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249A
Berlin
21 September 1914
Dear Professor,
The report is enclosed.
I hope we shall see you again at our home in a few days. If in any way possible, I shall see to a victory!
Morale is improving here! The chances in the West are more favourable. There are rumours of an imminent action against England. And then Hindenburg1 has gone to Galicia, with, they say, about 100,000 men.
Cordial greetings, also from my wife, to you and yours! Looking forward to seeing you again soon,
Yours,
Karl Abraham
Paul von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg [1847-1934], German field marshal [from 1914 on] and later president [1925-1934]. On 22 August 1914, along with Erich Ludendorff [1865-1937], he had assumed the leadership of the Eighth Army, which recorded great successes on the Eastern front. At the end of August 1916 both assumed the Third High Command, which, strongly influenced by heavy industry, presided over the strategic planning and leadership of the war. After the defeat of Germany he lost nothing in popularity, and, despite his monarchical stance, he became the second president of the Weimar Republic; it was in this capacity that he appointed Hitler as chancellor in 1933.