Her Hidden Life: A captivating story of history, danger and risking it all for love. V.S. Alexander

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СКАЧАТЬ Ursula was nowhere to be seen. I wondered how we could all cram inside the Teahouse. If it became too crowded, I decided, I would join Karl in the kitchen.

      Franz Faber, the young officer Ursula disappeared with the night we went for a walk to the SS barracks, joined Karl. They talked for a time until Karl saw me. He left Franz and, sporting a broad grin, whispered in my ear, ‘You look rather silly.’

      I scowled and then laughed. ‘I agree. I’ll be upset if Eva and Hoffmann are not here with their cameras.’ I looked around the room. ‘Have you seen Ursula?’

      ‘She’s making tea.’

      I glanced through the turret windows. There was no sign of Hitler, Eva or their guests. The rain had let up, so Karl and I walked outside and stood near the steps leading to the entrance, stealing a few moments together. Our quiet was interrupted by the sudden, frenzied barking of a dog. That was followed by shouts and a general commotion.

      Karl sprinted up the steps.

      I followed and peered inside the door, careful to stay out of the way. Karl, Franz and the Colonel stood near the kitchen entrance. Behind them, I saw the pale, stricken face of Ursula. She wore her costume and the apron she’d been working on. The Colonel clutched a furiously barking black shepherd. The crazed animal snapped and growled at Ursula.

      Over the uproar, Franz shouted, ‘It isn’t possible.’

      The Colonel brushed him aside, gave control of the dog to Karl and then pulled Ursula from the kitchen into the circular room. She held a silver teapot in her right hand.

      The Colonel took the teapot from Ursula and ordered her to take a cup from one of the small tables. Her hands shook as she obeyed his order.

      Franz rushed to her and said to the Colonel, ‘I’m sure this is a mistake. Fräulein Thalberg would never poison the Führer.’

      ‘Shut up,’ the Colonel commanded. ‘Get away from her.’

      Karl stared at me. Horror spread across his face. My heart pounded as I leaned against the door frame. The Colonel, still carrying the tea, grabbed Ursula roughly by the arm and pulled her down the steps of the Teahouse. He ordered her to hold out the cup; then he poured the hot liquid into it. He sniffed the steam as it rose in milky wisps in the air.

      ‘Drink it,’ he said. His lips formed a vicious smile.

      Franz stood frozen in the doorway. Karl, still restraining the barking dog, stared in disbelief.

      Ursula looked blankly at the Colonel. She lifted the cup to her lips and drank it in one draught.

      The Colonel took back the cup and waited.

      Nothing happened for a few long minutes as Ursula focused her gaze upon the ground. Then, slowly, her body convulsed. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed on the path. Franz started to run to her, but Karl and a member of the kitchen staff held him back.

      Down the path, conversation and laughter filled the air. Hitler, with a walking stick in hand, strolled ahead of his entourage. He was accompanied by Eva and the guests, no more than fifty meters from the Teahouse. She carried her camera in her quest to get photographs of the Führer. She darted ahead of him at one point to snap pictures.

      I watched in disbelief as Ursula, her skin and lips turning blue, lay unconscious on the ground. The Colonel did nothing. Cook had told me about the body coloration as one of the symptoms of cyanide poisoning. It led to an unconscious state and respiratory failure – a lack of oxygen. The convulsions, her gasps, continued until her mouth gaped open. With one final breath, her body shook and then her arms fell lifeless by her sides.

      Karl ordered the staff to stay inside, although the whole event could be seen through the Teahouse windows.

      Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler’s gray-haired photographer, rushed up and snapped a few pictures of the body. Hitler stopped the procession and motioned for the Colonel to come to him. With the teapot and cup in hand, he approached the Führer. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but after a short time Hitler turned and said something to the group. Amid looks of astonishment, they retreated and disappeared into the mist.

      The Colonel poured out the contents of the pot on the trail and addressed Karl. ‘You should have better command over your staff, Captain. Get a couple of men to take the body to the doctor’s office for an autopsy.’ He grabbed his dog’s leash. The animal wanted to sniff Ursula’s body. ‘You and Faber – in my quarters in an hour. In the meantime, make sure the Teahouse is cleaned up. No one should eat or drink anything. Keep only the items that are sealed.’ He handed Karl the teapot and the cup.

      He raised his right arm in salute. ‘Heil Hitler.’

      Karl and Franz came to attention and saluted as well. The Colonel turned toward the Berghof, pulling his dog with him. As soon as he was out of sight, Franz’s eyes brimmed with tears. Karl held his friend back while two SS men took the body away.

      ‘Go back to your room and remain there,’ he told me when I approached. ‘None of us is above suspicion.’

      The thought shook me. I took one last look inside the Teahouse with its magical furnishings. I remembered the fairy tales my mother had read to me when I was a child. They were often brutal tales ending in destruction or death. I was coming to realize how much the Reich was like a fairy tale. Death was never far away.

       CHAPTER 6

      I returned to a ransacked room. Ursula’s things had been removed. Our small closet stood open … Books and papers from the shelves had been scattered about. Shivering, I cleared a place on my bed, sat down and cried.

      I cried for myself as much as Ursula. Fear crept over me. Was there no one I could trust? What about Captain Weber? A thought jolted me. What had Karl and Ursula been talking about in the Teahouse when we visited it? Could he have known about the poison? It made no sense to me – how could Ursula have been so foolish? Was Karl an accomplice? My gloomy questions distressed me. Ursula had ended her life and put mine in danger. She was mad to think she could have ever succeeded – but I dared not think about the attempt!

      Someone knocked on the door. I wiped my tears and composed myself. I had no time to answer before I heard the turn of the doorknob. The door swung open and Cook stepped into the room. She was in great distress: her face crimped in pain, her hands clenched. She lurched about in the small space between the beds, more agitated than I’d ever seen her.

      ‘Did you know anything of this?’ She slowed her steps and paced back and forth near the door like a caged tiger.

      ‘Of course not,’ I said, and looked away. I couldn’t imagine she expected me to answer ‘yes.’

      ‘Look at me! Never avert your eyes when the SS or the Gestapo question you.’ Her face reddened. ‘You might as well admit your guilt. If you give them any indication you’re lying, they will beat you until they have what they want to hear.’

      I sobbed at her harsh words. ‘I don’t know how this happened. How could Ursula do such a thing?’

      Cook sat next to me and her voice softened. ‘I believe you knew nothing of this, but you must prove your innocence. I know Ursula suffered СКАЧАТЬ