Adler fled Germany after the Nazis seized power and emigrated to England, where he worked first at a German-Jewish refugee school in Kent, then as a writer with the German Service of BBC Radio.
Writing under the pseudonymous anagram Urban Roedl, Adler released a biography of Stifter with the publisher Ernst Rowohlt, who was afterward prohibited by the Nazis from working, having been charged with disguising Jewish writers.
Originally located in Herrlingen, Germany, it was relocated to Kent, England because of Nazi persecution, where it became a haven for refugees, including both children from the Kindertransports and adults, who joined the staff.
Under the guise of literary entertainment, these German-language programs broadcast British propaganda using established native-speaking writers in exile, such as Adler and Robert Lucas, and targeted the average German, who was growing weary of endless war.
The lead role, Frau Gertrud Wernicke, was voiced by the German actress and cabaret artist Annemarie Hase, also in exile.
She commented on the shortages plaguing the German populace, the state of the war[5] and she launched subversive tirades against the Nazis, turning them into a laughing stock.
Included in the papers is correspondence with Willi Baumeister, Theodor Heuss, Walter Gropius, Itten, Hermann Kasack, Alfred Kubin, Georg Muche and Max Stefl.