Letters From Germany

Köhler cousins (page 16) 1952

Letters sent by Emma Vogel to her first cousin, August Maas, in Walnut Grove, MN.

See page one for additional information about these letters.
[The accession numbers (A/N) are for reference and cataloging purposes.]

A/N -VOG025 - letter from Emma Vogel to August Maas. [Translation by Siegfried Krause].

Remda
11 January 1952

All Your love!

Have received your dear letter with great joy, just like the beautiful Christmas package. You won’t believe at all how happy the children were. They always say, how the uncle made this good again for us. They can use the child (baby) linen so well. Our youngest daughter has a little girl of half a year, and the son a boy of one year. Also the beautiful black dress fits me very well, just like the blue dress and the pretty coat fits my daughter very well. My son also was really pleased about the beautiful jackets. Also the groceries. Here we don’t get any. One never gets coffee, cocoa, tea and pepper here. Your coffee sustains me after what I have undergone with my husband, August, when he was sick for 11 years and I had to look after him day and night, because he had an incurable illness.

I am the youngest of my siblings and also the single one who no longer has a husband. Now I am dependent on the children, since they have to purchase a lot. You know too how the situation is in the Russian zone. Also, I am already 50 years old and would gladly still work, but unfortunately there is not any work here.

Dear ones, above all, we thank you once more many times for all the beautiful things. If you have once again something to discard, please think again of me. My older brother Franz wrote me today that you also have sent him a package and that he was also so happy.

Dear ones, you cannot believe at all, what a help this is for us. You can’t explain at all, how it is here. Now I want to close, in the hope we will get soon a few lines from you again.

Many greetings from your cousin Emma and children.

A/N -VOG007 - letter from Emma Vogel to August Maas. [Translation by Siegfried Krause].

Remda
8 August 1952

Dear Maas family!

Must bother you again with a few lines. Didn’t you get my letter? Hopefully you dear ones are still quite healthy, which is also the case with me as well. Now I would have a request to you once again; could you please me once again with a package? The most important thing would be some coffee, cocoa, fat, peppers and discarded things like clothes, shoes and cardigans. You dear ones, much is not available here, maybe you can fulfil the wish. Because many packages always arrive here from America.

How is Aunt Block? Hopefully her health is still well. The husband of my oldest sister also died, who also had hard suffering, and she is also dependent now on the children. I would so gladly like to see all my siblings once again, but I am alone in the Russian zone and can't go to them. Now I want to close hoping to get soon an answer once again from you dear ones.

With many greetings,

your Mrs. Emma Vogel

Dear August, if once you have discarded men's suits, coats and shoes, so, however, think also of us. Because I still have a son and son-in-law.