Evening star., 1945-05-24

arms.
Doenitz, Jodl and Speer we're
taken from Flensburg by plane yes
terday to an undisclosed prison.
(The Exchange Telegraph
Agency reported that Won Friede-
berg committed suicide by TAX
ing poison As minutes after the
arrests. There was no. immedi-
ate confirmation on this report)
tSupre headquarters in
Paris also heard the report that
Won Friedeberg had killed him
self-but was not yet able to
confirm it officially.
(After the German officers had
been Informed of the arrest
aboard the command ship. they
were permitted to return to their
quarters to pack personal be-
longings.
Won Friedeberg was said to
have asked permission of his
escort to go into a toilet and
while there swallowed poison)
A high-ranking SHAEF official
said all members of the German
general staff probably would be SEN
fenced to from 10 to IS years i'm
prisonment.
While Maj Gen. Lowell w. Rocks,
whose appointment as Gen. Eisen-
hower's representative at Flensburg
was announced Tuesday, read the
arrest orders to Doenitz, Jodl and
Won Friedeberg in Keitel's old head
quarters aboard the American
Hamburg Line steamship Patria at
Flensburg, British Tommies rounded
up lesser members of the German
headquarters.
British ships, commanded by an
officer who served as piermaster
during the evacuation at Dunker-
que, rode in Flensburg Harbor, their
guns trained on the German shore
and on surrendered U-boats and
E-boats that floated near by.
Doenitz looked tired and worn as
he trudged up the Patrias gang
plank, just % days after he assumed
Hitler's role as head of the German
State. Jodl, who had been named
commander of the Wehrmacht, after
keitel was arrested May is, was &C
companied by his aide, Maj. Wilhelm
Oxenius.
In the brightly painted bar of the
Patria, the Germans faced long
table covered with a white cloth at
which were seated Rocks, Gen.
Nicolat Trussov, representing the
Soviet high comand, and British
Naval Capt. Guy Maund, commander
OF the Allied ships in the harbor.
Gentlemen, I am in receipt of
instructions from supreme head
quarters AEF and from the
supreme commander, Gen. Eisen-
hover, to call you before me this
morning and tell you that he has
decided, in concert with the Soviet
High Command, that today the
acting Geran government and Ger
man High Command is to be taken
into custody and several of its men,
bers made prisoners of war;" Gen.
Rocks said
Thereby the acting German gov
ernment is dissolved. This is now
going on. Troops of the 21st Army
Group are now taking the several
members of the civilian and mill
tary and certain records into Gus
tody.
In conformity with the instruc-
tions, each of you is to consider
yourself a prisoner of war from this
moment. When you leave this room
an Allied officer will attach himself
to you and escort you to your quar-
tiers, where you will pack, have lunch
and complete your affairs. After
that they will escort you to the
airfeld at 130 pm, emplaning
You may take the baggage your re-
quire."
Gen. Rocks added, That is all I
have to say" and then turning to
the Russian representative asked
Does Gen. Trussov have anything
to say?" A moment later the
American officer asked the Ger
mans if they desired to comment
ANY word now would be superfu-
ous," Doenitz said as Jodl slumped
in his chair.
1t was disclosed that when the
SHAEF control party arrived here
Doeritz informed Gen. Rocks that
he had been willed the succession
to Hitler on April 81 and took over
when informed of the Fuehrer S
death May l.
In addition to the principal lead
ers, those arrested yesterday includ-
ed Gen. Reincke, Gen. Maj. Toppe
Gen. Maj. Dethleffsen, Admiral
Wagner and Vice Admiral Burekner
Study Doenitz's Status.
Where or when the staff officers
will be tried is military secret. All
who were arrested were taken to an
undisclosed prison somewhere in
Europe. Each was allowed take one
piece of baggage, although Doenitz
wanted to take several.
The Allies are trying to deter
mine whether Doenitz can be classed
as war criminal" a SHAEF officer
with the control mission said.
SHAEF intelligence at Flensburg
said information gathered there in
dicated that although the Germans
later were split north and south
prior to April % the Nazi high COM
mand planned to go into the South
ern German redoubt for a last
stand. When the decision to split
the groups was forced, the southern
camp was to have been established
under a Gen. Winter in the area
later occupied by the Allied 18th
Army Group.
There were 175,000 armed troops
when we came here" said a high
SHAEF official. "Doenitz tried to
Dlackmail us into thinking disarm-
ament of the Wehrmacht would be
impossible without this sham gov
ernment to fall back on, but we
figured him for a shrewd, cunning
Nazi-which he is"
Supreme headquarters here said
the action at Flensburg meant the
Allies would henceforth deal directly
with the German people and Ger
man prisoners. 1t was emphasized
that the Flensburg government had
only been used as a tool by the