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Tobias Schäfer Blog Entry |
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July 15, 2022, 4:00:26 AM May 29, 2023, 2:01:04 AM 7/15/22: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Dr. Tobias Schäfer. He's the in-home physician to the Dobermann family. He's Jewish, meaning that given this particular place and time period he's practicing illegally, but the Dobermanns are wealthy and influential enough that he's moderately well protected. He's also deaf, and can both read lips and communicate via sign language. There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding his design, he's some kind of Spitz, that's the only thing I really know, though he turned out very...foxy looking. 🤔 He wears glasses, which for design reasons I've drawn as pince-nez. At the last minute I decided he's a redhead, not the sandy blond I was originally going to go for. TUMBLR EDIT: Schäfer is a newer character though not as fresh-squeezed as the Heidenreichs. I don't know a whole lot about his past yet, though from what little I do know, he's simply a general physician practicing in Germany and he goes deaf in adulthood, so learns how to read lips and use sign language. I haven't entirely worked out the bugs and implications of being a doctor who can't hear things, so there may be liberties taken; I know he's grown very sensitive to vibrations, as his time spent at the Dobermann household later on makes clear. For example, in one scene he presses his ear close to a stethoscope over Lt. Hesse's chest (he doesn't use the earpieces) and can apparently feel the vibrations of his heartbeat with the help of the device, which he uses in combination with feeling Hesse's pulse, to detect the signs of a mild heart attack (in the story Hesse, perplexed, starts to ask, "How can you--" but Schäfer abruptly shushes him since he's busy listening); in another scene, Hesse catches his attention by stomping his boot twice on the floor of his room. Long story short is his other senses have sharpened and he's learned to adapt. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ He sort of had to, as this isn't long before the Nazi party takes power, and some of the first people they begin targeting for "euthanasia" or being sent to camps are disabled people. Then they start targeting Jews, and it becomes illegal for Jews to practice certain professions such as medicine, so...by this point, Dr. Schäfer is pretty much screwed. He ends up being sent to Commandant Ernst Dannecker's labor camp, where he manages to conceal his deafness, though of course he can't hide the rest. He's there long enough to get tattooed (this occurs at various camps in my story) and put to work, though he doesn't last very long before suffering a mild injury which nonetheless is serious enough to impact his ability to perform hard labor. Dannecker's camp has no gas chamber, so they deal with those who are no longer able to work by gathering them in a group and shooting them. One day a guard checks through the prisoner entries they've made in a log and sends the prisoners right (back to work) or left (firing squad), a modification of the process used at larger camps or for newly arrived prisoners, which Dannecker's men make use of now and then to thin things out. Schäfer is sent left. He knows what this means. He stands off to the side with the group of other prisoners who are slated for execution, and lowers his head a little and prays to himself. Unnoticed by him, the camp has a distinguished visitor that day. Dannecker is busy showing Louis Dobermann around. Dobermann, who carries the honorary title "Inspector" and is a member of an old Junker family who served in the Great War, has a lot of close ties to people in the Wehrmacht (some even help guard his estate as part of an arrangement with the army) as well as the Nazis, although he isn't one himself; secretly he thinks they're a bunch of f**king morons but he knows he has to pretend to get along with them, so most people incorrectly assume he's a fellow traveler. Anyway, today he finds himself on a tour of Dannecker's labor camp, and Dannecker is really enthusiastic about his camp, I mean he practically fetishizes it. Dobermann's not nearly so thrilled but he goes along. They end up back in the main part of the yard where the prisoners are gathering to be shot, and Dobermann pauses to browse the officer's logbook. Sees that the profession of one of those set to be executed is "physician." He's been needing an in-home physician for his sprawling household for a while now, so he mentions to Dannecker that there's a doctor in the group of prisoners; Dannecker, not very interested in this line of conversation, glances at the log, then at the prisoners, and points out Schäfer (he knows him just well enough to do that). Dobermann wonders why they can't put him to work in the camp hospital like other camps would and Dannecker gets huffy at this suggestion: "We have enough German doctors, we don't need any filthy Jew." Well, Dobermann doesn't care whether someone is a Jew or not, he just wants a home doctor, and he isn't the wasteful sort either. He says to Dannecker, "How much do you want for him?" Dannecker blinks, surprised by the question, and says, "You want to buy him?" When Dobermann just stares at him, he adds that he doesn't need money since his SS job pays him well; then he says, "I hear your house has some fine antique tapestries." "You want a tapestry?" asks Dobermann. "My choice," Dannecker clarifies, still not entirely convinced Dobermann is being serious, but Dobermann nods, so he swaggers over to the group of prisoners, smug at the thought of getting a nice expensive tapestry in exchange for a Jew, seems like a great bargain, plus he's just amused by the transaction. "Herr Doktor," he calls, gets no response, calls louder, "Herr Doktor," gets no response. Irritated now, he goes over and gets right in Schäfer's face and yells, "Herr DOKTOR!"--scaring the s**t out of him. Points his crop at Dobermann, standing nearby, and orders Schäfer to go with him. Confused--he was just ordered to join the group of prisoners preparing for execution, why does the commandant want him to go after this guy?--who is this guy?--is this some kind of trick or joke? (Dannecker is well known for playing mind games with his prisoners, even a relative newcomer like Schäfer knows this)--Schäfer obeys, but follows Dobermann only a short way before stopping, since Dobermann is headed for the gate, and Schäfer knows he can't set foot outside the gate. He freezes, not knowing what to do. Dobermann notices he isn't following and turns to look at him; Dannecker gets fed up, and smacks Schäfer with his crop, startling him again. "Go--with--him," he orders, slowly and deliberately, convinced by now that Schäfer is an idiot. Schäfer again obeys, and follows Dobermann out of the camp although he's quite bewildered and frightened; at least he understood what awaited him with execution, whereas this, he has no idea what this is. "I'll be by soon to select my tapestry!" Dannecker shouts after them. (BTW, Dannecker ends up choosing a tapestry with a large, absolutely lovely depiction of the Devil on it, since his inmates have nicknamed him Der Teufel or Dannecker the Devil, which he just adores, and he uses it to conceal the entryway to a forgotten network of passages running under the camp, which later in the story proves to be part of his downfall. But that's neither here nor there. Back to Dr. Schäfer's story.) Dobermann leads Schäfer to his car, waiting outside. The chauffeur is as confused as Schäfer is, when his boss opens the door to let a Jewish prisoner into the car; Dobermann doesn't bother explaining because that's just how he is. On the way to his estate, he catches Schäfer's attention, and signs at him, "You are deaf?" Schäfer, stunned, signs back that he is; then asks aloud, "How do you know how to sign?" He confirms that he can read lips, and Dobermann mentions how he learned sign language from a woman named Inga, now his wife, after being temporarily deafened in the Great War. Schäfer explains that Dannecker had had no idea he was deaf, otherwise he would have immediately been slated for execution, as the Nazis generally don't tolerate the disabled. Dobermann tells him that he needs an in-home doctor, and he will be it. The entire situation is perplexing for Schäfer--he's not legally allowed to practice medicine--but Dobermann informs him that while he's in his household, he'll be under his protection, so he no longer has to worry about that. Schäfer has never heard of the Dobermann family, so he can be forgiven for not knowing of their power and influence. The Nazis are constantly courting them in hopes of being allowed to use their vast property for strategic purposes; Dobermann is skilled at humoring them, while never outright promising them anything. While Dobermann is forbidding and intimidating and rather difficult to approach, his wife Inga is kind and gracious and well loved, and their daughter Adelina (Addy to her father, Lina to her mother) is sweet and charming and friendly. (And quite impressionable and naive--upon meeting Schäfer for the first time, she asks him, in all curiosity, if he eats babies. Appalled, Inga exclaims, "LINA!" and hastily apologizes for her.) As an old Junker family, their influence has faded but is still quite pronounced, and they're comfortably wealthy; they have a large loyal help staff. The rest of the living situation on the Dobermann estate is...odd. A personal arrangement with the Heer (land army) means a number of Wehrmacht soldiers guard and patrol the vast estate, including keeping some of the pushier Nazis at bay; they informally live there as well, though they occasionally return to active duty. A few of them, such as Sgt. Alger Holt, appear to be permanently appointed to the household. Later on there's an honorary female lieutenant, Senta Werner, also from a wealthy household, as her family's influence is the likely reason for her informal military position despite the Nazis frowning on such things. And, to Schäfer's great dismay, there's a close family friend named Gunter Hesse, who's a member of the Allgemeine-SS's intelligence division. Meaning, a guy who makes a living out of checking people's records and enforcing anti-Jewish laws. Basically every interaction between these two is incredibly tense and awkward. Schäfer first spots Lt. Hesse approaching Dobermann and himself as they walk up the hallway toward what will be his private room. Naturally, he assumes Hesse is there for him, and shies behind Dobermann. Hesse is just confused at first, why Dobermann has a camp inmate, still wearing stripes and a yellow star, following him around the house; when Dobermann says Schäfer is there to be the new in-home doctor, however, his attitude quickly changes. He tries to convince Dobermann to take Schäfer back to the labor camp since he obviously doesn't belong there, but Dobermann refuses; Schäfer easily detects more than a trace of bad blood between the two. (Dobermann saved Hesse's life once, then Inga did the same, and he felt he owed them; he lived at their household to recuperate for a while, but is far closer to Inga and Addy (he also calls her Lina, like her mother) than to Dobermann, who sorta depends on him to keep the other Nazis away yet much of the time would really rather he were gone, especially since Hesse's racist attitude wears on him. Inga considers Hesse a good friend, though this has been complicated by the fact that she's secretly Jewish--she's witnessed his gradual radicalization by the SS firsthand, so she knows what he used to be like, and the change hurts. Addy, meanwhile, adores "Uncle Gunter," who practically raised her and can do no wrong.) Hesse fumes at Dobermann's refusal, but he can't really do anything about it just then, so he gives Schäfer an evil glare and storms off. Schäfer mentions the incident to Inga later on and expresses his concern over living under the same roof as an SS officer, but Inga reassures him he's safe there, and there's no way Hesse will try anything with him. Well, Inga, like Addy, is a bit blinded by her friendship with Hesse, and overestimates his magnanimity. He tries again to convince Dobermann to take Schäfer back; Dobermann shuts him down and this time makes it clear he won't hear the argument again. When Schäfer gets settled in (the Dobermanns make plans to equip his room with a doorbell-type system whereby a visitor pushes a button and a light turns on inside, alerting him to answer the door), he's invited to eat dinner with the rest of the household, which includes the Dobermanns and their Wehrmacht guards and guests, plus Hesse. Hesse bristles when he sees that Schäfer will be joining them, and tells Dobermann that one or the other of them can stay at the table, but not both--"I won't sit down to supper with some Jew!" he hisses. (He and Dobermann stand aside and keep their voices lowered, but it's obvious what's going on, and everyone else at the table just sits there in awkward silence; Inga is mortified, and despite Hesse's unintentional indoctrination of her, Addy can't quite understand why he doesn't get along with Dr. Schäfer, who seems nice. And doesn't eat babies.) Schäfer meekly offers to leave and eat elsewhere, but Dobermann insists that he stay; Hesse takes the hint, he and Dobermann share a brief glare, then he heads back to his room. When Dobermann returns alone and mentions that Hesse won't be joining them, Schäfer notices the looks on everyone's faces--especially Inga and Addy--and this time says he'll just eat with the help staff in the kitchen; he picks up his dishes and hurries out before anyone can stop him. A frustrated Dobermann has to go fetch Hesse back; Hesse starts to snap that he'll be taking his meal in his room, when Dobermann cuts him off, saying that Schäfer is eating with the staff, so Hesse can return to the table. Hesse asks if Dobermann requested that; "He volunteered," Dobermann says curtly, "so you don't have to worry about sitting for supper with some Jew. Come back, or not, I don't care either way," and he leaves. Hesse is a bit surprised that Schäfer left on his own, but returns to the table. A very awkward, uneasy dinner follows, with the Wehrmacht guests doing most of the talking while Dobermann and Hesse simmer, and Inga and Addy just stare disconsolately at their food. Schäfer, meanwhile, is warmly welcomed in the kitchen by the help staff, who chatter and joke and laugh long into the night, and are much better company anyway. He's moved to tears when they ply him with leftovers to take back to his room "in case you get hungry later." Finally Hesse approaches Dobermann with an ultimatum he can't ignore: If he insists on letting Schäfer live with them, he'll have to wear a yellow star. It's required, and Hesse says he's let them slide on enough other laws they're breaking. Dobermann is infuriated by the demand, but knows he can't refuse this one, especially with all the Nazis who visit the property. Inga requests to be the one to tell Schäfer. She's very contrite while doing so, but tries to explain it's the only way they can ensure his safety. She expects Schäfer to be upset, but he isn't; he understands the position her family is in, and expresses gratitude for everything they've done for him so far. He willingly agrees to wear the star--"Honestly, I've felt rather naked without it." Relieved, Inga presents him with a star she sewed herself, hoping this will take away a little of the sting of having to wear it. Despite the unpleasant circumstances, Schäfer is again touched by the gesture. That doesn't put him on decent standing with Hesse, though. When they pass each other in the halls at first Schäfer tries to greet him, only to always get a cold glare and then the cold shoulder in return. Hesse utterly refuses to speak to or otherwise acknowledge him. Schäfer stops attempting to be polite and just avoids the lieutenant as much as possible. Until one day when Hesse somehow (I haven't figured out how yet) suffers a serious injury resulting in a collapsed lung. The Dobermann estate is way out in the country and Hesse would need to be transported quite a distance over bumpy country roads and then through the congested city just to reach a doctor; he's already having trouble breathing, so they take him inside to Schäfer. Schäfer has them place him on his bed and pulls open his tunic and shirt (ignoring his Totenkopf tattoo) to insert a needle between his ribs. And wonder of wonders, Hesse starts gulping in large breaths. He still requires rest though, so they leave him alone until later that night when Schäfer visits to give him a shot of morphine for the pain he's surely still in. Hesse's half asleep already and tries to say something, but pretty much zonks out then, and Schäfer leaves. Inga visits Schäfer the next morning, carrying the empty syrette Schäfer used and asking if he gave it to Hesse. Schäfer says yes, which seems to upset Inga greatly; he asks what's wrong, and she explains that Hesse was addicted to morphine following the Great War (the main reason he came to stay with them and recuperate after a near-overdose). He ended up quitting cold turkey and suffice it to say it wasn't a fun time. He's been clean ever since, never using Pervitin and barely even touching alcohol, and has always made a point of refusing painkillers. Schäfer is anguished by his mistake--"I didn't know, he didn't say anything, I had no idea"--and nearly breaks down, certain that once he recovers Hesse will have him sent back to the camp, no matter what the Dobermanns say. Inga tries to console him, pointing out that it's not his fault, but requesting he not do it again. Schäfer promises, though he's certain his time with the Dobermanns is limited. Hesse keeps to his room to go through withdrawal again and it hits him fast and hard. Schäfer takes a risk in visiting him again with a loaded syringe this time; Hesse, shaking and sweating and very cranky, swats him away, weakly snapping, "No more needles!" Schäfer explains that this is merely a sedative, safe and non-addictive: "It won't do anything for the pain, but it might help you get some rest." Hesse just glares at him so he leaves the syringe on the nightstand for him to take himself if he wishes, then departs. He doesn't sleep himself, being too anxious with thoughts of the labor camp and the firing squad. He goes to Inga early in the morning to tell her what he did, that it was the only thing he could think of to help rectify the situation though he still expects to be forced out of the household soon. Inga goes to check on Hesse and finds him sleeping soundly, the syringe empty. Schäfer's a bit surprised to learn that he actually took the sedative; he promises to honor Inga's request to let Hesse be now. Life goes on for the next week or so. With Hesse no longer present, Schäfer is again invited to join the Dobermanns at the dinner table and he does so, even though in his opinion the help staff are friendlier and more genuine. One evening as they're talking and waiting to be served, Addy's face lights up and she exclaims, "Uncle Gunter!" Schäfer turns to see Hesse in the doorway, still weak and leaning on a walking stick but on his feet. When he steps in the room Schäfer quickly rises and starts to pick up his dishes, only for Hesse to say, "Stop. Stay, bitte?" so he gingerly sits back down. Hesse goes to sit beside Addy, who's thrilled to have him back; the conversation haltingly starts again, and though neither Schäfer nor Hesse contributes that much, things are almost normal for once. The Dobermanns tend to retire rather early after dinner so they leave first, Inga and Addy both kissing Hesse goodnight, he and Schäfer and the Wehrmacht guards remaining; these latter tend to sit up quite late drinking and s**t-talking. Hesse finally decides to go to bed, so it's just Schäfer and a few rather drunk soldiers, and at last the doctor heads off to sleep himself. It's a bit before he runs into Hesse on his own again since he still tries to avoid him; he accidentally comes across him working on some papers in the library one day, and starts to back out, but Hesse has already seen him. He gestures at Schäfer so he stops; then he makes another odd gesture, pointing at his ear, his mouth, then moving his hands. Schäfer furrows his brow and says, "You...want to know how to sign?" He thinks he didn't possibly interpret that correctly, but Hesse nods, so Schäfer signs DOCTOR, LIEUTENANT, SCHÄFER, and HESSE. Each of which Hesse mimics haltingly but correctly. "How do you remember it all?" he then asks, to which Schäfer replies, "It's the same as any other language, you just talk with your hands rather than your tongue." Hesse then returns to his work without another word, so Schäfer leaves, believing that's that. But at least it looks like he won't be going back to the camp, just yet. He notices a distinct change, though. Whenever the two of them pass in the hallway, Hesse now offers a curt, aloof nod. He doesn't talk to or really acknowledge Schäfer at the dinner table but he doesn't object to his presence, either. He no longer leaves the room with a glare whenever Schäfer enters. His demeanor is still quite chilly, but not hostile like it used to be. He then gestures at Schäfer again one day and starts signing at him; perplexed, Schäfer says, "You...want me to buy a horse?" Hesse is annoyed--"Not buy"--but his annoyance is obviously aimed at himself and not Schäfer. In the library, he found the old sign language book Inga gave to Dobermann so long ago when he was in hospital and unable to hear. He's been practicing in his spare time. And he actually wonders if Schäfer knows anything about how to treat a sick horse. It isn't his specialty, but Schäfer goes to look anyway. The horse is colicky and the situation is easily remedied. Only later on does Schäfer learn this is Hesse's SS horse, which he keeps at the Dobermann estate. This incident significantly melts the icy barrier between them; although they never become very close, for obvious reasons, Hesse seems to finally accept Schäfer as a member of the household, talking to him or sitting for a drink now and then, greeting him by name, and--most significantly--referring to him as "Herr Doktor." Previously, he'd made a point of never referring to Schäfer as a doctor at all. Needless to say, this eases a good amount of the tension within the household. Dr. Schäfer still has to wear his yellow star, and is basically confined to the Dobermann property for his own safety, but at least everyone else treats him human, now. One day while wandering the treeline near the edge of the field, he finds an old broken hunting trap. He asks Dobermann's permission to disable any other traps he finds and it's granted. Over the following weeks he keeps his eyes open whenever he goes walking around the wilder parts of the property. He finds another trap...only this one has something in it. A haggard-looking woman who points a gun at him. He manages to convince her not to shoot as he gets the trap off her leg and treats the injury. He notices she has a tattoo on her arm, and promises to tell no one he saw her. He tries not to think much more of the incident until she shows up again while he's walking, and catches his attention. She asks if he has free rein of the estate; he says he's allowed to wander the property as long as he wears his star. After a few more tentative, uneasy questions, the woman hands Schäfer a playing card, a jack of diamonds. Schäfer has vaguely heard of the Diamond Network, an underground group led by former prisoner Josef Diamant; the woman tells him something he didn't know, that Diamant killed Commandant Dannecker when he escaped the camp. The Network makes use of the big old country houses, many of which are riddled with hidden passages, to shuttle prisoners and refugees to safety. The Dobermann house is strategically located and would fill an important gap in the escape network. Schäfer wants to help, but doesn't think it's safe enough on his own. He's instructed to try to find out if anyone else in the household would be willing to participate. Schäfer targets the household members he knows best: the help staff. Tossing out a few casual observations and questions, he realizes many of them seem sympathetic toward the Jews and despise the Nazis. When he finally broaches the subject of trying to help via the usage of the house itself, it's revealed that several of them had already come up with this idea, but didn't know how to pull it off. Schäfer tells them the Diamond Network can cover the important details, all they need to do is coordinate to gain them access to the house. They decide to discuss plans at a meeting which they'll disguise as a "staff party," to keep the Dobermanns, Hesse, and the soldiers from disrupting them. Schäfer declines attending, in case anyone drops in and sees him there, since he's not a member of the help staff, but asks them to fill him in later. Hesse does notice them gathering late at night but buys their excuse, and tells them simply to try to keep things down before he heads off to bed. Schäfer, meanwhile, goes to sit on the balcony to settle his nerves. He's startled when Sgt. Alger Holt, one of the older Wehrmacht residents, joins him, and hands him a jack of diamonds card, saying he found it in the house. He tries questioning Schäfer but the doctor denies any knowledge of what he's talking about, although secretly he's full of dread. Holt gives up trying to get information out of him, and simply says, "I don't want any of you to get in trouble": He knows about the staff "party" and its true purpose. Schäfer says nothing, though he can't really hide his fear anymore; then Holt says, "Tell me what I can do." Turns out he doesn't like the Nazis either, or what they've been doing; as one of the longest-serving members of the household, he also has intimate knowledge of almost everything that happens under its roof. Schäfer is still anxious, but decides to take a risk--he says they need to find a way to get someone in the house undetected. Holt says he'll figure it out. The next day while some of the help staff are in a particular room, Holt shows up, opens a hidden passage they hadn't been aware of, and disappears through it. They gingerly investigate the passage and reach its exit, which is well concealed outside. They present this information to Schäfer; all he has to do is notify the Diamond Network and get one of them to the hidden exit, after which the Network can case out the house and start improving the passages for their own use. Schäfer waits by the treeline until the woman arrives, and instructs her where to go. Late at night, Schäfer notices one of the shelves in his room move, and steps back to watch it slowly open, a man he doesn't know entering his room. He shows Schäfer his arm tattoo and introduces himself as Josef Diamant. He entered through the hidden exit and has been exploring the numerous passageways, including the one that leads to Schäfer's room; he's already encountered some of the help staff. All they need to do for now is sit back and let the Network do its thing, and possibly distract anyone not in on the plot when necessary. Soon the Dobermann house fulfills its role as an important link in the escape network. Schäfer realizes that Holt is trustworthy, and for a while he and the help staff actively overlook the secretive goings-on behind the house's walls. Then, one night, an aggrieved Inga asks Schäfer if she can trust him. He reassures her she can. She hesitates before handing him her locket, within which Schäfer finds a family photo of her and her husband and daughter. He gives her a questioning look; she tells him to remove the photo. Hidden behind it is a tiny Star of David pendant. Inga explains that no one knows, not even her daughter or husband; when she married, it simply wasn't important enough to mention, but obviously things have changed: Her marriage is illegal, making her husband a criminal who's broken Nazi racial hygiene laws, and her daughter and herself "subhuman." She's been able to hide this, but Hesse joining the Allgemeine-SS, and increasing stories of the horrors being committed by the Nazis, have made it difficult; Schäfer joining the household, ironically, was the straw that broke the camel's back, as witnessing his and Hesse's interactions (despite Hesse growing used to his presence) made it clear how close the situation hits to home. Inga is racked with guilt over her relatively safe life, and wishes there were something she could do. Schäfer, who by now is rather in the know regarding all that's going on and who's involved, cautiously suggests she visit a neighbor and ask her about the "Jack of Diamonds." Inga is perplexed, but does so. Her neighbor is connected to the Diamond Network, and through her Inga is introduced to Diamant. She's stunned to learn her house is already being used to help refugees, but now that she herself wants to help, it makes the process easier, as she can keep her family, the Wehrmacht, and especially Hesse distracted from what's happening. This situation changes, unfortunately, when a visiting Nazi wanders through the house and comes across evidence not just of the Network's activity, but of Inga's complicity in it; he tries to attack her, and she shoots and kills him. Holt and Diamant arrive, but then so does Dobermann, who has no idea what's going on. He basically finds out everything right there all at once; realizing the rest of the household might have been alerted the same way Holt was, he quickly orders Diamant to shuttle Inga off through the passageways and to safety while he and Holt come up with a cover story. Inga is effectively "disappeared" into the Network, while Dobermann and Holt clean up the scene and spread the story that Inga was killed defending herself, and relatives requested her body for burial. Hesse is devastated when he finds out, but just as expected, his close friendship with Inga guarantees he doesn't question the story too much, and he prevents the investigation from looking too far past the Nazi Inga shot. Addy is the most heartbroken of all; she relies on Hesse, Holt, and Schäfer--who is never let in on the plot, but due to hints from Holt has his own suspicions that Inga isn't really dead--for comforting, as Dobermann insists on keeping to himself. (He's never been a particularly attentive father.) Schäfer worries that Dobermann, now aware of who exactly Inga was and what she was doing, will put an end to the Diamond Network's use of his property, or, even worse, report it to the authorities. Instead, Dobermann heads to the kitchen and opens up a hidden passageway the others hadn't been aware of yet, orders that they start using that instead of the other one in case it's been compromised, and departs. He takes no further active role in the scheme, yet he does nothing to stop it, either. The Diamond Network continues using the house as before. As time goes on, Addy becomes more sullen and disillusioned with things; the more little glimpses she gets of the SS (which she'd romanticized due to Hesse's involvement in it), the uglier it seems. She's also getting the suspicion that he's been lying to her constantly. She used to love the sound of the trains passing in the distance at night, though Schäfer doesn't share her enthusiasm--"I'm glad I can't hear them," he tells her, without going into detail--and a chance encounter with another member of the Diamond Network indicates that the trains hide something particularly nasty. Hesse repeatedly reassures her everything is fine (in his own warped way, he feels he's protecting her), while Holt, Schäfer, and Wehrmacht sergeant Stephen Gerhardt (who's actually a Jewish American spy) hint to her that it isn't, not by a long shot. Labor camp adjutant Jan Delbrück even shows her the prisoner barracks and the crematorium when she's visiting the city, and when she suggests that Hesse is in the dark about the camps, he replies, "Fräulein, we all know. The SS are responsible for all this." Gerhardt finally outs his identity, and Schäfer shows her the passageway leading to his room, to try to convince her how misled she's been all these years under Hesse's watch. Even Diamant meets with her, but despite her growing anger she clings to the hope that, if Hesse is indeed lying to her, he has only the best intentions and is ignorant of much of the truth himself. A member of the Diamond Network sneaks into the Dobermann house late one night and stabs Hesse. He's brought to Dr. Schäfer, who saves his life (again). Even while still recuperating, Hesse sends a tip that gets a large group of prisoners executed as revenge. Addy, unaware of this, reams out Diamant for what she perceives as his role in ruining her family. He puts up with the diatribe, knowing how betrayed she feels, then requests that she accompany him to her neighbor's house to meet someone. Addy is suspicious, but her desire to get to the bottom of all this is greater, so she follows him. Oddly, this neighbor--the same one Schäfer sent Inga to, to meet the Jack of Diamonds--is familiar with Diamant, but seems uneasy to see Addy in his company; nevertheless, she obeys when Diamant tells her it's time, and fetches her housemaid. Addy has seen her from a distance before, but this is the first time she's seen her face. And she recognizes her. From my Addy Dobermann entry: So this is when Addy learns that not only is the "noble" SS shipping people off to camps to be murdered en masse and Hesse MUST know about it, and most of her own household is involved in an underground network attempting to thwart this, but her mother is still alive as well, and is part of this network, and oh, that's right, she's Jewish. Making Louis Dobermann a criminal who broke the racial hygiene laws, and Addy herself a Jew, too. Suddenly a lot of things make sense. Addy is overjoyed to have her mother back, but the rest of it...she doesn't know what to think. Inga returns to the Dobermann estate and things go about as expected. Hesse and the Wehrmacht officers (save Holt) are completely caught off guard. Although he still has obvious feelings for Inga and is torn (after multiple experiences with corruption in the SS, even he's getting tired of it), Hesse tries to order the arrest of the Dobermanns. However, one of the younger Wehrmacht members, Private Konrad Helmstadt, infuriated over Dobermann's betrayal of his race, attempts to shoot Dobermann, and is himself shot by a visiting Nazi who's sympathetic toward Addy; Hesse finds himself hesitating when Addy jumps in front of her parents. Despite everything they've done, they're still his friends, and he's always tried to protect Addy, so he doesn't know how to react. Diamant takes advantage of this to shoot him. Addy wails in grief--she still cares about Hesse, too--but the same as the time Inga was found out, they have no time to waste. Schäfer is fetched, and Gerhardt and the Network hustle him and the Dobermanns away from the estate to safety, not long before the property is overrun by Nazis and the city falls to the Allies. The Dobermanns and Gerhardt--who begins a relationship with Addy--decide to stay in a small mountain town, but Schäfer tells them he'd like to return to the city for a little while, to see all that he's missed since his imprisonment. He promises he'll come to see them again. This is where his tale gets hazy although I know his is one of the happier endings. One idea I've been toying with, but haven't committed to yet, is that while in the city, he runs across Mitzi. Mitzi is a nightclub singer and hostess who works alongside Sophie Sommer, Lt. Hesse's mistress. The club she works at is a well-known gathering place for SS officers and other Nazis, so it becomes a target in those final hours--when Sophie learns of Hesse's death, and realizes the Allies and the Diamond Network are coming for her as a Nazi sympathizer, she commits suicide with a gun Hesse gave her to protect herself. (A Network member who's been working undercover in the club and is on his way to kill her ends up writing "NAZI-HURE"--Nazi whore--on her mirror.) Mitzi flees the club before the s**t hits the fan, after failing to convince Sophie to come with her (Sophie had been waiting for Hesse). Despite her own past actions which could easily brand her a sympathizer--she never had any qualms entertaining the Nazis, and even hoped one high-ranking SS officer she had an affair with might whisk her away--Mitzi is let off the hook, as she's "Mischling," or half Jewish (like Addy). (She's also not pro-Nazi or anything, she just believed in doing what she needed to to survive, and that meant not being picky about her morals. For their part, the Nazi patrons had little trouble tolerating her presence, either.) Well, with her best friend Sophie dead, the club shuttered/destroyed, and no current prospects, Mitzi is disconsolate, wandering about the city getting by on the savings she has left. She's resourceful, she knows she'll land on her feet eventually, but for now she's quite discouraged and lonely. Unlike Sophie, who had Hesse, she never did find her own "knight in shining armor." For some reason (in this POSSIBLE scenario) she runs into Schäfer; maybe she suffers a mild injury and he helps her out. She mentions her previous job at the club, which Schäfer has heard of, so he's aware of what it was known for; meanwhile Mitzi notices the tattoo on his arm, and realizes he was once a prisoner in the same labor camp run by some of her patrons. Schäfer helps her anyway. It's the first genuine bit of kindness she's received in a while, and she's grateful, half-jokingly calling him her knight. Schäfer, as usual, thinks little of the exchange and goes on with his life. Mitzi, though, can't quite stop thinking about this gentle, soft-spoken, unassuming (also shorter, and older, and deaf) man who thought nothing of helping her when most would turn up their noses. He's definitely not how she would have pictured her knight in shining armor, but stranger things have happened. She manages to track him down and although he's puzzled at first by her interest in getting to know him, he obliges. Where things might go from there is still full of potential. [Tobias Schäfer 2022 [Friday, July 15, 2022, 4:00:26 AM]] 5/29/23: r/SketchDaily theme, "Expressions." Was a long day so I decided to try some rough character sketch practice. Would be nice to draw them in different poses. These aren't technically expression practice though a few have one (Schäfer has his lovely deer-caught-in-headlights look). I'd just like to get better at this. (You can see the first effort really sucked. Seems a boxy shape is better than a round one.) They were done sans reference so some details are off. I drew different expressions exactly a year ago, it turns out. Didn't realize it'd been so long. [Rough Character Sketches 2023 2 [Monday, May 29, 2023, 2:01:04 AM]] |