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Magdalena Jäger Blog Entry



Magdalena Jäger
June 9, 2023, 2:00:23 AM


6/9/23: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Magdalena "Magda" Jäger. She's the wife of THIS GUY; the two of them are devoted to each other and have a slew of kids. Also, they're both fanatics, though this isn't revealed until late in the story in a tragic way. There'll be more about her later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se.

Regarding her design, like her husband she's leucistic, not albino. You see I also have issues with braids.

TUMBLR EDIT: Magda Jäger isn't a major character, she mostly provides a sort of comic relief in interactions with Capt. Otto Himmel. A sort of running joke is that she's pregnant throughout pretty much the entire series; by the storyline's end she has nine kids, with a tenth on the way. Result is she's almost constantly hormonal, and her behavior alternates between being sweet and motherly, flying into rages over affairs she imagines her husband's engaging in, weeping her eyes out apologizing to him, then wanting immediately to drag him off to bed with her. Himmel's frequently on the receiving end of her erratic moods, and he finds her rather terrifying, though the large brood of Jäger children adore "Uncle Otto" and swarm him for candy whenever he visits his boss Maj. Ludolf Jäger. (Himmel always acts annoyed by the attention, though he loves the Jäger children right back--having always wanted a big family of his own--and always has plenty of candies in his pockets for them to pick.)

Magda is almost slavishly devoted to "her Teutonic Knight" Jäger (despite being certain half the time that he's cheating on her with all of the young pretty secretaries in his employ) (he really isn't, BTW), viewing him as having rescued her from a potentially unhappy life. She'd go to the ends of the earth for him, and rather sadly, that's about what she ends up doing. I used to believe their marriage was more transactional than romantic--Jäger had definite motivations when choosing her for his bride, and Magda had her reasons for saying yes--though I'm sure by now that they genuinely do love each other. It just ends up being an unfortunately fanatical love: Jäger gradually but effectively radicalizes the formerly pretty neutral Magda, molding her into his image of the ideal Aryan wife, and the same ends up happening to her eldest daughter Leopoldine. So they might be sickly sweet and cutesy at times, but there's a lot of darkness simmering beneath the surface of the Jäger family.

When probably in her late teens, Magda has a brief fling with a handsome SS officer--she doesn't really care what the SS stands for, she just finds them dashing, like modern-day knights--and ends up pregnant. The officer isn't interested in marriage, and Magda can't afford to raise a child on her own, no matter how much she might want to. She takes the only route open to her and approaches a Lebensborn maternity facility. Lebensborn, organized by the SS to help boost the nation's faltering birth rate, operates homes for SS wives as well as unwed mothers-to-be of children deemed to be of sufficiently Aryan heritage. Here, pregnant women who might otherwise be shunned are welcomed and well cared for, their every need seen to to ensure their health and that of their babies. There's healthy eating, healthy living, healthy exercise; no drugs utilized during the birth process, which is intended to be natural; and then, of course, for the unwed mothers like Magda, the baby is put up for adoption to a childless SS family. Magda is saddened by this, but has no other options; she can't make it as a single mother, and it's unlikely anyone would want to marry her. She informs Lebensborn of the pedigree of her child's father, and to her relief, when questioned he confirms his relationship; Lebensborn takes Magda in, sets her up in a nice room, gives her a nice bed. She passes her pregnancy in relative peace and comfort among the other expectant mothers, and she can't really complain, though she does often look wistfully after the SS wives when their husbands arrive to take them home, and wishes that such an ideal life awaited her, too.

One day, it's so warm she decides to go sit out in the garden and take in the sunshine; after a time it gets to be a bit much, and she moves to get up from the bench--somewhat awkward, with her large belly--before a shadow falls over her, making her gasp. Looking up, all she can see at first is the silhouette of a man in uniform; he tilts his head a bit and she gets a better look at him. It's an SS officer with the collar tabs of a captain; he smiles at her, and offers his elbow. Magda mutely takes hold and he helps her to her feet. He carries a sword, just like a knight. He has the kindest, bluest eyes she's ever seen. "Walk with me...?" he offers, and Magda accepts. She would accept literally anything he asked, as she instantly falls head over heels in love. Magda has just met Ludolf Jäger, her future husband.

The two of them get to know each other over the next few visits, taking walks arm-in-arm around the Lebensborn property. Magda can't believe her luck: Jäger is tall, handsome, genteel, and he's chosen HER to lavish his attention upon. He finally asks her one day what it is that she desires the most out of life and she admits that she wishes she could keep her baby and start a family, it just unfortunately isn't in the cards for her. Jäger seems intrigued by her answer--is it true, she wants a big family? When she confirms it, he clasps her hands, looks her intently in the eyes, and says well then, let's do it, we can start a family together--he the husband, she the wife, and all the children they'll have--for the Reich. Magda doesn't care about the Reich that much yet--here's this handsome man asking for her hand despite her circumstances, and promising to offer her everything she's ever wanted. She leaps at the chance and tells him yes, yes, yes!...then sheepishly asks him what is his name again, because she forgot. After he leaves, she repeats the name "Ludolf" to herself dreamily. Such a noble name for such a noble man. She can hardly wait for her child to be born, so she can leave this place and start her new life as an SS bride. Her very own knight has come to sweep her away. A dream come true!

As planned, Magda gives birth at the maternity home--no painkillers, no anything but a natural birth just as Gott intended, that's the Lebensborn way--but the agony is worth it, for the life it promises her, in more than one way. She names her new daughter Leopoldine, and she's just the most perfect baby ever. Despite this, Magda awaits Jäger's arrival rather anxiously, afraid he might be disappointed that she didn't bear a son. When the squirming Leopoldine is placed in his arms, however, Magda can tell her fears were unfounded; Jäger smiles at the infant and murmurs adoringly, "My perfect little Prinzessin Leopoldine." He promptly adopts the girl as his own when he and Magda are wed, a lovely SS ceremony with swords and daggers and occult symbols and reading excerpts of Mein Kampf and all that weirdness, and then bundles the two into his open-top car and whisks them away into the mountains, off to his vacation home. The word "cabin" or "cottage" doesn't do it justice; it's nearly a chateau, with a large help staff on hand to cater to Magda's every whim, and so many rooms she could get lost in them. Jäger points out the amenities and curiosities as they stroll the halls and the grounds. Magda feels like a lady with her knight as she marvels at it all, hardly able to believe it isn't a dream, yet Jäger assures her it's real, and it's their life now. In addition to the mountain home he keeps a lavish apartment suite in the city--nowhere near as big as the mansion, but still impressive--and so when he returns to his job as an administrative official in the Allgemeine-SS, she can remain here, or she can accompany him, and she'll have maids and servants and nannies to help her there as well. Whatever she wants or needs is hers, all she has to do is ask.

Magda finally asks what's been lurking in the back of her mind: Why all this? Why her? Why is he offering her all this kindness? Jäger replies that she offers him just as much in return, as they both desire basically the same thing: A family, a large beautiful Aryan family, for the good of the Reich. When Magda admits she doesn't know a whole lot about the National Socialists and all they stand for, Jäger tells her not to worry--he'll teach her. He'll be her perfect Nazi husband and she'll be his perfect Nazi wife, and they'll raise Leopoldine and any other children they may have--hopefully plenty--in the Nazi ways, and bring glory and honor to the Fatherland. Magda has no problem with any of this, just that it's all a bit overwhelming for her; and it still doesn't quite answer her question: "But...why me, in particular? A woman with a child who isn't even yours...when someone like you could've had anyone, anyone at all...?" Jäger clasps Magda's hands and again looks her intently in the eyes.

Jäger: "Do you believe in Schicksal? Fate...destiny...life's purpose?"

Magda: "I'm...not sure. I've never thought about it."

Jäger: "Just looking in your eyes, I believe you do. You've thought about it many times, your entire life."

Magda: "I have?"

Jäger: "You have. Just without knowing what it was called, but you've always believed in it, always yearned for it. When you said you always wanted to be a mother, you recall?"

Magda: "Ja."

Jäger: "And fate, Gott, the universe, heard you and granted it. Maybe not the way you planned. But it worked out, ja?"

Magda: "Ja."

Jäger: "You're here now, with me, ja?"

Magda: (excited) "Ja!"

Jäger: "Fate always works out the way it should. Even if you don't understand why, it becomes clear in time. What it intends for you. Your purpose. When I saw you that day. Sitting in the sun. The light shining down on you, all golden. Motherhood and beauty and life. I hadn't known yet but I knew then, that was what I wanted. You were who I wanted. Seemingly imperfect, yet able to be made perfect. The same as our broken society. A scarred, crumbled Fatherland rising into a golden and glorious Reich. An abandoned, unwanted woman rising into golden and glorious motherhood. That other man has no idea what he's left behind, what he's given up. But I do. The seeds to start the perfect family on the way to a perfect society and then a perfect world. If only everyone could be as fortunate as we are, and find our life's purpose so easily, and pick up and build on from there, ja...?"

Magda: (wide eyed, murmuring) "Ja."

What Jäger doesn't say aloud: He's an expert judge of character, and a master manipulator. He could tell just from looking in Magda's eyes that first day at Lebensborn what sort of person she is: Idealistic, desperate to please, lonely, and naive. Especially naive. He sees a lump of clay he can mold to be whatever he wishes, and he won't even have to force or coerce her, since that's not his style, coercion is for unintelligent brutes, which Jäger is not. Jäger is intelligent, charismatic, sly; why use force when all you have to do is persuade someone of what they've wanted all along? Magda's worldview requires a few tweaks, a little pruning and cultivation here and there, yet for the most part she's ready-made to suit his purposes. He does sincerely believe in fate--it was purely by fate that he ran across her at Lebensborn that day. Yet even fate needs an active hand now and then, and that's his job. As he answers Magda's question, he sees the look in her eyes, those blue, beautiful but vapidly gullible eyes, shift--just slightly--as her own version of understanding starts to dawn. Magda is really rather stupid. She'll believe whatever anyone else tells her. Jäger will not only make her smarter, but he'll make sure he's the one she chooses to believe. And judging by the look in her eyes, they're both well on their way to that goal.

Magda, as emptyheaded and malleable as she is at first, is no innocent in this scenario: Despite her lofty dreams of knights and ladies, at the very heart of it all is her own desire for self-preservation. Jäger is her meal ticket, and Leopoldine's as well. He takes her teenage mistake and turns it into all her wildest dreams granted--all she has to do is give him a family. She's never had particularly grand aspirations--being a housewife was basically it. So Jäger doesn't even have to convince her to change her mind about her goal. Rather, he places it in a new and different light, making it not selfish but selfless, not just about her and her daughter's needs but about the greater good, as well. And the more Magda hears, the more she likes, because the more opportunities she sees. She doesn't have to settle for being JUST a housewife. Jäger suggests that she can be the catalyst of an entire movement, the mother of her own grand destiny. Granted, he'll be there right beside her, guiding her at first...but it's a much more appealing outcome than the one she'd originally envisioned at Lebensborn. She isn't just a dumped unwed mother with a bastard kid to feed. She's a mother and a wife, she's life, she's the start of something glorious and wonderful. Jäger plants the ideas in her mind and they quickly take root. She didn't know or even really care about all this before. But he frames it all in just the right way to cover everything Magda's ever feared or hoped for. She has her own goals, but Jäger skillfully weaves them in with his so they become the same. He starts to lay out his plans for them both, for Leopoldine and the unborn children they plan to have, and Magda listens closely, an eager participant.

The marriage starts out as transactional--both of them are getting out of it something that they want and need. Both Magda and Jäger are using each other--and they know it. Magda proves to be such a willing and apt student, however--and Jäger such a cunning mentor--that a transactional marriage soon shifts into a devoted partnership. Magda quickly jumps into the role of housewife and mother and it isn't long at all before Leopoldine gains a new baby sister, Lisbeth. Magda again worries Jäger will be disappointed to have a daughter but he adores "Meine kleinen Prinzessinnen!" and showers them with affection. Over the years, seven more children follow--daughter Liesl, son and daughter Lars and Lara (twins--an unexpected but welcome prize), son Lothar, daughters Lilli and Lotti (more twins), and final daughter Liane, before Magda becomes pregnant a tenth time. She earns herself a golden Mother's Cross which she displays proudly, on the proper occasions, of course.

This isn't to say that these are the only children Jäger's fathered. While Magda is pregnant with Lisbeth he tells her about his life before they met. He served briefly in the Waffen-SS before an injury forced him to seek a transfer to a non-combat position; he decided to transfer to the Allgemeine-SS. While recovering and waiting for all the details to be sorted out, a comrade suggested that he volunteer his services to Lebensborn. Now...Lebensborn not only runs maternity homes, but also a network of large, well-furnished country estates which are well known but not spoken of publicly very much. These homes periodically host mixed gatherings of single women and SS men, each of whom has been vetted for appropriate Aryan-ness as well as good health, mentality, and physical makeup; at the gatherings, the men and women mingle, chat, play games, relax, walk the grounds, and get to know each other--on a semi-anonymous, first-name basis only--before the host gathers them all together again, has the men stand in a row, and the women pick which man they find most appealing. This pair is to spend the next several days--and nights--together, in the hopes that a pregnancy will ensue--the entire thing is scheduled around the women's menstrual cycles to ensure maximum effectiveness. After this period the men go on their way while the women remain in touch with Lebensborn doctors, checking for signs of pregnancy; those who succeed go into the maternity homes to await the birth, after which the child is given up for adoption, while those who don't--and those few men who aren't selected the first time around--return to the country estates as soon as they're eligible again. In essence, Lebensborn runs a specialized stud service making use of unmarried women and SS men, and it's considered a good, albeit morally ambiguous, way to boost the German birth rate. SS officers who haven't yet settled down and started families are in high demand for this service--indeed, at such gatherings the women often outnumber the men--and are believed to be performing a noble and necessary job for the Third Reich. As he wasn't yet able to resume work, and was single and athletically fit, Jäger was a prime candidate for Lebensborn after leaving the Waffen-SS, and although even he had to mull it over a bit first ("I must confess, no matter how noble the cause, it all sounded a little...odd"), he decided he would give it a shot, for the Fatherland. Before he was accepted into the Allgemeine-SS and was able to return to work, Jäger surmises he fathered at least a handful of other children whose names and fates he doesn't know, as the fathers are never allowed contact. Magda has mixed feelings about all this--it's strange to think of half-siblings of her own children out there somewhere--yet this is just a part of life now, and rather than feel jealous, she decides it's a better use of her time to fill the role those anonymous women once did. The SS prefers traditional families, after all, and now that Jäger's found her, he has no more need of Lebensborn, same as her.

As it becomes clear Magda's 100% on board with Jäger's plans for her, he privately lets her in on some further details which are for her alone. A large part of his administrative job in the Allgemeine-SS (where he's since been promoted to major) involves approving--or not approving--financing for a medical project, Weltuntergang, being run by one Dr. Kammler. Capt. Himmel oversees the project and reports back to Jäger regarding his progress or lack thereof. (None of them are aware that Himmel, resentful that Kammler tried to have him killed and forced his son Kolten into the project, is actively sabotaging it from the inside, occasionally with Kolten's help.) Although Weltuntergang has dealt with a disappointing lack of speedy progress, it's managed to succeed at its initial goal: To create a sort of "Übersoldat," or supersoldier, to ensure the success of the Reich on the frontlines. The experimental serum works...just on an extremely limited, and thus ineffectual, basis. Kammler (due to Himmel's intervention) hasn't had luck tweaking the serum to work for more blood types...so Jäger has decided to go behind Kammler's back and seek alternate means of perfecting the serum. He's enlisted the aid of SS doctors who've been working on the formula separately from Kammler, first utilizing subjects from the nearby camp run by Maj. Klaus, then moving on to lower-level members of the Wehrmacht sworn to secrecy, and finally to members of the Waffen-SS. Without Himmel's interference, this "alternate" Projekt Weltuntergang--operating under the tentative name Ultima Thule--is showing much better progress than Kammler's experiment. "I always knew that quack was trouble," Jäger confides in Magda, "Kamerad Otto tried to warn me, I didn't listen! Lesson learned. But he did get us started off on the right foot. It's just like any endeavor, dear Magda, you start out with imperfection, and you work from there. Not that I need to explain that to you!"

He lowers his voice as if someone may be listening--Magda accordingly leans in--and tells her of future plans for Weltuntergang--or, more accurately, Ultima Thule. He's spearheading a contingency plan in case their original idea fails, meaning the collapse of the Third Reich itself. Magda is horrified--"My Ludolf!--don't speak of such a thing even in jest!"--so her husband has to calm her down to listen. "Such things happen sometimes, Liebe," he says, "and you have to be brave and be prepared. This is why I've taught you. Someday, you might need to act without me there to guide you." Magda can hardly bear to listen to such things, her eyes filling with tears, yet Jäger gently dries them and presses on. He points out that, while the two of them publicly abide by the principles and morals of the Nazi Party, in private there will be a few changes. Women in the Third Reich are, in general, second-class citizens, subservient to their husbands and lacking any real power or authority; "Yet you, you're different, my Magda," Jäger tells her. "All this time I've spent molding you to perfection has been as much for your good as for mine. You aren't perfect--yet. Neither am I. One day, soon, though, we all will be, you, me, Leopoldine, all of us. I helped lay the groundwork but from now on, the two of us are partners, equals, in this together. In the open, in front of the Reich, we'll still need to play our parts; but behind the scenes where it matters the most, you'll wield the same power I do, be capable of all the same things I am. Leopoldine will follow us, and all the rest. Even should worst come to worst and the Reich should fall, we'll have all we need to start anew, the seeds of a Fourth Reich, a far better and perfect Reich." He sees the look on Magda's face--after everything he's taught her, what he's saying is practically blasphemy--so he pauses and then adds, "I'd never force you into anything that makes you uncomfortable or goes against your principles, my Magda, so if this isn't what you want, let me know...?" and awaits her answer.

Magda: (murmuring) "I want what you want, my Ludolf."

Jäger: (shaking head) "Nein."

Magda: "Nein...?"

Jäger: "Stop and think, Liebe. Don't just say. I've taught you well, but now it's time for you to start standing on your own. Don't just say what you think I want to hear. Say what you mean. What you want."

Magda: "I do want what you want."

Jäger: "You're sure...? Stop and examine your thoughts. Make sure. You have no questions? You have no doubts? There's nothing wrong with doubting, Liebe. Questioning things is how we perfect them. Look at your thoughts, and if anything makes you pause, say it."

Magda: "I..." (trails off)

Jäger: "Go on, Liebe, say it. Your thoughts are equally as valid as mine."

Magda: "Just that, you know so much more than I do..."

Jäger: "You're no fool, Magda, I've taught you well. Go on and tell me. What makes you doubt?"

Magda: (bites lip) "Just..." (pause; deep breath) "Everything we've learned from the Reich, everything we stand for, how could it be imperfect?--how could it ever fall? Everything they taught us, Liebe, did they teach us wrong? The Reich is life. The Reich is all that's important. How can it ever fail? Why should we even need a Fourth Reich if this is the most perfect it can be? I don't understand."

Jäger: (smiles) "See, you do understand, Liebe. You haven't been lied to, yet you haven't gotten the truth. They've taught us what they believe and know--not lies. The thing is, their minds are so limited they don't KNOW the full truth! If you spend all your life living under the ground you won't even know there's a sky and sun and moon above you, will you? Everyone else, the people writing the books, teaching in the schools, they've been living underground. They can tell us only what they know. Yet we've found the surface. We know there's more. We can take what they've taught us, and build on it."

Magda: "But, how did we find the surface...? Why don't they know?"

Jäger: "My Magda! Such smart questions! I knew I made no mistake trusting in you. See, there are parts of the mind that most aren't even aware of, don't even know how to use. Yet there are ways to access them, if you know how to look. Ultima Thule will unlock one of these paths, make it easier for anyone to reach their full potential, use their whole mind. Me, I had to find out the hard way, through lots of searching, lots of studying of the old texts, lots of dissecting the old tales. They called these folk in the old tales 'gods' for a reason, Magda. A god is simply a being who's reached his full potential. Wotan! Donar! Frija! The primitive superstitious folk fear them and call them supernatural but really they're just Übermenschen. Folk who reached their full potential. So few of them and so awesome and inexplicable in their abilities. Of course the powers that be would assume our society is as perfect as it can be. They simply don't understand. We're on our way there, though, Liebe."

Magda: "To...being gods?"

Jäger: "Ja!" (clasps her face) "Meine Liebe! You understand me. Just wait. You'll see. We'll get there together, soon, and you'll see not only how imperfect is the Third Reich, but how perfect and wondrous will be the Fourth. Ultima Thule is the goal, and you and Leopoldine and die Kinder will be right there with me. A perfect new world."

Magda has to admit: When Jäger first swept her off her feet and out of Lebensborn, she wasn't counting on "becoming gods" being part of the deal. Yet here they are. He instructs her and Leopoldine--who appears to be following directly in his footsteps and hangs on every word he says--on what to do and what to expect as the war drags on, and when things start looking grim for the Axis, it just proves that he was right all along: The Third Reich is teetering on feet of clay, and shows signs of collapsing at any time. Magda can't help it; she's full of dread and anxiety and longs for simpler, happier times--she really doesn't want to be a god. Jäger, however, is more hopeful and enthusiastic than ever--"It's just an unfortunate fact, my Magda, as fresh flowers bloom from a rotting corpse, so the old Reich must fall so the new one can be born"--and Leopoldine is just as excited at the prospect as he is, truly a "Daddy's little girl." As Magda adores her husband and trusts him in everything, she decides to trust him, too, in this, and doesn't protest, though she's definitely fearful.

Jäger takes the family out to their mountain chalet to stay while he finishes with some business in the city; Magda begs to go with him, yet he assures her he'll be careful, that she and the children are to remain there for their own safety. Magda agonizes the entire time he's gone, frequently standing on the deck and watching for his return, having to pull herself away to look after the younger children. She tries also to keep the help staff calm as their own agitation grows, though when they start asking to return to their families to get them out of the city, she obliges so that only a skeleton crew of the oldest and most devoted staff remains. She tries to bite back her tears and growing panic as she does more of the chores herself, reminding herself that this is what a good Reich bride does, to trust in her husband and not worry so much that, as always, the only news that comes over the radio is propaganda about how well things are going for the Fatherland.

Late one night as Magda is lying in bed trying to fall asleep, she feels a hand press over her mouth, and bolts upright with a muffled scream. Before she can fight back the shadow in front of her hurries to whisper, "Shush! Shush! Magda, Liebe! It's me," and Magda lets out her breath and throws her arms around Jäger, hugging him tight. He hugs her only briefly before ordering her in a low voice, "Wake Leo and the rest of die Kinder and have her help you fetch them some of their clothes and belongings. Schnell. Then fetch some of your own. I'll get our papers. What happened to the rest of the staff?" When Magda replies that she let them go home to their families, he touches her face and says, "Smart Magda, good decision. Let them go see to their own. I'll let the rest go when we're done here. No questions, just fetch die Kinder and do as I say and I'll explain on the way, schnell," and he leaves.

Biting down the flood of anxiety that threatens to overwhelm her, Magda obeys. She wakes Leopoldine and the two of them rouse the rest of the children, grabbing clothes, diapers, toys, necessities. On her way hurrying them through the house she spots Jäger collecting their important documents and other things she wouldn't have thought of bringing along. Outside, she's surprised to find a military truck waiting; the driver waves them forward and helps them climb in the back. Magda peers out and sees the remaining members of the help staff emerge; Jäger gives some sets of keys to the head servant, who wipes his eyes and actually hugs him before they hurry off to the family car. Confused, Magda asks, "You gave them your car...?" as Jäger climbs in the truck with them. "We won't need it where we're going, Liebe," he replies, and thumps his hand on the truck's cab. "Best settle in, it's going to be a long trip," he advises, and they do so the best they can as the truck pulls away from the chalet and makes its way down the mountain path.

As the children doze and the truck bumps along, Jäger quietly outlines the situation. As Magda had suspected, the news on the radio hadn't been accurate; the Americans have arrived from the west, and the Red Army is pressing in from the east. The city is on the verge of falling to the Allies, as the few remaining Wehrmacht and SS troops are starting to desert. Himmel and Kammler have been captured by the Americans already, and Projekt Weltuntergang headquarters seized (though not before Jäger made off with the most important documentation). Magda moans and covers her face but Jäger gently pulls her hands free and cups her cheeks, cooing, "Magda, mein Schatz, don't be afraid, I told you this was coming, don't you believe me?"

Magda: "I believe you, Ludolf, but what's going to happen to us now? I'm trying to be strong, honest, but I'm afraid."

Jäger: "It's going to be all right, Liebe. Trust me, trust the plan."

Magda: "I don't know the plan!"

Jäger: "Keep your head. I had some small hope it wouldn't come to this, yet it has, so this is what we do. We're heading south, to the mountains."

Magda: (confused) "The Alps--?"

Jäger: "Ja. It's going to be a long trip, but don't worry, we'll make a few stops for food and fuel and for die Kinder to stretch their legs. We need to hurry, though--no dallying. We'll be joining some more men and vehicles along the way. Nothing for you to fret too much about. We'll have everything we need."

Magda: "Everything we need for what...?"

Jäger: (kisses her) "For our glorious new Reich to be born."

As they continue, several other vehicles arriving and accompanying them to form a small caravan, further details emerge: They're indeed heading for the Alps, where Jäger informs her a specially built fortress awaits. They'll be starting their new life there, and will shelter in the mountains until the situation on the ground is under control, then for a while afterward: "We need to start building things up again, Magda Liebe, and it'll take time before we can head out into the world again, yet we can do it!" Magda worries about the prospects of trying to live in an Alpine Fortress--surely they won't have enough to get by--but Jäger dismisses her fears, reassuring her that there's enough food and other resources to last for at least a decade. As they finally reach the mountains and switch to vehicles that can better handle the terrain and weather, slowly climbing higher and higher until at last Jäger pulls Magda and Leopoldine forward to look out at the scenery, it at last dawns on Magda how severely she underestimated the concept of a "fortress." All she can see of it from the outside are occasional entryways built into the mountainsides, yet they're gaping and cavernous when they open (skillfully disguised when closed), and after their own caravan enters one she gets her first look at just how prepared they really are.

The Fortress has been under construction for years--almost since the first days of the Reich--and as Jäger tells her, it was originally intended for the Führer and his staff and families to flee to should the Reich fall. Sometime along the way, construction and planning were abandoned and the Fortress was deemed no longer necessary...yet a small group of elites-within-the-elite, a group known as the Thule Society, took it upon themselves to quietly resume work upon the project. They incorporated it into their plans for Projekt Weltuntergang and referred to the whole as Projekt Ultima Thule--an expansion upon and perfection of the original project whose goal was simply to create a supersoldier for the Reich to win the war. The war is now almost lost, yet the project continues, with the renewed purpose of creating the true master race ("It turns out it actually has little to do with race, Liebe," Jäger explains); as they grow in numbers and gather power, they'll remain hidden in the Alps, but they'll eventually make their way back down to the world to seize control and begin the Fourth Reich. It'll be a long, slow process, yet "We're here, together, my Magda, and take courage in the thought that we and our children will be in the vanguard of this wondrous new incarnation of Herrenvolk!" He adds that more SS families will start moving into the Fortress as they escape the war, and their children will marry and start families of their own. Leopoldine, when Jäger informs her of this, is excited at the prospect of being an SS bride and raising a big family just like her mother--"For the glory of the Reich!" Despite her own loyalty to the cause, Magda feels an uneasy twinge at hearing her young daughter (timeline is iffy but Leopoldine is probably between ten and twelve years old) talk already about bearing children for the men, and hopes such a thing doesn't come to pass TOO soon. Jäger assures her he'll let nothing inappropriate happen to Leopoldine or any of the others, though Magda privately determines to keep a close eye on things herself as well.

She does still have questions about how, exactly, they intend to overcome their shortcomings and "become gods" as the project promises. Here, finally, Jäger reveals something that truly fills her with dread: Everyone participating in Ultima Thule is to take the serum. That includes her, and all the children, even the youngest. Magda balks, when Jäger fills her in on something: He himself has already started the regimen of injections. He has her look closely at his eyes and she can't believe she hadn't noticed it yet--a hazy, almost glowy blue tinge, which she can see really only over his pupils as his eyes are naturally light blue. "What is that?" Magda gasps, and Jäger replies, "Just one of the small side effects, Liebe. You see me, I'm still alive, still healthy? I didn't want to needlessly worry you but I've already been feeling the intended effects of it. This is the first step to us becoming Übermenschen. Bitte, Liebe, join me? I want you here beside and equal to me. You can choose whether you want to take it or not, I'd never think of forcing you, yet if you decide nein, we can't go forward in this together."

He seems genuinely saddened at the prospect of her deciding to decline, and she does pick up the implication: He'll just go on without her if she refuses. Magda panics at the thought of losing her Ludolf, but does ask him what will become of the children if she says no? Jäger replies that the younger children, being unable in his opinion to decide for themselves yet, could go with her, but Leopoldine is old enough to make up her own mind. Magda's even more torn at the thought of leaving behind even one of her children, and requests that they ask Leopoldine what she wants. Jäger calls the girl to them and outlines the plan with the serum; he's barely finished speaking before Leopoldine's eyes light up and she bounces like she's been offered a shiny new toy. "The glory of the Reich! The glory of the Reich!" she exclaims; "You want to be a part of this?" Jäger asks, "It's all right if you wish not--" but Leopoldine cuts him off: "Ja, Papa, ja! Bitte, bitte! I want to be in the perfect new world. Das Herrenvolk!" After Jäger dismisses her he says to Magda, "Just in case you think I've coached her to say that. Let's give her some time to make sure, ja...?" Yet Magda slowly shakes her head: "I know her...she's made up her mind. She knows what she wants." She pauses, wringing her hands a little, then says in a small voice, "Will it hurt...?" Jäger takes her hands and smiles at her. "Magda Liebe, it's just a needle prick, and then illumination. Even if it weren't, you've borne all my children, you've been so strong! You can take anything. But nein, it doesn't hurt. You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of, Liebe."

Although she still has her doubts--doubts which Jäger insists are normal for her to have--Magda finally agrees, and is given her first injection. The serum used to require a lengthy IV infusion (this can still be used), but has since been simplified into a series of shots, and she grimaces a little and shuts her eyes, turning away from the needle, as she gets the first one directly into her vein. Leopoldine doesn't flinch or look away at all. Jäger gives Magda the chance to see for herself that there are no ill effects before the rest of the children get their shots. She's perplexed to notice no difference afterward; Jäger tells her it may take a bit, possibly more shots, before she does, and to be patient. And indeed, over the next few weeks, she begins to notice things. The cavern interiors start to seem almost luminous so she doesn't realize she's been walking in near-darkness until she's almost overpowered by a well-lit room; she hears the guards and doctors having quiet conversations several caverns over, despite the distance between them; and she can feel things as well, subtle changes in the air currents, vibrations, the movements of others far off, sensations she can't explain. She tries to describe this to her husband one day and is frustrated to find she lacks the words; he seems vaguely amused when he tells her, "You can't describe the ineffable, Liebe." Magda asks what does "ineffable" mean. Jäger removes a dictionary from his shelf and hands it to her. She doesn't have it in her to feel insulted, just takes the book and starts looking through it. A few hours later, she asks if she can look at the other books on his shelf. She spends the next several days devouring them all, when previously she'd never had much interest in reading, had considered it a masculine pastime. She shows up at Jäger's new office with a strange look on her face, eyes wide and blue and luminous, and murmurs, "I believe I understand now."

Being a woman, and surrounded by all the men doing all the heavy work, Magda has no real reason to test her strength and endurance. All activities feel easier, though, and she finds she doesn't tire nearly as quickly as before. She actually understands much of the talk she hears the others engaging in, and uses this to her and Jäger's advantage, reporting back to her husband what they've said--they all still believe she's too ignorant to comprehend what they're talking about, which makes her an excellent eavesdropper. Jäger rewards and punishes his men based on Magda's reports, and is amused when Magda also reports how confused the men are every time they get caught. In the evenings, Jäger instructs Magda and Leopoldine on the tenets they'll abide by in the new Reich, and they eagerly soak up the information like sponges. Then after all the children are put to bed, Magda shows Jäger that the serum definitely has affected her stamina; she soon ends up pregnant with their tenth child. "Our first to be born in this wondrous new world!" Jäger exclaims proudly when the doctors give them the news.

Magda isn't privy to all the deepest goings-on of the experiment itself, but Jäger willingly fills her in, especially now that she has the ability to comprehend what he's telling her. Members of the Einsatzgruppen, the former mobile death squads of the SS, had been tasked with collecting "valuable corpses" for use in the project. Magda learns of an additional tweak to the original Projekt Weltuntergang: "When people become gods, Liebe," Jäger explains, "that implies immortality, as well." Projekt Ultima Thule won't just confer increased abilities on its participants--it'll also grant them unending life, and will even bring them back from the dead. Magda finds this difficult to believe until she sees it for herself; the Einsatzgruppen had retrieved the body of a slain American soldier, a Trench Rat nicknamed Indigo, toward the war's end, and he's been literally kept on ice since then; following a few more changes to the serum, his lifeless body is finally brought out and hooked up to an IV. Magda declines to watch the procedure, deeming it too gruesome for her tastes, but is introduced to Indigo after he's sufficiently revived. She'd seen that he was in fact deceased; and now here he is, alive again, albeit with significant changes: His eyes have the same milky blue tint as those of everyone else in the project, and he's nonvocal and unresponsive to her greeting of "Guten Tag, Herr Indigo." All he does is stare blankly. Magda wonders if she's offended him, when Jäger murmurs in her ear, "Obviously, there are still a few flaws here and there. Ones we've brought back like this, they don't talk, don't interact, though they do follow orders quite well." He adds that subjects are traditionally programmed to respond only to orders given by doctors, though this can sometimes be overridden by wearing some sort of recognized medical insignia, tricking the subject into thinking one is a doctor. He shows this off by issuing Indigo an order; Indigo ignores him, though when Jäger then attaches a Caduceus pin to his breast--"The American military lacks sufficient understanding of the folklore, they think this is a medical emblem"--Indigo at last shows a response, his blank stare shifting in Jäger's direction. When Jäger issues the order a second time, Indigo now complies. "This seems like it could be quite a serious flaw," Magda says, to which Jäger agrees: "You're of course right, Magda Liebe, I've already brought it up for future correction. Still wrinkles to iron out! But we have plenty of time to get it right." He adds, "I'm sure you'll have some decent ideas to offer," which makes Magda blush with pleasure at the thought of assisting in such a grand project.

One day, guards arrive at Ultima Thule headquarters with an unusual visitor in tow: Another Trench Rat, this one alive. His codename is Silver, and Jäger seems unusually excited to meet him. "He was truly a somebody, Magda Liebe," he says, "drove us absolutely mad always breaking into headquarters, stealing our papers, even killing our guards! We called him Der Silbergeist. He liked breaking people's necks." Magda is perplexed about why he'd be so enthusiastic to meet somebody who sounds so awful; Jäger explains this is exactly why: "Can you imagine?--if we could turn someone like THAT to our cause. He was formidable enough without the serum. Just imagine the possibilities with him on it!" Magda has her concerns about this plan: "Ludolf Liebe, why do you think he would want to join us...? What if he has his beliefs the way we have ours? These Trench Rats, they were pretty loyal to their own, weren't they...?" Jäger, however, gently brushes her off: "We at least offer him the option. If he refuses, it's regretful, but we terminate him. Yet he might prove useful. It would be such a waste not to try."

Well...the one time Jäger doesn't listen to Magda turns out to be the time her worries are well founded. Although Silver--after a carefully worded threat by Jäger--agrees to join them and be administered the serum, and then appears to be interested in Jäger's ideas, secretly he's watching, gathering info about the Fortress's defenses, and biding his time. Magda never quite shakes off her bad impression of him, yet has nothing concrete on which to base it, so holds off on protesting further; Jäger had always told her to trust her intuition and question things, yet he seems invested in Silver, so she ignores the warnings going off in her head. When a group of intruders arrives--former Trench Rats as well as those who once served alongside Jäger, such as Otto Himmel and Ratdog--Silver at first continues to side with Jäger. Despite the small size and limited resources of the group, they manage to turn Indigo, and Silver provides them with important information--as well as takes out some of Jäger's medically enhanced guards--so they gradually gain the advantage. With each setback, Magda sees Jäger's mood deteriorate, and he finally takes her aside during a lull to speak with her privately. "Magda Liebe," he says quietly, looking her in the eyes, "do you remember the plan we made...? The one I told you was only if worst comes to worst. You recall...?"

Magda: (covers mouth & lets out a dismayed sound) "Ludolf, nein."

Jäger: "You remember?"

Magda: "Of course I remember. But bitte--we can't."

Jäger: "When we went over this, I know I told you the chances were infinitesimal. Yet real. Sweet Magda." (cupping her face) "I still believe this is a plan we needn't use. Yet I need to know that you're ready, and that you're willing."

Magda: "How can one ever be ready for such a thing--?"

Jäger: "You know what it is you have to do, and when to do it--?"

Magda: (eyes tearing up) "I know, my Ludolf, I remember all of it. But I don't want to."

Jäger: "Liebe, of course not. I don't, either. And there's still a chance we needn't. But when we went over this, before, you assured me you could do it. That you would do it, if it finally came to this. You've changed your mind...?"

Magda: "It was different then! Things were going so well, you said so yourself. I didn't think we'd ever actually have to!"

Jäger: "If you think I misled you, Liebe..."

Magda: "Nein, my Ludolf, I'd never...I know you've only ever been honest with me...just...I'm afraid. This isn't what I wanted, what we planned for so long."

Jäger: "I know, Liebe, but we aren't gods yet, we aren't perfect. I make mistakes, I misjudge sometimes. You yourself tried to warn me, ja--?"

Magda: "Nein, meine Liebe! I never said you were wrong--"

Jäger: "It's all right, sweet, you may have been right. I should have listened to you. Yet I never lied to you. This glorious new world...it might await us still. I fully believe it's there. Yet maybe...maybe we aren't the ones intended to reach it. Maybe we only laid the groundwork for those to come. I don't know."

Magda: "Liebe!"

Jäger: "You do believe me, Magda...? You believe in this too...?"

Magda: "Of course I do, my Ludolf. Sieg heil! The glorious new Reich!"

Jäger: "Even if it isn't us, even if we aren't the first gods in this wondrous new world, you'd do what you can to make sure it comes to pass? Make any sacrifice...?"

Magda: (tearing up again) "I don't..."

Jäger: (puts his forehead to hers) "My only Magda...?"

Magda: (swallows, takes a breath) "I will, my Ludolf."

Shortly after coming to live in the Alpine Fortress, Jäger had sat down with Magda and Leopoldine, a serious look upon his face, and laid out a contingency plan. "It's almost certain we'll never need it," he'd assured them, "though absolutely nothing in life is certain, but uncertainty. Right now you needn't fret about this, needn't let it worry you. But we need to be prepared for anything. You're willing to sacrifice for the Fourth Reich to come, for Ultima Thule...?" Leopoldine, of course, had agreed immediately, without a second thought--"For the glory of the Reich, Papa!" Magda had been ready to do the same...when the tiniest little twinge of doubt had emerged in the back of her mind. Jäger had asked before if she were willing to give, to work, to struggle for their vision...he'd never used the word sacrifice. "What is it we'll need to do...?" she'd gingerly asked, and as plainly and openly as possible, Jäger had told her. Leopoldine, ever the born true believer--never having known any life other than that she had to offer the Reich--hadn't wavered, had still agreed that she was fully willing to follow through. Magda, however, had gone white as a sheet--not quite able to believe that such a sacrifice would be asked of her, and seriously doubting Jäger's vision for the first time in her life. She'd almost rejected the request--yet felt a hand clasp hers, and looked down to see Leopoldine staring back up at her, eyes wide and blue and utterly credulous, simply believing, not questioning in the slightest. Also for the very first time, Magda finally understood what others must see when they looked at them. Leopoldine had the stare of a fanatic.

Just as quickly, Magda had shoved the feeling back down and smothered it. To see such trust and devotion from her own daughter had convinced her, and she'd agreed to Jäger's plan. He even took out his Ehrendolch and used it to slice open his palm, making smaller cuts on her hand and Leopoldine's--Leopoldine not flinching at all--and they clasped their bleeding hands together. "Meine Prinzessinnen," Jäger had exclaimed, beaming at them; "I knew I chose you well! You've never let me down, not once."

Now, Magda feels it--the urge to disagree, to back out, to go her own way, as he'd once promised her she had the choice to do. Yet she knows she'd be doing this without him--without Leopoldine--and for the first and only time, she'd be letting him down. The fear of this overrides her fear of the emergency plan, and she swallows it down again and promises him she'll follow through if necessary. "No matter what?" he asks; "No matter what," she replies, and he murmurs, "Mein liebster Magda. To me, you have always been perfect," and kisses her.

Jäger heads deeper into the Alpine Fortress to confront the intruders, leaving Magda behind in the safety of their family stronghold. I haven't yet worked out the details, but almost the moment her husband is killed in a rock collapse--turns out the serum has its shortcomings after all, and destroying the brain is the way to nullify the prospect of immortality--Magda knows it, knows that in an instant her love is gone and isn't returning for her. The feeling almost overwhelms her and she lets out a dry sob, but catching sight of Leopoldine nearby, she tries to push down her grief just long enough to call the girl to her, asking if she remembers their plan. Leopoldine does; her normally cheery face gets serious and she murmurs, "Papa isn't coming back...?" Magda swallows her tears--"Nein, Liebling, not this time...bitte, fetch your brothers and sisters and bring them here for me...?" Her eyes blur over and she bites down a whimper; Leopoldine grasps her arm, and she looks down at her again. "It'll be all right, Mama," she says, as sure as ever, her eyes alight. "We'll be together again in a glorious new world! He said we will!" Magda can't help it--her eyes start streaming and she hiccups and wipes them, but forces an unconvincing smile--"Go on and fetch die Kinder...you know what to do."

Leopoldine gets the children and Magda gathers them in a cavern just off their family quarters. She has a tray full of porcelain mugs, steam rising from the tops--"Hot cocoa, a treat for you all, gute Kinder!"--and Leopoldine hands out the drinks, taking the youngest, Liane, and giving her a bottle. They make sure every child finishes their drink, then Leopoldine drinks her own cocoa. When the rest of the children start yawning and nodding off, Magda and Leopoldine lay them down side by side, tucking blankets around them, humming lullabies as they fall asleep. By the time they're done, Leopoldine is rubbing at her own drooping eyelids; "You've done well, sweet, time for a nap," Magda murmurs, and helps her oldest daughter bundle up in her own blanket. She sits by her children for a little while, watching them sleep, trying to gather her courage; she cries a bit, but manages to pull herself together, and digs in the bottom of the sack in which she brought the blankets. Her eyes well up anew and she can't help whimpering as she removes a pistol. Fighting hard not to sob, she stops next to Leopoldine, but can't bring herself to do anything; so she moves to her second oldest, Lisbeth. She points the pistol at Lisbeth's forehead, steadies her shaking arm, shuts her eyes and fires. Then lets out an awful wail which echoes through the cavern, her ribs heaving as she's suddenly racked with sobs.

The rest of the children--Liesl, Lars, Lara, Lothar, Lilli, and Lotti--strangely go much easier and quicker, though Magda's crying gets louder, her grief more raw, with each shot. When she comes to the baby, Liane, she almost loses her nerve, yet steels herself and fires once more. Then needs to change the magazine, as the pistol is out of rounds. Her hands shake so badly she almost drops it as she walks back to Leopoldine and aims. Despite their lack of shared blood, Leopoldine had always been Jäger's favorite, his best student, and had taken after him; he'd always beamed at her in pride, declaring her his natural successor, first among his princesses and princes. She and Jäger share no relation, but she's the last little bit of Jäger that Magda has left, and once more she falters, overwhelmed by tears. She reminds herself of the plan, however...and contemplates a life without her husband or the rest of her children, with a daughter who would never forgive her...and again pulls the trigger.

After a few moments to cry herself out, catch her breath, try to stop her trembling, she stoops down and carefully draws the blankets' edges up over the children's heads, granting them a bit of respect. She sits down next to Leopoldine's still form, wiping her eyes and sniffling, clasping the pistol. She's the last; there's nobody left to cover her face when she's gone. She tells herself it doesn't matter. All they're leaving behind are shells; true, they won't get the chance to experience the glorious new Reich for which they'd planned so long, but there's another, different, glorious world awaiting. Jäger believed it, Leopoldine believed it, once upon a time when she dreamed of a knight to come and sweep her away, Magda believed it, too. She takes a few deep breaths, lifts the gun, shuts her eyes.

"We're coming, my Ludolf," she says with the slightest quaver in her voice, puts her hand on her belly, and places the gun to her head.

[Magdalena Jäger 2023 [Friday, June 9, 2023, 2:00:23 AM]]



The Trench Rats Character Info




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Page Created 1/8/25
Last Modified 1/14/25