Kesselring’s secretary was protective of her boss’s time. She always did her homework before accepting requests for appointments with the Minister. As a result of her enquiries Kesselring now knew that James Blackstone was the brother of Baron von Altendorf’s son-in-law, and that he had been a member of the British Parliament before becoming a bank director. He also knew that James’ father was a respected senior civil servant within the British Government. His credentials were in order. The Minister was curious as to what an ex-politician turned banker could want with him! He would allow the man fifteen minutes of his time out of courtesy to the von Altendorf connection.
Their meeting lasted an hour. In the best banking tradition, James did not allow any emotion to show, but inside he was ecstatic. Kesselring had grasped the principle of repositioning the surplus JU52s, very quickly. He liked it and the timing could not have been better!
The General read from a document he requested from his secretary. “Following our latest armed services review, we counted just over one thousand one hundred JU52s still operational with the Luftwaffe, although many of these are actually in storage. With no war at present, or even on the horizon, we consider six hundred fully operational JU52s as quite sufficient for the Luftwaffe’s requirements.
We intend to keep these aircraft in service for the foreseeable future. They are good workhorses and by the time they are ready for replacement, I have no doubt that transport aircraft a great deal bigger and a lot faster will be available. Who knows, maybe jet powered!
I will need to discuss the details with my staff, of course, but it is my opinion that the Luftwaffe would be willing to consider disposing of maybe five hundred JU52s, Mr Blackstone.”
They discussed various details and the prices involved. It was a lot of money! James wondered how this would go down at his bank. At one point Kesselring excused himself to make a telephone call. He was away for ten minutes before he returned.
They talked closely for another fifteen minutes. All items had been covered. It was time for James to go.
After he left Aviation Ministry building, James found a small café where he indulged himself with a small celebratory cognac. He had cleared the first hurdle! Now for Junkers.
Jeremy had loaned his car to James for the one hundred and twenty kilometre drive from Berlin to Dessau, the headquarters of Junkers. As he drove south after breakfast the next day, James could not help marvelling about the fact that he was here today, driving in the heartland of Germany, yet only three years earlier the Germans and British had been at each other’s throats.
Junkers was founded in 1895 by Hugo Junkers. It had prospered from the mid-1930s due to huge production orders from the Luftwaffe for three particularly successful models. The JU52 transport, the JU87 dive bomber — the famous Stuka — and the JU88 bomber, one of the European War’s most versatile combat aircraft.
The Managing Director of Junkers was Hans Schneider. Originally an aeronautical engineer, he had worked for the company continuously for nearly thirty years. The company was his life. Lately his biggest worry was the complete cessation of orders for military aircraft. And nothing on the horizon.
Schneider’s English was just not quite good enough for a meeting such as this, and an interpreter had been hired. She was about thirty years old, good looking, slim, perfect figure, and smartly dressed. Her name was Magda Reinhardt.
Schneider had been telephoned in advance by no less a person than the Aviation Minister, to inform him that Blackstone had an interesting proposition. The Ministry, on its part, was supporting the project in principle. Kesselring recommended that Junkers should seriously examine Mr Blackstone’s idea.
Between James’ bad German, Schneider’s poor English, and Magda’s fluency in both languages, they got through the meeting without too much trouble or delay. The Junkers Managing Director grasped at what was on offer as a drowning man will grasp at a straw. Schneider called in his General Manager, and later the chief designer. Different scenarios and ideas were thrown around in a storm. Even Magda was pulled into the general enthusiasm that manifested itself.
The half hour scheduled meeting ended up being two hours long. But it was worth it. Before he left, James was handed a hastily typed letter confirming Junkers’ serious interest in James’ proposition.
James now wanted to draft a proposal to his bank while everything was fresh in his brain. He decided to find a hotel in Dessau for the night. He would motor back to Berlin early in the morning and catch the first available flight to London. He informed Herr Schneider of his intentions and said his goodbyes to the group.
Magda accompanied him out of the Junkers building. He asked her if she could recommend a hotel for him. During the meeting, they alone had addressed each other by the first names. The others had remained on formal terms. “Certainly, James, It is near where I live. I will show you if you will give me a lift.” She did not work for Junkers. She was a freelance translator and was now also on her way home.
It was no more than ten minutes to the hotel and in that time they chatted like old friends. James discovered that Magda was a widow, her husband having been killed in France in the last week of the war. They had a three year old daughter. ‘Bloody rotten luck’ thought James. ‘Seven more days and he would have been out of it’.
He stopped the car outside the hotel to which Magda directed him. It looked acceptable. Respectable but not five star. She went in with him to assist with the reception formalities, which took no more than five minutes. On an impulse he turned to face her. “Magda, today was a very special day for me. Would care to you join me in a celebratory drink? Unless, of course, you are in a hurry to get home.”
“I am in no hurry, James. And I would love to have a drink with you. I found today very interesting.” She had a beautiful smile. James suddenly found himself blushing for no reason.
They adjourned to the bar. James thought champagne was appropriate. Magda didn’t object. As the waiter delivered the bottle, the hotel porter approached him to inform him that there was a telephone call for him. He could take it in the hotel lobby.
‘I wonder what Schneider has forgotten’ he thought as he walked to the phone.
James got another surprise. On the phone was a Hjalmar Schacht, the German Economics Minister. He apologised for disturbing him, but having been apprised of his mission by General Kesselring, he enquired if James would indulge him by being so kind as to meet with him tomorrow? He would take up less than one hour of his time.
This was totally unexpected but there was no way a banker could turn down a request from the Economics Minister. They arranged to meet at the Minister’s office at midday the following day. James was excited, puzzled, and apprehensive about this development. Somewhat bemused he went back to Magda.
The champagne was finished. He had told her of the latest development. They chatted animatedly for another fifteen minutes. It seemed he had somehow enthused Magda with his own excitement. Suddenly he realised that he did not want her to leave just yet.
He took a deep breath. “Magda, do you have any plans for this evening?” He hurried on before she could answer, “I had planned to start writing my appraisal of yesterday and today’s meeting. But now I find that I am far to wound up to do this. Also I must wait and see what the Economics Minister has to say to me before I have the complete picture. I would consider it a great honour if you would join me for dinner.” He blushed like a schoolboy as he said it.