After his address I was removed for half an hour. Summoned back, a
verdict of "not guilty" was brought in. I was at last acquitted, and
could return to my lonely chamber not as a criminal, but as a
prisoner-of-war!

Leaving the court-room I was called back to shake hands with the judges,
who congratulated me with the acquittal. Thus the trial, which lasted
five days, came to an end. The clouds cleared up. The sun rose. It was
all brightness. I had passed unscathed through the ordeal, to indulge
that night in slumbers calm and sweet.

Just a few days before the trial commenced I was somewhat reassured and
encouraged to hope for the best. An unknown friend kindly dropped a
newspaper cutting, tied to a piece of stone, over the prison yard. This
press-cutting fell into my hands, and in it I saw that a large section
of the British public strongly disapproved of the action of the
Military Government _re_ late Commandant Scheepers, and that section and
people all over the continent and in the United States of America were
asking, "What about Kritzinger--will he too be shot?" I noticed also
that petitions on my behalf were being drawn up in England and
elsewhere, and signed extensively.

All the men and women who so petitioned His Majesty the King to spare my
life I thank most sincerely, for the interest shown in my case, and for
the efforts put forth to save my life. How much I owe such I do not
fully know; but I do appreciate the deed of kindness shown to me in the
darkest moments of my life. Such deeds are never forgotten. They
illuminate life's way with such splendour as fills the soul with
inexpressible gratitude.