Byky, ‘Bulls,’ a pejorative term.”—“On this subject,” Köstring said suavely, turning to Korsemann, “what is the opinion of the SS?”—“It’s certainly an important question,” Korsemann opined. “I’m going to hand it over to Oberführer Bierkamp.” Bierkamp was already gathering his pages together: “Unfortunately, our own specialist, Dr. Weseloh, had to return to Germany. But she has prepared a complete report, which I forwarded to you, Herr General, and which strongly supports our opinion: these Bergjuden are extremely dangerous Fremdkörper who represent a threat to the security of our troops, a threat to which we must react with vigor and energy. This point of view, which, unlike that of the researchers, takes into account the vital question of security, is also based on a study of the scientific documentation carried out by Dr. Weseloh, whose conclusions differ from those of the other specialists present here. I will let Hauptsturmführer Dr. Aue present them to you.” I bowed my head: “Thank you, Oberführer. I think that, to be clear, it is preferable to differentiate the levels of proofs. First of all there are the historical documents, then the living document that is language; then there are the results of physical and cultural anthropology; and finally the ethnological research in the field like that carried out by Dr. Weintrop or Dr. Weseloh. If one considers the historical documents, it seems established that Jews lived in the Caucasus long before the conversion of the Khazars.” I quoted Benjamin of Tudela and a few other ancient sources, such as the Derbent-Nameh. “In the ninth century, Eldad ha-Dani visited the Caucasus and noted that the Mountain Jews had an excellent knowledge of the Talmud…”—“Well, they certainly lost it!” Weintrop interrupted.—“Absolutely, but the fact remains that at one time the Talmudists of Derbent and Chemakha, in Azerbaijan, were quite renowned. Which may moreover be a rather late phenomenon: in fact, a Jewish traveler from the eighties of the last century, a certain Judas Chorny, thought that Jews had arrived in the Caucasus not after but before the destruction of the First Temple, and lived cut off from everything, under Persian protection, until the fourth century. Only later on, when the Tatars invaded Persia, did the Bergjuden meet some Jews from Babylon who taught them the Talmud. It was only at that time that they adopted rabbinic tradition and teachings. But that is not proven. For proof of their antiquity, you would have to refer to archeological traces, like the deserted ruins in Azerbaijan known as Chifut Tebe, the ‘Hill of the Jews,’ or Chifut Kabur, the ‘Tomb of the Jews.’ They are very ancient. As to the language, Dr. Weseloh’s observations corroborate those of the late Dr. Voss: it is a modern Western Iranian dialect—I mean no older than the eighth or ninth century, maybe even the tenth—which seems to contradict a direct Chaldean descent, as Pantyukov suggests, following Quatrefages. What’s more, Quatrefages thought that the Lesghins, some Svans, and the Khevsurs also had Jewish origins; in Georgian, Khevis Uria means ‘the Jew from the Valley.’ Baron Peter Uslar, more reasonably, suggests a frequent, regular Jewish immigration to the Caucasus over two thousand years, each wave more or less mingling with the local tribes. One explanation of the problem of the language would be that the Jews traded women with an Iranian tribe, the Tat, who arrived later on; they themselves would have arrived in the time of the Achaemenids, as military colonists to defend the Derbent Pass against the nomads from the plains in the North.”—“The Jews, military colonists?” an Oberst from the AOK laughed sarcastically. “That seems ridiculous to me.”—“Not really,” Bräutigam retorted. “The Jews before the Diaspora have a long tradition of waging war. Just look at the Bible. And remember how they stood up to the Romans.”—“Oh yes, that’s in Flavius Josephus,” Korsemann added.—“True, Herr Brigadeführer,” Bräutigam agreed.—“In short,” I went on, “this collection of facts seems to contradict a Khazar origin. On the contrary, the hypothesis of Vsevolod Miller, which is that the Bergjuden brought Judaism to the Khazars, seems more plausible.”—“That’s just what I was saying,” Weintrop broke in. “But you yourself, with your linguistic argument, don’t deny the possibility of ‘racial mixing.’”—“It’s a shame that Dr. Voss is no longer with us,” Köstring said. “He would certainly have clarified this point for us.”—“Yes,” said von Gilsa sadly. “We miss him very much. He’s a great loss.”—“Judeo-Bolshevism,” Rehrl added sententiously, “is also making German science pay a heavy price.”—“Yes, but really, in the case of poor Voss, it’s more a question of a, so to speak, cultural misunderstanding,” suggested Bräutigam.—“Meine Herren, meine Herren,” Köstring cut in. “We are straying from the subject. Hauptsturmführer?”—“Thank you, Herr General. Unfortunately, physical anthropology makes it hard for us to decide between the various hypotheses. Allow me to cite for you the data gathered by the great scholar Erckert in Der Kaukasus und seine Völker, published in 1887. For the cephalic index, he gives 79.4 (mesocephalic) for the Tatars of Azerbaijan, 83.5 (brachycephalic) for the Georgians, 85.6 (hyperbrachycephalic) for the Armenians, and 86.7 (hyperbrachycephalic) for the Bergjuden.”—“Ha!” Weintrop exclaimed. “Just like the Mecklenburgers!”—“Shh…” Köstring said. “Let the Hauptsturmführer speak.” I continued: “Height of head: Kalmuks, 62; Georgians, 67.9; Bergjuden, 67.9; Armenians, 71.1. Facial index: Georgians, 86.5; Kalmuks, 87; Armenians, 87.7; and Bergjuden, 89. Finally, nasal index: the Bergjuden are at the bottom of the scale, with 62.4, and the Kalmuks at the top, with 75.3, a significant interval. The Georgians and Armenians fall between the two.”—“What does all that mean?” asked the Oberst from the AOK. “I don’t understand.”—“That means,” explained Bräutigam, who had jotted down the numbers and was hastily carrying out some mental calculations, “that if you regard the shape of the head as an indicator of a more or less elevated race, the Bergjuden form the most handsome type of Caucasian population.”—“That’s exactly what Erckert says,” I went on. “But of course, this approach, although it has not been completely refuted, is little used these days. Science has made some progress.” I briefly raised my eyes to Bierkamp: he was regarding me severely, tapping on the table with his pencil. With his fingertips he signaled to me to go on. I plunged back into my documents: “As for cultural anthropology, it provides a wealth of data. It would take me too long to go over all of it. In general, it tends to present the Bergjuden as having completely adopted the customs of the mountain people, including those concerning kanly, or ichkil, the blood feud. We know that several great Tat warriors fought alongside Imam Shamil against the Russians. Also, before Russian colonization, the Bergjuden occupied themselves mostly with agriculture, and cultivated grapes, rice, tobacco, and various grains.”—“That is not Jewish behavior,” Bräutigam noted. “The Jews hate difficult labor like agriculture.”—“Indeed, Herr Doktor. Later on, under the Russian Empire, economic circumstances turned them into artisans, specializing in leather tanning and jewelry, weapon-and carpet-making; they also became merchants. But that is a recent evolution, and some Bergjuden remain farmers.”—“Like the ones that were killed near Mozdok, right?” Köstring recalled. “We never cleared up that business.” Bierkamp’s face darkened. I went on: “On the other hand, a rather convincing fact is that aside from the few rebels who joined Shamil, most of the Bergjuden in Daghestan, perhaps because of Muslim persecutions, chose the Russian side during the Caucasian wars. After the victory, the czarist authorities rewarded them with equal rights with the other Caucasian tribes, and access to administrative positions. That, of course, is more like the parasitic Jewish methods that we are familiar with. But it should be noted that most of these rights were rescinded under the Bolshevik regime. In Nalchik, since this was a Kabardo-Balkar autonomous republic, all the positions that weren’t given to Russians or to Soviet Jews were distributed to the two titular peoples; the Bergjuden, here, mostly did not participate in the administration, aside from a few archivists and minor functionaries. It would be interesting to observe the situation in Daghestan.” I ended by citing Weseloh’s ethnological observations. “They don’t seem to contradict our own,” Weintrop grumbled. “No, Herr Major. They are complementary.”—“On the other hand,” Rehrl murmured pensively, “the bulk of your information is not very compatible with the thesis of a Khazar or Turkish origin. Nonetheless, I believe it’s solid. Even your Miller…” Köstring interrupted him, coughing: “We are all very impressed by the erudition shown by the specialists from the SS,” he said unctuously, addressing Bierkamp, “but your conclusions don’t seem very different to me from those of the Wehrmacht, wouldn’t you say?” Bierkamp seemed furious and worried now; he was chewing his lip: “As we have pointed out, Herr General, purely scientific observations remain very abstract. You have to add them to the observations provided by the work of the Sicherheitspolizei. That’s what makes us conclude that we are dealing here with a racially dangerous enemy.”—“Excuse me, Herr Oberführer,” Bräutigam intervened. “I am not convinced of that.”—“That’s because you’re a civilian and have a civilian point of view, Herr Doktor,” Bierkamp dryly retorted. “It is not by chance that the Führer thought fit to entrust matters of the Reich’s security to the SS. There is also a question of Weltanschauung here.”—“No one here is calling into question the competence of the Sicherheitspolizei or the SS, Oberführer,” Köstring continued with his slow, paternal voice. “Your forces are precious auxiliaries for the Wehrmacht. Nevertheless, the military administration, which is also the result of a decision made by the Führer, must consider all aspects of the question. Politically, an action that is not completely justified against the Bergjuden would harm us. There would have to be urgent considerations to counterbalance that. Oberst von Gilsa, what is the opinion of the Abwehr as to the level of risk posed by this population?”—“The question was already brought up during our first conference on the subject, Herr General, in Voroshilovsk. Since then, the Abwehr has been attentively observing the Bergjuden. As of today, we haven’t noticed the slightest trace of subversive activity. No contact with partisans, no sabotage, no espionage, nothing. If only all the other populations would stay so quiet, our task here would be made much easier.”—“The SP believes you shouldn’t wait for the crime, but prevent it,” Bierkamp furiously objected.—“Indeed,” said von Bittenfeld, “but in a preventive intervention, you have to weigh the benefits and the risks.”—“In short,” Köstring went on, “if there is a risk from the Bergjuden, it is not immediate?”—“No, Herr General,” von Gilsa confirmed. “Not in the Abwehr’s opinion.”—“So there’s still the racial question,” said Köstring. “We have heard a lot of arguments. But I think you will all agree that none of them was fully conclusive either way.” He paused and rubbed his cheek. “It seems to me that we lack data. It is true that Nalchik is not the natural habitat of these Bergjuden, which certainly deforms the perspective. So I suggest that we put off the question until our occupation of Daghestan. On-site, in their original habitat, our researchers should be able to find more convincing elements. We will organize another commission, then.” He turned to Korsemann. “What do you think, Brigadeführer?” Korsemann hesitated, glanced sideways at Bierkamp, hesitated again and said, “I don’t see any objection to that, Herr General. That seems to me to satisfy the interests of all parties involved, including the SS. Isn’t that right, Oberführer?” Bierkamp took a moment to reply: “If you think so, Brigadeführer.”—“Of course,” Köstring added in his friendly manner, “in the meantime, we will watch them closely. Oberführer, I am also counting on the vigilance of your Sonderkommando. If they become insolent or make contact with the partisans, that’s it. Doktor Bräutigam?” Bräutigam’s voice was more nasal than ever: “The Ostministerium has no objection to your entirely reasonable proposition, Herr General. I think we should also thank the specialists, some of whom have come here all the way from the Reich, for their remarkable work.”—“Absolutely, absolutely,” Köstring agreed. “Doktor Rehrl, Major Weintrop, Hauptsturmführer Aue, our congratulations, as well as to your colleagues.” Everyone applauded. People were standing up in a noise of chairs scraping and papers shuffling. Bräutigam skirted round the table and came to shake my hand: “Very good work, Hauptsturmführer.” He turned to Rehrclass="underline" “Of course, the Khazar thesis can still be defended.”—“Oh,” said Rehrl, “we’ll see in Daghestan. I’m sure that we’ll find more proofs there, archeological remains.” I looked at Bierkamp, who had gone off to join Korsemann and who was speaking to him quickly in a low voice, gesturing with his hand. Köstring was standing and talking with von Gilsa and the Oberst from the AOK. I exchanged a few more words with Bräutigam and then gathered my files together and headed to the antechamber, where Bierkamp and Korsemann were already waiting. Bierkamp eyed me angrily: “I thought you cared more about the interests of the SS, Hauptsturmführer.” I didn’t let myself get flustered: “Oberführer, I did not omit one single proof of their Jewishness.”—“You could have presented your arguments more clearly. With less ambiguity.” Korsemann intervened with his jerky voice: “I don’t see what you are reproaching him for, Oberführer. He did very well. What’s more, the General congratulated him, twice.” Bierkamp shrugged his shoulders: “I wonder if Prill was right, after all.” I didn’t reply. Behind us, the other attendees were coming out. “Do you have any other instructions for me, Oberführer?” I finally asked. He gestured vaguely with his hand: “No. Not now.” I saluted him and went out behind von Gilsa.