Cold Victory

“Your honours, my colleague Hr Dr Steinbrueck has done an excellent job of introducing Fritz von Bredow to this court. The boy, the youth, the young officer — beautifully described. I know from my husband’s letters that Hr Dr Steinbrueck has captured Fritz von Bredow’s nature brilliantly. That shy, modest, nature- and horse-loving Fritz was exactly the man Charlotte fell in love with. They shared a love of not only horses but dogs as well.” She turned to talk across the aisle to the prosecutor. “I’m surprised you failed to mention the dogs, Herr Dr Steinbrueck. How could you forget to mention the poor little puppy that Charlotte and Fritz rescued together?” The sarcasm made David wince, and he saw Dr Steinbrueck squirm despite his smirk. One of the judges drummed his pencil on his notepad impatiently.

“Yes, Fritz was a kind, loving, loyal, dependable and gentle young man,” Alix continued in a normal tone. “And Charlotte loved him with all her heart. I know because she was part of my husband’s family. She wrote directly to my husband expressing her boundless joy when Fritz proposed, and we learned of her dreadful grief when he went missing from her mother. Her mother’s letters to my mother-in-law also described her mood swings from hope to despair as time passed without any word. I know, too, that when the Red Army forced Charlotte to flee by horse cart during the bitterly cold winter of 1945, she dispensed with a second sweater to make room for Fritz’s letters. I’ve read those letters, your honours, and I would be happy to submit them to this court as evidence that Charlotte loved Fritz with all the passion of a young, warm-hearted and innocent girl.”

Christian glanced at David, but he shook his head slightly to indicate he was not upset. On the contrary, he was grateful that he had learned more about the young man Charlotte had been in love with before they met. He now understood better why Charlotte had been moved to pity by what had become of that wonderful young man. Maybe she had even hoped that with her love she might bring him back to life.

To the court, Alix continued, “I will also call as a witness, Christian Freiherr von Feldburg,” she turned slightly to nod to him, “Charlotte’s first cousin. He joined Charlotte in Berlin in January 1948. He will testify under oath that although Charlotte had lost hope of Fritz’s return, she still loved the young man who had courted and won her heart.

“Your Honours, Hr Dr Steinbrueck has eloquently described the physical wounds that the war and the Soviets inflicted on Fritz von Bredow. These are well recorded and have already been filed with the court as part of the autopsy, I believe.”

The judges nodded confirmation.

“What Hr Dr Steinbrueck failed to do,” Alix continued, “was to describe the other wounds — the psychological scars — that Fritz sustained. No one who knows just how brutal, heartless and insidious the Communists are, should doubt that they can bend men’s minds to evil.”

David stiffened as he grasped what Alix was doing. She too was appealing to the prejudices of the court. She was exploiting their deep-seated hatred of Communism just as Steinbrueck had sought to tap into their patriotism and Antisemitism.

“By the time Fritz so unexpectedly returned from presumed death, Charlotte had indeed formed a romantic attachment to a wealthy and successful man. Yet, she nevertheless took Fritz back without hesitation. Full of pity, she let him into her apartment and into her life. She cleaned him up. She gave him new clothes. She assumed the burden of feeding and caring for him. She completely broke off her relationship with the man she had come to love and resigned from her well-paid and responsible position with the air ambulance company that he owned to avoid any further contact.

“Yet as the days passed, she discovered that the man she had let into her home on 31 October 1948 was not the same man with whom she had fallen in love in 1940. The man whom the Soviets had sent back to her had a completely different character from the man so meticulously described by my colleague.

“The man who returned to Berlin in 1948 was selfish, grasping, self-pitying, vindictive, and cruel. He showed no gratitude for Charlotte’s support, help or care. He demanded constant attention; he complained about everything she did; he mocked and ridiculed her; he isolated her from others. Those six years in Soviet hands, subjected to the worst torments of the gulag, had warped and transformed Fritz von Bredow from that charming, shy, modest and loving young man into a cruel, heartless and sadistic monster. He made her life a living hell. And then he raped her.”

“Objection! A dead man can’t—”

“He raped her, Hr Dr Steinbrueck, before the night in which she finally defended herself.”

“Objection overruled.”

“Charlotte Walmsdorf was driven to violence by the sustained and repeated assaults of the man to whom she had given succour. She only resorted to violence after he had expunged the very last traces of affection that she had carried in her heart like a torch for six years. She took a weapon in her hand only when, quite simply, she could take no more. She was not planning or hoping for a future with someone else. How could she? She had broken off with her new admirer definitively. Furthermore, she knew she would be arrested and charged. Indeed, she was so desperate to end the torture that Fritz von Bredow had inflicted upon her that she intended to kill herself. That is the reality, as I shall prove to this court.” She paused dramatically and then said in a neutral voice. “That concludes my remarks.”

There was a moment of stunned silence before Judge Nuss moved to adjourn the court and set the next trial date. The journalists stood and hurried out to write and file their articles. The prosecutor’s entourage clustered around him, lavishing praise on their boss and excitedly discussing the next steps.

As the police escorted Charlotte out of the courtroom, she tossed David one small, pleading look. He nodded and smiled gently back at her, but he no longer felt strong or confident. This was going to be a tough and tricky fight, and while David liked and respected Alix, he couldn’t help wondering if a woman lawyer was the best choice to win over this court.