against last-minute liberation attempts. It was now October ,
. At : .. Dr. Pflücker slipped into Göring’s cell,
checked his pulse while an American private looked on, and
talked for ten minutes. Göring was seen reading out some pa-
pers to the doctor in German, and the two men laughed. An
hour later the prison barber came, again escorted by a private.
At : .., prison trusty Otto Streng brought Göring a book
from the library With the Birds of Passage to Africa. Göring
also asked Streng to fetch some writing materials. At three-
thirty, while he was writing, a white-garbed kitchen attendant
came in with a mug of tea.
What was he writing? Among the letters found in the cell
afterward was one undated item that appears to fit the bill:
I find it tasteless in the extreme to stage our deaths
as a show for sensation-hungry reporters, photogra-
phers, and the curious. This grand finale is typical of
the abysmal depths plumbed by court and prosecu-
tion. Pure theater, from start to finish! All rotten
comedy!
I understand perfectly well that our enemies want
to get rid of us whether out of fear or hatred. But it
would serve their reputation better to do the deed in
a soldierly manner.
I myself shall be dying without all this sensation
and publicity.
Let me stress once more that I feel not the slightest
moral or other obligation to submit to a death sen-
tence or execution by my enemies and those of Ger-
many.
I proceed to the hereafter with joy, and regard
death as a release.
I shall hope for my God’s mercy! I deeply regret
that I cannot help my comrades (particularly Field
Marshal Keitel and Colonel General Jodl) to escape