions on the matter. The Swedish Regiment is entirely composed of volunteers, not just volunteers but volunteers who went to great lengths and personal expense to reach our territory so they could enlist.”
“I take your point Erwin. You are right here. We have two very different cases and we must temper our judgment according to those circumstances.”
Opposite them, the Norwegian was nodding thoughtfully. He'd guessed where this was going and could see advantages for his people. The Dane was about to speak but suddenly changed his mind; Rokossovsky guessed that, under the table, a Norwegian boot had sharply kicked a Danish ankle.
“However, the case revolves around their induction to service rather than their national origin. I do not see the relevance of that for the crimes of which this unit is accused, a weighty and shameful list, were all committed on Russian territory. I am prepared to accept that they were conscripted at gunpoint and by threats to their families as some small mitigation. But for those who volunteered? I think there can be no mitigation and certainly we will not allow any others to claim jurisdiction.” The Norwegian and Danish delegates were speaking quietly. Rokossovsky gave them his best Russian General's glare. “There is one meeting here and one meeting only. If you have something to say, say it for all to hear.”
“My apologies Marshal.'' The Danish delegate was obviously now the spokesmen of the pair. “I have a suggestion that may quickly resolve our problem at least. The Norwegian and Danish Governments will concede your claims to jurisdiction over our nationals in the German armed forces. We also concede that the conduct of the unit in which they formed a part was such that criminal punishment is in order. We suggest, however, that instead of trying to separate out the bad from the not-so-bad, you treat the unit as a whole and sentence the two regiments as a whole to Mild Regime work rebuilding your cities.
“In return for our concession on these points we request that representatives of our government be allowed to remain in contact with these prisoners, that the prisoners be allowed to contact their families back home on a regular basis, say, two letters a month? And that their work be considered a substitute for any demand for reparations Russia may ask of us. Our men will work much better if they feel their efforts are of direct benefit to their country.”
Rokossovsky nodded slowly. It was a good compromise, one that gave Russia what it needed the most. Absolute jurisdiction over the prisoners, unaffected by the demands of any other nation. Given the witches brew of nationalities in the SS units, that was the one thing President Zhukov demanded above all others. Crimes against Russia and the Russians must be punished by the Russians. Otherwise there was no guarantee they would be punished at all. “'Very well I accept these arrangements, Erwin, you will draft the orders for the two regiments in question to surrender to the designated Russian forces?”