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

A Selection of Excerpts
Third Year
July 1944

Letter No. 289.

Eastern Front, Monday, July 3, 1944
2:40 AM
My dearly beloved treasure!

So, it is Monday morning once again. I didn't manage to write a letter last night after all. Now I am sitting here with some lovely night music playing, while on telephone duty.

But my thoughts are not here at all; they are far away. They are searching for you somewhere in Stuttgart. I don't actually know where you are right now. Hopefully, in a nice spot.

I would love to watch you for a day and see what you do all the time. Before, I could really picture it all, but now I can't anymore. I have no idea what your new surroundings are like.

My dearest treasure, I sent off a small package to you yesterday. It contains 4 new rolls of film. We don't have a camera here anymore, so I'm sending the film to you before it gets ruined here. ...

Letter No. 291.

Eastern Front, Tuesday, July 4, 1944
My dearest, sweet, precious wife!

It is now twenty minutes to six, and since things are quiet for the moment, I want to write you a few words right away. Oh, you know, my precious wife, at a command post there is a constant coming and going.

Even though it is only a small unit, there is always a lot of work. Orders and correspondence arrive from higher up; once processed, they are passed on or filed away. Every day, all sorts of reports have to be written. Secret orders arrive, and we issue a great many orders ourselves.

Alongside all this, five telephones are constantly ringing. Yes, I have connections to all of them. I can get anyone on the line whom we need here. It is just a shame that I cannot reach you. If it were allowed, it would be easy enough to do, but unfortunately, it is not permitted.

Well, that is how I spend day after day—very quickly. When one has so much varied work, time flies. The radio plays its part, too; it runs day and night with only brief interruptions.

Oh, my beloved, sweet, precious little wife, the music means so much in this desolate place. It is the only thing one has here, apart from the mail. ...

Letter No. 293.

The East, July 6, 1944
My dear, good, precious treasure!

I thank you with all my heart for your lovely letter of June 25, 1944. Oh, my dearest, precious treasure, I am always so happy when your lovely, kind letters arrive. So, you spent a very nice day at home. How wonderful it would have been if I could have been there, too.

Yes, and then, finally, peace! My dearest, precious treasure, even if things look a bit gloomy for you right now, we are moving quite rapidly toward a victorious end. We must and will win, come what may.

But then, the best time of all will come for us. A glorious, happy, and peaceful life. I am already looking forward so much to that time, and in the certainty that it will come quite soon, I fulfill my duty with joy. After all, we do it willingly, since it is not only for Germany but, above all, for you and our future life. But let us not worry too much about that; just as our lives and our fates are ordained by God, so they will come to pass. And we shall always place our hope in Him with faithful trust.

My dearest, precious treasure, today I handed over all my responsibilities as Company Squad Leader, and in recognition of my efforts and work for the company, I have now received a good position. I am now *z.b.V.*—that is, for special assignment.

I no longer have any responsibilities; I am not currently in charge of anyone, but am just handling minor tasks. I hope this lasts a good long while so I can finally get some real rest. I’ll see what I get up to tomorrow.

It is already quite late today, and I am very tired. I will tell you more tomorrow and also give a full reply to your lovely letter.

For now, sending thousands of my fondest greetings and most loving kisses
from your devoted
husband

Letter No. 295.

In the East, Saturday, July 8, 1944

... My darling, sweet little wife, I always have enough to smoke. Go ahead and save the cigarettes for when I get back. You know, Schwarz really takes good care of us! Well, settling in here went quite well, but for all that, I’m only half here. My thoughts are almost entirely with you.

Every now and then they have to be here, of course, but that happens very rarely. Besides, there’s something in the air here that implies a lot of marching. We’ll likely be moving out soon. I was out and about a lot today; I scouted out approach routes, and at 10 p.m. I moved into position with a group.

Now I’m curious to see what the next few days will bring. There will probably be some tough days ahead, because when we march, a lot of sweat pours in this intense heat. But that’s not so bad. You know I can handle quite a bit of heat.

Well, my sweet darling, I’ll soon set you straight about volunteering for service in the East. You should be glad you don’t have to get to know this wretched country! ...

Letter No. 296.

Eastern Front, Sunday, July 9, 1944
My dearest, precious darling!

Today is Sunday once again. It will likely be the last one for some time that we get to spend in such lovely peace and quiet. The sun is shining beautifully outside. It could stand to be a bit cooler, though, as marching is much easier then. As it is, many a drop of sweat will be shed.

My beloved, precious darling—our march has already begun. Our supply vehicles moved out early this morning, and it will only be a matter of hours before we start marching, too. We are just waiting here for the order to move.

I don't know where we're headed yet, but we'll see soon enough. Unfortunately, it won't be possible for me to write to you every day now. When you're on the move, you usually lack the time and opportunity, and often you're just too tired to feel like doing it.

My beloved, sweet, wonderful, precious wife—I will do my very best to write to you from the road as often as I possibly can.

I have no idea how long this will take or where we'll end up. The best and most wonderful thing would be if we marched to the railway, loaded up quickly, and headed toward Germany— ideally somewhere near you, even if only for a few days.

I long for you so terribly much and just want to kiss your dear, sweet, delightful mouth once again.

Oh, you know, my treasure—that kind of heavenly, heartfelt, long kiss, the sweet and lovely taste of which lingers for days afterward. It is such a terrible shame to miss even a single minute, don't you think?

Yes, my deeply and eternally beloved wife, now we must be patient and not rail against fate, but instead place our firm trust in God’s great goodness, grace, and mercy. Let us continually offer our souls and hearts to Him in prayer and place our lives entirely in His divine hands. Whatever way He shapes our lives, it will always be right. I will never forget you, my dearest wife, in my prayers. I am also firmly convinced that God hears them and that He will always faithfully stand by our side.

My deeply and dearly beloved H..., how are you, and what might you be doing right now? Surely our thoughts are meeting out there somewhere and conversing with one another. I would so infinitely prefer to be at home with you and, above all, to talk to you in person.

But unfortunately, that isn't possible, so I must do it with the help of pen and paper. I do it so willingly, though. It brings me such joy, and writing to my dearest wife is always the best part of the day. I only wish I had a little more time for it, for I could talk to you all day long.

My beloved H..., I have a question for you. I have been away from you for 32 days now, and in all that time, I haven't received a word of greeting from my parents. Not a single word in a whole month. I don't know what is going on or what to think about it. My mother surely could have found time for a few words.

My dearest darling, can you perhaps explain this silence to me? Do they have something against me? Have they perhaps realized that I let myself be bought? I ask you with all my heart: be honest with me about whether they have made any remarks to you. After all, there must be a reason for the silence.

But you need not worry that I will get upset about this or ever regret taking this step. No, for I am truly and genuinely glad and happy that things have finally reached this point.

My beloved, sweet, wonderful wife, I will stop here for today and hope that I can write to you again very soon. With many thousands of the warmest greetings and most tender kisses, I remain in eternally faithful love, only
Yours, Lothar
May God protect you, my dearest darling!

Letter No. 297.

Latvia, July 21, 1944
Friday, 10:30 a.m.
My dearest, precious darling!

Today, after 12 days, I am finally able to write you a short letter again. First of all, my heartfelt thanks for the lovely letters I have received in the meantime, as well as for the newspapers. Oh, my sweet wife, beloved above all else, I have so much catching up to do in my writing. I will start right where I left off in my last letter. I’ll try to tell you everything we’ve been doing during this time.

It begins on July 10th. That morning at 8 o'clock, I reported to the battalion as part of the officers' reserve. My task there was to serve as a liaison and orderly officer.

At 9 p.m., a march began that has by now covered a distance of about 300 km. We received orders to withdraw to new positions. Naturally, a great deal was going on during this time.

We were constantly either on the march or in combat, making it truly impossible for me to write even the briefest note. I did start writing twice, but I had to stop again and again.

That’s how it went, day after day. The Russians usually attacked in the morning, and by evening, they had suffered such heavy losses that they could go no further. Then we would get moving again and head off—westward.

I served as an orderly officer until July 15th. My primary task was always to establish links and connections with the neighbors on our right and left flanks. It was a constant back-and-forth. During the last two days—July 14 and 15—I was responsible for supplying ammunition, weapons, and rations. I was stationed further back with the regiment.

On July 16, I returned to my company and took command of my platoon once more. Then came a few more grueling days. The Russians had launched a massive offensive, and we were hard-pressed. Yet we still managed to beat them back, and by God’s grace and mercy, I emerged from all that fighting safe and sound. My platoon had dwindled to a mere handful, but despite everything, my men held their ground with grim tenacity.

On the evening of July 19th, at 11 o'clock, I left the company to head to the supply train. I twisted my foot, and since I wasn't strictly needed at the front anymore, my commander and the doctor sent me to the supply train. I’ll take some time there to recover a bit, and then we’ll see what happens next.

My dearest, precious darling, these days will remain unforgettable for me. Far and wide, the sky and horizon presented a scene of utter destruction. Yet, the Russians captured almost nothing of value.

Every village, every house—everything was in flames. At night, the sky was red everywhere from the glow of the fires, and by day, it was darkened by thick smoke and fumes. Every bridge was blown up. The roads were riddled with massive demolition charges that tore holes big enough to fit entire houses inside.

Naturally, this meant the Russians advanced very slowly with their heavy weaponry, and we certainly felt the effects of that. They attacked almost exclusively with infantry—very rarely with a few tanks, and hardly ever with artillery. We were able to easily repel all those infantry attacks.

Well, I have a few days of peace and quiet now, and I intend to make good use of the time. My dearest, precious darling, the letters I wrote to you on July 8th and 9th are unfortunately still here. No mail is leaving this place at the moment. But that doesn't matter; it just means you’ll receive several letters all at once later on.

My dear, sweet, precious wife, I want to continue writing to you now. There was just a brief interruption. I went out on a small scouting mission with our unit’s butcher, and we returned with a pig weighing about 100 to 150 kilograms. We slaughtered it right away, so tomorrow we’ll have a proper roast pork dinner.

I also heard the Führer’s speech. It was a truly outrageous affair—that whole business going on again. It’s a good thing nothing serious happened to our Führer during it.

But keep your chin up—we’ll make it through. It surely won’t be long now before we emerge as the definitive and sole victors of this struggle. We just have to successfully weather this final ordeal.

My dearest, precious darling, I’ll stop there for now and finally get to your lovely letters. Otherwise, you might get bored if I write too much about this stuff. Oh, I have so many other things to tell you, too; really, I ought to come visit you so we can talk about it all in person.

Hopefully, we’ll be lucky enough soon to be together again, safe and sound. I long so much for your lovely, sweet lips—I’d love to kiss them again.

My beloved, sweet wife—I’ve received four letters from you by now, but unfortunately, I can only answer three of them. You see, I lost my wallet the day before yesterday; I found it again, but sadly, your letter had fallen out. There’s nothing to be done about it now, unfortunately.

So, let me start with your lovely letter from July 2nd. Oh, what was that I saw in the postmark? So, you’re safely back home. That makes me very happy, and I wish with all my heart that you’re allowed to stay there. I hope it works out. It would be wonderful to know you’re safe from the air raids forever—they certainly won’t reach that place.

Oh, my precious darling, it’s just wonderful that you’re still on leave, so to speak. Why can’t I be there with you right now? It would have been so lovely if we could have spent these days together, filled with happiness. When I picture that walk to the Gobs—so happy by your side, with all those sweet, varied little kisses along the way—the longing becomes almost unbearable. Oh, and to enjoy a good ice cream again, too! Well, the main thing is that you enjoyed it and that it agreed with you just as well.

Tell me, my dear, sweet, precious wifey, have you actually been back to the doctor yet? Oh, I am so sorry that I cannot be with you during this time. I fully believe what you write, but there is just a feeling inside me that I can't quite describe. Well, it is a major event, after all, and I would just love to be with you all the time. But hopefully, the time will come very soon when we can stay together forever.

My dearest treasure, I hope the food tastes good to you again now and you can keep more down; otherwise, I’ll have to put in for leave just to come and check on you myself. My dearest wifey, don't you worry about not being able to send me anything. That really isn't necessary right now.

We get so many combat rations, and there are plenty of sweets in them. Otherwise, we scrounge up eggs, butter, milk, chickens, cows, calves, pigs, lambs, and whatever else is available. We can't let it fall into the Russians' hands, and the civilians are happy to give it up since they can't take it all with them anyway.

Many thanks, too, for the kind regards from Father and the mothers. Yes, it doesn't matter that Father isn't writing himself. I'm already used to that from the old man. He hardly ever writes to me, either. Maybe just a few words once a year at the very bottom of the margin of one of Mother's letters.

Right, now it's time for your lovely letter from July 5th. Oh, my dearest treasure, it’s terrible for you having to throw up so much all the time. What on earth shall we do about it? I wonder if it wouldn't be better after all if I were with you? Well, I hope and wish with all my heart that Frau Dossmann shows some understanding and that Mother has managed to achieve something. Is it really true that you are feeling quite well again and are full of energy? I wonder if it was only temporary? Oh, my darling, I long for you so much, too, and would be overjoyed if I could be with you again, even if only for a little while.

My dearest wife, I am very glad that Toni is still at his old post. I hope he isn't involved in the heavy fighting taking place there. (⤓ 2)

It is less than pleasant that the weather isn't nice where you are. We always have glorious weather here—sunshine from morning till night. Lately, the sweat has been pouring down in streams. How is Mother doing? Does she have to go to work now? She’ll hardly be able to keep up with all the work at home and all those animals.

As for leave, that’s likely out of the question until a decision has been reached. But that shouldn't take too much longer. Well, we shall soon see how things turn out. We simply mustn't lose patience. Everything is at stake right now.

It’s a case of "either-or" now! Either victory at any price, or ruin at a far, far higher price. But we will make it. It simply cannot and must not turn out any other way. We must not lose faith and hope now.

Just as it was God's will that nothing happened to our dear Führer, so it is surely His will that Germany emerges victorious from this struggle. Isn't that the best proof that the Führer's cause is right, and with it, the struggle of our people?

Of course, He is also imposing a severe test upon us. But the German people will pass it and emerge from this struggle with more faith than ever.

And now, my dear, precious darling, I will close for today. I will answer your other letter tomorrow morning. For today, receive a thousand loving greetings from the bottom of my heart, along with the tenderest of kisses
from your eternally faithful
husband

Hoping to see you again soon, safe and sound!
May God protect you, my dearest wife!
Enclosed are 20 airmail stamps and 1 parcel stamp

Letter No. 298.

(WRITTEN WITH RED, GREEN, AND BLUE COLORED PENCILS)
Latvia, Saturday, July 22, 1944
3:30 PM
My dearest, darling wife!

Another day is drawing to a close, and I want to answer your so-dear—and also so anxious—letter of July 6th. Yes, my beloved treasure, what a terrible night you must have had! It must have been awful. But my darling sweetheart, rest assured: there was nothing unusual going on.

I even checked my diary, and it said: "All quiet!" And I am doing very well today, too (⤓ 2). I remain healthy and in high spirits. My foot has also healed up very nicely.

I can walk quite well again. Since my battalion is currently resting, I rejoined my company today. We are stationed in a lovely barracks camp in the woods, about 20 km behind the front lines. Life here is quite bearable. This morning, I made myself a fantastic roast pork dinner.

My dearest treasure, you’ll be amazed by this odd, multicolored letter. But this is the only pencil lead I have on hand right now. Well, red stands for love and green for hope. Now all that’s missing is faithfulness. That would be blue. Let’s see how far this lead lasts; then I’ll put in a blue one. That way, at least you’ll have some variety—or you might think I’ve lost my mind. That’s certainly possible, given this heat. I feel quite alert mentally, at least.

My dearly beloved, sweet treasure, I want to return to your dream for a moment. It may well have been a premonition, for a few days later we managed to give the Russians the slip and simply ran away from them. Admittedly, there were times when they were hot on our heels, trying to catch us, but they never succeeded.

Yes, my dearest, precious wife, I have not forgotten to ask our dear God for protection in my prayers, and I always thought of you while doing so. It has certainly turned out that this was not in vain. I was surely very lucky on many occasions to escape unscathed—and that only with God's help.

Oh, my dearly beloved wife, I am so glad and happy that, through you, I found the path to such a good faith—one that brings true happiness and spiritual bliss. So far, it has brought me nothing but good.

And now, my dearly beloved treasure, receive a thousand heartfelt greetings and the tenderest of kisses for today
from your faithful
Lothar
Many greetings to your parents!

Letter No. 299.

Latvia, Tuesday, July 25, 1944
12:30 PM
My dearly beloved, sweet, good, precious little wife!

Things often turn out differently than one expects. That is always the way in life, but especially for soldiers in Russia. Our period of rest—meaning the time we were stationed so far behind the lines—was short-lived.

We moved another 12 km or so on Saturday evening. We stayed there for a day to provide security. Then, during the night from Sunday to Monday, we took up this position here. It has been very quiet in our sector so far, and let’s hope it stays that way for a while.

I am still doing very well. Apart from you, the only thing I really lack is a leave pass. But those two things make themselves felt very strongly. Oh, my dearest, precious darling, I long for you so terribly much. It has been such a long time since we last saw each other!

Today marks the 48th day. Well, a decision of some sort will be reached soon, and then there will be more leave again. In the meantime, we just have to be patient. It’s certainly not easy for me, but impatience only makes the time drag on longer for us. ...

Writing doesn't do much good right now, since the mail still isn't going out. Oh, I can so easily imagine how my dearest wife is worrying about me again, now that no mail from me is arriving. And there is really no need for it. Oh, if only you could see how well I’m doing—you would be somewhat reassured. ...