War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 180

Chapter 35

O

n the second of October 1944, General Bór’s emissaries signed the capitulation of the remaining Polish Fighting Forces in the German headquarters in the presence of General von dem Bach. The fighting immediately ceased and the next day German forces began disarming Home Army soldiers and taking them prisoner.

Before walking out to lead his men into captivity, Peter went to say goodbye to his son and Agnieska.

“Don’t go,” Jan begged him tearfully.

“You know I have to go,” Peter said. “You need to be courageous and do as your aunt says. Will you be a good boy?”

Jan nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes and flinging himself into his father’s arms. Peter crushed him against his chest, holding him tight, never wanting to let go of him again. But life hadn’t turned out the way he wanted it to. He’d come to fight for his country and had lost – again. But he couldn’t regret his decision to leave the comparatively safe post in Berlin, because coming here had reunited him with his son.

Trembling with suppressed grief, he peeled his son’s arms away, and took the small face into his big hands. “Janusz Zdanek. You have been through so much. You can do this. This war isn’t going to last very long now. You stay with Aunt Agnieska and the two of you will protect each other.”

“But what about you? Will you live?” Jan asked.

“I will surrender with my men and will be taken as a prisoner of war. As soon as I have an opportunity, I’ll send you a postcard with the Red Cross.” Peter turned and hugged Agnieska. “Take care of yourself and of my boy. I expect to see both of you again.”

“Aye, sir,” she said with a sad smile and grabbed Jan’s shoulder. “We’ll cope. We’ve been through worse. Haven’t we?” Jan nodded, and she continued, “If the Nazis are making us leave, we’ll go to Lodz trying to find Katrina and Stan.”

“Goodbye.” Peter fled the apartment before his beloved ones could see the sole tear slipping down his cheek.

The Home Army had been given two days to gather and march out of Warsaw to lay down their arms. Peter explained to his men the process stipulated in the agreement for the cessation of hostilities and ended his speech with the following words. “Despite the Germans’ signing the agreement, nobody knows for sure what they will do. It’s a risk we have to take. And make no mistake; being a prisoner of war isn’t jolly fun. You’ll most likely be forced into labor for them. Food will be scarce, treatment harsh.”

Peter spoke from experience. During his time as a driver for Professor Scherer he’d visited many camps, some better than others, none a place any person would choose to be. He took a deep breath before he said what lay heavy on his heart. “I will not hold it against anyone who wants to take a chance. If you feel your odds are better here, by all means go into hiding.”

“What are you going to do, sir?” one of the soldiers asked.

“As your commanding officer, it is my duty to surrender according to the agreement. But…Poland has a need for fighters. The upcoming times will be hard. We’ve all heard about what happened with the Home Army after liberation by the Soviets. Nevertheless, there’s still hope for our beloved fatherland and when the day comes that this war is won, we need men in place to take over.” He met the eyes of each of his men then turned his back on them. “If you are going to leave, do so now.”

When he turned back around, over half of his unit was gone, and Peter couldn’t blame them. He was bound by his loyalty to General Bór or he’d have done the same.

Lotte stretched

her limbs and glanced over at Johann lying beside her in the bed. It felt good not to lie to him anymore. He’d insisted on continuing to call her Alexandra, even in private, because he was terrified of letting her real name slip and endangering both of their lives.

She didn’t care what name he used, as long as he loved her. A lazy smile crossed her face. She loved waking up in his arms, experiencing a modicum of peace amidst the war-torn city.

“Hey, sweetheart, you’re awake?” He kissed her lips and glanced at his wristwatch. “We have about half an hour before I have to get up for work.”

“That should be enough time.”

She snuggled tighter against him, but he held her at arm’s length and said, “I need to talk to you.”

“About?” She didn’t like the serious tone of his voice.

“I’ll send you and Gerlinde back to Germany by the end of this week.”

“But why…?” she protested, although she knew his answer already.

“It’s too dangerous here. We have no idea how long those stubborn Poles will continue to fight, and then there’s the Red Army lurking. I don’t want you anywhere near here when they cross the Vistula.”

“But I’d rather stay by your side. You’ll protect me, won’t you?” She traced her finger along his biceps, smiling when goosebumps erupted on his skin.

“That worked out real well last time, remember?”

Of course she remembered the day they’d been captured by the insurgents. “But you saved me from those Gestapo brutes.”

“They are brutes, alright, but never call them that, please. You need to be careful.” He wrapped his arm around her, finally pressing her against his warm body.

“I am always careful,” she said.

Later that morning the news of the capitulation broke and Lotte witnessed spontaneous jubilees. They weren’t boisterous celebrations, more like cheers of relief that it was finally over.

After a short time of cheer, everyone burst into activity. Decommissioning of the partisans had to be planned and executed, prisoners taken and transports to POW camps organized. Johann forgot about his plan to send her and Gerlinde away, because he had his hands full taking care of logistics.

Lotte, of course, didn’t remind him either. Instead, she and Gerlinde went to see Oberst Braun to be assigned a useful task.

“What the…? Where did you girls come from?” he groaned.

“Sir, I was in captivity and as you know Fräulein Weiler missed the train due to fighting in the area,” Lotte said.

“What do you want?”

“We would like to do something useful,” Gerlinde said.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do. I can’t very well assign you the task of disarming the partisans.” Oberst Braun looked helpless without Oberführerin Kaiser’s help handling all

women’s affairs

.

A soldier rushed into the room, skidding to a halt right in front of the two girls with a perplexed look on his face. “Sir, Oberst, we have orders to expel all civilians from the city.”

The Oberst groaned saying, “All of them? Half a million or more?”

“Yes, sir.” The soldier gazed at his boots.

“How on earth am I supposed to do that with the limited resources at hand?” His glance fell on Lotte and Gerlinde. “Maybe I do have a job for you.”