his therapeutic massages for the relief of acute stomach pain. The
Finnish ambassador to Germany urged Kersten to remain, despite
his reluctance, and provide intelligence reports from the Nazi inner
circle. Other clients included Foreign Minister Joachim von Rib-
bentrop, labor leader Robert Ley, Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, and
the Italian foreign minister (and son-in-law of Benito Mussolini)
Galeazzo Ciano.
In March 1941, learning of Adolf Hitler’s plan for the forced
resettlement of 8.5 million “undesirable” Dutch citizens in the con-
quered territories in the east, Kersten, according to his later memoirs,
managed to persuade Himmler that the logistical work involved
would take a heavy physical toll, and the operation was indefinitely
postponed. On 10 May, in the aftermath of the Hess Mission to
England, Kersten was arrested and interrogated by the head of the
Reichssicherheitshauptamt, Reinhard Heydrich, until Himmler
intervened. Ever more dependent on Kersten’s treatments, Him-
mler also introduced the therapist to Walter Schellenberg of the
Sicherheitsdienst in August 1942. Believing that the war should be
concluded as soon as possible and that Himmler should take the reins
of power following the forced removal of Hitler, Kersten and Schel-
lenberg conferred with a representative of the U.S. Office of Strategic
Services in Stockholm in 1943, although no further action was taken
by the Americans and contact ceased.
Kersten’s most notable achievement was arranging a meeting at
his estate outside Berlin between Himmler and Norbert Masur of
the World Jewish Congress on 20 April 1945. These negotiations
resulted in the humanitarian rescue of approximately 60,000 Jews
remaining in the Nazi death camps. Kersten’s wartime memoirs,
Totenkopf und Treue (The Kersten Memoirs, 1940–1945), appeared
in 1952. His long-delayed application for Swedish citizenship was
finally approved in 1953, especially after the Dutch government de-
termined him to be a victim of Nazi aggression. On 16 April 1960,
en route to receive the Legion of Honor in Paris, he died of a heart
attack near Düsseldorf.KESKÜLA, ALEXANDER (1882–1963?). An Estonian nationalist
who served as an intermediary between the German government
and the Bolsheviks, Alexander Kesküla participated in the 1905
KESKÜLA, ALEXANDER • 229