since the dispute over his claims regarding the new house, he had wanted to see neither his mother nor most of the rest of the family except for his father and Maria. In 1950 Maria recalled the situation:
Here in Berlin I was taken into a large room once, where my son Georg was sitting at a long table. I was seated across from him and asked whether this was my son Georg and whether I believed that he had carried out the attack. Here, too, I expressed my conviction that I didnât believe Georg had done such a thing. I didnât speak with Georg himself because I didnât know whether I was allowed to speak with him or not; thatâs why I didnât dare say anything to him. During this meeting in Berlin, Georg looked good; I didnât notice that he showed any signs of physical mistreatment. Georg cried when I was brought in, but he didnât speak to me.
Vienna Gestapo chief Huber was present at the meeting, which took place in the conference room at Reich Security Headquarters. For propaganda purposes, Huber was supposed to interrogate Elser once more, in the presence of his mother. A film camera for the weekly news had been set up out of sight. Elserâs confession was to be shown at movie theaters. But the assassin was âin an obstinate period,â as Huber expressed it, and would not answer at all or only reluctantly. Elser saw through the ruse and didnât want to be turned into a monkey in some Gestapo zoo.
Maria Hirth, who was at first interrogated by Gestapo Müller, learned from her brother the true story of the attempt; unfortunately, her voice was soon lost in a sea of rumors. She later reported:
In Berlin I was also interrogated in the presence of my brother. My brother also had to describe the attack in my presence; he said that he had done the attack alone. I canât remember the details anymore, but I am completely convinced that he executed it alone. At this hearing, my brother still looked good. When I was later taken to see him two or three times, his head had been shaved and his face was completely swollen. Whether his face was swollen because of beatings, I canât say. During the hearing my brother told how he had worked at night in the Bürgerbräukeller and had taken out the debris in a carpet. And in fact, this carpet was among the things that he had sent us from Munich. And so then he said he built a clock into the hole that he had hollowed out. After the meeting with my brother I had a nervous breakdown, and I still have problems because of it.
At the meeting with his brother-in-law Karl Hirth, Elser told the same story. In the words of Hirth: âHis face was swollen and one eye had a bruise under it. I assume that this disfiguring was caused by beat-ings.â According to Hirth, Elser said he had carried out the attempt alone and had told no one about it. Another confrontation in the presence of Himmler produced nothing new. Afterward, Karl Hirth was of the opinion that Georg Elser was solely responsible for the attack.
Finally Elserâs girlfriend Elsa Härlen, who had been so harshly interrogated that she collapsed, sat before the wreck of a man created by Gestapo terror. This was the worst of the meetings; there is hardly a more chilling description to come out of Gestapo headquarters in Berlin. If Elsa Härlen remembered correctly in 1950, the version she got to hear was the version that suited the Nazis the best and one given by Elser only for a brief period and only after extreme violence had been used.
He was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, and I would definitely not have recognized him as my fo[rmer] fiancé in the condition he was in. His face was swollen and beaten black and blue. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and I was horrified by his appearance. And his feet were swollen, and I believe the only reason he was sitting on the chair was that he was no longer able to stand. In each corner of the room
Here in Berlin I was taken into a large room once, where my son Georg was sitting at a long table. I was seated across from him and asked whether this was my son Georg and whether I believed that he had carried out the attack. Here, too, I expressed my conviction that I didnât believe Georg had done such a thing. I didnât speak with Georg himself because I didnât know whether I was allowed to speak with him or not; thatâs why I didnât dare say anything to him. During this meeting in Berlin, Georg looked good; I didnât notice that he showed any signs of physical mistreatment. Georg cried when I was brought in, but he didnât speak to me.
Vienna Gestapo chief Huber was present at the meeting, which took place in the conference room at Reich Security Headquarters. For propaganda purposes, Huber was supposed to interrogate Elser once more, in the presence of his mother. A film camera for the weekly news had been set up out of sight. Elserâs confession was to be shown at movie theaters. But the assassin was âin an obstinate period,â as Huber expressed it, and would not answer at all or only reluctantly. Elser saw through the ruse and didnât want to be turned into a monkey in some Gestapo zoo.
Maria Hirth, who was at first interrogated by Gestapo Müller, learned from her brother the true story of the attempt; unfortunately, her voice was soon lost in a sea of rumors. She later reported:
In Berlin I was also interrogated in the presence of my brother. My brother also had to describe the attack in my presence; he said that he had done the attack alone. I canât remember the details anymore, but I am completely convinced that he executed it alone. At this hearing, my brother still looked good. When I was later taken to see him two or three times, his head had been shaved and his face was completely swollen. Whether his face was swollen because of beatings, I canât say. During the hearing my brother told how he had worked at night in the Bürgerbräukeller and had taken out the debris in a carpet. And in fact, this carpet was among the things that he had sent us from Munich. And so then he said he built a clock into the hole that he had hollowed out. After the meeting with my brother I had a nervous breakdown, and I still have problems because of it.
At the meeting with his brother-in-law Karl Hirth, Elser told the same story. In the words of Hirth: âHis face was swollen and one eye had a bruise under it. I assume that this disfiguring was caused by beat-ings.â According to Hirth, Elser said he had carried out the attempt alone and had told no one about it. Another confrontation in the presence of Himmler produced nothing new. Afterward, Karl Hirth was of the opinion that Georg Elser was solely responsible for the attack.
Finally Elserâs girlfriend Elsa Härlen, who had been so harshly interrogated that she collapsed, sat before the wreck of a man created by Gestapo terror. This was the worst of the meetings; there is hardly a more chilling description to come out of Gestapo headquarters in Berlin. If Elsa Härlen remembered correctly in 1950, the version she got to hear was the version that suited the Nazis the best and one given by Elser only for a brief period and only after extreme violence had been used.
He was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, and I would definitely not have recognized him as my fo[rmer] fiancé in the condition he was in. His face was swollen and beaten black and blue. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and I was horrified by his appearance. And his feet were swollen, and I believe the only reason he was sitting on the chair was that he was no longer able to stand. In each corner of the room
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