20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The Zurich newspaper Die Tat (variously translatable as "The Act" or "The Fact") printed the fanciest tale of many a long week. Its gist: Adolf Hitler, looking down the pistol barrel of defeat, would neither surrender, die in battle, nor kill himself. Instead, he would gather a picked staff of Nazi Party chieftains. Wehrmacht generals and technical geniuses, then lead them in a giant submarine flotilla to Japan. There he would establish his German Government in Exile, boost Nipponese production to undreamed-of levels, and string out the war a few more years.* In due time, if all went well, the Allies would fall to fighting among themselves, their power would disintegrate, and Hitler would return for the triumphant reconquest of Europe.

Stockholm reported last week that the Russians have forced Hitler to move his field headquarters seven times in nine months. An informant "in contact with Hitler's bodyguard" added other intimate details of the Fuehrer's life behind the front:

When a new base is established--usually in a forest remote from potential targets--the entire civilian populace is moved out. The headquarters is camouflaged so well that Red aircraft often fly over it without detecting it. The antiaircraft batteries have orders not to fire unless attacked. But when Russian planes appear, Hitler immediately retires to a shelter.

Hitler moves either by armored train or by air, with heavy fighter protection. Besides his personal bodyguard of 500 storm troopers, there are also Gestapo and infantry units near by. Anyone visiting Hitler, including Nazi party bigwigs, must carefully check his firearms before entering.

On a typical day, Hitler rises at 6 a.m., meets his generals at 8 a.m., then plunges into affairs of state. After a hasty lunch at 1:30, he resumes conferences with ministers, party chiefs, generals, takes a two-course dinner. (A recent guest: Italian General Rodolfo Graziani.) After receiving the midnight report on military developments, Hitler goes to bed at 2 a.m.

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