Germany 1939

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Germany 1937, the Goering stories

Germany 1937

Schramberg 1938

Germany 1938

Germany and Prague 1938

Germany 1939

Germany 1939

Germany 1939

In April of that year I was given a dinner by the Third Reich for the services I had rendered to them in the development of the process at Rheinau. It was held in the Board Room of the I.G. at Ludwigshafen, the other side of the river from Mannheim. The food was perfect and the wines from the Pfalz were out of this world. There were about 40 present and the Chairman was Dr. Wuerstler, the head of the I.G. at Lugwigswafen, who in his jocular speech said that, as it was a scientific occasional he had taken it upon himself to lighten the atmosphere by the introduction of some commercial brains among the scientists. To the best of my memory and translation, he then added, "Take our old friend Dr. Hoffmann, he is only interested each morning in his bar of gold, whether it weighs 230 or 240 grams." We had all laughed hilariously, when I caught my own German director looking at me very keenly, but I managed to convey to him that I was thoroughly enjoying the wine and that I had noticed nothing out of the ordinary. But I had and when we broke up at 9.30 pm., making certain I was not being followed by stopping my car just round corners, I drove to the late telegraph office and sent a telegram to my aunt in Paris, saying I should be delighted to see her on Sunday. I never had an aunt in Paris. Now for some explanations.

First, Dr. Hoffman was a real character and internationally famous, besides being the chief of the biggest copper works in Germany.
Secondly, it was a certain bet that Germany was receiving Spanish copper ore in exchange for armaments that she was supplying to Franco.
Thirdly, gold is a 100% recoverable by-product when working copper ore.
Fourthly any textbook will tell you how much gold impurity there is in Spanish copper ore deposits.

Given these figures, any '0' Level pupil ought to be able to calculate the yearly throughput of Germany's biggest copper works.

On Sunday morning, I set off for Strasburg with an SS friend (not in uniform) and my dog Hindy fox terrier (short for Hindenburg). We left Hindy with the German customs officer at Kehl (opposite Strasburg) who plucked and fed him and entertained him for the sum of DM5. We proceeded to La Maison Rouge on the Place Kleber and I remember the duck a l'orange that we had to this day. I complained about the brandy and insisted on introducing Heinrich to some real brandy at the Bar Aubette on the other side of the square. Heinrich wanted to sit downstairs and I had to think quickly. But I knew my friend Heinrich and I told all the girls were upstairs. It was exactly three o'clock as we sat down and ordered our brandy at the end of the room farthest from the bar. The brandy was just as bad, as the original had been good. Suddenly, I pointed out to Heinrich a young man standing at the bar, wearing the same Old Boys' tie that I was wearing and said that I had to go and talk to him. Heinrich was not interested, having already lit the cigarette of the lady at the next table. So quite calmly, after some theatrical back-slapping, I told my "aunt" all about the bar of gold, which I hope he duly reported to the right person in Whitehall. I have never seen him again to ask him.

So successful was that factory that I had to design a bigger one to be built in Czechoslovakia and, as I had chosen the site, I knew where it was. So did the RAF, who photographed it periodically during its construction. When I saw the first whisp of steam coming out of the turbine exhaust on a photo from 50,000 ft. in 1944 I told them so and all my careful design work went up in smoke.