Letter 26

26th April 1933 Berlin- Charlottenburg

Today I did a good 3 hours grind from 9 – 12 and then I went to Aschingers for lunch. Well, I hadn’t been there long when I suddenly thought that I would go a-quaking the way I said I couldn’t. I took Stadtbahn to Friedrichstrasse. Corder was there and I had a long conversation with him in which I said that I was wanting to send information home to a friend. The chances are small that my letters would get opened, but if they were to be, and I had been indiscreet then I rather gather that the wedding would have to be postponed until I had been let out of prison!!

Meanwhile I will send you points of view. That is to say, I’ll send you Frau Wolffberg’s – a Jew’s – opinions, and Tante Dorothee’ – a Nazi’s – opinions. Tante D. is a real Christian, one of the few practising Christians that I know. She cannot possibly know of any of the persecutions from German sources (foreign sources are lying sources according to her) or she would be the first to protest against them. I hope I shall have a good talk with her on Sunday, and with her daughter Renate.

Your press agency has been working really hard.?! Now, Max Loesch is an intelligent man, and I heard from him that he had been talking to an engineer – a certain Herr Lauts who had been two years employed in a Russian military aerodrome. At the end of two years he returned to Germany and immediately joined the Nazi S.S. army and he swore that he would give his life’s blood if necessary in the effort to eradicate Bolshevism. Now the point of that is, that of the 50 officers on the staff at the aerodrome, 42 were Jews, and he said that he could tell stories of the way they behaved that would appear unbelievable to a civilized mind. He judges the ordinary Russian to be a good hearted harmless person, but the Jews…….

The celebrations on Monday will be great and the Hitler flag will wave from many a window. Germans have been known to grouse over their having to march in processions and to have expressed a wish that they could go somewhere where the air was less stiff with distrust, fear and uncertainty. Again, people have wondered where the money will come from, when Germany is in such a terrible plight

Here’s a story said to have been told by Goebbels (he looks apparently extremely Hebraic) against himself. He was going to speak in Leipzig and arrived there very early and as he did not know the town he chartered a taxi and told the driver to show him the sights. “But” adds he, “I must be back in plenty of time.” “Ah!” says the driver, “You want to hear Goebbels speak. So do I. We’ll be back,” and he took him around and entertained him well. At the end of the drive the fare was 8 Marks and Goebbels gave the man 10 and told him he could keep the change. “Look here,” said the man, “you and I don’t want to go and hear Goebbels. It isn’t worth our while. After talking to so decent Jew as you, his point of view won’t really interest me.” A very free translation.