and I,” recorded Richthofen, “were very persuasive. Führer
swears loudly about the army commanders responsible for much
of this mess.” Between them, Göring and Richthofen that day
persuaded Hitler to issue the famous orders that now halted the
rout.
Göring’s diary shows that he was drained by this immense
human drama on the eastern front, and fled south and west as
fast as he was able. He had intended going to Berlin, but he or-
dered a thousand-mile detour via Berchtesgaden (to see Emmy)
instead. “Curious outcome of all our deliberations on the gravity
of the situation!” observed Richthofen, furious at this derelic-
tion.
Hitler evidently thought the same, and took a firmer hand
than ever. On December , he retired the army’s bumbling
commander in chief, and took over the army himself. On the
next day, issuing orders over Göring’s head, he directed the
Luftwaffe squadrons to destroy every vestige of dwelling space
that the advancing Russians might use.
Heedless of the bad feeling that his absence aroused, the
Reichsmarschall made only two more brief visits to the Wolf’s
Lair that winter, on December and . Otherwise, surrounded
by his female relatives and friends, he stayed at Carinhall,
drooling over his art treasures and buying more. “For days now
the Reichsmarschall has vanished,” recorded General von Wal-
dau with unmistakable asperity on Christmas Eve. “He gets to
spend Christmas at home.” But in a way Waldau was glad to be
shivering at Robinson, the air staff’s forward headquarters. “It is
important to set an example in little things,” he reminded him-
self in his diary. “We are going to have to get used to harder
times.”