Blue Flame

Martina, feeling embarrassed, covered herself, removed the infant from her breast and wrapped the baby in a blanket.

Lieutenant Sykes opened the folder marked ‘Operation Paperclip,’ he took out a document, showed it to Stefan, and asked, “Is this the project that you were involved with?”

Stefan studied the document.

“Yes, I worked on that project,” he said, and with a quake in his voice, asked, “Why?”

Sykes ignored the question and ordered, “You and your family have to come with us now, professor.”

A commotion outside the curtain interrupted them.

“What’s happening Sergeant?” yelled Sykes.

“Sir, a nurse is insisting she comes in to attend to the baby. He needs his treatment.”

“Tell her to wait,” ordered Sykes, and after putting the folder back in his case, called back to the sergeant, “Okay, tell her to come in.”

A nurse came behind the curtain and glared at Sykes. ‘Wow!’ thought Sykes ‘She’s a sight for sore eyes.’ he smiled at the nurse who frowned at him and spoke to a now relieved looking Martina and Stefan in German.

She then snapped at Sykes in English, “What is happening? What do you want with my patient?”

“And you are?” asked Sykes, gazing into the nurse’s blue eyes.

“I’m staff nurse Steffi Beike, and this is my patient,” she curtly replied and put down a tray containing medicines and ointments.

“My name is Lieutenant Sykes ma’am. I need to take the professor’s family with me. American doctors will now take care of them.”

The angry nurse gave Martina a small glass of dark brown medicine to drink while she checked the baby’s vital signs. She then rubbed ointment on the now wailing infant’s chest, and while Martina tried to settle her baby, nurse Steffi glared at Sykes and stormed out.

* * *

* * *

General Andy ‘Bash’ Brownlow stood in front of the thirty-five people in the room in the bombed offices of the Reichstag. The audience comprised of men, women, children, and one sleeping baby. General Brownlow, having lost many of his soldiers in battle, loathed the Germans.

With Max translating, the abrupt General told them they would relocate to the United States. He explained how, as they were the top specialists in their respected fields, their talents and expertise would now work for Uncle Sam under the top-secret operation known as ‘Operation Paperclip.’

The small crowd mumbled and fidgeted as they listened to Bash as he told them what would be expected of them, although he explained little else, appearing irritated having to wait for Max to translate.

After twenty minutes he said, “You will leave tomorrow morning and taken to the port of Lubek. From there you will sail to the U.S. to start new lives.”

The audience gasped as Max translated and then the General gave them a stark warning,

“Until you land on U.S soil, you are persona non-grata. We want you to help us, but we do not need you, so if have any thoughts about being invaluable…don’t. You’re all expendable.”

The audience became confused, frightened, and sceptical, but they sat and listened whilst Max translated.

While Stefan kept his arm around his wife and son to comfort them, he looked around the room and saw a few of his colleagues. Amongst them were Weirner Von Braun and Wilheim Jungert, both rocket scientists who had worked on the V2 rocket programme alongside him.

General Brownlow ordered the officers to take care of the details before he stormed out of the room.

Lieutenant Sykes, came over to the family, smiled, and said, “I am your liaison officer and assigned to handle your paperwork. Please follow me.”

Sykes accompanied the Schuler’s through the various departments. An American army doctor examined the baby, but after finding no sign of asthma, he told them that their infant was a normal, healthy baby. This made Martina and Stefan angry although they said nothing to the American doctor or Sykes.

They spoke to each other in German, “These Americans neither know nor care about the German people. Our son has asthma and they know it,” said Martina as she smiled at the doctor.

They knew that they had no other option but to accept the fact they were now of a second-class, hated race.

Other families and single men kept arriving at different times throughout the day.

The men issued old black suits, with grey skirts and white blouses for the women. Shorts, blazers, and blouses for the children.

After being ushered through different departments throughout the day, by mid-afternoon, Lieutenant Sykes, Martina, and Stefan now sat in an office around a small desk.

Sykes took a folder from his leather case with ‘Joseph & Jane Wolffe’ written on the front. Sykes decided Stefan knew enough English that he did not need a translator. He opened the folder containing papers and documents relating to the couple, telling them, “You will no longer be known as Martina and Stefan Schuler.” He slid papers and documents to the couple and said, “You are now Joseph and Jane Wolffe.”

The Schuler’s looked at their new identity papers. Sykes was about to explain a little about what work Joseph would do in the USA and where they would live; when he looked at the baby.

“Goddamn!” he exclaimed, then read the folder again, and noticed something amiss. He looked at the couple and smiled. “There is nothing in mentioned in here about the baby,” he said, feeling stupid over how he could have overlooked this.

Sykes sighed and thought for a moment. He knew with all the turmoil in Germany, paperwork was the last thing on any Germans mind, but the U.S. government had made exceptions for anyone under Operation Paperclip.

“That won’t be too much of a problem.” he said, “I’ll just make him a U.S birth certificate.”

Sykes left the office and returned a few minutes later with a blank document. He sat and with his pen in hand asked,

“Okay, “What do you call him?”

The couple had not considered the baby’s name with all the chaos going on around them. They looked at each other, then at Sykes.

Stefan shrugged and said, “We haven’t yet chosen a name”

After an awkward silence as the three smiled at one another, Stefan broke the silence and asked, “What is your first name, Lieutenant Sykes?”

Lieutenant Sykes, looking confused, said, “George… George Sykes.”

Stefan looked at his wife, who nodded.

“George it is then,” Stefan said and continued, “George Wolffe.”

Lieutenant George Sykes smiled as he wrote the name George Wolffe in the relevant boxes.

Stefan and Martina told him George’s date of birth and as they were due to settle in Pennsylvania once in America, he wrote Newtown as the place of birth. After filling in the form, he left the room and went to another office for it to be typed and authorised.

He returned to the room and told them about Stefan’s new job and their new home until a woman arrived with a typed and stamped U.S. birth certificate.

“That is all we need to do here.” Said Sykes and looking at his watch told them, “I will take you to your sleeping quarters. You need to get some rest, it will be a long day, and you have an early start,” said Sykes.