V. SALDERN: When you see the troops against which we are supposed to fight—
KUHLE: The Americans above all, what splendid people!
V. SALDERN: Things look bad for us at home now. We have thirteen million foreigners in the REICH. That will lead to a lot of trouble.
Now they have cheated us. But I still can’t believe it yet. I’m still convinced that it will turn out differently. I still can’t think they can drive a people to destruction in such a short time.
KUHLE: What do you think is still there to help us and save us?
V. SALDERN: I can’t know! It’s damnable about the reprisal weapon too, because that wasn’t ready either.
KUHLE: I once said the FÜHRER had said that if the invasion came he would send the whole GAF into action at the place of the invasion, even if it meant having all forces in all the other theatres of war without air cover. That story was over as far as I was concerned. After I had seen one single German reconnaissance aircraft in the air between the 6th and the 16th, and apart from that, complete mastery of the air by the Americans. We can bring out whole armies, and they’ll smash them up completely with their air force within a week. Above all we have no petrol at all left. We can no longer move any numbers of troops by means requiring petrol; only by rail or marching on foot.
V. SALDERN: Well, once you’re convinced that it’s all up, that’s to say that the collapse will come sooner or later, you can only say that the sooner it happens, the better.
KUHLE: We haven’t one “General” who stands up for himself. The only one who does that is SIMON, otherwise not one. We have no other who risks anything. All those who risked anything have gone. Our conduct of the war suffers from the fact that none of them have any sense of responsibility any longer, and nobody wants to take any responsibility.
Do you think that anyone can prevent it? The few naval coastal batteries can be put out of action by a small “bedside-rug” of bombs, not even a carpet. They have such superiority of materials, they smash everything up! Do you know how they landed in FRANCE?
V. SALDERN: I saw it. Like a peace-time tomorrow.
KUHLE: There’s no longer any trace of leadership at all. Who’s actually running the show? RUNDSTADT or ROMMEL!
V. SALDERN: The moment the first paratroops landed, the damned business started. They split everything up and put in one odd “Bataillon” here, and a “Kompanie” there. I had not more than twenty men left in my “Regiment” afterwards. All the others I had were transport people, clerks, and depot “Bataillons”—what can you do with them! The NCOs are no good, and the officers are no good. It’s all damnable.
KUHLE: I have always been an optimist. I never believed that we should lose the war, but I’m convinced of it now. It’s only a matter of weeks.
If the front collapses, things will collapse at home too. They can do whatever they like at home, and nothing will be any help. The Americans will straighten things out nicely for themselves!
BORNHARD asked me this afternoon whether I had heard the rumour that General POPPE had been shot for treason.459
