"Comments?" Himmler asked.
"It looks like good news," von Deitzberg said.
"But?"
'The Operation has not been completed. Either part of it."
"He seems confident that it will succeed… that both parts of it will succeed. You aren't?"
'There is an English expression, 'a bird in the hand…' "
" '… is worth two in the bush,' " Himmler finished for him. "I agree. Anything else?"
"I hesitate to criticize Goltz. I recommended him for this mission."
"But?"
"When next I see him, I will have a private word with him and suggest that it is never a good idea to put so many details in a message."
"I saw that, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was obviously pleased with himself."
"And I think he wanted you and me to be pleased with him as well."
"Yes. Josef is not overburdened with modesty."
Von Deitzberg laughed dutifully. "I was a little curious about his fulsome praise for von Lutzenberger," he said.
"And von Lutzenberger's people."
"Perhaps he really meant it."
"And he knew, of course, that von Lutzenberger would read the message."
"And that Griiner is one of us," Himmler said, smiling.
"Do you think our Luther is becoming a politician, Man fred?"
"I think that's a terrible thing to say about an SS officer," von Deitzberg said.
It was Himmler's turn to laugh dutifully.
"What are you going to do about it?" von Deitzberg asked, nodding at the message. "Are you going to tell the Fiihrer?"
"I thought I would solicit your wise counsel, Herr Ober fiihrer."
"I have a tendency to err on the side of caution," von
Deitzberg said. "I think I would wait until we have the bird in hand."
"If he hasn't already, von Ribbentrop is about to tell Bor mann, knowing full well he will rush to the Fiihrer, that there has been word from Himmler's man that Operation Phoenix will shortly be successful."
Party leader Martin Bormann was second only to Adolf
Hitler in the hierarchy of the Nazi party and one of his closest advisers.
"You don't think he would wait until after we get the
'operation completed successfully' message, so he could say, 'Our man'?"
"I think von Ribbentrop would prefer to go to the Fuhrer now. using 'Himmler's man.' Then, if something does go wrong, he could pretend to be shocked and saddened by that man's failure. On the other hand, if it does go well, it will naturally be 'our man.' "
Himmler looked at von Deitzberg for a moment, then con tinued: "I could, of course, get to the Fuhrer first, either directly, or through Bormann-"
"The Fiihrer's at Wolfsschanze," von Deitzberg inter rupted. Wolfsschanze was Hitler's secret command post, near Rastenburg in East Prussia.
"-then through Bormann," Himmler went on. "And take a chance our friend-actually he's your friend, isn't he, Manfred?-is everything he-and you-say he is.
Claim him as our man now, taking the chance that he won't fail."
"Were you really soliciting my wise counsel?" von
Deitzberg asked.
"Of course. And your wise counsel is that we should wait until we see what actually happens, right?"
"Yes, Sir."
"On second thought, what I think I really should do now is call Bormann and tell him that we have just heard from
Oberfuhrer von Deitzberg's man in Buenos Aires. That way, if
Goltz is successful, I can claim the credit because he is one of my SS, right? And if he fails, it's obviously your fault, von Deitzberg. You recommended him for that job."
Himmler smiled warmly at von Deitzberg.
"May I suggest, with all possible respect, Herr Reichs fiihrer-SS," von Deitzberg said, "that is not a very funny joke."
"Joke? What joke?"
He pressed the lever on his intercom, and when Frau Has sler's voice came, told her to get Reichsleiter Bormann on the telephone immediately.
One of the telephones on Himmler's desk buzzed not more than ninety seconds later. Himmler picked it up and said "Heil Hitler" into it, then waited impatiently for who ever was on the line to respond.
"Martin," he said finally, and with oozing cordiality,
"There has been good news from Buenos Aires. Our project there, under Standartenfuhrer Goltz, of whom I am very proud, is proceeding splendidly. We expect momentarily to hear that the special cargo has been delivered, and that the first of the officers from the Graf Spec are on their way home."
There was a reply from Bormann that von Deitzberg could not hear, and then Himmler went on: "The SS exists solely to serve the Fuhrer, Martin. You know that." This was followed by another pause, and then Himmler barked "Heil
Hitler!" into the mouthpiece and hung up. He looked at von
Deitzberg and smiled. "That put our friend Bormann on the spot, you understand, Manfred?"
"Yes, indeed," von Deitzberg said.
"He doesn't want to go to the Fuhrer with good words about the SS," Himmler added unnecessarily, though with visible pride in his tactics. "But he wants even less for the
Fuhrer to get his information from other people, such as our friend von Ribbentrop. So he will relay the good news about
Argentina to the Fiihrer, saying he got it from me, and the
Fuhrer will not only like the information but be impressed with my quiet modesty for not telling him myself."
"Very clever." von Deitzberg said.
"You have to be clever with these bastards, Manfred.
They're all waiting for a chance to stab us in the back."
"I agree. Is there anything else?"
Himmler shook his head, "no," and von Deitzberg walked to the door.
"Manfred!" Himmler called as von Deitzberg put his hand on the knob.
Von Deitzberg turned to look at him.
"Are you, in your heart of hearts, a religious man, Man fred?"
"You know better than that," von Deitzberg replied.
"Pity," Himmler said. "I was about to say that now that the die has been cast, Manfred, it might be a good time to start to pray that Goltz is successful."
"Are you worried?"
"I'm not worried. But if I were you, I would be. You're the one who selected Goltz for this."
"I recommended him," von Deitzberg said. "You selected him."
"That's not the way I remember it, Oberfuhrer von
Deitzberg," Himmler said. "Thank you for coming to see me."
On 18 April, more than half of the 100 heavy German transport aircraft attempting to resupply the Afrika Korps in North
Africa were shot down by American fighters.
And across the world, in the South Pacific, over
Bougainville, P-38 Lightning fighters shot down a transport carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, chief of the Japanese
Navy, and Japan's principal strategist. American cryptogra phers, in one of the most tightly guarded secrets of the war, had broken many high-level Japanese codes, and had inter cepted messages giving Yamamoto's travel plans and routes.
The decision to attack his plane, which carried with it the grave risk of the Japanese learning the Americans had broken their codes, was made personally by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
On 19 April, the Argentine government of General Ramon
Castillo was toppled by a junta of officers, led by General
Arturo Rawson, who became President.
On 22 April, the U.S. II Corps, led by Lieutenant General
Omar Bradley, began a major attack against the Germans in
Tunisia. Another attempt by the Germans to supply the
Afrika Korps by air resulted in the shooting down by American fighters of 30 of 50 transport aircraft.
THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
THE PENTAGON
WASHINGTON, D.C.