Nice memory, Walt. I also have a musical memory from that pre-convention period. 

A year earlier, as a counselor-in-training at a Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin (the first and only organized Jewish activity that our parents ever involved me in), I had fallen in with a folksinging crowd, and we young teenagers all much admired the political troubadour Phil Ochs. Several of us had guitars in camp, and Phil Ochs was what we were playing. More so than Dylan.

I also don’t remember exactly how Dan and I got the gig at McCarthy HQ during the Convention, though I agree that all of the factors Dan mentioned would have played a role. Also, if our main role was as campaign messengers, as Dan helpfully confirms, the fact that we were locals and had a car (our family VW) also was a key factor. 

In the previous post, Google Translate rendered the term "Abgabe Aktion" as "sale campaign," but it was really a forced seizure of precious metals and jewels owned by Jews in March 1939. Here are some citations about the forced jewelry sales in March 1939.

Der Spiegel, 5/25/1998

Declaration of an oath

I, Hilda Liebman, b. Wohlgemuth, residing at 31, Bld. De la Saussaye, Neuilly-Seine, France, is aware of the criminal liability of a false affidavit, given the following declaration on the matter of reimbursement to my mother, Mrs. Betty Wohlgemuth, née Katz, taking an oath in lieu of an oath at the reparations offices in Berlin:

A couple of days ago, Joanne was rereading the Hilda affidavit and noticed this line. 

The list of chief objects from the apartment that I remember after so many years are provided separately, just as are the important jewelry items.