FIVE HOURS’ DASH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20075, 23 October 1939, Page 10

FIVE HOURS’ DASH

BERLIN TO DENMARK EXODUS ON EVE OF WAR NAZIS OMINOUSLY QUILT TRAVELLERS’ GOOD LUCK Thousands of British people who were Innciting on the Continent, on the cvc of the outbreak of war have ini ere..! in;, stories to narrate concerning their escape from being caught lip in' the maelstrom. Not many can establish a better claim to travellers’ luck than can Mr. Allan Aislabie, of Vaucluse. Sydney, who with his wife and one daughter found themselves in Berlin with five hours’ notice to get across the Danish frontier. 300 miles away, with the alternative of being held in Germany and possibly interned.

Some of the circumstances of their escape have been conveyed to Mrs. Gilbert Burns, Gisborne, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aislabie, in a letter received by the latest mail. The letter was written in London on the day before the outbreak of war. and the tourists were then congratulating themselves upon having suspended their intended visit to Moscow, in view of the troubled international situation. They did not, however, expect that war would be the sequel to diplomatic exchanges then proceeding. since the atmosphere of Berlin had been anything but feverish and warlike. No Nazi Fever in Berlin The travellers had embarked upon a Continental itinerary which included a short stay in Berlin. They saw much of the German capital, and experienced the warmest hospitality from many private people there. Uniforms were 1 to be seen in the streets, but not in abnormal numbers, and the attitude towards tourists gave no inkling of the trouble that would soon cut off Germany from the sympathies and interest of the greater part of the civilised world. Less than a week before the actual invasion of Poland, the family said farewell to friends and acquaintances made iii Berlin. They had not read an English paper for several days, and had no indication of how strained relations had become over the Polish question. They left their car in Berlin and took a Continental express train to Warsaw, capital of Poland, and there Mr. Aislabie observed with some concern the rapid tilling of the train with people who obviously were refugees, leaving t tic city before an impending storm.

Not seriously alarmed, however, he went to sec the British Consul regarding his further travels Moscow-wards, and was emphatically advised to return westward immediately. Mr. Aislabie followed this advice, and arrived back in Berlin with every intention of continuing the westward journey to territory where he could feei that his family would be safe. Retreat From War Threat What he heard from the British Consul in the German capital not only confirmed that intention, but set him a time-limit barely®suffieient to reach neutral territory. With 300 miles to go to reach the Danish border, he was given five hours to get clear of Germany. On the journey, according to Mr. Aislabie. the speedometer of his car seldom showed less than GO miles per hour, and despite some difficulty in obtaining petrol, the' party completed the drive within the specified time.

Back in London again, and breathing freely, the travellers still could not believe that what they had seen in Berlin had masked an intention on the part of the German Government to enter on a war. On the eve of the actual outbreak, Mr. Aislabie wrote of the warmth of hospitality shown to British travellers in Germany, and of the obvious goodwill extended to them by hotel staffs, shopmen and chance acquaintances. Nothing in the behaviour of Berlin’s crowds possibly could have been taken as an omen of war, he considered. Within a few hours of writing, Mr. Aislabie heard in London the announcement of Germany’s invasion ol Poland, and of the British note which demanded retraction of that step. The march of events which led to a renewal of war between Britain and France on the one hand, and Germany on the other, already had passed the fatal stage.