October 5 & 7, November 11, 1942: To You, Kisses

Red Cross Letter from Ella to Opa

Translation (Written October 5, 1942, received October 30, 1942)

Beloved boy,

Good news from Patti, Maurice, and nice pictures. How are Rose, Hanna? Are you at the Shelleys’ much? All my greetings! To you, kisses!

Mama

Red Cross letter from Opa to Ella

Transcription (written on October 7, 1942, received Nov 20, 1942):

Happy New Year, mother! May it bring peace and reunion. I'm back in school, happy and confident. Had good news from father and sis.

Tom

Red Cross Letter from Ella to Opa

Translation (written November 11, 1942):

Beloved boy,

Happy to get the news. We (Papa too) are healthy, hope for a reunion soon. Good luck with your exams! Nice time with Anni, she’s thinking of you a lot, says hi.

Kisses!

Mama

Annchen

Here we have the monthly communication between Ella and Opa. The responses are delayed, but the messages don't vary much. Ella seems to be hearing from August (at least through his sister Annchen) and Patti, so that's an improvement. She has signed the last few postcards with her name and Annchen's- so I wonder if she is living with Annchen now? Or is she just with her often enough that she involves her in the red cross letter writing? Either way, it gives Opa (and the censors) the impression that she is not alone and is still well connected. 

It occurred to me that all is quiet with the AFSC and any talk of immigration. It's an eerie quiet, with the chaos of the war going on around them, they wait and hope for peace and reunion. 

Opa says Happy New Year in October, I'm not sure if this was code for something, or if he understood the significant delay of the letters and wanted to make sure he got it in before the New Year was up. 

They hope for a reunion and peace soon. We know that the war does not end until the summer of 1945. That's nearly three more long years until any semblance of peace.

But I'm going to focus on the sweet line from the first letter when Ella says hello to Opa's friends, but "to you, kisses."