Letters from Nazi Germany 1933-1934

"These letters reflect the feelings and experiences of a 19-20 year old woman. It was not her first journey to Europe, but it was her first time living in Germany. The rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party to power in January, 1933 raised many questions for her, especially after the Night of the Long Knives, when Hitler eliminated Ernst Rohm of the Brownshirts, the Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher, and many of the SA. She knew many young men in the SA. As you will read in her letters, she thought Hitler was right to attack Rohm, but she also saw the horror of the killings, especially when the head of the student organization, whom she knew, was murdered and found in a ditch. She was also aware of the Dachau Concentration Camp, although its true horrors were not known until years later. She was angered when three of her favorite opera singers were removed from performing because they were Jewish. She witnessed Nazi marches, saw the Nazi flags on almost all buildings, heard some professors denigrate Americans, and commented on the increased militarization of the society. These events were a lot for a nineteen year old to absorb." --Introduction by Stephen Knight