May 6, 1947

I am still in Germany, which is very much against my liking I applied for a US visa in 1945. Although I am a Czech citizen, but as I was born in Vienna, I have to go to the states on the Austrian quota , which is badly oversubscribed. I was told by my lawyer that there will be no more visas issued before July. I am trying to make the best of it, but I should prefer to be in the States and to get a permanent job.

It is somehow surprising and amazing to watch the speed with which things are done by the US government, being used to European conditions.The work here is coming to an end, more quickly than expected. Many things may have to be left undone, and a fair proportion of all the investigational  and microfilming work will not be utilized, because no time is left to index and process it properly. Very much of good material was and is in the mill just now and can hardly be processed without help of the German scientists in the Document Branch. But the army wants us out of Germany. Gen Clay wanted us out of Germany as the new policy will rebuild Germany and he does not want anybody here who tries to get knowledge or information out of this country. The DOC is trying to get a three month extension, which would be all that is necessary. I sometimes wonder how much benefit will derive to the industry as a whole. My impression is that the dissemination of German reports in the form of microfilm will be a difficult job and would take so long that most industries will not be willing to wait for it. That may be a pity in many cases, as a lot of effort and work has been put into this organization.  I personally would prefer if FIAT could carry on for just that time, but if it doesn't, I shall say thanks for everything I had here and take another job. The Krupps' team of the war crime people want somebody with experience in metals so I may be in Nuremberg next month.

I bought a Volkswagen. Gasoline is furnished by the army, as transportation here is getting worse and worse. Conditions in general are very bad. It is difficult to find a German of the younger generation who would not like to emigrate and leave his country. Germany is too weak now to recover on its own strength alone, particularly if no unity can be reached on any major issues. The credit of the US army is high. This based to fair degree on the PX and not on the belief in democracy. More than 50 % of German youths joined American sponsored youth clubs largely because of additional food, and to a lesser degree because they want to learn English. Everything over here can be bought for a few cigarettes or a pound of coffee, whether a shop keeper, policeman or a pretty girl. Democracy does not mean much the average German. He thinks it brought worse living conditions than ever. Of course he is wrong, it was not democracy, but he himself and Hitler who brought all this about, but people have short memories, and remember that Hitler did much for them and now the communists preach a new millennium and they will fall for it again. It seems that many of the Germans hope for an early clash between East and West, and the country is full of rumors of an oncoming war. The communists are clever and absolutely unscrupulous, more than ever. I wonder whether we shall see another war. I don't see how one can cooperate with people who have no moral principles at all.