"A novel full of facts" - English Translation Archive for the first book of Landig's "Thule" trilogy, Goetzen gegen Thule

Friday, December 21, 2012

sample from Chapter 7: Solstice

SECOND BOOK

SOLSTICE

The Blessed Lord said:
I instructed this imperishable science of yoga
to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan
to Manu, and Manu in turn to Iksvaku.
This supreme science was thus received through the chain
of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.
But in course of time the succession was broken,
and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.
(Bhagavadgita, IV: 1, 2)

Germany had capitulated! – The war is at its end. While the entire world held its breath on the eighth of May of the year 1945, the men of Point 103 stood before the radio device and heard, everything happening far away from them, the last broadcasts.
            “…since midnight all weapons on the front have been silent. On the orders of the Grand Admiral the Wehrmacht has ceased the already hopeless battle. With this, the nearly six-year heroic struggle is over. It has brought us great victories, but also heavy defeats.
            “In the end the German Wehrmacht has honorably succumbed to a huge superiority. The German soldier has stayed true to his oath made in the highest dedication to his people and will never be forgotten. The homeland has supported him to the end with all of her forces and under the heaviest of sacrifices. The unique performance of battlefront and homefront will find their final assessment later in the righteous judgement of history. The achievement and sacrifices of the German soldiers on land, at sea and in the air the opponent will not fail to respect as well. Each soldier can thus place the weapon upright and proudly put it down in the darkest hours of our history, brave and confident to go to work for the eternal life of our people.
            In this hour the Wehrmacht thanks those who have stayed behind because of the enemy. The dead commit to unconditional loyalty, obedience and discipline to the fatherland, bleeding from countless wounds!”
            That was the final conclusion of the last German Wehrmacht report.
            The expressions of the men were occluded as most. The collapse of the Reich touched the very roots of their homeland and oppressed them. Their small, secret Reich and an abiding faith which inspired their Gemeinschaft were the only things reserved to them in the chaotic world.
            For Reimer and Gutmann the day of capitulation was doubly painful as the short-wave communication arrived in which Major Küpper announced the disappearance of Juncker and Recke.
            On the third day after the historic date, whispers went through the ranks of men that a woman had arrived the previous night as a messenger and had left after a few hours. The Adjutant appeared quieter than usual and no further explanations were given to anyone... 

To be continued...

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