A six page discussion of Hitler's mother concludes:

“Are you kidding? Do you want to go all the way there? To Siberia?”

“There is something unclear in this story. You yourself have just asked yourself why Hitler kept those documents hidden. Who knows? Perhaps Hitler, who posed as a 'man of destiny,' was ashamed of being the son of a humble maid, but it does not seem to me to be such a secret as to hide it in the heart of the mountain. In the meantime, let's examine the facts. Alois and Klara Hitler lived in Braunau am Inn, a small town in Upper Austria. Alois was a customs official. They certainly were not rolling in money. And when the news arrived that Prince Rudolf was looking for domestic staff, it must have seemed like an opportunity not to be missed. Mayerling is not too far from Braunau: it is about 270 km and I think that at the time, by train, it could have taken six or seven hours.”

“There is nothing implausible, then.”

“Nothing, in fact, except the correlation between people who would seem light years apart.”

“Mghrr...”

“That's right, old man. It's as if Hitler, or whoever, was collecting material on his mother and Archduke Rudolf. No one knows for what purpose, and it's possible that the outcome of the war put an end to that research, interrupting it.”

“Rghrr... mgh! Rgh?”

“Yes, Java. We'll go to Verchotur'e. It's the only clue we have and I must admit that this story fascinates me. Are you coming with us, Renate?”

This is where the story loses credence. Seven hours by train is "not too far"? Surely Prince Rudolf's staff would have been hired from the more immediate area. (In the previous issue, Loschek said Klara was from "a village a few hours from here.") Moreso since Klara was married and would have been responsible for her two step-children. But without this conceit, the story can't progress, so we just have to run with it.

Three panels on page 34 have rounded corners on all sides. This shows that each panel is a separate flashback episode, as described in the text.

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