Maria Bauer

“Startled by the envelope’s unfamiliar heading, “WLWO The Crosley Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio,” he tore it open and read it on the spot. Dear Mr. Bauer: As a contribution to the effort to bring truth to the peoples under Nazi rule, the Crosley Corporation plans to supplement its commercial broadcasts to Latin America with shortwave broadcasts in German and French. Your name has been referred to us by the State Department as one who has been engaged in similar broadcasting activities in France. Should you be interested in the position of German language broadcaster with our radio station, please send us a recording of your voice and state an acceptable salary. Sincerely, Eugene S. Patterson Program Manager We were extremely excited: his first steady job in the United States. We looked at a map at once to determine exactly where the curiously named city was located. The voice record could easily be made in neighboring Kingston. But what salary should he ask for? We discussed this delicate question with cousins Erich and Francis. Francis suggested that in America one had to “think big.” If Robert were to ask too little, he maintained, he would not be considered to be worth much. Figures such as one thousand, two thousand, and three thousand dollars were tossed around. Robert and I were doubtful—we did not want to jeopardize this job by being too demanding. Finally, Robert sent off his record with a letter requesting two-hundred and fifty dollars a month. It might have been a modest sum, but to us it was a fortune. Within a few weeks the eagerly awaited answer came. He was hired at fifty dollars a week and was to start working as soon as he could get to Cincinnati. He left immediately while I went to the hospital for a tonsillectomy which we had been postponing for financial reasons. When”
― Maria Bauer, Beyond the Chestnut Trees: A Memoir