[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Ed,

Yes, being an Israeli, Daniel would certainly be interested in the aspect of the use of slave labor to boost aircraft production. It wasn't really that the SS was trying to push into this area, but, as I understand it, instead the SS was approached by the aircraft manufacturers for additional labor, the SS controlling essentially the only remaining source of labor with which to work. In one of his papers, Daniel refers to "The Production Miracle", which told the story of how this new source of labor allowed for the increased aircraft industry production. And, being an Israeli, the use of the words "The Production Miracle" hardly speaks to a bias against the use of slave labor, but rather a historian's view as to its contribution to the German war effort. I repeat that I have not seen the book but, based on his previous papers, I don't think you will see a lot of Nazi bashing.

For that, I can recommend the book St. Georgen - Gusen - Mauthausen: Concentration Camp Mauthausen Reconsidered, By Rudolf A. Haunschmied, Jan-Ruth Mills, and Siegi Witzany-Durda. This well researched book has enormous details and, if one wants to learn of the horrors of the Nazi system of slave labor, this is the book for you. It certainly carries a very strong message which you might want to say is biased, but then, the truth is the truth. It's just a question of the authors' intent and, in the case of Daniel's book, I don't believe that was his intent.

Regards,
Richard