Sister letters 1934

December 26, 1934

Beloved Family Members,

That was a big wonderful Christmas present, dear Lina, when the letter from you arrived here, just in time for Christmas. I am sorry that you did not receive my letters that I wrote to you during the course of the past year. There were three or four.  I have also sent such identical pictures of us to all the other brothers and sister. Still no one of them has written that the pictures arrived. One essentially loses all interest in writing, but that will not do. I do want to thank you for your sacrificial love, Lina. 

It is as you have heard. It is not any better now. The dear God may bless you for all your love and goodness. Since you did not receive our letters you do not yet know that as of the 27th of July we have a Jascha. He is now five months old and already very big and plump. He has brown eyes and blonde hair, like Artur, but he does not resemble him. Our children all look different from each other. They have all had whooping cough, but not very severely. In addition to that Wally had mumps and malaria, but now he is well again. For some time, Gredel has been quite irritable, eats very little and sleeps a great deal. Yes, sometimes when both of the smaller children are crying at the same time, and the bigger ones raging on top of that, one is ready to run away, and so the tortured nerves demand peace. But when everyone is happy and healthy then all goes well again, and I love my platoon very very much, even though sometimes it almost gets too hard for me. Jasch senior has been in Waldheim for five weeks now. He must repair the magnetos on the tractors at the tractor station there. After New Year's Day, he is back to work at the school. He is not even home now that it is Christmas, since it is always necessary to work there. But in our hearts, there still wasChristmas. The children and I sang, and I told them stories. Alas, what I am writing is so incomplete. Would that I could write everything. Should you receive this letter, then please send it on to the other family members.

Until now we have always had something to eat. The cow has been standing dry for a month now. Because the feed is so scarce, only chaff because this year there were no beets and pumpkins and also no hay. She is to come fresh only in March.

Lina, you are always so interested in our children. Alas, how gladly I would show them all to you and to talk with you about child-rearing. If only they were not required to go to school. They are learning well. Wally does not go yet. I would also very much like to see your dear little boy.