European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 23, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Herr Franz von somewhere in dear sir since you Are very Busy these Days and re ported to be in every Neutral capital in Europe at the same i think you would be interested in learning something of the condition of your at a word or two concerning the House guests on your estate at the time of my they were an Engi Neer battalion attached during december to the 90th the engineers were very Busy in the first week of december bringing troops of the 90th division across the Saar River to you must is directly across the River from the for several nights in a Row the engineers ferried men and supplies across the River under cover of this was an immensely difficult operation at the time no Bridgehead had been yet the entire division was continuously and Al ways German artillery fire was you must understand How admirable this operation from certain relics found in your it is Clear that you understand military i refer particularly to that trophy of your old which listed the winners of the trophy in past i noticed on the inscription that you were described As being of out standing military manner and you were in great company As Winner of that for it also listed von who became a great German in fact All the names were Vons of them aristocrats and All of them famous military it was during this major operation of carrying Over and supplying the division on the East Bank of the Saar that the engineers decided to use your estate for a kind of combination rest Camp and command american As you have no particular interest in great so it did not interest them very much that the House belonged to one of the biggest names in German political i regret to inform you that they showed no reverence or respect whatsoever for the reputation of the by the time the engineers were settled on your the fighting in particularly artillery fire from your own German had begun to destroy the for a while the engineers had to live in the servants but finally they took residence in the main build when i arrived As a guest of the most of the rooms showed signs of both Shell and machine gun the very Fine mosaic floor in the Central lobby was your bust on the mantel in the music which stands opposite a medium sized grand showed your nose slightly chipped by machine gun Herr hit lers bust upstairs in the trophy and collection room Lay on the floor in a pile of Herr von your caretaker made a Blun i in sealing up some of the rooms be Low the All soldiers Are and Ameri can soldiers Are particularly these soldiers were which made things doubly with tools of their Trade at they naturally blew and crowbar red open these sealed rooms and removed your stores of the whole House showed evidence of in while i was a German Shell Carne right through the Library window and you can imagine the but the bookcases and All your valuable Library remained Alfred webers Kultur be Schichtle und Kultur Sozio Logie was still there so was Richard Kuhlmannm Gedanken uber the big Book on the history of catholicism in France and All the other books had neither been hit by fire nor Dis Turbed by it was All As you must have left the engineers had a fire going in the some of the men were writing letters in one of your Small and resting on a comfortable lounge were Harry Digby of Long and Edgar Gearis of West who had made at least 20 Crossings of the River Between them that your collections of photographs shed a curious Light on your there was that set of Pic Tures of american troops on on which had been taken before and during world War there was the album of pictures taken during your trip to Stockholm in More peaceful and there were pictures bringing things More or less up to they showed you with Goering and other important figures in music must have been another of your absorb ing James Owen Stinett of Abi executive officer of the took a great interest in your three he is a none of the pianos had been damaged at but concussion undoubtedly put them slightly off an passing by one ran his hands Over the it did not sound like what music particularly interested Herr von Papen the pictures of your daughters remained on the Wall also those of your von Papen nor was the evidence of your Hunting prowess the Elk and Moose and Deer Heads which decorated the stairways and main entrances were still with inscriptions indicating you had hunted in the United did you Hunt these Elk in the a Rockies before or after the Black Tom Herr von Papen the letters found by the engineers evidently the caretaker had been unable to remove them in time were purely personal and therefore of no interest to a glance at one or indicated that you were a widely trav eled that you had Standard family ties and at various times you and your family had been in Italy and other parts of the it was Clear from an examination of your Herr von that you were a Man of aristocracy and in Walle Fangen and Buren i made inquiries concerning what did they think of and How had you lived Here in this Saar Valley the opinions varied but i believe your reputation has of course it was mentioned everywhere that you had always been a Man of Charity that you made it a habit to give All the children in this Valley gifts for the people pointed out that you lived Here for a Long time in the style of a country and the Burgmeister of who had met you at local said you were a soft spoken Man and especially concerned with local Benefit when questioned about your political he said you had entered politics when Herr Hitler came into Power Only to soften the blow of he thought that your venture into International politics was merely a Side line and that your real life was in the bosom of your family in the estate at from the Burgmeister and from several other i formed the impression that you were consid ered a Wel Todo Mem Ber of the first family of the but other people seemed somewhat they were not at All sure you have been an innocent associate of Hitler that you mixed deeply into nazi politics merely to soften the harsher from them i gathered that you had used your reputation to bring Many particularly the farming population of to Complete sup port of National the american phrase for this is a because they believed you were a front for some of them investigated your property and carried off some i in to Tell you that the trip to Home was very who would have thought a few years Agov marching up a ramp at Penn station into the that the Muddy shoes of american soldiers would Ever tramp the stairs of the Home of Franz von Papen will Herr hitlers Berchtesgaden be like this the Countryside around was very desolate while i was at your the few people remaining in the area slunk by like in empty Vil Lages Only goats pranced cattle without masters Lowed in Muddy hour after hour artillery poured Back and Forth across the toward evening the sky was filled with smoke and fire like a terrible painting of and across the Dillinger burned with Bright fires where 90th division soldiers pushed on in the griping Way the americans Are travelling through this every once in a while a German Shell from across the River descended on your House at it was Clear that the von Papen estate could not last much and with its passing would All evidence of your life As a country All that would be left would be the diplomatic Side of your life in which you always seem to have been sur rounded by bomb explosions and As i left Walle Fangen that everything below in the Valley was shrouded in Battle every time a Shell the sky lighted up and the whole Valley seemed to heave As if Germany herself were heaving and very truly signed Saul Levitt yank staff for further particulars about your i would advise you to get in touch with Gilbert commanding an Engineer Bat