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1
D.
G., I am sure you have been reminded of me several times in these
last days reding the papers about Austria.
As you can imagine I have been, & am, greatly troubled by the
events.
My relatives so far as I can judge are in no sort of danger as they
ˇalmost all of them are retiering & very respected
people.
I &
My brother & sisters are, under the new laws, jews[,| (]not
however their children, (as they had no jewish grandparents
& baptized great-grandparents).
Nevertheless, of course, the new regime
hatefull to
them.
⍈↻
Now it is
It is however mainly |
about myself that I ˇreally want to write.
I have 29 not yet heard from home at all
since the invasion, but there hasn't yet been time, & my people would always
try to give me news in the mildest possible form so as not to worry
me.
I have written home saying that I would come any time if they
needed me, but I almost assume that they have no need for me (not that they
wouldn't like to see me).
¥
•
I am placed in a queer position.
As you know I am automatically becomming a
german Citizen, i.e. a german Jew.
ˇNow I must say
The very thought of becoming a german Citizen is to me, even appart from the degrading position etc., but this
latter I would share with my relatives & could,
I think, bring myself to bear.
Though I don't know whether it not continouously
ˇbe
preying on my mind.
A still gr[i|a]ver consequence however is this that on visiting Austria I
shall, in all likelyhood, not be let
ˇto England again.
You understand of course that it is out of the question for me to 30 get any job there even if it were possible I could hardy face this idea
such a possibility |
).
You may call this weakness but such it is)
My people are wealthyis⌊c⌋h &
will probably even after all the changes [be|have]
so money enough to keep me.
But I needn't say what that would mean [t|f]o⌊r⌋ me.
So I [h|a]m now
Therefore now I have been
considering th seriously the idea of acquiring Brittish
citizenship.
You know that I had just
thought of this ˇpossibility before though never
giving it any serious conside-ration for reasons which you & I have talked
about.
They roughly are, that I don't wish to become a sham-englishman.
The situation has however changed in my eyes now as I have to choses between a new
which deprives me of everything &
one which at least gives me the opportunity of working in a country in which I have lived most
& the best of my adult life have made
my greatest friends & have done my best work.
I wish to God that there did not adhere to
brittish
31 nality
the respectability etc.
etc. which (though it does not repell
me) is not what I seek.
But this can't be helped.
There is one enormously st⌊r⌋orng reason
which would ˇfor me could speak against acquiring a
new nationality & it is this, that in all
likelyhood as a
brittish citizen I shall be bared ˇby
the germans
from re entering Austria &
therefore from seeing my family, except by meeting them, say, in Switzerland.
But I don't see at present that this would be wo⌊r⌋se
ˇfor me or them tha[t|n]
ˇmy rotting alive in Austria
or being hau⌊n⌋ted by a false position & anxiety
in England.
For these reasons I am
I am therefore |
seriously considering the trying to be nati acquire brittish
citizenship seriously.
It may of course be that before even this come about I shall be summoned home by a letter from my people ˇ(in which case I go) but this I have no reason to believe this[.|;] they would never dream of calling me unless in the greatest
emergency.
I have
[a|A]s you can imagine had held many Cabinet 32 meetings ˇhave been held in my mind about these matters all this, but I also
wish to talk [it|them] over with you – level-headedly.
I
prop
therefore to come to England
in 12 days time
i.e. on the … if you can possibly save the weakend for me.
You might, just to make discussion easier, make some
enquieries about the proceedings of nationalisation – un[s|l]ess, that is, you are in my case
dead against it.
Please let me know as soon as possible if, where &
when you can meet me.
Forgive me for making you read
long letter please don't throw it away & read it
if you can.
Whatever you may think about my problem I am always yours
bl.
L.
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