Web Letters | The Nation

Ebensee concentration camp

Interesting article on Hitler’s master builder. Hitler gave a direct order to another master builder, SS General Hans Kammler, the architect of the tunnels at Ebensee, Austria. These tunnels, built by 25,000 slave labor prisoners of war and political prisoners, were built for an American hero—Nazi SS officer Wernher von Braun. Eight thousand died while constructing the tunnels until the remaining almost 17,000 were liberated on May 6, 1945. The stories of these American GI liberators of the Ebensee concentration camp are covered in the book Inside the Gates—The Nazi Concentration Camp at Ebensee, Austria. My father was commanding officer of the 139th Evacuation (MASH) Hospital at Ebensee. Under his command, those remaining living, walking dead were triaged in just five weeks to freedom.

Dr. Richard G. Macdonald

Washington, IL

May 30 2013 - 4:26pm

Speer’s buildings: just plain bad

It was such a pleasure to read a frank assessment by a discerning critic and forceful writer, though a voice in my head kept teasing, “Tell us what you really think!” It was critique without contrast, though for once none was needed. Speer’s buildings are indefensible, which is why those who feel they must defend them look for a good offense to substitute for the defense they can’t make. Looking at Speer’s dome (which, by the way, sank into the soft Berlin soil, being too heavy for the site), I can only wish Etienne-Louis Boullee had been able to build his memorial to Isaac Newton, thus giving the lie to Hitler and Speer’s idea of proportion and originality-within-tradition. Speer neither built nor even designed a good building, so far as can be told without actually visiting one of his glandular distortions in person (the only way to truly judge a building being to walk it). I will keep this to inspire me when I wonder if art criticism serves any purpose. It does, and yes, aesthetics and ethics are never in conflict!

geoffrey wichert

Murray, UTAH

May 24 2013 - 2:50pm