Messersmith, G.S.
Date
2011-06-15
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press
Abstract
Description
Recollections of German Crown Prince [Wilhelm] and his son, Louis Ferdinand; with wife,Messersmith played golf most Sundays at Wansee Club; club frequented by Germans as well as Americans and other foreigners resident in Berlin; Crown Prince appeared almost every Sunday with different young lady; not surprising that he should have mistresses, but he showed bad taste in bringing them to Club only a few miles from villa where he lived with his wife; he kept himself very much apart, to the satisfaction of Germans as well as foreigners; in marked contrast was his wife who was an amiable and kindly lady and as respected by German people as her husband was held in disrespect; also in contrast was second son of Crown Prince, Prince Louis Ferdinand, a fine looking young man at that time in his early twenties; the Messersmiths came to know him well and he dropped into their home frequently; he spoke English well, was completely without pretensions, and seemed to like Americans; he spoke frequently of his grandfather, the former Emperor, and of his mother, but never mentioned his father; Messersmith had first met Louis Ferdinand in Buenos Aires, when he was Consul General there and Louis Ferdinand was working in Ford assembly plant there; before Hitler regime came in he spoke freely of dangers he saw coming for his country and possible repercussions in the rest of the world; when Messersmith was in the State Department between 1937 and 1940 Louis Ferdinand was still with the Ford Motor Company in Detroit and occasionally visited the Messersmiths in Washington; he was genuinely attached to America and would have preferred, Messersmith believes, to make his home there, but he returned to Germany some time before war started; has heard nothing of him since.
Keywords
Messersmith, George S. (George Strausser), 1883-1960.