Tel. 40 857
To
21st January, 1947.
Dear Mr. Smith,
from my relations, who are living in New York , I got theStaatszeitung New York of the 20th December, 1945, in whichI found an article with your really splendid idea of bringingGerman newspapermen for one year to America .
I imagine that not only youself but also the other editorsand publishers, who were in your company on your European trip, will have a lot of letters from German journalists, whoare interested in learning the real democratic journalism inthe most democratic country all over the world.
Though I was not sent to a Concentration Camp by the nais, itwas rather difficult for me to work as journalist during thetime from 1933 till 1940, when I was called up for militaryservice. As son of the socialistic member of the Prussian Par liament , Elisabeth Kirschmann- Roehl, and the Ministerialrat Emil Kirschmann , who was co- worker of Carl Severing and who wasmember of the Reichstag , and as nephew of Marie Juchacz , mem ber of parliament , founder of the" Arbeiter- Wohlfahrt", I hada hard time up from 1933, when my step- father and my aunt hadto flee to France and in 1940- from there to the States. Myintention to join them at Saarbruecken in 1934 could not be reali-zed, the boundaries already being controled intensely by theGestapo .
So I stayed in Germany where I tried to work with non political.trade- papers and magazines, had to change my job several timesto escape disagreeable checking, was sometimes fired, workedas switchboard- operator with the army in France and Greece from1940 till 1945, was employed at the Theatre Control Office ofDISCC, later Information Control Div. and helped build up a newcultural life, changed to Intelligence Section where I becamehead of the Clearance Sub- Section and where I am working since
now.
I don't know if you have any influence on the selection of Ger man journalists who probably after the treaty of peace will besent to the States( if your plan than will or can be realized).But if you are able to give me in time some information, I wouldbe very thankful.
The address of my relations is: Mrs. Marie Juchacz , Mr. Emil Kirschmann , 339 East, 173rd Street, New York 57, N.Y. They cangive you any further information about me.
Sincerely
yours