Transcript of Letter from Katherine Fite to Mr. and Mrs. Emerson Fite

5 ARCHIVES "NATIONAL AND Sunday, August 5th. RECORDS Dearest Mother and Daddy, ADMIN.' I am afraid T am building to letters of anti-d climax, because every time I write, I have a trip to Germany to write: about and for the time being I suppose they're just about over. To- night I am just back from a week-end in Frankfurt. General Betts, the Theater Jugge Advocate invited the Justice (inc. me) to spend the week- end at what amounts to almost his country estate. So off we flew yester- day noon, the Justice, his executive officer in Paris, Colonel Gill, a naval officer from here, his secretary, Mrs. Douglas, and myself. Really a purely social week-end, at least for me. This week-end was a bank holi- day, and the weather has been perfect, warm and sunny, the first warm days since I arrived. The flight to Frankfurt took about 2 3/4 hours- lovely over the Ardennes, with a faint mist outlining the hills. After landing in Frankfurt we drove out to Hobst, where the U.S. Group, Control Council, has had its offices in what looks like big factory buildings. Now however the main offices are moving to Berlin. Thence back through part of Frank- furt which they say is very badly destroyed, but really, I'm sick to death of ruins. We saw some very bad areas - some scarcely touched. The gene- ral's villa is out 35 minutes out of the city at Bad-Homburg, a watering- place, where they used also to make Homburg hats and zweibach. General Eisenhower's house is in the same "compound" (bordered by barbed wire and pa- trolled by M.P's); General Betts lives with his aide in a large and very comfortable, Teutonic sort of house, well staffed with German servants. The garden is lovely with apple trees, pear trees, plum trees. So we sat on the terrace, had cocktails - later dinner and then took a lovely walk in the twilight looking out over the afterglow behind a ridge of hills, beautiful as hills the world over. The German countryside is lovely, and they should have stuck to it. It all seemed very idyllic and peaceful ex- cept for the-MePde M.P. sentries challenging us in the dark. One even made the general "advance and be identified". In the morning we had black- berries and fresh eggs and bacon for breakfast (dried or rather powdered eggs make an awful scrambled mess) Then after breakfast a walk through the woods- then back to the terrace and sunshine. And this ie the piece dé re- sistance - General Eisenhower was to have come to lunch - but it was good flying weather, and he had to make a trip somewhere. After lunch we ling- ered over coffee - then to our plane at 4 ( 3 London time) and back here by 6, London time.. The channel was so calm, you could see the Dover cliffs reflected in the water. I timed our crossing - just 10 minutes. (Mr. Fahy, the ex-solicitor-General, now legal adviser to Clay, came for dinner. He was with us in Berlin and is a lovely soft-spoken person. So you see, tho being the only woman on the staff has many drawbacks, from the social point of view it pays. A masculine society is eager for women and we have the added advantage of being in civilian clothes. Tho when we go into Germany for the trial we may have to get into uniform to be more easily identified. Unless the Army pays for it, it will be expensive. My army colleagues are, I am sure, jealous of my trips, for I do go places and travel in high circles, but they are very gallant about it. At least I am seeing how topside fares in military occupation. But of course this week-end wasn't a fair picture. These men have all been through the grim- ness of war. Gen. Betts said it was the first such day he had spent in 2 172 years. for 8,000 spectators. The Justice says they'll be lucky to get 50 specta- We are all distressed by a story A P got out that they were preparing as the A P said. tors into the court room. Nor will we go to Germany on the 15th of August Seems after we left Nuremberg they picked up 2 SS men who were ser- vants at the hotel and threw them into the prison camp. One was a cook and a darned good one. Also seems my good friend Col. Cutter got shot in -