Nazis AHH
Posted by Captain of the Poop Deck in history, nazis
Stephanie and I found a bunch of old letters at a flea market written to one J. Lowell Groves over the course of several decades of his life. He was in the army, and one was even a love letter written overseas on Valentine's Day. Very touching. But his family, or his estate, sold off the whole lot at an auction, and this lady at the flea market was letting them go for $1/piece. She very obviously failed to grasp the story that lay within the papers she described to us as "pretty" and was splitting among hundreds of flea marketers such as ourselves. Anyway, here's one of them:
In case you missed it, it's from Munich, "Capital of the Movement," July 6, 1937, right smack in the middle of the Third Reich.
This month in Nazi Germany: the Buchenwald concentration camp opened not 250 miles from where this letter was sent. You can also see the postmark advertising the opening of Munich's "House of German Art" two weeks later, photographed here:
Thankfully, the region's dubious political climate didn't yet trouble the existence of Groves' correspondent, Mildred (and Georgie, by proxy), who was apparently on vacation at the Hotel Leinfelder which may or may not still be around, given the liberal airstrikes on Munich toward the end of the war and lack of the hotel's Google presence. The beginning of the letter:
Dear Lowell:
Very happy to get letter. Lord knows after struggling with foreign signs, directions, reading some good old English writing is very soothing.
Little Georgie boy is suffering from a beer "head" this morning so we are sticking close to the hotel in case their should be a sudden relief, and I don't think the citizens of Munich would like to see anyone hanging his head over one of their fountains, although geo. was doing pretty well for himself in the park out here, but it was a little crowded and one can't commune with one's inner-most self when there are so many passing by.
No biggie - just chillin' in the Third Reich getting drunk and having a good time. Those foreign signs! I know! At least there are plenty of friendly gestapo to help translate. Just don't ask about the ones that say "Juden auf diese Weise." Well, whatever; I can't blame them for not overthrowing the Nazis on their vacation; and it's probably best Georgie didn't throw up in any public fountains.
