‘Jawohl, Obersturmführer. I do, every day.’
With that the guard clicked his heels and saluted again, and both men continued on their patrol, leaving Johann to finish crossing the courtyard, now with a degree of reassurance that his presence at the camp had not so far raised suspicion. All the same, as he neared the first of the SS residential houses he was heading for, he thought he’d better not take any chances, so when he was sure no one could see him, he slipped back into the shadows of the trees that he’d noticed some of the houses backed on to. He recalled that on his previous visit, Volker had taken him through a gate to show him the SS officer housing. There had been guards at the gate then, and Johann supposed there would be now. He also thought they would be far more inquisitive than the two guards he had just met if he attempted to walk nonchalantly past them.
Johann soon came to a brick wall that was about eight feet high, which he imagined ran along the line of houses he was trying to reach. Assessing the situation, he saw that there was no barbed wire running along the wall, and he thought it would be easy enough to climb. He wondered then whether this wall was regularly patrolled by the guards. He suspected it was to some degree, but high security had clearly not been deemed necessary here, because again, he doubted those in charge of camp security expected anyone would wish to break in to the residential area beyond.
Johann looked along the wall and listened for signs of activity. He found none. The further along he went, the more dense the trees became until it was difficult to see anything at all in the darkness. He knew that Volker’s residence was at the end of the line of houses he was moving perpendicular to, and as he followed the wall, using his fingertips to guide him, it occurred to him that the higher up the chain of command you were the further you lived from the sounds and smells of the concentration camp.
When the wall turned to his left, he thought he must have gone far enough, so he stopped and listened for activity again. Once he was sure there was no one around, he leapt at the wall and pulled himself up. He didn’t dare linger for a moment. He swung his legs over and dropped to the other side where he landed with a thump. A quick appraisal of his surroundings told him he was in a well-tended garden, partially screened from the house by several shrubs of one kind or another.
Johann remained still for several seconds in case anyone had heard him enter the garden and was drawn to the sound. Then he looked out from the shrubs and saw that he had hit his mark. To his left he saw the row of houses, some with lights at their windows, others in darkness. They were a mixture of what appeared to be semi-detached family homes between small terraces that accommodated perhaps five or six SS officers each. He could see no more houses to his right, telling him that this was the last house on the appropriately named Strasse der SS, which fronted the buildings. The house before him, a small detached building no more than twenty yards away, was Volker’s accommodation.
Johann thought there were sure to be guards in the street beyond, and perhaps even at the residence itself. He imagined that Volker, as the main camp’s Lagerführer, might even have a small staff. There was a dim light at one of the windows on the ground floor. He couldn’t know who was there for sure, but the light told him the house was not empty. Taking no chances he crawled through the garden on his belly, as if he were back at the Ostfront, until he reached the house, wondering now how he was going to get inside undetected.
He stood up with his back pressed against the wall. He was no expert at housebreaking, but he had to find a way to get inside now he was there. He stepped away and checked the windows. All appeared to be closed on both levels. There was a drainpipe that ran close to one of the upper windows, and it crossed his mind to try to climb it and break the window to gain entry, but he quickly decided that even if he made it to the window without falling, the sound of the breaking glass was sure to draw attention. This was a particularly quiet area. There was no sound here to mask his activity.