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Berlin, Richard E., 1894- / Diary of a flight to occupied Germany, July 20 to August 27, 1945.
(1945?)
Visit to Cardinal Faulhauber, pp. 94-95
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Hitler's beer hall, pp. 95-96
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Page 95
Cardinal Faulhauber thoughtfully inquired about friends in America and gave me personal greetings for three or four Amer- ican friends. We spent about 20 minutes with the venerable cardinal. He grieved over the awful devastation and the pitiful condition of the people. Upon leaving his presence we were told by our Army of- ficer guide-now Public Relations Officer of Munich-that 2 years ago the Nazis ordered the cardinal's arrest and he sent word to them that he would present himself for arrest in the cathedral the next day. As promised, he appeared at the cathedral clothed in his state robes for arrest, but in the square outside of the cathedral some 20,000 people had gathered as the word passed around that their beloved cardinal was to be imprisoned, and the Nazis were frightened off from making the arrest. Upon the occupation of Munich by the Americans, Cardinal Faulhauber issued a statement to the effect that he was glad the Americans were in Munich and that he would work with them for the betterment of the people, but if they committed any unwise or outrageous act, he would be just as critical of them as he had been of the Nazis. The cardinal gave an ironical touch to things at the beginning of the American occupation, when the unpopular fraternization ban was on. He refused to allow American Catholics to kiss his ring. "I want to obey the non-fraternization order," he said. Hitler's Beer Hall Motoring about the city, we saw that the charming o Four Seasons Hotel had been bombed. It is now a hotel for transient G.I.s. It interested us to note that the notorious Hitler beer hall- which had strangely escaped damage-is now a Red Cross recrea- tion center. Everywhere about the gardens of the beer hall- where Adolph shouted his aims to the first Nazi recruits-we saw American G.I.s drinking beer. 95
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