Herman Rothman arrived in Britain from Germany as a Jewish refugee in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War. He volunteered for HM Forces, serving in the Intelligence Corps, and in 1945 was posted to Westertimke and Fallingbostel prisoner of war camps to interrogate high-ranking Nazi war criminals. When papers were discovered sewn into the shoulders of a jacket belonging to Heinz Lorenz, who had been Joseph Goebbels' press secretary, he and a team of four others were charged with translating them under conditions of the deepest secrecy. The documents turned out to be the originals of Hitler's personal and political wills, and Goebbels' addendum. Later, in Rotenburg hospital, Rothman interrogated Hermann Karnau, who had been a police guard in Hitler's bunker, to establish information about the Fuhrer's death. 'Hitler's Will' is the amazing true story of Herman Rothman's remarkable life, including how he managed to escape from Nazi Germany before the War began, and his role in bringing to light Hitler's personal and political testaments.
Herman Rothman arrived in Britain from Germany as a Jewish refugee in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War. He volunteered for HM Forces, serving in the Intelligence Corps, and in 1945 was posted to Westertimke and Fallingbostel prisoner of war camps to interrogate high-ranking Nazi war criminals. When papers were discovered sewn into the shoulders of a jacket belonging to Heinz Lorenz, who had been Joseph Goebbels' press secretary, he and a team of four others were charged with translating them under conditions of the deepest secrecy. The documents turned out to be the originals of Hitler's personal and political wills, and Goebbels' addendum. Later, in Rotenburg hospital, Rothman interrogated Hermann Karnau, who had been a police guard in Hitler's bunker, to establish information about the Fuhrer's death. 'Hitler's Will' is the amazing true story of Herman Rothman's remarkable life, including how he managed to escape from Nazi Germany before the War began, and his role in bringing to light Hitler's personal and political testaments.
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Overview
Herman Rothman arrived in Britain from Germany as a Jewish refugee in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War. He volunteered for HM Forces, serving in the Intelligence Corps, and in 1945 was posted to Westertimke and Fallingbostel prisoner of war camps to interrogate high-ranking Nazi war criminals. When papers were discovered sewn into the shoulders of a jacket belonging to Heinz Lorenz, who had been Joseph Goebbels' press secretary, he and a team of four others were charged with translating them under conditions of the deepest secrecy. The documents turned out to be the originals of Hitler's personal and political wills, and Goebbels' addendum. Later, in Rotenburg hospital, Rothman interrogated Hermann Karnau, who had been a police guard in Hitler's bunker, to establish information about the Fuhrer's death. 'Hitler's Will' is the amazing true story of Herman Rothman's remarkable life, including how he managed to escape from Nazi Germany before the War began, and his role in bringing to light Hitler's personal and political testaments.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780752475721 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The History Press |
| Publication date: | 11/08/2011 |
| Sold by: | INDEPENDENT PUB GROUP - EPUB - EBKS |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 192 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Hitler's Will
By Herman Rothman, Helen Fry
The History Press
Copyright © 2009 Herman RothmanAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7524-7572-1
CHAPTER 1
Early Childhood
Almost from birth I thought I was different from anyone else: neither better nor worse. Just different. Why? It had nothing to do with being Jewish. Were my thought processes dissimilar from others? How could I know at such a young age, but as a child when my parents gave strict orders of 'do this', or 'don't do that', I invariably followed them up with the question 'why?' Then when I started to analyse and dissect utterances which were common to everyone, I thought this strange. Were my parents unlike everyone else? Yes, in my opinion, totally. Understandably, therefore, this supported my original belief of being different.
My father Eisik (later known as Erich) Rothman was born at the end of the nineteenth century in Przemysl, Galicia, then part of Austria. He came from a large family of successful horse traders. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, his elder brother was conscripted into the Austrian army. As was common in those days my father, being the younger son and next in line, took his place. Assigned to the Uhlans he was quickly promoted and became a Zugfuehrer (cavalry officer). I was born Hermann Rothman in Berlin in 1924, ten years after the outbreak of the First World War, but as a young boy I loved hearing about my father's many colourful and dramatic episodes in his army career during the 'lost war', as it was often called. My father always worked hard and unfortunately had little spare time to relate more and more of his rousing stories. Nevertheless, during my childhood, he described his adventures in fits and starts. My mind was gradually filled with these tales of a glamorous cavalry officer saving the Austrian army from defeat. I remember vividly the story about his entry into the cavalry. He was well used to riding a horse without a saddle, such that the change to a more formal military practice presented extreme physical difficulties for him. Getting off a horse was literally 'a pain in the arse'. He confessed that for some days he was forced to walk bow-legged and suffered from painful saddle sores. He became a temporary figure of fun to both his comrades and his family.
Some of his wartime stories had a human touch. Captured by the Russians and incarcerated in a camp somewhere in Georgia, he told the fascinating story of his escapades as camp dentist. Several fellow prisoners complained of toothache, so he gallantly offered his services as dentist. He acquired a set of 'instruments', consisting solely of a pair of pliers, and proceeded to remove the offending teeth. His fame soon spread through the camp and also penetrated the wire to the Russian guards. After that, every morning before daylight a queue of suffering inmates with a variety of dental and orthodontic problems waited for my father. He quickly reduced their pain and suffering with his one and only cure of removing the source of the problem (as he saw it) – by using his valued tool, his pair of pliers, which, I understand, he always plunged into boiling water before attending to the next patient. Payment mainly consisted of food or cigarettes which he shared with his comrades. He soon tired of this and planned his escape.
As he was regarded as the camp dentist, he now had access to the perimeter of the camp and to areas which were formerly out-of-bounds. During this time he secreted the extra food which he had received in payment and hidden it in readiness. Bartering cigarettes and food for civilian clothes, he also acquired a map and other essentials needed for his escape. When the weather turned he changed his clothes, slung his rucksack on his back and walked out of the camp. His main asset, 'treasure', was his command of several Central and Eastern European languages which included Russian, Yiddish, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian and his native language German. It was an arduous journey by foot, horse and train, crossing rivers and other difficult terrain. On the journey home he encountered what he called 'an extraordinary Jewish Community'. It was the Jewish festival of Passover and they invited him to spend the first days of the festival with them. On the eve of the first day of Passover his Jewish hosts re-enacted the exodus from Egypt by wearing Bedouin-style clothing and carrying knapsacks. When they came to the story of the crossing of the Red Sea in the Haggadah (the book containing the narrative of the flight from Egypt), they performed the ritual of crossing the water. Before starting the festive meal, Eisik's hosts passed the plate containing the matzah (unleavened bread) over the heads of all present. These very hospitable people insisted that he spend the whole week of Passover in their home.
Homeward bound, he eventually made it to the Austro-Russian line where he was assigned to the infantry. The loss of life in the cavalry regiments was excessive and therefore a large number of remaining units were disbanded, including his former Uhlans. Using his own words, 'life was for a short while uneventful', except that on one occasion all lines of communication failed and they had to resort to the old methods. My father volunteered. He took off on horseback carrying an important dispatch. Spotted riding through the lines he was shot at with rifles and machine guns but miraculously survived after finding shelter in a glade. He continued his journey but again came under fire, this time being slightly wounded. Eventually reaching safety, he delivered his message. His feat was recognised by the award of a medal. For a time he acted as a courier, but the losses were colossal and again these riders were dispensed with. Fighting in this area was very fierce. The Russians advanced and took further prisoners, among them my father. Once again he was captured and imprisoned in a POW camp. This time he was not quite so adventurous. It was a bleak period. He had had enough of fighting and being confined; he pined for home. His mind was once more preoccupied on escaping. The knowledge of languages again came to his assistance. Within the camp he was given responsibilities as a translator which gave him access again to premises outside the fence. Circumstances were similar to his first internment and he prepared to bid the camp farewell. When the time was ripe, he took his few belongings and set off home.
By now the war had entered its last stages. Like his compatriots my father had lost the fire to continue fighting. He confided to his parents his wish not to return to his regiment. They suggested that he should make his way to Germany where his stepsister's husband had a lucrative leather manufacturing concern. Decision made, he took his uniform to the River Sarne and threw it in. Even before he jumped on the train, the Armistice had been declared. German and Austrian forces had disintegrated. The victors were setting out demands which would affect the course of European history in ways which could not have been anticipated at the time. In the Treaty of Versailles Germany was forced to pay huge reparations and forbidden to amass armed forces of above 100,000 men. The Rhineland became a de-militarized zone. The economic repercussions of the Treaty of Versailles were to be felt for at least the next decade. Very much later, my father reminisced and said that it could be argued that Austria was made the scapegoat. Austria suffered more than any other nation in this international conflict. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was completely demolished, more children died in childbirth than in any other country and the population suffered poverty and degradation. Recreating Poland and annexing parts of Austria to Poland caused a visible drop in living standards.
My father finally arrived at the Alexanderplatz station in Berlin where he was embraced by his eldest stepsister. She was a slim woman of medium height. She took him to her apartment in the Lothringerstrasse 69, where his brother-in-law Herr Josef Krause was waiting. Herr Krause, a short man with a slight limp, welcomed him into their home. Father never expected charity – what he received he paid back manifold. He stayed with his relatives for a short period and learned the leather-manufacturing business. Often he related his experiences and thoughts when first stepping off the train at Alexanderplatz. Coming originally from a provincial town in Poland to the fashionable cosmopolitan capital of Berlin of nearly four million inhabitants made an overwhelming impression on him. He stepped forward into a new and different era. In the town he had left behind, motorised vehicles were seldom seen. In Berlin they were more numerous. Droshkies (horse -drawn carriages) and horse-drawn trams were the main mode of transport in his hometown. In Berlin, where the roads were much wider and cobbled, there was the odd mixture of motorised vehicles and horse -drawn carriages, which somehow seemed to harmonise. They blended into the general bustling traffic and crowds of people, all of which camouflaged extreme poverty. Still to be seen were disabled ex-soldiers begging for food and searching for employment. The majority of Germans felt despair, compounded by the knowledge of having to repay the victors of the war immeasurable sums in reparations. This hangover persisted during the postwar period and was quoted by many as an excuse for the election of Hitler to power in Germany in January 1933. Has it ever left the German mind and soul?
Unemployment was aggravated by the considerable number of Germans trained purely for the military. No employment could be found and they were thrown on the rubbish heap. The search for ideological answers prompted the increase of Spiritualism, which was not confined to Germany but popular also in the Allied countries.
The relationship between my father (who was in his twenties) and Herr Krause became strained and my father found employment with a firm in a similar trade. Being good-looking, hard-working and conscientious, he soon attracted the boss's attention who thought he would make a suitable match for his daughter. He introduced him to blue-eyed, dark-haired, fashion-conscious Betty. They said it was love at first sight and within a short period they were married. I was born nine months later on 2 September 1924.
My Opa (grandfather), Samuel Rappaport, a devout Jew, made his new son-in-law a business partner. My father rapidly took over the running of the business, enabling my grandfather to retire with grace. Opa visited us daily and enjoyed baking, and every Friday brought us cholla (the platted bread for the Sabbath). I spent a lot of time with him. He exercised great patience with me playing cards, dominoes and other games. Often he took me to synagogue and when the time came for the priestly blessing to be recited during the service, I remember stepping with him onto the rostrum (central platform) and he lovingly covered me with his long tallis (praying shawl). Because of his age, his beard and his demeanour he was nicknamed the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) and was greatly revered by the community. My Oma (grandmother), Gina, a cultured elegant grand-dame, sadly died when I was five years of age. Mistakenly diagnosed, she was given the wrong medicine and she unexpectedly died. We were all totally shattered by her death.
My parents took up residence in an apartment in a suburb of Berlin: Berlin Lichtenberg. They bought a shop and business premises on the opposite side of the road. We had a live-in maid from Pomerania, who looked after me, cooked and cleaned, while my mother helped my father in the business. My mother Betty, who was born in Leipzig in 1901, had four brothers: Leo, the eldest, was a talented artist who lived nearby. To be an artist was not always lucrative and, at times, he was forced to supplement his income by painting and decorating; Aron, known to everyone as Arthur, was the second brother, the intellectual one who dealt in ball-bearings. At five o'clock in the morning before work he would rise, learn English for an hour and then study philosophy for another hour, particularly Jewish philosophy; Lezer (Eliezer), the next brother, married to Regina, worked as a comptometer operator for Die Juedische Rundschau (the leading Jewish weekly newspaper); and last, but by no means least, came Pinkas who was a teenager, more of a friend than an uncle to me. He reached national standards in Greco-roman wrestling.
I was born in the period shortly after the shocking inflation, which apart from unemployment caused numerous bankruptcies. Somehow or other my father managed to survive. He made Hosentraeger (men's braces) and he survived. After all, in those days, every man needed braces to hold his trousers up. Aware of being the only child, grandchild and nephew in this extended family, it became very apparent that I was totally spoiled. This I accepted with grace and dignity. My parents decided to buy a car and I had to accompany them to the showroom. Given the honour to choose between a Chrysler Essex or a Chrysler Plymouth, I opted for the Plymouth. Without hesitation my father bought it.
Father, mother and I set off for Colberg, a beautiful and popular spa on the Baltic Sea. After a few days my father had to return home to attend to his business. While my mother and I were having coffee and cake, listening to music at the bandstand, friends of my parents appeared. They mentioned that their six-year-old son was staying for a further week at a special children's holiday camp. As I knew the boy, my mother suggested that I might like to join him since she had to return home to help my father. Arrangements were made and she left me behind. On reflection, I was totally justified by being devastated and showed great displeasure by crying continuously for two whole days. The management had no option but to phone my parents. 'Come and collect your distressed child immediately', they were told. My poor father drove through the night at great speed and arrived tired. I feared he would be cross with me, but the opposite proved the case. Reassuringly he put his arms around me, kissed me and apologised. We drove back leisurely, stopping for my favourite marzipan, ice-cream and chocolate.
Looking back on this episode in later life, I concluded that the psychological effect had never really disappeared. I cannot recollect having left my parents overnight again until two or three months before my departure for England. In mid-July 1939 (in my fourteenth year) I remember well a debate between my parents and me prior to my leaving our home for Britain – whether I would be able to cope and survive by myself without them. I gave them the assurance that by now I was older and wiser, that I would be going with friends and after all, we hoped that it would only be for a short period.
During the difficult economic and political changes of the late 1920s, people were affected in different ways. To some it was shattering, to others bearable; some felt lost, while others modified their political balance depending on the strength and character of the individual. In 1928–9 my father seemed to manage relatively well and was able to adjust to the transition. However, the almost total collapse of the economy, including the Reichsbank a few years later, brought bankruptcy for my father. Almost immediately my parents started up business again in my mother's name. They worked day and night to keep it afloat.
In 1933 stability returned to Germany and the demand for manufactured goods rapidly increased. We re-employed our former staff and took on new outdoor workers. On one level prospects looked better, but political events in Germany at the start of that year heralded an era that would turn Europe upside down once again, and with it the fate of European Jewry – my family being no exception. Events would overtake us, such that it became a matter of survival. We, as Jews, would be singled out as enemies of the state.
CHAPTER 2Living Under the Hitler Regime
In 1934 there was a new addition to our family with the birth of my brother Sigbert. It had a revolutionary impact on my life. It pulled the rug from under my feet. Relatives, friends and visitors to our home now made a beeline for the baby, totally ignoring the established prince. Gradually, normality returned at home. I entered the Mittleschule (school) in the Grosse Hamburgerstr. I was a keen athlete, played football, continued my violin lessons and spent time with my newly acquired friends. Meanwhile, a different story had been unfolding.
On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, something which promised stability, restoration of national pride and employment for the masses who had been struggling and had suffered total humiliation in the years following the First World War. But it spelt trouble for Germany's Jews, and within five or six years for the rest of European Jewry. There is no doubt that the National Socialist Party (NSDAP) was prepared for government a long time before they were elected. This is reflected by the enormous amount of legislation passed immediately after they came to power. On 2 February 1933, two days after Hitler's election as Chancellor, a law was passed forbidding general demonstrations. It was no longer possible to offer a voice of resistance publicly against the new government. To do so was to risk one's life. Three weeks later, on 22 February, the Reichstag (German parliament) in Berlin was on fire. Rumours circulated that it was a deliberate plot by Hermann Goering to provide Hitler with an excuse to round up political opponents and ban the communist press. That was never proven, but no matter, political opponents were immediately identified and sent to Dachau, the first of Hitler's concentration camps, located 7km north-west of Munich. Legislation after legislation subsequently followed; too much to enumerate. On 14 July 1933, all political parties bar one were outlawed. On 22 September the following organisations were set up under the auspices of the Reichskulturkummer (Ministry of Culture): the Reichsschriftums, Reichstheater, Reichsfilm, Reichsmusik and Reichspressekammer. The reaction to all this legislation was at first bewilderment. But Germans need order, and they saw in all this new legislation confirmation that the government was taking concrete steps in this direction. Germany was gradually being turned into a nation of conformity, with civil liberties denied, especially for the Jews, and individuality bound to the 'glorious Reich' which controlled everything.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Hitler's Will by Herman Rothman, Helen Fry. Copyright © 2009 Herman Rothman. Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Title,Dedication,
Acknowledgements,
Forword by Dr Helen Fry,
1. Early Childhood,
2. Living Under the Hitler Regime,
3. Emigration and a New Life in England,
4. Enlisting in the British Army,
5. Westertimke and Fallingbostel,
6. Hitler's Will,
7. Intelligence and Interrogation Work,
8. Civilian Life,
9. Perry Broad and the Auschwitz Trial,
10. How my Family Survived,
Postscript: Learning from History?,
Appendix I: Hitler's Political Will,
Appendix II: Hitler's Personal Will,
Appendix III: Goebbels' Addendum to Hitler's Will,
Bibliography,
Plates,
Copyright,