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It started when Thompson said, ‘I doubt the Holocaust was really as bad as they brag about it being.’Peg was so concerned with Jarvis suddenly moving around to Howard’s opposite side and picking up what had been in front of him that she never saw Howard go in for the punch. But she certainly saw Thompson hit the ground. Howard stood over him, his usually brown eyes now almost certainly black.‘I’ll be in my workshop.’ Howard stormed into the house.‘Yes, sir,’ Jarvis said.‘What was that?’ Thompson demanded, nursing a darkening eye.‘You hit a nerve,’ Jarvis said simply. ‘He went to a few of the concentration camps that the Americans liberated, and he saw the people there. There was no exaggeration in the matter.’‘Why was Howard there?’ Peg asked. ‘I wouldn’t think he’d have needed to be there.’Oh, there was a reason. He’d gotten that answer when Howard Stark had finally trusted him enough to answer why he’d bothered to help him and save Ana. But Jarvis wouldn’t say it. It took a great deal of confidence for Howard Stark to utter those words and Jarvis would not betray that confidence.Instead, he said, ‘I believe Captain Rodgers and his cohort were there as well.’********The next time Peg saw Dum-Dum, she asked him.Dum-Dum chuckled. ‘Yeah, I remember. No one really knew what to make of it though. Howard wouldn’t explain anything.’‘What actually happened?’ Peg asked.‘Well, I can’t precisely remember which camp it was but Howard went on those camp rescue missions whenever he could. There was this one guy, at the first one we ever went to with him…’1945
Howard Stark walked into the camp, looking around as the Nazi guards writhed in pain, some even dead. The inmates slowly pushed themselves up. One of them staggered up to his feet. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse – whether with disuse or emotion, no one would ever know. ‘Reginar…?’Howard turned to him, and surprised the entire squad with him by speaking perfect German. ‘Ich bin sein Sohn, ja.’ But none of them understood a word he said…except one man. This man raised an eyebrow in interest at what was said, but he told no one.The man lurched forward and practically collapsed on Howard. The millionaire only started a bit. He looked down as the man began to blubber something. ‘Dein Vater war mein Cousin. Wir sind zusammen aufgewachsen.’Howard’s brow furrowed for a moment before he said, ‘Selig?’
‘Ja…ja…’
Howard held the older man and let him bawl nonsense onto his shoulder until the medics came over. ‘Selig,’ he said, ‘Das sind amerikanische Ärzte. Sie werden sich um dich kümmern. Ich muss ein paar Sachen aufräumen und dann komme ich rein.’With some effort, they disentangled the man from Howard and he was wheeled away on a gurney. Howard took a deep breath, and then he turned on his heel. The one man who understood what had just happened followed. They ignored everyone else around them.1947
‘So what happened then?’ Peg asked.‘Turns out that once the Nazis killed the Jews they incinerated their bodies, and denied them the dignity of a proper burial.’ Dum-Dum winced. ‘So Howard and the other guy returned the favour.’‘You mean they…?’ Peg stammered, the idea unthinkable to her.‘Tossed the dead Nazis in.’ Dum-Dum nodded. ‘Seemed pretty angry while they were doing it too. They stripped ‘em down and chucked them in. Didn’t really help that the Jews in the place were egging them on.’Peg pursed her lips and planted her hands on her hips. ‘Steve must have had something to say about that.’‘Of course he did, but that was before we found out the Nazis had been throwing everyone in there,’ Dum-Dum said. ‘And I do mean everyone.’ He shuddered. ‘They were even throwing babies in there – still alive, still screaming.’Peg froze, horrified.‘That was Cap’s reaction. After that, we all started helping them.’ Dum-Dum shook his head. ‘First time I ever saw Jews behave like normal people who were rightly outraged at something that had happened to them.’ He shook his head. ‘I never saw human beings in such poor shape, Peg. They looked more like walking corpses than people.’Peg frowned. Maybe there’d been a good reason for Howard to knock Thompson on his arse. ‘Walking corpses?’‘They were all skin and bones,’ Dum-Dum said. ‘Sallow skin that sunk right into all the gaps of their bones. They were covered with welts and bruises, where the Nazis had hit ‘em. I was actually surprised they could even stand up. There were sick people who’d just been left there. Lots of people had gotten gold taken from their teeth – fillings, crowns, replacement teeth. Those guys were living on watered-down soup.’‘People were actually treated like that?’ It seemed too cruel, even for the Nazis.‘Yeah. And Howard saw it. That’s why he decked Thompson.’Peg huffed. ‘Why did Howard even see the need to go?’‘Your guess is as good as ours.’********
New York, 2016
‘Yeah, I heard of Selig.’ Tony Stark sat down. ‘I never understood it though. How do you know about that?’Pepper’s old friend from New Haven sat down across him. ‘My great-grandfather was there.’Tony squinted. ‘Was he the guy that used to be a spy?’‘In 1942, yes.’ Sharee Pertinicle smiled. ‘As a spy, he had to be able to speak German. He was the only one there who understood what Howard and Selvig were talking about.’
‘Dad never told me that,’ Tony said. ‘What did they say?’‘Selig initially thought Howard was his father,’ Sharee said. ‘And he called out “Reginar”. Howard responded with, “I am his son, yes”. It turns out that Selig was actually a cousin of your grandfather’s. The two of them grew up together. Once he knew who Howard was, he fell into him and cried.’Tony raised his eyebrows. ‘And dad didn’t freak out?’‘He was a different man back then, Tony,’ Sharee said. ‘He wasn’t bitter and cynical yet. He let Selig cry on his shoulder until some doctors came to tend to him, and then he looked after him for the rest of the old man’s life.’‘Selig died before I was born,’ Tony mused.‘Yeah, disappointing too.’ Sharee sighed. ‘You know, my great-grandfather heard Selig say something interesting to your dad. He said, if I recall the story, “Ich danke Gott, dass deine Eltern weg waren, als sie anfingen. Ich danke Gott für den Onkel deiner Mutter”.’‘Huh?’ Rhodey asked.‘It’s German,’ Tony said. ‘It means, “I thank God that your parents left when they did. I thank God for your mother’s uncle”.’ He looked at Sharee. ‘What did he mean?’
Sharee raised an eyebrow.‘I mean, I understand the first part.’ Tony shrugged. ‘If grandma and grandpa hadn’t left Germany when they did, they and dad would have been killed in the Holocaust.’‘It’s the thing with your grandmother’s uncle,’ Sharee said. ‘Yeah, great-gramps was curious about that too. He eventually found out that your grandmother came from a wealthy family in England. That’s where your genius came from. Your grandmother had two uncles. One of them worked in the British government. He kept all of their secrets in his head. When tensions between Germany and England began, leading up to the First World War, he warned them. That’s what spurred them to leave the country and come to America.’