Frederick Voigt to Edward Taylor Scott.
Location: Berlin.
Private. He writes in detail of the situation in Germany, giving his views, some of which might be modified on more detailed study.
He refers to economic distress, and how Germans react to it, as opposed to English and Russian people. He talks of wages, unemployment and taxes, comparing Germany to England. 'There is nothing in Germany like Lancashire or South Wales.' Most Germans judge England by London. There is a good deal of superficial prosperity in Germany. He thinks that distress is greater in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Russia, than in Germany. He gives views on Germany's ability to pay the Young annuities; he thinks that a demand for suspension of payments would be damaging. He refers to the agrarian crisis. He does not foresee an economic collapse; Germany has suffered worse, such as during the winter of 1923/24.
He talks of politics; of the Nazi agitators; he thinks that their chances of increasing their power by constitutional means seem to be diminished. The Bavarian and Prussian elections will take place in May and in a year's time respectively. He expands on the view that the Nazis may lose ground in the towns, but they have stirred up the peasants. He speculates that if the police and army stood aside, the Nazis would march on Berlin, and civil war would follow. There is already fighting between the Nazis and those they call Marxists. They have already started to replace police officials with their own people in Thuringia, and may do the same if they gain ground in Bavaria and Prussia. Presidential elections are due in around a year. He speculates on what might happen. 'The political future of Germany is full of strange possibilities.' His gives his view that the Nazis' fervour will abate, and become 'a party of reaction'. Professor Gregory and W.H. Dawson say that there is a lot of 'war-talk'. He describes the post-war German generation as 'very bellicose'. Belligerence is strong in the eastern areas close to Poland. He thinks that there are fewer signs of secret re-arming as there was five years or so ago. He speculates on Germany's military position, and on the threat of foreign war, the actions of the Italians and Russians, Poland and the Ukraine. He doubts whether the Nazis would become 'an international menace', although they would generate great alarm. He refers to the League and Germany's security and position on re-arming. The Nazis are pro-English and think that Lord Rothermere will arrange an alliance. They are somewhat anti-American; they are intending to expel three American journalists - Kuh of the U.P., and Mowrer of the Chicago Daily News. He could write articles based on the above themes.