Robert Ley Autograph

[randy@treadways]

There is no doubt that Ley saw the Third Reich as being the saviour of European culture, particularly holding back Communism.

Sitting in a prison cell, no doubt he was worried about the Russian presence on the upcoming tribunal, and suspecting that the Russians had no sympathies for Germans and no appreciation for culture at all.

Perhaps in writing this, he was sharing his hope that the American, British and French presence on the tribunal could offset Soviet pressure, which he no doubt deemed disgusting and filthy, and that some semblance of 'culture' could be preserved once all was said and done. No doubt he thought of the western victors as 'civilized', and the Russians as 'uncivilized'.

Reports are, that when Ley was told (probably AFTER he wrote on this card) that *he* was to be charged with war crimes, he was simply overwhelmed and shocked because he thought of himself tied more to culture than to any dirty things that happened in the exercise of the war. And it was this which led him to commit suicide rather than face something he thought was so unfair.

[cerick1450]

It is very interesting to get a glimpse into his state of mind and disposition. You would think if you were under arrest, one would not be too quick to be expressing your feelings in support of the government that was just defeated and antagonizing your captors... I appreciate everyone's comments and help.

Charlie

[Br. James]

An significant correction, Max; thanks for pointing this out.

Ley was apparently informed of the details of his indictment three days prior to his suicide, as Randy mentions, and that would have been three and a half months after he wrote this card. After being present in Berlin for Hitler's last birthday celebration, he made his way down to Bavaria where he was arrested on May 16, 1945 in a village close to the Austrian border. At the time of his arrest he was using the alias of "Dr. Ernst Distelmeyer," though he was apparently correctly identified by Franz Xaver Schwarz soon after he was initially incarcerated. As I understand it, all of the high-ranking Nazis had been aware that the victors would hold them personally accountable for the actions of the Nazi regime -- this for some months prior to the surrender -- so it seems reasonable (to me) that this would not have come as a surprise to any of them. Ley was certainly not the only one who found it convenient to disguise his identity in an attempt to avoid capture.

Br. James