EXPRES ZAGŁĘBIA, newspaper, Sosnowiec, Wednesday 8 August 1934. No. 215

"The only democratic and independent organ of Kielce Province".

Hindenburg's Body Laid to Rest in the "Tower of Leaders" in Tannenberg Fields.

OlLSZTYNEK, 87 (from a special correspondent of PAT – the Polish Telegraphic Agency).
"Special trains kept on arriving continually at the Olsztynek station, delivering participants of the funeral ceremony. It is counted that 200 thousand people came. The roads in the area were packed with cars and carts of inhabitants of nearby settlements, going to Tannenberg. The coffin with the body of the Late President arrived at the site of the ceremony at 5:30 in the morning.

Funeral Service at Neudeck.
Yesterday, at 9 p.m. a religious service with the participation of the closest family of the deceased was held in the castle hall where the coffin with the body of the Dead President of the Reich rested on a catafalque. All the lights, save flaming torches, were turned off. After the service, the sounds of the funeral march sounded. Soldiers from regiments which had fought in the Tannenberg Battle, who were now keeping honorary guard at the Late Marshal's coffin, presented arms. The coffin was taken away from the Castle hall and placed in front of the portal. After a colour party, the remains of the Late President of the Reich were placed on a gun-carriage pulled by 6 black horses. The Flag of the Reich covered the coffin. The late marshal's sabre and mace lay on the Flag. The funeral procession set off from Neudeck to Olsztynek.

At The Tower of the Leaders
The coffin with the body of the Reich President was temporarily placed in the so called "tower of the leaders", from where it was moved to a catafalque next to a cross amidst a huge courtyard. After that, the coffin was taken to the "tower of the banners". Enormous crowds gathered around the monument. Units of Storm-troopers, forming rank and file, kept guard. Delegations with banners paraded in front of the coffin. There were swarms of different types of uniforms at the site. You could see the uniforms of the Reichwher next to those of the raiders and different party organisations. Uniforms from the time of the empire, which appeared next to new ones, drew much attention; pikelhaubs shined next to the caps of the raiders. The huge, octagonal solid form of the monument dominated over the masses packed in there. Smoke from cauldrons with boiling tar billowed above the 8 large towers. Enormous black banners hung down from the tops of the turrets to the ground. The seats for honorary guests, reserved in the courtyard along the wall, were occupied from the early morning. Several hundred correspondents from big European, American and even Japanese newspapers arrived at Tannenberg. The telephone booths in Olsztynek were busy in a way that was unique for this quiet town. Correspondents were sending early news about the funeral ceremony. While some of the foreign newspapers even sent several correspondents and photographers.

Hitler's speech.
After Pastor Dorhmann's sermon, Chancellor Hitler delivered his speech over the coffin. He outlined Field Marshall Hindenburg's character in brief using strong words. Speaking about the Battle of Tannenberg he mentioned the tragic finale of the war for Germany. 'Hindenburg,' said the Chancellor, made the crime against our homeland milder and bearable. A leader has withdrawn from our ranks,' he continued, 'whose name has been inscribed eternally in the annals of history. It was the last triumph of our old army, and the German nation could not have found a better representative in 1925 than this patriarchal soldier and general-field marshal of the First World War. It was also some mysterious governance of Providence that during the presidential term of this first soldier and the luminary of our German nation, the feat of the consolidation of Germany took place. Field Marshal Hindenburg as President of the Reich was a defender of the national-socialist revolution and, thanks to this, he facilitated the renaissance of our nation. Twenty years ago, Chancellor Hitler carried on, voices proclaiming the fame of the name of Hindenburg reverberated here for the first time. Today, with the same bells tolling, we lead the late, grey-haired Marshal to the grand battle field where he has won a victory, unique of its kind. The German nation is going to pay visits to its hero continually to derive new energy for living in critical times. When the last trace of suffering disappears, his name will still remain immortal. Our late Leader, enter Valhalla!' After Chancellor Hitler's address, the orchestra played an old soldier’s song. Colonel Hindenburg, the late President's son, took part in the funeral ceremony too, along with the Ministers of the Reich, Reichstag members, and the veterans of the world war with the banners of the 8 regiments which had taken part in the Battle of Tannenberg, as well as more than 200 thousand people from all over Germany".