Part Two: The Hours Before Dawn

The time has come.
The Realm will rise again.
Will freedom ever come?
It all depends on the men who used to be direst foes.
There is a shadow in the East.
And a faint ray of hope.

Introduction

This is the second part of the Alternate History trilogy The Darkest Night of All. If you haven't read the first part, Darkness Falling, don't panic. I'm giving a summary here. If you have read Darkness Falling, you can skip it and head straight for the notes below or, if you're impatient already, the story (except if you feeling you need a bit of refreshing your memory or are a very devoted fan and expect a dedication *g*).

April 30th 1945: The inhabitants of Hitler's bunker know that they are doomed. However, the schisma between the Allied Forces that Goebbels has predicted has indeed come. The armies of the West are now at war with Stalin. Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, will not suffer such valuable prisoners as Hitler and his closest men in the Soviets' hands. In a dangerous mission they are taken to England, where they are kept prisoners.

In a little house well outside London, heavily guarded, they all are now assembled: Adolf Hitler himself with Blondi, his dog. Minister for Propaganda Joseph Goebbels with his wife Magda and his six children Helga, Hilde, Hellmuth, Holde, Hedda and Heide. Supreme Marshal Hermann Göring with his wife Emmy and his daughter Edda. Foreign Minister Baron Joachim von Ribbentrop. Hitler's deputy man Rudolf Hess, prisoner since 1941 already, now with his wife Ilse and his son Wolf-Rüdiger. General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the famous Desert Fox, with his wife Lucie and his son Manfred. Hitler's private secretary Martin Bormann. SS General Hermann Fegelein. Communications officer Rochus Misch. Some more members of staff. And a very special secretary: Eva Braun, or rather Eva Hitler – she has married the Leader on the very night of their departure from Berlin. However, Hitler prefers to keep this secret.

Because the war in the East is pressing business, Churchill wants some kind of treaty with Germany quickly. He would like the fallen Realm to act as a kind of bulwark where the war can be fought. German help would also be welcome. Bringing Hitler and his cronies to justice can wait. On the German side, Goebbels is leading the negotiations, though bringing in his own designs. As he hears of riots against England from the Middle East to India, he offers Churchill the service of General Rommel. Churchill accepts. When Churchill hears that SS Realm Leader Heinrich Himmler has also been caught, a plan begins to form in his mind. However, Himmler's right hand man Reinhard Heydrich and Heydrich's right hand man Ernst Kaltenbrunner still elude capture.

Rommel, opposed to Hitler's regime, is trying to draw Goebbels to his side. He takes his friend along to North Africa to withdraw him from Hitler's influence for some time.

And there is still Roland Freisler, president of the National Court, Rommel's mortal enemy, who is currently trying his luck with the Soviets…

Notes:

The spelling: I'm using the normal German spelling for all the names, except in the case of Rudolf Hess. He actually wrote his name as "Heß" (with a so-called "sharp s"). But since I'm not sure if all computers from across the sea can read this sign I'm using this spelling, which is moreover very common in Zürich, Switzerland, where Rudolf's family has its origin.

The translation of names: Since I don't like part-German part-English texts and since I assume not all of you understand German, I've translated everything. I'm not using the common English term "Third Reich" (which sounds somewhat ridiculous to someone of German mothertongue), but "Third Realm" instead. I've dropped the prefix Reichs- (as in Reichsminister, Reichsautobahn, Reichspost etc.) except in two cases: Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring became the Supreme Marshal; Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler is the SS Realm Leader (this way he cannot be confused with The Leader). The prefix Volks- and similar adjectives are translated with "national"; the newspaper Völkischer Beobachter is the National Observer, Freisler's Volksgerichtshof is the National Court (despite the dictionary from 1943 suggesting People's Court). Instead of the special SS ranks I'm using the corresponding army ranks; Heydrich is simply General instead of Obergruppenführer, Mengele is Captain instead of Hauptsturmführer.

You will find some passages (song lines etc) in German, or maybe some other languages, like for example Italian, Latin or Ancient Greek. Don't panic, it won't be much and you'll find a translation on the review board.

This story is dedicated to Sisto, Mel, Fidelia, Pink, Drache, Heinrich and all my other faithful readers, to Brad, who wanted to meet Rosenberg, and to my sister Mia, who helped me a great deal.