My dear, just imagine for a moment that the war is over.

A Selection of Excerpts
First Volume
October – November 1942

Letter: Russia, October 27, 1942

My dearest treasure!
I arrived back here this morning. Our journey went well. A few hundred meters before reaching our destination, Russian planes attacked us, though they didn't hit us. That was the main thing. We are stationed somewhere else now, in a fairly quiet position. ...

October 28, 1942

My dearest H...!
Another day has gone by. Everything was quiet. I’ve settled in again as best I can. One gets used to the changed situation quickly, of course, yet one misses so many things. Most of all, I miss you, my beloved H...

Oh, you know, dearest H..., I’ve just stood guard for two hours, and it was so beautifully quiet. The moon was shining, and the starry sky was magnificent. I found myself daydreaming, and it was truly wonderful. In my thoughts, I was with you, my dearest darling. You felt so close, and I could picture you so vividly that I could almost believe you were actually right there with me. Hopefully, that will soon become reality again. ...

Letter dated: October 29, 1942

... When I returned from patrol at midday today, a very happy surprise awaited me. There on my spot lay your two dear letters. ....

Oh, my dearest darling, what is this I read? You had an air-raid alert. I hope they left you alone for the most part. But we’ll break the British of that habit, too. ...

Letter dated: October 31, 1942

... My dearest darling, today was a very lovely day. The weather was quite nice for this time of year. We went to the cinema this morning—to see the film "Das Verlegenheitskind." It was a really nice movie. We had a good laugh, for a change. Oh, my darling, I really ought to be able to watch a film like that with you. Well, perhaps it will happen sooner than we think. ...

Letter dated: November 2, 1942

... Unfortunately, we are really short on time, as we have a lot to do. I don't know yet if I'll be able to write much over the next eight days, but whenever possible, you'll hear from me quite often. If it's not possible, please don't be angry with me. Tomorrow we're setting off on a "mystery leave trip"—that's what we call it. I'm just curious to see where we're going. It would be best, of course, if we were heading to Germany, but we'll have to wait a while longer for that. ...

Oh, once the war is finally over—that’s when things will be truly wonderful. My dearly beloved H..., we’ll celebrate like never before—it’ll be a sheer delight.

Dearest H..., it’s already a quarter to ten, and I have to go on guard duty soon. It’s not all that cold, and it’s very quiet, too. That means I’ll be able to be completely with you for two hours. ...

Letter dated: November 7, 1942

My dearest H...!

Finally, the time has come again for me to write to you. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible for me to write sooner. We have already experienced a great deal in the meantime. After a four-day train journey, we were unloaded in the central sector. Twice along the way, our train was supposed to be blown up—though it didn't happen. Once, an explosion caused eight cars to derail, and the second time, we realized what was happening beforehand. We have now been on the march for two days. We have been deployed in the Kholm area to combat partisans. Unfortunately, time is too short today to write to you about it in more detail. But I will make up for it as soon as possible. It is just about midnight now, and this is the first night since we set out that we’ve been able to get some sleep. ...

Letter dated: November 8, 1942

My darling sweetheart!

It is just about eight o'clock now, and I am sitting in front of my radio set. I speak with my contact station once every hour. That gives me time in between to write you a letter. Of course, I have to take advantage of this.

My dearest H..., even though we have moved again today, I have fared very well. The people here are very friendly and do everything for us. This is an area that has felt almost nothing of the war. Only partisans hang around here, and they also steal livestock from the local population. So, the locals are glad that we are here now. For breakfast, I had milk and fried potatoes. For lunch, chicken soup and fried potatoes. That was really great. It's a shame we had to leave. For now, we are only provisionally quartered, and tomorrow we move on. It is quite bearable here. We are staying in houses, and it is nice and warm. We will get through the winter well here. ...

Letter dated: 12 November 1942

My dearest darling!

It is now one o'clock in the morning. I am on telephone switchboard duty tonight. Since there isn't much to do at this hour—after all, the gentlemen are asleep—I can write you a letter. It is, after all, my favorite pastime. Especially when everything is so peaceful and quiet, as it is now, and nothing disturbs me. My thoughts are entirely with you, my darling. I wonder what you are doing right now? Perhaps you are dreaming of me, or of the wonderful, unforgettable hours we were able to share. I hope the British aren't disturbing you, though—or else the devil take them.

My dearest H..., when I think of those beautiful hours, I can hardly bear the longing. I would love to run away and come back to you, my darling. If that were possible, I would have been back with you long ago. But that's a bit too dangerous. Even if I did make it through, I couldn't stay with you for long, and then it would all be over. So let us rather wait patiently until we are lucky enough to see each other again— even though it is often hard. Yes, if only one could do as one wanted, then everything would be fine. But this war, too, is coming to an end, and the Americans won't prevent our victory. Once the war is over, a time will begin for us that could not possibly be more beautiful.

My dearest H..., I would gladly stay in the military for another 50 years, if only I could be with you or at least near you...

Letter dated: 17 Nov. 1942

My dearest H...!

I am enclosing a little chocolate. Unfortunately, it isn't a whole bar; there was only about two-thirds available. But it will bring you a little joy nonetheless. ...

Dearest H..., it is snowing here again today, but it isn't cold. So, winter is slowly arriving after all. Well, we still have good, warm quarters for the time being. It’s quite bearable here. ...

I would simply love to have you with me, or be allowed to be with you. But many months—if not three or four years— will pass before that finally happens. But the war won't last that long.

Dearest H..., if everything stays as it is now, I can go on vacation again around June or July. ...

Letter dated: November 19, 1942

... We are still stationed in the same village, waiting for further orders. This morning, we finally received our winter gear: a truly wonderful, fine, warm oversuit, a pair of large sheepskin mittens, a pair of excellent felt boots, a large greatcoat, a pair of wrist warmers, and a set of thick underwear. Now winter can come.

Dearest H..., it is getting a bit cold, but it’s not all that bad. Today it was on the verge of snowing. The snow surely won't hold off much longer. At least it was cold enough that it stopped raining. That way, the paths have become firm and hard again. ...

Letter dated: 19 November 1942

... A letter like this can give one so incredibly much, especially when one is in such a miserable and desolate region. But not only here—no, even in the most beautiful parts of Germany or France—your letters will always be the dearest and most wonderful thing to me. ...

Letter dated: November 21, 1942

... Unfortunately, I don't have much time to write today, but I can manage a short note. We have some major construction work going on here that needs to be finished quickly. Otherwise, I am still doing well, and I hope you are too, my darling. The radio is playing "Komm zurück" right now. It’s a great program this evening. We’re tuned in to Belgrade. The show "Wünsch dir etwas aus Belgrad" is on. Nothing but great stuff. ...

Letter dated: November 26, 1942

My dearest H...!

Today I finally get a chance to write again. Please accept my sincere apologies, but try as I might, it simply wasn't possible sooner. We have moved once again and have two days' marches behind us. We are stationed in a small village and have to secure the area here. Primarily against partisans, but also against regular troops. For the time being, it is actually quite bearable here.

... I am happy to read that you are always doing well. I can report the same about myself. I am always healthy and in good spirits. Now I am curious to see whether we might be allowed to stay here, at least for Christmas. Here we could have a nice celebration. Hopefully we'll be lucky. ...

My dearest H..., the cold weather is actually still manageable here. We had a fair amount of snow, but it was still too warm. The snow melted away right off. Now we have a lot of mud and muck again, and we actually wish the snow would finally stay so the muck would disappear. ...