The House of Wittgenstein: A Family at War

by Alexander Waugh

  One wonders at the role played by Dr. Indra, "the fixer," in New York. When he came to America, apparently as a legal representative of the Reichsbank, he was, unbeknown to Paul, simultaneously acting as Gretl's solicitor in dealings with the Reichsbank in Austria. So whose interests was he really there to serve? The Reichsbank's? Gretl's? Or both? When Paul's solicitor discovered that Dr. Indra had found out secret information about the Wistag Trust, it was assumed that Dr. Groller was guilty of the leak.

  Back in New York Indra remained intent on luring Paul back to Germany and proposed that since it was not German policy to negotiate on foreign soil, a top official from Berlin should be sent to conduct meetings with him on board a German ship. Paul's lawyers warned that this would be "extremely dangerous." At the same meeting Gretl burst out: "That Paul does not give his money to the Reichsbank is shabby and unaccountable. Every damned thing my brother owns he owes to his family ... He has no right to defend his fortune since it is only through me that he is here!" Dr. Schoene, when he heard this, was unable to suppress a satisfied grin, but Dr. Wachtell wryly asked: "Do you want to be paid for that, Madam?" It was comments such as this that inspired Ji to describe Wachtell as "a real shit."

  An intercepted report from Dr. Schoene to his bosses in Berlin explained that he had been frustrated in his efforts to seize the Wistag fortune for Germany "by the Jewish lawyers, Wachtell and Bloch, who are ill disposed towards the Reich." Wachtell, Schoene complained, "is obstinately resting his case upon an unassailable legal standpoint," but, he reported, John Stonborough is demonstrating "an altogether fair attitude towards Germany's interests." Part of this "fair attitude" consisted in Ji's doing exactly what the Germans told him to do. "Alfred Indra dictated a letter to me in the middle of Wall Street," he later admitted, and "Dr. Schoene also told me what to say, write, maintain ... in the end I consented to sign this or that complicated document." His explanation (unlikely in the extreme) was that Schoene and Indra were both " double-agents" working secretly for the Stonboroughs against the Reichsbank in order to secure a Mischling solution for Hermine and Helene.

  By July 1939 the matter was still unresolved and the Reichsbank was resorting to heavier tactics in order to force Paul to capitulate. In Vienna Hermine, Herr Groller and all the Salzers were advised that they would be severely punished if the money was not forthcoming and that delays over the negotiations for Mischling status in New York were the cause. Together they sent a telegram: DO NOT INSIST ON HALF-BREED STATUS. OTHERWISE ACUTE IMPENDING DANGER TO UNDERSIGNED PERSONS. By striking terror into the relatives in Austria, Dr. Schoene was hoping to force Paul's hand, but Gretl, knowing full well it was bluff and that no one in Austria would be harmed so long as negotiations were ongoing in New York, continued with her unflinching demands for Mischling status, while insisting that Paul surrender his whole fortune.

  On July 12, Ludwig, Anton Groller and Freda Marie Schoene (Dr. Schoene's wife) sailed together on the Queen Mary for New York. Ji cabled his uncle Ludwig, "DON'T GIVE IN OR AUNT IMPRISONED." Dr. Wachtell, aware of the escalating burden on his client, had already taken countermeasures to save Paul from the new wave of pressure. "I would like you to take some time off," he said to him. "Go on vacation without leaving your address. I value your presence at all times, but in this negotiation I could do very well without it." To Ludwig on the Queen Mary, he sent the following:

  Dear Professor Wittgenstein:

  ... The announcement of your trip to America was the latest of a series of efforts, which had been made in order to exert pressure on your brother to yield to the demands of the Reichsbank. No doubt as a result of threats and intimidation, your sisters in Vienna have not merely supported these demands passively, but sent, through Dr Schoene, letters and cablegrams urging compliance and intimating serious and impending dangers otherwise. I have no means of measuring the degree of pressure applied against the sisters in Vienna and through them transmitted to you and Mrs. Stonborough. But I am in a position to measure the pressure applied from all directions on Paul Wittgenstein.

  That pressure has been unrelenting in spite of the fact that Paul has made offers of compromise which are more than fair and which I am certain would have been acceptable to the Reichsbank had the latter not found it so easy to induce the sisters in Vienna to permit themselves to be used as the instruments in the application of a pressure which has defeated itself by its own lack of moderation and sensible restraint.

  The letter went on to explain that Paul would be happy to meet his brother in New York but only if Ludwig would agree to seeing Dr. Wachtell first so that "when you and Paul meet both of you may be saved any possible annoyances and disagreeable differences due to lack of knowledge on your part of the facts involved."

  Ludwig went, as advised, to see Samuel Wachtell and although he had marked the 22nd in his pocket diary as the day he intended to meet Paul, he did not in the event either see or speak to his brother during his week-long visit to America. He did however send a letter to him (now lost) from which Paul later quoted: "the Stonboroughs' behaviour was certainly rash and stupid."

  The American visit had exhausted Ludwig and he achieved very little before returning, in flattened spirit, to Cambridge. He seems to have participated joylessly in the application of pressure on Paul to give up his fortune and many years later admitted with sadness and seriousness in his voice: "Had I realised then how insane Paul was, I would never have treated him so harshly." Paul and Ludwig's meeting in Zurich eight months earlier in November 1938 turned out to be their last. The two brothers never met, spoke or corresponded with one another again.

  THE THREAT OF WAR

  Hitler's avaricious foreign policies continued to rouse indignation abroad, but the last thing he wanted was an all-out war with Russia, France, England or Italy. His stated plan was to unite, as peacefully as possible, all of German-speaking Europe into one German Reich under his leadership, but, on the principle of the end justifying the means, he lied, reneged, pushed beyond his stated intentions and exhibited too often a contemptuous disregard for the conventions of international diplomacy. Even he had been surprised at how smoothly the Anschluss with Austria in March 1938 had passed off. Foreign countries had voiced their disapproval but in the end they had all found a way to acknowledge the new expanded Reich without loss of face. The annexation of the Czech Sudetenland in October had been far riskier for Hitler, and war was only narrowly avoided by his repeated assurances that he had no further territorial claims in Europe and by his soliciting the prior agreement of Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier and Benito Mussolini. When, on March 15, 1939, he ordered the Wehrmacht into Czech-speaking Prague the international community unanimously condemned his action. Prime Minister Chamberlain responded with over 100 measures indicating Britain's preparation for war, and four months later, as the Germans were poised to snatch the free port of Danzig, he vowed that Britain would come to Poland's military aid in the event of a conflict with Germany.

  Hitler's efforts to discourage all countries from warring against him were carried on in earnest, even as his troops were rudely annexing Germany's neighbors. In order not to ruffle the feathers of the American administration it was decided (among many other things) that Ji Stonborough should be handled with care. Nazi diplomats in America had reported to Berlin that he was a man of importance. His job title-Commissioner of Conciliation in the Department of Labor--was nervously interpreted in Berlin as something far more powerful than it actually was. In point of fact Ji's daily routine consisted in little more than writing gray reports on American industrial disputes. In Berlin it was known that he was well connected in political circles in Washington. His name was frequently appearing in the gossip columns of the Washington press as an invitee at high-society cocktail parties. His friend James Houghteling was married to a cousin of President Roosevelt and the Germans believed (wrongly) that Ji might have the ear of the President. It was further assumed in Berlin that his frequent trips between Vienna and Washington were e
xploited by the U.S. administration to gain intelligence about Nazi Germany, and it was for this reason, primarily, that the Germans wished to fill Ji's youthful head with favorable impressions of their dynamic new Reich. This unofficial protection was known to the Stonboroughs and used by Gretl in her negotiations with the Reichsbank over the distribution of the Wistag funds.

  By August 1939 the Wistag-Reichsbank dispute was still not settled. Paul had withdrawn entirely from the proceedings, leaving his attorney to fight his corner. The next round, it was decided, should take place in Switzerland. Paul stayed in America, sending Dr. Wachtell written instructions:

  You have my entire confidence to act and conclude in Zurich in my name ... My honour (which would be the target of all calumny should anything happen in Vienna) is at stake, as is my own conscience and peace of mind ... Do what you think is right, but remember, a moral claim can never be waived.

  The Zurich negotiations proved no easier than those that had taken place in New York the previous month. Ludwig came and left early without achieving anything. Gretl and Ji refused to talk to Samuel Wachtell for he, as far as they were concerned, was still the enemy. Dr. Indra tried, but failed, to make Wachtell sign a false memorandum, while Anton Groller tried to appeal to his conscience. He told him that he knew Paul far better than Dr. Wachtell did, that although Paul had said he had no intention of returning to Vienna, his heart truly belonged there and that if he did not pay up, the Palais to which he was so deeply attached would be confiscated and never returned.

  All the while the assembled company was waiting anxiously for official news from Berlin about Mischling status. Kurt Mayer, whom Paul and Gretl had met at the Reich Agency for Genealogical Research, had refused to accept the flimsy evidence that Hermann Christian Wittgenstein was the son of an Aryan prince, but the head of the Reichsbank had succeeded in sidelining Mayer and placing the Wittgenstein file in the hands of higher authority. Now the family was hoping, not for genealogical proof of Aryan descent, but for some sort of "pardon." This would need the Fuhrer's consent. The first that Dr. Wachtell knew of Hitler's possible involvement was from Dr. Indra. At a meeting at the Hotel Dolder in Zurich, Wachtell had voiced his concerns that the Germans, having awarded Mischling status, might later revoke it in order to force Paul to pay more. Dr. Wachtell's memorandum of the meeting continues:

  Dr Indra said that no one would dare do that in view of the high standing of the official who would sign the Mischling decree. I remained unconvinced. But Dr Indra insisted that that was so since the one who would sign such a decree, if it were granted, would be the Fuhrer himself. I thought this was a fantastic expectation and told Indra so, but Indra assured me that that was entirely likely.

  Hitler was on the brink of invading Poland and thus, if Chamberlain's assurances were to be trusted, on the brink also of war. And yet it seems that he found the time to sign the order allowing the Wittgensteins to be accorded half-breed status. His ruling that Hermann Christian be considered of Aryan descent was passed to Wilhelm Frick, Minister of the Interior, who on August 29 sent instructions to Kurt Mayer at the Agency for Genealogical Research in Berlin. The next day Mayer was forced to issue Mischling certificates to all relevant descendants. This volte-face aroused the suspicion of the district office for Genealogical Research in Vienna, whose director wrote to Berlin demanding an explanation. Kurt Mayer's reply survives in the Vienna archives:

  In the matter of the origins of the Wittgenstein family and its descendants, I came to my decision in accordance with the directive issued on 29 August 39 by the Interior Minister, a directive which rests in turn upon an order issued by the Fuhrer. Given these facts, the family origins and circumstances were not independently scrutinised in any closer detail by this office. The decision of the Fuhrer applies immediately and without restriction to Hermann Wittgenstein (born Korbach 12/'9/1802) who should be regarded as the German blood ancestor of all the descendants... In the meantime family origin certificates have been issued to the numerous descendants of Hermann Wittgenstein so that their racial classification within the meaning of the Reich Citizenship Act should present no more difficulties. If necessary in cases of doubt, relevant family origin certificates can be requested from the Reich Agency for Genealogical Research. Signed Dr Kurt Mayer

  Of course none of this would have come to pass if Paul had not finally been persuaded to waive his rights to a substantial portion of his fortune. Dr. Wachtell's persistence on his behalf had resulted in the Reichsbank's agreeing to his keeping 1.8 million Swiss francs. A further 300,000 SF from Paul's share was paid to the lawyers Bloch, Wachtell and Bienstock of which Paul recouped 200,000 from Ji as well as a further 300,000, being slightly less than his share in the capital of the Wistag holding company. All in all then Paul succeeded in retaining 2.3 million SF of his foreign assets at a cost of just over 1.2 million SF. All of his cash and real estate in Germany including his half-share in the great palace and his third share of the Neuwaldegg estate were transferred for no consideration to his sisters Hermine and Helene. On an Internal Revenue Service tax form for August 1945 Paul estimated the value of his assets in the U.S., as of December 31, 1944, at $924,821. Using calculations based on the Consumer Price Index this amount in 1944 can be said to have had a value in the year 2000 equivalent to $9,066,875--a substantial sum of money by most people's standards but nothing compared to Paul's real worth if the Nazis had not intervened.

  No sooner had Paul's money been taken into German hands than all departments fell upon it like a pack of hungry hyenas and a great bureaucratic confusion ensued between the Reichsbank, the Central Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments, the Assets Control Office, the Reich Emigration Tax Office and the Gestapo. The Reichsbank had signed an agreement with Paul that he could remove all his non-fixed assets, at least those that were not subject to export control. Everything was packed and ready to go when the Central Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments stepped in and overruled the Reichsbank. On his 1944 IRS return Paul had declared: "I have no knowledge as to whether personal belongings in Austria are still intact and what they are worth. These included at one time at least valuable works of art, manuscripts and furniture."

  Part of the agreement with his sisters had stated that his emigration tax should be paid out of the cash he had transferred to them, and when the Assets Control Office revalued Paul's domestic fortune at 6.4 million Reichsmarks the Reich Emigration Tax Office immediately demanded 25 percent or 1.6 million RM of it. Hermine and Helene hired the services of Dr. Indra, who had so recently succeeded in wrestling the money from Paul, to protect their new found fortune from the tax man.

  VALUABLE MANUSCRIPTS

  Two days after the Wittgenstein family had received its certification of Mischling status, at 5:35 a.m. on the morning of September 1, 1939, some 1.25 million officers and men massed along the German border with Poland in East Prussia were given orders to advance. "Achtung! Panzer, marsch!" The roar of airplanes, motorcycles, armored cars, tanks and supply trucks smashed the silence of the clean morning air and within minutes the sound of explosives and gunfire was added to the din. The huge cavalcade advanced at extraordinary speed toward Warsaw and within eight days the German Blitzkrieg was over. Poland was transformed into yet another province of Hitler's expanding Reich. On September 3, before the fighting was concluded, the British and French Prime Ministers declared war on Germany.

  Ji was still in Vienna when the news came through. As an American citizen he was in no immediate danger, but he and his mother were desperate to smuggle as much valuable property out of the country as they could before things got any worse. On September 10 he packed his suitcase in preparation for his return to Washington, stuffing furtively, under a pile of pants and socks, a significant number of original musical manuscripts: the Scherzo of Beethoven's Quartet Opus 130; the song "Lied aus der Ferne;" nineteen Beethoven holograph letters; Brahms's Handel Variations and two versions of the D minor Piano Concerto; Mozart's Serenade (K 3
61) and the String Quintet in C (K 515); six songs by Schubert, including the famous "Die Forelle" (The Trout); a piano duet sonata; and a collection of sketches by Wagner for Die Walkure.

  Karl and Leopoldine had been avid collectors of musical manuscripts. Gretl inherited some of them and expanded her collection with new acquisitions after her father's death. In the 1920s, before Jerome had disgraced himself in the Wall Street Crash, she had charged him with the task of buying musical manuscripts, as well as French paintings and Oriental and Egyptian art. These were to be seen as long-term investments bought with her money using his apparently expert eye. In this way Jerome amassed several significant collections. Many of the manuscripts that were in Vienna in June 1938 were hidden from the Nazi inspectors and not listed on Gretl's declaration of assets. At the time of the passport trial some were discovered and placed by the authorities in the vaults of the Austrian National Library, but there were others still hidden away. It was these that Ji pushed into his suitcase, in the hope of slipping them out of Austria.