insert_drive_file
Text from page 1
My Dears,
We are overjoyed that we are finally in written touch with you and that we can write to you in our mother tongue. We have
so much to tell you that there isn’t enough paper in the world that could contain it all.
Unfortunately, it’s mostly all bad news. So little of it is good. As you have perhaps
already learned from Maruška, out of our whole family only Hanka and I returned, but we are happy that at
least the two of us were reunited. I must tell you all about our departure from Prague. As you know,
Kurt and I were transported to Theresienstadt in July 1943 to be with our
insert_drive_file
Text from page 2
parents and
Hanka. We were together there for 1 ¼ years. We were doing rather well, all
told.
Kurt and my parents worked in the office,
Hanka in the bakery, and I mostly did nothing
because I was
sick. Then, in the fall of 1944, we were
gradually
transported —
father left separately,
mother with
Hanka, and I
with
Kurt. All of the
transports went to
Auschwitz. You
cannot imagine what we suffered through. I don’t want to describe our experiences and so
it’s perhaps a little cruel of me to write and tell you so directly that our dear
mother
died there.
Father, who successfully made it past the
selection process, was
shot on
the
Czech
border on May 3rd, 1945, just 5 days before the end of the
war, during the
evacuation of the
labor
camp where he was sent.
Kurt was separated from me in
Theresienstadt near the train and it was only when I returned to
Prague that I learned that
he was held for about 3 weeks in the
Small
Fortress and was supposedly
shot
there. We are positive regarding
father
since he was with
Hanka’s young
man,
who returned. Jirka also returned and we’re
living together with
him now. I ran into
Hanka by happy chance
in
Prague. She
had come back one month earlier than I and she no longer believed that I would return. I’m
sure you can imagine what our
life is like now. Our
financial situation is miserable; we don’t have enough
clothes to wear.
insert_drive_file
Text from page 3
I’ll likely find an office job.
Hanka is graduating in September and then she’ll probably make her living as an illustrator. In short,
this is all that we wanted to tell you about what we went through. We don’t know what the
future holds. We are in touch with Maruška. Her little Jana is so adorable. We have visited
them several times. Please write us soon and let us know if you are coming. We would love to
see you, we have so much to tell. You can’t imagine how we are faring. But at least we are
happy that you will come and see us.