The Night of the Generals Page #11

in Warsaw with General Tanz.

And I resent those

cheap journalists

who try to make him out to be

some sort of inhuman monster.

He was not.

[SPEAKS IN SPANISH]

Forgive me, inspector.

We hire a lot of foreigners

nowadays.

We can't get Germans

any more, not for real work.

I've seen General Tanz in the field,

with the wounded, the dying.

He was extraordinary.

Compassionate, gentle.

Do you know that after Leningrad,

Hitler ordered the general

not to expose himself to enemy fire.

Of course, he found this

a great hardship.

He was only happy in battle.

Yes?

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Ah, gracias. Gracias.

I'm also learning Spanish.

Well, soon everything

will be automated.

Except the manager, of course.

And then in July 1944,

we were transferred to Paris.

The Allies were

in Normandy by then

and Hitler ordered us to stop them

in front of Paris.

We nearly did too, except that

the army was betrayed, as usual.

But we mustn't talk politics.

It's bad for business, isn't it?

You asked me about Paris.

It was a paradise to us,

particularly after Russia.

I remember that summer

as though it were yesterday.

The empty streets,

the heat, the quiet.

Everything cheap.

By the way, I was in Paris last

summer, and my God, the prices.

When they gave me my hotel bill,

I couldn't believe it.

But in July '44,

Paris was still our city.

I suppose that's a tactless thing

to say, but we did love Paris.

In any case, General Tanz and I

were due to arrive on July 20th.

But at the last moment, the general

decided to come a few days early.

So I sent a messenger to 7th Corps

headquarters at Versailles

to say that we would be in Paris

on the 17th.

I think you know why I'm giving you

the exact dates.

As it turned out, it was a good thing

we arrived when we did.

However, there were those

who were not at all pleased

to learn of our early arrival.

Thank you, that will be all.

Heil Hitler.

Heil Hitler.

Oh, I shall be with General Gabler

in the War Room.

What about my pass?

Is it all right?

For God's sake, relax!

Operation Hartmann, phase one,

will begin tomorrow, 18 July, at 0915

when the lance corporal

reports to the railway station.

With a car.

With a car duly requisitioned

from the motor pool.

Phase two, the lance corporal

will then meet the secret consignment

from Berlin.

Then?

Then phase three.

A 24-hour pass for the lance corporal

will begin tomorrow at noon.

You've got it?

Here.

A corporal and

a general's daughter.

You know, you really are

asking for trouble.

But it's your funeral, not mine!

The British second army

has been advancing towards the left,

trying to cut off two of our panzer

divisions from our main supply route.

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