Hotel Adlon

As an apprentice at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin from 1935 to 1937, I read Mary Williams Walsh’s article “Can Spirit of Old Hotel Give Berlin New Life?” (July 7) with great interest. Walsh perfectly evokes the atmosphere of the Adlon as I remember it.

In fairness to Louis Adlon, he was solidly anti-Nazi. Hitler and his Nazi party members did not patronize the Adlon until the early 1940s. Adlon allowed the Nazis in only after great pressure. The Esplanade was the preferred Nazi meeting place.

I am probably the best witness for Louis Adlon’s character.

In 1935 it was impossible for a 15-year-old Jewish boy to obtain an apprenticeship in any of Berlin’s top hotels. I was accepted at the Adlon nevertheless. At the end of 1937, when I could not finish my apprenticeship because of well-known political circumstances, Adlon gave me a personal certificate. This certificate helped me to find excellent hotel positions around the world.

WILLIAM D. FREMONT

Los Angeles