Chapter 64: The SS

At night, at an inconspicuous building at 129 Potsdam Street. In the dim room, various kinds of fitness equipment were scattered about. A few dumbbells were tossed in a corner, and a fencing sword hung on the wall.

Everything was so quiet, as if the place had been deserted for a long time. “Ring, ring, ring.” The telephone suddenly rang. A tall, sturdily built man leaped up from the bed and impatiently snatched the phone.

“You don’t blame me for kicking you out of the navy and leaving you in a place no one cares about for a whole year, do you?” the voice on the other end asked immediately.

“No. I know you were preparing a brand new start for me, a rebirth,” the man said with great gratitude. “Thank you for trusting me.”

“Are you ready?” On the other end of the line, Akado’s voice was somewhat hoarse. It seemed he hadn’t had a proper rest in a long time. “Ready to serve me with your life?”

“Of course! I was ready a year ago! But you never called me!” The man’s eyes were deep-set in their sockets, and his blond hair shone brightly. He looked a lot like Akado; both were typical Germanic men, except he was more than just a little bit more handsome than Akado. In terms of looks alone, he was practically the benchmark for Germanic males.

“A year ago, only your body was ready. I gave you a year to get your mind ready too,” Akado said with a laugh. “You’ve read all the materials I gave you, right?”

“I’ve read them all, and I understand them all. And as you instructed, I burned all the documents after memorizing them. I only have one last question—why did you choose me back then?” the man asked.

“Because you are outstanding,” Akado said. “To me, you are outstanding enough and can be entrusted with important responsibilities. This is the value of your existence. You must remember my words well, and don’t let me feel one day that you are useless. I can give you everything, and I can also take it all away.”

“I understand,” the man said solemnly. “Loyal to the Greater Germany Party, and loyal to you alone.”

“In that case, you will now execute Plan D. Come to the Reichswehr High Command immediately! I will personally deploy the mission to you, Mr. Reinhard Heydrich,” Akado said.

“Long live Akado Rudolph!” Even though he was only speaking into the phone, the man still stood up, came to attention, and gave a standard German salute.

“There are 300 Reichswehr officers here who are about to be discharged. They are to be properly placed in the new organization you are forming. In addition, there are another 4,000 people who have passed strict vetting and are also to be absorbed. These are all discharged officers, qualified intelligence personnel, combat veterans, and outstanding soldiers like you who were discharged by me from the Reichswehr,” Akado said. The moment they met, he wasted no time and immediately gave Reinhard Heydrich his mission.

“Isn’t the number of people a bit too large? For a newly formed organization to have a scale of nearly 4,500 people?” Heydrich asked with a frown, seeming somewhat concerned. “You should know, I was just a lowly naval officer and have never led so many people.”

“Too many?” Akado smiled and looked at his trusted subordinate, Lieutenant Colonel Gascoigne, beside him. “You tell him about our next plan.”

“Yes, General, sir. We plan to separate the internal espionage organization of the Reichswehr, the Gestapo, and merge it with the men under your command to form a brand new super-intelligence agency with overall control, including the entire country’s secret police and the supervision and investigation of officials within the Greater Germany Party. This agency will be named the Gestapo. This Gestapo will be handed over to you to command. As for the number of people, well, it will be over 100,000,” Gascoigne said solemnly after standing at attention and saluting.

“It is indeed over 100,000. I will have Gascoigne gradually transition the intelligence department of the Reichswehr into your hands. I believe you can do a better job,” Akado said, taking over with a smile.

“Thank you! Thank you for your trust in me! I will definitely do everything well! I swear on my life to you,” Reinhard Heydrich said to Akado with a German salute.

“Don’t be so quick to thank me. These things are too important. Lieutenant Colonel Gascoigne will gradually hand these personnel over to you with my consent. But what you need to do now is to organize a guard unit that can protect the propaganda efforts of the Greater Germany Party,” Akado said with a smile.

“Yes, sir! I will surely eliminate all your enemies,” Reinhard Heydrich said, standing at attention again.

“The new organization will have a brand-new set of uniforms,” Akado said proudly, pointing to a uniform hanging on a coat rack by the wall. “It’s not a completely new design. The style is similar to the Reichswehr officer’s dress uniform, but it’s black.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the insignia on the collar. “Two ‘S’s, representing two bolts of victory lightning! The SS will prove its worth with loyalty and victory. Protect the Greater Germany Party, and protect me!”

“Long live Akado Rudolph!” Heydrich answered loudly.

“The SS will be issued weapons. The Luger P-08 pistols being phased out by the army for the new P-38 pistols will mostly be transferred to you, for you to equip the SS. In addition, the SS will be equipped with the army’s standard issue Mauser 98k rifle. In other words, once you receive your weapons, you will be no different from the Reichswehr. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Understood, General, sir! The SS will become the sword in your hand, the shield on your chest, the bullet that pierces the hearts of your enemies,” Heydrich became more and more excited. The future of the SS was boundlessly broad, which meant his own future was incomparably bright. What could compare to following a strong man to the pinnacle of power?

…

In the afternoon at the barracks, although it was already autumn, the sun was still blazing. Several soldiers were arguing in front of their officer. “On what grounds! On what grounds are we being discharged when we haven’t reached our retirement time? What mistake have we made!”

“On what grounds? Because during yesterday’s surprise inspection, Nazi Party membership cards were found among your personal belongings. Therefore, you are discharged,” the officer said with an impartial expression. He paced two steps with his hands behind his back before continuing.

“But in our company, many people have joined the Greater Germany Party! The constitution stipulates freedom of belief! You can’t discriminate against us,” a second lieutenant shouted. Several soldiers behind him nodded in agreement. “That’s right! You can’t discharge us.”

The officer gave a contemptuous smile. “Heh heh, how can the Greater Germany Party be compared to the tiny Nazi Party? Joining the Greater Germany Party is permitted, but joining the Nazi Party is a violation of military discipline. Therefore, you are discharged.”

The officer glanced at the few men and then said with a wicked smile, “Of course, if you gentlemen are dissatisfied, you can go to the regimental headquarters to file a complaint against me. You are welcome at any time.”

“You…!” The second lieutenant seemed somewhat hysterical.

“You? You what? Right now, I am asking you to get out. If you continue with this nonsense, I will have people throw you out! Scram!” The officer’s face changed, and he cursed viciously. “You ungrateful things! We ask you to quit the party, and you think we’re afraid of you? You still dare to recruit Nazi Party members in the barracks? You’ve got the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard, haven’t you? You’re looking for death!”

The moment his voice fell, two rows of soldiers carrying Mauser 98k rifles stepped forward, raised their rifles, and used their rifle butts to knock the few men to the ground. Dust instantly filled the air. The men dared not curse anymore and could only scramble away towards the barracks gate.

On the other side of the parade ground, in front of a neat line of soldiers, the regimental commander was personally pinning medals on each man’s chest. “From now on, your service is complete. You are about to walk out of this barracks where you have lived for more than 5 years! It is my honor to issue you your service medals!”

“Long live the Greater Germany Party!” all the men replied forcefully.

“Retiring from the Reichswehr does not mean your mission is over. On the contrary, you will be dispatched by the Party! By the nation! To places where you are needed more,” the commander continued. “From this moment on, the will of the Party will be with you.”

Behind him, an officer in a strange black military uniform walked up. His sturdy figure made the straight uniform look exceptionally handsome. His military cap was slightly askew, but it was clear he wore it that way deliberately, making the officer seem less rigid and more fashionable.

He walked forward and, facing these soldiers who were about to be discharged, smiled slightly before beginning his speech. “The fact that you can stand here means you have all read the document and accepted it. From today on, you will join the sacred Greater Germany SS. From today on, you will serve only one person, and worship this person as a god in your hearts. May the glory of Greater Germany shine upon you all forever.”

“Swoosh.” A national flag was unfurled in front of the line. Several leading officers placed their left hands on the flag, held up three fingers of their right hands to the sky, and at the same time, swore a loud oath, “I, [Name], hereby swear today my allegiance to the Greater Germany Party, my unconditional loyalty to Akado Rudolph personally, and I will dedicate my blood and life to him, with men and gods as my witness.”

All the soldiers held up their right hands and similarly swore a solemn oath to the flag, “I, [Name], hereby pledge my loyalty to the Greater Germany Party today, my unconditional loyalty to Akado Rudolph personally…”

“Gentlemen, put on this special uniform. From now on, we are the personal guard of General Akado Rudolph. We will only listen to the command of one person, only obey the orders of one person. We have only one purpose for our existence, and that is to make the enemies of Akado Rudolph regret ever coming into this world,” Reinhard Heydrich said solemnly.

“Long live Akado Rudolph!” All the men held up their right hands, stood at attention, and gave a German salute.

On September 30, 1926, the German Greater Germany SS was formally established in the suburbs of Berlin, with Reinhard Heydrich as its commander.