top of page
.png){kind=small}
ONGOING PROJECT
Love Letters From The War
Bombs
Siedlce, November 6, 1943
My love,
I’m so looking forward to receiving mail from you tomorrow, Saturday. And now this dreadful Wehrmacht report about the attack on West German cities on Wednesday evening. I can’t stop thinking about whether you endured the attack and how.
Yesterday evening, there was another attack. The mail I’ve been eagerly awaiting is from before these attacks.
You know, my love, lying here and listening to the Wehrmacht report half a dozen times isn’t pleasant.
Siedlce, November 6, 1943
My love,
I’m so looking forward to receiving mail from you tomorrow, Saturday. And now this dreadful Wehrmacht report about the attack on West German cities on Wednesday evening. I can’t stop thinking about whether you endured the attack and how.
Yesterday evening, there was another attack. The mail I’ve been eagerly awaiting is from before these attacks.
You know, my love, lying here and listening to the Wehrmacht report half a dozen times isn’t pleasant.
The Evening Before
Lemgo, Thursday evening, April 6, 1944
My dear Grete,
It’s now clear: tomorrow morning at 7 we depart. So off we go! Let’s see what the war looks like out there. You have to see and experience it at some point, I suppose. Fear, actual fear of death or injury—I don’t have it yet. This experience will likely influence my worldview and outlook deeply.
And you, too, will change in your worry for me. Together, we will learn to appreciate life as a couple even more than before.
Let’s not be sad. Perhaps I will rediscover some of that old desire to see and experience new and foreign things. Often, I force myself to recognise the beauty in gloomy moods. After all, the sun always shines the same, and nature’s beauty doesn’t change. No one cares about our troubles! What’s important is that your heart stays strong. Yes, let’s not harden our hearts. I often think about how much joy our child brings you! And all the new things. And you can rest assured: I, too, find quiet joys in thinking of you, of Gisela, and in experiencing all the new things.
Lemgo, Thursday evening, April 6, 1944
My dear Grete,
It’s now clear: tomorrow morning at 7 we depart. So off we go! Let’s see what the war looks like out there. You have to see and experience it at some point, I suppose. Fear, actual fear of death or injury—I don’t have it yet. This experience will likely influence my worldview and outlook deeply.
And you, too, will change in your worry for me. Together, we will learn to appreciate life as a couple even more than before.
Let’s not be sad. Perhaps I will rediscover some of that old desire to see and experience new and foreign things. Often, I force myself to recognise the beauty in gloomy moods. After all, the sun always shines the same, and nature’s beauty doesn’t change. No one cares about our troubles! What’s important is that your heart stays strong. Yes, let’s not harden our hearts. I often think about how much joy our child brings you! And all the new things. And you can rest assured: I, too, find quiet joys in thinking of you, of Gisela, and in experiencing all the new things.
Looking West
June 22, 1944, near Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Last night, the memory of our final evening of being at home — was so vivid. I was on watch. By chance, “A Song Resounds Within Me” played on the radio. It was the last song our radio broadcasted.
After my watch, around midnight, I sat outside for a while and looked west: You are still there, and so is Gisela. What more could I want?
June 22, 1944, near Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Last night, the memory of our final evening of being at home — was so vivid. I was on watch. By chance, “A Song Resounds Within Me” played on the radio. It was the last song our radio broadcasted.
After my watch, around midnight, I sat outside for a while and looked west: You are still there, and so is Gisela. What more could I want?
Flowers
June 18, 1944, near Volodymyr-Volynskyi
We didn’t find any partisans. There was plenty of shooting just for the fun of it and even more chatter about the whole adventure.
Eventually, three of us wandered back through the beautiful forest and meadow landscape, following the sun. The path led through a bushy forest into a swamp, which gave us wet feet but also brought me a lot of joy. Because there were such strange flowers growing there! And I didn’t know the name of a single one! I pressed a peculiar two-coloured flower—blue at the top, yellow at the bottom—as well as some lovely cotton grass. Then there were also wild roses, cuckoo flowers, strawberries, and bright lemon-yellow dandelions, which at home are more golden-yellow.
It was wonderful, and the fact that we were on a manhunt didn’t even cross my mind. And when bullets whizzed somewhere nearby, we laughed: “The comrades are shooting at rabbits!”
June 18, 1944, near Volodymyr-Volynskyi
We didn’t find any partisans. There was plenty of shooting just for the fun of it and even more chatter about the whole adventure.
Eventually, three of us wandered back through the beautiful forest and meadow landscape, following the sun. The path led through a bushy forest into a swamp, which gave us wet feet but also brought me a lot of joy. Because there were such strange flowers growing there! And I didn’t know the name of a single one! I pressed a peculiar two-coloured flower—blue at the top, yellow at the bottom—as well as some lovely cotton grass. Then there were also wild roses, cuckoo flowers, strawberries, and bright lemon-yellow dandelions, which at home are more golden-yellow.
It was wonderful, and the fact that we were on a manhunt didn’t even cross my mind. And when bullets whizzed somewhere nearby, we laughed: “The comrades are shooting at rabbits!”
Guardian Angel
October 8, 1944, 8 km behind the front on the Vistula
I had a good guardian angel today. This morning, I wanted to visit the observers at the other end of the village to get some tobacco.
Not a soul was on the barren road except for one car when suddenly a completely unnoticed airplane swooped down, circled, and tried to “bless” the road with machine guns, cannons, and fragmentation bombs! But everything missed by about 10 meters! Well, now I’ll be more cautious about these stupid low-flying planes, even in “quieter” areas.
October 8, 1944, 8 km behind the front on the Vistula
I had a good guardian angel today. This morning, I wanted to visit the observers at the other end of the village to get some tobacco.
Not a soul was on the barren road except for one car when suddenly a completely unnoticed airplane swooped down, circled, and tried to “bless” the road with machine guns, cannons, and fragmentation bombs! But everything missed by about 10 meters! Well, now I’ll be more cautious about these stupid low-flying planes, even in “quieter” areas.
Left Behind
January 14, 1945
My dear Grete!
Everything went well. We were very, very lucky—especially me and three comrades.
We wanted to rescue a wounded comrade on a hilltop. But the tank! It rolled up next to the wounded man, fired, then stopped, overlooking us in the open snowfield! That neither it nor the Russians on board saw us!! It stopped, and we crawled and ran back—it saw nothing!
I will never forget that we left him behind. A young man from the inner surveying unit.
January 14, 1945
My dear Grete!
Everything went well. We were very, very lucky—especially me and three comrades.
We wanted to rescue a wounded comrade on a hilltop. But the tank! It rolled up next to the wounded man, fired, then stopped, overlooking us in the open snowfield! That neither it nor the Russians on board saw us!! It stopped, and we crawled and ran back—it saw nothing!
I will never forget that we left him behind. A young man from the inner surveying unit.
bottom of page