A letter from the Gestapo

  A letter from the Gestapo, Breslau, 1944    The Second World War had a huge impact on the Kissling family. This letter was sent by the Gestapo (the Nazi police force) to the Kissling family after the death of Dr Kissling's brother, Georg Conrad. It reads:   'the entire estate of the below mentioned persons has been secured by the Gestapo with immediate effect.'   The people listed are Georg Conrad, his wife Alice, who was imprisoned, and their three children.   Dr Kissling believed that Georg Conrad had been involved in the failed 20th July (1944) plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He killed himself before he could be arrested and the family's money and property were seized by the Gestapo.   Dr Kissling himself was not involved in the war. As an enemy 'alien' he was imprisoned on the Isle of Man. His friends fought for his release, arguing that he had always been opposed to the Nazis. He was eventually released and returned to Cambridge before the end of the war.   With thanks to Ralph Coleman and David Lockwood for providing information.   Dr Werner Kissling (1895-1988) was a German photographer and ethnographer who spent most of his life documenting Scottish crafts, architecture, and agricultural practices. He was associated with Dumfries Museum from the mid-1950s until his death in 1988.