Introduction
In the summer of 1936 Bill Daniel, a young medical student worked his way to Germany on a steamship with his friend Sherman Egan. Bill kept a journal of hist experiences on this trip and a number of years later (I have not, unfortunately, been able to find out how many years) also wrote a summary of his experiences in Germany 1936. That's where it gets interesting. Bill Daniel was my grandfather and my grandmother has lent me a transcript of the original journal as well as the summary written a number of years later. The two documents simply do not agree. Below you'll find two different accounts of the same event, judge for yourself which came first and click below to find out the answer!
Seeing Hitler
One day in Berlin, a crowd was gathering at a street corner and we could see no reason for it. When we asked why people were standing there we were told “The Fuhrer is coming.” So, we stayed and finally a long, black Mercedes sped by. Then they, and we, all ran toward the plaza in front of the Chancellery. Soon the plaza was so filled with people it was impossible to move. They began chanting “Wir wollen unswer Fuhrer sehen!” over and over and louder and louder. That means, “we want to see our leader.” After about half an hour, the doors behind a small balcony opened and Hitler stepped out giving the Nazi salute. Immediately the crowd started shouting “Zeig Heil! Zeig Heil!” and Hitler would turn from one side to another and give the outstretched arm salute. He was then joined by Goebbels, Goehring, Hess, and others. The crowd went wild. After about five minutes, Hitler gave the salute again, everyone responded, then he and the others went back into the building. It was a great demonstration of mass hysteria, and we remarked that it wouldn't take much to start a mob doing whatever Hitler might ask it. Dangerous.
Seeing Hitler
To change from the past to the present is easily accomplished when hundreds of people are chattering and waiting for--Adolf Hitler! About seven o'clock we were informed that der Fuhrer was going to pass down a part of Unter den Linden on his way home. So we unloaded our cameras and made ready for der Fuhrer. In a few minutes his big car rolled toward us, but then turned and took him home. Immediately everyone ran toward his house and stood in front of a small balcony. The street was clogged with adoring Germans and probaby plenty of curious foreigners too. The crowd immediately set up the cry “Wir wollen unser Fuhrer sehen!”--and kept it up. About ten or fifteen minutes later, der Fuhrer came out on his balcony, and the hands flew up in a Nazi salute. For about five minutes, Hitler stood there, moving here and there, giving salutes which were answered by “Heil!”