Alfred (アルフレード Arufurēdo), alternatively called Alfredo in the manga, is a former Schutzstaffel (SS) officer in Nazi Germany. He was part of a cabal of officers within the SS who had realized that the days of the Third Reich were at an end. He fled to Francoist Spain after the war and became an antiques dealer, having a penchant for collecting Nazi artwork.
Appearance[]
Alfred is an elderly German man with a skinny build, pale skin, short white hair and a thick white mustache. In his younger years as an SS officer he wore a black SS uniform, and in his older years he wears a robe and also has a golden ring with SS bolts on it. Currently, Alfred is in a wheelchair, likely a result of his old age.
History[]
Alfred was a participant at the 1942 Wannsee Conference, agreeing with Reinhard Heydrich to help implement further stages of the Final Solution and subsequent genocide of European Jews. Before Berlin was encircled by the Red Army in late April 1945, those who signed the pact at the Conference, including Alfred, had managed to secure a sizable amount of capital into secured accounts, hiding the numbers within four paintings and fleeing Berlin with them.[1] Lieutenant General Lackenbauer of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) entrusted one of the paintings, titled The Twelve Knights Led by Brunhilda, into the custodianship of SS Lt. Col. Spielberger[2] with the implication that the painting was done by Adolf Hitler. In actuality, the painting was made by an obscure WWII-era painter, August Janke.[1] Alfred soon fled to Francoist Spain owing to the ODESSA network[3] while Spielberger was en route to deliver the painting to his destination.
Spielberger then made his way to the U-boat pens at Kiel and boarded U-234, which was taking Lt. Col. Matsudo back to Japanese-held Batavia (now known as Jakarta) in Indonesia. However, the U-boat was sunk just miles away from her destination by a U.S. Navy patrol looking for Japanese submarines.[4] Most of the crew died when the air ran out, while a few of them, including their captain Wentzel H. Ahbe, were shot to death by Spielberger. Consequently, the capital account numbers that Alfred and the other SS officers stored inside the painting were stuck at the bottom of the ocean.[5] Nonetheless, Alfred's group was able to secure the other three paintings.[1] According to Rachmann, after Alfred had fled Nazi Germany, Nazi hunters wanted to find and capture the SS officer for his involvement in the Holocaust and ODESSA, but the ex-SS officer remained hidden in Spain and later became a member of the Anti-Communist Union, a fascist group.[3]
Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers[]
For the most part, the U-boat remained forgotten in its watery grave—until a French telecommunications company discovered the submarine decades later in late 1994 while laying cable in the area. In March 1995, Alfred, still hiding in Spain as an antiques dealer, was able to find out about the submarine and the dispute between several countries regarding the territorial right to explore the sunken boat.[4] Not wanting the world to discover the capital accounts and the SS signatures, the elderly Nazi formulated a two-sided plan to retrieve the painting. A United States neo-Nazi group, the Aryan Socialist Union, and their leader Rachmann had petitioned his help in financing their efforts. He then assigned them the job of diving down to the U-234 wreckage to salvage the painting, giving them funding, weapons, and the ship White Heather to aid in their salvage, even promising that the neo-Nazi group could join the Anti-Communist Union. If the group succeeded, then Alfred would arrange a meeting for his servant to receive the painting in Madrid. At the same time, however, he also offered $50,000 (plus expenses) to the Lagoon Company, which he knew was led by the African-American Dutch, to retrieve the painting as well. His objective was to see if the ASU was capable of defeating what he felt was a racially inferior group.
However, even though the ASU was successful in retrieving the painting and initially kept the Black Lagoon at bay, they ended-up getting slaughtered by Revy and Dutch when the two boarded the White Heather at night during the neo-Nazis' drunken celebration. While on the phone with Alfred, Rachmann assured him that the battle would end, but the old man criticized him for thinking that the SS officer wanted an apology. Hearing a gunshot over the phone, he nonchalantly remarked that it was over for Rachmann. At that point, Dutch entered Rachmann's office and allowed him to finish the call, but Alfred was interested and wanted to speak with Dutch instead. The old man apologized to Dutch for putting on a "shameful display" of henchmen, and Dutch rhetorically asked him if he actually wanted something inside the painting and if he had the Lagoon Company's office number. Subsequently, Alfred confirmed his conclusions, relaying to him and Rachmann the history of the four paintings and their ulterior significance as well as hiring both sides, infuriating Rachmann.
In response to Rachmann's rage and accusation of betrayal, he sternly reminded the neo-Nazi that he gave his group large financial backing and weapons and yet could not take on the small pirate company. When the SS officer called Dutch a racial slur, the latter jokingly retorted that he could just throw the painting into the sea. Unconcerned, Alfred concluded that he did not care what Dutch did with the painting so long as it was not discovered by other parties since the painting had the signatures and financial capital account numbers inside. In addition, Alfred mentioned that his own group was already financially successful and then told Dutch that despite the racist contempt he held for his race, he held a small amount of respect for him. The old man even said that if Dutch was born as a white man, he would have given him an Iron Cross, but the pirate replied that he only wanted the money. Appreciating Dutch's upfront request, he finished the call by calmly wishing death upon Dutch and "inferior races," and Dutch in turn bid him good riddance, hanging up the phone.[1]
Trivia[]
- In a popularity contest released during the 10th manga collection release, Alfred ranked 44th (tying with Abrego and Filano) with 4 votes.[6]
- In a popularity contest released during the 12th manga collection release, Alfred ranked 58th (tying with several characters) with 3 votes.[7]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Episode 06: Moonlit Hunting Grounds
- ↑ Chapter 05: Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers Part 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 07: Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers Part 3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Episode 04: Die Rückkehr des Adlers
- ↑ Episode 05: Eagle Hunting and Hunting Eagles
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest/
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest_12/