Evening star., 1946-03-31
Allies Smash Nozi Conspiracy
To Revive Regime in Germany;
1000 Seized Amid Gun Battles
Suspected Leaders
Of Plot Are Caught
In Vast Drognet
By the Associated Press

-American and British troops
early today broke the back of an
underground movement seeking
to establish a vestige of the Ma
tional Socialist regime in Ger
many, but fought gun battles
with Nazi fanatics at scattered
points before rounding up some
1,C00 one time followers of Adolf
Hitler.
Numbers of suspects attempted to
resist as an estimated 1000 Allied
Eoops cast vast dragnet through
out Germany. Short-lived firing
broke out at number of places as
combat troops working with counter
espionage agents staged the wide
spread raids at midnight.
Early transmission of the news of
the projected raids, Brig. Gen. Ed
win L. Sibert, American intelligence
chief, said, presumably warned the
Nazis of their danger and gave them
time, in some instances, to prepare
their defense.
Desperate Resistance.
First stories were transmitted for
release at one minute after midnight
German time The raids took place
on schedule. Shortly afterward news
began to filter in of sporadic but
desperate resistance in isolated CEN
terS.
Army officials said agents broke
open doors and shutters in the swift
series of raids.
The Nazis seized were suspected of
being ringleaders of the plot, includ-
ing 200 elite Nazis of the inner circle.
Counter Intelligence officers said not
one of the inner circle, mostly for
mer Hitler Jugend (youth) leaders,
escaped the vast dragnet.
Had Advance knowledge.
Reports indicated that in most
places the widespread raids were de-
void of violence, despite the fact that
the Germans were believed to have
received advance knowledge of the
roundup which eliminated 10
months of investigation.
Gen. Sibert said agents were en-
dangered at the last moment by the
premature release of news of the
impending raids and by the sudden
lifting of the 1890 pm. curfeW for
Germans in the American zone by
the military government.
Advance news had not been
scheduled for transmission outside
Germany originally until four hours
before the raids occurred, the intel
ligenee chief said, because Of fear
of a leak since Germans are en-
ployed in both the American and
British communications systems.
He said the news was transmitted
from the British zone. however,
some nine hours before the raids
occurred.
Operation Nursery
A combined British American
statement unfolded the dramatic
story of Operation Nursery an in
tensive manhunt in the two zones,
climaxed by the mor-supported
raids in Western Germany and
Austria. There was evidence the
plot also spread into the Russian
zone
The well-financed attempt to re-
vive Nazism began even as the
thunder of guns died away on Ger
manys battlefields. But wrangling
between two factions of the move
ment tipped counter espionage
agents to its existence, after its cum
ming leaders had completely taken
in even some American Military
Government officials.
Arrests of the inner circle began
as long as three months ago. In
the Saturday night morning
raids nearly 1000 more were Jailed.
THE movements long-range plan,
designed to revive the Nazi theology
in Germany, was the most danger
Gus threat to our security encoun-
tered since the war;" Gen. Sibert
asserted
The lack of the movement is
broken" -,-~g
One-armed, 32-year-old Arthur
AXmann, former Nazi "fuehrer of
the German youth, was seized three
months ago, along with number
Of his closest henchmen. He was
(See NAzI PLOT, Page AS