Letter No. 25. [Handwritten] Today your letter of October 19th (arrived?).

Dear Heinz,

Since your letter of October 3rđ, we are without any news from you and assuming ours will be delivered to you đelayed too I let follow mother's of a few days' ago one today.

Yesterday Herbert Ritter[1] came on business from Youngstown to New York and saw us last night. He is buyer at a big firm and looks not very different from what he was about 8 years ago we saw him the last time and makes a good appearance. He is married and has a 2 months' daughter.

Now Aschen has fallen[2], and as soon as Antwerp will be available for landing war materials, I hope so within the next days, an aggression on a larger scale will set in. Then your work will begin the difficulty of which depends on the attitudes of the population, not for the moment, but later one to help allies' effort to discard from the nazis' idea, that part of the population, the anti-nazis, will have to be supported to the utmost, It must be adopted what is proved and effective and successful in France after the 1871 war to eliminate the reactionary judges who frustrated at the courts to persecute the anti-republican elements. It nearly all over the world hạs been considered as guarantee of an unbiased judgement to give the judge a security for life never subjected to removal from office. The suspension of the relative stipulation of the law code had to be in force only for a short time then in France. The reactionary judges afraid of being dismissed by the government took care not to pass judgements in obvious contrast to the spirit of the republic. Just the same happened in Germany.

All efforts of the democratic Prussian government broke down on the judgment of the nazi judges who always decided in favour of accused nazis brought to court by the government, Characteristic, one of many thousands, is the case of von Ossietzki in whose periodical--without his knowing being on holidays at that time --an article has been published denouncing nazis unlawfully hiding arms. He has been arraigned for high treason and condemned. The Weimar Republic, best represented by the Prussia Government, was entirely powerless to suppress the nazi elements in their subversive attacks of the government. A verdict of not guilty could be reckoned upon by the accused nazi. In the same line as the judges the public prosecutors (Staatsenwälte) behaved who often enough refused to bring out a charge against reactionary elements. Even [] the Hitler law code--right is what lies in the interest of the nazi party--would not be of any use if not accompanied by suspension of the regulation that judges are not allowed to be reserved for life time. A law commission of the allies , as long as there is no guarantee given by democratic elements, should be allowed to dismiss judges or public prosecutors who pass judgements contrary to democracy.

This point of view I never have read about amongst all the proposals published in books or papers and I dare say is of importance.

In love.

[Signed] Father

{Handwritten] In love, Mother.

Notes:

1. Not a name I've heard of. Perhaps found on Geni and here.

2. Battle of Aachen was from October 2 to 21, 1944. Dad's unit would be stationed in Aachen for a few days in March 1945.