The valet had been personal valet to Krupp for 20
years, and traveled all over the world with him. He described his
master as a very active man, physically and mentally, extremely
punctilious in all personal details. He took a great interest in his
clothes, and was very observant of any slight defect. In his personal
habits he was abstemious, never taking alcohol, and was also a
non-smoker. Although a very excellent sportsman and physically
capable of considerable feats of endurance when hunting, playing
tennis or climbing, he never overdid things and took care of himself
without in any way being overanxious about his health. The valet
first began to notice serious changes in the patient's personal
habits two years ago, although in the valet's opinion, he had been
failing slightly for about four to five years. The degree of change,
however, prior to two years ago, was so slight and his master was in
his opinion such a "superman", that the changes would not
have been apparent to the casual observer. Two years ago he began to
lose interest in the details of his personal clothing and to become
careless with his table manners. For instance, when soup was served
to him one day, he took his soup-spoon and used it to take water from
his wine-glass. Latterly, he would sit at table and ask who was
present, although the only people in the room were intimate members
of his family. He would complain that the telephone bell was ringing,
and of people speaking to him; these hallucinations became more
frequent during the latter part of 1944. The valet was employed as
caretaker of the main house by the American Military Government after
the cessation of hostilities in Europe, and did not see his employer
regularly after June 1945. On August 7, 1945, the occasion of Gustav
Krupp von Bohlen's birthday, he called to pay his respects, and for
the first time he was not recognized, and his master showed no
appreciation of his presence or his conversation.
2. General Appearance:
The patient was lying rigidly in bed in a
Parkinsonian position with fine tremors of the jaw and hands. The
skin was atrophic and dry, and there was pigmentation of the dorsum
of the hands. The temporal arteries were prominent and tortuous. The
face was masklike, with dilated venules over the cheeks. There was
evidence of considerable wasting of the body tissues, especially in
the extremities, which also showed evidence of trophic and
acrocyanotic changes.
3. Neuropsychiatric Examination:
The patient lay in bed with a masklike
face and in a fixed position on his back. The legs