Evening star., 1946-10-17
Bodies Of Nazis
Crendted, d,Ashes
Are Dispersed
Disposition Details
Still Kept Secret
By Allied Council
By the Assoeioted Press


bodies of Hermann Goering ane
the 10 hanged Nazi war crimi.
nails have been cremated and the
ashes dispersed secretly" it wa.
officially announced today.
The announcement of the dis.
position of the bodies was made al
5:35 pm. by Col. B. c. Audrus
prison commandant. He spoke in
the name of the Allied Control
Council, which was in charge of all
details of the hangings and burial
A six-line communique cleared up
the major mystery in the wake oi
the hangings. The bodies were re-
moved from the prison at 5:34 am
yesterday Q1:34 pm. Tuesday, EST
in two sealed trucks, guarded by
jeeps.
Where cremation took place was
not disclosed. The dispersal details
were wrapped in equal secrecy.
Text of Announcement.
The text of the announcement:
THE body of Hermann Wilhelm
Goering, together with the bodies of
the war criminals executed in
Nuremberg on October 16, 1916, in
accordance with the sentences i'm
posed by the International Military
Tribunal, have been cremated and
the ashes dispersed secretly.
Signed, the Quadripartite Com
mittee for the detention of war
criminals"
Prison authorities disclosed that
Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel had
planned, like Goering, to evade the
gallows with suicide, but was foiled
by watchful guard.
AS special board of three United
States Army officers combed every
possibility to determine how Goering
managed to poison himself, Col.
Andrus, the commandant, revealed
the Keitel story for the first time
Keitel had returned to prison after
a court appearance one day recently
and was changing to old clothing,
. as was customary AS he shifted his
wallet he pushed something down
in fold
An alert guard noticed it and
grabbed the wallet. In corner he
found long, sharp piece of metal
easily capable of slashing the wrists
or the throat. Keitel shot the guard
a dirty look, but said nothing. He
refused to explain how he got it.
Two Exonerate Widow.
Col. Andrus and Maj Fred Teich,
his assistant, both exonerated Mrs.
Emmy Goering, widow of the second
ranking Nazi, who Swallowed potas-
SUM cyanide in an unexplained
manner two hours before he was to
die on the gallows.
Maj. Teich said it was impossible
for her to have given Goering any
thing during all their visits, because
a glass screen always separated
them. Mrs. Goering learned of the
suicide from her maid in nearby
Naunaus and burst into tears.
Neighbors said she apparently had
no prior knowledge of her husbands S
intent.
Col. Andrus and Maj. Teich both
said the inquiry was out of their
hands; that in fact they themselves
would be questioned closely by the
Investigating Board.
Capt. N. F. Gerecke, Protestant
prison chaplain, said Goering died
without communion, although he
had requested it the day before. The
st. Louis churchman said he refused
to give Goering communion because
the German was not repentant and
such service would have been
sacrilegious. He said he told Goer-
ing these were the reasons for his
refusal.
Forecast Own Suicide.
An attorney for Grand Admiral
Erich Raeder said Goering had told
DR.. Walter SiemerS, Raeder's chief
counsel, almost year ago that he
would never hang, but would take
his own life. DR.. Friedrich Ber-
gold, attorney for the missing Mar
tin Bormann, said Goering told him
in July to remember the old proverb
about catching a man first before
you hang him.
Col. Andrus, in his interview, said
guards occasionally found such
things as silver of glass in pris-
oner's tobacco pouch. He COM
mented:
AFTER such incidents, I was con-
vinced my searchers were doing
good job all the time"
We said Goering and the others
were searched constantly, especially
when they had their semiweekly
baths. Several days before the exc
cutions, all were given complete ex-
aminations.
Col. Andrus said none of the
prison attaches had any idea that
Goering would commit suicide. A
psychologist expressed such an
opinion as late as last Thursday, he
said.
The commandant said that if
Goering had his poison vial any
length of time that he, Col. Andrus,
was completely baffled as to where
he hid it.
He said Goering, despite his per-
sonal bravery, was a changed man
from the time he was sentenced
until the approach of execution day.
"He grew old very fast" Col Andrus
said
The colonel said he did not know
1See NTTERNRERG Pooe Al"