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The Journal of Military History 68.4 (2004) 1343-1350



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Letters to the Editor

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To the Editor:

This letter is in reference to David Kahn's book review in the July 2004 issue of the Journal (vol. 68, #3) of my late husband's book Partners at the Creation published by the Naval Institute Press last October. I wrote to Mr. Kahn because he made presumptions that were just not correct. He sent me a perfunctory response. I feel obliged to share with you my comments on this review.

Mr. Kahn stated without any prior knowledge that the goal of the book was "to help historians." Jim was far too wise for that. He wrote the book as an eye-witness account, pure and simple. He could not do otherwise, because the Central Intelligence Agency provided him no documents with which to work. It was only after the book went to the publishers that the CIA began declassifying material regarding the origins of the German national intelligence service. The only other eye-witness account of these events was the memoir of Reinhard Gehlen, which was published in 1971.

Mr. Kahn also attacked the Naval Institute Press for not producing a more documented book. The Naval Institute Press puts a 300-page limit on memoirs of this nature. The original 1,100-page draft with appendices and charts, which contained the historical perspective noted lacking, is among the papers now housed in the archives of the College of William and Mary. The collection is available for scholars and future generations. While it does not contain unpublished CIA information, it does have relevant material, including documents provided by the BND [Bundesnachtrichtendienst] and other personalities who were involved. There are also extensive correspondence files between Jim and German and American colleagues. So all is not lost; historians can immerse themselves in the material.

While Mr. Kahn believes the book adds nothing to the history of the establishment of postwar German intelligence, the current BND president disagrees with him. He and other BND staff are grateful to have this memoir and German publisher Koehler Mittler of Hamburg has purchased the
German-language rights for the book. I would also like to point out that Partners at the Creation was nominated for the 7th Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards, which will be announced in September. And the U.K. magazine History Today is running a favorable review in its next edition, which I believe comes out in August.

These comments may be of interest to your readership.

Williamsburg, Virginia
[End Page 1343]


Mr. Kahn Responds:

I sympathize with Lois Critchfield in defending her husband's book. I don't know her and didn't know him and had no wish to hurt her or tarnish his memory. I am sorry if she thinks I did.

However, as a reviewer I owe allegiance to the readers of this journal. I must evaluate the book as published. The 1100-page draft and the papers deposited at William and Mary are therefore irrelevant. I repeat that in my opinion the book adds nothing significant to the history of the founding of the BND. That its present chief says he is grateful for it is only to be expected and does not contradict my view.

Mrs. Critchfield says the book was written "as an eye-witness account" but not for historians for, she says, Critchfield was "far too wise" to help us. The remark makes no sense. Are we too dumb to understand him, or too smart to need him? It suggests to me that Mrs. Critchfield is responding not intellectually but emotionally. I stand by my review.

Great Neck, New York



To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the article entitled: "A Critique of Pure Success: Inchon Revisited, Revised, and Contrasted" by Professor Russel H. S. Stolfi in your April...

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