WHERE MADMAN'S DREAM WAS HATCHED

Chronicle (Levin), 3 August 1946, Page 4

WHERE MADMAN'S DREAM WAS HATCHED

« MR. BILLENS DISTURBS DUST OF FALLEN DYNASTY Writing from Berlin on July 8, Mr. R. H. Billens, managing-direc-tor of "The Chronicle," leader of the New Zealand delegates to the Empire Press Union conference, gives a graphic account of his visit to Hitler's Chancellery and the rooms where the Fuhrer and Goeboels spent their last days, and leaving with his shoes stained with the dust of a fallen dynasty. ''Berlin- is a sliainbles," tlie vrriter eontinues. "Although it is not by any means as completely devastated as Cologne, the destruction is on an inliinitely vaster seale because of the size of tlie eity — about 5,000,000 before Ihe war, but now only 3,000,00. ■ All the citv's power and glory lies in irretrievable ruin. We passed through all the f'amous thoroughfares and dozens of the lesser ones and were able to see down vistas of cross streets. All tell the same tale. Never perhaps in the history of man has so terrible a retribution fallen on a people. We traversed tlie Bismarckstrasse and v 'harlotteburgen Gate, along the Unter deii Linden to Bfitlc-r's Chancellery, the boginning and end of the glory of the Fuhrer. ' ' This vast building where a madman's dream of world conquest was natched, is now a gaping ruin surrounded hy stark skeletons of buildings whose names for over a century have liiade Europe tremhle. "I have only space and time to tell of the Chancellery. We walked through the deserted courtyard in which the rusting remains of Adolf's famous car are lying, up a hroad flight of steps into the great hall where many a statesman crept nervously into the presence, and many a victim walked to his doom. The hall was not very hadly damaged hy homhs or shellfire, hut the rtussians have stripped it so thoroughly that only the four walls covered now with crude insults, and the ceiling, remain. It must he 150 yards long (not feet), hut its ccmparative narrowness heightens the impression of length. The whole set-up of the building was designed to impose the maximum of nerve strain on any one seeking audience with 'the Corporal.' "There was little or no i'urniture in this great tunnel of a room and the visitor was compelled to walk its whole length, tlien tuni right in a lesser hallway, right again for another 100 feet, to be then usliered into the p.reseuce oi:' the would-be world eonqueror. By this time only a man of iron nerve would have retained his composure, and as he entered at last into another fairly large room, he would see llitler alone at the extreme end where his desk stood before an open lirepiace. "On the journev to this room we passed the baiiquethig hall, where oue of three liuge chandeliers was still hangi ng and another Iay a mass of metal on the tioor. Then we were taken aeross the gardens, a distanee of about 50 yards. ,i,w'That 'Short' walk >S' today th'e mosf historic in Europe and the world, for at its end lies the end of the Hitler dream. There we entered a plain square, not very large hut a massively built concrete structure. It is not rnore than 30 feet square nor more than 10 feet high ahove the ground hut it is sunk ahout 20 feet underground and is entered from above hy steps leading clown into the Fuhrer 's foxhole. ' ' Here is the spot where he spent his last hours with his mistress, Eva Braun (pronounced Brown). The rooms in it are tiny affairs hut there were enough for C-oehhels, his wife and family also. Somewhere ahout May 1, 1945, the last sordid act of this amazing creature's career, was chrried out.

"Before we inspected tlie underground home we stood beside two mounds of eartli, one the grave oi Goebbels, his wife and live children — all poisoned — and the other a covered in pit in which the remains of llitler are said to have been buried after being burnt almo.st to a cinder. We liled through the tiny rooms in semi-dark-ness, lookiug right and left for souveuirs but everything tluit could be grabbed had beeh taken by others vyho had gone before us. Hitler .aiid Eva Braun occupied different bedrooms and tiiere are two bathrooms side by side between the bedrooms. The baths and Leavy Jixtures are still there but somebne, a Kussian probably, got away with the lavatory seats. " Goebbels' rooms are furtlier in undergroiuid. Tliey are very tiny apd tliese pitii'ul reinnants of a mighty coinpiering host must have had an ignomiuiouH end as the itussians wero biasling their wav to this funkholc. As we eaiiio out into the sunlight again, we found our shoes stained with dust, the dust of a fallen dynasty, Wliat of Hitler? "Is Hitler dead? Goebbels certainly is, for his body was carried away by the Kussians. We asked our guide this qneslion. He was on ihe spot a week or so after the end and has visited it 30 or 40 times siitce. Colonel Jackson (our guide; speaks Uerrnan tluently, and he said, 'Tlie Germans will not believe he is dead. I. have asked dozens of times and tliey - all give Ihe same answer.. ' Pointing to the Chancellery building where a nuniber of Gernmn tnen and women were at work dismantling the roof preparatofy, they said, to the blowing up of the building by the Bussians, Colonel Jackson said: 'LeL's go'over and talk to tliem. ' "We strolled hack along that walk from glory to shame and after a short conversation with half a - dozen of them, he put the question. There was an immediate outhurst of animated chatter. There you are, he said, they won't admit he is dead. They say there is not sufncient evidence to prove death. And after all the evidence is not very strong, is it? "We then niotored three'more interminable avenues of ruins en route to the beautifully situated British Officers' Club. On the wav we stopped at Lancaster House, British headquarters in the city, where we had a Press conference with Air Chief IMarslial 8ir Sholto Douglas. He gave us a verj'- enlightening 'off the reeord' talk on the position in Germany, but more of this

later. After luneh at the Officers' Club we liad another talk on British plans to rohabilitate Germany, economically and spiritually. Then we met a number of representative leaders und then left for tlie opera. We onljhave to say we want to go somewhere and a car appears as if by magic. We should have had a week in Berlin and cut out Hamburg. We know all there is to know about ruins and want to talk to people. Their position is tragically patlietie. ' ' 9