Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-05-10
By THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star War Correspondent.

PRAGUE, May Konrao
Henlein, the Sudeten agitatol
whose activities led to Munich
in 1888 and war in 1899, and
Karl Hermann Frank, the glass
eyed gauleiter of Bohemia, be-
came prisoners of war today
They are two of the principal
Nazis against whom war crime
charges have been lodged and
whose capture has been a prime
purpose of the Allies.
Prague is free, but the Czech
capital paid a terrible price fol
liberation. 1t is estimated that
5000 civilians were shot by SIS troop,
in cold blood during the three-day
internal revolution. The shootings
were ordered by Gauleiter Frank
who kept screaming over the radio
Prague must not survive the
Reich"
Word Of Franks capture has Just
come in. The gauleiter had left
the city after German Army ele-
ments here had surrendered to the
Czech patriots. He rolled out il,
cavalcade of seven tanks and
had been reported charging over
the countryside like a mad bull and
shooting up Czech villages. He was
taken inside the lines of the Ameri-
can I'd Division.
Talks to Correspondents.
Late last evening, from the ranks
OF mass movement of German SOL
diers from Prague to surrender to
the Americans near Piisen-50 miles
west-a fat, spic-and-span fellow
drifted into the LIST Division pris-
oner OF war pen and announced he
was Konrad Henlein. He looked
just like what Hitler ordered in
the way of gauleiters.
He talked to four of us CORE
spondents-Hal Boyle of the Asso-
ciated Press, Cy Peterman of the
Philadelphia Inquirer and Harold
Austin of the Sydney australia
Morning Herald. But he gave us
little information. He insisted that
he had only obeyed orders. He
blamed the more offensive details
Of his regime on the SIS, an organi-
cation he claimed was entirely di-
vorced from his own.
Il told Himmler to let me do the
job in CzechoSlovakia, Henlein said
IF I had been left to myself could
have got the Czechs to accept Ger
man rule. But there were always or
ders from inside Germany-orders
which did not recognize the delicate
situation. The SIS wanted to rule by
force. I wanted to rule by peace"
Ordered to Hold Out.
Henlein was indignant when II
was pointed out that he was the first
gauleiter to surrender himself to GU,
forces. He said that several weeks
ago he was ordered to take to the
woods with his guards, "Kreis.
letters" in case of occupation by en-.
envy forces. There he was to defend
himself with a special company Of
SIS men.
But when the time came to effect
the plan, he got cold feet as he
realized his face was too well known
and every hand in Czechoslovakia
was against him. So he sought safe.
ty in surrender. He had a bottle OF
poison tablets in his pocket which
he said he intended to take if cap
tured by Czechs. His attitude alto
gether was one of injured limo.
cence.
AS one of the four correspondents
who have been in Prague I car
tell the inside story of the hor.
rible war which ended with 8
truce between the Germans anc
the patriots at o'clock YESTERDAY
morning. Two hours later the frs
elements of the Russian armorec
column sent by Marshal Gregory K
Zhukov in response to frantic ap.
peals for help reached the city.
outskirts.
Victory for Patriots.
1t was entirely a victory of Czech
patriots led by Gen. Karel Kutevassy
and Prof. Albert Prazek. The revolt
was planned for a long time by the
underground when Allied victory be-
came assured. But it broke pre-
maturely and spontaneously at noon
Saturday on q false report that
(See PRAGUE, Page A-6.)