Mendelssohn is on the Roof by Jiří Weil Read Free Book Online Page A

show them what a front-line soldier was made of.
    Krug greeted Wancke ceremoniously, right arm outstretched , loudly pronouncing the required greeting. Lamely Schlesinger tried to imitate him. But he didn’t dare go too far. He didn’t feel sure of himself in the SS barracks. Wancke responded to the greeting in a lackadaisical manner, and inspected his visitors. They looked pretty well fed. It wouldn’t harm them to get a little exercise on the front and enjoy the nice Eastern frosts. Krug tried using
Kamerad
, but Wancke cut him off angrily.
    ‘I’m SS Untersturmführer to you.’ Obviously Krug’s uniform did him no good at all.
    He broached the subject of his visit cautiously. They had received an order in the name of the Acting Reich Protector to remove a statue of the Jewish composer Mendelssohn from the balustrade of the Rudolfinum.
    ‘Don’t know. Never heard of him,’ said Wancke.
    ‘Yes, but the Acting Reich Protector does know this statue and demands that it be removed immediately. He sent SS candidate Schlesinger there with two Czech helpers. But they couldn’t find the statue because there are no inscriptions on any of them. They decided to look for help at the SS barracks.’
    ‘I don’t understand what you actually want from us. We’re not in charge of pursuing Jews here in the Protectorate. There are other bureaus for that, the Gestapo on Bredovska Street and the Security Police in Stresovice. You should try them.’
    Krug explained: he couldn’t try the Security Police because he wasn’t even authorised to speak to them. That was a secret bureau with direct lines to Berlin. And the Gestapo was a little out of the way. He needed help immediately. Giesse from the Reich Protector’s office kept calling every minute to see if the statue had been torn down. If the Untersturmführer would be so kind, they could carry out the order immediately.
    ‘What’s that? The nerve!’ screamed Wancke. ‘Are you suggesting that the Elite Guard is here for the purpose of finding the statue of some Jew or other? You can take that job and shove it …’
    ‘Oh no,’ continued Krug meekly, ‘it would be enough for the Untersturmführer to send someone to the JewishCommunity to drag out some learned Jew or other. Then they could take him to the roof and have him identify the statue.’
    ‘Well now,’ said Wancke thoughtfully, ‘you fellows at Municipal live like pigs in clover. Tit for tat, gentlemen. How about some cigarettes, whisky and chocolate? But it better be first-rate. No imitations.’
    Krug began to waffle. He was only a lower official. He lived on rations just like anyone else. If he made a tremendous effort he might scout up something, maybe whisky.
    ‘No excuses,’ Wancke interrupted him. ‘Either we get what we want or nothing doing. Nothing’s free except death. And even that’s not always true, because cartridges cost money.’
    Finally Krug gave up. There was no sense haggling with Wancke. These people were used to giving orders.
    ‘I’ll get you some, Herr Untersturmführer.’
    ‘You’d better,’ said Wancke.
    Each of them was busy thinking. Krug was planning to wring it all out of Schlesinger, even if that fellow had to give up his pay for the month. The whole thing was his fault, and he should be grateful to him, Krug, for begging at the SS for him. Schlesinger would pay for this humiliating experience.
    Wancke decided to send Schulze II. He was an idiot, but he had brains enough to go to the Community to get a Jew. The main thing was that he wouldn’t ask any questions and so there’d be no need to share anything with him. At most he’d give him a glass of whisky. Actually, there was very little risk connected with this sort of thing. Of course, the Stresovice people might make trouble. This actually fell under their jurisdiction, because the Jews and theirproperty belonged to them and they didn’t intend to share them with anyone. The Security Police wouldn’t make