Description:

LOYAL GERMAN FANATICALLY PRAISES HITLER BEFORE DRESDEN FIREBOMBING
Rare relic from the archive of Colonel Rufus Bratton, the Army infantry and intelligence officer whose work as Far East Section Chief of Military Intelligence and actions prior to Pearl Harbor were fictionalized in the movie Tora Tora Tora, Bratton secured a superb content, war-date A.L.S. in German by "Gertrud von Kuediger", 2pp., 4to., Dresden, Dec. 31, 1944, writing Hitler to encourage him on the eve of a New Year, after a disastrous year for the Nazi command. In full: "My Fuhrer! In this hour of the harsh, fateful, threatening year, 1944 in this still more mysteriously portentous, new epoch of our beloved people and land, my elderly mother of ninety-two years and I, myself, take a solemn oath to you, our dearly beloved Fuhrer, in unshaken faith, ready to take the consequences and fight for our people, for our party, and for you, my Fuhrer, in whom all mighty God centered the essence of all that is German. He gave you to us. He has preserved you for us, and he will continue to do so. We thank him in that he has given us this proof of his grace, and thereby blessed our people and every individual, and assured us of a happy future throughout all want and terror. Our obedient love, our gratitude, and our undying loyalty follow you, my Fuhrer, in this new year and for all future time, may it be accompanied by want and fear, or success and joy. May all be well with you, my Fuhrer!". Little could von Kuediger know that several weeks later, in February, the Allies would completely destroy her city in a massive aerial campaign. Included in the lot is the transmittal cover, stamp canceled in Dresden on Jan. 18, 1945, with a 12 pfennig red Hitler stamp. Also included are original copies of American intelligence translations of the document. Bratton took this letter from Hitler's offices while serving as Headquarters Commandant in Patton's Third Army, then occupying Berlin. Minor folds with slight separations at edges, very good.

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January 21, 2010 10:00 AM EST
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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