Summary
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This extraordinary thrilling and captivating story is a fictionalized account of real life experience and actual historical events that occurred before, during, and after WWII.
The principal character, Alfred Hammer, becomes the chief scientist for NASA’s Apollo Lunar Landing Mission after he has endured incredible torture as a slave laborer in Mauthausen, a savage Nazi extermination camp.
Alfred, the young Jewish scientist, is a pioneer and visionary whose interest in space leads him to work and interact with prominent Nazi German rocket scientists during WWII, such as Dr. Wernher von Braun, by hiding his real identity and successfully disguising his background, he contributes to the development of the deadly V1 and V2 rockets at the German Rocket Research Center (GRRC) in Peenemünde, Germany while spying for the Allies.
Alfred nurtures a close, intimate relationship with Gertrud, the daughter of Dr.Wernher von Braun, the Nazi SS Major and Director of the GRRC. She becomes his spying accomplice by revealing secret scientific rocket developmental information to the British Intelligence Service in London. Discovered and arrested by the German Secret Police, Alfred masterfully avoids the Nazi SS execution squad, but ultimately is deported to Mauthausen- Vernichtungslager extermination camp, where he faces sure death, while Gertrud is interned to Dachau concentration camp for her complicity. Unbeknownst to Alfred, Gertrud is pregnant and delivers a baby boy in Dachau. The child is kidnapped, baptized as Adolf, and raised by a cruel, sadistic female Nazi concentration camp guard.
Alfred escapes, managing to survive by his wits and courage. After the war, he ultimately makes his way back to his homeland but realizes the life he knew there no longer exists. He eventually finds safe haven in the United States where he plays a major role in the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA), as a rocket scientist, contributing to the realization of landing an American on the moon before the USSR.
Employed by NASA, Alfred once again, interacts with the same German team of scientists he worked with during the war. The scientists, under the leadership of
Dr. von Braun, were commanded into custody and brought to the United States by the U.S. government. With his life no longer in turmoil, Alfred has one remaining goal—to track down and gain custody of his son. After a worldwide search that ends in a small village in the Azores, Alfred joyously reunites with his son and returns to the United States.
Alfred’s remarkable survival of Nazi atrocities and triumph over evil makes From Mauthausen to the Moon an intriguing, riveting, spirited emotional thriller, filled with suspenseful mixture of love, intrigue and espionage. prooving the human spirit invincibility.
EXERPTS FROM MAUTHAUSEN TO THE MOON
Chapter One
The Apollo 11 Launch, July 1969
Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA
It was a beautiful summer day. July 16, 1969. Only a few scattered clouds hung in the sky. The Floridian landscape and warm weather were appealing to the occasional vacationer
as well as to the birds living in the marshes of the surrounding areas of Cape Canaveral, Kennedy, Florida.
Something unusual was about to happen—a feeling of expectation, a prescient of what was to follow.
On U.S. 1, bumper-to-bumper traffic burdened the major East Coast highway. Cars slowed down, and travelers stopped on the side of the road with anticipation. The NASA ushers were busy directing the viewing VIP visitors to their assigned seats
in the bleachers.
U.S. senators, congressional officials, and other government dignitaries occupied the sun-drenched bleachers, greeting each other, exchanging polite smiles and handshakes accompanied by salutations and carefully chosen polite compliments. Political-party affiliation and differences were disregarded, set aside, at least for the moment. The foreign diplomatic corps were well represented, including Valery Dimitrov—the USSR science attaché—who, by strange coincidence or design (nobody knows), was sitting next to the current United States senator, Walter Mondale, and future vice president of the United States. The foreign press was handled with special care by the NASA officials, having been given an excellent viewing location for the forthcoming space event. Traditionally, the front seats of the bleachers, which had an unobstructed view of the launchpad, were reserved for the diplomatic corps; this time, however, for unknown reasons, these seats were allocated to the foreign press.
The technicians, engineers, and space-supporting scientists were milling around the NASA mission control room, each with a specific assignment. Mission controllers were sitting with their eyes riveted to the control panels, reading and interpreting the
latest data and preflight information.
Earlier in the week, the Apollo spacecraft cabin, the command module, as it was technically called—was placed on top of the Saturn V launch vehicle. The three American astronauts having boarded the command module earlier were sending .
Chapter Five
Encountering Gertrud
Berlin, Germany, 1941
Alfred’s trip to Berlin was uninteresting except for a
brief incident at the Austrian checkpoint.
The train stopped.
Two inspectors boarded the train and started inspecting travel documents. The atmosphere among the travelers was tense. The inspectors were aggressively searching for illegal or improperly documented passengers.
Three other travelers besides Alfred occupied the compartment. The elderly woman sitting beside him was carrying a Bulgarian passport, which was unacceptable for reasons known only to the Austrian authority. She was told to get off and follow
the border inspector.
Alfred was nervous and lit up a cigarette. The inspector ordered him to put it out instantly. He complied. A civilian, standing next to the inspector, entered the compartment and immediately issued a loud Heil Hitler salute. He looked on with suspicion, examining every move and action of the other passengers in the compartment.
His eyes were sharp, focused, and inquisitive.
Alfred thought the man’s actions obvious: he probably was an agent of the Geheime Stadt Polizie or Gestapo, the Nazi Party’s secret service.
“Who are you, and where are your documents?” he shouted loudly, turning his attention to Alfred. Alfred reached for his pocket and produced his passport. The Gestapo agent adjusted his glasses and examined Alfred’s papers.
“And . . . where are you traveling?” was the next question.
“My name is Alfred Hammer, and I am traveling to Berlin to visit a friend,” answered Alfred.
“Where does your friend live?” the civilian asked.
“Dorotheen Strasse 37, near the Reichstag Platz,” uttered
Alfred in a firm but low voice. Returning his false passport, the agent turned his attention to an attractive young woman sitting across from Alfred, asking her for her travel document.
“Please understand, sir, my papers are expired, and I meant to extend them,” she said before the inspector challenged the document’s validity.
“I did not have a chance because my father asked me to urgently come see him at Peenemünde where he works,” said the young woman.
“What his name,” the agent asked.
“Dr. Wernick von Brown,” the young woman replied. The agent quickly turned around and left the compartment, taking the travel document with him. The tension grew, and no one dared speak. The inspector himself appeared puzzled but expressed no
visible emotion as he stood in the compartment.
After about five long minutes, the agent returned. His comportment was vastly different. No longer menacing, he politely said, “Very well. Everything is in order. I checked with the appropriate people. Please make sure that you update your travel documents as soon as possible.” He tipped his hat and both officials left. The mood in the compartment returned to normal.
Alfred could scarcely contain himself. What a coincidence for him to be so lucky and so close to the daughter of the very scientist he was trying to meet. He said the familiar name to himself, Dr. Brown, chief scientist of Peenemünde. Perhaps this is my opportunity to make some inroads. I must try talking to her, he said to himself. However, Alfred was not the type who could or would initiate a conversation with a stranger, especially a woman.
She appeared to be close in age to Alfred, definitely in her early twenties. Tall, shapely, with long legs, and well built. She possessed sharp blue eyes that missed nothing.
Chapter Thirteen
Wunderkind at Work
Peenemünde, 1942
Dr. Spitzerhosen was heavily involved in the analysis of the latest version of the rocket booster that had recently been redesigned. Dr. Brown was anxiously waiting for the analyses.
“Alfred, I want you to look over these sheets of data,” said Dr. Spitzerhosen. “I am giving you the responsibility of coordinating and interpreting the results with Captain Wilhelm Lange. He works in the Rocket Propulsion Office on the second floor, Bldg.B. Begin immediately. Brown wants the papers in his hand by tomorrow’s close of business.”
It’s incredible to be trusted with such important data in my first few days of work.
Before confirming with Lange, Alfred spent the afternoon looking over the test result data, trying to make sense of it. At first glance, it appeared the test had been successful, but the velocity of the exhausted gases did not correlate with the
maximum allowable temperature. However, Alfred was not sure that his preliminary diagnosis was correct and technically sound. He needed a little time and further study to convince himself that his interpretation of the data was indeed the right
one.
Because the data was marked secret, he was not allowed to take the work out of the complex; therefore, he spent the evening hours in his office, redoing the calculations to find out if the data was acceptable.
By midnight, he concluded that his original opinion was correct; and therefore, the rocket booster static-firing test could not be considered a success. He very carefully looked over his recalculations. Fully satisfied with his conclusion, he was ready
to take the matter over to Captain Lange. Early next morning, Alfred walked over to the captain’s office.
The captain, tall and blond with ice-cold eyes, was impeccably dressed in his SS uniform. His arrogant attitude went along with the monocle placed over his aging left eye, altogether contributing to his rather austere appearance. Alfred was not surprised, when they shook hands, that the captain’s were rigid and cold.
“Was ist los,(What’s going on) Herr Doctor?” he asked Alfred in a loud voice. Since there was a considerable age difference between them, it was obvious that the address “Herr Doctor” was both ironic and patronizing.
After Alfred politely explained the purpose of his visit, the captain said, “Sehr gut. (Very good). I will look this over and will see what has to be done.” He snapped his heels together and belted out, “Heil Hitler!”
Alfred felt compelled to mimic his gesture although it made him sick to his stomach. He was about to leave when the captain spoke, “Wait! Let’s look this over together. Sit down.” Alfred was surprised but complied and made himself comfortable.
After a short pause, the captain—in an agitated, excited tone—exclaimed, “What do you think of this? Did you find any errors, anomalies, or do you think the results are
acceptable?”
Alfred was intimidated by the captain’s attitude and tone and was reluctant to be straightforward with his answer. Glancing at Lange before speaking, Alfred gained encouragement from the captain’s unexpected smile. It seemed that Lange was
smiling because he did not find anything unusual about the data. As he was the one who had defined and originated the test program and protocol, he was feeling rather smug about the results.
“Well . . . ,” Alfred hesitantly began. “I think the data suggests that the temperature of the exhaust gases is too high.
“Was? Du bist verückt! (What? You are crazy!) Twenty-five degrees is within the margin of tolerance,” Lange shouted. “For me, it is acceptable.” He used his aggressive attitude and booming voice to try to intimidate Alfred.
“Captain, if you please!” Alfred exclaimed. “First, the cowling around the engine will not withstand the excess temperature, and second, the exhaust temperature exceeds the tolerance margin. That in itself is unacceptable.” The captain’s face was slowly turning red. Sweat accumulated on his forehead, and he used his linen handkerchief to wipe his brow and eyebrows. After an agonizing period of silence, Lange thundered, “I want to look over the details of the test results and compare the data with the test protocol. Come back tomorrow.”
“But Dr. Spitzerhosen wants this test evaluation by close of business today. It cannot be delayed until tomorrow,” Alfred replied.
“Very well. I will take care of this matter. Do not worry” came his reply.
Chapter Forty-two
The Search
Alfred tried to see Neville who was extremely busy working on an important child-custody case. Finally, he managed to get an appointment with him.“Only yesterday, I received a wire from Dietrich. So far, his search for Verena rendered little. It appears that she skipped the country. That is all we know. Where she might have gone, we do not yet have a clue. Eventually, we will find her. It is only a question of time,” said the lawyer.“We must find her,” Alfred exclaimed adamantly.
Two weeks later, Verena was sitting in the doctor’s small examining room, staring at the blank walls as she awaited the results of her tests. The doctor finally walked in.
“Mrs. Hohf?” His eyes behind his glasses radiated empathy. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said, “I am sorry, but I do not have good news for you. According to the tests and my clinical examination, you have a grave health problem.”
“What kind of grave problem?” Verena asked. “Is it cancer?”
“No, it’s not cancer,” he said, removing his hand and turning to face her directly. “This condition........
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