Evening star., 1945-09-03
fSecond in q SerieS.)
Ry COTINT FOIKE RERNADOTTE

tOeCOTtu III u ScftcS.I
BY COUNT FOLKE BERNADOTTE.
On March IL, we crossed the Ger
man frontier, from Denmark, with
a road convoy, to evacuate the first
batch of prisoners. Our route was
planned via Flensburg, Kiel, Lue-
beck, to. Castle Friedrichsruh, which
was to be our headquarters.
There I received a telephone
message from Berlin: Kaltenbsun-
ner was on the warpath. Brigade
fuehrer Walther Schellenberg, chief
of German intelligence, reported
that Kaltenbrunner was trying to
wreck my arrangement with Hmm
Ter.
replied sharply that I would not
tolerate interference by subordi-
nate in my arrangements with
Hinmler. I said this well aware
that our telephone conversation was
being tapped and would soon reach
Kaltenbrunner's ears.
Now the Third Reich was not
merely crumbling; it was about to
collapse. In the west the British
and the Americans had already
crossed the Rhine and were ad-
vancing on Osnabruck. In the east
the Russians were pressing forward
and were to enter the suburbs of
Vienna few days later, simultane-
ously with the sensational Allied
advance toward Bremen. On April
10, KoenigSberg and Vienna were
taken by the Russians. The goal
was Berlin.
During this time our humani-
tartan efforts had continued with
out too much trouble-anyway, with
out insurmountable difficulties. How
ever, our people were not being
allowed to work at Neuengamme
camp. I had to see Himmler again.
The meeting was on April 2, as
before at Hohen-Luchen sanato-
rum. During the four-hour con-
versation that ensued. my activities
in Germany were to be given a new
direction.
Himmler's first words almost.
after greeting me, were:
Il am ready to do anything for
the German nation, but the war
must go on. have given my oath
to the Fuehrer. and that oath is a
binding one" He was nervy and vet
grave.
Don't you realize" I asked, that
Germany has lost the war? You
say that you are willing to do
anything for the German nation
You ought to think more of them
than of your loyalty to Hitler, if
you consider his decision to continue
the war disaster for your country"
Himmler did not answer.
A few moments later he was
called to the telephone. Schellen-
berg, who was again present at our
talk, turned to me and asked If I
could not see Gen. Dwight Eisen-
hover, to discuss a capitulation on
the western front.
I told him that this was quite i'm
possible, that the initiative must
come from Himmler, and that I was
convinced that Eisenhower and the
western allies would not be willing
to negotiate an armiStice.
Then Himmler returned and we
began to discuss the camp at
Neuengamme.
The subject was not long pursued
before Himmler said gloomily: 1T
was mistake not to have been
more frank with England. AS for
of course, 1 am regarded
as the cruelest and most sadistic
man alive"
Soon after that, the audience
ended.
Schellenberg accompanied me
back to Berlin. He told me that
but for Hitler, Himmler would not
have hesitated to ask me to 60 to
Eisenhower.
However, he hinted. the situation
might alter. Hitlers position might
weaken; it might happen any mo-
ment. Himmler had asked Schellen-
berg to tell me that if this should
happen, he hoped I would imme-
diately proceed to Allied headquar-
ters.
He warned me that Kaltenbrun-
ner, possessing great influence over
Hitler, was furious about the con-
cessions Himmler had granted me
for INV Rod Crocs u,orL Hofan