Leserbriefe zur Rezension

Reina Hankel schrieb uns am 13.04.2004
Thema: Waltraud Strickhausen: Generation ohne Väter

Dear Sir/Madam,

Apart from above mentioned review I cannot find any other information about books of Konrad Merz (Kurt Lehmann). I am very interested in "Memoiren aus neunzig Jahren" (Bocholt, Achterland, 1998) and "Liebeskunst für Greise", memoiren unseres Jahrhunderts (Berlin, Aufbau-Verlag, 1992).

After the war it seems that Kurt Lehmann has informed the Dutch government, that he had suffered a lot during te war. He received financial compensation from the government.
In reality he did not suffer very much. He was in hiding at the house of an aunt of my father in the village Ilpendam in Noord Holland during the whole war (not so far from Purmerend). In this agricultural part of the country there was enough food. According to my father (who is now 83 years old) Mr. Lehmann was a very lazy guy, who mostly stayed in his bed till about 11 o´clock in de morning. After the war this aunt financed Mr. Lehmanns education for physiotherapist and never heard from him again. When her daughter found out that he had received financial compensation from the government, she wrote him a letter and he payed the aunt 10.000 guilders (to be quiet?).

I am not interested in his novels, but more in his ´Memoiren`. I would very much like to know if his memories of the war are in accordance with what realy happened.
People can write a lot and if the witnesses do not feel like talking, we get a lot of historical forgery.

Can you please let me know if his earlier mentioned `Memoiren` are still for sale somewhere, or if there is a person or address where I can get more information about Mr. Lehmann?

Thanks in advance.
With kind regards,

Reina Hankel