Lot 1011
Baron Franz von Papen (1879-1969), German nobleman, Catholic politician, General Staff officer, German secret agent as a military attaché in the U.S.; Chancellor of Germany (1932); key member in the small clique of right-wing politicians responsible for Hitler's being named Chancellor in 1933, von Papen being named Vice-Chancellor; indicted at Nuremberg but acquitted on formal grounds, the tribunal deciding that his "political immoralities" were not under its jurisdiction.
Autograph Letter Signed, 14 September (ca 1914), "Somewhere in North Dacota [sic]", in English to an American friend, von Papen refers to "…the celebrated U.S. Secret Service, who is watching me now a good full year…".
Estimate 750 - 1,000
Von Papen was rather careless in his own right, a forgotten briefcase on a New York train leading to the discovery of his activities. He was deported as persona non grata for espionage. En route back to Germany, his luggage was confiscated and 126 check stubs were found showing payments to his agents. In April of 1916, a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Papen for a plot to blow up Canada's Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, but Papen was safely on German soil. Charges against him were apparently dropped when he became Chancellor of Germany.
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