Evening star., 1945-03-14
Germans Fleeing Bonn
Left 100000 Marks
In Banks, City Hall
BY DON WHITEHEAD,

< BONN, Germany, Mar. 14.-The
Germans fled in such confusion that
they forgot a little matter of 8,O00,-
1000 marshall the funds in the
blanks and city treasury of this
Rhine city.
: They also abandoned large food
sstores in warehouses. Many home
owners had stocked their shelves
with bountiful supplies.
Ninety per cent of the great Uni
versity of Bonn, where members of
the Hohenzollern family and other
German aristocrats were schooled,
has been demolished by Allied air
raids.
Losses to the university's cele-
brated library of some 100000 vol
umes have not been assessed, but
presumably the Germans removed
the more valuable books and manu-
scripts to a safe hiding place. The
university was founded in TIT.
The birthplace Of Beethoven
escaped a direct hit, although the
building has been damaged and the
surrounding area has been blasted.
The house has been closed to keep
out trespassers and Maj. Edwin
Boney, Fresno, Calf. said no as
sessment yet had been taken of in
terror damage.
City 50 Per Cent Damaged.
The city in general had been
about so per cent damaged by raids.
The 18th century cathedral is re-
parable, although damaged by near
misses. Services are being held in
the crypt
The food situation is such that
normal rationing still Is being car
ried on. Only a few days before
arrival of the Americans $4,000 ra-
ton cards were issued to Bonn resi-
dents. They still are being hon
ored.
The city is packed with civilians
who elected to stay rather than flee
does not deter German artillerymen.
Twenty civilians were killed or
wounded as they walked the streets
yesterday.
Only 1000 inhabitants took ad-
vantage of offers of transportation
to the east with the Germany Army.
Allied military government Off
GERS who moved in behind the COM
bat troops of the 1st Infantry
Division found Bonn in much better
condition than expected and far
better than in Aachen. Civil ad-
ministration still was functioning.
City Officials Garry On.
I'VE told the city officials for the
time being to carry on as they had
been" said Maj. Everett S. Cofran
of Washington, deputy admins
traitor to Maj. Boney. "As fast as
possible we will screen the top Off
cials to weed out the rabid Nazis
and dangerous characters"
Virtually all the police remained
when the United States troops ar
rived. The first thing Maj. Cofran
did was to tell them to take eff their
uniforms, which are almost exact
copies of the German Army garb
Now they are wearing civilian coats
and hats with an armband to show
they are police.
Bonn civilians have been docile
for the most part. Maj. Cofran said
he had no trouble except from a
few drunks who were attempting to
drown the sorrow of defeat in the
ample wine stocks left behind.
American troops found the city
Jail empty. The Germans had
turned loose all the small fry in
mates. They had evacuated the
long-term criminals to the east bank
of the Rhine.
Maj. Cofran, AZ, was an architect
with the Public Works Administra-
ton at the time he was commits
stoned in May. 1912, as first lieu
tenant. He was assigned to the
engineers and later served with the
Air Transport Command in North
Africa A native of New York, he
attended Huntington Preparatory
School, Boston, and was graduated
from Massachusetts, Institute of
Technology in 1880.
Before subletting their apartment
ct 1900 Sixteenth street NV. two
months ago to move to New York,
where she is an employe Of the
British Colonial Mission, Mrs
Cofran was employed here by the
Interior Department, friends said.