fighting for Germany. “Now I am ready to listen to some more
treason,” said Göring, relieved, during the recess afterward.
Schirach followed, and “sold out” like Speer; and these, Göring
commented ironically, were both men whom their Führer had
favored to the very end. “Rather die like a lion,” he philoso-
phized to Werner Bross, Stahmer’s deputy, “than survive to
scamper like a rabbit.”
Die, yes but not by the hangman’s hand. Göring let it be
known to Jackson that if guaranteed a firing squad he would
give the prosecution some real dirt on Schacht. Jackson, fool-
ishly as it turned out, did not heed him. Göring then intensified
his contacts with the American Army’s Lieutenant Wheelis. To
make doubly sure, he evidently removed one wafer-thin metal
diaphragm surreptitiously
from his earphones in the
courtroom. The loss was
discovered and his cell mi-
nutely searched, but the
sliver of metal was never
found.
“My darling,” he now
wrote to Emmy. “Today
the birthday letter for
Edda goes off. So this week
I can only send you a post-
card. Heartfelt thanks for
[letter] No. . What the
newspapers are writing is a
matter of supreme indifference to us. Never let it get you down!
I’ve been in bed for three days, sciatica in my right leg. Now I
can understand what you must have been through. In passion-
Searching for the U.S. prison officer
who might help him to escape the
gallows, Göring’s eyes lighted on
Lieutenant Jack G. Wheelis, a Texan,
and a huntsman like himself.