LETTER TO DONALD COERS FROM ROBERTA S. KNAPP

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05452393
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: July 13, 2023
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2022
• Case Number: F-2021-00741
• Publication Date: March 13, 1981

Approved for Release: 2022/02/18 C05452394
CENTRAL INTELUGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
13 March 1981
Prof, Donald Goers
Department of English
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX. 77341
Dear Prof. Coers,
Your recent letter to Mr. William Casey, Director of
Central Intelligence, has been referred to the CIA Historical
Staff for response.
A CIA official conversant with the Donovan papers indicates
that he has no memory of references to a meeting with John
Steinbeck. The period in question�summer and early fall of
1941--'was, however, a time of intensive organizational and re-
cruitment activity as the Coordinator of information (the
forerunner of OSS) got underway and there would be a certain
logic to some contact at that time.
The bulk of the Donovan papers�about 110 boxes--is
currently deposited at the US Army Military History Institute,
Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, 17013, Mr. Anthony Cade
Brown, Donovan's biographer, reportedly, has exclusive access to
them through. 1982.
I hope the above informati
in your Ste nbeck research.
Distribution:
0-Addressee
1-HS Chrono
1-Ex. Sec.
n may be of some value to you
Sincerely,
Roberta S. Knapp
Acting Chief
Historical Staff
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1111
AM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS 77341
March 3, 1981
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
Mr. William J. Casey
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
Dear Sir:
After reading Joseph Fersico's Piercing the Reich recently,
I am convinced that you are likelier Min anyone to know where I
might look for some information I need to complete a research pro-
ject I have been working on for several years now. Here, briefly,
is the problem:
John Steinbeck was bitterly attacked in the spring of 1942
for a novel he published in March of that year entitled The Moon
is Down. His detractors, a coterie of liberal critics he
TIMee�Thurber and Clifton Fadiman, accused Steinbeck of being,
among other things, "soft" on certain of his characters who are
obvious Nazi types (the novel, you may remember, is built around
a thinly-disguised version of the German invasion of Norway). Ac-
tually, Steinbeck was merely eschewing the overblown Nazi brute
stereotype in favor of more realistic--and today, infinitely more
damning--depiction.
One critic who defended Steinbeck at the time was Lewis Gannett,
who wrote mainly for the New York Herald Tribune. Later, Gannett
wrote that The Moon is DoWii-grew out�of a s-eFralis discussion Stein-
beck had wif1T�C6IoneT�WITITam Donovan of the OSS. Mr. Gannett gave
no source for his information, and he died in 1966. Mrs. Steinbeck
has been very kind in furnishing me other information relating to
my project, but she does not remember hearing her husband talk about
the meeting with Colonel Donovan. (The lady Steinbeck we rried
to when the conversation apparently took place died a few years ago.)
Do you remember such a meeting between Colonel Donovan and Mr.
Steinbeck, do you know who might know something about it, or can
you tell me how I might find records of the meeting in the OSS files
which I understand are now largely open records in the CIA files?
Incidentally, the meeting must have taken place sometime in the sum-
mer or early fall of 1941.
I know your hands are far too full right now for you to give
much attention to faded scholarly problems, but as you can see, I've
tried a number of other possibilities without success. I have just
SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES
pproved for Release: 2022/02/18 CO5452393
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AM HOUSTON HOUSTON STATE UNIVERS�
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS 77341
DEPARTMENT OF ENDUE:it-I
y
received a travel grant to go to Europe this My to find clandee-
tine copies of The Moon is Down Wye already uncovered a few in
this country) anrto Interview former members of the resistance
in Holland, France, Norway, Denmark, and Italy. The novel was
greatly appreciated in those countries, where crudely-printed
translations of It were distributed, often at great risk, by the
underground. It would be enormously helpful if I could learn how
the idea for the novel was born and whether it was the result of
a plan conceived by Colonel Donovan and Steinbeck.
I hope it goes without saying that I will be inordinately
grateful for any advice or information you might be able to give
me.
Since e ,
01, CoAd
Donald Coers
Associate Professor
SAM HOUSTON aATE UNIVERSITY AS AN EQUAL OPpORTUNITY/AFFlSMATIvE ACTION PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES
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SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT 07 ENGLISH
Huntsve, Texas 77341
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
STATE OF TEXAS
or.] .d Goers
Mr. William j. CasP7,7
Director
Central Inte 11 igence
s hingt on, D .0
20505
=.ND
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