Yet another in the series of Top Secret reports submitted from Berlin by an unidentified deep-cover “illegal,” one of many keeping Moscow informed of how things are working out in Germany in the early days after the war.
In this excerpt, the author indicates that Berlin appears to be somewhat on the rebound, following the concentrated efforts of General Nikolai Berzarin, the first commandant of the Soviet occupying forces in Berlin and commander of the city itself. Cinemas were opening, the subway system was slowly being brought back to life, streets were relatively clear, and soon, opera houses and concert halls would be seeing audiences returning, seeking respite from the horrors of the last months and years.
Also of note is the increase in activities of “old members of the German Communist Party” and, in particular, vestiges of formerly underground German anti-fascist organizations. Also of note were rumors of an underground band of Hitler devotees, dedicated to conducting acts of terror and sabotage throughout the city to disrupt the Allies in their efforts to bring some semblance of normalcy. The author is quick to note, however, that any such efforts on behalf of the remaining Nazis would have been hampered by the fact that they have been left scattered and without a leader. However, there was still evidence of the infamous Werewolves making life difficult in the Grunewald district.
Finally, the author provides confirmation of the identity of the bodies found in the Reich Chancellery, referred to in earlier reporting. The body of the “badger-lagged individual” was indeed that of Goebbels, and the dentists of Hitler and Eva Braun provided sufficient evidence to identify the remains of those bodies as well. In addition, a sad end to Hitler’s German Shepherd Blondi is also described.
Do not adjust your set when reading paragraph 2 of the report; the first sentence and a half of the original are redacted. Not sure what is still considered sensitive information some 80 years after the fact, but we’ll assume some family members of major players would prefer their surnames not be revealed for now.
The translation of this Top Secret report follows.
TOP SECRET
CODED TELEGRAM No. 6578, 6579, 6581
From BERLIN
Received 16 May 1945 at 17.10 Decoded 17 May 1945 at 01.10
I am sending information on the situation in Berlin:
1/ Berlin has already sharply changed its appearance. The streets are about as clean as they can be. There are 17 cinemas already operating, a small segment of subways have been put into operation, stores are opening, using a card system for trade – the cards have already been introduced in almost all areas. A short while ago, the commandant of the city gathered all representatives of the arts and, in no time, theaters and concert halls will be resuming activities.
As each of these measures are taken, the mood of the population toward us is improving substantially. Along with this, however, in various areas of Berlin inflammatory antics are being played out by old members of the German Communist Party, purporting to take over local government bodies, which is causing confusion among the burgomasters and members of the central Berlin city government, who are still trying to grasp that. seemingly, the Soviet command has no intention of introducing the Soviet system in Germany.
In the Charlottenburg area, after the arrival of our troops, the organization Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland [National Committee for a Free Germany] has begun energizing. The organization’s supporters are primarily adherents of the conspirators (20 July 1944).
This organization is now dissolved, and because no doubt is cast on its members’ anti-fascist attitudes, they are called upon to work in regional governments.
By all appearances, the group of [Carl Friedrich] Goerdeler, [Ludwig] Beck, and [Erwin von] Witzleben had a very large number of supporters.
In a conversation I had with Andreas Hermes, he confirmed that the entire 20 July movement was headed by General Beck (who shot himself) and Goerdeler. Hermes also stated that along with the conspirators, government official [Ernst von] Harnack, the brother of “Corsican,” was arrested and executed.
[Translator note: “Corsican” is a reference to German-born economist and anti-fascist Arvid Harnack. In early 1941, Harnack (under the pseudonym “Corsican”), had warned Moscow (and a dubious Stalin) of the impending Nazi invasion of the USSR.]
There are scattered appearances of “Werewolves,” such as in the Grunewald area. When I spoke with the burgomaster, he complained about the constant episodes of house arsons and water supply line damage, as well as the proliferation of various slanderous rumors directed at discrediting the Red Army and our command.
Rear guard troops detained a member of the Nazi underground headquarters, who testified during interrogation that Hitler created an organization to operate behind enemy lines, using terror and sabotage against the allies. According to the same testimony, the head of the organization is the person mentioned in our materials, SS Brigadeführer Gunter d’Alquen, former editor of the SS newspaper Das Schwarze Korps. However, no terrorist acts or any kind of serious sabotage has been noted.
It should be taken into consideration, however, that the fascist cutthroats, left underground by Himmler, dispersed and disconnected now due to the lack of any means of communication, will try to raise their heads again as soon as life begins to return to normal.
2/ █████████████████████████████████████████████ █████ further identification of the bodies found in the Reich Chancellery confirms that the body of the badger-legged individual of which I reported is Goebbels. As for Hitler, human remains were found in a filled-in bomb crater near the location where, according to the testimony of the prisoners, the bodies of Hitler and Goebbels were burned. Hitler’s personal dentists, who were sought and interrogated, described his and Eva Braun’s dentures and filled teeth, so that these descriptions fully matched those found in the crater. Further, the body of a dog was found, poisoned by hydrocyanic acid. The dog’s mouth contained bits of glass from the ampule in which the poison was contained.
Translating History 