How A Letter On Hitler's Stationery, Written To A Boy In Jersey, Reached The CIA

WASHINGTON -- A letter written on Adolf Hitler's stationery by a U.S. Office of Strategic Services intelligence officer stationed in Germany to his son in New Jersey is now on display in agency's private museum in Langley, Va. It was donated to the CIA's collection by the agent's son, Dennis Helms, now 69 years old. According to The Washington Post:

The letter astounded the CIA museum's curatorial staff when it was acquired in May -- and not only because Helms wrote with such paternal tenderness. It also conveyed a certain historical intuition about the evil that one man could do. The letter happened to arrive at Langley the day after Osama bin Laden was killed in May.

Since Helms was 3-years-old at the time he originally received the letter, he lost track of it over the years.

Helms father, Richard, was one of the founding members of the CIA and rose to become the agency's director. A biographer described the elder Helms, who died in 2002, as the "gentlemanly planner of assassinations" but was eventually pushed out during the Nixon administration because, Helms believed, he didn't allow the agency to be used in the cover up of the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate.

CLARIFICATION:This post has been updated to reflect that Richard Helms was a U.S. intelligence officer in Office of Strategic Services, the intelligence service that preceded the Central Intelligence Agency, at the time he wrote the letter to his son in 1945.

Comments

[hman570]

06:45 AM on 11/04/2011

What is he trying to say?? The artical says nothing of what he wanted his son to know? Poor Poor artical.

[KC-CAJUN]

06:19 AM on 11/04/2011

How could anyone not see the parallels between post-WWII and today's Arab Spring? Those countries occupied by the Nazi's that were liberated by the Allies rose to become great Democracies. Those under the Soviet Union had to wait another 50 years to see freedom and democracy.

It is a good thing for evil dictatorships to be destroyed, but we all must be leery of the replacements...like today's Arab countries.

[jsh125]

06:41 AM on 11/04/2011

what??? The arab spring has to do with food shortages, unemployment, tyranny and oppression meets opportunity..which is a far cry from the preservation of the status quo, which was the defining characteristic of American involvement in Europe...nor is this scenario akin to the ideas of hedgemony in the pacific which characterized the war in the Pacific. If anything this is closer to the revolts that followed the industrial revolution that began in Europe around 1830~

[tubajew]

06:10 AM on 11/04/2011

The lead for this story says "What he wanted his son to know." Well? What did he want his son to kmow? The author never posted any transcripts, paraphrasing, or anything else that even remotely lets you know what was said. Very poor reporting here.

[KC-CAJUN]

06:07 AM on 11/04/2011

But wait! I thought the current thinking by the enlightened intelligentsia is that the whole Hitler story was just a fabrication by the Zionist Jews. Wouldn't that make this a "non-story?"

[FiredUpRTG]

06:53 AM on 11/04/2011

The old "I didn't see it myself so it must not be true" philosophy. Those people must squirm when listening about George Washington fighting the British.

[ONLYGRAYCLOUDS]

03:29 AM on 11/04/2011

oops i meant i think that its good that his father wrote that letter to his son but what benefit could that have ?Everyone knows hitler was a fascist and the same people who helped him raise to power are the same shadow government that started world war l and ll and they are still working under the government as well as the u.s government to try to destroy the nation with their one world order

[ONLYGRAYCLOUDS]

03:25 AM on 11/04/2011

I think that it was good that his fatehr wrote this letter to his son but how does it benefit him in anyway? I mean hitler was a fascist and we should all know who helped jim raise to power the same people that started world war l and ll and they are still working under the government and under the u.s government to try to destroy the nation with their one world order

[Bobby Dias]

02:20 AM on 11/04/2011

So- Dennis is another liar of Huffington Post! Huffington Post is living proof that democrats are liars!

[michaelmcb34]

04:33 AM on 11/04/2011

What makes you think ALL democrats are liars?

[mariahklong]

04:56 AM on 11/04/2011

Bobby, Republicans are as full of bull as the Dem's.

[scromolie]

06:33 AM on 11/04/2011

how can you tell a politician is lying? his/her lips are moving!

[lordgamble]

01:03 AM on 11/04/2011

Mien Kompf and Audacity of Hope. Both written by intellegent madmen.

[mohtro]

01:34 AM on 11/04/2011

half right. Mien Kompf and Decision Points writen by 2 idiots who destroyed their countries

[freshprince511]

01:49 AM on 11/04/2011

Drop dead!

[blueheronwv]

11:43 PM on 11/03/2011

Who really gives a chit......that's history - long over.

[LiBra99]

01:06 AM on 11/04/2011

"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."

[FiredUpRTG]

06:56 AM on 11/04/2011

Obviously you think a portable CD player is an ancient relic. Please be quiet and let the adults show you truth.

History saves time; so we don't have to re-invent the wheel but go forward.

[ullrolo]

10:54 PM on 11/03/2011

That woman is a terrible news anchor, the tone of her voice made me cringe

[Larry Albright]

11:58 PM on 11/03/2011

Glenn Beck just tells the truth about Obama.

[autofreak112]

12:04 AM on 11/04/2011

If truth to you means the interpretations of a madman, then yes.

[wb7ptr]

12:49 AM on 11/04/2011

I think it's the other way around :)

[Sppannkkme]

12:08 AM on 11/04/2011

Well, at least Glenn Beck can complete an entire sentence, which is more than what you managed to do.

[flying hawk]

12:18 AM on 11/04/2011

BROVO

[grazer333]

10:27 PM on 11/03/2011

Wir sind Verruckt! Wir sind ganz Verruckt! Wir Koennen nicht es verstehen warum wir so verruckt sind!
Hitler ist ein Scheisshund

[granpawmike]

10:57 PM on 11/03/2011

HUH ??

[frosty772]

11:46 PM on 11/03/2011

I think he said.........

We are insane. We are entirely insane. We dont know or understand why he was insane.

Hitler was a watchdog.

[flying hawk]

12:34 AM on 11/04/2011

Most Germans Used the word Swinehund also schiessenkoph (s..thead) Pigdog. U.S.Army Berlin Brigade 1958-1963 6th Infantry

[Bobby Dias]

02:30 AM on 11/04/2011

Swinehund is what Barack Obama calls everybody who does not agree with him. Then Michelle Obama says that she wants to be the one who kills who disagrees with God Barack!

[Mark Newman]

10:27 PM on 11/03/2011

Richard Helms lost his job at the CIA, because of his principles. Tough to do when you head one of the major spy agencies in the world. It would be interesting to see the letter he sent his son.

[grazer333]

10:20 PM on 11/03/2011

You know, the Fuerher was a lovely dancer! He could do a triple lutz like no one!

[andrwsroe]

11:35 PM on 11/03/2011

AND HE COULD PAINT TOO! A WHOLE HOUSE IN ONE DAY! TWO COATS!! LOL!!!

[wb7ptr]

12:54 AM on 11/04/2011

Adolf should have stuck with painting and dancing ... would have created far less problems in the world! The man definitely took a wrong turn somewhere :(

Shalom ...

[kmcc895370]

10:17 PM on 11/03/2011

A "planner of assassinations" writes a letter to his son on Hitler stationary about the evil men are capable of ? What a hypocrite! "Watch out for bad people, son. Oops! I am one!"