Cold City RPG - (P#8) Scene #2 - Smuts Barracks

Cold City RPG

(P#8) Scene #2 - Smuts Barracks (#1, #3, #4, #5)
1018hrs Wednesday 1st February 1950, Kammergericht Building (RPA Headquarters). Dr Juliet Bloom, having cleaned up following Gunter Roth's autopsy, agrees somewhat hesitantly to contact the Smuts Barracks to lure Cpl Davey out.  

They are clearly suspicious of Cpl Davey's involvement and come up with a slightly convoluted way to get him back to HQ for questioning about the photographs found at the crime scene on Freidrichstraβe. 

Dr Bloom contacts that Barracks directly and requests that Cpl Davey be made available later this morning to get some blood test results. Arrangements are made for Cpl Davey to be picked up from the Smuts Barracks (some 10km outside of Berlin) later that morning by Renoir and Wheeler posing as the crew of a medical vehicle.

Wheeler, posing as a medic to collect Cpl Davey

A short time later, having collected Cpl Davey, Wheeler is driving them back towards Berlin and the relative security of their HQ. All isn't going quite to plan as Davey (getting a little suspicious at the responses to some of the questions) draws his service weapon and demands that they stop and let him out of the vehicle.

A flurry of action follows as Cpl Davey is restrained and choked into unconsciousness by a cool-headed Renoir. A short time later they have the Corporal tied to a chair of an interview room in the bowels of the Kammergericht.

Cpl Davey was initially unresponsive, but following hours of interrogation and drugging, he confirmed the following:

• That the photographs were taken by a Pvt Grey and not by him.
• He points out that he is in a few of the pictures along with other members of their unit who share responsibility with the other allied forces to garrison Spandau Prison.
• Their platoon have just finished their month of guard duty at Spandau. 
• Rumours of an 8th Prisoner being held at Spandau - guarded by prison officers wearing dark goggles.
  

Spandau guard goggles

On July 18, 1947 seven Nazi war criminals were brought to the Spandau Prison having been sentenced at the Nürnberg Trials. Rudolf Hess, Walther Funk, and Erich Raeder faced life sentences. Albert Speer and Baldur von Schirach faced a 20 year sentence while Konstantin von Neurath had to serve 15 and Karl Dönitz 10 years in the prison.

The four Allied powers took turns in guarding the prison. Despite the tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviets the guard duty at the Spandau Prison was never interrupted. The guarding platoon, made up by 37 soldiers and one officer, changed monthly with a change of the guard ceremony in front of the prison.

Changing of the guard at Spandau Prison

Rota for guard duty -

Britain JAN / MAY / SEPT

France FEB / JUN / OCT

Soviets MAR / JUL / NOV

USA APR / AUG / DEC

The sentries were manning six towers around the prison, but not guarding the prisoners themselves.

Cpl Davey also confirms that:

• The burnt picture would have been taken illegally, as no photographs of Spandau were permitted. (The burnt picture was taken looking down onto a courtyard. The legs of 2/3 figures are in the picture are guards with a prisoner in the exercise yard. The barrel of a British sten gun is also in shot).
• These are recent pictures (from the past week or so). 

British Berlin Infantry

It is established that Pvt Grey drowned this week, his body having been found floating in the Havel River yesterday morning when he failed to turn up for role-call. Cpl Davey described Grey as a good soldier, but that he'd not been himself over the past week, complaining about headaches and strange dreams.

Pvt Grey had even visited with his priest in recent days just before he died. His body is being held at St. Joseph's Hospital morgue and has been treated like a suicide.

The line of questioning had eased slightly by this stage as had tensions between the players and Cpl Davey, who was beginning to suspect that Pvt Grey's death may not have been a simple suicide after all. Cpl Davey mentioned that some military police had been poking around following Grey's death and had taken away some of his possessions. Although he couldn't explain why, Cpl Davey had held back some of Grey's personal effects - his camera, some private letters and some photographs. He agreed to let the team have these items if it would help their investigation.

The RPA investigation would now turn to Pvt Grey's body at St. Joseph's Hospital and following up on one of the few leads they had to find Pavel - "Der Regenbogen" (The Rainbow) a local Jazz club off Freidrichstraβe...