Rudolph Salvermoser Post-WWII Interrogatories

INTERROGATORY

Regional Loyalty Board; FOURTH UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE REGIONAL OFFICE, Washington, DC (Executive Order 10241, The White House, 28 April 1951, signed Harry S. Truman) – Questions of the board to Rudolph Salvermoser and his answers

Paragraph V.

Information has been received to the effect that from September 1, 1942, to May 1945, you were a member of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or Nazi Party) and that your party number was 9 106 256.

Please furnish full and complete information concerning the nature and extent of your affiliation with, and activities in, the Nazi Party as well as the extent of your adherence to the Nazi ideology and your reasons, therefore.

Also, explain the nature and extent of your affiliation with the Hitler Youth and the circumstances surrounding your entrance into and service with the German Army, both of which you disclosed on your application for Federal Employment executed on April 24, and July l5, l952.

[My Reply]:

1. In 1932, then 8 years old, I became a member of the “Scharnhorst” organization, which was the youth movement of the “Stalhelm”. (The “Stahlhelm” was to my knowledge an Anti-Hitler organization). The “Scharnhorst” was dissolved in the early part of 1933. I then was a member of a non-political “Turnverein” (a local sports club), and in September 1933, we (the former members of the “Scharnhorst” and the “Turnverein”) were transferred to the “Jungvolk”. In 1937, I was transferred to the “Hitlerjugend” in which I remained a member until 1942.

2. Since I was considered a German citizen by German authorities, I would have been drafted into the German Army. I volunteered for the service in the Wehrmacht approximately in October 1941 for the following reasons:

a. Almost everybody in my Highschool-class volunteered around the same time for the German Army, and I did not want to be one of the few ones who did not do so.

b. At that time, Germany was not at war with the United States. I believed Germany was fighting for a good cause, namely against aggressive communistic Russia. We were made to believe that the war against the Western Powers was also forced upon us by these powers.

3. Just before I was called into the “Wehrmacht”, I had an interview with the “Ortsgruppenleiter der NASDAP” of our hometown in Germany. He wanted from me the necessary data for transferring me from the Hitler Youth to the NSDAP. As far as I know, every member of the Hitler Youth was transferred to the NSDAP at the age of 18. However, it took three to six months from the time of application, until one could become a “member” of the Party. One was first considered an “Anwärter” (which is not a member). It was my understanding that as soon as one was drafted into the German Army, one could not become a member of the Party. I was certain that I was not considered a “member” for the above reason. I never had to pay any membership fees; and I never participated in any Party activity.

Paragraph VI.

On your Applications for Federal Employment, referred to in the preceding question, you listed membership in the Hitler Youth in reply to Question No.28, “Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of a Fascist organization?” Since the investigation disclosed that you were also a member of the National Socialist German Workers Party, you are requested to furnish a full explanation of your failure to list membership in that organization in your reply to Question No. 28.

[My Reply]:

The reason why I did not mention in question no.28, that I was a member of the Nazi Party, is explained in paragraph V of this interrogatory. However, I always admitted that I had been an “Anwärter” of the Party whenever I was specifically asked. I had to fill out an interrogatory when I was discharged from the German Army by U. S. Military Authorities. On this form, I mentioned that I was a Party Anwärter.

Paragraph VIII.

Please note hereon any comments you desire to make regarding your loyalty to the United States which you believe should be considered in determining your suitability for Federal employment.

[My Reply]:

I believe the following points should be considered for determining my suitability for Federal employment:

1. I have served in the U.S. Army from l948 – l952. I volunteered twice for an assignment in Korea. but was never accepted for technical reasons.

2. I left this country when I was only 4 years old. If ever I believed anything of the Nazi Ideology, it was due to the circumstance, that at that time I did not know anything else but what I was told and made to believe. I was too young to understand the meaning of Nazi theories. Eight years have passed since the defeat of Nazi Germany, and in these eight years, which I believe were the most important ones of my political education, I have learned the political way of life from the democratic point of view.

3. At no time during my residence in Germany did any US Consul or other US Government Representative contact or advice either my grandparents or myself on the possible status of my US citizenship.