Red Cross Letter from Annchen/Ella to Opa
Translation:
May 22, 1943
Beloved birthday boy,
We’re together, thinking of you longingly with many good wishes. Still without news. Patti, Papa healthy. We kiss you!
Mama
Annchen
This letter is written from Annchen's address (Opa's aunt, August's sister). I'm not sure if that was a safety thing or that's just how it worked out. With the deportations well under way, and Ella's family disappearing, I wonder just how she is managing. Her notes to Opa betray nothing of her fear, she keeps it upbeat and focused on the basics of her love for Opa and the updates on the (very) immediate family. Opa receives a formal birthday greeting on his birthday, and the reassurance that Ella is with Annchen. I imagine that first line must have provided Opa with comfort "We're together." Loneliness is not good mixed with fear.
Many people were evicted from their homes so "good" Germans could live in them, but just because they were evicted doesn't mean they were sent to ghettos or camps. Maybe the addresses change or people stay with each other while they're trying to find a new home?
ReplyDelete