Friesch to Klara: 7th March 1943

[BrodieBartfast]

Hello again folks.

The next in the Friesch to Klara letter chain, and one I had to fight off opposing bidders on eBay to retain.
There are a few things I note when looking at this one. Immediately, I noticed a month's gap between the penning of the letter and the date it was posted. The letter itself is almost pristine, the paper crisp and white with no signs of yellowing. It looks almost as if it was written and posted yesterday! The penmanship is very neat, and it appears that Friesch had a lot more to say than in the last piece of correspondence.

There is also a photograph with this one. I have absolutely no idea if it's directly related to this letter, or to the sender or recipient. There's a bit of writing on the back which might answer that. Although obviously, being a simple Englishman with a poor grasp of Sütterlinschrift, I'm unable to tell! Given the gentleman in the photograph is in Luftwaffe uniform, I'd assume not.

Enjoy the photos. And, as always, best regards to all.

B.B.

[HPL2008]

The text on the reverse of the photo says:

"1939/oder 1940? Als Rechn.Führer [= Rechnungsführer] Landsberg/Lech oder?"

A Rechnungsführer is an accountant/pay NCO (or a senior private in this case).

Translation of the letter to follow in the evening.

[BrodieBartfast]

Thank you for solving that little mystery. The seller has many other letters, with photographs of the same man mixed in. I suppose that confirms that the photos have nothing to do with the letters, and are just added to increase buyer appeal.

B.B.

[HPL2008]

Here's the translation now:

"Bad Boll, 7 March 1943.

Dear Mrs. Häckh!

One can hardly be mad at the people one holds dear. Thus, for instance, I cannot be mad at you for not having written to me in such a long time. The only thing about your letter - which gave me much joy when I saw this so familiar handwriting - that I find alarming is the fact that you only found the time to write to me during an imposed break. Is that the "look of total war"*), that our loved ones can only find the time to write us during the nightly shudders of an enemy terror raid? That would be bad.

I know how much the last weeks and months with their events coming so thick and fast must have weighed down on you. Even if we disregard the personal suffering, such a heavy burden remains to be borne by every decent person that the thoughts keep returning to those whom fate has given so much suffering to bear. Having said that, I am convinced that we are still far from reaching the greatest measure of our grievances and tribulations. Sacrifices of an unheard-of extent are demanded from our people in this war. I wish every man had the carefreeness of the children, who after a night full of terrors and borne fears, resume their playing amidst the rubble of their collapsed houses with natural casualness.

Over the last weeks, I had described the fate of one of my fallen comrades in lectures to some 5,000 students aged eleven to 17 years in the counties of Göppingen, Nürtingen and Böblingen, and (while the majority of the older students were shaken by my young comrade's brave fighting and death) rejoiced in the delightful purity of the ten- to eleven-year-old children, who faced me with open and bright eyes. Perhaps this unspoiled strength is resting within us as well, a strength that commands us to keep on living despite every deep, emotional trauma.

Greeting you and your loved ones most cordially,

your Friesch"

*) "Optik des totalen Krieges"; a reference to Goebbels' infamous speech in the Berlin Sportpalast on 18 February 1943. ("Auch die Optik des Krieges, dh. das äußere Bild der Kriegführung ist im vierten Kriegsjahr von ausschlaggebender Wichtigkeit." = "The look of war, that is the outward appearance of warfare, is also of crucial importance in the fourth year of the war".)

[BrodieBartfast]

It seems Friesch is rather unhappy in this one. Though perhaps that's a significant understatement.
He wrote this letter just over a month after the Battle of Stalingrad's conclusion. I could only pin that as the reason for his upset. The encirclement and destruction of an entire army group can't have been good for morale at home, and it really shows here.
I do wonder why Klara hadn't written to him for so long, and what his relationship was to her.

Thank you for the translation once again. Your tireless assistance is as appreciated as it possibly can be!

B.B.