The evacuation order was issued, but it was still not an easy task for all the refugees living in the air defense tower as the core and the entire Berlin Zoo as the boundary to evacuate as soon as possible within two and a half hours.
.
"Move, everyone, move! Old people and children follow, hurry! Go this way, move fast!"
With large and small bags, the old and frail women and children with their families trotted in an orderly manner in the dark night, lining up to walk out of the air defense tower and leave the zoo. When they were done, they did not forget to stop at the material distribution center at the entrance of the zoo to receive the last supplies from the soldiers.
One ration before setting off on the road.
It must be said that these war refugees were quite lucky. Meeting the Wehrmacht air defense troops stationed at the zoo's air defense tower was a blessing in itself in Berlin, a city filled with artillery shells and unlimited supply.
Colonel Sternheim's men have been stationed in Berlin for quite some time.
Since he was forced to retreat to the rear due to injury, and he didn't want to work as an instructor in a school to teach students or retire from the army, he relied on connections to get him a "free" job as the commander of the air defense force.
Dealing with various Allied aircraft has become the main theme of his life and work. After staying in Berlin for a long time, he got to know many people, including the family members of his soldiers, many of whom were native Berliners.
Now, when it comes to dealing with war refugees, these air tower garrison troops under Colonel Sternheim can almost be said to be at the top of the list of all the Nazi armed forces in Berlin in terms of methods and methods.
Many of the refugees are neighbors, friends, and relatives of these air defense troops. No matter how arrogant they are on weekdays, they have to show their kindness to the neighbors who have watched them grow up, the elderly, the weak, women and children.
Courtesy and gentleness, right?
Seeing that most of the people in the air defense tower have been evacuated, most of the refugees who have loose legs and can't walk without help have left one after another. Now only those who have weak bones and need help to walk, and some even have injuries are left.
It's too easy to handle, so it's still in the air defense tower for now.
Regarding how to deal with the remaining 300 people, Colonel Sternheim was still undecided for a while, but he didn't know that he was about to go back to the tower to take advantage of the remaining time to think about it.
When he was trying to find a solution, a certain SS officer in black who had never left took the initiative to stop him.
"Colonel, you have evacuated most of the people. If you drove people away to save food, your goal has been achieved now."
"We must keep a minimum number of manpower to help us "fight". After all, no one knows what cruel methods the Russians will use when they come over. It is always better to have an insurance in hand than to make no preparations at all. What do you think?
?”
"Help us "fight"?"
Before Sternheim could speak, the young adjutant who was listening with a puzzled expression spoke first with both confusion and disgust.
"Are you crazy? Or are you just fantasizing? The people left in the tower are not only soldiers, but also people who are so weak and disabled that they can't walk. You actually expect these people to help you "fight"? What do you want them to do?
Beating? On crutches or in a wheelchair? Do you know what you are talking about!"
Being young means that it is easy to be impulsive and passionate, but this does not mean that the adjutant has lost his sense of basic judgment.
In other words, in the adjutant's own opinion, the unpleasant armed SS officer in front of him, dressed in black, was a mad dog who had lost his mind. If he didn't tell the truth on the spot, he would have saved face for the thoughtless bastard.
.
But the adjutant himself never expected that while his thinking was still on the first level, the thinking of the leader of the second-level SS assault squadron opposite had reached the ninth level. The young adjutant even guessed the wrong direction from the beginning.
"I think you may have misunderstood, but it doesn't matter, the colonel will understand, right?"
"."
Looking at the sinister smile on the face of the little SS leader in front of him, he had been on the front line and in the rear, and had been in various situations. What kind of person and Colonel Sternheim had he never seen before?
How could he not know what this guy is showing off now?
"Lieutenant Philip, let's call you that."
"Did you forget one thing? You and your people were only temporarily taken in by my order. Because you said that you and your large army were separated and had no supplies and needed medical assistance. That's why I allowed you and your people to be temporarily taken in.
Your people have temporarily settled here. When can you give orders and make decisions on my behalf? Did I say that all the remaining refugees must be kept? This place has not yet been reduced to a Frenchman exercising command on my behalf.
The state of power.”
"What? French!?"
The adjutant on the side was stunned on the spot after hearing this. He couldn't believe that the words he just heard with his own ears could be true.
Because I look down on these "illegal armed elements" and have always believed in the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht, which has inherited the Prussian unification, should be the only orthodox adjutant.
He had spoken to the "SS refugee chief" who had recently arrived, let alone knew anything about him.
But the adjutant had always thought that this guy with blond hair, blue eyes, and skin as white as a woman was an authentic German without even thinking about it. And based on his appearance alone, he should be one of those SS who were engaged in ethnography all day long.
It is not surprising that the type of "high-ranking person" most respected by the second-level soldiers in the army should be able to get into the position of SS leader.
But when Colonel Sternheim said this, the adjutant who "never expected it" was dumbfounded on the spot.
A French SS lieutenant stood in front of a genuine Wehrmacht colonel and made irresponsible remarks, giving orders and acting pretentious. How stupid a humanoid creature could do this?
But obviously, the French man called Lieutenant Philip himself did not think so.
"Oh, don't get excited, Colonel. I'm just making a suggestion, that's all."
"But you also know that the French are not the only foreign SS troops under my command. Especially the Finns and Czechs are the most disobedient. They keep talking about living or dying with Berlin, and they insist on killing civilians who can't walk.
Stay, if I don’t go in quickly and persuade them, I’m afraid something bad will happen if they continue to play for a while.”
"Why don't you agree and let me in? I'll be sure to convince them. At least they still listen to me now, okay?"
Lieutenant Philip deliberately paused between "agree" and "let me in" and made a pun. He was sure that his statement would be understood and that both the surface and the inner meanings were understood.
The threat was very obvious. The adjutant, who smelled the smell of gunpowder in the air and was extremely unhappy, had already put his hand on the holster, as if he would draw the gun on the spot if he couldn't hold back for a second.
"So you are determined to keep civilians as your shield? Just like your fellow SS colleagues?"
Faced with the righteous words of the Colonel of the Defense Forces, whose rank was much higher than his own, Philip could not feel any fear in his face but had a gloomy smile. He just whispered indifferently.
"The French, Finns, and Czechs can all die to defend the German capital, so why can't the Germans themselves?"
"."
Looking at the colonel of the National Defense Forces who was looking at him noncommittally but keeping his eyes focused and staring at him, Philip, who had not yet finished speaking, immediately threw out the last half of his sentence, and his gloomy and strange smile remained unchanged.
"The Führer said that all Berlin citizens should live and die with this city. As loyal soldiers of the Führer, of course we must fulfill our mission. There will be no problem at all and there will never be any change."