Robert Harlan was an American exchange student who studied at the University of Marburg in Germany in 1938–1939.
During his time abroad, Robert kept a diary. In this November 11, 1938 entry, Robert describes traveling from Marburg to Würzburg in the aftermath of the anti-Jewish riot known as Kristallnacht. He planned to assist Bruno and Frieda Stern, the parents of a Jewish friend. The couple was able to immigrate to the United States in 1939.
Fr. Nov. 11 (1938)
So, here I am on the outskirts of Frankfurt, sitting in a train and bound for Würzburg where I know not what awaits me. From Marburg to now now I've been deliberately perusing a Sat Eve post in an effort to alienate my mind for the nonce from the matter at hand. The effort has not been particularly successful, naturally enough, and has served only to make even starker the grim situation here. For I've no doubt that grim it will be. This might be classified under 'adventure' but an adventure arising from such despicable, horrible, and unhuman sources! America, the land of freedom, still has much meaning I'm thinking.
Minutes later
Now I've managed to locate my Würzburg train—for a while there I thought I'd miss it—and at this very moment we're getting underway! Close connections! For the next 2 hours or so my chief occupation will be brooding and wondering desperately what action I can possibly take faced with various uncomfortable but real problems that may have arisen, to help solve them.
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