Letter to Jan Frankel, May 10, 1939

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Another Anonymous Letter

Dear Friend:

I am sending you an anonymous letter received from San Francisco some days ago. Two or three days before we received a phone call from San Francisco from someone asking for Natalia or for a secretary who spoke Russian. We could not answer the call because it was not on our telephone system and it would have been necessary to go outside the house, it was night, and we were doubtful about the whole story. Then in two days came this letter in two copies, one addressed to me and the other to Natalia.

The importance of the letter is clear from the letter itself. I believe the author is the same who previously sent us a letter from New York asking for an answer in the Socialist Appeal. I considered the first letter as seventy-five percent a provocation for the purpose of making us suspicious of a certain comrade. Also the allusion to Lushkov was too improbable. The enclosed letter seems incomparably more trustworthy. I cannot see what interest the Three-Letters [GPU] would have in sending us such a message. I suppose that the author is the same, namely, W. In that case, if both letters came from the same source, the first letter merits more attention (I have never received any communication about the results of the investigation).

What interest can W. have in acting in such an enigmatic manner? I believe that he does not trust us. He knows some agents in our milieu. On the other hand, he is more or less inspired by some animosity toward us. He told our common, deceased friend [Leon Sedov] about some attempts prepared against his father. He even communicated some details. I do not know them because at that time it was planned that W. would meet me and tell me everything he knew. But then, under some mysterious influence, he changed his attitude. Possibly he simply noticed that we were absolutely foreign to him. On his own initiative he broke off almost all relations with our young friend. After the death of our friend, he sent me a cable of condolence. That was all.

The reason for his going to the States and the people who helped him are absolutely unknown to me. I am sure that he knows incomparably more than he says or writes. Many things that he knows are surely compromising for himself; he was not an observer in these affairs…

Is he really the author of the enclosed letter? It would be necessary to find out whether he visited the San Francisco Exposition, but first it is necessary to find him. The question is of the greatest importance. Even if he is not the author of this letter, he knows of the preparations for different attempts, as of many other things. He must speak. We are interested in averting every difficulty for him and we can even help him in this respect. You recall, of course, that his first presentation to public opinion was made in accordance with a plan proposed by us after the catastrophe of Ignace [Reiss]. We can be very useful to him in this respect in the future. But he must speak. His letters (if they are really his) show that he feels himself where his duty lies. However, we must underline it. If necessary, I could send you our young friend’s letters in which W.’s knowledge of the attempts were mentioned. These letters are documents. We are not interested in using them publicly, but he must speak. It is necessary to find him at any price. The enclosed letter might possibly serve you as a “credential.”

I wrote about the matter to Joe [Hansen] (before I received this letter), but I fear that I was not explanatory enough. Please discuss the matter with him and elaborate a plan of action.

Explain to W. that, in spite of divergences, we can have a very close united front in the fight against the Three-Letters. I am, of course, ready to meet him under conditions that will assure him of full safety. I believe that our discussions could also be of some value in his literary activity. For example, it is very important that he go back to the Moscow trials in the press, and many other questions.

I shall await your communications on the matter with the greatest interest.

Comradely,

L.D.