It was Christmas Eve, 1942, in Berlin. Carpenter Franz Mueller argued the news from Stalingrad with his neighbor, Sign Painter Hubert Knopf.
Challenged Knopf: "Ten marks the Russians give up the city."
By March 1943 the betters learned about the German debacle. Dunned, Knopf said: "I'll take care of it right away."
He took care of it by hurrying to the Gestapo, reporting his neighbor for Wehrmachtzersetzung—corruption of the Wehrmacht. Mueller's widow paid the execution bill: 474½ marks, including 175 for the gallows, twelve for the rope, eight pfennigs for notification of the verdict.
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