In the Garden of Beasts, written by Erik Larson, published by Broadway Books, 2011.
William E. Dodd was sixty-four years old and the chairman of the history department at the University of Chicago when President Roosevelt reached out to him in June of 1933 and asked him to join the administration as the Ambassador to Germany. Given the threatening emergence of Adolph Hitler, it wasn't considered a highly desirable assignment but Dodd was feeling restless with his academic career and willing to accept the challenge even though he wasn't the first pick for the job. On July 5, 1933, Dodd, accompanied by his wife Mattie and two grown children, daughter Martha and son Bill, boarded the Washington and sailed to Hamburg to begin their new adventure.
The author, Erik Larson, picks up the story at this point and delivers a riveting narrative vividly illustrating the ruthless developments within Germany that would eventually lead to World War II. Ambassador Dodd witnessed this transformation firsthand and dutifully informed the State Department of his observations and recommendations even though he was always considered "an outsider" by the "Pretty Good Club" within the State Department. Following several key developments including the purge known as "The Night of the Long Knives," and the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler assumed the duties of president as well as chancellor. In response, Dodd wrote letters to President Roosevelt and General Douglas McArthur, among others, warning that the German authorities were "preparing for a great continental struggle." He also sent a letter to Secretary of State Cordell Hull expressing his frustration that Washington was not willing to intercede. Dodd thereafter disengaged himself from further contact with Hitler's Third Reich while the State Department began campaigning behind the scenes to have him removed from his position. In response, Dodd traveled to Washington to meet with President Roosevelt. Following a personal meeting with President Roosevelt on October 19, 1937, Dodd returned to Berlin. However, on November 23, 1937, he received a telegram from Secretary of State Cordell Hull requesting his resignation before the end of the year. Upon returning to America, Dodd was honored with a dinner at the Waldorf Astoria where he continued to raise the alarm about Germany's intentions. Thus ended William E. Dodd's diplomatic career.
But there's more to the backstory. Erik Larson, the author, also provides a discreet narrative of the activities of Martha Dodd while she was residing with her family in Berlin. Before leaving Chicago, Martha had been employed with the Chicago Tribune. Her dream was to become a writer and she was friends with Carl Sandburg and Thorton Wilder. Martha had also recently married George Bassett Roberts, a banker, but the marriage wasn't meeting her expectations and, given a choice between her new husband and adventure, she chose the latter. Twenty-four years old when she arrived in Germany, Martha took up residence with her family in a four-story mansion adjacent to the Tiergarten where she immersed herself in her role as a hostess for social gatherings. In this capacity, Martha was a huge hit and she was soon pursued by many suitors. One of them was Rudolf Diels, otherwise known as the "Prince of Darkness" who was head of the Gestapo. Martha's "indiscreet relationship" with Diels became an issue within the office of the consul general and was duly reported to Washington. Later on, Martha developed a "close relationship" with a man she met at a party named Boris Vinogradov who, in due course, revealed that he was an associate of the Soviet embassy. But there was a problem. Boris was not just an "associate" of the Soviet embassy, he was an operative for the Soviet intelligence services. Their relationship, it would turn out, would have long lasting consequences. Martha traveled to Russia and Poland to meet with Boris and she expressed a willingness to marry him but this never materialized. Upon her return to America she met Alfred K. Stern and they married in June of 1938. Martha published her memoir titled Through Embassy Eyes in 1939. In 1956, to avoid providing testimony in an espionage trial, Martha and her husband fled to Prague where Martha died on August 10, 1990.
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