Parallel nazi 07c1, p.42
Parallel Nazi 07c1,
p.42
Kanoe was shocked. “That upends decades of the way we do things, Majesty.”
“And look where those ways have brought us. We cannot long survive in this modern world without a stable government. We must do this.”
“It will be difficult.”
“It is our duty, Prime Minister.”
EPILOGUE
December 8, 1944; 4 PM
Reich Chancellor’s Office
Reich Chancellery
Berlin, Germany
Heinrich and Gisela Schloss walked into the office as the late afternoon twilight faded over Berlin. Frau Pappel had turned on the lights and placed a fresh Thermos of coffee behind the desk. Schloss walked to the center of the room and slowly spun around, taking in the space.
“It just doesn’t seem the same,” he commented.
“How so, Darling?”
“After the stark office in Frankfurt, this seems overdone, somehow.”
She chuckled deep in her throat. “It is overdone, Darling. You have never liked this office.”
“That being said, I am delighted that we are finally back in Berlin. Regardless of the circumstances, this is home. It is where we belong.”
“And perhaps I can finally get started on the Reich Chancellor’s residence,” she commented. “I hate to raise our children in this mausoleum.”
He nodded towards the hallway where Hans and Anna-Lisa ran up and down the corridor, yelling and laughing.
“They seem happy to be back.”
“But, don’t you think they will be happier in a homelike setting?”
“There won’t be a homelike setting until I leave office, Gisela. Do you think an executive residence would be much different?”
“Perhaps not.”
“Besides, this is home for them. Let them enjoy it.”
She walked over to the desk and studied the stacks of paper neatly arranged in front of the chair.
“It looks as though your work preceded you,” she said.
He walked over and looked. “I think you are right, my dear.”
Schloss then laughed.
“What is it, Darling?”
“They brought my chair from Frankfurt. The American chair. The comfortable one that Peter and Karl told me to shut up about.”
“Well, we want you to be comfortable.”
“I don’t think I could ever get comfortable in this office, the fine chair notwithstanding. But I’m glad somebody thought to bring it.”
“I would have been shocked if they didn’t.”
She folded her arms across her chest and seemed to be in thought. Finally, she spoke.
“What’s next, Darling?”
“We need to finish this war. We need to get the governance of the Reich on a sound footing, and we need to have elections. And I will soon have to deal with Herr Churchill and the new American president.”
“It will always be something.”
He nodded as he took her arm. “Yes, my dear, it will always be something. And I think it is too late in the day to try to tackle anything. Let’s go upstairs and see what the Luftwaffe steward is planning for our dinner.”
“With Peter and Gratia back in their house, we don’t have Frau Marsden’s cooking,” she said. “But that steward has the touch, I think.”
“I’ve enjoyed his cooking. Shall we go?”
Unknown, Parallel Nazi 07c1
