FALED TO SALUTE HITLER

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5281, 18 December 1946, Page 7

FALED TO SALUTE HITLER

DUNEDIN. ^ Back in his home town of Dunedin at the present time is a Presbyterian minister who once had a narrow escape from being shot in Germany because be did not give Hitler the Nazi salute, T'~p man is the Rev. J. Kingsley Fairbairn, son of Mr, and Mrs. J. R. Fairbairn, and he has returned to New Zealand after spendin'g 13 years in Pcotland. Throughout the war-hechad dharge of the Union Church in CLydeb-anJc, and latterly he has been senior industrial chaplain in the area. Mr. Fairbairn was visiting Nufemberg in 1934- when he found himself in the eentre of a crowd of people watching a procession going past. It included members o'f the Hitler Youth, soldier and work people carrying '^learning spades. 'Then came a wee man in a dirty raincoat," said Mr. Fairbairn. "He was a wee, frightened-looking fellow with a hypnotice loolc. 'Everybody but. me 'heiled Hitler.' "This wee fellow's eyes were never still," he continued, "and when he saw me standing there*he told severai people to get me and lead me back to j him. One man -started speaking "in very strong German ahd came between Hitler and two tall German guards j who lxad hold of me. Finaljy -they let i me. go, but as Hitler t-urned and looked ) at me and I looked at him there was i an animated conversation amonig the crowd. | "The man wbo had intervened • quickly told me to follow him, and as he went up a side street he said in broad Coekney, 'Gore blimey, they j nearly. killed you that time.' I asked | him if he" were an Englishman, and he replied 'No, but I was a waiter in London. They took you for a Communist, and if I had not been there you would have been shot.' i "As if to add force to the -point, he showed me a wall where several Comm-unists had been shot the previous day."