%

Vienna, July 3 , 1936.

Dear Dunn:

Z wot© Mr* P h i l l i p s on June l a t h and June 26th, which l e t t e r s I am sure you have seen. You hay© a l s o , I am sure , seen ay s t r i c t l y eanfi dent l e i despatch No, 013 oa SoheohtHi visit*, which X hop* may have been found of i n t e r e s t an of some help in connection with the V i s i t whioh the German del ©{rati on i t making to Washington* ;.s I see from the press repor ts we get here tha t Mr* Ph i l l i p s i s going t o Hose, at l e a s t fo r • tU'je, I wrote to the Secretory on July 2nd suppleiaent-ing ay l e t t e r s of June l a t h and June 26th t o Up* Ph i l l ips* Although I am suie you wi l l see t h i s l e t t e r of June 2nd to the Seoretary in the usual course, I em enclosing for your convenience- a copy*

The press repor t* ebout the appointment of Mr# P h i l l i p s t o Horn a re not c l ea r , but I gather that i t la of a temporary natuie to clear up c e r t a i n important mat ters , and to do t h i s * no one i s be t t e r qualif ied* X suppose Mr. Ph i l l i p s himself wi l l not be adverse in the couise of time to another tour of duty i n the f i e l d , but i n t h a t case I th ink London or Paris would only be an inadequate jpaward fo r t h s extraordinary service he has rendered during h i s long career . But •what I hope most of a l l , is tha t i t w i l l f i t in with his i nc l i na t i on t o remain i s the Departisent, f o r I need not t e l l you What a tremendous comfort i t has boon t o so many to know t h a t he i s tnere with t h e Seore tery in these d i f f i c u l t times. My own fee l ing i s , as I think X have to ld you before, that at no tiiae s ince I hava been in t h e Service do I bel ieve that the Deportment orgs nidat ion has been stronger a l l along the Una*

James 6* Dunn, Esq., Department of s t a t e ,

Washington. D. 0«

/ ^

- 2 -

Entire ly as ide from ay friendly sent linen t s and affecfcioa f o r Mr* P h i l l i p s , I f ee l that he lies rendered extraordinary aervice t o our Government, end which has t o m unusual degree been unselfish and self* s a c r i f i c i n g .

I hear that Mr. Long hes been operated upon, end I wrote Ilia about e weeit ago, for h is experience has been very s i ia i lar to mine. An ulcer of the stomach can be devasta t ing, and there ere ce r t a in cases t h - t cannot be cure* except by an operation* His case was obviously one l i ke t h a t , as mine was. My own convalescence was drawn out much longer a f t^ r the operation in 1919, as I went back to m>rk too soon, and I think he should not make the mistaka of get t ing bac& in to harness too soon. The suf fer ing and the devastat ing af fec t* on the system of aa ulcer are very weakening on the whole system. This maK.es the operat ion, which i s i n i t s e l f se r ious , more dangerous end convalescence afterward slower and more d i f f i c u l t y I am sorry that LIT. Long, according to tha prase repor ta , hes found i t necessary to r e s ign , bu t I am hoping t h a t he wi l l l a t e r find i t poss ib le to return to the Service , for which he has shown audi unusual f i t n e s s .

a I have covered the s i t ua t i on tie re i n the despatches which go forward by t h i s pouch and l a the accompanying l e t t e r t o tha Secretary , I wi l l only add sorae fur ther comment which you may find I n t e r e s t i n g .

The Heidelberg ce lebra t ion seems to have been a good deal of a f i z z l e . I am sending you herewith the cl ipping fjtaxa the London TILES of June 29th from t h e i r

s p a t i a l correspondent who went t h e r e , which i s very in t e re s t ing and which you wi l l f ind worth reading. There appeared in a l l of the leading Vienna newspapers a lao a despatch, and I am sending you herewith oai a f the c l ipp ings , with a t r a n s l a t i o n . All the p p o r t s indicate that the Hector of tha University appeared in h i s S . iu uniform, which made a d isas t rous impress ion on t h e foreign represen ta t ives who did a t tend which t h a address by Bust, tha Minister of Education, could not e f face .

One of our most dis t inguished professors o f philosophy, Professor Lcightoa, recent ly spent several weeks l a Germany, with his wife . Ha has spent a good deal of time in past years l a Germany, aad had, of course, wide acquaintance among scholars In the different

- 3 -

u n i v e r s i t i e s . He t e l l s tae t h a t during h i s l a s t v i s i t he found p r a c t i c a l l y fill these n&n, l e a the r Jews or non-Jews, no I on er occupying t h e i r c h a i r s , and that t h e i r places were taken by men of obvio s medlocraoy* He said he ta lked with a good many of the iren who now occupy these chairs and he found i t impossible t o carry on any scholarly d i scuss ions . To t h i s discriminat ing observer sua t o his wife the s i t ua t i on which they found in the German un ivers i t i e s was so depressing that, they l e f t the country, instead of remaining there several months as they had planned. I think you wi l l find t h a t t h l a I s t he impression of e l l worth while scholars who go t o Germany from the United S ta tes and England, and that those who eoms back t o America with en thus ias t i c accounts of the good s i t u a t i o n In the German un ive r s i t i e s are people of German background or whose t r i p has been financed in such a way that they feel t ha t they must a c t as propagandists on the i r r e t u r n .

One of the i n t e r e s t i n g developments i n Germany recent ly has been brought t o my a t ten t ion by a Berl in friend who has Just been here* He i s a member of the Berl in Rotary Club, which, I may say, ?#as o r i g ina l l y made up of about one hunared of the leaders of Gerraan opinion, f inance, and indus t ry , as well as of German professional l i f e . For the two years before the Nazi regis© I a t tended the luncheons; of the Berl in Club every Wednesday and found them ex t raord inar i ly i n t e r e s t ­ing* About one-fourth of the members of the Berlin Club were Jews o r c e r t a i n l y men who could not es tab l i sh f u l l non-Jewish background. Y«hen the Kazi regloe cane In Goebbels isoued orders that a l l t he Rotary clubs were to be closed, and then t h i s was changed t o the ef fec t t ha t they might o> ntinue If t h e Jews were e l iminated. Goering and others rea l ized the bad effect t h i s would have, so i t was f ina l ly decided to t o l e r a t e the Rotary c lubs , but that the Jews should be gradually e l iminated. In the c i t i e s i n Genaany outs ide of Berl in the Jews have beea re t ty well el iminated during the past two years , but i n Berl in the Club vss allowed t o s t i ck to i t s guns. How my friend t e l l s rae that the same two men who over two years ego fought ao£>t s trongly to keep the Jews there fceve issued a c i r c u l a r l e t t e r to a l l the Jewish members tha t they must res ign by July 1 s t , end that if they do not do so they would i n any event b s dropped. These two men are von Meiboom and von Gleichen, Von Heiboom Is the Ber l ia represents t i t * of the Hamburg-Asaerika and "the l i a i s o n between this company and the

• 4 -

Government* Von Gleiehen was forxaerly the Secretary of the famous llerrea iCLub which offered res i s t ance to the regime a t the o u t s e t . Because of hie a t t i t u d e , he was several times marked for death* Ee was a l so t h e ed i tor of t he "Ring*, l a former days the most independent organ of opinio* in Germany. I t i s i n t e r s t ing tha t these tvx> men who formerly fought the f ight to maintain Rotary have now taken the I n i t i a t i v e in e l iminat ing the Jews from the Berl in Club.

Thl» development was inevi tab le under present conditioao i n Germany, and I t must hove been taxen with . t:»e fu l l knowledge that i t may lead to the exclusion * J of German Rotary from Rotary In t e rna t iona l , for w*s*teh "*** the put t ing into effect of t h i s discriminatory measure the l a s t basis f o r keeping German notary in Rotary In te rna t iona l ha;; disappeared* Just as Chr i s t i an i ty and ftiazi philosophy can have nothing in common, the s p i r i t of Botary and that philosophy have nothing i n common* What i s s ign i f ican t about the development l a t at t h i s fu r the r l ink with t he outside i s being cut off, and those who see changes i n the d i rec t ion of moderation in Razi policy or philosophy must reed t he t rue s p i r i t of the times In Germany In such ac ts as the elimination of the Jew* from the Berlin Club. we have t o r e a l i s e that t h i s Nazi philosophy i s a very def in i te and e very dangerous t h i n g .

Tho death of Btilow was a great su rp r i s e , fo r he was apparently In good heal th and a comparatively young man* He r e a l l y looked older and acted Older than he was* I do not think that his passing from the Foreign Office w U l make much di f ference, although i t r e -opena the question of Foreign Office reorganisa t ion . Progress in that d i rec t ion has been alow but d e f i n i t e , as I pointed out in a l e t t e r t o Mr* Ph i l l ips* Billow was not a Nazi, but he was a pronounced Pan-German riio believed that German domination must and would be achieved through economic penet ra t ion and through the building up of Geriaan armament* He was agains t any aggrestdva act ion as dangerous and unnecessary, but he was in many respects one of the hardest and one of the most determined men whom I have aver known* He had l i t t l e use for anything tha t was not German, but he covered over t h i s aenttraent by a suave and courteous •» even court ly • Manner, for he was a thorough a r i s t o c r a t . He led a very a o l l t o r y l i f e and his favorite sport was t o get Into a canoe along the Wansee* Ha evidently caught pneumonia by exposure on one of these canoe t r i p s * He was one of the hardest working man I have ever known, and

«• 5 «.

one could find hixa in the Foreign Office almost any evening up to eleven o r twelve o ' c lock .

I sha l l never forget t h a t when Ux» Sackett had worked so hard l a laying the background for the Hoover Moratorium an incident took: place the evening he got word from Was., l ag ton that the arrangements west completed and could be made pub l i c . Mr. SaekSjtt had jus t returned from a t r i p hotm, during which he had discussed f i n a l arrangements with the President and the Department, and he had word from Washington that Under Secretary Cast le would e a l l him up tha t evening by-t e l e phone. Mr* Sackett asked me to come to the house so t h a t , as he did not speak German, I could get in touch with the r i g h t people for him in Berl in a t onee. The telephone c a l l from iir. Cas t le came through about eleven o*elock in the evening, and t h e Ambassador was as delighted as a small boy who had r joeived a bag of candy, for ha had worked hard and deeply believed i n the good ef fec ts tha t the Moratorium would have* He « t onee ssKed me t o get BUlow on tee telephone so tha t he could give him the news. I t r i e d about hal f a dozen places acd f ina l ly located him In the Foreign Office. ,-,B BUlow spoke perfect English I turned the telephone over to t he Ambassador, who t o ld BUlow the news. ssj t h e conversation progressed I could see the Ambassador's face f a l l , and f i na l ly he smashed down the rece iver and turning to me re fe r red to BUlow with en unprintable ep i the t and added "He d ldS ' t even say thanKS*. I am t e l l i n g yon th i s incident because i t was so c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of BUlow. He wee one of t h e coldest men I have ever known, and he would accept e matter such as t h i s Moratoruim absolutely unmoved as Gari-any's due and without the s l i g h t e s t expression of even personal appreciat ion to the Ai.fcassador, whose un t i r ing e f f o r t s no one mew be t t e r than lie.

BUlow was the p r inc ipa l standby in t h e Wilhelmstrasse. He had much laore backbone and much more a b i l i t y than Neurata# The Nazis f e l t safe with aim the re , because they knew tha t although not one of them, he shared so thoroughly t h e i r expansionist aims, though the i r views •a t o moans and procedure d i f fered . There i s so ire p robabi l i ty tha t Oieckoff may take h i s p lace , for he has Ribbentrop*s support* I t w i l l be In t e r e s t i ng to see whether the 4eath of BUlow wi l l lead t o more rapid complete Hazlf icat ioa of the Foreign Office. I t does not r e a l l y make very much dif ferencs . for t he Foreign Office r e a l l y exerc i ses so l i t t l e con t ro l over foreign po l icy , but i t may be t h a t the time i s approaching when

- 6 -

they fee l t h a t the complete Nazi f l ee t ion of t h a t Ministry i s i n order* I am somewhat in doubt though as to whether t h i s wi l l yet be done,

Dieckoff cannot be cabled a Bazi and he i s a man of very r e a l e apac i t i e a t but not as atrotig a a»n in many ways o r as capable m Billow. He has the suave end court sous manner e f Bulow and l a In r e a l i t y not so hard as Bulow. He has a much b e t t e r comprehension of other laenta l i t iea than Bulow had and would be wil l ing t o follow a much more reasonable course in German foreign pol icy , but Dieckoff la iierhaps even l ike ly t o be a more wi l l ing instrument of the regime in some respects than Bulow. I doubt therefore whether his taking t h i s poa i t ion would i n any way moderate the course of German po l i cy . In fac t t i e brake which the Foreign Office has applied from time to tin© might even be more feeble in his hands.

another in t e res t ing indica t ion i s the a l leged retirement of Dr. Grauert from the Prussian and Reich £ Ministry of the I n t e r i o r . Dr. Grauert I s comparatively a young man and aa experienced publ ic s e v a n t . He was kept i n the Prussian Ministry of th© I n t e r i o r bj Goering, who recognised hie grea t administrat ive c a p a c i t i e s . Grauert was only helf- ifazi , but devoted to Goering. we had e grea t deal to do with him during the time I van i n Berl in and I found him and Dr. Milch, now General Milch, who is also a protege of Goering 's , the two most reasonable raen i n the e n t i r e Hazi edminis t ra t ion. The Prussian and the Reichs min is t r ies of the I n t e r i o r have beea to a l l i n t e n t s end purposes consol idated, and Grauert was the b ig man, although he apparently shared r e spons ib i l i t y with Dr. Pfunder. How Dr. Pfunder remains as the p r inc ipa l Secretary of State in th ia important min is t ry . Pfunder i s an older man than Grauert and a lso a r e l i c of the former regime, and, # i l l© not perhaps e f u l l l lazi , i s more Nazi than Grauert . I f Grauert i s being r e t i r e d I t hat. a defird t© s ign i f icance , for I t aeena a hardening of po l iey in t h i s important Ministry which cent role most everything except f inance, the rmy, and a few other things in th© Reich. Hie retirement i s , to say t he l e a s t , not a good s ign . I have only press f lashes to the e f fee t tha t Grauert i s t o r e t i r e , and you may already have more def in i te information about i t from Ber l i a t but I t o u g h t I would give you t h i s background. I t l a pa r t i cu l a r l y inter© t ing also in connection with t h e action which has been tauten i n t h e l a s t few weeks in consolidating the polio© eont ro l throughout Germany in Hlmailer.

• 7 -

I hope you wi l l from tic© t o time be able to get r e l i o f from, the hot days In Washington* VVo are having de l igh t fu l weather here rand I am xaoro than over convinced of what a good buy we laede when we bought the reaidenoo here- for the garden i s a tremendous r e l i e f . I t gets r e a l l y hot inVienna, and a garden i s e s s e n t i a l I f t h e Minister i s to stay in Vienna l a the sumaer. Jiost of ay colleagues do not f ee l that they can take any leave t h i s summer, bu t , as the i r legat ions do not have g ex dens, they are obliged to taice houses I n the T ie in l ty of Vienna for a t l e a ^ t three or four months. Witn the Legation garden we are as well off a s we would be in the country, and are in many respects acre comfortable*

With a l l good wishes,

Cordially yours,

k