In the Shadow of His Wings

Chapter 43

"We're gonna have to work our way around this. Excuse the chaos, but as you know, only a week has passed since the American airstrike and the reconstruction will definitely take some time," the tall man said as he walked ahead. You did your best to keep up with his fast steps.

"Yes... I understand," you replied.

Since this was probably an official close to Hitler himself, you decided to question him a little about the war to satisfy your curiosity.

"Tell me, Herr Günsche... is the current situation really that bad? I mean, our position in the war?"

He sighed. "Well, to be honest, yes. The situation is very bad. Ever since Stalingrad, the tables have turned for us."

"What? In school they told us that what happened in Stalingrad was a... brave defense of the Western world."

He was silent for a couple of seconds. "Ask our minister of propaganda about that," he eventually said. "You'll meet him soon enough in case you get the job. Talking of that... you said you were still in school when Stalingrad happened? That was in early 1943. May I ask, how old are you now?"

"I'm eighteen, turning nineteen this year."

He gave a small nod. "Very young, indeed."

"Yes, I suppose... Do you... think the Führer will like me? Is there anything I need to mind?"

"Well, pay attention to respecting him. Address him as 'mein Führer' in any case, this should be clear. Greet him with 'Heil, mein Führer'. Every one of us has to follow these rules. I think the salute is not necessary in your case. And apart from that... just be yourself. I'm sure he'll like you."

"Okay. Thank you."

You were now approaching a small concrete building on the side of the Reich Chancellery garden. Günsche opened the door for you and told you to just go down the stairs. You thanked him and did as you were told. You heard his bootsteps following you.

The stairs led to a small lock space. The floor was made out of stoneware tiles and the walls were white, making it look like a bathroom. A cool draught blew around your nose. Unsure where to go next, you turned around to Günsche.

"I will go ahead. Just follow me," he said.

You followed him into the next room, which was similar to the previous one, just a little wider. Two uniformed men, who supposedly had the task to keep watch over the entrance, stood in it. Both you and Günsche greeted them with quick "Heil"s before advancing through a door on the left. After another interstice it led to some kind of waiting room. Günsche stopped there and turned to you.

"Wait here," he said. "I'll be back in a second."

You nodded and took a seat on one of the chairs by the wall. Günsche disappeared behind a door.

You had to admit that you were pretty nervous. After all you were about to meet the most important man in the Reich. You wondered what your parents would say if they knew you were here. Even though they were not necessarily convinced National Socialists, they would surely be proud.

It didn't take long until Günsche returned. Your heart started to beat faster as you got up and walked over to him. The door he had entered appeared to lead to a small anteroom. The anteroom to Hitler's office.

"Alright, you can go in, young lady. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you, Herr Günsche."

He bowed slightly before walking away. You took a deep breath, then carefully pushed open the wooden door.

The first thing you saw was a desk with a reading lamp and a typewriter on it right next to the door. As you opened it fully, your eyes drifted over to the middle of the room. And there he was: The Führer of the German Reich, casually sitting on a sofa. He looked just like on the propaganda leaflets you had seen, just that he was... older now.

The man who was responsible for everything that happened in the concentration camps. The man who was responsible for Esther and so many other people being prisoners because of their beliefs. And he was also responsible for the misunderstanding in your case. You gulped. What would he say if I still had the tattoo on my arm?

"H-Heil, mein Führer," you stammered out.

A smile appeared on Hitler's face. He got up from the sofa and walked over to you. Still smiling, he held out his hand and you took it. He shook it firmly.

"Guten Abend, junge Dame," he greeted you. "I've been waiting for you to arrive. Why don't you take a seat." His voice was very calm and friendly, not at all the way it was when he gave a speech.

You nodded, walked over to one of the chairs by the sofa and sat down on it. Hitler closed the door, then joined you.

"Now tell me, young lady... what is your name?"

"(Y/N) (L/N), mein Führer."

He gave a small nod. "And... where are you from?"

"I am originally from Rosenheim, but due to some... unpleasant circumstances, I had to move away."

"Rosenheim, soso. A Bavarian girl."

"Yes." You smiled a little.

"You're very young, aren't you? How old are you?" he asked.

"I'm almost nineteen years old, mein Führer."

"Only nineteen... I have to say, you would be the youngest secretary I ever had. But your age won't be a deciding factor. And... why do you want this job? Do you have any work experience?"

"Well... unfortunately I don't, but my parents have taught me how to use a typewriter at a young age and I think a post as a secretary would be quite suitable for me. Plus it would be a great honor to work for you."

He smiled again. To be honest, you already started to like him. He seemed to be a very polite and amicable man, contrary to your expectations in the first place.

"Very well then. Would you mind proving your skills?" he asked, pointing at the desk.

"I would be more than happy to, mein Führer."

You went over to the desk and inserted an empty sheet of paper into the typewriter. As you were ready to type, Hitler spoke up behind you.

"You don't have to be nervous, I make so many mistakes when I dictate, you could never make as many," Hitler reassured you. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Meine deutschen Volksgenossen und Volksgenossinnen..."*

~

A couple of minutes later. Even though Hitler had dictated the text quite fast and the feeling of being under pressure had made you pretty nervous, you had managed to type everything down. You could tell that you had made some mistakes, but you hoped there weren't too many of them.

"Well, then let me see," Hitler said as he came up behind you.

You took the paper out and gave it to him. He read it silently with his glasses, occasionally commenting it with a "Mhm". Eventually he put the paper down and looked at you. "That does look very good, Fräulein."

"Danke," you said. "So, what now? Do I have the job?"

Silence followed. You got a little scared that your question might have been a bit overhasty. Hitler took off his glasses, apparently thinking. After some time, he spoke up.

"You know what... I have a lot of important things to do during those critical times and everything is going fast. I can't possibly dedicate much of my time to finding a new secretary, and you seem to be very suited for this position. I'm going to give you the job."