Name: Gerhard von Reichenau

 

Rank: Graf

 

Age: 30

 

Bio:

Gerhard Michael Rupprecht von Reichenau was born on September 29, 1906 on his ancestral estate on the island of Reichenau in the German waters of Lake Constance, not far from the Swiss border. His father died during World War I when Gerhard was twelve years old, leaving him and his mother with more than sufficient means. He was thoroughly tutored at home and attended Heidelberg University from 1924-28. He earned a degree, but his reputation at the University chiefly involved his skill as a fencer (true) and his many love affairs (greatly exaggerated). During that time his boundless curiosity led him to study the occult and to associate with a group of occultists on the fringe of the Thule Society.

 

It was his rank and connections, not his perceived ability, that gained him an entry-level position with the German Foreign Office, on the staff of the Ambassador to Great Britain. As he spent time in England and travelling outside Germany, learning the craft of diplomacy, he also began to see Germany, and the Nazis, with different eyes. His position in the Foreign Office was secure, if undistinguished, and his superiors learned that he was discreet and obedient, they trusted him with more sensitive matters. One day he decoded an assassination order for an English diplomat who he counted as a friend, and by quick action managed to get an anonymous warning to him in time.

 

That was a turning point; he considered leaving the embassy and asking for political asylum, but the love he still had for his home and country, and the thought of his mother, dissuaded him. From that time, he occasionally passed information to the English -- never anything detrimental to Germany, but information that gave warnings and saved lives.

 

 By the time he returned to Germany in 1933, the political situation had visibly worsened and he grew more and more uncomfortable. With his information sources, but professional and personal, he was able more than once to let an acquaintance know that he or she might be in danger -- still anonymously (he thought). 

 

 This razor-edged situation came to a sudden end on the evening of July 2, 1934 when he was confronted with a  terrified fugitive in his front hall while at home on holiday. The man was injured and exhausted, and he spoke the name of Gerhard's English friend, the first person whose life he had saved. He had fled from the Night of the Long Knives, the Gestapo was on his trail, and he had reason to believe that Gerhard would help.

 

If Gerhard's mother had been at home, he might not have risked it; but she was away, so without further ado he packed a knapsack and led the way to his boathouse. He was raising the sails when two members of the Gestapo burst into the boathouse. The fugitive (who Gerhard hadn't even known was armed) shot one; Gerhard knocked the other into the water and then with great calm sailed out onto Lake Constance,  a picture of oblivious aristocracy on a holiday, with the fugitive crouched in the bottom of the boat. He did not touch land until he reached the shore of Switzerland.

 

Once the fugitives were safe, he boarded a train to Calais and a boat to England.  As the Germans had underestimated Gerhard, so he had underestimated the British Foreign Office.  His identity and his helpful efforts had been known for some time, and he was promptly granted asylum -- and protection, when several attempts on his life made it clear that he would need it. The defection of a nobleman while helping an English sympathizer -- and who, upon investigation,  turned out to have been quietly passing information to the British for years -- as well as the death of two Gestapo agents -- infuriated the government. The other Gestapo agents who had watched Gerhard sail away with their quarry were severely disciplined and also infuriated.  Some entity or entities took Gerhard's defection personally; there is known to be a price on his head.

 

For the two years or so that he has lived in England, he has been guarded and his whereabouts kept private. He works for the Foreign Office -- and other less public offices -- translating documents and occasionally dabbling in cryptography when needed. Although thankful to be alive, he is still intensely homesick for his island and concerned  about his mother, who he has not dared to contact in any way lest it draw reprisals to her from the Nazis. 

 

Personality: Gerhard is courteous but reserved, partly because of his heritage and upbringing, partly because he is reluctant to trust people until he knows them well -- with his life constantly threatened, he can't afford to relax very often. Another reason that he tends to keep people at arm's length is that he does not want to provide his enemies with any possible hostages.

 

Still insatiably curious, he finds it almost impossible to leave a mystery unsolved.  He is also quietly determined not to leave live enemies behind. 

 

Description:

Gerhard is tall, blonde, and handsome with bright blue eyes and an athletic build. (The Nazis who pose for recruitment posters wish they looked that good.)  He dresses with inconspicuous good taste. Barely visible on the right side of his chin is a thin scar.

 

 

Stats:

Strength: Good

Agility: Great

Mind: Fair

Soul: Mediocre

 

Gifts: (total of 4)

Ambidextrous

Attractive

Combat Reflexes

Literate

 

Flaws: (total of 4)

Enemy (German government) (doubled)

Bloodlust

Curious

 

Skills:

 

Great:

Swords*

 

Fair:

European Languages (German [native], English, French, Italian)

Unarmed Combat**

Diplomacy

Cryptography

 

Mediocre:

Occultism

Swimming

Boats***  

 

 

*Concentration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_fencing

Note that this was forbidden in 1933 by the Nazis, but not when the Graf was a student (1924-28).

**Concentration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savate

***Concentration: Sailboats

 

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