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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Look what I inherited

Look what I inherited

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  • KlausK Online
    KlausK Online
    Klaus
    wrote on last edited by Klaus
    #1

    A box of letters that my granddad sent to my grandmother while being a soldier in WW2. Around 200 letters from March 1940 to August 1945. He was in North Africa until 1942 and was then moved to the Eastern Front until the end of the war, when, at the end of the war, everyone was fleeing West as fast as they could. The letters contain all kinds of "codes" - letters to and from soldiers were strictly monitored and there were many rules about things they couldn't write, e.g., their exact location, let alone making political statements. The two were in love and married during a short furlough in the middle of the war.

    PXL_20210524_140347209.jpg

    PXL_20210524_140417595.jpg

    PXL_20210524_140443600.jpg

    1 Reply Last reply
    • Aqua LetiferA Offline
      Aqua LetiferA Offline
      Aqua Letifer
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      That's invaluable, Klaus. Would you want to translate some for us?

      Please love yourself.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nyc
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Priceless.

        What aqua said. As you read through them over time, come back to this thread and share some interesting bits.

        Only non-witches get due process.

        • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
        1 Reply Last reply
        • HoraceH Offline
          HoraceH Offline
          Horace
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Cool stuff.

          Education is extremely important.

          1 Reply Last reply
          • MikM Offline
            MikM Offline
            Mik
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            What a window into both world history and your family story.

            “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

            1 Reply Last reply
            • Catseye3C Offline
              Catseye3C Offline
              Catseye3
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Yes, what everyone said. 🙂

              Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka

              1 Reply Last reply
              • George KG Offline
                George KG Offline
                George K
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Amazing stuff, indeed!

                Please, please, let us know what the letters say.

                "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                1 Reply Last reply
                • kluursK Offline
                  kluursK Offline
                  kluurs
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  What an incredible time and life to have lived. Yes, please share some of what you learn.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • LuFins DadL Offline
                    LuFins DadL Offline
                    LuFins Dad
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    What kind of steps can be taken to preserve those?

                    The Brad

                    Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply
                    • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad

                      What kind of steps can be taken to preserve those?

                      Aqua LetiferA Offline
                      Aqua LetiferA Offline
                      Aqua Letifer
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      @lufins-dad said in Look what I inherited:

                      What kind of steps can be taken to preserve those?

                      Museum glass + frame is what I'd do.

                      Please love yourself.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • RenaudaR Offline
                        RenaudaR Offline
                        Renauda
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Like jon wrote, priceless.

                        Elbows up!

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • RichR Offline
                          RichR Offline
                          Rich
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Wow, what a cool thing to have passed down.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • CopperC Offline
                            CopperC Offline
                            Copper
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Did he flee West?

                            Did he encounter any tncr ancestors? That would be a story.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • RainmanR Offline
                              RainmanR Offline
                              Rainman
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              If he couldn't write about what he was experiencing, I'd prefer the salacious, dirty, sexy stuff, if you don't mind.

                              Seriously, it would be so interesting to glean things, such as what it was like to be a "man" as a soldier, lack of complaints given where he was, etc. What was his rank?

                              And again, if you can't do that, I'd be satisfied with the good stuff like I asked.

                              Aqua LetiferA KlausK 2 Replies Last reply
                              • RainmanR Rainman

                                If he couldn't write about what he was experiencing, I'd prefer the salacious, dirty, sexy stuff, if you don't mind.

                                Seriously, it would be so interesting to glean things, such as what it was like to be a "man" as a soldier, lack of complaints given where he was, etc. What was his rank?

                                And again, if you can't do that, I'd be satisfied with the good stuff like I asked.

                                Aqua LetiferA Offline
                                Aqua LetiferA Offline
                                Aqua Letifer
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                @rainman said in Look what I inherited:

                                Seriously, it would be so interesting to glean things, such as what it was like to be a "man" as a soldier, lack of complaints given where he was, etc. What was his rank?

                                Quote from Red Oaks:

                                "Oh I get it, you're spending this summer trying to find yourself, is that it?"
                                "Well, I guess so, yeah."
                                "You know what I did when I was your age, trying to 'find myself?' "
                                "..."
                                "Killed. Nazis."

                                Please love yourself.

                                RenaudaR 1 Reply Last reply
                                • L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Loki
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  Holy crap. What a personal treasure trove.

                                  So much of WW2 that I’ve read are based on personal diaries but they seem to be the UK view, I always wanted to hear from the diaries of the other perspective. Obviously your grandfather couldn’t say much but I suspect one would still get a feel for thing.

                                  jon-nycJ 1 Reply Last reply
                                  • RainmanR Rainman

                                    If he couldn't write about what he was experiencing, I'd prefer the salacious, dirty, sexy stuff, if you don't mind.

                                    Seriously, it would be so interesting to glean things, such as what it was like to be a "man" as a soldier, lack of complaints given where he was, etc. What was his rank?

                                    And again, if you can't do that, I'd be satisfied with the good stuff like I asked.

                                    KlausK Online
                                    KlausK Online
                                    Klaus
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    @rainman said in Look what I inherited:

                                    If he couldn't write about what he was experiencing, I'd prefer the salacious, dirty, sexy stuff, if you don't mind.

                                    Seriously, it would be so interesting to glean things, such as what it was like to be a "man" as a soldier, lack of complaints given where he was, etc. What was his rank?

                                    He had a low rank. "Obergefreiter". I think this is something like "Private first class".

                                    It's quite interesting to read. Religion played a much bigger role back then. Much of the contents of the letters is pretty basic stuff: How relatives are doing, who got sick, how much they miss each other, how they hope the war is going to end, people who were injured or killed, sending and receiving rare things like chocolate, etc. I think the most striking aspects of the letters is how the life of a low-rank soldier was completely separate from the political sphere. The purpose of the war, what the politicians wanted, strategic goals etc. - all that happened on a different planet.

                                    I'll try to see whether I find something that is interesting enough to translate.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • Aqua LetiferA Aqua Letifer

                                      @rainman said in Look what I inherited:

                                      Seriously, it would be so interesting to glean things, such as what it was like to be a "man" as a soldier, lack of complaints given where he was, etc. What was his rank?

                                      Quote from Red Oaks:

                                      "Oh I get it, you're spending this summer trying to find yourself, is that it?"
                                      "Well, I guess so, yeah."
                                      "You know what I did when I was your age, trying to 'find myself?' "
                                      "..."
                                      "Killed. Nazis."

                                      RenaudaR Offline
                                      RenaudaR Offline
                                      Renauda
                                      wrote on last edited by Renauda
                                      #18

                                      @aqua-letifer

                                      That reminds me of my grade 12 history teacher. He was a Ukrainian nationalist from western Ukraine and therefore experienced first being under Polish rule then and being a second class citizen, Soviet occupation and terror, then Nazi occupation and terror then a threat of more Soviet terror. He said he spent his teenage years first conspiring against the Polish authorities, then shooting Russians for a while, then shooting Germans for a few years then finally shooting Russians, Germans and Polish communists as he made his way to Allied occupied territory. In his case he made it to British lines first.

                                      Elbows up!

                                      RainmanR 1 Reply Last reply
                                      • RenaudaR Renauda

                                        @aqua-letifer

                                        That reminds me of my grade 12 history teacher. He was a Ukrainian nationalist from western Ukraine and therefore experienced first being under Polish rule then and being a second class citizen, Soviet occupation and terror, then Nazi occupation and terror then a threat of more Soviet terror. He said he spent his teenage years first conspiring against the Polish authorities, then shooting Russians for a while, then shooting Germans for a few years then finally shooting Russians, Germans and Polish communists as he made his way to Allied occupied territory. In his case he made it to British lines first.

                                        RainmanR Offline
                                        RainmanR Offline
                                        Rainman
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        @renauda said in Look what I inherited:

                                        @aqua-letifer

                                        That reminds me of my grade 12 history teacher. He was a Ukrainian nationalist from western Ukraine and therefore experienced first being under Polish rule then and being a second class citizen, Soviet occupation and terror, then Nazi occupation and terror then a threat of more Soviet terror. He said he spent his teenage years first conspiring against the Polish authorities, then shooting Russians for a while, then shooting Germans for a few years then finally shooting Russians, Germans and Polish communists as he made his way to Allied occupied territory. In his case he made it to British lines first.

                                        That's amazing, Renauda.
                                        I'm particularly amazed that he was not shot as an enemy of the state along the way, by whoever was occupying his domicile. Horrible place to be during horrible times. It is indeed jaw-dropping to hear the stories. We are such softies, I almost feel guilty for all the angst and hysterics one reads in the news today, is nothing compared to what was going on in Europe and eastern Europe. Imagine not being able to enjoy freedom(s).

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        • JollyJ Offline
                                          JollyJ Offline
                                          Jolly
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Those belong in a WW2 museum.

                                          “Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”

                                          Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton

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