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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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082889
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08288900.015
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1990-09-17
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WORLD WAR II, Page 50A "Light Luncheon" with the Fuhrer
The sound was like a tide pushing everything before it,
remembers Richard Helms. He had never heard anything like it
before, nor has he in the 53 years since Sept. 13, l936.
By some strange fate Helms rode in the car just behind Adolf
Hitler's that day in Nuremberg. Helms would later become director
of the Central Intelligence Agency, but then he was a 23-year-old
United Press reporter lucky enough to get a glimpse of history
being forged. For 20 minutes, Hitler stood beside his SS chauffeur
in his special Mercedes-Benz, engulfed in the frightening adoration
that he ignited. Hitler's car moved slowly; his bodyguards in other
vehicles patrolled at the sides, automatic weapons laid out on the
car floors. The bareheaded Hitler, so ordinary a man in himself,
seemed transformed. "The nonchalant flip of the hand and a faint
smile acknowledged the tributes," Helms recalls. "Even little
children spontaneously shot out their arms." The bright sun glanced
off the red Nazi flags hanging everywhere.
That morning Helms and a few other foreign correspondents had
watched from the stands as Hitler marched to somber, rolling drums
through 200,000 uniformed followers. "The wonder of this age is
that you have found me -- an unknown man among millions!" Hitler
shouted.
Invited to a "light luncheon" with the Fuhrer, Helms was
directed to a nearby castle, and made his way to the battlements.
"Suddenly I heard from behind me a throaty voice say in German,
`That's a lovely view.'" Helms turned and was face to face with
Hitler, who had stepped onto the balcony.
Helms recently exhumed his notes, which were written later. "A
firm handshake, the Nazi salute, a smile. The personality of
Germany's dictator was not hypnotic. Physical appearance: less
attractive than from a distance. Hair: dark brown, fine in texture,
inclined to rustiness in front, slightly graying on the crown.
Eyes: bright blue. Skin: coarse with a pinkish tinge. Mustache:
slightly shot with gray. Teeth: bottom row gold-plated, which leads
to the hunch that they are false. Stature: shorter than expected.
Uniform: brown boots and breeches, simple brown shirt, adorned only
by the Iron Cross and Nazi brassard. Smile: humorless. Salute:
stylized by throwing the hand back over the shoulder. Manner:
pleasant, usually not at ease, knees moving back and forth
nervously."
Bolshevism was mentioned. "It was like hitting Hitler with a
torpedo. He assumed the platform manner on a small scale, the toss
of the head, the laugh of scorn, the sweep of the hand. Only the
snarl was missing. `I have only one fear,' Hitler said. `It is that
the countries around us, into which the poison of Bolshevism is
eating its way, will succumb to the Red wave one after another.
Moscow is seeking to dominate Europe. We shall never permit that.'"
Just as suddenly Hitler subsided. He stepped to the parapet
and waved to a few below who were shouting, "We want to see our
Fuhrer!" Then the group went to lunch, Hitler surrounded by party
members. He dined quickly and lightly. Helms recalls noting that
the Fuhrer's favorite chocolates were neatly arranged next to his
plate.