"Monsieur," she replied. Helm ut von Heurten-Mitnitz opened a bottle of wine, poured three glasses, and passed one each to Murphy and Madame Lemoine. "A toast would be a little awkward," von Heurten-Mitnitz said, "don't you think?"
"Better times," Murphy said Madame Lemoine and von Heurten-Mitnitz smiled and raised their glasses. Then Murphy reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and took from it an envelope, which he handed to von Heurten-Mitnitz. The German took it, sat down at the table, opened it, and took from it half a dozen sheets of crisp white stationery. "The White House," von Heurten-Mitnitz said.
"I didn't know Roosevelt was fluent in German."
"He's not," Murphy said.
"That's from Putzi von Hanfstaengel."
"Really?" von Heurten-Mitnitz said, surprised.
THE WHITE HOUSE Washington 20 July 1942
My dear Helm ut: By the very reading of this you will, according to the l
aws of the Third Reich, he committing treason. I mention this because when Franklin Roosevelt asked me to write to you, I was forced to consider what that word really meant. Before, I was able to rationalize my own status: Heinrich Himmler had tried to kill me, and it was only by the grace of God that I was able to leave Germany, so therefore I could be anything I chose to be, and I chose to think of myself as an escapee, or a refugee, anything but a traitor. I now realize that is dishonest. I am legally a traitor. I axa consorting with n-ly country's enemies, and doing whatever I can to help them cause my country to lose the war, including writing this letter. But when I ask myself what I am being a traitor to, I am able to believe that I aan really acting in Germany's best interests. Roosevelt has unquestioned proof, some of it from the Vatican, of what unspeakable barbarities the Austrian Maniac and his Cohorts are inflicting, not only upon Jews, but Gypsies, ordinary Polish and Russian peasants, and on Germans as well. I wall not dwell on this, other than to give you my word that I have proof of what the bearer of this will tell you in detail. No matter what horrors he relates, I suspect that his memory will prove unable to store and recall the full obscenity of it. That alone would be sufficient cause to overthrow Hitler and his associates.
But I will give you, if you need one, another argument why that must be done, and why you must help: Germany will inevitably lose this warl The genius of Germany's generals and the courage of her Soldiers will never prevail against the industrial might Of America. You have lived here, you know what I'm talking about.
Roosevelt tells me that he believes "as much as forty percent" of the American gross national product may be necessary to support this war.
"Total war," as Goebbels and Speer envision it for Germany, is not even being considered by the Americans. I will not dwell upon this.
Germany will lose the war. The degree of destruction of our cities, the number of millions of our countrymen who will be killed, is directly related to how quickly Germany loses it. There will be no armistice this time.
Powerful people at Roosevelt's side are already Few know Adolph Hit etter I ian me, when he knew he was going to Land shut prison after Munich, and tried to kill himself, I stopped him!) You must believe me, my dear Helm ut, when I tell. you Unser Fuhrer will see Germany in rubble, her fields sown with salt, and her people extinguished from the face of the earth before he surrenders his mad dream. It is therefore, Helm ut, perfectly evident to me that it is the duty of people like you and me, whose families have guided Germany for centuries, to do our duty, at whatever cost, to see this temporary insane leadership of our country destroyed. If, after the war is lost, this will see us put in leadership positions by the victorious allies, that would probably be a good thing, but that isn't the point. The point is that we must do our duty as we see it. Our beloved Germany cries out to you to do this.
May God give you courage and be with you, until better times.
P.S. I am guarded by an American Army sergeant in my hotel. He is equipped with a rifle and a steel helmet, and wears a baggy denim work uniform on duty. But I aan as proud of Sergeant von Hanfstaengel in his baggy U.S. Army uniform as my father was of me when I went to the front in the first, war, and as convinced that truly, Gott Mit Uns. demanding unconditional surrenders Rao a Helm ut von Heurten-Mitnitz read the letter carefully twice, then took a gold Dun hill lighter from his jacket pocket and burned the letter-one sheet at a time-over the ashtray. Only when he finished did he speak. "You are aware, of course, what was in that," he said to Murphy. "How do you know?"
"The 'better times' toast," von Heurten-Mitnitz said. "It was sent to me unsealed," Murphy admitted.
"There are no copies. I read it and then sealed it."
"That wasn't a very gentlemanly thing to do," von Heurten-Mitnitz said."
No," Murphy admitted." I don't suppose it was. "He writes a very stirring letter," von Heurten-Mitnitz said. "If you see him, please don't hurt his feelings by letting him know I had already reached very much the same conclusions he has."
"I'm pleased to hear that," Murphy said.
"But I still suppose it is expected of me to relate what we have learned about the extermination camps and the special SS squads."
"I probably know more about that than you do," von Heurten-Mitnitz said.
"It was a factor in my decision."
"We have been led to believe that, outside of the circle of those actually involved, it is pretty much of a secret in Germany."
"Milller has a friend, wounded in Russia, who came here on recuperative leave. He got drunk and told Milller-and he knew about everything, not just the extermination detachments at the front. MUER had me to dinner, got him drunk again, and had him tell me all over again. I had heard whispers, and now there was proof. Mi iller's friend is a Leica-what's the word?-snapshot photographer."
"Why do you think MUER did that?"
"Because I tell him things I think he should know, and he does the same.
"Was he morally outraged?"
"He's a policeman," von Heurten-Mitnitz said.