1945 by William R. Forstchen, Newt Gingrich, Albert S. Hanser Read Free Book Online

was already won. The result was inevitable. In '43 Russia threw in the towel, the Churchill government collapsed, and shortly thereafter England agreed to a remarkably lenient armistice.
    A happy Congress breathed a sigh of relief and congratulated itself for steadfastly ignoring Roosevelt's urgent suggestion after Pearl Harbor to move more forcefully to the aid of England—to say nothing of aiding the Communists. The military, of course, was pleased with the result as well, since they could concentrate fully on the Japanese. This was especially true for the Navy; the total conquest and absolute submission of the Japanese was a personal thing for every American sailor from King and Nimitz on down.
    So now it is I who must deal with this man.
    "How do you come to speak such fluent German?" Hitler finally asked, in heavily accented English.
    "I studied at Heidelberg before the First War," Harrison replied. "Given world events, it seemed a good idea to maintain fluency."
    "Good! My English is terrible," Hitler responded in his own language. Apparently now satisfied with Harrisons linguistic abilities, Hitler nodded a curt dismissal to the uniformed aide who had entered with him.
    Harrison motioned to the small round table by the fire. Hitler preceded him to it and sat down.
    "So. Did you like Heidelberg?" Hitler asked.
    "It was one of the happier times of my life. I stayed in touch with several of my professors after the war, until they were arrested in '34."
    "Student days," Hitler said with a sigh, ignoring the hint of anger. "I never had them. My school was the trenches of Verdun and the Somme."
    "I was in those trenches too," Harrison replied coolly. "Perhaps we ... saw one another."
    "No, no, I never saw an American unit." He waved his hand dismissively. "So what did you learn of us Germans? At school, I mean."
    "I learned that the German passion for organized efficiency is the most intense of any people on the planet."
    Hitler smiled. "That includes military efficiency."
    "Yes. For good or ill, Germans are very efficient."
    "You studied history, didn't you?"
    "Yes. I specialized in 19th-century Germany, as it happens."
    Could it be that Hitler had not immersed himself in the personal history of the American president he was about to meet? On reflection Harrison decided it was not possible. So what was he trying to accomplish with this? Soften him up with kindness and attention after the initial insult of being forty-five minutes late? God knew that tyrants had underestimated America and its leaders before, but this was ridiculous.
    "Why are you not then a professor?"
    "Oh, I was years from my doctorate, not even sure I wanted one. An opportunity for foreign study had come up and I took it, is all. Then came the war. Like you, I was gassed and spent nearly a year in the hospital. By the time I came home I had become more focused on practical things. I completed my Bachelors and that was that."
    The President laughed inwardly. What harm in letting Hitler think he was cozened? It was plausible enough. Other world leaders had fallen for the Hitlerian charm, and Americans were notorious suckers for pretended empathy.
    At that moment, however, Hitler again changed tack. "If you know our history, then you know why we must be efficient at war. We have no natural boundaries. Only the strength of our army stands between us and the East. As it was in Fredericks time, so it remains today. We are the guardians of the West. The world should not forget that.
    "As to the land we took, it was being used haphazardly; we have already doubled prewar crop production in Poland and will do far better in Russia. It was our destiny to control those lands."
    "Are you presenting a justification for your conquests?"
    Hitler smiled. "I don't need to justify an accomplished fact, any more than you Americans need to justify to me your treatment of your Indians. We control Russia to the Volga, except for the pocket we permitted Stalin around Moscow and