40 suicide notes from Germany were compared to 28 suicide notes from the USA to see if they differed in the frequency of Menninger’s (1938) three motives for suicide: anger at others, anger at oneself, & escape from unbearable pain. The notes from Germany had the “to die” motive significantly more often than the American notes, on the strict criterion (clear motive), & on the weak criterion (inferred motive). The two sets of notes did not differ in the frequency of the other two motives.