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War Letters

I just today finished the book War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars. It's an outstanding collection of letters written during several of America's wars from the Civil War to Somalia. I highly recommend it. I got the CD audio version, with readings by a number of actors and other celebrities as Tom Brokaw, Edward Herrmann, Noah Wylie, and Giovanni Ribisi.

Several of the letters were especially poignant, and (at the risk of copyright infringement) I wanted to excerpt a few for you.

The first is "an Extraordinary Appeal from a Half-German Immigrant Who Wants to Join the War Effort", to President Roosevelt, asking to be allowed to serve in the American military after his first attempt to register for military service was denied on the grounds that his uncle had served as a corporal in the German Army during World War I. The explanatory note prefacing the letter explains that he was born in England, but moved to Germany in the 1930s, where his uncle helped him gain employment. He was later required to "acquire German citizenship or leave the country". He ended up in the United States, where, after war was declared, he appealed directly to President Roosevelt:

March 3rd. 1942.

His Excellency Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America.

The White House., Washington. D.C.

Dear Mr. President:

May I take the liberty of encroaching on your valuable time and that of your staff at the White House? Mindful of the critical days the nation is now passing through, I do so only because the prerogative of your high office alone can decide my difficult and singular situation.

Permit me to outline as briefly as possible the circumstances of my position, the solution of which I feel could so easily be achieved should you feel moved to give your kind intercession and decision.

I am the nephew [explanatory note of his family and circumstances; his father was German, his mother Irish; he a British citizen]...

All my relatives and friends soon will be marching for freedom and decency under the Stars and Stripes. For this reason, Mr. President, I am respectfully submitting this petition to you to enquire as to whether I may be allowed to join them in their struggle against tyranny and oppression?

At present this is denied me because when I fled the Reich in 1939 I was a British subject. I came to America with my Irish mother principally to rejoin my relatives here. At the same time I was offered a contract to write and lecture in the United States, the pressure of which did not allow me the time to apply for admission under the quota. I had therefore, to come as a visitor.

My mother, having been rendered stateless by the Austrian authorities, left me with no British kith or kin and all my relatives are Americans.

I have attempted to join the British forces, but my success as a lecturer made me probably one of the best attended political speakers, with police frequently having to control the crowds clamouring for admission in Boston, Chicago and other cities. This elicited from British officials the rather negative invitation to carry on...

As to my integrity, Mr. President, I can only say that it is a matter of record and it compares somewhat to the foresighted spirit with which you, by every ingenuity known to statecraft, wrested from the American Congress those weapons which are today the Nation's great defense in this crisis. I can also reflect that in a time of great complacency and ignorance I tried to do those things which as a Christian I knew to be right. As a fugitive from the Gestapo I warned France through the press that Hitler would invade her that year. The people of England I warned by the same means that the so-called "solution" of Munich was a myth that would bring terrible consequences. On my arrival in America I at once informed the press that Hitler would loose his Frankenstein on civilization that year. Although nobody paid any attention to what I said, I continued to lecture and write in America. Now the time for writing and talking has passed and I am mindful only of the great debt my mother and I owe to the United States. More than anything else I would like to see active combat as soon as possible and thereby be accepted by my friends and comrades as one of them in this great struggle for liberty.

Your favorable decision on my appeal alone would ensure that continued benevolent spirit on the part of the American people, which today I feel so much a part of ... May I therefore venture to hope, Mr. President, that in the turmoil of this vast conflict you will not be moved to reject my appeal for reasons which I am in no way responsible...

Permit me, Mr. President, to express my heartfelt good wishes for your future health and happiness, coupled with the hope that you may soon lead all men who believe in decency everywhere onward and upward to a glorious victory.

I am,
Very respectfully yours,

Patrick Hitler

(The letter was forwarded to FBI director Edgar Hoover, who investigated Hitler's past and any involvement in subversive activities. The FBI concluded that his request was sincere, and Adolf Hitler's nephew—with cameras flashing—was inducted into the U.S. Navy in March 1944. Although he was never in combat, Hitler served for two years as a seaman first class. After being honorably discharged in 1946, Hitler faded into obscurity.)

Cool letter. Cool story.

Posted by Ken S at August 12, 2006 08:38 PM | TrackBack (0) |