The Walls Have Ears

by Helen Fry

  The battle of the generals left a sour and strained atmosphere for a few days but it was soon forgotten. They had little, after all, to complain about.

  THE DAY TRIPS

  Regular walks around the grounds of Trent Park were permitted and the generals understood that this was a privilege granted by the commandant. It was Lord Aberfeldy’s job to relay the following message to them from the commandant:

  The commandant would like me to explain … he can no longer permit the officers to go out for walks improperly dressed. It is irregular for the officers to go out in just a shirt and shorts … they must wear a proper uniform … He has no objection to the officers wearing shorts … but they must wear a tunic [with them].76

  The generals were taken on special trips to central London, something they particularly looked forward to. On occasion, they dined with Kendrick or Felkin at Simpsons on the Strand where they were served a plate of meat and heaps of vegetables, followed by a pudding.77 Did the generals never suspect that their conversations were being bugged and that their life of comfort was a bit odd as prisoners of war? It was noted in the intelligence reports: ‘Von Thoma is of the opinion that the British don’t need to listen to what “small fry” like the POWs here say, as their Intelligence Service is so good.’78

  The intelligence report went on to comment: ‘Von Arnim and Crüwell are themselves amongst the biggest careless talk offenders here.’79 Secret listener Eric Mark, who accompanied the generals on a lunch trip to Simpsons, explained: ‘They thought we were being so nice to them because, they believed, we were trying to seek favours with them so that when they won the war, we would be well treated too. It did not occur to them that it was all part of the bugging deception plan.’80

  When Churchill found out about the lunches at Simpsons, he was furious. The belligerent Prime Minister banned the ‘pampering of the generals’. But MI19 knew that the treatment of the generals was reaping intelligence results that could not be obtained in interrogation. Kendrick and Felkin relocated lunch with their ‘guests’ to the Ritz instead, and it appears Churchill never found out.

  The generals were even occasionally taken on a three-hour excursion which ended in tea at Kendrick’s house in the secluded village of Oxshott in Surrey.81 Their stiffness soon began to melt as the day progressed and they finally relaxed in the company of their escorting officers. Kendrick’s granddaughter Barbara and grandson Ken sang songs from the First World War whilst the generals enjoyed sandwiches and tea.82 Kendrick’s wife, Norah, did not ask any questions when her husband arrived in an army chauffeured car with an accompanying car of German generals.

  Other ranks of German officers were also periodically taken on trips into London or further afield. On one occasion, they were treated to a day out in Whitby on the coast. It did not quite turn out as planned because some of them consumed too much beer causing a near crisis when a U-boat captain and his First Lieutenant started shouting firing orders for torpedoes when they saw ships sailing by in the bay.

  In spite of the occasional glitch, by all accounts the trips were deemed a success. Puzzled by Germany’s continued military defeats, Bassenge was overheard saying to Neuffer, and recorded by the secret listeners: ‘We have the best generals and are losing the war!’83 Clearly, talking too much within earshot of the hidden microphones may have had something to do with that.

  CHAPTER 7

  Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

  Life at Trent Park continued along the drawn battle lines of pro-Nazi and anti-Nazi and British officers were faced with an almost farcical scenario on a daily basis. The generals provided no small amount of entertainment as they continued to battle over their political leanings and preen the feathers of their egos like peacocks strutting around the grounds of a stately home. After dinner on 9 July 1943, von Arnim gave a rather long-winded talk directed against the anti-Nazis who were seen as defeatists. His speech was noted by British intelligence for its absence of any reference to Hitler.1 Afterwards, von Thoma added his opinion that ‘old men blind themselves before the blatant facts’. Shortly before von Arnim’s speech, General Cramer had been discussing politics with a British army officer about possible leaders for a revolution in Germany. After von Arnim’s speech, Cramer shouted loudly from the corridor outside the dining room: ‘I look forward to continuing this discussion!’2 Von Arnim and Cramer had become noticeably closer that last week and Cramer had been invited with some other ‘defeatists’ to play bridge in Von Arnim’s room. There was speculation that von Arnim might be moving across to the anti-Nazi camp.

  Rather than deterring the anti-Nazis, von Arnim’s speech had the effect of drawing them out. Anti-Nazi literature was no longer read secretly behind the closed doors of bedrooms. Colonel Borcherdt openly read Braun’s Von Weimar zu Hitler in the courtyard in full view of the other generals. The following day, von Liebenstein read the book and quoted chunks of it to a British army officer in front of his batman – a great crime according to von Arnim’s speech the previous evening. The colonels all appeared to have joined the anti-Nazi camp.3

  BATMEN’S REVOLT

  Trouble with the batmen had been simmering for a while. Each general had his own batman, captured from the battlefields with the general. The batman was a personal servant, in uniform and of lower rank, who was responsible for making the general’s bed each morning, polishing his boots, laying out his uniform and attending to any other needs. He usually walked a few steps behind the general, carrying his bags and a ceremonial baton in his right hand.

  During the week of von Arnim’s after-dinner speech, the batmen at Trent Park began to grumble that they should receive the same comforts as the generals because they were all equal as POWs.4 The situation came to a head over the distribution of cigars from the German-run tuck-shop. The generals discussed the behaviour of the batmen and made a written request to their British minders, asking for the removal of three batmen: Schmidt, Dittmar and Wodtke. Erich Schmidt was the most disliked of the batmen. His personal file is not flattering. A Nazi and a rather odd character, he frequently found something to complain about, and had innumerable physical complaints:

  The first being caused by being hit in the stomach by a medicine ball. This caused him to lie on the ground groaning. He was taken to hospital where after an X-ray examination it was ascertained that he had merely been winded and the groans immediately ceased. Next he decided that rheumatism was killing him. The English climate was to blame. He retired semi-permanently to bed. When talk of repatriation arose he became permanently incapacitated. He only got up to draw nudes.5

  The batmen had another go at persuading Crüwell to make things unpleasant for the British minders. Although Crüwell had already agreed to get rid of the three batmen, he petitioned von Arnim to make out that the British were riding roughshod over the generals and forcibly trying to remove their batmen. He suggested to von Arnim that he should put his foot down. Von Arnim was wise enough to keep quiet about the whole affair, and began to tire of Crüwell’s nagging.

  Von Arnim had long talks with Cramer and Crüwell about the war situation.6 In spite of their disagreements, they agreed not to give in to defeatism, but to support the regime to the bitter end. Von Arnim continued to sign his letters home, ‘always your old optimist’.7

  During the summer months of 1943, Meixner too began to show leanings towards the anti-Nazi defeatists. Von Broich had an interesting defeatist talk with his batman who happened to be head batman at the camp. Von Hülsen revealed his hand as a monarchist, adamantly against Nazi figures like Hermann Goering, although publicly he still professed to be in the pro-Nazi group. All the generals were concerned about possible roles after the war and the anti-Nazis in particular believed they would still hold on to their military positions. Political literature continued to be circulated and provided for them by their British minders.8 A few German newspapers were circulated, designed to enable the generals to relax further into camp life, be totally off-guard in their conversations and to t
hink that the British were stupid. So great was the ego of the generals that they could not entertain the idea that British intelligence was pulling the strings of their stage-set in a situation where the melodrama turned into an almost comical charade.

  On the afternoon of 15 July 1943, von Hülsen was taken by army truck to the dentist.9 His military escorts expected him to comment on the journey, but instead he offered absurd comments about how badly local people were dressed and how decrepit the houses looked – all due, in his opinion, to the war. To add to his smug confidence, that day was early closing and the shops had already pulled down their blinds. He believed that the closed shops were a sign that the war was going badly wrong for the British. When he saw a trolley-bus, he declared it had been electrified because Britain had a serious shortage of petrol.

  Frustrations were running high at Trent Park. Crüwell displayed an outburst to a British officer over his treatment in the camp, telling him he knew that life for many German prisoners was much better in Allied POW camps in Canada. The British officer offered to request a transfer, at which Crüwell quickly rescinded and complained that the lack of food was making him thin. He received the response that he looked less flabby and much healthier for it.10

  On 20 July, von Arnim requested a meeting with the new administrative camp commandant at Trent Park, Major Denis Topham. (Kendrick was based at new headquarters at Latimer House). In the meeting, von Arnim made further requests on behalf of the generals, asking Major Topham for a German cook on site, a German tailor and German dentist. He considered British methods of dentistry old-fashioned. Complaints were made about the quantity of rations, until it was pointed out to him that the other POWs had already expressed approval of the rations. This still did not prevent him asking for more cigarettes, cigars and tobacco until he was promptly told that such rations for British prisoners in Germany were far less.

  The following day, von Arnim was escorted to hospital for a problem with his feet. There he was allowed to visit Lieutenant General Frantz who had been hospitalised for an unknown complaint. Von Arnim expressed disgust at the methods of medical treatment which he considered old-fashioned. He objected to being treated by a female doctor over which, according to intelligence files, he almost collapsed into a fit of shock.11

  Following several severe defeats, the generals began to criticise the higher command of the German air force, especially Hermann Goering as its commander in chief.12 General Neuffer said that every time he had met Goering, he had thought to himself: ‘My God, if that’s all the brain power there is!’ Goering was largely felt to have been responsible for the Stalingrad disaster as, according to the recorded conversations, Germany’s generals had advised Hitler that Stalingrad could no longer be held, but Goering maintained that it could – and Hitler listened to him, rather than his generals.13

  On the afternoon of 23 July, the generals received a visit from Mr Barwick of the British YMCA and Tracy Strong of the American YMCA.14 No secret was made of the existence of Trent Park as a prisoner-of-war camp, but the bugging side of the operation was completely hushed up. Access to the site was still strictly controlled. The YMCA representatives promised to ameliorate life for the prisoners by offering to provide a grand piano, gramophone, golf clubs and a range of literature from Liverpool University.15

  News of Mussolini’s resignation on the night of 25 July 1943 rendered the generals speechless. It shattered them and was clearly unexpected.16 Even the defeatists were seriously affected. In response, von Hülsen declared that Germany’s position was precarious and von Arnim and Crüwell had to agree. During the first few hours after the news, Crüwell despaired and declared: ‘I am no Nazi!’ This quick change of heart was typical of him. The British intelligence report the following morning read:

  It would have been difficult to have found a gloomier collection of people than our guests here. The only smiling face was von Thoma’s and he went about with an ‘I told you so’ air, much to the annoyance of the anti-defeatists. Thoma told a British officer he had discussed the news with Crüwell and said to him ‘which of us has made a fool of himself, you or I?’ Which of course must have poured salt into Crüwell’s already smarting wounds.17

  That same day, the General Officer Commanding (G.O.C) London District, was due to inspect Trent Park. As the generals’ camp leader, the previous evening von Arnim had been advised by commandant Major Topham that he and the other generals might like to remain in their rooms because the G.O.C would probably wish to see their rooms and would also inspect the guard in the courtyard. Von Arnim reacted badly to the news as a restriction on their freedom of movement. He was politely reminded that the last time the guard had been inspected he had requested advance notice so the generals could choose to stay in their rooms out of the way.

  The reaction of the other generals to the impending visit was not without its humour. Von Hülsen and Meixner, who shared a room, decided to hide their cigarettes in the hope that the G.O.C would think they were badly treated and had been given none. The G.O.C did visit the upstairs rooms but, much to von Arnim’s disgust, did not stay to talk with him. That evening, von Arnim complained to every British officer he saw that the G.O.C had not given him the time of day – all this on the same day that one of the batmen gave a Nazi salute to a British officer in the corridor, then swiftly apologised.

  Von Arnim and Cramer requested a walk that evening in the grounds with a British officer. It was described as a gloomy affair. Von Arnim appeared to have drastically aged and all he wanted to do was sit and dig holes in the grass with his stick.18 They were in no mood to discuss Mussolini, in spite of much prompting by the British officer. Meanwhile, the other generals sat alone in their rooms to contemplate the latest news and day’s events.

  During the week of 7 August, von Thoma discussed the developing political and military situation in greater length with Lord Aberfeldy than with his own fellow officers. The intelligence report for that week noted: ‘At meals, he [von Thoma] makes a point of sitting with the anti-defeatists as he takes pleasure in baiting them.’19 The report went on to say that the British officer ‘had his usual Sunday talk with von Thoma, who warned him not to discuss politics with von Arnim and Crüwell. He advised him that it would be a thankless task’.20

  General Neuffer heard on a news broadcast at 5 p.m. on 7 August that he had been awarded the Ritterkreuz.21 Bassenge got hold of Neuffer’s Iron Cross and asked a British army officer to have a silver ring put on it so it could be worn on a ribbon round his neck. The intelligence report noted: ‘This was done – the silver ring being replaced by a paperclip.’22

  Sunday 23 August was the first anniversary of Crüwell’s arrival at Trent Park. Von Liebenstein asked the (unnamed) interpreter if they could ‘do anything to mark the occasion and brighten the day for Crüwell’.23 An arrangement was made for Crüwell and von Arnim to go to the British army officer’s room for a drink but von Arnim insisted that, as a senior German officer, the drink should be in his room and that the British army officer should bring the whisky, soda water and a glass so the generals would not have to use their own rations. The generals received a range of items, such as tins of cheese, milk, butter and fish regularly in parcels from the German Red Cross.

  APPEALING TO THE SWISS

  On the morning of 29 August, the commandant gave the generals a few hours’ notice of a visit to Trent Park by Dr Preiswerk, a Swiss representative – Switzerland being officially a neutral country. The news sent the generals into a frenzy of preparatory activities. Nothing focused their attention better than being motivated by their own cause. They began to work on a plan to bring various complaints before Dr Preiswerk. Every bit of their privately-planned strategy was recorded by the secret listeners.

  The generals agreed amongst themselves to complain about the major generals being assigned two to a room. Also on their agenda were: the question of parole and taking walks outside the wire fence, provision of a German doctor and dentist to be found from amongst Ge
rman POWs being held in camps around Britain, and specialist officers to come to Trent Park to provide lectures on a range of subjects. They raised the issue of the unequal treatment of the batmen who were given beer at meals (rather than wine) and were only allowed to write two letters and four cards to Germany a month, whereas the generals were allowed to write three letters and four cards. They asked why only one lower-rank German officer was permitted to go for a walk at any one time, whereas two generals could go.

  The generals agreed not to offer the Swiss representative any cigarettes so he would think that the British were not giving them any. Crüwell suggested that they should ask Dr Preiswerk to tea in one of their rooms if he was proving helpful to them and told von Arnim that he should wear full uniform and decorations so the special visitor would be impressed. It was urged on von Arnim that Dr Preiswerk should be steered clear of those generals and officers who did not approve of the grumbling campaign. Behind the scenes, British intelligence was monitoring their plan via the secret listeners and decided to intervene by ensuring that Dr Preiswerk visited von Thoma who was guaranteed to be much more appreciative of life in the camp.

  Von Arnim kept to the plan and brought up the list of complaints with Dr Preiswerk who proved unhelpful. He advised von Arnim not to press matters too much because it might provoke an investigation which could turn out unfavourably for the generals. The issue of parole was raised by von Arnim, as he asked ‘Why should we be accompanied by a British officer at all if we have signed a parole form and the whole park is surrounded by barbed wire?’

  ‘You are mistaken,’ replied Dr Preiswerk. ‘It is a normal peacetime fence and under the Geneva Convention the power holding the prisoner has to protect them from hostile demonstrations. It is in your interests to be accompanied by a British officer.’

  Von Arnim had nothing to say in response. Dr Preiswerk asked to see the other generals, but von Arnim swiftly assured him that they had nothing to discuss with him. Dr Preiswerk was not deterred and managed to see General von Thoma.