“It’s difficult to say now, although evidence suggests it was not a standard nuclear weapon powered by nuclear fission.”
“So what was it?”
“Maybe a hybrid-nuclear fusion weapon.”
Tobie picked up her fork. She didn’t have a clue what the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion even was.
Jax said, “Where in Thuringia did this happen?”
“At a place called Ohrdruf. The blast was carried out under the supervision of the SS. Anywhere from several dozen to several hundred prisoners of war and concentration-camp inmates are said to have died in the blast.”
Tobie said, “But surely there would still be evidence of that kind of explosion, even today?”
“There is. Recent test results from the site show elevated levels of radioactive isotopes. The problem is, there’s no way to know for certain if it came from the 1945 blast, or if it’s contamination from the Russian disaster at Chernobyl.”
Jax and Tobie exchanged quick glances. Jax said, “Where does the evidence for this device come from? From the Russian archives, too?”
“A lot of it.” Wolfgang wiped his napkin across his mouth and tucked it beneath the rim of his empty plate. “The thing is, only a small group of scientists was involved, and all relevant documents were immediately classified top secret when they were captured by the Allies.”
When Jax remained silent, the Texan looked from him to Tobie, and gave a wry half smile. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Jax reached for his new beer. “You have to admit, it is hard to believe.”
“You think I don’t know that? But there’s more. Along with the patent for a plutonium bomb, the Russian archives also contain a report from a Russian spy in Germany. The report was considered significant enough that it was sent on to Stalin. According to their guy, ‘reliable sources’ described two huge explosions in Thuringia on the night of three March.”
“It could have been anything.”
“It could have,” Wolfgang agreed. “Except the East German authorities interviewed a number of eyewitnesses around Ohrdruf in the early 1960s. They reported a bright light followed by a sudden blast of wind. And they all said they suffered from nosebleeds, headaches, and nausea for days afterward.”
Ducking his head, the Texan rummaged around in the tattered knapsack that rested on the bench beside him. “Here. Look at this,” he said, holding out a photocopy of a sketch rendered in blue and red ink.
Peering over Jax’s shoulder, Tobie found herself staring at a drawing of what looked like a big teardrop, or what might almost have been an elongated mechanical bug, with a small head framed by two projecting arms. In the belly of the “bug” was a big blue circle surrounding a smaller red inner circle.
“What is it?” asked Jax, looking up.
“It’s a diagram of a primitive nuclear weapon. It’s a schematic, mind you; not a practical blueprint. But what’s significant is that it was part of a newly discovered report.”
“Written by whom?”
“We don’t know. The title page of the report was missing when it was found in the archives.” Wolfgang pointed one of his thick fingers at the bulging end of the teardrop. “It’s a fission device, based on plutonium. The report even goes on to discuss a theory for a hydrogen bomb.”
Jax looked up. “I thought the Germans didn’t have a working reactor to produce plutonium.”
“That’s what we used to think. But recent industrial archaeology on the remains of the experimental German reactor in Berlin suggests it did work-in fact, it might have been up and running for several weeks.”
“Long enough to make the material for a bomb?” said Tobie.
“For at least one.” Wolfgang leaned forward. “Some people believe the device exploded at Thuringia was a hybrid-fission and fusion. Others think it was a ‘dirty bomb,’ using enriched nuclear material with conventional explosives.” He lowered his voice even further. “And then there are those who think the bombs the U.S. dropped on Japan were actually German made-seized by the Allies when they overran Germany.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Tobie.
“Is it? Ever hear of U-234?”
“No,” she said, while Jax nodded.
“It was a Type XB submarine. One of those big mothers.”
“One of the ones originally designed as a minelayer?”
“That’s right. It left Kiel on 25 March 1945, headed for Japan and loaded with everything from a dismantled Me-262 jet fighter to V-2 missile components, and experts on rockets and jet engines.”
“Operation Caesar,” said Tobie quietly. The cargo of U-234 sounded much like the material they’d seen stacked on the wharves in Kaliningrad.
“You know about it?”
“We’ve heard of it.”
Wolfgang nodded. “Well, along with everything else, U-234 was also carrying 550 kilograms of uranium.”
“How many bombs would that make?” Jax asked.
“Of the size we dropped on Japan? Two. Some people think that even if the U.S. didn’t drop German-made bombs on Japan, they used the uranium from that U-boat.”
Tobie said, “What happened to it? The U-boat, I mean.”
“They were still in the Atlantic when the order came through from the German High Command, saying the war was over and that all U-boats were to surface and fly a black flag from their periscopes.”
“So they surrendered?”
Wolfgang nodded. “An American boarding party escorted them to New Hampshire.”
Jax said, “The uranium oxide-where was it stored?”
“You mean, where in the U-boat was it? I don’t know. All I know is it was packed in ten metal containers. When the Americans cut them open with a blowtorch, they found them full of smaller containers, shaped like cigar boxes. A quarter ton of uranium oxide, altogether. J. Robert Oppenheimer himself was supposedly there when they opened it.”
Jax was silent for a moment. Tobie noticed he hadn’t eaten much of his jaeger schnitzel. Finally, he said, “Marie Oldenburg told you about the cargo manifest of U-114?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think it’s possible that submarine could have been carrying an atom bomb?”
“I’d say so, yes.”
Jax sat back in his seat and let out his breath in a long, slow sigh that sounded like “Fuck.”
Tobie leaned forward. “You said there were other files-files the Allies seized after the war and that are still kept top secret?”
“That’s right.”
“But why? Why would they do that?”
“Keep them secret, you mean?” Wolfgang pressed his full lips into a thin, flat line. “World War II might have ended over sixty years ago, but it’s still a very controversial topic. A lot of people say Truman and his generals should have been tried as war criminals, for dropping the A-bomb on Japan.”
“It was horrible, yes,” said Tobie. “But it actually saved lives, by helping to end the war sooner.”
Wolfgang gave a wry smile. “That’s the argument you always hear. The problem is, Japan was trying to surrender before we dropped the bomb on them. They were willing to accept every single U.S. demand, except they wanted to be allowed to keep their emperor.”
Tobie frowned. “I thought in the end we let them keep their emperor.”
“Exactly.”
“But what does that have to do with the Germans developing the bomb?”
The Texan drained his beer stein and set it aside. “Think about what it would mean, if Germany had the bomb but didn’t use it. I mean, the Nazis are supposed to be the biggest baddies the universe has ever seen, right? So what does that say about us Americans, if we dropped a weapon even the Nazis were reluctant to use?”
“I don’t believe it,” said Tobie.
“I have to admit,” said Wolfgang, pushing to his feet, “I don’t want to believe it, myself.”
44
“You didn’t eat much,” said Jax after the big Texan had shaken hands again and left.