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Bitterlich Blog Entry |
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March 10, 2023, 4:05:09 AM 3/10/23: r/SketchDaily theme, "Canada." Nahanni National Park rock pools. ... This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Frau Bitterlich (no first name ever given). I can't really tell much about her here, there'll be more about her later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding her design, she's a gray poodle. I pictured an upswept hairstyle like Cinderella's stepmother (Lady Tremaine?), but went with something a bit more Forties-ish instead...though it's kind of weird and may need work. That's a white streak in it, BTW. TUMBLR EDIT: I don't have too much to share about Frau Bitterlich, not even a first name; she's not a major character and hasn't shared her past with me yet, though she's important in Mirjam Zweifel's plotline. She's by necessity a very morally ambiguous character; although technically a "good guy," she IS a madam, running an illegal brothel in Nazi Germany. The Nazis themselves run military bordellos for soldiers and SS officers, including in some of the camps (yeah, ew), but Frau Bitterlich's place deep in the city on a back street corner is unsanctioned and technically shouldn't be operating. Both civilian and military men visit the place, however, including some people of decent rank, so it's...well, I can't say it's "allowed" to keep running, more like it's deliberately overlooked. The Nazi authorities use the flimsy reasoning that it "boosts morale." The more likely reason it's mostly left alone, though, is that Frau Bitterlich probably has a lot of dirt on a lot of men and is willing to keep mum as long as she's allowed to keep running her place. The SS makes occasional perfunctory visits to investigate, but on such occasions the men are shooed out, Frau Bitterlich's girls are on their best behavior, and everything suspicious is covered up; it's obvious it's a brothel, I mean what else could it be, but the proof is scant and the SS never looks too hard. An exception is made when a potential scandal arises, partly because SS goody-two-shoes Lt. Gunter Hesse gets involved, though I'll save that for a moment. Frau Bitterlich makes a selling point of announcing that she employs only "good Aryan girls," and indeed, her crew of roughly ten women are all fair skinned, fair eyed, blond or brown haired. She treats them well, and insists the clients treat them well or they'll get booted. They're healthy, not underaged, moderately content, and not overworked or technically forced into doing things like the women in the Nazi-run bordellos. (Granted, they HAVE to do the work in order to be allowed to live there, that's true, but it's a business after all. They're allowed to leave if they want, just means they need to live and find employment elsewhere.) The setup is decent, too--front desk area to the left, where Frau Bitterlich takes payment ahead of time and keeps track of whatever ongoing arrangements particular clients want; parlor/greeting area to the right, where new clients can sit with the women, chat and get to know them, be put at ease and choose which girl they want to spend time with. Between the two areas is a stairway leading up to the women's small personal apartments--no clients or men are allowed up there, the women aren't allowed personal guests either--while on the ground floor to the right of the stairway is a hallway with small rooms along both sides. The tiny room just under the stairs on the left is the storage closet where "props" are kept--various toys and devices the women select for clients with special requests. The other rooms are where business takes place; each includes a bed, chair, and a door that locks when the parties are inside--this does pose a technical threat to the women, and is indeed partly meant to disincentivize them from bailing out on the job, though it's mainly to keep the men there if they try anything funny; Frau Bitterlich makes sure her girls know how to defend themselves, and uses subtle extortion tactics to ensure the men don't get too pushy or intimidating. Each door is hooked up to a small red light and buzzer; these are programmed to go off after fifteen minutes, a half hour, or an hour, which is the longest and most expensive session Frau Bitterlich offers. Clients can set up recurring sessions with the woman of their choice, if she agrees, but each individual visit is limited to an hour at most, there are no overnight guests, the girls keep certain hours, and they aren't allowed to live or seek relationships outside work. They're allowed out of the brothel when not working, of course, though they have to return at night, and a private relationship would only complicate things. The place receives business mainly by word of mouth. I'm not sure yet how the two get acquainted with each other (it should make for an interesting story), he's definitely not a client, but somehow Frau Bitterlich and SS chauffeur Andreas Cranz form a casual arrangement where he suggests her place of business to certain SS officers who request that he take them to such a location. (Cranz is well known for both his discretion and his knowledge of the city, and the men he drives around often ask for recommendations for restaurants, clubs, interesting sites, and of course where they might find a pretty girl to pass some time with. Never mind that Cranz's discretion comes with a price, namely, he shares this info with the resistance Diamond Network behind the officers' backs.) So Frau Bitterlich's girls become familiar with the big black SS limo and know it's all right as long as Cranz is driving it; if it's any other driver, though, they're on alert. Cranz gets them good business since he knows which officers will and won't cause trouble and he makes sure not to recommend the place to the bothersome ones. (I'm not sure whether he gets a cut of Frau Bitterlich's earnings or not; I was going to say no, but knowing him, he probably does, if only to put it toward care for his chronically ill mother. I do know that the two of them respect each other and do each other favors. Cranz isn't particularly interested in sex, so he never partakes of services himself; for this reason the women consider him harmless, and when he can he tips them off to potential trouble.) A disruption in the brothel's routine comes in the person of Mirjam Zweifel. Frau Bitterlich is short one girl when one evening, another of them returns from an outing in the city with an unknown--and pregnant--woman in tow. She's dirty, thin, disheveled, and obviously terrified, unable to even speak at first; Frau Bitterlich's girl explains how she spotted the woman cowering in an alley and scrounging for scraps. It looks like she's been living on the street for a while now. The other girls bustle her into the shared bathroom area and start fawning over her, washing her up and brushing the tangles from her long dark hair and giving her food and fresh clothes from their own closets. Frau Bitterlich, meanwhile, contacts the doctor her business has on call; discreet like Cranz but skilled at what he does, he makes sure her girls remain in good shape, and performs abortions when necessary (an illegal practice which isn't needed often, as Frau Bitterlich insists the men use protection, though accidents happen). It's late but he quickly arrives and after some coaxing (the strange woman doesn't want to be alone with him) he manages to examine her and give her some care. He privately reports to Frau Bitterlich: She's nearly at full term, and has been homeless the entire time; although obviously malnourished and exhausted, however, she seems to have fended for herself pretty well, considering, and he thinks the baby will be healthy, if the birth has no complications. Obviously, it's far too late for a safe abortion. Nevertheless, he asks what she'd like him to do. Frau Bitterlich goes up to see the woman herself, asks her if she wants to keep the baby, or be rid of it. The woman says nothing, but her reaction--wrapping her arms around her belly, hard--is all the answer Frau Bitterlich needs. She tells the doctor they won't be needing any more of his services until the baby arrives, and he departs. The women set the stranger up in the one vacant room, and upon learning there's going to be a baby soon, they start making diapers and tiny baby clothes, and even bring in a crib. They're excited at the prospect, and all vow to chip in and help care for both it and the mother as long as needed. The pregnant woman, meanwhile, tentatively starts to open up. Her name is Mirjam Zweifel, and she's Jewish. The home she lived in with extended family was raided by the SS some time back; everyone else was massacred, but the officers took their time with her. For whatever reason, they didn't kill her when they were done, and upon recovering consciousness and finding herself in a house full of dead bodies, she fled, and has been living in hiding, scurrying between abandoned buildings and back alleys, ever since. It isn't too long a wait before she goes into labor, delivering a healthy baby girl whom she names Gabriele; the very first look they get at her confirms Mirjam's story in its entirety. Mirjam is dark skinned, black haired, brown eyed. Gabriele is fair skinned, blond haired, and blue eyed. It's decided that Mirjam, and Gabby, will be allowed to remain at the brothel as long as they'd like, BUT, there's no free lunch; Frau Bitterlich has to look after her girls, after all. Once Mirjam's fully recovered from her labor and is presentable again, if she wishes to stay, then she'll have to earn her keep. It seems distasteful, but Mirjam knows she has very few options: German society won't accept her because she's Jewish, and her remaining fellow Jews are unlikely to accept her as she's now "tainted," bringing an obvious SS baby along with her--she might even be written off as a collaborator. She can return to the street and fend for herself and her child alone and likely end up killed, or she can work for Frau Bitterlich, doing what she'd probably have to do anyway. Frau Bitterlich at least offers security and protection. Mirjam makes the obvious choice. She'll work for Frau Bitterlich. It's not the life Mirjam would've chosen for herself, but the other women do treat her and Gabby very well, and despite her initial shock and dismay over Gabby's looks, she finds that she loves the girl fiercely and her life revolves around keeping her safe and as happy as she can. Gabby lives upstairs with her and is tended to by the other women when Mirjam is with clients; she never gets to go outside, and has to learn how to keep quiet to avoid drawing the attention of the men downstairs, but she's a good girl and learns fast. Her entire toddlerhood is spent in secrecy; whenever the Nazis decide to run one of their perfunctory checks, Frau Bitterlich has Mirjam and Gabby conceal themselves in a small compartment hidden under the stairs (behind the prop closet, as it turns out). Mirjam turns every frightening situation into a game: Whoever is most quiet, most like a mouse, will get a prize. Gabby always plays along and always wins. For a long time, her existence goes unnoticed by the men who visit the brothel. Mirjam is another story...word gets out that Frau Bitterlich has an "exotic" girl working for her now, and while nobody ever uses the word Jew, it's obvious what is meant. This actually becomes a selling point for men seeking something new and different and forbidden, and Mirjam soon acquires her own particular clientele. They aren't interested in losing access to her, so they don't rat her out to the authorities; the Nazis do learn that SOMETHING is up at Frau Bitterlich's place, but show little interest in looking too deeply. That changes when Cranz delivers a new client one day: SS-Sturmbannführer Jan Delbrück. As adjutant and second in command at the local labor camp, he's moderately well known, so for him to show up at Frau Bitterlich's place is somewhat concerning. It quickly becomes clear, however, that he isn't there to investigate; he avoids eye contact and looks painfully ill at ease as he stumblingly requests an appointment. Oddly, it turns out he isn't there for sex, either; he just wants somebody to restrain him and beat him. Frau Bitterlich's heard weirder things, so she just asks if he has a particular type of girl in mind. He seems surprised to be given a choice, but answers immediately: He wants a woman with dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes to do the beating. Frau Bitterlich sets up the session and has him go wait in one of the rooms. Calls down Mirjam to go see her new client, tells her to fetch certain props from the closet to take with her--Mirjam is perplexed that she won't have to offer her own services, but obeys, gets the props, goes in the room and the door locks behind her. Then she and Delbrück stand there staring at each other, stunned. Mirjam Zweifel's and Jan Delbrück's part of the story is HERE. Frau Bitterlich spends the story carefully looking after "her girls" and, with the aid of Delbrück, trying to protect them from Nazis who are less likely to bend the rules (like Hesse, though I should say he's busy bending other rules for people he cares about, so in that, he and Delbrück aren't too different). The brothel temporarily loses Delbrück's support when he's called into active service on the Eastern Front, and so Frau Bitterlich is left again fending for the women on her own, though she's used to such things. Like I said, since there are a handful of Nazis who make use of her girls' services, plus she's in touch with Cranz who knows every-freaking-thing, she knows where a lot of bodies are buried, and even the SS knows better than to mess with her too much. (I guess Hesse didn't get the memo, though he has a history of being somewhat gung-ho; he also once tried raising a complaint against his Waffen-SS commander for making a move on him, then threatened to investigate the previous commandant, Dannecker, for improper behavior, yet the first effort was dismissed by the Allgemeine-SS and Dannecker was like "Haha, yeah, good luck" with the second. Even his own organization seems to think he's a bit too SS-y.) So, she isn't TOO concerned, though the deteriorating war situation does niggle at her toward the end. I think she knows that with the end of the war, it may spell an end to her business as well; I'm not sure when she started the brothel, exactly (or why), but war has been very good for it, including its illegal status under Nazi law. (People are drawn to what's forbidden.) When the Allies reach the city, in fact, this is what happens; her girls make a run for it. Naturally, most of them don't have good personal connections (likely why they took this job in the first place), but they take the chance and split while the splitting's good. Mirjam is the lone exception--although she has family, they live outside the city, and she hasn't been in touch with them since before her run-in with the SS. She doesn't even know if they'll accept her, especially with Gabriele in tow. Result, she and Frau Bitterlich are the only two left at the brothel when the Allies arrive; nevertheless, Frau Bitterlich promises to stay and to let Mirjam and Gabby stay as long as need be as well; she'll protect them the best she can. They expect the Red Army to be the ones who've arrived, which could mean very bad news for the German citizens, especially the women; they're unlikely to stop and ask Frau Bitterlich's and Mirjam's political affiliation before they act. Word reaches them from the fleeing citygoers that it's in fact the Americans who have entered the city; this is much better news than the alternative, but the women are still on edge. The SS officers remaining in the city are targeting their own people as well. And then, wonder of wonders--the familiar big black SS limo pulls up. Inside are Cranz, his mother, and Delbrück. Cranz, realizing the s**t was hitting the fan, absconded with the limo and fetched his ill mother to get them the hell out of the city; along the way he spotted Delbrück, asked if he needed a ride, then brought him to Frau Bitterlich's place as he requested. Delbrück hops out of the limo, hurries inside, picks up Gabby, then grabs Mirjam's arm and hauls her after him. Although by now the two of them are basically lovers, this behavior is very unlike him, and sparks Mirjam's memory of her last awful experience with the SS--instead of going along with him, she resists, trying to pull free and retreat into the building. She even cries out to Frau Bitterlich to help her. Frau Bitterlich briefly grasps hold of her other arm and pulls, but a panicked glance from Delbrück convinces her--he's trying to save Mirjam, not harm her. Frau Bitterlich realizes that right now, he's Mirjam's best hope for survival. She lets go of Mirjam's arm and stands there helplessly, watching Delbrück pull her away and force her into the limo along with Gabby; Mirjam's cries for help break her heart, and she can't help but feel like she's betraying her as Mirjam pounds on the glass while the limo pulls away, but Frau Bitterlich stays put and doesn't try to follow. She watches the car speed off with a mixture of guilt and relief. Mirjam might hate her now, but at least she'll live. I really don't know, at the moment, what exactly becomes of Frau Bitterlich at the story's end; this is the last I know of her appearing in the plot. I think she makes it, though I'm not positive, and I don't know what path her life takes afterward. Perhaps more will be revealed eventually. [Frau Bitterlich 2023 [Friday, March 10, 2023, 4:05:09 AM]] |