Frieder Dasch Blog Entry |
October 7, 2022, 4:00:11 AM 10/7/22: r/SketchDaily theme, "Birdtober Day 7: Secretary Bird/Free Draw Friday." Drawlloween, Day 7: "The Bell That Rings At Midnight." I also did a Free Draw Friday. This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Leutnant (2nd Lt.) Frieder Dasch. He's the leader of Private Klemper's (an earlier character's) unit and is a father figure to him. He's kind of a jerk but isn't a bad person. Regarding his design, he's my first attempt at a bicolor character (I originally pictured him as white and brown but felt this was more suitable). He wears a field cap with earflaps and has a scar across his cheek. TUMBLR EDIT: Huh, I forgot to mention there'd be more in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. 2nd Lt. Frieder Dasch, I have to confess I don't know a lot about him, as he's more of a secondary/tertiary character. His childhood and past may be cleared up later; don't know. I don't think he's a Great War veteran. I'm pretty sure he had a stern/strict upbringing, based on his personality, though I'm not sure if it was just that, or if it was abusive; maybe his father figure smacked him around occasionally. I include this caveat based on how Dasch interacts with Private Klemper, one of his men. This will be mostly about their interactions. According to the way the scenario plays out in my head, before the main story begins (i. e., offscreen), one day while Dasch is out and about with his little unit (the war plays out oddly in my story and these units wander about fighting, I'm not entirely sure who, I just know it's Allied and possibly partisan units that also wander around in disorganized fashion--Dasch's group isn't a big organized military unit like those that presumably fight on the fronts, they deal more with smaller stuff that goes on more within the country), some Wehrmacht officials approach and hand off a new recruit. They occasionally run recruitment drives in the country, and men from farms and such enlist and receive a crash course of training; their standards aren't high out here. (Artistic license.) They don't really have anywhere to place this particular recruit so they put him with Dasch. Dasch looks at the new kid and that's literally the best way to describe him, the new kid, because he looks to be barely in his teens. His name is Godfrey Klemper and congrats, he's Dasch's new kid now. Dasch is very skeptical. When enlisting, Klemper gave his age as sixteen, but he definitely is not sixteen. (He's actually thirteen. But Dasch has no way of knowing this at the time.) He knows he's dealing with an illegal child soldier and apparently the Wehrmacht knows this as well but they don't care. (Fun fact, literal child soldiers--some even younger than Klemper, plus girls!--WERE enlisted in Germany, but this was toward the end of the war when they were running seriously short on manpower. They also included older men in what was called the Volkssturm...*checks*...wow, I got that right. A desperate last-minute militia, basically. This is more toward the middle of the war in my version of events, though, and Klemper's enlistment is considered definitely sus.) They don't want Klemper being a liability for more important units so Dasch is stuck with him. During the handoff Dasch argues with the officials--he isn't a babysitter, his unit is full, he has no place for Klemper--all while the private himself is standing nearby listening, wearing his too-big helmet and coat and carrying his too-big rifle. Seriously, he looks like a little kid playing soldier. Dasch's complaints fall on deaf ears and the officials leave, but he really doesn't want to be stuck with a liability either, so he approaches another, slightly bigger unit they come across shortly after and passes Klemper off to them; their commanding officer is also skeptical, but waves Klemper in. Dasch puts the kid out of mind and he and his men depart. A day or so later, Dasch is dumbfounded when Klemper reappears seemingly out of nowhere, huddled in his camp when they awake like he's been there all along. He's obviously run away. Dasch starts making plans to return him to the other unit when Klemper begins loudly begging and pleading: "Don't send me back, bitte, I promise I'll be good, bitte." Dasch is flustered--assuming Klemper doesn't like the stricter discipline or fellow soldiers of the other unit, and growing embarrassed by the attention Klemper's desperate pleas are drawing, he caves, demanding that he stop begging, he can stay, but he has to man up, no more childish behavior like running away when he doesn't like something. He also better learn fast how to do things and make himself useful, because Dasch has no patience for unskilled crybabies. Klemper's gratitude is just as effusive as his begging was desperate, and he promises to be useful. Later that day or the next, however, the other unit's commanding officer, and his second in command, arrive. He's livid--Klemper went AWOL in the middle of the night, and he orders him to come back. Despite the agreement he just reached with Klemper, Dasch is sorely tempted to send him back--he really doesn't have a place for him, this other unit does have a place, plus it's technically no longer his say--he handed Klemper off, and this guy outranks him. Something about Klemper's reaction, however--he cowers at a safe distance--as well as the almost irrational anger of the CO, and something in the demeanor of the second in command--convinces Dasch to hold his ground. If this other guy couldn't even keep an eye on Klemper for ten minutes or stop him from running away, maybe they shouldn't have him. The CO is nearly apoplectic at this, but instead of exploding, retorts, "You know what?--keep him. He's YOUR problem now," and they leave. Dasch lets out a breath. He really hadn't wanted the kid, but his gut tells him he made the right choice. Unknown to Klemper, Dasch gets a second visit from the second in command from the other unit, this time on his own, and asking to speak with Dasch in private. He briefly explains that indeed, Klemper ran away, and it was on his watch--he allowed it to happen. When Dasch expresses confusion, he mentions, without going into specifics, that the CO has a history...and this history involves boys around Klemper's age. The night Klemper ran away, he'd spotted him and they made eye contact for a moment--he could tell from the look on Klemper's face that something awful had happened, and instead of ordering him back into the camp, he'd gestured for Klemper to go. Dasch asks why he did this, how he knows all this. The second in command pauses before replying, "I was Herr Klemper's age not so long ago." Dasch doesn't ask anything further, just decides that there's no way in hell they'll have anything else to do with the other unit, if he can help it. Dasch's other men have a rather odd reaction to the newcomer; rather than gang up and jeer at the wimpy little kid, they collectively decide to take him under their wings and give him the proper training he didn't get from the Wehrmacht. When Dasch points out their limited resources, they offer to split their own with him. He's almost like the little brother of all of them. For his part, although he's very unskilled, Klemper is a fast learner, and intensely dedicated to proving he meant what he promised, spending hours learning how to use and maintain his weapons. It looks like he's on track to being an integral part of the unit. He also, to Dasch's chagrin, gloms onto him like nobody's business, going out of his way to appeal to him and not only do whatever he asks, but volunteering to do things, every chance he gets. If Dasch mutters a terse, "Good job" or "Not bad," Klemper beams like it's the highest honor in the Wehrmacht. Dasch eventually learns about the circumstances under which Klemper joined the Heer in the first place; an orphan, he'd just buried his own mother after she died from a lengthy illness, only to return to his home and find it on fire. A military unit of unknown allegiance has been traversing the area, pillaging and burning down homes and small settlements, and Klemper's was one of the latest. He'd waited until the fire burned down before rummaging through the ashes for anything of use that might have survived, then started walking. He'd been scrounging around for goods and food in other burnt or abandoned houses until he came across the recruiting station. (He maintains these scrounging habits throughout the series, somewhat unfairly earning the nickname "Sticky Fingers" (Klebrige Finger) for his habit of compulsively stealing food, ammo and weapons (including the Tommy gun he adopts as his favorite), and small items such as toys and knickknacks. He's not technically a kleptomaniac, however, as catchy as "Klepto Klemper" might sound. He only steals things he intends to use, and those things he doesn't use or need any longer, he gives away.) When he arrived, he'd already had a gun--the family rifle--and an oversized Stahlhelm--which, along with ID papers, he'd taken off a fatally injured soldier he'd encountered along the way. (Klemper had delivered the finishing shot after the badly burned soldier asked him if he had any bullets left in his gun.) He'd clumsily altered the ID documents to help him get into the Wehrmacht by seeming older than he was, although nobody actually believed it. It's only VERY gradually that Dasch learns some of the additional details of Klemper's past, including why he tries so hard to earn Dasch's favor, and why he otherwise has such a skittish, paranoid personality. Klemper's father was a drunken, abusive bully, frequently targeting not only his meek wife, but his young son, whom he perceived to be weak and girly and completely unsuitable as a son. This belief was only strengthened when he caught young Godfrey kissing another boy one day (Dasch doesn't learn of this particular detail until much much later); infuriated, he decided to teach Klemper a lesson on what it was really like to be a woman if that was what he wanted, and he molested him with a beer bottle. When he started beating Klemper's mother afterward, Klemper had run to fetch the family rifle, and had shot him. Klemper was ten years old at the time. The result of all this is that while Klemper is solely attracted to males, he's learned that this is a bad thing, such boys are called "Schwuchtel" (Klemper doesn't know what it means, just that his dad was yelling it at him the entire time), and he doesn't want to be something that's bad. He's suspicious of men, especially older men, for obvious reasons, but at the same time he longs for their approval and love. He falls into a lifelong pattern of both being attracted to (romantically and platonically) and victimized by older men, due to his desperation to be accepted; as well, based on how such men treat him, he falls into a pattern of experiencing extreme love and extreme hate for the same person--he very quickly falls for anyone who treats him with the slightest kindness, becoming instantly devoted to them, but the moment that person wrongs him, his feelings switch to intense hatred and distrust--there's no in between for him. His emotions are almost overwhelming, leading to a rather unstable sense of self that's dependent on how others see him, and this in turn leads to him often behaving rather recklessly since he doesn't view himself as worthy of anything unless someone else does. The men he comes into contact with are all potential lovers (again, Dasch doesn't realize this at first), or substitute fathers, or even both. It's a very weird complicated mix which would likely be called borderline nowadays. All Dasch knows for sure is that Klemper is both intensely fragile and childlike yet also old beyond his years, yet he's loyal, and as long as Dasch doesn't let him down he'll remain so. The thing is, it's sometimes difficult to tell what might set Klemper off. Rejection and abandonment are a pretty safe bet, though. (Recall Klemper's reaction when Dasch attempted to pass him off. This wasn't solely because of his mistreatment in the other unit; he desperately wants to avoid rejection like that he experienced from his own father, so he always promises to "be good.") Weirdly...Klemper proves to be a good soldier. His scavenging skills come in handy quite frequently--he raids an Allied cache, for example, returning with his Thompson submachine gun and ammo, and he knows where to find food stores and all the most useful stuff. He's an excellent lookout, agile and quick and able to easily climb trees and scale buildings to get the best view, and he's very good at hiding and going unnoticed. Whatever he lacks in general physical strength he makes up for with all this, plus he's willing to at least try doing the things he's NOT so skilled at, too. He has much more reason to be motivated than his fellows, after all. It isn't long before he reaches the rank of Unteroffizier (sergeant), and Dasch puts him in command of the unit for whom he'd once been the informal "little brother." (Dasch stays in informal command to supervise things, though it's Klemper who gives the orders and leads.) He gains attention after getting involved in a dispute with another unit which is threatening to burn down a village--he's inadvertently crossed paths with the same people who burned down his house and many others. Turns out they're Wehrmacht just like his unit is. Klemper and the sergeant of the other unit get into a standoff and a shouting match as Klemper orders his own men to prevent the other unit from torching the village and routing its inhabitants; the other sergeant insists the villagers are hiding partisans. Dasch arrives and though he's dismayed about Klemper getting involved in such drama, he gives him the benefit of the doubt, and Klemper's unit searches the village. Of course they find no partisans. The little village is spared destruction, and Klemper is awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for his actions. He earns the Iron Cross First Class after another incident, I believe helping rescue some soldiers. Things are looking up. Then one day a military official arrives and lets Dasch know the Wehrmacht is implementing a new strategy to boost their men's performance. He hands over a package of something called Pervitin. Dasch feels skeptical, and asks what it is, because he doesn't want to go giving weird stuff to his men. The official casually brushes off his concern, saying to just tell his men the substance is some sort of "supervitamin" if they're reluctant to take it. The Wehrmacht wouldn't be handing it out to its fighting men unless it was safe, right? Dasch asks around a bit and learns that Pervitin is actually a variant of something called crystal meth. He's not entirely sure what that is either, though, so he decides to just let his men decide whether to take the pills or not. Klemper, trusting that Dasch knows best and wanting to set a good example, pops some Pervitin, and the rest follow suit. Interestingly, they're now able to walk for much longer periods without needing rest...or food...or water. Klemper's transformation is one of the more impressive ones: He's able to carry a lot more on his person despite his rather willowy build. It isn't long before he's lugging around not just his pack, Tommy gun, and other personal gear, but a bunch of other things such as a pair of Panzerfäuste (anti-tank weapons), grenades, etc.; basically, he's armed to the teeth everywhere he goes. Which is probably for the best, considering how wired and suspicious he and the others in his unit are getting. Meth has a lot of side effects, after all. Klemper spends lots of time now taking weapons apart and putting them back together again; as weird as this new habit is, it does aid him in fixing things, including a Waffen-SS tank, later on. Dasch, who manages his own addiction to the drug somewhat better since he doesn't need as much, has extremely mixed feelings about all this, but it's not really his say anymore. It's a bizarre but tolerable situation, until Klemper gets involved in another drama. While out scouting he gets separated from his unit for an extended time, and Dasch panics, unable to stop worrying about him. They look everywhere but can't find him. Then, one day, he appears as if out of nowhere, clutching his wounded arm; he describes coming across a wounded partisan in an old trench, and the partisan holding him hostage to tend to an injury until Klemper finally escaped, incurring his own gunshot wound in the process. He's taken to a nearby field hospital to recuperate. Dasch is immensely relieved...until the Schutzstaffel comes calling. An Allgemeine-SS officer arrives at the hospital, asking to question Klemper about the partisan incident. Dasch already distrusts the SS--they don't have a very good reputation among many in the Wehrmacht--and demands to know what business they have with Klemper. When the other officer expresses doubt for Klemper's story of how he ended up wounded, Dasch asks why they would question a decorated soldier, especially one who's just been injured escaping the custody of a hostile partisan. The SS officer replies that this is merely the story Klemper told them; a rumor making the rounds suggests that the truth is much different. It takes some convincing and threats before he reveals what that rumor is: Basically, the wounded partisan was real, but that's about it. They weren't holding Klemper hostage--Klemper treated them willingly, and that gunshot wound is most likely from Klemper's own gun--he shot himself, to provide a cover story. That's not GOOD, but it's also not so BAD. What's really bad is that this partisan is male, and Jewish...and he and Klemper engaged in a brief physical relationship while they were together. Dasch already knew of Klemper's history with other men--but this is the first he's heard of Klemper being a willing participant. He genuinely had no idea Klemper is gay, since Klemper quickly picked up on Dasch's own habit of casually referring to gay men as "Schwuchtel" and various other slurs--turns out the lieutenant is a big ol' homophobe, and even though this means he's disgusted by the very group Klemper is a part of, Klemper, always trying his hardest to earn approval, and still dealing with his own father's attitude toward him, just pushed down his own tendencies, and emulated Dasch's attitude. He's used to hating himself, so this was pretty easy. To Dasch, everything--including Klemper's blind devotion and overwillingness to please--suddenly makes sense. He's infuriated to be so misled, and after the SS officer departs, vowing to return soon to question Klemper, he storms into his room to confront him, yelling, "You?--of all people! Straight-arrow you! Cavorting with that Jew--that Schwuchtel! Bringing this sort of s**t down on your own unit! What I was thinking, putting you in command. I should wring your neck for all the trouble you've caused us!" Klemper doesn't deny the rumor. As Dasch is ranting at him, however, he notices a subtle but distinct shift. Klemper lowers his head, his ears go back, he starts to grimace, shrinking in on himself. He looks just like somebody getting ready to be beaten. Dasch isn't used to him not putting up a fight, and it suddenly occurs to him--he's acting just like Klemper's father. Of course he won't fight back. Dasch cuts himself off, stares at the cowering sergeant--this literal hero, who saved a village and got the Iron Cross, now hugging himself and shaking like a frightened child--and rather than say another word, he leaves the room. Dasch paces back and forth a bit to cool off and figure out what to do. He hates being lied to, hates the trouble Klemper's gotten his unit into--but even more, he hates that look Klemper got, that look that should have been reserved for an a-hole like his father. Dasch has done his best to look after Klemper and not repeat the behavior that nearly broke him in the first place, but it turns out he hadn't done well enough. Klemper had never said a word in protest, had just tried all the harder to keep Dasch's approval. The one time he's slipped up, was likely due to the intense loneliness he's had to put up with just to maintain this fragile state of affairs. It was a dire mistake, yes--but it wasn't made in a vacuum. The actions of all the men in Klemper's life, Dasch included, contributed to this moment. Dasch takes a breath, lets it out, makes a decision. Goes back in Klemper's room--Klemper flinches back when Dasch shakes a fist at him--but instead of the expected continuation of his tirade, Dasch says, "When that officer gets back here, and asks you what happened, you tell him what you told me. No more. No less. Stick to your story no matter what he says. I'll handle the blowback." Klemper is confused, but obeys; when the SS officer returns and questions him, he repeats his original story, and feigns ignorance over the irregularities the officer points out. The SS officer is forced to leave him without any new information, but he does warn Dasch that this doesn't matter a whole lot--the SS doesn't require concrete proof, a rumor is more than enough. Klemper's actions are too serious to let slide, and punishment will have to be severe. Not only will he be dishonorably discharged, but he'll face a prison sentence, as well--possibly a stint in a camp. Even execution isn't off the table. Suitably alarmed by this turn of events, Dasch acts quickly. He approaches his superiors in the Wehrmacht to beg for their intervention, but they claim their hands are tied--although they don't serve the SS, the SS wields more power and influence, they're in charge of enforcing the racial hygiene laws, and there's little point in resisting them when they've made up their mind. Plus Klemper's actions are illegal under the Wehrmacht, as well. Increasingly desperate to at least spare Klemper from possible execution, Dasch turns to the Allgemeine-SS itself, asking that they meet with the Wehrmacht to reach some sort of compromise: Klemper may have broken the law, but he's a war hero who saved an entire village of German citizens, surely these actions have earned him at least a slight reprieve? He doesn't expect much, feeling his spirits sinking...but wonder of wonders, the Allgemeine-SS agrees to a meeting, and the Wehrmacht follows suit. Dasch isn't included in this, so all he can do is wait and agonize. Finally he's called to meet with representatives of both parties, to be filled in on their decision. Klemper won't be tried, won't be imprisoned or sent to a camp or executed. To Dasch's surprise, he won't even be discharged from the Wehrmacht; instead, he'll be demoted back to Oberschütze--private first class--and denied the ability to progress through the ranks for the rest of his service. In short, he gets to keep his military post, but has no more prospects to do much else--it's a dead-end position. Dasch is nevertheless immensely relieved by this news, as he hadn't expected even this much. He has no way of knowing, but somebody besides himself pulled some strings as well: Klemper has an additional guardian angel--a literal Schutzengel--hidden away somewhere deep in the Schutzstaffel. Klemper himself...isn't nearly so enthused by this news. He'd had hopes of moving up through the ranks, and now, learning that this is no longer possible, he's rather disillusioned. Dasch, wanting to throw his hands up, tells him he should be more grateful, he apparently has no idea just how serious his offense was and how lucky he is. Klemper isn't ungrateful, just...it seems terribly unfair. "You of all people should know life isn't fair," Dasch says. Klemper's demotion means he'll no longer be in command of the unit--Dasch has to resume command--and this detail hits him especially hard. He's again just one of the men. Strangely, though, one can't always tell this from watching their interactions. The others, including those who now outrank him, still look to him for orders every time a decision is required, and he has to deliberately avoid giving orders so they won't take them; yet they continue to follow his lead even when it's unspoken. For the most part, Dasch allows this; despite his reckless actions regarding the partisan, he's good at taking charge, in fact, military action is when he makes the most sensible decisions--it's just his personal life that's a mess. Dasch notices now when such things happen, for example, when a member of a different unit they've been in contact with passes by Klemper without acknowledging the look he gives him; later on when he goes to speak with Klemper personally, Klemper mutters, "F**k off," and walks away. Apparently the two had been briefly involved and when the other man refused to notice Klemper during the interaction between the two units, Klemper cut him off. Dasch recognizes Klemper's mentality in action: He's loyal to a fault, yet if he catches the slightest impression of rejection, you're dead to him. (All of this, BTW, leads Dasch to reevaluate his own reactions to things. In case it isn't obvious, he's a really big homophobe. Long before he discovers the truth about Klemper he often tosses out gay slurs himself, and this is one reason he's so shocked by the nature of Klemper's transgression. That's just it, though; by the time he finds this out, he's grown to really like and respect "the kid," so it's jarring to him that he's something Dasch finds disgusting and disturbing. Now that he actually knows somebody like this personally, he's forced to take a good hard look at his own prejudices. What's even more jarring about all this is that Klemper so easily picks up on the homophobia promoted by both his father and Dasch and makes it his own--yes, he's gay, but he ALSO casually tosses out gay slurs and mocks other men for it, especially those who hit on him (ironically). To Klemper, this isn't hypocritical, it's just normal--he knows he's not "right" and is something to be reviled, that's just what he was taught. To those around him who know the truth, it's unsettling. It's a very weird, dysfunctional dynamic that makes Dasch very uncomfortable, but then again he probably deserves that.) Klemper also tends to "mope" after such interactions, though that's not a strong enough word; he self-isolates, refuses to eat, stares off into space. The meth doesn't exactly help either, and only exacerbates his tendency to dissociate due to the abuse he went through. All of this only gets worse after his demotion, and Dasch literally fears for his life and wellbeing; he can get negligent of his own health and safety when he thinks he can't do anything of value. Dasch asks around for something, anything, Klemper can do to distract him from his thoughts, and finally gets an offer: A Wehrmacht general by the name of Schavitz has just recruited a new sniper, and he could use a sort of bodyguard both to protect him and to teach him the ropes while he's getting used to his new job. Schavitz is rather eccentric, and doesn't care about Klemper's youth (he's around seventeen at the time) or legal issues; as long as he can keep his new sniper alive, that's what counts. Klemper somewhat reluctantly accepts the odd duty, though when more details of the assignment become clear, he's incensed: It turns out that this sniper is technically not a "real" Wehrmacht recruit, he was granted an honorary rank--of first lieutenant--without any training (hence why he needs someone to show him the ropes); plus, he has a reputation for frequenting bars and picking up people to go home with him--mostly male people (hence why he needs someone to try to keep him out of trouble). It's bad enough that this sniper, Ratdog, had a high rank simply handed to him AND he's allowed to get away with behavior that's obviously considered immoral and illegal, when Klemper had to work so hard just to end up permanently demoted, AND was seriously punished for his own personal activities--what's worse is that, from the looks of it, Schavitz requested Klemper's services with the thought that "birds of a feather flock together"--in short, Klemper is a degenerate troublemaker like Ratdog is, so obviously he's best suited to keep him in check. Klemper is VERY pissed off when he learns this, but Dasch reminds him he doesn't have many other prospects, he'd better take what he can get. He's assigned to keep an eye on Ratdog when he's in the city and occasionally on his solo missions, and is expected to return to his unit whenever they head out. Klemper introduces himself to Ratdog--who's around a decade older than he is--at a social gathering, where he's talking to two Allgemeine-SS officers; the private hesitates only briefly before announcing he's been assigned to "babysit" Ratdog. He does this to deliberately elicit a response; the SS major looks aghast (and quickly apologizes on Klemper's behalf), while the SS captain seems amused. Ratdog just raises an eyebrow and is like, really?--okay then. Klemper had rather hoped to offend him, but he doesn't. They start working together and the private goes out of his way to be as pissy and disagreeable as possible (part of this is intentional, part of it is the drugs) but Ratdog puts up with it. Ratdog, being the way he is, hits on Klemper but gets a knee to the groin and an elbow to the jaw and the word "SCHWUCHTEL!" yelled at him for his efforts; Dasch notices the bruise later and says, "You made a move on him, didn't you?"--then laughs. Despite this, they v-e-r-r-r-y gradually warm to each other--in fact, they eventually spend a night together--but Klemper himself puts an end to that when he realizes Ratdog isn't the monogamous type. For his part, Dasch talks privately with Ratdog, telling him that if he ever does anything to hurt Klemper in any way, Dasch will put a bullet in his head himself. Ratdog replies that he has no such intentions. Rather, it's his unintentional actions that set Klemper off. He takes an SS officer home with him once and considering how the SS screwed Klemper over (at least, that's what he assumes happened), this angers him even more than Ratdog's other dalliances, and when Ratdog makes another move on him he rebuffs him, snapping, "You want to bang someone so bad, just pick them up in the bar like you usually do!" Ratdog isn't sure what he did to offend Klemper (he's...really pretty stupid about these kinds of things), but follows his advice--well, sort of. He does go to the bar (another habit of his Klemper despises, due to his father's history with drinking), but declines when a sergeant tries to pick him up. The sergeant, Lange, later shows up at Ratdog's apartment, forces his way in, beats the s**t out of Ratdog, and rapes him. Klemper shows up the next morning, since Ratdog didn't arrive when he was supposed to, and is stunned by the state he's in; Ratdog explains that he got in a bar fight, but Klemper knows better. He can't help but feel partly responsible, and when they and Lange have a run-in at another gathering and Lange makes a lewd comment to Ratdog, Klemper surreptitiously presses his pistol into Lange's gut and threatens him right back. The sergeant backs off; Ratdog says, "You're not going to make many friends this way," to which Klemper replies, "I'm not here to make friends." Klemper has the misfortune to run into Lange a second time, this time without Ratdog present, when his and Lange's units meet and temporarily team up to search abandoned houses in the countryside. Klemper heads upstairs and is promptly enamored of the knickknacks he finds on a bedroom shelf, taking down a snowglobe and admiring it. While staring at the swirling flakes, he catches the slightest movement in the reflection on the glass--and jerks to the side just as the shelf in front of him shatters. Lange followed him upstairs, and now attacks; Klemper dodges his blows at first, but is beaten, overpowered, and pinned down on the bed. (I don't think I ever mentioned, Klemper is average height but has a very slight, almost effeminate build--his uniform always looks too big for him--and Lange is tall and pretty muscular.) Lange doesn't get too far this time, however--Klemper is full of memories of what his father and former commanding officer did to him, plus he's cranked up on meth. He goes loose, Lange lets down his guard, then Klemper jams his knee into his groin, headbutts him with his Stahlhelm, and shoves him off. Then beats the s**t out of him just like Lange did to Ratdog. Dasch arrives at all the noise and breaks them up, demanding to know what's going on; "Misunderstanding," Klemper snaps, and Lange says nothing to clear that up. Dasch orders them both from the room and to return to their units, not quite sure what was going on, and not really wanting to know; at least it looks like Klemper came out on top. Afterward, Ratdog gets a look at Klemper's black eyes, exactly the way he looked after his encounter with Lange. He decides he'd like to give monogamy a shot. Dasch finds out the two have gotten involved again, and is exasperated, but this time around it seems different; Klemper's mood improves, and he seems to be doing more than just existing day to day. The relationship hits a severe bump when Ratdog receives a summons from higher-ups in the Wehrmacht regarding his "honorary" status, however; he informs Klemper he has to go speak with the officials to defend his position, and Klemper doesn't take it well. "Everybody leaves!" he despairs, "Nobody comes back." He brushes off Ratdog's assurances that he'll return when he can, and in Ratdog's absence, resumes his former morose demeanor, keeping to himself, staring off into space, not looking after his own wellbeing. It gets so bad one of his comrades asks Dasch to put him on lookout duty just to give him something to distract him; Dasch is leery of granting him such responsibility in his state, but as before, it seems to help somewhat; Klemper performs better when he has something to do. He's still isolated and depressed when not on watch, however, plus it doesn't help that he never gets any mail. ("You need someone out there who cares for you in order to get mail," Dasch tells Ratdog earlier in the story; "Herr Klemper has no one.") Dasch resolves to lambaste the lieutenant whenever he sees him again, for putting Klemper through this. Some weeks later, Klemper returns to camp from his watch, excited--Ratdog in tow. He'd spotted him heading through the woods, seeking their latest position; almost unable to believe it was him, Klemper went to greet him. Ratdog actually kept his promise and came back--the first person in Klemper's life to do so. Dasch doesn't know it yet, but this is the moment that cements things: Klemper's loyalty to Ratdog is undying, and he outright tells Ratdog he'll follow him "to the edge of the world" if need be. Sure, they still have plenty of rough patches--Klemper is an addict with serious, unresolved mental issues, after all, and Ratdog still struggles with keeping faithful--but after this they're basically inseparable. Ratdog explains the situation behind his absence to Dasch, and some unsettling details become clear. Turns out that Schavitz never cleared his appointment of Ratdog with the Wehrmacht itself, and when word reached them, they called him before them and threatened him with prison for impersonating an officer. Ratdog was caught completely offguard by this, and had no defense other than to ask them to speak with Schavitz. However, Schavitz never bothered responding to their summons, and Ratdog did end up jailed temporarily. While steaming over how to get this situation resolved, he was again summoned before the authorities; to his surprise, this time a new party was present: a captain from the Allgemeine-SS. (Ratdog vaguely remembered him from when Klemper introduced himself.) He was even more surprised when the captain spoke up in his defense, even offering a letter from his superior officer (the same major who had been present during Klemper's introduction). They're willing to vouch for Ratdog; they have the receipts to back it up, as they compile detailed files on as many people as they can, especially those in public positions. The Wehrmacht officials were skeptical--they don't answer to the SS, though obviously the SS wields an immense amount of power--but decided to formally recognize Ratdog's honorary title, as long as he reported back to them regularly, and kept himself out of trouble. He now has both them, and the SS watching him like a hawk. Not an ideal situation, but at least now he doesn't have to rely on Schavitz's fickle whims to keep his job. The two of them also learn the identity of Klemper's "Schutzengel," his guardian angel. When Dasch sent his desperate appeal to the Allgemeine-SS, it passed through an administrative office, where someone had to type up a copy to keep on file before it would presumably just be passed along to the next set of hands in the endless bureaucracy. That particular faceless secretary, however, actually read the letter while copying it, and took pause. The defense Dasch offered was that not only was Klemper a decorated war hero who had saved other German citizens, but he was very young as well, and surely he just didn't understand the wrong he'd done. This SS secretary did the math and realized Klemper was a child soldier who joined the Wehrmacht while underage. The secretary then pulled Klemper's file from the SS archives and learned he's an orphan who had by necessity made the military his life after being left on his own. Even if he were spared execution, as Dasch had requested, he'd almost certainly end up dead, likely by his own hand, if he were discharged. This secretary took all this information to the officer in charge of the administrative office and argued on Klemper's behalf; the other officer was perplexed by the request, but knew it must be important, as this particular secretary never rocked the boat and had no history of asking for favors. He consented to a meeting between the SS and the Wehrmacht to work something out, and Klemper was allowed to keep his job. The secretary's name is Otto Himmel, and he's the same captain who snickered at Klemper's introduction and came to bail Ratdog out of trouble; his boss is Ludolf Jäger, the same major who cringed at Klemper's insolence yet agreed to present his defense to the Wehrmacht. Despite his unglamorous position as an administrator, Jäger is quite influential (he "knows where all the bodies are buried"), and his word carries a lot of weight even in the Wehrmacht. Dasch was quite lucky to get his attention. This wouldn't have happened without Himmel's intervention, however. It's a while before Dasch and Ratdog learn why he stood up for Klemper despite barely knowing him. Himmel was orphaned at nearly the same age Klemper was--fourteen--and just like Klemper, lied about his age to enlist in the Imperial German Army. (He also earned the Iron Cross.) He too argues he would have ended up dead without the army to turn to. Dasch's letter struck a chord for him while he was typing it up, and Klemper's personal file only sealed the deal; instead of shuffling the request off to get lost in the bureaucratic maze, he took it straight to the one person with the power to do something about it, Maj. Jäger. "This kid had best be worth it," Jäger had said, while filling the request. So, both Klemper's and Ratdog's military positions are guaranteed, at least for the time being, the only real drawback being that they have to deal with the SS now. Klemper HATES the SS for their involvement in the original charges against him, and, unaware of Himmel's role in helping keep him in the military, takes some of this frustration out on him, for example, asking him while he's typing, "Do you always do women's work?" (Himmel politely responds, "Are you always so charming, or do you have to practice?" Klemper just scowls.) Dasch can't really stand them either, though by necessity he and Ratdog are more diplomatic. Klemper does eventually mellow out just a bit--one day when Dasch starts mail call and Klemper retires by himself to a spot just outside the camp as he always does, Dasch calls him back, holding a small package in his hand and looking perplexed; the package is addressed to Klemper. Klemper assumes it must be a prank; he shoves the package in his backpack and feigns disinterest, but opens it in private later on. He briefly panics at the sight of the official SS letterhead, but it's simply a personal letter from Himmel (who's a prolific letter writer--he writes regularly to his deceased wife throughout the war). Knowing what it felt like to never receive any correspondence during the Great War, he states his intention to send Klemper a letter or package every so often, whether Klemper responds or not, until any such point that Klemper tells him to stop. Klemper opens the rest of the package and finds chocolates (Himmel also likes candies). I have yet to work out how much of a role Dasch plays through most of the story--obviously, he's a substitute father figure, and one of the very few people Klemper unconditionally trusts--just that he's there leading his unit all around the countryside on their various missions, and Ratdog often has to track them down when he needs to connect with Klemper again; at least a few times, Jäger and/or Himmel has to assist, coordinating with the Waffen-SS to figure out where they are. Near the height of the story, I know Dasch is so seriously wounded it looks like he won't live, and Klemper panics--"Don't leave! Don't leave!"--trying to keep him alive. He manages to pull through. Schavitz meets an unpleasant end at the hands of Ratdog and Trench Rat Gold Rat, after Ratdog learns that he--not the Trench Rats--was responsible for the death of Ratdog's young son--the very reason Ratdog became a sniper in the first place. Although by necessity Ratdog still works for the Wehrmacht, he finds himself growing more disillusioned with things, and he--and Klemper, who sticks to his vow to always follow him--actively sabotage several Nazi efforts to transport prisoners to camps. Although loyal to the military, Dasch is getting weary of it all, too, especially when it becomes clear that certain units in the Wehrmacht have been collaborating with the SS Einsatzgruppen to massacre unarmed civilians (even Jäger gets pissed off about this). Ah, something I believe I forgot to mention, I think it's Lange's unit (he's not in command though, and didn't meet Klemper at the time) that is responsible for burning down all those country settlements and homes, including Klemper's home, as well as the village Klemper managed to intervene to save--Germans targeting their own. When the news of Schavitz's death gets out, another Wehrmacht general calls Ratdog and Dasch's unit to Schavitz's castle to clear things up. Schavitz's chauffeur, Sgt. Eisen, is startled to learn of what happened; after confirming that it's so, he promptly outlines all the crimes Schavitz committed during his service--including murdering at least one girl, and causing the death of Ratdog's son--and confesses his complicity in covering up the crimes. He then shoots himself before anyone can intervene. Rattled but undeterred, the general calls Dasch and Klemper before him; both of them fully expect some sort of punishment for pushing back against the Nazis, but instead, the general promotes Dasch from second to first lieutenant--and then not only lifts the prohibition on Klemper being able to progress through the ranks, and restores his original rank of Unteroffizier, but also promotes him to Feldwebel (Sergeant First Class). Klemper is so stunned by this sudden turn of events that he can't speak, but Dasch beams at him more proudly than his father ever could. Just after the Allies seize control of the city and the Wehrmacht surrenders, Ratdog and Klemper part ways from the military for good. As they're walking back out through the country on their way to Ratdog's woodland home, Klemper suddenly shoves Ratdog to the ground with an alarmed yell--Ratdog hears the distinct sound of two gunshots and the whir and thud of them making impact. He asks where the sniper is located; Klemper manages to spot him, and Ratdog shoots. They carefully approach and find a rogue Wehrmacht officer, dead by Ratdog's hand; "What was the point?--the war is over!" Ratdog yells at the body, frustrated. Then gasps in surprise when Klemper grasps his arm and sinks to the ground. He successfully protected Ratdog from harm, fulfilling his intended duty, but was wounded himself in the process. Ratdog gets him back to his house and works to remove the bullet and bandage the wound to stop the bleeding; Klemper improves somewhat, and he and Ratdog share a few words before he falls asleep, but by morning he's dead--having bled out from the second gunshot wound, which neither of them had been able to see in the mess of blood. Ratdog is inconsolable, burying Klemper beside the grave of his young son. When Dasch learns of Klemper's death, it's like a punch to the gut; he's a bachelor who never fathered any children, but it feels exactly like he just lost one. Some time later, something starts to happen. A former partisan, named Elias Baswitz--the same partisan Klemper had rescued and been briefly involved with--visits the village Klemper rescued from destruction so long ago, and talks with the village leaders. He has a proposal, that they establish a sort of memorial for Klemper; he's already managed to gather some funding from others previously in the partisan network, as Klemper's and Ratdog's actions intervening to rescue certain victims of the Nazis are well known. The villagers excitedly agree to the idea, as Klemper had already achieved a sort of folk status in the village; they clear a small plot of land near the village, and contact a sculptor, who agrees to create a statue if someone can provide him with a decent photo of Klemper. Here, the project hits a snag; the only photo available of Klemper is a small portrait picture taken when he entered the Wehrmacht at age thirteen (his SS file has gone missing or was destroyed). Otto Himmel, who was stripped of his rank by an Allied military tribunal and now lives out in the country, asks if a drawing would do. He presents them with a detailed, incredibly accurate sketch of Klemper--his son, Kolten, who has an eidetic memory, made the drawing after a brief chance encounter where Klemper gave him a small glass animal he'd stolen. The sketch of Klemper standing in his greatcoat and Stahlhelm is the perfect pose for the statue, and not long after, it's unveiled in the small country park dedicated in Klemper's name. The villagers, Ratdog, Dasch, Baswitz, Himmel and his son, several of the Trench Rats still in the country, and various others gather for the event. Everyone is awed when the lifesize statue is revealed; "My drawing, Papa," Kolten whispers, and Himmel beams at him. "It looks just like him," Dasch says, having to rub at his eye. Ratdog and Baswitz are similarly overcome, and after most of the guests disperse, they remain behind to admire the statue and share a few memories of him. Dasch murmurs, "I thought for sure he'd outlive all of us." They're briefly amused at the thought that Klemper would hate the statue, though Ratdog reveals to the other two something Klemper had recently confided to him. He'd said that the one thing he wanted more than anything else was to know that he mattered to someone; then he'd added, "I have everything I want." [Frieder Dasch 2022 [Friday, October 7, 2022, 4:00:11 AM]] |