Fleischer recalled the events, as if they happened yesterday, it was the birth of The Onyx Cross — the organisation he was now responsible for. He remembered the small space inside the field caravan was claustrophobic, with a fog of cigarette smoke engulfing the room. The five men had looked at each other across the table where in front of them, were manila coloured files, the words Geheime Reichssache stamped in red ink on the cover, indicating that the contents were of the most secret importance.
Kemmler wore the black uniform of the Waffen SS, with the silver leaves and two diamonds on his lapel. On his right sat the equally attired Obersturmfuhrer Gunther Fleischer, who wrote down the names present at the meeting and handed the piece of paper to his superior. The three other men situated at the far side of the table, wore white work coats with the eagle emblem of the Reich embroidered in black on the right side. These men were of Werner von Braun’s elite band of rocket engineers, although the man himself had no knowledge of this clandestine conference. He had addressed those present with a serious tone. ‘Gentlemen, you have been selected for a most special duty. Your individual expertise and your loyalty to preserving the dreams of the Reich, are the main two reasons for this. In days, the Allies will have advanced even more into the Fatherland. Our forces remain strong, but are slowly weakening against the onslaught from the tenacious Americans and Russians. Their accursed Red Army have been reported to be very close to this actual complex.’ The three engineers had nodded almost in unison, agreeing with the sentiment made by the SS officer.
Kemmler lifted the file in front of him, and gestured to the others. ‘You may now open your files.’ On this instruction, a sudden rustling of paper was heard around the table as the files were opened. On the first page was the title: Sternstruppe (Falling Star) and for the next few minutes, the vellum documents within, were quickly scrutinised. Kemmler lit another cigarette and then waved the smoke away with his hand. ‘As you can see, this directive comes from the highest authority, with total approval of the Fuhrer himself.’ He studied each of the men in turn. ‘You will agree that it is a strange request, however; an essential one. Gentlemen, just as it is written, it is imperative that you are captured by the Allies.’ The three men looked at each other with a mixture of surprise and bewilderment.
Kemmler paused, studying the expected reactions, then continued. ‘It is knowledge from our friends of the Abwehr, that the Americans are eager to have our technological secrets for their own means, and have assigned a special group to hunt down and capture our engineers, and scientists as part of their Operation Paperclip. Of course, the British and the Russians are also interested in obtaining you and your colleagues.’ The Obergruppenfuhrer slammed his fist down on the table. ‘And, you gentlemen, are to ensure that they all pay severely for this venture. Your instructions are in your files.’
Kemmler rose from his chair and walked over to a wall with a canvas cloth over a frame. He pulled at it, revealing a world map in which the United States, USSR, Great Britain and France were prominent features. He looked at Fleischer who rose abruptly and stood to attention. He continued. ‘My good friend here, a keen bird watcher, has devised clever codenames for you all. It is vital to the operation, that no-one outside this room today knows of your future identities. He took a pencil from his pocket and pointed to the United States, then used it to point at one of the men at the table. ‘You will be known as: Albatross’. He turned to another man and placed the point of his pencil on the Soviet Union. ‘You will be Condor.’ He stared at the third man in the team and with a slightly suspicious expression, hesitantly paused. ‘And you, will be known as: Falcon.’ Kemmler concluded by wishing the three engineers luck with their respective missions, and with a saluted ‘Heil Hitler’, the meeting had ended.
After the last of the white-coated men had exited the caravan, he abruptly shut the door and turned to his Obersturmfuhrer. ‘Can Falcon be trusted, Gunther?’
Fleischer gave an assuring nod. ‘Yes, Herr Oberst. I would trust that man with my life.’
Kemmler was not convinced, and realised that he would have to think of an alternative plan, should the original be disrupted. He had been thinking of a failsafe option, and it was now that he decided he would need it. Picking up the telephone, he requested that this person should come and see him. After a meeting lasting forty minutes; he was satisfied that this man would be a vital asset to Operation Falling Star.
Fleischer was almost at the end of his story. ‘Two days later, in the Czech city of Prague, Kemmler was travelling in the back of a staff car, having just visited the Skoda works, when an ambush by resistance fighters strafed the convoy of German vehicles. The car side-swiped into the wall of a Butcher’s shop; the driver was killed instantly as the bullets ploughed the windscreen. Amid the confusion and shielded by the fallen masonry, Kemmler had managed to escape by fleeing through the abandoned shop to the rear entrance.’ Fleisher paused to take another sip of wine. Then carried on with his story, explaining that the advancing Russians were close to taking the city and Kemmler carefully walked through the back streets, until to his relief, was picked up by a wandering SS patrol. However, it was only later, that he would realise the true nature of their mission. Despite his reputation, his name had been added to the extensive death list of important scientists, engineers and strategists; their vast knowledge of secret operations and research, was far too valuable to fall into Allied hands. Now under arrest, he felt betrayed by the nation, he had sincerely devoted himself to. He was escorted into the crumbling headquarters building in the centre of the city, and following a confirmation phone call to Berlin, was offered the option of biting on the small cyanide tablet, already concealed as one of his molar teeth. As he considered his options, he thought about Operation Sternstruppe. Would it work?
Kemmler had then made his decision. The event of his suicide had been witnessed and officially documented, stating that for his allegiance to the Reich, he had opted to bite on his fake tooth instead of allowing a Luger to his head. Also, according to the report, he had taken only three and a half minutes to die, his body then carried out to grounds at the rear of the building where it was stripped thoroughly of objects likely to identify him, before two jerry cans of petrol were poured over the lifeless corpse and ignited, leaving little trace.
It was exactly a month later, on Monday, June 11th, 1945, US forces entered the town of Nordhausen, discovering both the Mittelwerk factory site and the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp which had supplied the workers. Over the next few months that followed, Nazi rocket engineers and scientists who had escaped from the secret underground location, had been rounded up by the allies, including the chief himself, Werner Von Braun. To the Americans, Operation Paperclip had been a major success. Vital personnel of Hitler’s secret programmes, were to begin a new life in Huntsville, Alabama. Other captives would find themselves in locations in Britain, France and for those captured by the Red Army, on a train to the Soviet Union. For these respective nations, these men would all assist in various projects of national importance, projects that over the next twenty-four years, would not only trigger the birth and development of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, but also a highly competitive international space race, and amongst these important captives, were Falcon, Condor and Albatross, the prized agents of The Onyx Cross. At the orders to abandon the complex, the three men had followed their appointed paths, allowing themselves to be captured, and each of them were in the heart of their new hosts, strategically able to carry out their long-term mission. In addition to the three men, another man had also been captured. Kemmler’s special envoy, codenamed Cormorant, was also now in place.’