Beethoven's hair.

[Agnes Selby]

Beethoven

I will certainly let you know. Mr. Martin told me in his letter
that all efforts had been exhausted to find the person
who brought the hair to Denmark. The two Hiller descendants
do not appear to have been in Denmark during the war. The elder Hiller spent
the war years in Switzerland and the younger one, first in France and then in America.
Their mother died before she could join her son in France.

It is a mystery I would like to see solved.

Kind regards,
Agnes.

[Fidelio]

Is there not a local Jewish society that could help? I suspect though that the records were destroyed. It’s going to be one of those frustrating, irritating mystery.......

[Agnes Selby]

Beethoven

The Jewish Society in Sydney cannot help me. I wrote to the
Jewish Museum in Copenhagen about a month ago and have not yet
received a reply, so I gather this too is a dead end.

I saw a documentary entitled "Beethoven's Hair" where a man
in Israel was interviewed. He was among the unfortunate children
taken from the church to a concentration camp and survived.
He said that while they were waiting in the church tower for
the Germans to arrive and the hair may have been given to the doctor,
the atmosphere was such that if such a gift was given to the doctor, no one would have noticed.

It is possible that the doctor received the hair while he was hiding
the person who had given it to him. Both he and his wife were
involved with the Red Cross and a number of Jewish refigees were hidden
in their house in Gilleleje.

There is also the possibility that Hiller donated the hair to a museum
as suggested by his younger son. If so, who removed the hair from the museum? I thought that this may be a clue. However, Mr. Martin has explored this possibility and found no connection to Beethoven's hair.

Regards,
Agnes.

[Fidelio]

You may have hit a dead end. Have your travels ever taken you to Denmark?

[Agnes Selby]

Beethoven

Dear Fidelio,

I went to Copenhagen to do research for
my biography of Constanze Mozart, "Constanze Mozart's Beloved".
The Rigsarkivet in Copenhagen has excellent archival material
on Constanze Mozart's second husband, Georg Nikolaus Nissen.
Many of Constanze's letters can also be found at Rigsarkivet.
It was the only time I visited Denmark.

Regards,
Agnes.

[Fidelio]

Would Quadrant fund a visit to Gilleleje if you felt it was worthwhile? Suely it can't here?

[Agnes Selby]

Beethoven

Absolutely not!


Regards,
Agnes.

[PDG]

Get Peter to fund it - I hear he's loaded!!

[Fidelio]

Oh well, just a thought.........how about a grant.......Peter......