Free The Boy Who Went to War by Giles Milton Page B

people to Nazi ideology.
    He could – indeed, should – have denounced Wolfram’s father for his continual refusal to join the party, but he retained a great affection for Erwin and went out of his way to help his old friend. When a part-time post became available at the Fine Art School in Karlsruhe, he ensured that Erwin got the job. This made Erwin extremely unpopular with some of the teachers, who complained that he had gained promotion without even being a member of the Nazi Party. Kraft silenced the critics and Erwin remained in his post.
    Kraft was a regular visitor to the Eutingen villa, in part because he had taken a fancy to Clara, the family’s maid. Wolfram used to snigger as he watched Kraft go into the kitchen and pinch her bottom. Clara loved the attention – especially as it came from a senior Nazi official – and would smile with smug satisfaction.
    Herbert Kraft’s protection brought Erwin many benefits and enabled him to retain his position as a state-employed teacher throughout the long years of the Third Reich. Kraft also shielded Erwin from overzealous block leaders. His catchphrase, repeated like a mantra to his junior staff, was: ‘If you touch Aïchele, then you’ll have big trouble from me.’

    Wolfram’s mother, in common with so many of her contemporaries, could see a side to Hitler’s Germany that was compellingly attractive. Not only had the Fatherland apparently regained some of the pride it lost in 1918 but it had a leader who seemed determined to restore the country to greatness. Whilst Marie Charlotte would never take the step that would usher her into the party fold, she nevertheless had moments of hesitation about Nazism and needed to be brought back to earth with a bump, either by her husband or by one of his friends.
    One particular such moment came in the spring of 1936, prompted by the visit to Pforzheim of a senior Nazi minister. Dr Bernhard Rust was the Minister of Science, Education and National Culture – an influential politician who had become part of Hitler’s inner circle. Marie Charlotte had read an article advertising his visit in the local paper. He was to stay at the Hotel Ruf, close to the train station, and had extended an invitation to anyone in Pforzheim who might wish to meet him.
    Marie Charlotte decided to go. She had been at school with Dr Rust’s wife and was keen to have news of her. However, there was another reason too. She was tickled at the idea of knowing someone so senior in the government and liked the thought of being one step away from a close associate of Hitler.
    Marie Charlotte asked her husband to accompany her but was met with a gruff refusal. ‘You go if you want,’ he told her, ‘but I don’t want to know anything about it.’
    Erwin had good reason for his reticence. It was Bernhard Rust who had ruled that teachers and students must henceforth greet each other with the Nazi salute, describing such a greeting as a visible symbol of the new Germany and adding that ‘the whole function of education is to create Nazis’.
    Having been unsuccessful in persuading her husband, Marie Charlotte asked her two sons whether they would like to go. Wolfram was tempted, but only because he would miss three hours of school. However, he so hated the idea of putting on a uniform just to meet Dr Rust that he eventually declined, leaving his reluctant older brother, Reiner, to accompany his mother.
    Mother and son were eventually introduced to the great man and allowed to ask a few carefully vetted questions. Marie Charlotte explained to Dr Rust that she had been at school with his wife and asked whether she was well. The Nazi politician mumbled a few pleasantries but was clearly not interested. ‘She’ll be pleased that you remember her,’ he told her with a feigned smile, then stood up, signalling that the audience was over. Marie Charlotte was left wondering if it had