GESTAPO SWOOPS ON BERLIN

Southland Times, Issue 25482, 30 September 1944, Page 5

GESTAPO SWOOPS ON BERLIN

IDENTITY PAPERS ARE CHECKED

(Rec. 11.10 p.m.) NEW YORK, Sept. 29. Berlin' has just witnessed scenes hitherto reserved for the conquered lands—a Gestapo swoop on the city to check identity cards, says the Columbia Broadcasting System’s Berne correspondent. All over Berlin armed guards suddenly swooped on crowds of civilians, formed human barricades and carried out an intensive check of the identity papers of all males. Some Berliners told neutral journalists it was a move to catch Allied paratroopers, who were said to have landed to direct sabotage activities by foreign workers. However, the general belief is that the floating population of Germans and foreigners who have fled from their homes and factories has grown too great for the Nazis to ignore. It is estimated that about 50,000 foreigners have disappeared from their work benches and nearly 100,000 German soldiers who have deserted from the Russian front are roaming the country with false papers.