Letters From the Lost (23 page)

May 7, 1940

Regarding your inquiries about us, dear Hertha, we were very sad. Since we were registered on April 6, 1938, and the local weekly paper stated that those who had been registered by the above date are now being summoned for the purpose of emigrating, we are prompted to ask you again for the affidavit.

Because of your last communication, dear Hertha, I went to the American Consulate to get information. To our utter amazement, they told us that our waiting time on the Polish quota has been exceeded and that we can be allowed to leave immediately if we are in possession of an affidavit. Now, dear Hertha, you can well imagine my situation, to see the goal so near and not to possess the fervently longed for affidavit.

On the very same evening, I spoke to Arnold who immediately pronounced himself ready to give us his affidavit. Now it’s in your hands to help us, and we beg you, from the bottom of our hearts, to
come immediately to an understanding with Bella. The affidavit that was issued to Edi in 1938 has now expired. Bella would have to issue a whole new affidavit for us and we give you our dates as follows:

Emil, born February 6, 1894 in Lemberg, resident of Linz on the Danube.

Martha/Waldstein/, born September 26, 1908 in Strobnitz, resident of Linz on the Danube.

Ilse, born January 23, 1931 in Linz on the Danube, resident of Linz on the Danube.

Dorothea, born July 10, 1938 in Linz on the Danube, resident of Linz on the Danube.

Dear Hertha, since you have had the experience of filling out affidavits for your mother and your sister, please help Bella so that no unnecessary delays will occur. Especially these days, the slightest obstacle could cause months of delay.

Please reassure Bella that, as much as it is in our power, we will not become a burden on her, and we will always be grateful to her for her kindness.

Since we know from what you wrote that Bella always goes on her summer holidays very early, please don’t be angry with us, dear Hertha, if we remind you once again of the urgency of this situation. Besides, no matter how fast we do the documentation, things still take a long time.

Should you be successful in this good and noble deed, be assured that you will have our undying gratitude. May God reward you upon the head of your dear child!

Perhaps it would be possible for you to convey the contents of this letter to Edi. This time, we finally hope for the best. Many sincere thanks in advance.

Yours
Emil

Re-reading this letter, I was enraged by the unknown Bella who contemplated the luxury of an extended summer vacation. How could she have ignored the desperation of Emil’s words? Until the fall of 1941, Germany’s policy was one of extrusion, and any Jew could leave if he had a place to go. It was mainly because the rest of the world would not take them in that relatively few Jews got out.
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Even though he had no answers and no power to change Canadian policy, I wonder if Emil’s words left my father feeling that he had not done enough? Given the reality of a Canadian Immigration Act that “ranked would-be settlers by their racial characteristics, that distinguished Jews from non-Jews of the same citizenship, and that pre-dated Hitler’s Nuremberg laws by more than ten years,”
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is there anything my father could have done?

At the end of Emil’s impassioned letter to Hertha, Martha adds only a few lines. She makes no pretence at lighthearted news.

Well dear Hertha, the great undertaking will have to be accomplished after all. Although we would like to have sheltered you from it, the hard “we must” and the saying “only to the valiant belongs the world” is now our password.

A
RNOLD DOES NOT WRITE AGAIN
until July 2i, 1940. Surprisingly, he mentions neither the Fränkels’ situation nor the affidavit. Instead, he maintains a studied calm that masks the upheavals that are transforming life in Prague. Street names are being changed to honour German heroes. Vera’s medical practice has come to an enforced end. They will soon be moving out of their apartment. Arnold does not dwell upon these changes. Instead, he draws attention to the progress that we have made, and to the stability of the family. His letter reminds me again that the letters travelled from person to person on both sides of the Atlantic.

My dear ones,

Great joy reigns in the family whenever your written lines reach us, and every letter wanders from hand to hand. Then we all give thanks to God who has guided your fate along such peaceful paths. We rejoice at every little step forward that you are able to record.

Our joy was especially great when we gathered from your letter of June 28, dear Hertha, that our brother Otto is also in good
health and doing well. If we aren’t as diligent about writing as you might perhaps wish, please don’t take it amiss. Circumstances do not always make it possible to write. Nonetheless, our thoughts are constantly with you, and we follow every phase of your existence, from your work to your home life, which we can easily picture thanks to your descriptions.

In contrast to all the progress that you have to report, I can say only that as far as we are concerned, things are unchanged or almost unchanged. The old circle of family and relatives is still the same. At Else’s, who somehow has a special knack for making guests feel welcome and where the uncommonly sweet little Dorly becomes the centre of attraction, we all get together, often by chance.

Mama is also there. She is living with Else and will stay for quite a while. She has a mild weakness of the heart, so we would rather have her in the care and control of family. Dear Vera will be closing her practice in a few days. We will keep our apartment for another three months and then we will probably move to a smaller one in the same house. Our street, by the way, is now called Schw-erinova (Schwerinstrasse).

And now, one little favour that I ask of you, dear Edi. Please add a few lines in your own hand to Gretl’s letters, and address these specifically to our parents who derive pleasure from every word. Now, be well, my dear ones, and may God be with you!

Your Arnold.

I marvel at how smoothly Arnold has slipped in the new development that would give my father cause for concern: his mother’s health. Clearly, Arnold is trying to be truthful while avoiding unnecessary upset. Still, the suggestion that my father not leave letter writing in the hands of my mother is a sharp reminder of how carefully the family reads each letter, searching, as do I, for those small but revealing differences that characterize each individual.

————

ON AUGUST 25, WHEN HE
writes again, Arnold no longer minimizes the seriousness of Fanny’s condition. While he tries to put a positive spin on events, even going so far as to pretend that Vera has stopped practicing medicine in order to learn to cook and clean the house, his humour is transparent.

My dear ones,

Our thoughts are often with you, much more often than it is possible for us to write. This time, dear Edi, it is the occasion of your birthday that gives rise in even stronger measure to our best wishes for your well-being.

Everything here is more or less okay. It is only the health of dear Mama that unfortunately leaves a bit to be desired. She has a weakness of the heart and has lost a lot of weight. Else and Martha and Vera are caring for her as best they can, and a competent heart specialist is treating her, so that we hope, now that she is feeling better, she will soon recover.

Vera is now running the household alone, which is greatly to her credit under the existing circumstances. Above all, she wants to get some practice in the domestic arts. So far, my stomach pronounces it good.

I have lots of work in the factory, especially since the old boss died and his son took over the firm. The number of orders has doubled. I have not yet taken my holidays this year because of the continuing bad weather. However, we usually go for nice bike rides on Sunday, often 70-80 km.

Now my dear ones, be well, write soon and more often than we do. Hugs and kisses to every one of you from your Arnold.

On September 26, Arnold and Vera write again. Their letter provides me with a date that I quickly entered into my book of birthdays. Martha, the youngest of my father’s siblings was born on September 26, the same day as her mother Fanny’s birthday.

For 34 years, there would have been great rejoicing as the family celebrated the joint event. This year, Arnold makes no mention of even a simple family dinner. The omission startles me.

My dear ones,

Today, on Mama and Martha’s birthday, our thoughts are especially intensively with you in the distance. We received your last letter and read it with pleasure. God grant that you continue to prosper, that your labour bear fruit, and that contentment be granted to you.

About the state of Mama’s health, I can report joyful progress. A great improvement has taken place. She is already spending several hours a day out of bed, although she is, of course, still very weak and thin. She has gained some weight, and she is able to walk about in the room. Naturally, she is still under doctor’s care and gets injections and medication, though not as frequently. The symptoms of heart trouble only occur now and then. Dear Vera takes care of her as much as ever and Else does her best to brighten her spirits. So we hope that dear Mama will soon be in full possession of her strength, and I think we need no longer be so concerned.

About us, I can report that, considering the circumstances, we are doing well, especially given that we are fairly modest people. You need not worry about us in this regard.

Dear Vera is bravely running the household, even though it is often beyond her capacity. She is often held up elsewhere. In a few weeks, the Fränkels will move in with us. We have reserved the two rooms upstairs that are not being used at the moment. Papa will move in with Else and the Fränkels will then use his furniture.

I continue to work hard in the factory, and although we have orders and enough raw materials, there have been some administrative changes. As a result, we must count on my leaving the firm in the next few weeks. Well, no panic, somehow we’ll manage.

As I kiss you and embrace you from the heart, I remain your old Arnold

As I analyse Arnold’s letter, I note that although Fanny may be on the mend, all else in Arnold’s world is crumbling. Despite the fact that his skills as an engineer are in demand, his work life is ending. Ever conscious of the all-seeing censors, Arnold attempts to make his dismissal seem plausible. However, the “administrative changes” at the factory that will terminate Arnold’s employment can only be a metaphor for the Nazi takeover and for the new laws that exclude Jews from the world of gainful employment.

The fact that Vera is “bravely” running the household appears to be a veiled reference to the long line-ups for Jews in Prague who were allowed to shop only between n a.m. and 3 p.m. They were also denied ration cards for a range of goods, including vegetables, fruits (fresh, dried, or canned), sugar, nuts, cheese, fish, poultry, and more.
¹⁰
Plans for the Fränkels to move in with Arnold and Vera, and for my grandfather to move in with Elsa are evidence that Jews are being compelled to live in ever more cramped quarters.

————

ARNOLD’S NEXT LETTER
dated October 26,1940, mentions the word “war” for the first and only time. It is a very strange letter in which the truth is veiled. Arnold chooses his words so carefully that he does not even use his brother Otto’s name. Instead, Arnold refers to “Ingwa,” as if this were a woman’s name. I know that Ingwa is an abbreviation of Ingenieur Waldstein, and that Ingwa is the name Otto used as his knitwear label. Arnold uses a similar code for others. He refers to an uncle whose improbable Hungarian name “Fekete” I have never heard. This “uncle” has received news that two women for whom Arnold uses only first names are with Otto in an unspecified safe place.

Arnold reports,
“Mama can almost be called well again.”
Sobering news, however, is the fact that the Fränkels will be moving out of the home they have been sharing with the Urbachs, yet they will not be allowed to move in with Arnold and Vera. Clearly, as the Nazis tightened every loophole, the decision of where to live is no longer a matter of personal choice.

My dear ones,

As always, we were delighted with your lines, and these are now making the rounds of the whole family both in the original and in a copy.

From Ingwa too we had the first news in a long time. Together with Dita and Liselotte, she (sic) telegraphed Uncle Fekete that they are all doing well. From us too, I can report that we are all doing relatively well. Above all, we are pleased to be in good health, and of course, that is what matters most. Dear Mama is now also sufficiently restored that one could almost call her well. She now spends most of her time out of bed, has a good appetite and is gaining a bit in weight and strength.

Meanwhile Papa is living alone in Budweis, though he will probably move to the Urbachs’ in the new year when the Fränkels will move away from there. Because they are not allowed to move in with us, they will have to try to find a furnished place somewhere. Dorly is very cute now. She is starting to talk, chattering equally well in German and Czech.

In the factory, circumstances have improved to the extent that I’m staying for now, presumably to the end of the year. Vera bravely runs the household but at noon, we go to a lunch table because she is short of time. We eat very well there, and for a while, one forgets that there is war.

Now, my dear ones, accept all my best wishes for your further well-being and the assurance that our thoughts abide steadfastly with you.