concentration camp! She had become a convert to National Socialism and had gone to work
for the party; a short time ago she had become the bride of Dr. Goebbels, with Hitler as best
man, a great event in the Nazi world. Now she was "Frau Reichsminister," and ran a sort of
salon—for it appeared that men cannot get along without feminine influence, even while they
preach the doctrine of
"People accuse Magda of being ambitious," explained the young official. "But she has brains and
ability, and naturally she likes to use them for the good of the cause."
"She will have a chance to do it tonight," replied Lanny.
They were escorted to the fashionable apartment where the lovely Frau Quandt had once
lived with the elderly manufacturer. The "Frau Reichsminister" appeared in a cerise evening
gown and a double string of pearls that matched Irma's; both strings were genuine, but each
lady would have been interested to bite the other's to make sure. Magda had wavy fair hair, a
sweet, almost childish face, and rather melancholy eyes with the beginning of dark rings about
them. Lanny knew that she was married to one of the ugliest men in Germany; he could believe
that she had needed the spur of ambition, and wondered if she was getting the satisfaction she
craved.
It was growing late, and the visitors came to the point quickly. Knowing that the Minister of
Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda was a bitter anti-Semite, Lanny said: "Whatever one's
ideas may be, it is a fact that Hansi Robin is a musician of the first rank. The concert which he
gave with the Paris Symphony this spring brought him a tremendous ovation. He has given
similar concerts in London and in all the great cities of the United States, and that means that
thousands of people will be ready to come to his defense. And the same thing is true about the
business men who know his father. From the purely practical point of view, Frau Reichsminister,
that is bad for your
of Johannes Robin that can equal the loss of prestige you will suffer in foreign lands."
"I agree with you," said the woman, promptly. "It is one of those irrational things which
happen. You must admit, Mr. Budd, that our revolution has been accomplished with less
violence than any in previous history; but there have been cases of needless hardship which
my husband has learned about, and he has used his influence to correct them. He is, of course, a
very hard-pressed man just now, and it is my duty as a wife to shield him from cares rather
than to press new ones upon him. But this is a special case, as you say, and I will bring it to his
attention. What did you say was the name of the party organization which is responsible?"
"Die Reichsbetriebszellenabteilung."
"I believe that has been taken into Dr. Ley's
"I have not the honor."
"He is one of the men who came into our party from the air service. Many of our most
capable leaders are former airmen: Gregor Strasser—"
"I have met him," said Lanny.
"Hermann Goring, Rudolph Hess—quite a long list. Airmen learn to act, and not to have
feelings. Dr. Ley, like my husband, is a Rheinlander, and I don't know if you realize how it is in
the steel country—"
"My father is a steel man, Frau Reichsminister."
was no longer a part of Germany, but of Russia. Robert Ley got his training by raiding their
meetings and throwing the speaker off the platform. Many a time he would have the shirt torn
off his back, but he would make the speech. After ten years of that sort of fighting he is not
always a polite person."
"I have heard stories about him."
"Now he is head of our
who have been exploiting our German workers and tearing the Fatherland to pieces with class
war. That is a great personal triumph for Dr. Ley, and perhaps he is a little too exultant over it
—he has what you Americans call a swelled head.'" The Frau Reichsminister smiled, and Lanny
smiled in return.
"I suppose he saw a rich Jew getting out of the country in a private yacht, obtained by
methods which have made the Jews so hated in our country; and perhaps it occurred to him
that he would like to have that yacht for the hospitalization of National Socialist party workers
who have been beaten and shot by Communist gangsters."
you I would get the truth about the situation. Let the
brother-in-law's father, and we will call it a deal.
X
There was the sound of a door closing, and Magda Goebbels said: "I think that is the
