Читать книгу What I Saw in Berlin and Other European Capitals During Wartime онлайн

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I tried to persuade her that this was also my opinion, and I got her to speak about the condition of the foreigners in Berlin. "I don't know about the others," she said, "but the French are having an awful time of it."

"Have they been put into Concentration Camp?" I asked.

"No; only the young fellows are detained, and they are, I believe, the most fortunate. A lot of French women and children are starving, as the fathers are refused work everywhere, and even the shopkeepers refuse to sell stuff to them."

I waited for her to write the letter to her son, and I left the little bit of France in German territory with a sense of distress. The last words of the old lady were, "Walk out quickly, if you please; and don't stop outside the door. A polizist is generally there, and if you are seen walking out of this place there will probably be trouble for you."

No polizist saw me leaving the presbytery; I walked down Iäger Strasse to the house of a well-known writer on military subjects, who holds a high position at the Embassy of a neutral Power in Berlin, and who was the only person who knew the reason of my visit. He was rather surprised at the way I managed to get on, and when I gave him my impressions he agreed on most points.