Evening star., 1947-08-11
Woman Who Carried
German Gems Held:
Didn't Deliver All
sy the As.eeiat.d Pres,

BERLIN, aug. e4A--An American
Army official said today he had ar.
rested a woman emissary who snug
sled Princess Hermine's Jewels to
her son, Prince Ferdinand Won
Schoenaich-C Carolath.
BY accident, we found she still
had some Of the Jewels belonging
to Princess Hermaine which she
had not turned over to the prince"
said o. R. Carlucci. director of the
Arnny's Criminal Investigation Di-
vision.
The enlissary was identified by
the Army as Vera Herbst, an ash
blond longtime friend of the prince.
Mr.. Carlucci said charges were
being prepared against her, but de-
clined to define them.
Mr.. Carlucci said he would ask
the Russians for report on Princess
Hermine's death on grounds that
underworld characters seeking the
royal jewels she possessed might
have been involved. He said ply
sician of the Kaisers widow reported
she was in apparent good health"
before her death last Thursday in
the Russian zone.
The investigator said none of
the 20 pieces of jewelry, rich in
precious stones, which the prince
reported missing, was among the
gems recovered.
More Germans to Be Questioned.
Army agents said they still were
unable to locate the missing treas
ures, which Ferdinand said were
spirited from his trunk while be
was living in the American sector
of Berlin. The prince valued the
loot at $2,000.0oo.
This jewelry we have found is
definitely part of the stuff Princess
Hermine entrusted to Ferdinand's
secret emissary," Mr.. Carlucci said.
The prince. however, hasn't yet
seen it for identification purposes.
My agents are rounding up more
Germans for questioning in con-
nection with the whole case. Some
OF the leads we have been pursuing
involve lntrigues and ramifcations
which point beyond our sphere of
operations, beyond the borders of
Berlin and into the Russian occu-
patton zone" For this reason, Mr..
Carlucci said, he would ask help
from Russian authorities.
The prince related that the whole
treasure of 95 articles was delivered
to him by a secret woman emissary
who snuggled them out of Frank
furt-on Oder, where Hermine had
lived quietly. The prince said the
whole lot was worth $3,O00,00O. Am
erican authorities had in custody
the 66 pieces which the prince said
remained after the theft.
Anxious to Turn Over Gems.
Mr.. Carlucci said about $50 en-
eralds, diamonds and star sapphires,
mounted in earrings and tiara,
were found in possession OF Ferdi-
nand's emissary.
Gen Lucius D. Clay, United States
military governor, said the Ameri-
can Army was anxious to turn the
66 pieces of jewelry over to heirs OF
Hermine, because we certainly don't
want them" Ferdinand and his two
sisters would be the chief heirs
unless the Kaiser's widow left a will
specifying other penefciaries.
Mrs Carlucci said of the arrested
woman:
I'VE have established that, after
her trip in June on which she snug
gled 95 pieces of jewelry out of the
Russian zone to Prince Ferdinand
in o valise, the woman emissary
made second trip to Frankfurt on
Oder on Wednesday of last week, the
day before Princess Hermine died.*'S
I'VE have asked the Russians to
perform an autopsy on Princess
Hermine to make certain she died of
natural causes. There always is the
possibility that she may have met
foul play at the hands of gem ring
which may have believed she had
more jewelry.
Mr.. Carlucci said the CID was
SUSPICIOUS VI 1lll1 1S uC AI1N Wv 416
underworld characters who knew of
the treasure in Prince Ferdinand's
possession" and added that he was
mot satisfied with some of the
angles" of the princes story OF the
disappearance of the gems.
Jewels Near Open Window.
"We still have to produce evidence
that the missing jewels were stolen
from the prince" he said. When
the alleged theft was reported to us
and we entered his room we were
amazed that he had taken no pre-
cautions to secure the remainder OF
the treasure.
1--WE found part of the remaining
Jewels in the appended trunk and
another part lying in an open pack
ing case on a table near an open
door facing out into the street.
"The prince himself told us that
he suspected Russian agents who
knew of his treasure, and were
shadowing him at the time. If that
was true he should have taken better