riage,” Fritsch recorded at the time. “The ink was hardly dry on
the marriage papers when mountains of documents began to
turn up about the Blomberg woman’s past.”
A couple of days later Keitel brought over to Göring the
complete police file on her a buff vice-squad folder with
fingerprints, “mug shots,” and pornographic photographs of
the woman who had just married the field marshal with Hitler
and Göring as witnesses. It was a Sunday, he recalled years later.
“For three hours I sat at the table [overwhelmed] by the con-
tents. It was not necessary to add anything.” Göring appears to
have done the decent thing, because as soon as Blomberg re-
turned from the funeral he sent Bodenschatz over with “docu-
ments” to Milch, which Milch was to take over to Blomberg
“documents about F.B.,” as Milch’s diary records (probably re-
ferring to Frau Blomberg).
Göring was waiting on the steps of the Reich Chancellery as
Hitler arrived back in Berlin. The buff folder was in his hands.
Hossbach, Blomberg’s ADC, also showed up, hoping to secure
an immediate appointment for the field marshal with Hitler.
Göring waylaid him, tapped the folder, and said, “It always falls
to my lot to bring particularly unpleasant matters to the
Führer’s attention.” He paced the floor like an angry lion, wait-
ing for Hitler.
“What I have witnessed today,” he snarled at Wiedemann,
Hitler’s ADC, waiting with him, “knocks the bottom out of the
barrel!”
The prim, prudish Hitler winced as Göring showed him
the file and photographs. As Göring hastened to point out,
Blomberg had made fools of both of them, he had flouted the
officers’ code in marrying this woman, and he had brought ridi-
cule on the Wehrmacht. Hitler sent Göring over to speak with
Blomberg. The frosty interview lasted less than five minutes.