European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 06, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                One of the last photos of nazi dictator Adolf Hitler right with his is adjutant Julius Schau taken amid the ruins of the bombed out Reich chancellors in Berlin in the Spring of 1945. The final inferno nazi death rattle in battered Berlin file photo a Soldier looks Over the debris in the room in the underground Bunker in Berlin where Hitler committed suicide on april 30,1945. By Don Tate staff writer suddenly that Spring the maddest bloodiest race in human history was in the thudding stretch run. Monty on last Lap 120,000 troops racing for Berlin said a headline. Patton s tanks in spectacular dash. Two russian spearheads within eight Miles of Berlin and then 45 years ago this week there it was the last two Miles Berlin Battles to the death with red army. It was a Long time coming. Before those last two Miles the demonic political Genius Adolf Hitler had seen his triumphant wehrmacht humiliate the French in just five weeks Chase the British into the sea at Dunkirk and conquer More of Europe than Napoleon did. And then the fascist dictator paused at the English Channel to Ponder what prize he should take next. And began to make one bad military bet after another. Convinced that he was also Thor s gift to the Art of War the Fuhrer s inspiration led him on june 22, 1941, to tempt Fate the Way Napoleon had opening up an enormous second front in the vast bitter spaces of the soviet Union a Power he scoffed at As a puffy paper Bear to be ripped and trashed in six weeks. Betting on his own Day by Day intuition Hitler profoundly disagreed with his generals in the russian Campaign not letting them first strike boldly for Moscow the political Center of both the soviet Union and communism. Instead he chose to run his armies on other no win tracks with no better Luck than Napoleon. Later in june of 1944, there was the fihrer refusing to commit his powerful Panzer reserves to Stop the Allied landings at Normandy. He chuckled in a Carefree manner one of his generals recalled As if this was the Opportunity he had been waiting for. To Settle accounts with his  with wave upon wave of Allied troops cascading onto Normandy shores weeks later Hitler still insisted that the real invasion would hit Calais. That was Adolf Hitler master of political plotting and magnetizing the masses but a Shell that misfired when it came to mane vering armies. Some of his Best commanders soon concluded that the War was going to be lost. And soon those heroic names from the conquering years began getting lost themselves dead discredited fired or forced into retirement by the supreme Leader s penchant for finding scapegoats to explain defeats largely brought on by his own ouija Board strategy. Even Erwin Rommel the old desert Fox the Fuhrer s favorite general and the favorite of All germans would be forced to suicide by the Fuhrer. William l. Shirer in the Rise and fall of the third Reich relates some of Rommel s last words on continued on Page 14 sunday May 6, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 13