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Correspondence from Martha Küntzel to Aleister Crowley
Leipzig
19th of April [19]29
Dear Great Brother,
93
Your letter with the enclosed newspaper was a fearful blow; it simply knocked me down, for I saw the disastrous consequences that the publishing of the interview with you must needs have. I quite believe that your stocks will rise to the heavens, but not in Germany! Anyone who reads of your work as a secret agent of the English in the guise of pro-German work will turn away.
*I knew it long ago, that is, since I read it in the "Hag" [The Confessions of Aleister Crowley], and I will tell you to-day that the words "I wormed myself into the confidence of Graf Bernstorf" have never quite dropped out of my memory.
*I might have been your witness in Paris that you could never have been on the German side, as I read—again in the Hag—that you did not like Germans, nor their ways.
All these remembrances I could put aside, for they have nothing to do with the Great Work as such; so they are of no consequence for me. It is not the personality whom I am following, but the Master Therion, the Logos of the New Aeon, and so my own work will suffer no interruption. But I am thinking of all the others,—I don't know whether I may even take out Gebhardi [Otto Gebhardi]—they won't understand. Especially what is said about your intimate relations to boys, because it might remind them of Leadbeater [Charles Webster Leadbeater]. Remember, please, that they have not studied your works as intimately as I was lucky enough to have the opportunity, so they will only see the fact and not understand the motive.
The thing is already in our German papers. Grosche [Eugen Grosche] sent me a short note to-day from one the most-read Berlin papers. But I could not help laughing in spite of all, because he seems to make me—me!—half responsible for the coming noise in all the occult magazines.
There have been two articles as an answer to yours in the Astralen Warte, one by a woman, a Celtic seer of an enormous volubility which is above me to translate; but it is not meant to hurt, she tries to soften it in quite a feminine way. Her accompanying letter to me was also rather nice. The second one came from a Dr. Juris, whose ideas don't rise beyond Malkuth. He again tries to ridicule you and ends by making himself ridiculous.
I wrote a rectification and sent it off to-day, so that it will be published in the June edition.
Dr. Birven [Henri Birven] is at Aachen just now and bound to get a French newspaper; very likely he refuses now all help. That reminds me that I am looking forward to some copies of the English edition as soon as they are ready; otherwise there is no proper checking possible.
Mr. Goedel sent the MS back with a few helpful suggestions. For the rest he treats my translation in exactly the opposite from Germer's [Karl Germer]; there could not be a greater contrast than these two men in their ways.
I wish for the very best for you.
93 93/93
Very down-cast, but ever loyal
Your little sister
I. W. E.
*Note this well: it shows that there is nothing new about my attitude.
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