Description:

Two Allen Dulles ALS on Operation Sunrise and SS Gen. Karl Wolff

A pair of autograph letters signed by Allen W. Dulles. Both are 2pp, measuring 7.25" x 10.5", written on Dulles' personal letterhead, and addressed to Miss Joan Daves. Both are signed twice as "Allen W. Dulles" and "A.W.D." Dated July 31, 1966, and August 12, 1966, both letters concern a publication in collaboration with "Der Spiegel" magazine, relating to events surrounding SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff's escape from prosecution for war crimes in 1945 due to his role in "Operation Sunrise". Both letters have flattened folds with bold signatures. Near fine.

Highlights from the letters include:

July 31, 1966: "…I agree to the 'Spiegel' proposal if you consider it highly desirable to do so and if Harpers O.K.s the form in which the chapter 'climax' is presented. Obviously there will have to be some 'introduction' & probably some 'explanatory' notes…I have known 'Spiegel' over the years and I do not put it beyond them to 'sensationalize' to help the sales if we give them a chance to do this. This I should like to avoid at all costs…"

August 12, 1966: "…I have no objection to Gero's talking to 'Spiegel' provided only that any final arrangements with them have the approval of Cass Caufield Sr. at Harper & Row. This is as it should be under my contract with them regarding 'foreign rights' to the Sunrise Book…Personally I am not pressing for a deal with Spiegel and would be quite prepared to drop it - but if it is your judgment & Harpers that it would be desirable to proceed with it and if Gero and Harpers are satisfied with the arrangements made with them (Spiegel), I too am satisfied. The story which is now 'going the rounds' is that Spiegel was to reprint the 'articles' in Harpers magazine (July & August) and stress the fact that no mention was there made of Wolff's condemnation to 15 yrs of imprisonment by a German court…The failure to mention this was to be attacked by Spiegel with quotations from the German court's judgment…"

Allen Welsh Dulles (1893-1969) was the first civilian Director of the CIA and oversaw numerous key historical events, including the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, the Lockheed U-2 aircraft program, Project MKUltra, and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The latter failed invasion resulted in his firing by President John F. Kennedy. Dulles would later be a member of the Warren Commission tasked with investigating Kennedy's assassination.

Dulles was also involved in Operation Sunrise during WWII when secret negotiations were made in order to facilitate the surrender of German forces in northern Italy in 1945. Dulles was later criticized by many for offering German SS General Karl Wolff immunity from prosecution at the Nuremberg trial, as repayment for aiding the operation. Wolff was then indicted by the post-war German government and sentenced to four years imprisonment. In 1966, "Der Spiegel" published a crucial piece on the surrender in Italy, with an introduction taken from "The Secret Surrender" published by Allen Dulles and Gero von Gaevernitz on Operation Sunrise.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

May 4, 2022 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000