“Plenty?”
“Oh yes, of course. ELAS recruited most of them. There were many Germans fighting for the Greek Communists around Christmas 1944.”
“Do you mean to say that in late 1944 a German soldier could go about in Greece without getting killed?”
A pale smile drifted across Monsieur Hagen’s mournful face. “In Salonika you could see German soldiers sitting in the cafés and walking about the streets.”
“In uniform?”
“Yes, or part uniform. It was a curious situation. During the war the Communists in Yugoslavia, Greece, and Bulgaria had agreed to create a new Macedonian state. It was all part of a larger Russian plan for a Balkan Communist Federation. Well, the moment the Germans had gone, a force called the Macedonian Group of Divisions of ELAS took over Salonika and prepared to put the plan into execution. They didn’t care any more about Germans. They had a new enemy to fight-the lawful Greek government. What they wanted to fight with were trained soldiers. It was Vafiades who had the idea of recruiting German deserters. He was the ELAS commander in Salonika then.”
“Can’t I get in touch with this Vafiades?” George asked.
He saw Miss Kolin stare at him. An expression of anxious perplexity came over Monsieur Hagen’s face.
“I’m afraid that would be a little difficult, Mr. Carey.”
“Why? Is he dead?”