1941-09-13 — Page 6

Page

TIMS

for

а

THE CHINA MAIL, SEPTEMBER 13, 1941.

VICHY AIDES COURTING THE NAZIS

(Am American war correspondent here tells more of the story of his arrest and imprisonment for four months, beginning last March, by the German forces in occupied France).

(By JAY ALLEN)

AFTER THE JUDGE advocate of the German court-martial at Le Creusot had satisfied himself that I was deliberately working against the best in- terests of the German Army of Occupation, the questioning switched to my interview with Marshal Henri Philippe Petain.

I informed him that I had got the interview with the Marshal through ex-Premier Pierre- 10 Etienne Flandin.

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I was glad to send the inter-

Vikar gave me a sheaf of Gaull- view because I was anxious to ist leaflets and Communist hand- dispel the illusions about Vichy outs. There were also several re- that had grown up after the dis- ports marked "secret and con- missal of Pierre Laval and get fidential" on Gaullist and Com- over my view that M. Flandin, munist activities. and Admiral Francois Darlen were both ready to serve the Germans and would prove more

effective in promoting "collabora lion" than the universally des- pised Laval. I said that I felt sure that the Germans could not object to my reporting a state of affairs in Vichy that was their own con- triving.

Vikar said I couldn't have the stuff but offered to copy it all. The "secret and confidential" re- ports did not seem very exciting. When he brought me the photo- stats I threw them in my suitcase with my other papers and forgot

them.

BOMBS ON

NEW YORK

New York has been Bombed.

Raiders came

over

at night and dropped H.E.s, but not a word of the story appeared in any American paper.

Because the New York which received enemy attention was the tiny hamlet in East Lincs, England.

And the bombs fall- ing in a field harmed

no one.

000000000000001

appeal was rejected the sentence might be doubled or tripled.

I said that I would appeal and hoped to have the sentence, which why. I suggested that then my. was unjust, tripled. They asked It The detective summoned me government would intervene. to explain. 1 Bld as well as 1 already had, as I learned a few could against his constant bad-days later when my appeal was his simply returned because of "new gering. He was throwing

developments." weight around to impress the Germans.

"M. Allen lays hold of secret March 1 and on documents on March 3 hot-foots it across the fine for Paris," he snorted. whom did you hand them over in

The Judge advocate was very curious about my movements in Paris. I told him where I lunched and dined every day-mostly Maxim's, which was full of Ger- man officers. He asked whether 1 had picked up any military in- formation. I answered that even the embassies and legations, still in Paris at the time, were not Paris?" able to find

He out anything. wanted to know where I had lodged. I told him I could not say; I did not want to compromise

friends.

From his notes taken during my testimony the judge ad- vocate drew a statement in Gah. man that I was asked to sign after it had been re-translated to

me.

Vichy Sleuths Take A Hand

On the night of April 27, a officer stopped friendly German LTD.

me, drew me into a dark corner and said, "I am not supposed to tell you but the French Surete Nationale (Secret Service) has obtained permission to call you to-morrow. Your case was practically settled. Now there is a dreadful mess."

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I was bothered, but, watching the faces of the

officers of the military tribunal, I got the im- pression that they

were as be- wildered as I and a little embar- rassed.

The Death's Head Nazi seem- ed to have picked up a few facts about my friendships from some German newspaperman in Paris who had known me. I felt the vast sense of relief that other men who have gone through far the trouble with more serious Gestapo tell me they have felt when the great sleuths start cross- questioning you on irrelevanties, Which is proof that they have nothing on you-no facts at least.

"Churchill Agent"

was bellowing, Death's Head “come on now, confess--you are an agent of Churchill and of the

Then the nightmare of Dijon Prison. Then release and then at the Spanish border an at- tempt by General Franco's This police to take me over. the Germans could hot allow,

the exchange Agreement called for my safe, fival in Portugal. And being the mas- tere In Spain, they did not al* low it.

V

PROMOTION FOR

"HEREWARD" MAN

LIEUT.-COMMANDER CHAR- LES ARTHUR DE WINTON KIT- CAT, WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE DESTROYER HEREWARD, THE EVACUATION SUNK AT

HAS BEEN PRO- OF CRETE, MOTED TO COMMANDER,

Lieut-Commander Geoffrey Mainwaring Slader, who gets a similar promotion, is an old Rugby international.

become Twenty Commandérs Captains and thirty-six Lieut.- Comman- Commanders become

The next afternoon a very Comintern."

I said somewhat wearily that pleasant young German lieuten-

ought to make up his ders. ant called for me and we walked he through town to the headquarters mind which, that the Comintern Mr. Churchill were two of the S. D. (Sicherheits Dienst) anti

in the old offices of the French separate and distinct. institutions. Surete, There we met a strange I said that in fact I thought the

April Fereature, a blond, overly hand-Germanisthis... was in

Sorge officer a captain, I think had some kind of pact with, the -wearing the death's head of the Bolsheviki. Elite Guards in the peak of his cap. He seemed in a state of bare- ly suppressed hysteria, like many Nazis.

two there appeared Soon gentlemen who could be identi fled at a hundred yards as: de tectives, the judge advocate from Le Creusot and three other officers I hadn't seen before.

"You are-like, that, mán öf evil, bonovan (Colonel William J. Donovan] who has just plunged Yugoslavia into the

"the

Nazi of war horrora anafied. “But He had help, he had the Comintern. We know All about it.”

This was hews to me, the first intimation I had that all was not One of the detectives read a well between Berlin and Moscow. The interrogation Inally summons from the Vichy, pro- recutor in which M. Allen was bogged down. The officers seem- called upon to reveal hla parted bored. One of them winked in the theft from the French at me,

police of documents: "affecting "All right, Herr Allen," sald Death's Head, you can go back the security of the State."

He went on to inform me that to your cell. But you won't sleep one Georges Vikar, a Hungarian to-night, I wager. For you have Journalist, aged 20, and two in-seen from the few facts I have spectors of the French Surete revealed to you that we know all had been arrested in Vichy, acabout you. In a few days you'll cused of stealing material from hear more

the Surete file on communism and Then followed two months or Gaullist propaganda, "reports of silence except that, on the best n highly secret and confidential of authority, Herr Allen learned character," which, according to that the military tribunal had Vikar's confession, had been been instructed, to hold him in shown to M. Allen and photostats thereof loft with him.

'Secret And Confidential':

Then it came back to me. Late. in February afamished little

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protective arrest even if he were sentenced and his sentence, com- pleted. At the time I did not know it but apparently, this was the result of the fearfest in U.S. of Manfred Zapp and Gottfried Tonn, German: Correspondents.

Dijon Nightmaro for "Paris-Soir," asked me for Theri - on duno 27 came the work. During our conversation actual sentence.

it developed that he could find I was summoned to the prison. me examples of Gaullist, Com-office after a session of the court munist and other propaganda martial. My sentence was read to that I had tried without success me. I was told that I had three" to obtain from the Ministry of days in which to make up my Interior,

i mind, but was warned that If my

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