IMT01-T129
VolumeVolume I — Page 129
December 4th, whilst traveling to the hospital at Schwarzach-St. Veith, and asleep in the back of the car, the driver was compelled to swerve to avoid another vehicle, and to brake suddenly. Herr Krupp von Bohlen was thrown forward, and hit his forehead and the bridge of the nose against a metal rail behind the driver's seat. He did not lose consciousness, but his condition was such that he was detained in the hospital for approximately eight weeks. During his stay in the hospital, he recognized his wife, his relatives and the members of his staff, and spoke to them, albeit haltingly.
Since the accident mentioned above, the general condition of the patient has deteriorated rapidly. The members of his staff had increasing difficulty in understanding him. At first, with the aid of two people, he was able to walk a few steps; until two months ago he sat for short periods in a chair. The assistance of men-servants was necessary for this task. He has been incontinent of feces and urine since returning from the hospital in February 1945. Since this date he has only spoken an occasional single word, the words being simple ones and without any rational association, apart from sporadic expletives, such as "Ach, Gott" and "Donner Wetter", when disturbed. At times he has been exceedingly irritable and on occasions has had inexplicable bouts of weeping. During the past two months, he has become increasingly apathetic, and no longer recognized relatives or friends. Frau Von Bohlen thinks he may still recognize her as a familiar face, but he exhibits no emotional reaction to her presence. She thinks he realizes occasionally that strangers are in the room; e. g., members of the Allied services, and responds by being very tense.
Frl. Krone, secretary to the patient, stated that on returning to Blühbach in September 1944, after an absence since May 1944, she could no longer take down letters as dictated by Krupp von Bohlen. Normally he was a very punctilious man, and his diction and writing were correct and very precise. She stated that after September 1944 there were frequent interruptions in his flow of ideas, his syntax was faulty, and he occasionally did not appear to appreciate the meaning of certain words. She would get an idea of what he wanted to say, and then wrote the letter herself in accordance with what she understood to be his wishes. His hand-writing also became increasingly illegible, and he had difficulty in signing his name when giving power of attorney to his relatives in January 1945.
