Photo follows General Werner Lange invited Mr Irving also to speak to his Panzer Division officers in Württemberg. Germany's Socialist government did not take kindly to this. Transcription of Handwritten letter from David Irving to his wife describing recent lectures he had given in Germany's Rhineland Koblenz [Germany], 26th April 1979 THE present tour is about a week old [...] The meetings here are extraordinarily interesting and exciting, although you did not seem particularly interested when I began telling you of last night's audiences on the phone this morning. What a pity that you never learned German! The excitement started with Monday evening, when I arrived at 8:00 pm at Bonn University and found seven or eight hundred students and academics packed into a hall, waiting for me (and the organizers very nervous, because they did not know until the last moment that I had arrived.) There were a lot of critics in the audience, but I silenced them all: there was loud applause, laughter and cheering -- a fantastic meeting. Afterwards a university official handed me a letter, from a poor woman in a village outside Bonn, describing how desperately her son had wanted to be there to hear me; a politics student, he had red-lettered the day in his diary weeks in advance, and noted that he was going to come and hear me -- but that he had been very badly injured in Marseilles and could I send him an autograph? It is all rather worrying and disturbing, this growing hysteria: If I am fortunate I shall be able to guide [it] into useful channels, channels other than just that of getting the new book into the Best Sellers list. I wrote a two-page letter describing the [Bonn University] meeting in every detail for the boy, and I have promised that if I pass near Marseilles at the end of June I will visit him if he is still in hospital. Last night's meeting -- the one you did not want to hear about -- was smaller but even more extraordinary. Two hundred officers of the German army, navy and air force were assembled in the Military School of Inner Leadership. Half of them were in uniform -- three-star generals, colonels, admirals, and captains. Much to their added nervousness, this was the day that the deputy Supreme Commander (Inspector-General) of the forces, General Heinz, had chosen to make an unannounced inspection visit! So in front of me I had also the second highest-ranking officer in Germany. I spoke, as invited, for forty minutes on Hitler and my research and writing methods, and I particularly criticized the methods and results of the academic historians. Once, when I referred critically to the anti-Hitler resistance, there was an audible excited murmur from the audience, and several officers sneaked glances at the front row to see how General Heinz was reacting to this provocation. He sat sphinx-like and smiling. Once, when Professor [Hans] Adolf Jacobsen, one of their most famous historians, in his reply to my lecture, suggested that my Hitler book told him nothing new, General Heinz turned to a neighbour, as he told me later, shook his head and said: "I disagree. A lot of the things that Irving has revealed were completely new to me...!" Afterwards we sat in the officers' mess talking until midnight, then General [Werner] Lange invited us back to his house for drinks. (Orange juice in my case) and it was after 2:00 am before I got to bed. Today he invited us to lunch -- a very fine steak. He was in a good humour as the deputy Inspector-General [Heinz] had congratulated him on the evening. He is going to be posted to Hamburg and promoted. He says he wants me to return in the autumn. I find it very interesting that all these high-ranking officers are still so fascinated by the Hitler phenomenon, and want to learn more about him. I am sure there is something behind it all. That's all for the moment. [David Irving]