Description
REDACTED MILITARY LETTER DURING WWII DACHAU WAR CRIME TRIALS
GENERAL LUCIUS D CLAY (1898-1978) REDACTED TYPED LETTER SIGNED, "Lucius D. Clay", 8 x 9, on "European Command, Office of the Commander-in-Chief, Berlin, Germany APO 742" letterhead, 21 November 1947, to Colonel J. L. Harbaugh, Jr., JAGD, Office of the Judge Advocate, Headquarters, EUCOM, signed as Commander in Chief, U.S. Forces in Europe (He was, at the same time, Military Governor of the U.S. Zone, Germany, after WWI), succeeding General Eisenhower. The military has redacted sensitive parts of this letter which probably refer to an appeal of a court sentence of a Nazi war criminal, in part: "Please advise...that I have received his letter of 12 November 1947, asking for a personal interview so that he and his...may make a proposal concerning...If this proposal has been presented to you, and you are prepared to let me have your view, then I shall be glad to see...However, you should advise...that I am not prepared to see him until the proposal in question has been presented in writing through you...." General Clay was responsible for the controversial commuting of some Nazis death sentences because, at the time, West Germany was considered strategically vital in the Cold War developing between the West and Eastern Bloc nations. Releasing the offenders early had the intended effect of boosting German public opinion towards the United States.
On June 26, 1948, two days after the Soviets imposed the Berlin Blockade, Clay gave the order for the Berlin Airlift, a defining moment of the Cold War, and a demonstration of American support for the citizens of Berlin. The airlift of much needed supplies for the people of Berlin lasted 324 days and was an incredible feat of logistics. During the Berlin Wall crisis in 1963, he returned with President John F. Kennedy, who would make his famous Ich bin ein Berliner-speech. This is an extremely rare signed document as Military Governor of Germany following WWII. In fine condition, with minor age toning, two filing holes at top, and attached to a backing sheet.
$595 #11694
