THE REICHSTAG FIRE

Evening Star, Issue 21899, 10 December 1934, Page 9

THE REICHSTAG FIRE

KARL ERNST'S CONFESSION ANOTHER VERSION Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright BERLIN, December 7. A young Storm Trooper, claiming to be Fiedler, mentioned in Karl Ernst’s confession, attended the of Propaganda this afternoon and gave journalists his version of the affair. He said that Ernst’s document was a vulgar forgery, aimed at bringing the Nazi leaders into disrepute. The forgers thought they could use his name. He had been reported as executed like Ernst and Mohrenschild, but he was not even arrested. The youth produced his Reichstag deputy’s card with his photograph and also a gun license. He added: “ Ernst was my commander, not my friend. I hardly knew Mohrenschild. I was in a restaurant on the night of the Reichstag fire with friends from 6 p.m. onwards. I heard of the fire from a woman at 10 p.m.” FURTHER REVELATIONS BY ERNST PARIS, December 9. (Received December 10, at 9 a.m.) Further revelations, purporting to be written by Ernst, appeared in a Saarbrucken newspaper in the form of a letter to Heines, who also perished on June 30. The letter emphasises the fears which those executed entertained regarding their fate. It says that General Roehm had a night-long discussion regarding the matter with Herr Hitler, who wept and implored General Roehm to believe in him, adding that he would prefer to see him head of the army rather than that gouty old man in his Neudeck old age refuge (meaning ‘President Hindenburg). The letter adds that Herr Hitler and General Roehm exchanged promises to do nothing pending the death of President Hindenburg. The letter continues: “We must get in ahead of Herr Hess, Dr Goebbels, and General-Goering or we shall be done in. It is a pity that General Roehm prevented me smashing their faces when they attacked me regarding my marriage. As to Dr Goebbels, I will roast him over a slow fire. I shall not forget how he launched me on the Reichstag business,and then deserted me.” [ln a document entitled ' How I Fired the Reichstag,’ Karl Ernst (leader of the Storm Troops), who was executed in June, declared that he cooperated with two Storm Troopers named Fiedler and Mohrenschild in setting fire to the Reichstag building, in order to render the Socialists and Communists culpable, and to strengthen the power of the Nazis.]