Kammler remained silent. His stare would have disconcerted anyone but Bethwig, who now had little to lose.
‘I can have one ready by the end of January, the remaining two by mid-February. The pilots have been selected, and fortunately their training has not been interrupted. While I no longer believe that America can be forced from the war unilaterally by a few rockets landing on her soil, I do believe that two or three such, with the promise of more to come, might send them to the negotiating table, dragging their British and French allies along. If an armistice can be achieved, Germany could turn its attention solely to the east and the defeat of Russia. An old tune, General, but it is Germany’s last hope, and the only reason I comply with your demands.’
Kammler’s silence indicated that he accepted this rationale, and without a further word, Bethwig left the office. This is the last opportunity we will have, he thought bitterly, and we’ll damn well make the most of it. The old dream was far from dead.
Peenemunde
January 1945
On New Year’s Day Bethwig knocked on the door of the test office in the air tunnel laboratory. A moment later a technician clad in a fireproof asbestos suit opened the door and handed Bethwig a similar suit to pull on over his working clothes. The suit was hot, smelly, and heavy. Muttering to himself, he followed the technician across the room to a steel door and waited while he fiddled with the lock, swung it open, and motioned him through. Bethwig ducked and wriggled past the heater cells behind the stationary wind-tunnel vanes. Three other men waited for him, none of them in protective clothing, and he removed his helmet.
‘Keep the suit on, Franz,’ Wernher von Braun told him. ‘This won’t take long.’
Bethwig nodded. He had worn the suit only to persuade the Gestapo guard who followed him everywhere to remain outside. ‘All right, Wernher. What’s going on?’
Von Braun glanced at the other two men – his brother, Magnus, and Ernst Mundt. ‘I’ll come right to the point, Franz. We’ve had a meeting with the department heads still at Peenemunde as well as those we could reach at Nordhausen. It is clear that the war is lost, and it remains only for the Allies to occupy Germany. Even your V-Ten will not delay that for long.’ He looked anxiously at Bethwig who nodded.
‘I agree.’
Von Braun looked relieved, and the other two exchanged puzzled glances. ‘We know that Kammler has orders to begin planning an evacuation. Rumours from the most reliable sources say that the facility is to be completely destroyed. No trace is to be left of the work being done here. I suppose those fools in Berlin believe it possible. There is another rumour to the effect that Himmler has ordered the SS to shoot all scientific and technical personnel. While I don’t quite believe it, I do not dismiss it either. We have all seen how the POWs have been treated since the SS took over, and I can tell you that Peenemunde is paradise compared to conditions at Nordhausen.’
He looked uncomfortable for a moment. ‘I must also tell you this, Franz. Most of the other department heads were against bringing you into our plans. Many of them feel your loyalties are to Himmler and that you cannot be trusted.’
Bethwig remained silent, and von Braun struggled on. ‘You know what I think about such nonsense but…’
Bethwig nodded. ‘I understand.’ He paused a moment. ‘I doubt there is anything I can say to convince them otherwise.’ He shrugged. ‘I suppose you could shoot me. That seems to be a common solution to problems these days. Otherwise, you will have to put up with me.’
The three men exchanged looks, and von Braun muttered, ‘I think there is no question of that.’
Magnus broke the uncomfortable silence. ‘Franz, we have all decided to arm ourselves, just in case this rumour about executing all scientists and technicians should be true. When the Luftwaffe left last fall, they abandoned a great deal of equipment. Several cases of automatic rifles, ammunition and hand grenades have been located and shifted elsewhere, in case they are needed. In addition, the decision has been taken, unanimously, to surrender to the Americans or British. Under no circumstances will we allow ourselves to be captured by the Russians.’
‘I should think the English are to be avoided at all costs,’ Bethwig replied dryly. ‘Surely they would not lavish much love on people who helped destroy their capital city with long-range rockets.’
‘No more so than our bomber crews, yet by all reports they are treated as well as, if not better than, English airmen in our prisons.’ Magnus hesitated, then at a nod from his brother he continued. ‘We have reason to believe that the British would welcome us if we surrendered to them.’
‘Reason to believe? Nothing more than that?’
Magnus shook his head. ‘No. Nothing more than that. Nor would I say more if I could, except that we have also been approached by the Russians.’
‘What do you want from me?’
‘Your agreement,’ Wernher told him, after a moment of consideration in which the strain was evident in his expression. ‘Your staff will follow you. Until now, we dared not approach any of them because of the disagreement over…’ He hesitated, and Bethwig nodded.
‘I understand. When is the evacuation to take place?’
‘We don’t know. As I said, most of what we have learned is rumour. But everything points to the end of January. The Russians are well into East Prussia, and it is almost certain that they will make a concerted effort to take Peenemunde before it can be destroyed. The best guess is they will reach here no earlier than mid-February, if their present rate of advance continues.’
‘There is the V-Ten to launch. I cannot go until that is completed.’
Von Braun’s expression was full of sympathy as was Mundt’s; they both shared his dream, but Magnus broke in with an exclamation. ‘How can you think of the V-Ten now, Franz? It can do nothing to help the war effort. The Russians will have arrived even before the second rocket can be launched. To attempt to do so would jeopardise us all and contribute nothing to a war that is already lost…’
Bethwig’s voice was calm when he spoke, but von Braun and Mundt understood his determination. ‘The V-Ten, Magnus, is no longer a war weapon. And I am no longer concerned with the war effort, nor have I been since my father was murdered. People like Himmler and Kammler have betrayed the Führer and Germany with their greed. Prolonging the war only serves their purposes. I am concerned only with launching the V-Ten. I have given it seven years of my life, and now I have nothing else to live for.’
His expression was still calm as he gauged their reaction. ‘The rocket will not be launched against the United States. Wernher, do you remember what we resolved on that evening on the Greifswalder beach, before the war began? Then again last fall when you tried to talk me into this one final time?’
Von Braun stared at him. ‘Franz, the moon? Are you crazy?’
‘Am I? It can be done, Wernher. Kammler would not know the difference – until too late. The requirements are virtually the same but for the fuel load.’
The three men stared at him in shock; finally, Magnus broke the silence. ‘Franz, it would be suicide-even if successful, how would the pilot get back? Who would fly it under those circumstances?’
‘I have two volunteers even now. Both understand clearly what the outcome will be. There is no need to be concerned. Both are party members, both fanatics, and they will die gladly for the greater glory of the Reich.’
Ernst Mundt and Magnus von Braun exchanged dubious glances, but Wernher was grinning broadly as he clapped Bethwig on the shoulder.
‘You can depend on us,’ he cried, thus confirming Bethwig in the decision he had made privately the week before in Kammler’s office.