Marriage Of Nazi Typist Has Far-Reaching And Disastrous Results

Southland Times, Issue 23989, 2 December 1939, Page 12

Marriage Of Nazi Typist Has Far-Reaching And Disastrous Results

WHAT has happened to blonde 24-year-old Erika von Blomberg, the girl whose marriage to the now arrested German general may have led indirectly to the war? The question is asked by a writer in Reynolds News, London. The article goes on to say that nothing has been heard of this former typist, whose mother was a hospital masseuse and whose father still earns a living as a carpenter, since the outbreak of hostilities.

In his final official report on the origins of the war, Sir Nevile Henderson, Britain’s former Ambassador in Berlin, talks of the far-reaching and unfortunate results of the Blomberg marriage. “I am more than ever convinced of the major disaster which that, in itself a minor incident, involved, owing to the consequent elimination from Hitler’s entourage of the more moderate and independent of his advisers, such as Field-Marshal von Blomberg himself, Baron von Neurath, Generals Fritsch, Beck and others.” HITLER AS WITNESS It was in January 1938, that FieldMarshal von Blomberg quietly married one of his former typists, Erika Luise Gruhn, witif blue smiling eyes and tiptilted nose. Blomberg, five years a widower, was 59, his bride 22. Ho had two witnesses at the wedding, Adolf Hitler and Herman Goering.

Within a few days the gravest crisis since the blood purge of June 30, 1934, when Hitler shot his former friends, had engulfed the Fuhrer and his army leaders. Hitler congratulated Blomberg—it is not on record that he kissed the bride—and drove post haste from Berlin to his mountain retreat 400 miles. •

It was here a feyv days later that General von Fritsch crashed in on his silence, disregarding the orders, which even. Goering and Ribbentrop dare not disobey, not to disturb the Fuhrer when he is meditating; Von Fritsch, stiff, monocled officer of the old high caste brigade, was purple with indignation.

The most sacred traditions of the army had - been smashed. The rigid Potsdam Code of Officers’ Conduct had been violated by the wedding of a field-marshal to a typist. His brother officers had not been consulted according to custom. And the Fuhrer himself had lent his authority to this monstrous marriage by his presence as a witness. Von Fritsch was backed by yon Neurath personally, and, it was obvious from the swelling chorus of indignation, also by a vast body of officers in high commands. Hitler gave soft answers to turn away the wrath, but a few days later stabbed back with unexpected ferocity. Von Fritsch had returned to Berlin basking in the Fuhrer’s smile and thinking he had done a good job. Hitler sent for Heinrich Himmler, chief, of the Nazi, secret police. Then he sent for Ribbentrop. Next day, while sitting quietly at home drafting his orders, General von Fritsch, Comtnander-in-Chief of the German Army, was placed under arrest. The' docile German people, reading their controlled Press, knew nothing of these events until rumour got out of hand and the Nazi bosses, fearing for their own safety, issued a statement. It said that the Fuhrer had accepted, with great regret, the resignations of Foreign Minister Baron von Neurath, Field-Marshal von Blomberg, and General von Fritsch. Behind the scenes events moved fantastically, with Hitler striking at the army commands, those groups of non-Nazi generals who, in their hearts, despised him as a comic-looking house painter. DREADED SECRET POLICE He had feared them for years, even curried favour to gain their support, but now, backed by Press, radio and a .dreaded horde of secret police, he had them on the run. It is interesting to recall that those he hounded from authority and power were nearly all moderates—survivors of the last war. All those who took their jobs, Raeder, Keiltel, Ribbentrop, Goebbels, were formed into a “Secret Council,” under Hitler’s supreme control. They are all “yes” men, pledged to the

Fuhrer’s dream of European domination. Ambassadors and Consulate officials known to be moderates were recalled from their posts abroad and replaced by nominees of the council. Himmler tightened his grip on Press and radio, and events moved slowly, but surely, to the tragedy of Munich and the betrayal of Czechoslovakia. A year later Hitler crushed Poland, and General von Fritsch, still a general, but acting as a corporal, died

mysteriously on the field of battle. Now it is reported that von Blomberg is under arrest, and confined in a Bavarian fortress.

Somewhere still in Germany is a pretty young wife, who once thought she had made a splendid match as the bride of a famous general. Erika Gruhn was a clever child at school, and the family rejoiced when she passed the examination for the Civil Service. She was chosen as a typist in the War Office, and it was here that she caught the eye of the field-marshal. Their romance was kept secret to all —in fact, the first hint of a love affair received by her'astonished parents was a letter saying that she was in hospital for a few days, and the Minister of War had been to see her. A few months later the field-marshal stalked into the carpenter’s tiny home and asked permission to marry his daughter.

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