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September 14, [19]41
Medem and Litzmann were here to see me yesterday. M[edem] now reported orally on his work in Zemgale. First he thanked me for giving him such a fine assignment. They worked, only five of them, day and night, he said. He has spoken to 40,000 people, he does not stay in inns, but rather in the homes of farmers. He has found the people to be tense, desperate. Not only were the Jews poisoning their minds, they themselves were divided; at an impasse. They had experienced such things that the German army meant deliverance for them. Now that the Jews and Communists have been eradicated, the people are coming to life again [Jetzt wo Juden u. Kommunisten ausgemerzt sind, lebt das Volk auf]. The harvest has been gathered in, down to the last stalk, and tilling of the soil for a second crop has been completed. The farmers have gotten their land back. There is a great deal of German blood in these farmers after all, far more than M[edem] expected.
I referred to the danger presented by Riga’s Latvian intellectuals; he also is warning against them, he says, and his hosts ask him to spare them from these types, who have already caused such misery. I said the current mood in the countryside is gratifying, but the danger remains that the amount of German blood that was shed will be forgotten again once people have enough to eat and are safe.
Litzmann has traveled incognito through Estonia and is already very fond of his future kingdom. The people are all friendly (except the Dorpat intellectuals), good blood, the most meticulous cleanliness. Of the three Baltic peoples, the Estonians are the best: plenty of Swedish and German blood, more solemn than the others, and far more reliable. I look forward to seeing my native city again soon. It is intact, except for the industrial buildings.