Chapter 2530

Hearing the story told by the man, Sokov's face twitched. He couldn't help but think of a movie he had watched before crossing over, "The Pianist". The movie was adapted from the autobiography of Polish Jewish composer and pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, and described the story of Polish Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman's difficult survival during World War II.

Sokov naturally associated the man in front of him with the movie he had seen. He organized the words in his mind and then asked, "Are you Wladyslaw Szpilman or Wladyslaw Szpilman?"

As soon as he said this, Sokov saw Ajelina's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect Sokov to suddenly say two Polish names, and she couldn't help but feel shocked. The man's face was also full of shock. After a long while, he murmured, "General, my name is Vladislaw Spiman. How do you know my name?"

Sokof naturally would not tell the two people in front of him that he had seen this name in a movie, but promptly changed the subject and asked, "Spillman, do you know the name of the German captain who helped you?"

"I don't know, I don't know." Spillman shook his head and said, "He never told me his name."

"Why?" Ajelina next to him asked puzzledly, "Since he is willing to help you and often provides you with food, , but why didn't he tell you his name? "

"The reason is very simple. "Sokof guessed that Szpilman could not answer Ajelina's question, so he said first: "After the German army occupied Poland, it was announced that anyone who took in Jews in their homes or properties would be executed; providing food or water to Jews would also be killed. This was the most severe torture during the German army's plunder of Europe. Even if the person who helped Szpilman was an officer, he did not dare to reveal his identity easily, otherwise his life would also be in danger. "

After Sokof's reminder, Ajelina immediately remembered that when she was in Warsaw, she knew that there was indeed such a rule. She had received orders from her superiors that she was absolutely not allowed to have public or private contact with Jews, so as not to attract the attention of the Gestapo and thus lead to the destruction of the underground organization.

After the three of them were silent for a while, Sokov asked again: "Spielman, since you don't know the officer's name, how do you plan to find him? Are you going to look for him in one place after another like you are doing now?"

"Yes, Mr. General." Spielman said with a wry smile: "Although this is a stupid way, as long as he is still in Warsaw, there is a chance to find him."

"This method won't work." Sokov waited for Spielman to finish speaking, then shook his head and said: "Those prisoners may not do hard labor in the same place every day. For example, the place you come to today is a group of German soldiers cleaning up the ruins, and maybe tomorrow it will be another group. By the same token, the German prisoners cleaning up the ruins in this area can If they are changed every day, then the prisoners in other areas may not be fixed. "

When Ajelina heard this, she immediately understood what Sokov meant. She added her own opinion when translating: "Mr. Spielman, you don't know the name of the German captain who helped you, so you can only look for him aimlessly. Maybe he didn't come here to work today for various reasons, but he may be assigned here tomorrow. And you just happened to look for this place today, so you won't come again tomorrow, so you will miss the opportunity to meet. "

When Spielman heard this, he thought it made sense. Maybe he would look for it in vain here today, and he would go to other places to look for it tomorrow, and he might miss his benefactor. Thinking of this, he grabbed Sokov's arm and said excitedly: "Mr. General, please help me."

The soldiers guarding the prisoners of war in the distance saw that the Poles they had driven away actually grabbed a general and refused to let go. They were worried about something going wrong, so they ran over with guns. Still from a distance, he asked Sokov, "Comrade General, is there anything I can help you with?"

Spieman, who was holding Sokov's arm, saw the soldier who drove him away running over, and was frightened and hurriedly let go of Sokov's arm, stepped back, lowered his head nervously, and waited for the punishment that might come.

Unexpectedly, Sokov waved at the soldier and said, "It's okay, comrade soldier, I met a Polish friend and was chatting with him."

The soldier stopped and said to Sokov, "Comrade General, I'm so sorry, I didn't know he was your friend, please forgive me if I offended you just now."

Sockov would naturally not blame a soldier for such a trivial matter. He smiled and asked the soldier: "Comrade Soldier, which unit are you from?"

Although the soldier didn't know which unit Sokov was from, he saw his general's shoulder straps and replied respectfully: "Comrade General, we are from the garrison command."

Knowing that the other party was from the garrison command, Sokov's eyes lit up. Since the troops guarding the German prisoners of war were under the jurisdiction of the garrison command, couldn't he just go directly to the garrison commander? Sokov couldn't help but give 32 thumbs up for his wit!

"Comrade Soldier," Sokov looked at the soldier and asked, "Do you know where the garrison command is?"

"I know, comrade general."

"Then please show us the way. I want to meet the garrison commander in Warsaw."

Led by the soldier, Sokov and others came to the garrison command.

When the officer on duty at the door saw a general appearing at the door of the headquarters, he showed a surprised expression. He quickly stepped forward to salute and said respectfully: "Hello, comrade general, what can I do for you?" At your service?"

"I want to see the garrison commander in Warsaw. I wonder if he is free now?"

"Comrade General, please wait a moment, I will call his adjutant." When the officer on duty was about to go to the duty room to make a call, he specifically asked Sokov's name: "Comrade General, I don't know what to do. Call you?"

"Sokov, just tell the garrison commander's adjutant that there is a general Sokov who wants to see the garrison commander."

A few minutes later, a major officer hurried to the door and saluted Sokov who was standing here: "Hello, General Sokov! I am the adjutant of the garrison commander. On the order of the commander, please go to him. 's office."

Sokov nodded and followed the lieutenant into the building.

Soon, they arrived outside the garrison commander's office. There were many officers standing in the corridor. Judging from the uniforms on his body, there were both Soviet officers and Polish officers. They should be waiting to be received by the garrison commander.

Seeing Sokov appearing with his adjutant, the officers, whether chatting or sitting, all stood at attention, made way for Sokov, and saluted him with attention.

After entering the office, Sokov saw a bald, middle-aged major general sitting behind his desk and writing something.

"Comrade Commander!" the adjutant stepped forward and reported to the garrison commander: "Admiral Sokov is here!"

The major general raised his head and saw Sokov clearly standing in front of him. He quickly put down the pen in his hand, stood up and walked around from behind the desk. He reached out to Sokov and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, General Sokov, I am Major General Mandreka, commander of the Warsaw garrison. Welcome to Warsaw!”

When shaking hands, he said to the adjutant standing next to him: "What are you still doing? Why don't you quickly pour tea for Comrade General!" After letting go of Sokov's hand, he greeted politely: "Comrade General, you are welcome." Please take a seat quickly."

After Sokov sat down, Mandrake glanced at Spielman, and then asked curiously: "Comrade General, when did you come to Warsaw?"

"I arrived not long ago. To be precise, it was less than an hour before the train I took entered Warsaw West Station."

"Can I ask what you brought to this city?"

"Of course." Sokov needed the help of Major General Mandreka, so he naturally did not conceal his purpose. Then he pointed to Spielman sitting next to him and said: "This is the famous pianist Spielman from Warsaw. Mr. Pillman, who often played piano on the radio."

After hearing Sokov introduce Spielman, Mandreka walked over to shake hands with him and said politely: "Hello, Mr. Spielman, I heard the beautiful piano you played on the radio today. Qu, I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

"Comrade Major General," Sokov continued: "Mr. Spielman is a Jew who was persecuted during the German occupation of Warsaw. After the failure of the Jewish uprising in Warsaw, he has been hiding in the ruins. Fortunately, he met A kind-hearted German captain often provided him with food so that he could survive until the day my family liberated Warsaw. Some time ago, he heard from a Jewish friend of his that he saw a prisoner in a prisoner of war camp. The German captain said that he had helped Mr. Spielman and hoped that the other party could convey the news that he was being held here to Mr. Spielman and ask him to rescue him from the prisoner of war camp. "

After understanding Sokov's purpose, Mandreka nodded, and then asked Spielman: "Mr. Spielman, I don't know the name of the German captain who once helped you, and which prisoner of war building he was held in." Where’s the camp?”

Mandreka's question stopped Spielman. He shook his head and said awkwardly: "My friend said that he once asked the name of the German captain at that time, and the other party also told him. But because of the distance at that time, It was a bit far away, and the Soviet troops guarding the prisoners of war came to drive him away, so that he didn't even hear the other party's name clearly. "

After hearing what Spielman said, Mandrake put his bare forehead with his hands and said awkwardly: "Mr. Spielman, there are as many as 50,000 to 60,000 German prisoners of war in various prison camps in Warsaw. , As for the officers, there are probably thousands of them, and it may not be easy to find a captain whose name is unknown. "

As soon as Mandrake finished speaking, the adjutant came in carrying a tray with three cups of hot tea. When he bent down to put hot tea in front of Sokov and others, Mandreka suddenly asked: "Adjutant, who is in charge of the German prisoners of war?"

The adjutant was stunned when he heard this question, but he still answered truthfully: "Colonel Balanin is in charge. Do you want him to come over?"

"Yes, let him come here. I have something to ask him about."

The adjutant agreed and quietly walked out with the tray.

A few minutes later, a tall and thin middle-aged colonel walked into the room and asked Mandrake: "Commander, what do you want from me?"

"Comrade Colonel," Mandrake said bluntly after introducing Sokov to Balanin: "General Sokov and the Polish pianist are looking for a German captain in the prisoner of war camp. I think Let you help them.”

After listening to Mandrake's words, Balanin turned to look at Sokov and asked: "Comrade General, I wonder what the name of this German captain is?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel Baranin." Sokov said apologetically, "We don't know his name, we only know that he is a German captain."

Seeing that Sokov and others didn't know the name of the German captain they were looking for, Baranin couldn't help but frowned. But he didn't give up easily, but continued to ask the next question: "Since you don't know his name, you must know when he was captured, right?"

"Why, weren't the prisoners in your prisoner-of-war camp captured in the same period of time?"

"Yes, Comrade General, the prisoners in the prisoner-of-war camp were captured in October 1944 and February 1945. If you know the approximate time of his capture, we can narrow the scope of the search."

Sokof turned to Spiman and asked: "Mr. Spiman, do you know when the German captain was captured?"

Spiman After thinking for a while, he replied, "When he left, he told me that the Russians, no, the Soviets were forcing the Vistula River, and he and his troops were ordered to withdraw to the outside of the city to build new defenses. I think he was captured at that time."

"I see." Baranin nodded and said, "As long as we know the approximate time of his capture, we can greatly narrow the search range. Comrade General, if you have no objection, I would like to invite you to my office and we will search for this unknown German captain together."

Sokov agreed to Baranin's proposal, and after saying goodbye to Mandreka, the three followed Baranin to his office.

Baranin opened a filing cabinet, took out two rosters of prisoners of war, and placed them in front of Sokov: "Comrade General, these are the names of German officers captured in February 1945. See if the person you are looking for is in it."

Sokov let go of one of the rosters and found that it only contained information such as name, rank, age, and place of origin, without even a photo.

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov closed the roster and frowned to Baranin, "There are only names, ranks, ages and places of origin, but not even a photo. How can we find them? No matter how capable we are, we cannot judge who we are looking for based on such simple information."

Hearing what Sokov said, Baranin blushed. He asked a little embarrassedly, "Comrade General, do you have any good ideas?"

"Mr. Spiman." Sokov did not answer his question immediately, but turned to Spiman beside him and asked, "Can you tell me how old the German captain who helped you is?" He was afraid that the other party would not understand what he meant, so he explained, "We can find the person you are looking for based on the approximate age."