Bee 3 Lares LETTERS FROM THE HOME-FRONT: NAZI GERMANY 1944 Edwin J. Swineford Professor Emeritus Califomia State University, Fresno For 40 years 17 unopened letters have cluttered up my World War II memorabilia. Isn't it about time the ribbons were untied and the mystery of this 40-year-old precious rubbish exposed to the translator? "Violence passes,” or in the words of the German hit song £s_geht alles voruber ("Everything Will Pass"). Much of the hurt has gone now from those excruciating final months of World War II when these letters were aimlessly scooped up by a G.I. as the American armies pushed across the border of Nazi Germany in the final months of 1944, Until the trans- lator shattered the privacy of the letters it was not known whether they were letters from soldiers at the fighting- front, or from civilians fighting on the home-front. All that was known was that the letters were a handful from thousands whirling about in the wind, disgourged from burn- ing goods-wagons in a bombed rail center somewhere in south- west Germany in March, 1945. The author was at that time battalion mail clerk for the 722 Railway Operating Battalion, | European Theatre of Operations. Forty years ago the letters were a private, personal communication; it would have been obscene in 1945 to invade the unknown correspondents’ private world, particularly atthe time when communication with loved ones was the most valuable possession people had. Today, the letters can be looked upon as literature and historical documents present- ing a slice of life (or a "slice of “fdry") of a period in history which is still being analyzed. The letter writers represent a small group of families caught up in a swirl of events over which they had no control. It is felt that now, forty years later, they would want their letters shared if they believed it would make their suffering meaningful. Invading their privacy would be justified if we could capture flashes of moments of beauty, examples of human dignity, and precious insights on human behavior in the closing months of the murderous “thousand year" Reich. Letters differ in their value and purpose. Some collections of letters were written not necessarily for the correspondent but for a wider audience when the letters were planned to surface years later as historical documents. Some collections were sanitized, only parts published, cutting here and there, removing tendentious material, changing names and dates, rewriting cloudy areas and even going so far as to enrich some of the letters with hindsight. The letters in the collection Last Letters from S¥alingrad suffered from some of this processing.” Apparently some letters, later published, were written as a personal cathar- sis or emotional venting for the writer. Vita Sackville-West and PM Harold Nicholson wrote to one another when they were together in their own home.” However, the value of personal letters as primary source data is recognized. time letters written at a time of great stress and urgency are particularly valuable.* The letters in our small collection are reported as they were written. There are personal, family letters intended only for the eyes of the addressee or family. They knew that the correspondent, if alive, would read every word and tease out subtle meanings and feelings from familiar cues and personal references. Some doubted if the corres- pondent were still alive---but they wrote anyway. By 1944 soldiers' families were only too familiar with letters addressed to soldiers being returned to the sender with the won (died for the Kena fatherland) or stamped Vermirst an der Russichen Kamffront (missing on the Russian front). Personal letters open up a world of feelings and values>---revealing spiritual forces which imperceptively flow among the "little men" even if our enemy. History is invariably written from the leadership viewpoint, but war is also fought by the common man on the home-front. War censorship was a factor conditioning letter- writing. In 1942 a special S§ formation was assigned to the German post offices to check employees and be respon- sible for the smooth-running of the service. Among itsduties was mail and telephone censorship. An S$ general was assigned to head the $$ formation. Troops were also in- structed on the art of how to write "manly, hard and clear letters", adding “anyone who complains or bellyaches is no true soldier." In our collection letters 5, 12, and 13 had been opened by a censor and stamped. To what extent censor- ship affected the seasoned writers in this collection is hard to determine. Before the reader (you) plunge into a reading of the letters some relevant information about the correspondents will be given, followed by a brief review of the military and political situation at the time the letters were written. The Correspondents A summary Table on the senders and intended receivers of the letters is £iven in Table I, drawing together basic data. It can be seen that two-thirds of the letters were between wife and husband; most of the writers were women. The flavor of father writing to son (Letter 15) is noticeably different from other letters. Over half of the letters were addressed to "father," and specifically referred to children in the family. Almost all of the senders of the letters lived in small towns in southwest Germany. Letters 4 and 5 were sent from Ulm and Berlin but were accumulated at an earlier date and place from the rest of the collection. Itwould appear that the soldiers to whom the letters were addressed were probably conscripted, rural and somewhat elderly, assigned to a common unit or geographical location (as indicated by the same feldpost, or army post office). Except for three corporals, the soldiers were private first class in rank, reflecting a length of service beyond rookies and suggesting they were not specialists. Although the letters were picked up at random, it appears that all were mailed on the last two days in Septem- ber, 1944, Since the letters were "organized" (German euphemism for American GI liberated") by this writer some- time in February or March, 1945, in the same geographical area, it suggests that they must have been in mail bags in a railroad baggage car for five months before being bombed and scattered.TABLE I DATA ON THE CORRESPONDENTS $$$ No.| Date |written | Address of |Letter addressed | Rank —_| Feldpost Mailed |" by sender to of soldier | No. (relationship) e 1° | 9/30/44 | Wife Backnang father Corporal 40722D F 2 |9/30/44 | wise | Schoenau, father Private | 40722a Schwarzwald 1st Class 3 | 9/30/44 | wite = | Ulm Father Private | 407220 Ist Class 4 }asaa/44 | Fiance | Navy Post Head of rail- | Mate 1st | m12563 Office road post- | Class Berlin office 5 |6/ 9/48 | party | vim Comra: Private 407224 official 6 | 8/16/44 | Mother | Lengo Son “ - 7 |9/29/46 | sister | Rosenberg Fiance * no envelope 8 |9/29/44 | sister | Rosenberg Brother Private | 40722 ist Class 9 |9/30/46 | wite | ter Busband Corporal | 407220 Nurenberg 1o |9/19/44 | wife | Heyer- Husband Corporal | 407220 Neartingen 11 }9/29/44 | wise - Husband - postcard 12 9/29/44 | wite | Echern Husband Private | 40722E (Baden) Ist Class 13 |9/30/44 | wite | Reutlingen | Father Private | 40722/3 Ist Class 14 |9/29/44 | son- | Mitteistadt| Father Private | 407228 wife Ist Class 1s |9/30/44 | Father | Heidelberg | Son Private | 407224 Ast ClassWhether the civilian correspondents had knowledge of the concentration camps is pure speculation. The letters show that they had their plates full of problems without borrowing more in the narrow life-space in which they lived. We know that Dachau, one of the thirteen principal concentra- tion camps in Germany, was located outside Munich, within a short distance of the homes of the letter writers. The notorious Buchenwald concentration camp was located near Weimar, about two hundred miles from the homes of the letter writers. Grofeneck, a lonely castle near Munzingen, about sixty miles from Stuttgart and within a short distance from the letter writers, was one of the early centers where mercy deaths were carried out before discontinued in early 1940's. The Jews of Baden in the heart of the letter-writing families were pushed into goods trains and taken across to the camps at Aix en Provence and the Pyrenees. When the letters were written by the 15 soldiers’ families in southwest Germany, Hitler's War had been raging for six years, the end eight months away. festung Europa was being breached on the east and west; the Atlantic Wall had crumbled four months before the letters were written, and Eisenhower's armies had broken out of Normandy in August, by-passed Paris, and moved into Belgium and Holland. Aachen, an anchor in Siegfried Line, surrendered to the Allies 20 days after the letters were written. On the Russian frontthe German armies were being pushed back from their deepest penetration in Russia, and in September the battle line was the Vistula River in Poland. There was no attempt by Goebbel's propaganda ministry to cover up the terrible suffer- ing in Russia, and another cold winter was approaching.° On the home-front the repercussions of the July plot to assassinate Hitler were still being felt, although five months had elapsed since the event. The propaganda slant in September was to present a realistic picture of the hard fighting on all fronts, reminding the civilian population of the Allies 1943 pledge of unconditional surrender,” Military victory was predicted through the secret weapons Hitler would soon unleash. In spite of public pronouncements of a belief in ultimate victory, Hitler knew since D Day in June that it was useless to pretend that defeat was not imminent. Accord- ing to Werner Masser® ie Noidea private discussions with his principal generals. In fact in Nuremberg prison Jodl wrote that Hitler had ceased to believe in victory at the collapse of the Russian front in 1941-1942. Bombings, or fear of them, pervaded the daily lives of our rural Germany folk ("Death is ugly for whomever fears it.") This would have been expected if the writers lived in or near major cities or industrial targets. Six of the 15 villages where the writers lived were so small they are notlisted in many atlases. Seven other places mentioned are small towns; Heidelberg was the largest city residence of our writers. However, in September, 1944, the Allied front was approaching the Siegfried Line, within one hundred fifty miles of the families living in Heidelberg, Singen, Schware- wald, and Baden. Families living in Rosenberg were further east, but closer to the feared Russian army crossing the Vistula River in Poland. The town of Rosenberg (Letters 7 and 8) was also about fifty miles from Nuremberg, a favorite target.? In fact, the letter writers lived in the direct path of the invading First French Army in the South, the Seventh U.S. Army at Strassbourg, and the Third U.S. Army at Saarbrucken. From May to September, 1944, the main target of the uninterrupted air attacks by R.A.F. and U.S.A.F. was to clear the area of the armies soon to launch the final battle for the Rhineland. Large scale "double-punch” attacks by heavy bombers were launched at night, supplemented by small day-light attacks. There were nuisance raids by Mosquitos against small towns, aimed at the destruction of Western Germany's traffic and transport system.}° Rumpf states that the arrival of a few planes on a nuisance mission would drag between fifteen and eighteen million people from their beds. The effects of these nightly raids of Lancasters and Halifaxes did not show up in a statistical analysis. Campbell)? states:10, "Long periods without proper sleep, disrupted gas and electricity supplies, and the loss of homes and possessions undoubtedly lowered morale. But it would be foolish to claim that the bombing broke the spirit and will of the German people." No mention is made in the letters of the ground defences and German night-fighters in the bombing of Nuremberg which had taken place six months before the letters were written Nuremberg, located in the heart of the homeland of our letter writers, had been the scene of "the greatest single air battle the world has ever known," (Campbell, p. 94: with the loss of 94 British aircraft The families in our letters had experienced the bombings for almost five years. The reader of the letters can determine if they were callous to bombings, as Rumpf has stated. By the end of 1944 four-fifths of the towns of one hundred thousand population had been destroyed. In the larger cities many people lost everything except the clothes they S6f4 up in. German soldiers never faced the devestat- ing fury of the type of fire raids that labeled Hamburg Cassel, Dres¥den, Darmstadt, and Wurzburg. From the letters it is clear that the soldiers of our families knew about the bombings of their home towns and thus carried another burden on top of their personal fight for survival.}3ll. This brief background should help the reader bring more meaning to this serendipitous collection of personal letters, reported as written, with family names omitted. A statement from The Last Letters From Stalingrad is worth repeating here. "The writers, Germans, in that hour Sir enemies, But who may read and not weep for them?"ae LETTERS FROM THE HOME-FRONT: NAZI GERMANY 1944 September 30, 1944 LETTER 1. My Beloved: on the 29th of September I received your dear letter from September 5, which you had sent to Rottweil; best thanks for it, I wonder whether you received our mail, too? How are things going with you and where may you be? All we can Go is to seriously implore the Lord with prayers and inter- cessions, wile all our worries and anxiety are of no avail. As to ourselves, we are well in spite of the disturbing sleep, everything has turned out well so far; and the sun is also shining for the various autumn chores. I put your photo on the washstand and Gerhard spoke to it this morning, "Good morning, Daddy, when you come back, I'll have a lot of fun, Shall ['tell you a story? Yes." Then he began, “Once upon a time, there was a sponge." And Helmut spoke of your homecoming in your first furlough. Gerhard is full of pranks and sparkling life. Wishing you, my dearest and most beloved, a good narrow escape for the future and assuring you of my ever-faithful thinking of you, I am sending you the dearest greetings from all of us. Take my most heartfelt embraces - with the firm belief in your return. YoursSchoenau LETTER 2 September 29, 1944 Deares I am just sitting here quite lonely, my thoughts being of course with my sweetheart, whom I am longing so fervently for, As a matter of fact, I would be quite satisfied if I only knew how you are and where you may be. Darling, I am firmly trusting in God who will be merciful with our destiny and will bring us together again after this heavy ordeal. Darling, my beloved heart, you certainly can imagine how great my grief is. Ali my thinking and feeling is concerned with you alone. Sweetheart, my darling, remain healthy so that we may see each other again. The kids have been healthy so far. is getting her teeth, that is her corner teeth. is digging potatoes. Tooks quite well again. He has regatned seven pounds by now. Who knows where you will be by the time you get this letter. No longer up there, I am sure; for, at the present, there is fighting going on up there. May God be with you and keep you in good health. The children are my only support in these grave years: thinking of them holds me up. I am very much worried about you, my sweetheart. » my love, stay healthy. I cannot be happy without you. In undeviating love and faith for you, I am your loving (Signed with illegible nickname)13 Date: Ulm, 9-29-44 LETTER 3 My very best Hubby: Today, there was again some mail for a change and that was from the 19th of September. Many thanks to you. All I wish is that you, my dearest, will also receive mail. So far, nothing was sent back, except for the money, returned yesterday, The suitcase has also not arrived yet. The same applies to the letter sent with . . . (a person's name, illegible), to whom you had written. Poor”, how are you by now? Monder whether you have enough to eat? But certainly nothing to smoke. If I could only send you those 100 cigarettes which T have earned by sewing, I always take them along into the cellar. I always have a feeling that there will be special furlough given for services rendered. Well, for today I am sending you many greetings and most heartfelt kisses. Yours faithfully, loving, ___and children, Feldpost 12563 LETTER 4 M.P.A. / probably naval post office/ Berlin Date: 0.U., 11 November 1944 Addressed To: The Head of the Ticket Office of the Main Railroad Depot at Bremen Text: I am informed by my fiancee, , that, compared to her fellow workers, she has for a certain time been treated unfairly in your assignments and scheduling of duties. Such practices can be considered only unscrupulous. If your attitude does not change in the near future, I will file a complaint against you via my commanding officer. Heil Hitler! Exec. Clerk14 September 1944 LETTER 5 NSDAP Chapter Ulm-Soflingen-West (The following mimeograph was mailed in the envelope addressed to we) Dear Comrades: We kept hoping that we would be able to supply you with reading material. Since this possibility does not exist as of yet, this Tetter may bring you the greetings of our local chapter. Our thoughts have often been with you in all these weeks and months where there was such hard fighting at all fronts. All of us truly had ‘to endure many a hardship. One has to brace oneself in such Circumstances. But the decisive factor is that our enemies could fot overwhelm us with their wild attacks. The front is being Consolidated everywhere, and from the homeland a variety of new and strong forces are coming forth. Therefore we nourish the firmest hope and certainty that we will play Lhe last trumps and this inner certainty will give to us at home, too, the strength to set our teeth. This we have already had to do several times. You certainly have heard from your loved ones that our adversaries have “found? Ulm in the meantine. Unfortunately many a dear comrade has been subject to suffering here at home. What a painful experience to find one’s cozy home destroyed; but how mich harder it is when belove.’- humans Sre'murdered in such bombings, We have surrendered these victims of the battle for Germany's existence to the native soil in salemn and earnest hours and have pledged to ourselves that their dying must hot have been in vain, We also know this: that only after our Victory can the raped honeland arise 'n new beauty and in happiness, Solely by the strength and labor of our people when brought to action for our children and grandchildren and not for foreign exploiters and hangmen. ‘And our homeland is so beautiful. Mild, sunny days are bringing the fruit in gardens and orchards to maturity. And the chrysanthemums ard last roses are blooming in all colors. And in the face of this beauty one can for a moment forget all that ordeal which takes place oe the fronts and at home. And when the foggy autumn days are moving fn little by little, we can also rejoice. The Ulm fogs, the murky omy fall days give us some joy. For (if) when such a thick *Sud" [suds, stew] hangs in the air, we are safer from undesired Visitors [refers to bombing raids]. And you at the front too.iB Thus we keep joining hands in firm co-operation--in the absolute certainty of our victory. From the bottom of our hearts we wish you all the best. You do the same, that we know! With faithful greetings from home and Heil Hitler! In cordial affection, Yours, Chairman of the local chapter Yours Caretaker of comrad relations 0/1344 Lemgo, 16th August 1944 LETTER 6 Dear , I hope that you are still well; I have been waiting now for almost two weeks for mail from you, Puza [first name, illegible] wrote yesterday that you had written to her on August 4, We are getting rain now and there was certainly need for it. Did’you still get the money from Dad and from Braker grandma? I can ‘eke it a little easier now too; there is not so much work left in tne garden. Now I have to can string beans; the vines are quite Tuwitd. wife [from Lengo? illegible} invited us to a birthday party; her — little girl will be two years old, I just got up, want to write quickly to Dad, too, Many cordial greetings. Your Mom and Dolly. [There follow four symbols which could be some secret code; as they are definitely not letters.) .26 Rosenberg, 9-29-44 LETTER 7 My dear sweetheart, Today, Friday, again no mail from you. I am very unhappy. All day Jong my thoughts are with you, whether you are still alive or how you are getting along. This is the fifth week without mail from You--that's too much. I had never thought that 1 would be without mail from my beloved sweetheart for so long. Today I helped harvest potatoes, but I'm so weak that my legs will hardly hold me up. The Joss of our home has worn me out, everybody says that I am so skinny, but this doesn't matter, for you certainly must suffer from hunger, too, and must endure many hardships. I just wonder whether I'1T have the good luck to receive your beloved mail. I can hardly fmagine how your handwriting looks any more. Please do write me how my dear sweetheart is getting along. I am praying to our dear mother of God that you may return home in good health, I'm so worried about you. Accept, my beloved sweetheart, many dear greetings from your ever so faithful (uritten on margin) Many greetings from our grandma, too, (Aufwiedersehen bestimmt) See you again, to be sure, Baden, town of Rosenberg LETTER 8 Dear Finally, after a long time, I received some mail from you again, namely the letter from the Sth and-the 1th of September, Many cordial thanks for them, We felt much anxiety about you, and you Surely are in a mess., We hope that everything will turn out well and that you will return to us unharmed; we're keeping our fingers crossed. You ask about the mood here--well, it is not of the best, but we must not lose courage, for peace must come some day. Albert also writes hopefully, as always. So far he is o.k.5 still has his old number 00545. Uncle has not written for ten whole weeks, and THs auite desolate. an Fave not written fromR, (certainly: Russia}, either, for ten and twelve weeks {respectively}. was kifled in the East, left four small children behind. This has been the gravest case so far. If only this horrible bloodshed would come to an end. We are now digging potatoes. There is a good yield, but the work is quite tendious, as it has rained for several days. is growing Bigger every day. He sure would like to pick you up from the bus, so7 see to it that you come soon. Well, let's keep hoping for the best and for an early and good reunion [Wiedersehn] at home. Many cordial greetings from your sister. Parents, and . became hanevciekand returned to Wis mother and father. Many greetings from » and » all uncles and aunts. Neuenbirg, Wirtt LETTER 9 Friday 9-29-44 My most beloved, I still want to write you a dear little letter quickly tonight. Just excuse me for not having written to you on Wednesday, but as I mentioned to you in my last letter, we Were thrashing this week and we got throuch only yesterday. Today we did the final cleaning up. You can imagine that, after a full day's work behind the thrashing machine, one has no more energy for writing in the evening. Moreover, we have to get up several times every night because of the air raids. And there isn't any mail coming from you, either--to give substance Tor anewering. But today I received the card you mentioned from the j2th of September. But it was stamped only on the 24th of September. Did yeu perhaps give it to a friend to forward and didhe perhaps forget it? I thank you cordially for your dear little card. How are things going with you, my dear 2? To be sure, in my thoushtse1 am with you ali day long and my best wishes are accompanying you, wherever you go and stay. I hope you are still in good health, Yaich J can also say about myself and all of us. Yesterday wet again /to the front/. The four weeks passed so fast. But he |” hopes 20 get another furlough, as he had applied for 14 days of work Jeave, We'll see whether he'll be lucky. A while ago, as we were eating supper, there was a sudden air raid and many bombs were Gropped quite near us, Me fled into our bomb shelter. Now it is half past eleven and the sirens are howling again. Soon we might Just Be well forget about going to bed. How will all this end? Let's see now, my dearest , whether I'11 get some mail from you.” 09 you, by the way, get my Tetters regularly? Let me close for Oday; T'Tl write to you again on Sunday. God be with you, and take my most cordial greetings and long, heartfelt kisses from your loving18; September 19, 1944 County Nuertingen Dear Dad: LETTER 10 Would like to let you hear from me again, Should have written yesterday, but I couldn't do it since I have been going for several Gays to harvest potatoes with at noontime since the weather hag changed for the better, and today it was very beautiful. The potatoes should have been brought in eight days ago, but rain set fh, so we couldn't go out. Ke went to the plot where I had planted for myself, too. We got a good yield and I'11 have enough potatoes-- « as formerly, when we had that good harvest in our plot, when we had enough to feed the pigs with. Thus we will have something to eat for quite sone time even if we may have to go hungry at times. Dearest "now I want to tell you what I have done yesterday and this even ‘when from the store came we ground apples and pears at our neighbor's, » which we canned in our cellar. Last night we filled a barrel in the back cellar and today, before I went to the field, I received 400 weights of pears from © These we also ground right away, but I had to Store than In the Front cellar where you stored cider last year. We placed the barrell upright and got it more than half full, I had Stopped writing for half an hour when there was another alarm, but we didn't hear anything. I hope they let us sleep and do not come back again, for I am very tired from the potato harvesting and the grinding. But I will gladly bear it and do everything if you will Snly return home. Then we will work together again as we used to do “before. Dear , Monday I will start brewing cider, that is, I'll brew for us on Tuesday since the brewing on Monday will be for "I don't do it for anybody else, but as he is a relative and had done us a favor, too, T couldn't refuse it. I can even have some cider for_us since he will bring only about 150-280 Titers and I have filed for the permit in his name; I will then have eraigh cider to bring it up to 300 liters. As to the way of figuring the fount, we will get along all right. Dear , Ihave already received three letters this week from women asking me that I know about my husband, for instance (from Ulm), She also writes quite desperately that she Fasn"t gotten any mail from her husband for a long time, So I wrote quickly last night to tell her what news I had. And from Frauenberg, where we sent food last year, already wrote for a 400 weight of food and said that they are worrying about her son. Then I received a letter from yesterday, and she is very worried about her husband, too, She had mail from the 15th, too; She asked whether I don't have prunes and other fruit, but I can't Send any prunes as they would spoil; also, one needs admission stamps for fruit, to be gotten from » but I don't know whether he has any or how many you get, ITT have to ask--that will become a difficult situation here. She also writes that she has finished that little overcoat and will send it. Further, that she could get cloth for the children, but for Schnaps in return, So, I will write her that she can get whisky for cloth, for we can't get anything, not even on Russian cards. ; Sincerely,19 September 29, 1944 LETTER 11 Dear The last news from you was dated September 3. I wonder whether ypu ree ied ny mail?” Tam very worried about you. Now your sister has rere i veg home, too, with her little daughter. She is such a sweet Gerling, Actually, you wanted to come to me in September, and now I'd be happy if I would only receive mail from you. Dearest | here at home everything is in order and everybody qe healthy andi hope this for you, too, and wish it very heartily: Alas, what hardships you had to go through. Well, perhaps you will be allowed to come soon, after all. Dearest » no matter how long it lasts, I will wait for you, and now accept many heartfelt greetings and warm kisses from, your , who is longing for you so much. Achern, 29 September '44 : LETTER 12 Dear 5 On the 9th of Septenber I received a letter for the first time, your thaltensiein letter,” I don't know why I thought there was no sense at ali to write. Then I sent two more letters, but it seens to be very hupeless, judging by the map. <0 dear, why have I surrendered to very pees genent? Not that I am in despair, but so discouraged. If Sou had only written in your last letter that T should continue te you nad vow I am painfully depressed by the thought thata Tetter from ne might have been able to reach you in the meantime. Today 1 finally got a letter from your father which I had deen Tepatiently watting for many ‘days--veritten on the 28th and 2) ready hove today, And there it reads: "Today, that fs, on the 26th of September, after a long time--sone news from » reporting everything quiet'--written by you on the 18th of Septenber. °-My Meee te nekes me so happy and relieved in my innermost heart, ond gett the worries already set in about what could have happened in the YEantine and what you stil] may have to go through, Unfortuantely, I have received no more letters after the one you to eer von September 2nd. And you had certainly written more letters for ny birthday and otherwise. It is very hard to be without mail tor ert to one’s thoughts. How good that I always am affected by Your confidence "that I need not fear anything" and by your calm yoeection which certainly does, at times, produce useful and saving reflection sy God grant it. --. My dear, this letter cannot, turn out all right. I'mwriting it in room, since the light is at regiyag in my roon. All around me the events of yesterday and Today are Being discussed, Yesterday we had, for the first bine, tine Tighter borbs dropped by two or three planes, flying low over Achern.20 Iwas just at place, it was only a preliminary alarm, How we got into the cellar, we simply don't know, On Eisenbahn Street Several houses were severely damaged by the air pressure. Five or ix casualties. The diving of the planes was the hardest part. Our teacher's room is also full of splinters and the like, On John Street everything is alright, thank heaven. We have now improved our Cellar and this noon { could also see how our people from Achern can fun. By the way, it is now 10 p.m.--and another alarm, I don't have much energy left to continue writing. It was a day full of hard work. T'm helping with cooking in Illenau kitchen--One-pot stew (Eintopf- Gericht).. Today we cooked for 1,300 people and Hitler Jugend, who were digging trenches If only some mail from you would get through to me! Possibly much of it got lost in Karlsruhe, I wonder if this letter will reach you? I want to keep up courage! May God preserve you and protect you in all dangers. A thousand greetings to you and faithful Tove! Yours, P.S, I didn't send any money in September, nevertheless I'11 go to the post office tomorrow. Should I send any? Everybody says nothing could be sent, I'd better forget about it Lao. Friday, 29th of September, 1944 Reutl ingen Dear Boy: LETTER 13. ¢ We have received a few lovely words from your Dad again. ‘luge joy Qvercomes me, as you can imagine, but fear and worries du Soin in a Coment. Both of us are in good health which I hope for you, too, from the bottom of my heart. Oh dear, now the nights are turning so cold and you have no shelter. I can no longer enjoy our home, since I Siways have to think of you with worry. There was also hope that a turning point would occur soon; I, too, was firmly convinced of it, but I'no longer believe in it, each day the same thought #s turning up--how will all this end? Ny dear, haven't you received any mail from us yet? Surely you know that I always write to you and that we do not forget about you. This morning I went quickly to the ‘and got some pears, so that we could always have Zonethingy and T left our little girl in her bed. But she was awake then I left and what do you think--when I came home she cried. I wted her, "What's the matter?" and she said she thought that something had happened to me since I had not returned for a long time, and yet I hadn't been away even for an hour, “hat @ rascal you are?” and what do you think she answered--"I am just not used to being alone.” "Then Tihave to leave more often," I said and she said, “Then Twill get ised to it.” But what a crying fit would follow, don't yuu think so? Teant to see now if we'll get the lumber tomorrow. The weather iszie nice and I just wonder whether it will come true and whether our people will agree. 1 don't want to write more. You have other things to think about and I'l] manage somehow. You know that, of course. then you will be with us again, then I won't have to do such things. Daddy, write me, too, where you are. You can say it somewhat indirectly. a yeon Twould be more relaxed, since 1 would be able to pursue the things 2 little better. I know that you don't Tike to do such things. but Trios ake a few bold letters, then I'l] make it out alright, For, touays Tee metfing more to add, but tonorrow I'l] write again. OK, darling? You ce always on my mind, to be sure. dust stay healthy and well for us. as we will do for you. The dear Lord will protect us from now on. as He has gone up to now. We are praying daily for it, and He will certainly need it. In the spirit, you are loved and kissed byy your wife and child. Friday, September 29, 1944 Mittelstadt Dear Father, LETTER 14 Yesterday, I received your two letters from the 13th and the 15th of September, Accept my thanks for them. Perhaps you have also received our mail by now. Our feels better now, he has no more pains. I go maT OY nO says aid BET o'clock in the evening I cone hone.” Today, Ye tere every for eight days, and he suffers much from honesickness.. You nes eee ana every evening when I Teave. But I am happy that he didn't tne an operation, he had an abscess in the intestine, and it broke open rotor heee treatments. I think I can takehim hone in the middle of next after neot toctor says it is healing nicely, and now he can cat white bread week. ore solid things for dinner, too. So i feel someuhat relieved. Otherwise, tieve is no much to report from here. Uncle is working in the store again. will, at any rate, come home by the end of October. Ts already working in store at Metzingen. And Ten HoTiand, but he didn't write where. Dear 5 tt the-weather has been so nasty with you too this week, then you fave fad iF ope ean the tent, for here it rained every day, and it was so cold, teatwe had to put on warm clothes. Today, it was better for the first Trt Me got through with the harvesting of potatoes. I have not written Himes sonday, Now. 1 must close. And I hope that you are still healthy. Twish you ai) the best and send you cordial greetings and kisses. Your wife andLetter 15 Heidelberg 92944 Dear Your letter of September 18, postmarked on the 21st, reached us on the 2eth of September. You can imagine that 1 became somewhat restless when there was no mail from you for so long. I had all kinds of apprehensions after your unit was mentioned in the Army report. Miss and Miss almost went puts with worry. I hope your unit will twist itself through until the racket is over. Many people see the war coming to an end; but i'd gladly consider myself wrong, I'm o.k. When I feel like helping my carpenter, I do so, as long as the {nstruction remains uninterrupted. Keep cheerful, and remain healthy. , Most heartfelt greetings, Your Dad Postscript: Suitcase has not arrived as yet22 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS No attempt will be made to analyze the letters. Each letter has its own integrity and would be made mean- ingless by quantitative research techniques. The letters constitute a small window on the lives of fifteen rural German families caught in the final days of the Third Reich. Here are a few observations: 1. One would expect to find among the letters picked up at random some letters which would be untrans- latable or so poorly written as to be devoid of meaning. This was not true of this collection; apparently the need and desire to communicate produces. meaningful and interest- ing letters. The writers said what they wanted to say efféciently, with great delicacy and sensitivity, There was little, if any, posturing, hiding behind masks, or sham (or shame). Our original concern about invading the privacy of the writers seems to have been justified. The letters were militarily devoid of information that would give aid and comfort to the enemy, except to the extent they might serve as a barometer of civilian morale. They reeked with the trivia of farm routines and war-time frustrations on the home front, and were rich in reflecting the feelings of the writers, a significant historical23 contribution not often caught in the net of the historian. Permeating the letters was the deep affection of man and wife, and the love of children. Other parts of the letter simply served to reinforce and document this emotion, The tenderness and concern seemed to be confined to members of the family; there were few expressions of compassion for others, particularly non-Germans. There were no expressions of regret or guilt. Fear was the dominant tone, fear of no mail, fear of mate's safety, fear of children's safety, and fear of food shortages. The writers seemed so exhausted and emotionally spent that the emotion of hating the enemy was absent. Some writers seemed to have written themselves out; they were just writing to be writing and repeating them- selves. None of the so-called "gallows-humor" of the Berliners was found. The letters were devoid of humor, with the exception of such wry statements as "I hope you a good narrow escape" (Letter 1),and in Letter 10 "thus we will have something to eat for quite some time (potatoes) even if we have to go hungry at times." This is similar to the crack heard in Berlin "No one will freeze this winter unless he is starving too." There was evidence for the war- time comment that we all have our own individual way of suffering and that hell has no bottom. The letters were manimous in the belief that the war had gone on too long24 and that it should end, not necessarily to end in victory. There was, however, no hint that the writers intended to reduce their war efforts. They expressed a fatalistic belief in the power of God to carry them through their suffering. ("God's love transcends the horrors of war.") Some put their faith in the launching of secret weapons (¥'2"s had been launched against England by this time). ~ It is interesting to note the absence of any refer- ences to Hitler and other leaders. None of the letters! ‘7 closed with "Heil Hitler". There were no statements cursing the American and British pilots-- only complaints on the planes and boubings. The long-range propaganda themes of hate and justification for the war seemed to be replaced with a desire to survive and enjoy peace again. A final comment - for the writer of this study, after all of the details of the letters were examined, there remained one unforgettable experience-- the feeling of responsibility of entering the private letter world of suffering people, opening their mail and encountering small snapshots of little children, a picture of a large plow horse, a cheap picture of an eidelweis, and after opening all of the letters I found on my desk the remains of crushed, dried flowers.25 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND NOTES The letters were translated by Walter En\slin, Ph.D., University of Berlin, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Fresno, supported by a faculty research grant, Seven bags of mail, 1100 pounds, from German soldiers in Stalingrad, were seized by German officials, passed through censorship bureaus, impounded, classified as to content and general tenor and submitted to a statistical analysis to determine troop morale. Thirty-nine letters were finally published as positive enough to portray the "correct" troop morale. Only 2% of total were positive. (Schneider, Franz and Gullons, Charles (Transl.) Last Letters from Stalingrad, Morrow,N.Y., 1962) Glendinning, Victoria. Vita: The Life of V. Sackville- West. Alfred Knopf, N.¥., 1983. Notable collections of war-time letters include the following: Hale, Richard W. (Editor) Letters of Warwich Green 1915-1928, Books for Libraries Press, N.Y., Braun, Otto. The Diary of Otto Braun with Selections from His Letters and Poems. William Heineman, London, pa. SS "My Dear Louise" (Letters of a Rural French Family) The New Yorker 1506, Adler, Bill (Editor) Letters from Vietnam. E. P. Dutton Co., N.¥., 1967. TO Ten Boom, Corrie. Prison Letters, Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, New Jersey, For example, Simon Wiesenthal, the post-war Nazi-hunter, gained his insights into the mysteries of the $$ mind by Yeading letters SS guards sent home. Wilmot, Chester. The Struggle for Europe, Harper & Rowe, N.¥., 1963.0 Bramsted, Ernest K. Goebbels and National Socialist Propaganda 1925-1945. Michigan State University ress, , Chapter 14.wv 10. ll. 12. 13. 14. pF 26 Masser, Werner. Hitler - Legend, Myth & Reality. farper & Rove, Nef, 197L. pp. BUBS309. Campbell, James. The Bombing of Nuremberg. Doubleday fc, NY. Rumphf, Hans. The Bombing of Germany. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, N.Y., . Rumphf, Hans. Op cit. Chapter 12. Campbell, James. Op cit. p. 187. A German soldier on the Russian front reported this scene: "Everyone seemed to be reading a letter whose contents were so unexpected that fellows older than 1 were overcome by fear. Others jumped to their feet, screaming like maq men: a close relative or friend had been killed in an dir raid. Are we to be spared noth- ing?" Reported in Sajer, Guy. The Forgotten Soldier. fagper @ Rowe, N.Y., 196), p. Letters from soldiers expressed relief at the prospect of leaving the homeland and returning to their comrades at the front. Letters 4 and 5 did close with "Heil Hitler", however, these two vere not personal communications. This Nazi greeting had been almost dropped by 1944, sometimes being replaced by the "German glance" or simply by the comment "bleibubrig" (survive).THE WITS OF WAR Unofficial GI Humor-History of World War II Edwin SwinefordMERRY XMAS | sn BELGIUM Author (1944)MEMORABILIA, 195 Army Enlisted Patch 248 Wounded badge 211 Tank Battle badge (1939) (1940) 357 War Merit Cross 100 National insignia (1939) National Socialism cap button General Assault Badg: Enlisted man's fieldMiscellan- eous Memorabilia Hundred miliion banki< note (1923)] ($0. 24,000, 000,000,024 dat the=pheny Theresiendstadt e Adlon of t ti