Chapter 176 Chapter 28 The Army’s Explosion Plan (7)

Shortly after midnight on July 21, Otto Skorzeny took full control of the Bendlerstraße, and the daily business of Army General Headquarters resumed.He discovered details of the uprising in a safe in Stauffenberg and ordered the arrest of a large number of officers. In the Propaganda Department, Goebbels and Himmler were interrogating a group of generals, including Fromm.The generals were treated well, given wine and cigars, and some generals, like Coates Fletcher, were allowed to go home after being proven innocent.At 4 a.m., the investigation was over.Goebbels came out of the office with a big smile on his face. "Gentlemen," he announced, "the rebellion is over." He escorted Himmler into the car and shook hands with his old adversary for a long farewell.Then he went upstairs to entertain his confidants with his great exploits.Goebbels got carried away and squatted on the table, leaning against a bronze bust of the Führer. "It was a storm of purification," he said. "When the terrible news came this afternoon, who could have imagined that it would end so quickly, and so beautifully?" It was nothing short of a miracle.If Hitler died, the people would say it was God's judgment. "The consequences would be incalculable. Because, historically, only facts stand for evidence. This time, they are on our side." The press should therefore be instructed to downplay the plot.

At "Wolf's Lair," Bowman was still giving instructions to the magistrate.At 3:40 in the morning, he informed them that "the rebellion may be considered over".At 11:35 in the morning, he conveyed Himmler's urgent request, "You should immediately stop taking independent actions against officers who are ambiguous and should even be listed as open hostile elements." Full authority to conduct investigations.In fact, he has established an agency consisting of 400 officials in 11 departments to conduct a careful investigation of the matter. In Paris, Kruger's chief of staff - with the cooperation of two powerful French SS officers, Auberge and Knoxen - was doing his best to cover up Kruger's and Sturnagel's incriminations. .However, after receiving an order to report back to Berlin, Stüllnagel, who until recently was the strongman of the "City of Light" (Paris), thought that everything was hopeless, and instead of flying by plane, he took a small car that morning. The car drove back to Berlin in the rain.He asked the driver to pass through the battlefields of the First World War-Fort Thierry, the Argonne Forest, and Sedan, where in 1916 many old comrades of the Damsuntate Special Corps bloodied the battlefield.He was on his way sentimental all afternoon, finally getting out of the car to "take a walk."Near the Meuse Canal, he disappeared behind a small hill.Sure enough, the driver heard a gunshot—maybe two.He found the general in the canal—floating, face up.Although Stuernagel did not die, his attempted suicide proved beyond doubt his guilt.He was doomed to be hanged.

In the "Wolf's Lair", Hitler's head injury was obviously serious.He was deaf in his right ear, and his eyes kept jumping to the right.That night, when he was strolling outside, he walked off the road twice.Dr. Carl Brandt told him to stay in bed for a few days, but the Führer would not listen. "Impossible." He had too much work to do.Besides, it would be absurd for foreign guests to see such a healthy person lying in bed. The next day, despite persistent ear pain, he insisted on visiting wounded officers at a nearby Army hospital.The two were on the verge of death.General Schmondt was seriously wounded.Hitler was very concerned and confided his heart to the two naval men (who shared a room) Pukamel and Assmann.Sitting on the edge of Asman's bed, he expressed regret that they had fallen victim to the conspiracy. "These gentlemen are thinking about me and only me." Yet again, he miraculously escaped death. "It is a sign that fate has called me to fulfill the tasks assigned to me. Don't you think so?" he said, July 20, which "can only confirm the belief that God has called me to lead the German people." —to advance not towards final defeat but towards final victory."

As the hours passed, Hitler's earache grew worse; Dr. Morell had to send for Professor van Eyken.He is a well-known eye, ear, nose and throat specialist in Berlin. In 1935, he operated on the Führer's throat.Since the professor was not at home, an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist had to be called in from a nearby army hospital.He is Dr. Evan Gissing, and he worked in Professor Erken's medical room for two years before he started his own practice, and his medical skills are quite good.Dr. Gissing discovered that the Führer's eardrum had ruptured and his inner ear had been damaged.But, he said, if the middle ear isn't inflamed, it won't be serious.

At this moment, Dr. Morel came angrily.He sharply reprimanded Gissing for not reporting to him first, and said bluntly to him, "An officer can only report to his superior, not to a civilian officer." What, but noticed Morrel's anger. "Come on, my dear professor, stop arguing," he comforted. "Gissing was Van Eyken's assistant, and he told me that if the bleeding doesn't stop, he will perform a minor operation on my eardrum tomorrow." Mr. Morel said he wanted a hemostatic needle, but he didn't Too willing to send someone to Berlin to get the medicine, because the prescription was prescribed by his opponent.

Hitler, though convinced that he could no longer hear in his right ear, was in fairly good spirits.He also typed letters like chickens to "little girl" - his nickname for Eva Braun.The letter also included a sketch of the bombed barracks.He told her he was fine, just a little tired. "I hope to come back soon and turn me over to you so that I can rest. I need quiet very much." She wrote back immediately (on letter paper with her initials patterned on it) saying she was very depressed. "When I learned that you were in danger of being plotted against, I would rather die than live."

She declared that if something happened to him, she would not be able to live. "From the moment we first met, I swore to follow you to the ends of the earth, even after death. You know, the meaning of my whole life is to love you." On July 23, Gestapo investigators accidentally found many diaries in the ruins of a bombed house, proving that Admiral Canaris and other important officials were related to the coup.Admiral Kanaris and former economy minister Shahit were arrested.At first, Hitler couldn't believe it, such a high-level figure - and so many! ——It could have something to do with the coup d'état.He had thought that there were only a small number of traitors; the above discovery was undoubtedly a blow to his belief, and he was hurt by it. "My life is full of sorrows, so heavy," he told Traudl Jung, "that the only way out is death." Another secretary heard him scolding his dog for disobedience: "Look Me, look into my eyes. Are you a traitor, like my generals?"

The next morning, he announced at the situation analysis meeting that the British had supported Stauffenberg, and he tried to convince the audience that there were not many people involved in the conspiracy. "It is important to announce to the world that the vast majority of the officer corps has nothing to do with these pigs." It should be emphasized in the newspaper that the commanders of the Bendlerstrasse, refusing to join forces with a small group of traitors, were executed on the spot Killed 4 traitors. "I'm so much of a psychologist," he said, "that I can't see a magic hand, at the moment that's best for us, to bring a man with a bomb here. If I and all the personnel To be killed, that is the real disaster."

On Hitler's instructions, Goebbels made a radio address to the nation.This speech is wonderful, both fiercely pointing out the lessons of this incident, and exciting. He described Stauffenberg as a demon king, and he was followed by only a small group of officers, which did not represent the entire army at all.He attacked Stauffenberg, saying that he was colluding with the Western Allies and conspiring together.He cited four pieces of evidence: in their newspapers, it was repeatedly mentioned that a group of German generals were against Hitler; The press hoped that Germany would soon collapse.

Reports to magistrates showed that Goebbels' propaganda effectively mobilized the people.In one hospital in Brunswick, for example, patients spontaneously adorned every portrait of the Führer with flowers.Loyalty parades were also organized in many cities. In secondary schools, the teachers told the pupils that the treason explained the military defeats of Germany in Africa and Russia; On July 25, Dr. Van Eyken came from Berlin and was warmly welcomed by the head of state.The Führer himself predicted that due to many troubles, he "can only live another 2 to 3 years."There is only one consolation: by that time, his task is done, and someone else can go on with the rest.He sat in a chair in pain and described his symptoms in detail.

Dr. Gissing, who had a good memory and was proud of it, secretly wrote down Hitler's words on a yellow pocket calendar.In order not to make his notes intelligible to others, he wrote in coded language, in Latin, and in symbols that only he could understand.Professor van Eiken confirmed that Dr. Gissing's diagnosis and treatment were correct.But the Führer rejected a proposal to stay in bed for at least a week. "You have planned to turn me into a patient!" The next day, Hitler told Gissing that he was still bleeding internally from his left ear, and asked him to have another moxibustion—no matter how painful. "I don't feel pain anymore," he said after a moment's thought. "Pain makes a man strong." A minute later he had proved it: an adjutant had brought in a report on the assassination. "Yes," he said as he flipped through the pages. "I didn't expect Herdorf to be such a rascal." He vowed to "kill those traitors," and called Stauffenberg a coward. "At least he's got the guts to stand beside me with that suitcase of his. It's too cheap to kill him with a bullet." Two days later, Hitler complained of insomnia.Gissing suggested canceling the nightly tea party; Hitler replied that he had tried it and it was harder to fall asleep. "I've got to relax and talk about other things. Otherwise, I'll still have those maps of the General Staff in front of me, and my brain will still be working. It will take me hours to get rid of these phantoms. If the lights With it on, I can mark the exact position of each army group. I know where each division is--and so on, hour after hour, until I fall asleep, but it's five or six o'clock. I know it's bad for my health, but I can't change the habit."