7
Ready to jump
Interview with Fritz Eichenberg conducted by Harlan Phillips on 1964 December 3 for the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
By the time Hitler was in the wings ready to jump, I was ready to jump too, and that was in 32 before he was in power. I had long conferences with editors at Ultstein who said: “You are just foolish. Nothing is going to happen. I don’t know why you want to leave us. We need you very much. You have a sense of humor. You are one of the great cartoonists we have.” I said: “I don’t feel any more like being funny. I would like to travel.”
I had gotten myself a passport with a twelve months’ visa which turned out to be my salvation. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I left my family in Berlin and my daughter was two years old.