Red Moscow

"Misha, what should we do?" Agelina returned to Sokov and said with a frown: "The people here seem to be full of resistance to people in military uniforms, and are not willing to cooperate with us at all, or even ask for directions. They don’t want to talk to us.”

"Yes, this is indeed a headache." Sokov was helpless in this situation. He could only turn around and ask Vaserigov beside him: "Comrade Major, do you have any ideas? ?”

"Comrade General," Vaselgov asked politely, "don't you know the specific addresses of Ernst and Captain Hosenfeld?"

"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "Look, half of the buildings on this street are in ruins. Even if there is a specific address, I'm afraid I can't find their home."

When he said this, Sokov suddenly remembered a scene in the movie "Liberation". A group of Soviet commanders and fighters occupied a house on Wilhelm Street and drank and sang in the house at night. It happened that Goebbels called. , when the old landlady answered the call, Goebbels asked bluntly: "I am the commander of the city defense. Are there any Russians there?"

"Yes, Mr. City Defense Commander!" After the old lady answered respectfully, she asked, "Are you the Russian City Defense Commander or the German City Defense Commander?"

"It's from Germany." Goebbels cursed and hung up the phone.

Sokov looked at the half-destroyed street in front of him and wondered if there was really an old lady on this street who had received a call from Goebbels.

Vaserigov thought for a while and said to Sokov: "Maybe we can ask the German police for help. Maybe they can help us find Ernst and Captain Hosenfeld."

"German police?" Sokov was stunned after hearing this, and then asked: "Are there still police in Germany today?"

"Yes, of course." Vaserigov nodded and said in a positive tone: "After review, we retained some German police officers, and they have resumed normal duty and patrol since June. And when we implemented the rationing system, they helped register the population and distributed ration certificates to each household. "

Sokov thought about it carefully and felt that it was better to keep these German policemen as they could be put to great use. The police headquarters established on his own initiative can only be responsible for the security of the city. When it comes to the management of residents, it is more convenient for the police to come forward.

"Where can I find the police?" Sokov asked.

Vaserigov looked around, and then said: "I remember turning right at the intersection ahead, and walking a few hundred meters forward, you can see a police station. This area should be under their management, I think We may be able to find Ernst’s address there.”

Sokov felt that it was the right choice to go to the police station to check the address, but he still asked with a worried look: "The police file information was not destroyed by the war, right?" Sokov's worry was not unfounded. Yes, during the Battle of Berlin, various German institutions in the city burned a large amount of information to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Soviet army. If the demographic files in the police department are destroyed, the police cannot help themselves.

Although Sokov felt that it was not reliable to go to the police station to check the information, but looking at the sparse pedestrians on the street, as well as many citizens who turned around and ran away when they saw him and others, Sokov felt that he wanted to get out of this street. The residents asked about the whereabouts of Ernst and others. It was harder than climbing to the sky. They nodded and said: "Okay, let's go to the police station and see if we can find the information we need."

Everyone got in the car again and headed towards the police station.

When he turned at the intersection, Sokov found that half of the road was filled with bricks and rubble that had not yet been cleared away. At the same time, an extended version of the convertible Mercedes-Benz drove up in the distance, filled with people wearing clothing. The men in uniforms, with their distinctive hats on their heads, looked like the German policemen Vaseligov described. Then he raised his hand and patted Vaselgov on the shoulder and asked: "Comrade Major, are you the German police who are here?"

"Yes, Comrade General, it is the German police."

Seeing the narrow road ahead, Sokov originally wanted to ask the driver to stop and let the driver pass through this area first. Unexpectedly, when the car on the opposite side saw the oncoming motorcade, it stopped on the side of the road and gave way to the passage. At the same time, a policeman stood up in the car and greeted Sokov, indicating to let them pass first.

"Comrade General, what should we do?" Vasergov asked Sokov.

"Pull over and let them pass first!"

Vaserigov carried out the order given by Sokov without any hesitation, and the convoy soon stopped on the side of the road.

When the car stopped, Sokov opened the door and got out of the car, ready to go over and say hello to the police. Agelina and Vaserigov also got out of the car, followed Sokov, and walked towards the convertible Mercedes-Benz in front.

When the policemen sitting in the Mercedes-Benz saw a general approaching, the sergeant leading the team quickly got out of the car. At the same time, he called his subordinates to get out of the car and line up to prepare for the arrival of the other party.

When Sokov and others approached, the police sergeant quickly stepped forward to salute and began to chirp at the same time.

Before he could finish speaking, Sokov raised his hand and interrupted his words. He turned to Agelina and said, "Agelina, ask him if there are any household registration police officers among these policemen."

Agelina nodded and translated Sokov's words to the police sergeant.

The sergeant nodded after hearing this, glanced at the subordinates lined up beside the car, and asked cautiously: "I wonder if Mr. General wants to see the household registration police. Is there anything important?"

"I have two friends who live on William Street, but I don't know their specific addresses." Sokov said with a smile: "So I hope to check with the household registration police to see if I can find where they live."

After figuring out what was going on, the police chief breathed a sigh of relief, then called an older policeman and introduced to Sokov: "Mr. General, his name is Bayer, he is the household registration police officer you are looking for. He has a nickname in our bureau, called 'Living File'. As long as he lives within the jurisdiction of our bureau, he knows almost everyone or can call them by name. "

After listening to Agelina's translation, Vaselgov said first: "The person we are looking for is called Ernst..."

Before Agelina could translate, Bayer said first: "Mr. Major, I know the Ernst you are talking about. He did not originally live here because his home was destroyed in the war. He stayed at the house of his cousin, Captain William Hosenfeld. By the way, I saw Captain William Hosenfeld two days ago and asked him specifically how he came back. He said: A Russian general rescued him from a Polish prisoner of war camp."

When Bayer said this, he stopped and stared at Sokov, as if he wanted to confirm whether this was the man who rescued Captain Hosenfeld from the prisoner of war camp.

After seeing the meaning in his eyes, Sokov nodded and said: "Yes, I rescued Captain William Hosenfeld from the prisoner of war camp in Warsaw. I came here specifically to see him today. But I don’t know where he lives.”

"Mr. General," after confirming that Sokov was the one who rescued Hosenfeld, Bayer looked particularly enthusiastic: "If you allow me, I can show you the way."

Sokov did not answer him immediately, but looked at the Sheriff and asked: "Mr. Sheriff, I would like to ask Bayer to take us to find someone. Do you have any objection?"

"No objection, no objection." Today's German policemen behave with their tail between their legs. Let alone generals like Sokov, even if they meet ordinary Soviet soldiers, they can only obey orders. At this moment, when I heard Sokov said that he wanted to ask Bayer to lead the way, the police chief dared not to agree and said hurriedly: "If you please, if you please!"

Seeing that the police chief agreed, Sokov originally wanted Bayer to get in the car and let him guide him. But Bayer waved his hand and said, "Mr. General, we'll be there just around the corner, no need to take a car!"

The few buildings on the corner are relatively complete on this street. Bayer took Sokov, Agelina and others into one of the buildings: "Mr. General, they live on the street side of the third floor."

Sokov recalled what the police chief said. Since the household registration policeman named Bayer was a "living file," there should be no problem in asking him about a person's whereabouts. Thinking of this, he asked: "Mr. Bayer, I want to ask you something."

"Mr. General." Bayer looked a little flustered after listening to Agelina's translation: "If you have anything, just ask, and I will answer you truthfully."

"I heard that Hosenfeld's wife and children left Berlin two days before the Battle of Berlin broke out, and there is still no trace of them." Sokov looked at Bayer and asked: "Did you know they went there?" Where?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Bayer hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "It was the train station where I sent them. They were on the train to Bavaria, and the destination was Munich."

"So, is it possible that Hosenfeld's wife and children are in Munich now?"

"That's not necessarily true, Mr. General." Bayer shook his head and said, "Bavaria is more than just Munich. Maybe they went to Nuremberg, or maybe Augsburg."

"Mr. Bayer, I don't understand why you sent them to the train station?"

"Mr. General, you may not know." Bayer explained to Sokov: "At that time, the Russian army was approaching the city. Seeing that the war was imminent, the garrison headquarters was worried that a large number of civilians would be evacuated, which would cause unnecessary panic. Therefore, strictly Residents of the city were prohibited from leaving the city, and the reason why Hosenfel's wife and children were able to obtain the right to leave the city was entirely because of rumors that Captain Hosenfel had died gloriously in Poland, thus making his death impossible. My wife and children were given the privilege of leaving Berlin. In order to prevent unnecessary trouble, the bureau sent me to accompany them to the train station.”

"Oh, I see."

Everyone stopped at the door of a room, and Bayer stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Soon, someone's voice came from inside: "Who?"

Sokov recognized Ernst's voice and smiled and said: "Ernst, it's me, Sokov!"

The person inside the door exclaimed and immediately opened the door.

Ernst, who was standing at the door, looked at Sokov and others standing at the door, and asked in surprise: "Comrade General, why did you come here suddenly? You didn't send anyone to say hello before you came, so we didn't even have to say hello." There is no preparation at all. Stop standing at the door and come in quickly."

The people who came here with Sokov, in addition to Adelina and Vaserigov, were also two guards. After Sokov and others entered, two guards stood at the door, acting as guards to prevent anyone from harming Sokov.

The room was neater than Sokov imagined, the walls were freshly painted, and there was even a clean carpet on the floor.

After everyone came to sit down at the long dining table, Hossenfeld walked out of the back room and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Mr. General, I was sleeping just now and couldn't go out to greet you in time. If there is anything rude, please let me know." Please bear with me.”

"It's okay, it's okay. I just came over to see you. You don't have to be so polite."

After Agelina finished translating for Sokov, she said to Hosenfeld: "It was this policeman named Bayer who brought us here, otherwise we would not have found where you live."

Ernst knew that Sokov was here, and it was definitely not just to see the two of him, so he intended to drive away the redundant Bayer. He laughed and said, "Officer Bayer, thank you very much for today. If you have something to do, just go ahead and do your work. There is no need to stay to chat with us."

Bayer glanced at Sokov, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just sighed softly, turned around and left.

As soon as Bayer left, Ernst couldn't wait to ask Sokov: "Comrade General, I wonder if you have anything important to do here today?"

"It's like this. I suggested to Marshal Zhukov to establish a district-level security headquarters. He asked me if I had any suitable candidates to serve as officers of the headquarters, so I recommended you two to him." Sokov hoped. Looking at Ernst and Hosenfeld, he asked: "What do you think?"

"Security headquarters?" Hossenfel frowned and asked, "I wonder what kind of security headquarters it is?"

From the tone of Hossenfel's words, Sokov heard that he was a little interested in the position of the garrison headquarters, so he gave a general account of his plan to establish the garrison headquarters, and finally asked: "Hossenfeld Captain Phil, I wonder what you think about it?”

Faced with Sokov's inquiry, Hosenfeld seemed a little hesitant: "Can Marshal Zhukov agree that we go to the prisoner of war camp to select personnel?"

"Yes, of course." Sokov said in a positive tone: "I assure you, we can enter any prisoner of war camp controlled by our army and select suitable candidates to form a new security command."

After exchanging glances with Ernst, Hosenfeld asked tentatively: "Mr. General, when you take us to the prisoner of war camp to select personnel, can you bring Officer Bayer with you?"

"What, bring Officer Bayer with you?" Sokov didn't understand why Hossenfeld proposed such a condition, so he asked seriously: "Why, can you tell me?"

"When Officer Bayer left just now, you should have noticed that he seemed to have something to say but didn't say it. Do you know why?" Hossenfeld took the initiative to reveal the answer without waiting for Sokov to speak: "Because his two sons are also in the prisoner of war camp. When he learned that you rescued me from the prisoner of war camp, he might want you to rescue his two sons again."