On the same day that Grünenthal representatives were meeting with Dr. Widukind Lenz in Hamburg, Grünenthal also sent out 66,957 copies of a newsletter “to all doctors”, backdated to November 14, 1961, emphasizing the advantages of Contergan (Thalidomide). The letter contained the following notes:

“as described above you can see that Contergan, available on prescription only, is a safe drug. […]”

“According to the meritorious descriptions of neurological side effects in German professional journals and according to our respective notes to all doctors, the relatively rare side effects, inherent to Contergan, should more than offset its advantages.”

Source: Anklageschrift (indictment) from 1967, today archived at the National Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia in Duisburg, Germany (Rheinland Division, Gerichte Rep. 139, No. 1–396), p. 411.