Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - In the Europe of Total War
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misfortune, and from there I was supposed to
continue with the Madrid—Berlin plane. The airfield,
which was well outside the city, and which was then
undamaged, had been requisitioned by the military
authorities, and while waiting for the Berlin plane,
I could follow the manoeuvres of the Luftwaffe.
It was a long wait. Hour after hour passed. One
of the officials asked me to lunch with him in his
office. It proved that a relative of his had been
repatriated via Gothenburg some weeks before, and
perhaps this was the reason he was so extraordinarily
kind to me. It also developed that he was a
representative of the Gestapo in that particular area, but only
later did I discover this.
We finished our lunch. Still no plane was in sight.
I prepared to go to Stuttgart to try to get a hotel
room, When the commandant suddenly came to inform
me that the plane was approaching. They were going
to try to reach Berlin the same day, although weather
predictions were not very favorable.
It was not exactly a pleasant trip. At that time,
blind flying technique had not advanced to the extent
it has today. The closer we came to Berlin, the lower
the ceiling became, thus lessening our chances of
landing at Tempelhof.
We flew in over Berlin’s suburbs while a German
bombing squadron passed by, heading west to perform
its nightly mission. Some minutes afterwards, we
circled over Tempelhof. To fly through the layer of
clouds was like diving into a thick porridge. Next to
me was a young German pilot, and when I asked him
his opinion about landing prospects, he shook his head
doubtfully. We circled time after time, until suddenly,
47
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