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Vincenz Immerwahr Blog Entry |
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August 26, 2022, 4:00:07 AM August 26, 2022, 4:00:19 AM 8/26/22: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Oberstgruppenführer (General) Vincenz Immerwahr, without cap (top drawing) and with cap (bottom drawing). There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding his design, he's a salt-and-pepper standard schnauzer. He doesn't have a mustache and beard, that's just what his fur looks like. Unlike most of my characters he usually goes without his cap. His hair is supposed to be gunmetal gray from age, and wavy, but I'm not so good at drawing that. I'm iffy about the exact colors of the parts of his cap, unfortunately; I'll likewise give more details on that elsewhere. TUMBLR EDIT: First off, since I forgot to type it up the first time, the cap colors. What is the ropey-thingie on a peaked cap? The thing that would otherwise go under the chin, surely it's not just called a chinstrap? I've seen the term but am too lazy to go Googling. I learned somehow that generals in the Wehrmacht, at least, had a gold one of those but the other officers had silver ones, and then there were the noncommissioned officers, I think they're called?--they just had a regular band and not a ropey-thingie. Wow I sound really stupid but I seriously do not know the parts of military uniforms. Anyway. I have NO IDEA if this also stood for generals in the Waffen-SS. There's this guy on DeviantArt who has lots of art of German WWII uniforms, including the SS, but Immerwahr's particular rank doesn't show up. (Perhaps, even, this is a rank they didn't use in the Waffen-SS? I don't know. I play fast and loose with the ranks because there wasn't exact correlation between the military and non-military branches, I don't think, and there were definite differences between the ACTUAL military (Wehrmacht) and the paramilitary (SS). For example, Capt. Himmel is a captain (Hauptmann) in the German military before he joins the SS and is then known as a captain (Hauptsturmführer) when I don't think that's the way it worked at all, your rank didn't go along with you and transfer into another rank, haha. I think. I'm not sure and my Google skills are not good enough for me to find out. This is the way it is for the simplicity of the story.) I'm going to just ASSUME SS generals had a gold ropey-thingie too, or at least, that's how it'll be in my story. After I decided that, I got stumped on the eagle and the Totenkopf. Are THOSE supposed to be gold, too?? I've never seen a gold Totenkopf so I assume that stayed silver, and I kept the eagle silver, too. But oh God I just have no idea. Anyway. Now you see why I didn't share any of this in SketchDaily. (EDIT, uh-oh, just found THIS graphic from a YouTube video and it shows a golden eagle on what I assume is a Wehrmacht peaked cap. o_o; Uh. Well.) (By now you've probably also noticed I was very literal with "field gray" and made the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS uniforms (and the Allgemeine-SS's out-in-the-field uniforms, which don't show up much) a blue-gray color. I could've sworn I saw this color on German uniforms early on but now when I look everything is somewhere between regular gray (rare) and dark green (which is actually field gray). So... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I went with blue-gray. That's why they look the way they do. There's a joke meme somewhere about this but I can't find it. Enjoy this instead.) (BTW, far left, second down--that's closest to what I was going for.) All righty, now that that's out of the way. I don't know much at all about Gen. Immerwahr's past, I'm afraid; he hasn't shared it yet. I do know he's presumably from a well-off family, is a veteran of the Great War, and is well decorated. He enters the Waffen-SS after it forms, and trains and leads troops in the Second World War. He's one of the story's older characters, in his late fifties or early sixties by the time of the main storyline, so by then he's informally "retired" from active duty, and instead spends most of his time visiting hospitalized troops to boost morale, and hosting lavish parties at his huge estate in the middle of the city, ostensibly to help raise funds for the SS, though in truth he just likes hosting parties. He's quite rich and his household is crammed to the gills with art, relics, and statuary that were almost certainly obtained through dubious means, and which make Standartenführer Rupprecht Heidenreich shudder every time he visits--"Degenerate!" he exclaims at the primitive art. Obviously, Immerwahr doesn't give a rip about Heidenreich's opinion of his decor, even though by SS standards it really is pretty degenerate. Although he's SS himself, he's rather amused by the SS's prudish attitude toward such things, and enjoys triggering their dismay. (I don't know if it was so IRL, probably not, but there's a sort of rivalry between the three SS branches in my story, especially between the non-militarized Allgemeine-SS (seen as a bunch of bureaucratic rats) and the affiliated Waffen-SS and SS-Totenkopfverbände (the camp guards often formerly served in the Waffen-SS), so they often s**t-talk each other.) Immerwahr has lots of experience not caring what others think of him. The degenerate art in his household is actually the least such thing. He develops a reputation early on for enjoying the company of men far more than the company of women; he does father some children (at least six) by several women, two more than the minimum "required" by the SS, but never marries, and a steady stream of men--most of them young, fit SS officers--visit his tent and then his house. His rank and military reputation are such that nobody bothers reporting him even though this sort of behavior is criminal in the eyes of the SS. So, although he doesn't flaunt it, he has no real reason to hide it, either. Then he makes a move on a promising, trusted officer of his named Gunter Hesse, stroking the back of his neck and suggesting they go to his tent. Immerwahr usually has a good sense of who will respond favorably or not; but he misjudges Hesse. The younger officer declines to join him, and Immerwahr backs off and makes no further attempts with him; he's not obnoxious. Then a while later, an officer from the Allgemeine-SS, the intelligence branch, visits and gingerly asks him some questions. It soon becomes clear someone has filed a complaint against him for indecent/immoral behavior. Immerwahr doesn't lie, but he keeps his answers vague, and the other officer doesn't request elaboration; if anything, he goes out of his way to treat the complaint as frivolous, as surely somebody of Immerwahr's standing would never do such a thing. He assures Immerwahr he has nothing to worry about and it's likely the complaint will be tossed. Immerwahr tries to ask who brought the complaint; the officer apologetically says he can't provide that information, but it doesn't matter. Immerwahr is already pretty sure it's Hesse. Nothing comes of the complaint, no one bothers visiting him again. Just as he assumed would happen. Hesse, still serving in his unit, tries to avoid close contact with him as much as possible, and Immerwahr lets him. No point humiliating him even further. It isn't long anyway before Hesse is injured in battle badly enough to end up in hospital, unlikely to be able to return to the front. Immerwahr is genuinely disappointed, paying him a brief visit to let him know his service will be missed; Hesse thanks him though he's plainly uncomfortable, and Immerwahr doesn't stay long. When he's well enough to leave, Hesse departs for the Dobermann estate where he keeps a room, and that's that. Well, not quite. While Hesse is still in hospital, Immerwahr receives a visitor at his own estate, a young (handsome) Waffen-SS physician named Erich Arzt. He's in charge of Hesse's medical care and has come with a request: Upon his recovery, Hesse wishes to be transferred to the Allgemeine-SS for what's essentially a desk job. He requires a letter of recommendation...from his commanding officer. Immerwahr can't help but laugh at the irony, and that's exactly why he writes a recommendation full of glowing praise, at how "perfect" Hesse would be for such a job. He also types up a second letter, recommending Hesse for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and asks Arzt to mail them both. Before Arzt leaves, though, Immerwahr suggests that he visit sometime and Immerwahr can give him a tour of his artwork, and let him see the "excellent view" from his private balcony. Arzt stares at him for a moment before the corner of his mouth twitches and he says he'll definitely consider it, then he exits. (Let's just say he does more than "definitely consider" it. He and another Waffen-SS officer, Oskar Ettlinger, carry on a casual three-way relationship with Immerwahr for a while. Ettlinger is a bit more prudish/vanilla but Arzt is down to try pretty much anything at least once.) Hesse gets his Allgemeine-SS job, with Heidenreich as his new boss. When Heidenreich goes to greet him he belatedly realizes Hesse is the one who attempted to report Immerwahr to the Allgemeine-SS, and gushes with praise. Hesse, confused, reminds him that he was the one who refused to investigate the complaint. Well yes, but that's not the point, Heidenreich replies. Of course they couldn't follow up on that particular complaint, Immerwahr is way too influential. But the mere fact that Hesse had the audacity to report him in the first place is what matters. "I need more men like you!" Heidenreich exclaims, and departs, leaving Hesse even more perplexed than ever. As I mentioned, Immerwahr informally retires from active duty, but becomes well known for receiving guests and hosting parties at his huge home. Unlike other well-to-do characters like Insp. Dobermann and Lt. Col. Heidenreich, his estate is located not in the countryside but right in the middle of the city, with balconies overlooking the city proper, a vast courtyard, and the public square where the Nazis sometimes hold rallies and events. This makes it a coveted visiting spot, and fortunately Immerwahr is generous with his invitations. His household staff are a bit unusual, though. His own preferences aren't exactly secret, but he doesn't go announcing them either; to further avoid drama, he makes a point of employing people generally regarded as undesirable by the Nazis--Roma, gays/lesbians, even Jews--people who definitely won't go blabbing about who exactly he invites back to his private quarters. The staff are equally discreet about being seen too much themselves, so after they take care of their business they seemingly vanish, often making it appear as if Immerwahr is the only resident of the estate and it just tends to itself. Immerwahr treats them well and doesn't blab about their status, either; a few people know or suspect, but say nothing. Altogether it's an odd situation, but Immerwahr himself is a bit odd, so nobody complains about it--publicly, at least. Well, aside from Hesse's single abortive attempt. (Like I said, Heidenreich clutches his pearls once in a while but other than that never causes a fuss; he's too busy breaking a few SS rules himself.) Hesse arrives at Immerwahr's estate one day seeking permission to use the property in conjunction with a duel. Yep, a good old-fashioned duel. Seems Hesse and an SS-Totenkopfverbände officer, Maj. Jan Delbrück, got into a heated argument recently--Hesse has been investigating Delbrück for allegedly being involved with a Jewish prostitute, and when he brought this up while they were visiting a popular nightclub, Delbrück responded by calling Hesse's mistress, a singer at the club, a whore right in front of her (really, really bad move)--Hesse managed to mostly keep his head but Delbrück ended up challenging him to a duel to protect his own honor. So, yeah. To the SS this is a thing. Hesse accepted the challenge only because it's the only way to save face, plus he assumed--incorrectly--that his mistress, Sophie, would be offended if he didn't. (She gets pissed off instead that he accepted the challenge--and slaps him in the face over it, in front of Heidenreich and everyone else in his office. Yikes.) Hesse just wants to get the stupid thing over with, but when Heidenreich catches wind, he insists this will be a good opportunity to drum up patriotism as well as funds. Therefore, what was originally intended as a private matter will instead be a grand public event with banners and torches and music and souvenirs for sale. Tacky as hell--neither Hesse nor Delbrück enjoys the idea--but Heidenreich slavers over it (he's always looking for new avenues to make money for the SS), and Immerwahr thinks it sounds like it'll be fun. There should be great public interest in an SS duel, and all those people will need someplace to gather and watch, meaning the public square. Immerwahr's estate takes up fully one end of the square and Hesse asks that privileged guests, including members of the Dobermann household, be allowed to use the balconies. Immerwahr readily grants this. He doesn't let Hesse go without getting in a few more pointed words, however, expressing a lack of surprise that he should end up dueling one of his own comrades: "You do realize absolutely everyone hates you now, ja?" he says, referring to Hesse's current status as a "rat" in the Allgemeine-SS. "Granted," he adds, "we don't join the Schutzstaffel to be loved." After sufficient preparation--the SS has to put out public notices, produce merchandise (some of it likely provided by the good workers in the labor camp), prepare routines for their show troops and band (yeah, the SS band is also a thing), and decide what to charge for what will be the best views--the evening of the duel arrives. The city square is festooned with huge lightning-bolt flags and swastikas, red and black and white and flames everywhere, pounding drums, booming orchestras, crowds of SS members in full uniform, banner-carrying riders on horses to introduce the contestants. Tacky, tacky, tacky, but the public laps it up, turning out in massive numbers to catch some of the action. (Even one of the prostitutes from the brothel Delbrück visits--yep, Hesse's investigation is actually justified--shows up to see how it goes.) The Dobermann guests are given the best spot, along with the Heidenreichs, a few employees of Hesse's office, Delbrück's boss Lt. Col. Hasso Reinhardt (the camp commandant) and his secretary, and a few of Immerwahr's own guests like Capt. Arzt. The three branches of the SS informally choose sides: the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the Waffen-SS backing Delbrück, the Allgemeine-SS backing Hesse. Judging by the cheers, Delbrück is obviously both the more popular of the two, and favored to win; he's younger, fitter, and oh right, he's not a rat. Hesse is older, a bit shorter, and a bit heavier; however, he's also the more experienced of the two, having fought in two wars while Delbrück's combat experience, as well as time spent in the SS, are far more limited. The duel--performed with swords, as Delbrück requested--is brutal, is close (both parties manage to repeatedly strike the other, Delbrück knocking Hesse's glasses off and Hesse slashing Delbrück's face), and almost goes to Delbrück--but Hesse barely manages to disarm him at the last minute, knocks his feet out from under him, and puts his sword at his neck. Delbrück concedes and the crowd, including the Allgemeine-SS, roars; the SS-Totenkopfverbände and Waffen-SS are considerably more subdued. Delbrück retrieves Hesse's glasses and hands them to him as he walks off, quietly congratulating him on his victory; unknown to Immerwahr and most of the others save Master Sgt. Theodor Schulte, Hesse's confidant, who meets him on the way out, Hesse immediately afterward suffers a mild heart attack, and returns to the Dobermann estate to recuperate. He decides to drop Delbrück's case, finding himself too weary of the entire business. I believe Adelina Dobermann interacts with Immerwahr at some point, most likely shortly before the duel, though I'm not sure what the purpose of it is yet. He likely confides some truth about Hesse or the SS to her, since she has a lot of misguided ideas, especially ones promulgated by Hesse himself. Immerwahr's estate is also where the plot against Rupprecht Heidenreich's life is informally born, when his wife, Eva, breaks away from him at a party and steps out to the balcony to take a breath; her marriage has been rapidly going downhill for quite a while, with her husband constantly having affairs, and the previous night he refused to back off when she told him no. She's made up her mind, she wants him dead. On the balcony she meets Capt. Arzt, who's also stepped out, for a drink; he offers her one, saying she looks like she needs it. They chat a bit, then share a brief encounter in one of the many rooms where Immerwahr displays the very same art and relics Heidenreich derides as "degenerate." Over the next several weeks as they continue to meet, she asks him about poisons; he tells her about bombs instead. When a mysterious gift blows up Heidenreich's home office--with him in it--the investigation is placed in Hesse's hands as he temporarily assumes Heidenreich's place. The initial belief that the resistance Diamond Network, known for blowing things up, is to blame quickly falls apart, and activation of the bomb is traced to Eva Heidenreich herself; she's publicly hanged, unrepentant to the end. (She does recommend that Hesse take her husband's old position permanently, since he's the one best suited for the job--he found her, after all.) Hesse knows she didn't act alone, and traces the bomb itself to Arzt. He and one of his men go to Immerwahr's estate, where Arzt is known to visit, and find him lounging with Immerwahr and Ettlinger on the balcony, smoking and sipping drinks. At first he claims he has no idea what Hesse is talking about, but when Hesse shows him a damaged piece of a custom pocket watch used in the bomb--the watchmaker's records confirm who owns it--he realizes they have him. He admits to his role in the plot, insists he and Eva were the only parties complicit, and just as she did, shows no remorse. As they take him into custody Hesse looks at Immerwahr and says, "You really didn't know?" The stunned Immerwahr quietly replies, "I had no idea." Which is true. (Arzt, BTW, commits suicide via a cyanide capsule before Hesse can even get him back to headquarters, thus escaping punishment.) Currently, Immerwahr's later involvement in the plot is unknown to me; he's more of a secondary character and remains in the background most of the time, though I imagine as the plot develops he could acquire more "on-screen" time. Maybe he has to lead troops again toward the end as things start falling apart, not sure. I'm pretty sure that not long after the war he's captured (or surrenders) and is executed for war crimes; he admits responsibility for his actions and doesn't protest the outcome. I don't think he actively participated in any massacres or anything, but at the same time, I doubt he checked the exact provenance of all that art he owned, either. [Vincenz Immerwahr 2022 [Friday, August 26, 2022, 4:00:07 AM]] [Vincenz Immerwahr 2022 2 [Friday, August 26, 2022, 4:00:19 AM]] |
