Evening star., 1940-04-28
By HENRY GEMMIIL.

BY HENRY GEMMILL.
The house at 2343 Massachusetts,
avenue NV. is jinx.
With seeming inevitability the
men, women and children who have
lived in it have on two occasions
been turned into folk without a
country-by sudden marching Of
Hitler's legions.
These people have been the men,
bers Of two diplomatic families. The
first man to move in, 10 years ago.
was Edgar L. G. Prochnik, first and
last Minister here from the Aus
trian Republic.
His nation vanished in initial Nazi
military movements, and he was
commanded to run the swastika up
on his legations flagpole. On April
IS, 1888, he found himself on the
outside of the house he had planned
and built. It was German property.
Danish Minister Moved In,
In 1899 a new Minister from Den
mark arrived here, Henrik de Kauff-
mann, bringing wife and two young
daughters. They were so struck by
the spaciousness of 2343 Massachu-
sets avenue that the Minister
opened negotiations with the Ger
mans, and, late in September, moved
in. This month their country fell
to the Germans.
When and whether the Germany
Embassy here can take the house
over again-by some sort of legal
blitzkrieg-remains in question.
II the Germans gain title, the
house presumably will be on the
market again for another small
country to adopt as a Legation,
since its extensive Office space, the
chancery, hardly permits it to be
private home. What nation will have
courage to move in?
One thing is certain: The United
States Government, though pressed
for office space. won't brave the
Hitler jinx by placing any agency
in the building.
No Legal Restriction.
There would be no legal restric-
ton in our doing that" it was ex-
planned by Melvin c. Russell, who
Is in charge of renting Government
ONCE space here, but we have de-
cided not to place our workers in
residential districts"
The four -storied, dormered struc-
ture was planned by Mr.. Prochnik
after eight years of thought on
just what a legation in America
should be. Space for office, official
entertaining and family life were
integrated, yet kept separate so the
functions would not interfere. Be-
cause of high wages paid to serv-
ants, the building was designed to
to take only half as many as Euro
pean diplomatic quarters would re-
quire.
The limestone and brick exterior
is Of no particular architectural
style, but certain interior rooms are
carried out in exquisite detail. The
reception hall, stretching across the
entire front of the second floor, is
Louis XIV; the library is old Eng
lish and the dining room is Maria
Theresa. The Minister'S study and
chancery are on the first floor, the
quarters of Minister and wife on
the third and childrens rooms on
the fourth.
Dining Room On Second Floor.
ThA Aininr
floor, opens out into q terrace gar
den and green window boxes hang
from rear windows.
The jinx house is less preten-
tious than the Legation of Iran, to
the south across Decatur place, with
its ornate Greek figures carved in
relief upon the walls. It is dwarfed
also by the building next door, to
the north. This is the Czecho-
Slovak Legation, where diplomacy
also is executed for . vanished
country.
Austrian Minister Prochnik moved
out to take professorship at
Georgetown University, but it ap-
pears that Danish Minister de
Kaufman will make q fight to
stay in.
He rents the Legation from the
German government. it was learned,
but is entirely confident q contract
in his possession will serve as q sort
Of non-agression treaty to keep him
living there.
The mystery Of diplomacy hangs