Article about: Hello again folks. One of several pieces of correspondence I've recently taken in, and probably the last for a little while. I've been so intent in pursuing the hobby this month that I've al
One of several pieces of correspondence I've recently taken in, and probably the last for a little while. I've been so intent in pursuing the hobby this month that I've almost run out of money. As a result, a few letters have slipped through my grasp. I regret it, but there's little I can do without bankrupting myself! Ah, well...
This was one of the last ones I purchased. The bidding went unexpectedly high towards the end, and I paid more for it than I otherwise would have. It's a very late-dated piece, written in the last months of the War in Europe. I note that there was no envelope with this. It is simply a folded piece of paper, very flimsy, with an Adolf Hitler quote printed in the margin. It appears not to be mere scrap paper, but something specifically printed to act as an economy envelope. A result of desperate late-war material conservation?
The content is brief. A shame, as this is likely the closest piece of correspondence to war's end that I will be able to obtain.
As part of a pairing, this letter came with a piece of 'Parole Der Woche.' My understanding is that these, in larger form, acted as 'wall newspapers' in public settings. There were also smaller versions printed to attach to correspondence, as with these ones here. They appear to be completely unrelated to this letter, and I have no idea if they are even genuine. The way they have been applied stands out as very crude to me.
Thank you for the translation. With him moving around in a hurry, I wonder if Friesch went on to be involved in the Battle of Berlin? If so, I hope he made it through to the end.
With him moving around in a hurry, I wonder if Friesch went on to be involved in the Battle of Berlin? If so, I hope he made it through to the end.
Nothing points in the direction of him getting sent to Berlin. (But nothing contradicts it, either.) He could have heen caught up in any one of the countless defensive operations, retreats, evacuations, and re-locations going on in those days. We have no way of knowing...
For what it's worth, none of the 16 Frieschs listed in the online database of the German War Graves Commission (2 of whom died in 1945) has a first name starting with "R".
I suppose his ultimate fate will remain a mystery. At least until I can find a piece of postwar correspondence to prove his survival.
Reassuring to know the odds are stacked in his favour, though. Even though he is almost certainly dead now, it would be nice to know he managed to live a long, happy life after all he went through.
Funny, really, how reading a set of letters written so long ago can leave one caring so much about the writer's eventual fate. Almost like reading a book, only these characters were real people.
Friesch to Klara: March 1945
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by BrodieBartfast
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