Tatiana and Alexander: A Novel(176)

There was nowhere to go. Tatiana stepped forward. She did not smile and Stepanov did not smile at her. He stood completely still and his eyes barely blinked. The only movement his body made in acknowledgement of her was his hand gripping the edge of his desk.

"Hello, General Stepanov," she said in Russian.

"Hello, Nurse Barrington," he said. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

Her lips were shaking as she translated for the military governor. The Red Cross was offering to help disperse much needed medical help to the thousands of Germans held by the Soviets in eastern Germany. Could they have permission to administer the aid?

"I think they will need quite a lot of aid," said Stepanov. He still stood straight, but he looked older. He looked tired. There was a worn-out expression in his eyes that said he had seen too much and was finished with nearly all of it. "The camps are not run very well, I'm afraid. The Germans were taken prisoner as part of the reparations effort to help rebuild Soviet Russia, but we're finding that many of them have simply lost their will to work."

"Let us help them," said Tatiana.

Stepanov invited them to sit down. They sat. Tatiana fell into her chair. Thank God she didn't have to stand anymore. "There is a real problem, unfortunately," Stepanov said, "and I don't know if your little parcels are going to do the trick here. There is a growing hatred toward the German prisoners in Berlin and the surrounding areas, a lack of the military discipline essential for running the camps properly, no training for our prison guards, no experience. This all provokes an endless cycle of crime--escape, resistance to the guards and violence. The political costs are quite harsh. Many German workers, who would otherwise work for us and help us, are refusing. In their rebellion, the workers are fleeing to the western zones. It's a problem that we're going to need to address, and soon, and I fear that the Red Cross might simply inflame an already unstable situation."

When Tatiana translated Stepanov's words, Martin said, "The lieutenant general is absolutely right. We have no business here. We don't know what we're playing with."

But Tatiana did not translate that into Russian. Instead she said, "The International Red Cross is a neutral body. We do not take sides."

"You would if you saw these camps." Stepanov shook his head. "I have been trying to get something done about the inequitable distribution of food, the unsanitary conditions, the arbitrary and unfair enforcement of rules. Four months ago I ordered the squalid conditions of the camps to be corrected, to no avail. The army contingent responsible for the Russian camps refuses to punish abuses in its own ranks, leading only to more hostilities."

"The Russian camps?" said Tatiana. "You mean the German camps?"

Stepanov blinked. "Russians in there, too, Nurse Barrington," he said, staring at her. "Or at least there were four months ago."

Tatiana began to tremble.

"What army contingent is responsible for the camps? Maybe I--we--should go talk to them."

"You'd have to go to Moscow and speak to a Lavrenti Beria," said Stepanov. He smiled grimly. "Though I wouldn't recommend it--rumors say thathaving coffee with Beria can be a life-ending experience."

Tatiana clasped her hands between her legs. She did not trust her body to remain impassive. So the NKVD governed the concentration camps in Germany!

"What did he say, Ta--Nurse Barrington?" Penny asked. "You're forgetting to translate." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

Martin said, "Our minds are already made up. This is a waste of our resources."

Tatiana turned to him. "We have plenty of resources, Dr. Flanagan. We have the whole United States of America as our resource. The commander is saying that camps desperately need our help. What, are we going to back out now when we discover to our dismay that they need help even more than we thought they did when we came here?"

"Nurse Barrington makes a good point, Dr. Flanagan," said Penny, keeping a serious face.

"The point is to help those who have a way of saving themselves," Martin declared.

"You know what? Let's help first, then we let them sort out if they can help themselves." She turned back to Stepanov. Quietly she said, "Sir, how did you get here?"

"What are you asking him?" said Bishop.

"They transferred me after the fall of Berlin," Stepanov replied. "I was doing too good a job in Leningrad. That'll teach me. They thought I could do the same here. But this isn't Leningrad. Leningrad doesn't have any of these problems. Different problems, with food and housing and clothing and fuel, yes, but Berlin has all that plus a clash of countries, of people, of economies, of justice, of reparations, of punishment. The morass I'm afraid is sinking me." He fell quiet. "I don't think I'm going to last much longer here."

Tatiana took his hand. The military governor, Martin, and Penny all gaped at her.

"He who brought your son back," she breathed out. "Where is he?"

Stepanov shook his head, his eyes on the hand that held his.

"Where?"

He raised his eyes. "Sachsenhausen. Special Camp Number 7."

Tatiana squeezed him, and released him. "Thank you, Lieutenant General."