In the Footsteps of Genius Page 20

concerned about the fate of his scientific works, immediately alerted the American security service and some high government officials.

Tesla left behind him tons of papers, but no will as to whom they should be entrusted for safekeeping. As the first potential heirs there could have been his five nieces and nephews, of whom two were then living in America.

It is unusual, however, that the FBI allowed his estate to be sealed and taken into custody by the Office of Alien Property (OAP — Office of Alien Property). In view of the fact that Tesla had American citizenship, such a step was difficult to explain.

The fingers of the FBI

Swezey, who was preparing to write Tesla’s biography (death prevented him from doing so), received in 1963 a letter from a former associate of Kosanović:

“In 1943… when Tesla died, Kosanović in a very short time received confirmation from the OAP by which the disposition of all Tesla’s property which was located there was placed at his disposal. He packed it all up and sent it to a warehouse (Manhattan Storage Company) in Manhattan, where the property remained until its shipment to Yugoslavia, in 1952. Kosanović bore the costs of compensation for the safekeeping. All that time the confirmation of the OAP was with me, just in case.”

“You probably remember that Kosanović often mentioned that he had heard from the keepers of the warehouse that people from the American government had come to make microfilms of certain documents… When we opened the safe, in the present building of the museum (in Belgrade), the bundle of keys, the last thing which Kosanović left in the safe of the Hotel New Yorker, and before he changed the combination for opening, was not in the safe, but in a completely different box. Also missing was a medal (the Edison Medal)… In any case, Kosanović for years had feared that some of Tesla’s works had gone missing, and immediately before his departure from Washington in 1949–50(?) he decided, at my suggestion, to call Edgar Hoover (Edgar J. Hoover) and inquire about it. Mr. Hoover categorically denied that the FBI had anything to do with Tesla’s documentation…”

The associate also recalled Tesla’s will to his nephew Kosanović: “Tesla expressed the wish that all his works and property be transferred to his homeland.”

What disappeared from the safe?

On the news of Tesla’s death several telegrams were exchanged between FBI agent Foxworth and the director of the New York office. The next day, after the body was discovered, Foxworth reported:

“Nikola Tesla, a prominent scientist in the field of electronics, died on January seventh, 1943, in the Hotel ‘New Yorker’ in New York. In the course of his life he conducted many experiments in connection with the wireless transmission of electrical energy and… with the so-called death rays. According to the report which was drawn up by X, from New York, the notes and explanations of Tesla’s experiments