October 30, 1943: News from Ella

Red Cross Telegram from Ella to Opa

Translation:

30 October 1943

My boy, I’m worried, been a long while without news. Annchen returns from vacation tomorrow. Papa healthy. How far are you in your studies?

Kisses,

Mama

This letter comes two months after the last one. From what I can tell, Opa received this letter at the end of November, so only a month from posting, which is actually quite good. Each letter Opa receives is one more month his mother is miraculously safe. I wonder if he was beginning to think she might be OK through it all since she had been safe for so long. Had she somehow evaded the Nazi gaze, right under their noses in Berlin? 

Annchen, who was Ella's ex-sister-in-law, has been more than a friend, but in a way a savior to Ella. Her presence is constant, and it seems it would be risky for Aanchen to be so boldly associated with a Jewish woman. 

I miss Ella's long letters. I know that she is still saying the same thing: that she misses her child, wishes only for the best, and is trying as hard as she can to stay connected, healthy, and self-sufficient.

What is Opa thinking? Is every telegram a heart-stopping moment of relief? Or is he accustomed to it? Does he feel that his mother is immune to the chaos like we all think our own family is immune to the dangers in the world? I don't know. I wish I had asked.