Richard C. Hottelet
| Richard C. Hottelet | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Richard Curt Hottelet September 22, 1917 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 17, 2014 (aged 97) Wilton, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Delafield Hottelet (1942–2013) |
Richard Curt Hottelet (September 22, 1917 – December 17, 2014) was a Brooklyn-born American broadcast journalist for the latter half of the twentieth century.
Hottelet was the last surviving journalist from the original World War II-era group of Murrow's Boys, journalists tutored and/or encouraged by Edward R. Murrow at CBS.
Hottelet was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 22, 1917. He was the son of German immigrants; the home language was German. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1937, and then enrolled at the University of Berlin.
At the start of World War II, Hottelet worked for United Press. As a correspondent for UP, he was arrested by Germans under suspicion of being a spy. He was released in 1941 during a U.S.-German prisoner exchange.
On Saturday, March 15, 1941, at 7 a.m., Richard C. Hottelet was confronted in his Berlin apartment by members of the German secret police. He was taken to the old police presidium at the Alexanderplatz in Berlin. Once there, he was informed that he would be held as a "guest" until some certain papers arrived from another department. As a guest Hottelet was finger printed, photographed and placed in a cell in the police prison in the same building.
That first evening, after a dinner of sauerkraut, Hottelet received some preliminary questioning and was denied being told the reason he was being held. The police took his eyeglasses, to prevent suicide, and denied him reading material as well. Hottelet described the first three days of his four-month ordeal as "the hardest and longest I ever spent." Hottelet didn't receive a formal questioning session until the following Tuesday.
On Tuesday, March 18, the secret police finally revealed to Hottelet why he was being held, "suspicion of espionage," they told him. The police, he wrote, were very friendly, "we are your friends and we want to help you," they told him.
Hottelet flatly denied any knowledge or dealings in espionage. The police were not pleased, they threatened him, threatened to use "the brutal methods of the American police," with the help of klieg lights.
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