In The Garden Of Beasts Part 26

Chapter 26: The Little Press Ball.

1 "It is always easier to pump a man": Schultz, "Winter of 19331934," 4, Personal Writings, Box 29, Schultz Papers. "It is always easier to pump a man": Schultz, "Winter of 19331934," 4, Personal Writings, Box 29, Schultz Papers.

2 "painfully crowded": Schultz, "1934," 2, Personal Writings, Box 34, Schultz Papers. "painfully crowded": Schultz, "1934," 2, Personal Writings, Box 34, Schultz Papers.

3 "without any display of orders": Fromm, 137. "without any display of orders": Fromm, 137.

4 "Gravedigger of the Weimar Republic": Ibid., 321. "Gravedigger of the Weimar Republic": Ibid., 321.

5 "I have Hindenburg's confidence": Gellately, "I have Hindenburg's confidence": Gellately, Gestapo Gestapo, 1.

6 "Not until they had riveted": Wheeler-Bennett, "Not until they had riveted": Wheeler-Bennett, Nemesis Nemesis, 293.

7 "When he arrived he was as suave": Schultz, "1934," 3, Personal Writings, Box 34, Schultz Papers. "When he arrived he was as suave": Schultz, "1934," 3, Personal Writings, Box 34, Schultz Papers.

At diplomatic functions, Papen would often sidle up to George Messersmith's wife and try to pry from her bits and pieces of intelligence about political matters, such as American att.i.tudes toward Germany. She learned to parry these probes by talking about her pastime of collecting porcelain. Papen "never made any progress," Messersmith wrote, "because she always returned to porcelain." Messersmith, "Conversations with Von Papen in Vienna," unpublished memoir, 7, Messersmith Papers.

8 "The louder the motor": Fromm, 136. "The louder the motor": Fromm, 136.

9 "Why should "Why should you you worry?": Ibid., 13637. worry?": Ibid., 13637.

10 Goring had claimed: Messersmith, "When I arrived in Berlin...," unpublished memoir, 7, Messersmith Papers. Goring had claimed: Messersmith, "When I arrived in Berlin...," unpublished memoir, 7, Messersmith Papers.

11 "sit and calmly tell you": Messersmith to William Phillips, Sept. 29, 1933, (p. 6; see also, pp. 45), Messersmith Papers. "sit and calmly tell you": Messersmith to William Phillips, Sept. 29, 1933, (p. 6; see also, pp. 45), Messersmith Papers.

12 "I can tell you that": Schultz, "Winter of 19331934," 7, Personal Writings, Box 29, Schultz Papers; Schultz, "1934," 4, Personal Writings, Box 34, Schultz Papers. "I can tell you that": Schultz, "Winter of 19331934," 7, Personal Writings, Box 29, Schultz Papers; Schultz, "1934," 4, Personal Writings, Box 34, Schultz Papers.

13 "brutal and ruthless": Fromm, 137, 304. "brutal and ruthless": Fromm, 137, 304.

14 Rumors of suicides were common: Goeschel, 100. Rumors of suicides were common: Goeschel, 100.

15 "I can't live any more": Fromm, 138. "I can't live any more": Fromm, 138.

16 "We all had a really good time": Louis Lochner to Betty Lochner, Dec. 26, 1933, Round Robin Letters, Box 6, Lochner Papers. "We all had a really good time": Louis Lochner to Betty Lochner, Dec. 26, 1933, Round Robin Letters, Box 6, Lochner Papers.

17 "The dinner was a bore": Dodd, "The dinner was a bore": Dodd, Diary Diary, 59.

18 "From that day on": Schultz, "Winter of 19331934," 7, Personal Writings, Box 29, Schultz Papers. "From that day on": Schultz, "Winter of 19331934," 7, Personal Writings, Box 29, Schultz Papers.

19 "Bellachen, we are all so shocked": Fromm, 13839. "Bellachen, we are all so shocked": Fromm, 13839.

Chapter 27: O Tannenbaum.

1 "Berlin is a skeleton": Isherwood, "Berlin is a skeleton": Isherwood, Berlin Stories Berlin Stories, 186.

2 The SA monopolized the sale of Christmas trees: Gilbert L. MacMaster to Clarence E. Pickett, Feb. 12, 1934, vol. 2, p. 49, The SA monopolized the sale of Christmas trees: Gilbert L. MacMaster to Clarence E. Pickett, Feb. 12, 1934, vol. 2, p. 49, Archives of the Holocaust Archives of the Holocaust.

3 "persons who had a grudge against him": Details on the Wollstein incident can be found in Raymond H. Geist to Hull, Dec. 15, 1933, GRC 362.1121 Wollstein, Erwin/1, State/Decimal. "persons who had a grudge against him": Details on the Wollstein incident can be found in Raymond H. Geist to Hull, Dec. 15, 1933, GRC 362.1121 Wollstein, Erwin/1, State/Decimal.

4 Martha a.s.signed herself the task: Martha describes this tree-tr.i.m.m.i.n.g episode in her unpublished memoir, "Bright Journey into Darkness," 1417, Box 14, Martha Dodd Papers. Martha a.s.signed herself the task: Martha describes this tree-tr.i.m.m.i.n.g episode in her unpublished memoir, "Bright Journey into Darkness," 1417, Box 14, Martha Dodd Papers.

5 "Have you lost even your literary interest": Martha to Thornton Wilder, Dec. 14, 1933, Wilder Papers. "Have you lost even your literary interest": Martha to Thornton Wilder, Dec. 14, 1933, Wilder Papers.

6 "On one occasion the hilarity was so great": Wilbur Carr took careful notes on his conversation with Raymond Geist, and reported them in a "Strictly Confidential" memorandum dated June 5, 1935, Box 12, Carr Papers. "On one occasion the hilarity was so great": Wilbur Carr took careful notes on his conversation with Raymond Geist, and reported them in a "Strictly Confidential" memorandum dated June 5, 1935, Box 12, Carr Papers.

7 "There appears to be a spare typewriter": John Campbell White to Jay Pierrepont Moffat, Nov. 17, 1933, White Papers. "There appears to be a spare typewriter": John Campbell White to Jay Pierrepont Moffat, Nov. 17, 1933, White Papers.

8 "a curious individual": Jay Pierrepont Moffat to John Campbell White, March 31, 1934, White Papers. "a curious individual": Jay Pierrepont Moffat to John Campbell White, March 31, 1934, White Papers.

9 "Permanent retirement from the post": Dodd to William Phillips, Dec. 4, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers. "Permanent retirement from the post": Dodd to William Phillips, Dec. 4, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers.

10 "I cannot imagine who gave the "I cannot imagine who gave the Tribune": Tribune": William Phillips to Dodd, Dec. 22, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers. William Phillips to Dodd, Dec. 22, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers.

11 "an inside glimpse of conditions": Phillips, Diary, Dec. 20, 1933. "an inside glimpse of conditions": Phillips, Diary, Dec. 20, 1933.

12 "We went over it from all angles": Moffat, Diary, Dec. 14, 1933. "We went over it from all angles": Moffat, Diary, Dec. 14, 1933.

13 "much concerned at letters": Moffat, Diary, Feb. 13, 1934. "much concerned at letters": Moffat, Diary, Feb. 13, 1934.

14 "Our mutual friend G.S.M.": George Gordon to Dodd, Jan. 22, 1934, Box 44, W. E. Dodd Papers. "Our mutual friend G.S.M.": George Gordon to Dodd, Jan. 22, 1934, Box 44, W. E. Dodd Papers.

15 Lochner told Dodd: Details of Lochner's plot to save Dimitrov come from Metcalfe, 23234; Dodd, Lochner told Dodd: Details of Lochner's plot to save Dimitrov come from Metcalfe, 23234; Dodd, Diary Diary, 6566; Conradi, 13638.

16 "high treason, insurrectionary arson": Tobias, 268. "high treason, insurrectionary arson": Tobias, 268.

17 "We were sitting together drinking our coffee": Lochner, Dec. 26, 1933, Round Robin Letters, Box 6, Lochner Papers. "We were sitting together drinking our coffee": Lochner, Dec. 26, 1933, Round Robin Letters, Box 6, Lochner Papers.

18 Diels's precise motives cannot be known: Wheaton, 430. Though he found the camps repellent, Diels was not being entirely altruistic. He recognized that an amnesty would have great political value, burnis.h.i.+ng Hitler's image both inside and outside Germany. But clearly he also knew that an amnesty would be an affront to Himmler, whose SS ran the camps, and that on that score alone the idea would appeal to Goring. Hitler and Goring approved the idea, but insisted that Dachau be exempted, and limited the number of prisoners to be included. They gave Diels authority to decide who would be freed. Goring announced the decree, and said that a total of five thousand prisoners would be released. In fact, the amnesty was not so wide-ranging as Goring's announcement suggested. A number of camps outside Prussia also were exempted, and the overall total of prisoners released was lower than what Goring had promised. Moreover, plans existed to expand the capacity of the camps in Prussia alone by as many as eight thousand additional prisoners. Crankshaw, 4547; Wheaton, 42930. Diels's precise motives cannot be known: Wheaton, 430. Though he found the camps repellent, Diels was not being entirely altruistic. He recognized that an amnesty would have great political value, burnis.h.i.+ng Hitler's image both inside and outside Germany. But clearly he also knew that an amnesty would be an affront to Himmler, whose SS ran the camps, and that on that score alone the idea would appeal to Goring. Hitler and Goring approved the idea, but insisted that Dachau be exempted, and limited the number of prisoners to be included. They gave Diels authority to decide who would be freed. Goring announced the decree, and said that a total of five thousand prisoners would be released. In fact, the amnesty was not so wide-ranging as Goring's announcement suggested. A number of camps outside Prussia also were exempted, and the overall total of prisoners released was lower than what Goring had promised. Moreover, plans existed to expand the capacity of the camps in Prussia alone by as many as eight thousand additional prisoners. Crankshaw, 4547; Wheaton, 42930.

19 "The Secret Police Chief did": Dodd, "The Secret Police Chief did": Dodd, Diary Diary, 67.

20 "One might think," he wrote: Ibid., 66. "One might think," he wrote: Ibid., 66.

PART V: DISQUIET.

Chapter 28: January 1934.

1 "Thank you for telling me": Tobias, 284. "Thank you for telling me": Tobias, 284.

2 "Herr Hitler seemed to feel a genuine sympathy": Phipps, 40. "Herr Hitler seemed to feel a genuine sympathy": Phipps, 40.

3 "Hitler is improving definitely": Martha to Thornton Wilder, Dec. 14, 1933, Wilder Papers. "Hitler is improving definitely": Martha to Thornton Wilder, Dec. 14, 1933, Wilder Papers.

4 The official tally of unemployed workers: Fritzsche, 57; Miller, 6667, 136. The official tally of unemployed workers: Fritzsche, 57; Miller, 6667, 136.

5 Within the Reich Ministry of the Interior: Krausnick et al., 419. Within the Reich Ministry of the Interior: Krausnick et al., 419.

One more sign of normalcy was the way the government dealt with an attack against an American that occurred on Jan. 15, 1934. On that cold, rain-soaked Monday a U.S. citizen named Max Schussler, working in Berlin as a landlord, stumbled into the consulate on Bellevuestra.s.se "bleeding profusely," according to an account by Raymond Geist, who was serving as acting consul general while Messersmith was in America. Schussler was Jewish. The next morning, after consultation with Dodd, Geist went to Gestapo headquarters and lodged a protest directly with Rudolf Diels. Within forty-eight hours the a.s.sailant was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to seven months in prison. What's more, news of the arrest and punishment received broad play over radio and in newspapers. Geist reported to Was.h.i.+ngton, "It is very gratifying to see how promptly the German authorities acted.... I believe that these attacks will now definitely cease." He was wrong, as time would show, but for the moment at least there seemed to be a new effort by the government to win America's goodwill.

There was an unwholesome element to Geist's final conversation with Diels. The Gestapo chief complained that Schussler and certain other abused Americans were "not altogether a desirable lot," as Geist recalled Diels's remarks. The innuendo was clear, and Geist's temper spiked. "I told him," he wrote, "that we would never consider any other fact than that a man was an American citizen, and that the question of race or origin was entirely beside the point, and that any American citizen was ent.i.tled to the full protection of the American Government." Geist to Hull, Jan. 16, 1934, FP 362.1113 Schussler, Max/1, State/Decimal; Geist to Hull, Jan. 18, 1934, 362.1113 Schussler, Max/8 GC, State/Decimal.

6 "More atrocity reports": Gilbert L. MacMaster to Clarence E. Pickett, Feb. 12, 1934, vol. 2, pp. 5859, "More atrocity reports": Gilbert L. MacMaster to Clarence E. Pickett, Feb. 12, 1934, vol. 2, pp. 5859, Archives of the Holocaust Archives of the Holocaust.

Deschner, in his biography of Reinhard Heydrich, writes that in these early days, "Jews were not imprisoned in Dachau by virture of their being Jews but because of their having been politically active opponents of National Socialism, or communists, or journalists hostile to NS or 'reactionaries.'" Deschner, 79.

7 "Tolerance means weakness": Noakes and Pridham, 28486. "Tolerance means weakness": Noakes and Pridham, 28486.

8 "Any pity whatsoever for 'enemies of the State'": Krausnick et al., 433. "Any pity whatsoever for 'enemies of the State'": Krausnick et al., 433.

9 "Outwardly Berlin presented": Memorandum, David Schweitzer to Bernhard Kahn, March 5, 1934, vol. 10, pp. 2030, "Outwardly Berlin presented": Memorandum, David Schweitzer to Bernhard Kahn, March 5, 1934, vol. 10, pp. 2030, Archives of the Holocaust Archives of the Holocaust.

10 Some ten thousand Jews: Dippel, 114; Breitman and Kraut, 25. Some ten thousand Jews: Dippel, 114; Breitman and Kraut, 25.

11 "Before the end of 1933": Testimony of Raymond Geist, n.a.z.i Conspiracy and Aggression, vol. 4, Doc.u.ment No. 1759-PS, Avalon Project, Yale University Law School. "Before the end of 1933": Testimony of Raymond Geist, n.a.z.i Conspiracy and Aggression, vol. 4, Doc.u.ment No. 1759-PS, Avalon Project, Yale University Law School.

Germany's supposedly secret effort to rearm itself in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles was, to Berliners, no secret at all, as became evident in the rise of a popular joke. It went like this: A man complains to a friend that he doesn't have the money to buy a carriage for his new baby. The friend happens to work in a carriage factory and offers to sneak out enough parts to allow the new father to build one on his own. When the two men see each other again, the new father is still carrying his baby.

His friend the factory worker is perplexed, and asks the new father why he's not using his newly built baby carriage.

"Well, you see," the father replies, "I know I'm very dense and don't understand much about mechanics, but I've put that thing together three times and each time it turns out to be a machine gun!" Wheeler-Bennett, Nemesis Nemesis, 336.

12 "Any one motoring out in the country": John Campbell White to Jay Pierrepont Moffat, Nov. 27, 1933, Carr Papers. "Any one motoring out in the country": John Campbell White to Jay Pierrepont Moffat, Nov. 27, 1933, Carr Papers.

13 "You must know that I am grateful": Gallo, 78; Gisevius, 171. Gallo and Gisevius present two slightly different translations of Hitler's greeting. I chose Gallo's, but for no particular reason. "You must know that I am grateful": Gallo, 78; Gisevius, 171. Gallo and Gisevius present two slightly different translations of Hitler's greeting. I chose Gallo's, but for no particular reason.

14 Soon afterward, however, Hitler ordered: Diels, 38589; Diels, Affidavit, in Stackelberg and Winkle, 13334; Wheaton, 439; Metcalfe, 23536. Soon afterward, however, Hitler ordered: Diels, 38589; Diels, Affidavit, in Stackelberg and Winkle, 13334; Wheaton, 439; Metcalfe, 23536.

15 "I am confident," he wrote: Kershaw, "I am confident," he wrote: Kershaw, Myth Myth, 63.

16 Rohm, the Rohm, the Hausherr Hausherr, or host: Seating chart, Feb. 23, 1934, "Invitations," Box 1, Martha Dodd Papers.

Chapter 29: Sniping.

1 "to read a whole series of letters": Moffat, Diary, Dec. 26, 1933. "to read a whole series of letters": Moffat, Diary, Dec. 26, 1933.

2 the number of Jews on his staff: Dodd to William Phillips, Dec. 14, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers. Dodd wrote this letter longhand, and added a note at the top, "For you alone." the number of Jews on his staff: Dodd to William Phillips, Dec. 14, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers. Dodd wrote this letter longhand, and added a note at the top, "For you alone."

3 "righteous aloofness": Dodd to William Phillips, Dec. 14, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers. This letter, with the same date as the letter in the preceding citation, is nonetheless markedly different in content and form. It is typed, and marked "Personal and Confidential." "righteous aloofness": Dodd to William Phillips, Dec. 14, 1933, Box 42, W. E. Dodd Papers. This letter, with the same date as the letter in the preceding citation, is nonetheless markedly different in content and form. It is typed, and marked "Personal and Confidential."

4 "As usual," Moffat wrote: Moffat, Diary, Dec. 26, 1933. "As usual," Moffat wrote: Moffat, Diary, Dec. 26, 1933.

5 "I hope it will not be difficult for you": William Phillips to Dodd, Jan. 3, 1934, Box 45, W. E. Dodd Papers. "I hope it will not be difficult for you": William Phillips to Dodd, Jan. 3, 1934, Box 45, W. E. Dodd Papers.

6 "I confess I am at a loss": Ibid. "I confess I am at a loss": Ibid.

7 "would limit a little the favoritisms": Dodd to Roosevelt, Jan. 3, 1934, Box 45, W. E. Dodd Papers. "would limit a little the favoritisms": Dodd to Roosevelt, Jan. 3, 1934, Box 45, W. E. Dodd Papers.

Chapter 30: Premonition.

1 Early in January, Boris arranged a date: Once again I have relied heavily on Martha's unpublished recollections about Boris, "Bright Journey into Darkness." And once again, this memoir provides invaluable detail. When I say Boris smiled as he opened the door to his room at the emba.s.sy, it is because Martha says he smiled at that moment. Whether her recollections are truly accurate, who can say? But she was there, and I am more than happy to rely on her testimony. Box 14, Martha Dodd Papers. Early in January, Boris arranged a date: Once again I have relied heavily on Martha's unpublished recollections about Boris, "Bright Journey into Darkness." And once again, this memoir provides invaluable detail. When I say Boris smiled as he opened the door to his room at the emba.s.sy, it is because Martha says he smiled at that moment. Whether her recollections are truly accurate, who can say? But she was there, and I am more than happy to rely on her testimony. Box 14, Martha Dodd Papers.

2 if your goal was seduction: MacDonogh, 31. if your goal was seduction: MacDonogh, 31.

Chapter 31: Night Terrors.

1 "How is Uncle Adolf?": Memorandum, David Schweitzer to Bernhard Kahn, March 5, 1934, vol. 10, pp. 2030, "How is Uncle Adolf?": Memorandum, David Schweitzer to Bernhard Kahn, March 5, 1934, vol. 10, pp. 2030, Archives of the Holocaust Archives of the Holocaust. See also Grunberger, 27.

2 One German dreamed that an SA man: Peukert, 237. One German dreamed that an SA man: Peukert, 237.

3 "Here was an entire nation": Brysac, 186. "Here was an entire nation": Brysac, 186.

4 "constant fear of arrest": Johnson and Reuband, 288, 355, 360. "constant fear of arrest": Johnson and Reuband, 288, 355, 360.