Potsdam Station by David Downing Read Free Book Online

selected model workers at tractor assembly plants. Anything else would be forbidden.
    ‘Do you have anything you would like to see?’ Platonov asked. ‘A collective farm, perhaps.’ He sounded every inch the caring host, but his companion’s face told a different story.
    ‘I would like to see Berlin with the Red Army,’ Russell said, tiring of the game and switching to Russian. ‘The rest of the world should know who really defeated the Germans.’
    Flattery made no impression. ‘There is no possibility of that,’ Platonov replied calmly in English. ‘We have strict rules – only Soviet journalists are allowed with Soviet forces. We cannot be responsible for the safety of foreign journalists in a war zone. That is quite impossible.’
    ‘I…’ Russell began.
    ‘What makes you so certain that the Red Army will reach Berlin ahead of the Americans?’ Leselidze asked him in Russian. Platonov slumped back in his chair, as if relieved that his part was over.
    Russell answered in the same language. ‘About ten days ago General Eisenhower wrote a personal letter to Comrade Stalin. He told the Generalissimo that the Allied armies would not be advancing on Berlin, that their next moves would be towards Hamburg in the north, Leipzig in the centre and Munich in the south.’
    Leselidze smiled. ‘I was unaware that the details of this letter had been made public in the West. But that is not important. What matters is whether General Eisenhower was speaking the truth. We know that Churchill wants Berlin, and that all the generals do too, both British and American. Why should Eisenhower be any different? He’s a general; he must want the glory which goes with the biggest prize. So why does he tell us he doesn’t?’ The Russian leaned forward in his seat, as if eager to hear Russell’s answer.
    ‘You’re mistaken,’ Russell told him. ‘You don’t understand how things work in the West. The war is effectively won, but a lot more soldiers are going to die before it ends, and the US government would rather they were Russians than Americans. The occupation zones have already been agreed, so they don’t see any point in sacrificing lives for territory that they’ll have to hand back. And on top of all that, they’ve got this ridiculous bee in their bonnets about diehard Nazis heading south to the Alps, where they’ve supposedly built a fortress to end all fortresses.’
    Leselidze shook his head. ‘You are clever enough to see through this, but your leaders are not?’
    ‘I know the Nazis better than they do. If Hitler and his disciples knew how to plan ahead they might have won the damn war. And one last thing. Eisenhower loathes Montgomery, who would have to be given a leading role in any advance on Berlin. Believe me, Ike would rather let Zhukov take the prize than give Monty that sort of glory.’
    Leselidze sat back in his seat, still looking less than convinced. ‘Very interesting. Thank you, Mr Russell. But, as Comrade Platonov has explained to you, the policy forbidding journalists from travelling with Soviet forces is an extremely strict one. So…’
    ‘I’m sure it’s a very good policy. But it would be in your interests to make an exception in my case.’
    Leselidze looked blank. ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘Comrade Leselidze, I have personal reasons for wanting to enter Berlin with the Red Army. My wife and child are probably in the city. My wife, who helped me escape from Germany in 1941, has been a fugitive from the Gestapo for more than three years. And now the Red Army is coming. The soldiers have all read Comrade Simonov’s articles calling for punishment of the German people…’
    ‘Yes, yes. But Comrade Stalin has now issued an order calling for the troops to only punish Nazis…’
    ‘I know. And a very wise order it is. But after what the Germans did to your country and your people, an army of saints would be out for revenge. And while I can appreciate that, I still want to protect