Handwritten letter

Handwritten letter with multiple notes from different writers

22.07.1941from München (Munich), Germanybetween Julius Oppenheimer, Elsa Oppenheimer, Margit Bernstein, Mina Weiler

Original — Deutsch

[Archivvermerke oben, Bleistift, nicht vom Schreiber:] N: 36   1288/2 + 1 A[?]   858/3[?]

München, den 22. Juli 1941
Liebe Mina u. l. Fritz! Recht herzl. Dank für Brief N. 14 vom 2[… Blattrand abgerissen]
m. Abgangsstempel 1.9.[?] u. so freuen wir uns im̄er damit[?]. Mit gleicher
Post hatten Brief von Arthur[?], sowie Karte von Berlin welche
uns Henry's[?] Stam̄halter anzeigte u. bitte auch den Eltern
unsere besten Glückwünsche zu übermitteln. Von dem Telegram̄
über Reisebüro Cook[?], wurde uns die Rückantwort zuteil, so
müssen halt im̄er hoffen, obwohl eiserne Nerven dazu gehören.
Ja es ist traurig dass sich die Reise Eurer Lieben zu Euch
auch im̄er wieder verzögert u. wie schnell steht der Winter
wieder bevor. Es scheint dass die wenigsten Menschen noch
ein Herz besitzen denn sonst wäre es unmöglich dass
man die Hilfe verweigert. Nun freuen wir uns dass Du
l. Mina mit Deiner Beschäftigung zufrieden u. ich zweifle
nicht daran, dass auch Dein Glück nicht ausbleiben wird.
Auch freut uns dass Du l. Fritz wieder aufgebessert wirst des[… Blattrand abgerissen]
Wie man hört, werden schon[?] von Ihn[?] diverse zurückgesandt.[?] Nun[?]  [ganze Zeile durch waagerechten Papierriss beschädigt]
hier hat es den Anschein wenn auf Wahrheit beruht, dass aller-
väterles[?] [… ein Wort unleserlich]. Bitte grüsset alle auch Karl Mayer u.
freut uns wenn er im Winter seine Arbeit wieder beginnen
durfte. Bleibet gesund u. hoffen u. wünschen dass alles sich wieder
zum Besten wendet, mit den herzl. Grüsse u. Küsse            Julius

--- [zweite Hand] ---

Meine liebe Minn liebes Fritzl, mit Eurem lb. Brief
freuten wir uns, wie im̄er sehr besonders, dass
Ihr gesund seid u. von Euren Liebsten gute Nachricht
habt. Auch wir sind soweit gesund u. haben auch
von Bruns[?], Simon u. Margit Josef u. Max gute
Nachricht. Konntest Du lb. Minn nichts mehr wegen
Trudie[?] erfahren? Grüsst Eure Lieben herzlichst ebenso
alle lb. Verwandten u. Bekannten, Euch selbst
innige Grüsse u. Küsse
                    Eure Euch liebende Else

Translation — English

[Archival pencil notations at the top, not by the writer:] N: 36   1288/2 + 1 A[?]   858/3[?]

Munich, 22 July 1941
Dear Mina and dear Fritz! Many hearty thanks for letter No. 14 of the 2[… sheet torn away]
with departure postmark 1.9.[?] and we are always so pleased with it[?]. By the same
post we had a letter from Arthur[?], as well as a card from Berlin which
announced to us Henry's[?] firstborn son, and please also convey our
best congratulations to the parents. Regarding the telegram
via the Cook[?] travel agency, we received the reply, so
we must just keep hoping, although it takes nerves of steel.
Yes, it is sad that the journey of your dear ones to you
keeps being delayed again and again, and how quickly winter is
upon us again. It seems that the fewest people still
possess a heart, for otherwise it would be impossible that
help is refused. Now we are glad that you,
dear Mina, are content with your employment, and I do not doubt
that your good fortune too will not fail to come.
It also pleases us that you, dear Fritz, are being given a raise again des[… sheet torn away]
As one hears, various ones are already[?] being sent back by him/them[?].[?] Now[?]  [whole line damaged by a horizontal tear in the paper]
here it has the appearance, if it is based on truth, that all-
väterles[?] [… one word illegible]. Please greet everyone, also Karl Mayer, and
it pleases us if he was allowed to begin his work again in the winter.
Stay well, and we hope and wish that everything will turn
for the best again; with hearty greetings and kisses            Julius

--- [second hand] ---

My dear Minn, dear Fritzl, with your dear letter
we were, as always, especially pleased that
you are well and have good news from your dear ones.
We too are well so far and also have
good news from Bruns[?], Simon and Margit, Josef and Max.
Were you not able, dear Minn, to find out anything more about
Trudie[?]? Greet your dear ones most warmly, likewise
all dear relatives and acquaintances; to you yourselves
fond greetings and kisses
                    Your loving Else

Historical context

A single sheet carrying two family notes written from München and signed by Julius (almost certainly Julius Oppenheimer, b. 1882 Gemmingen, deported to Ghetto Piaski in 1942) and by Else (the Elsa Oppenheimer of the file metadata, who signs herself 'Else'), addressed to 'Liebe Mina u. l. Fritz' in the United States. The letter belongs to the numbered wartime correspondence the family kept with their American relatives: it acknowledges 'Brief N. 14', reports a reply obtained through the Cook[?] travel agency about a passage, and complains bitterly that the emigration journey of the addressee's relatives keeps being postponed and that people 'refuse help' — the everyday texture of a family still trying to leave Germany in the summer of 1941, weeks before emigration was closed off entirely in October 1941. Else's note appears to relay news of relatives already scattered — Simon, Margit, Josef and Max are all names on the family list — and asks whether anything further could be learned about 'Trudie[?]'. Note that the dateline reads 22 July 1941, not the 1940-07-30 given in the supplied metadata; the linkage should be re-checked.

On this transcription

Machine transcription (claude-opus-5) — not yet checked against the original scan. 14 passages marked doubtful in the text.

Re-read from the original scan on 2026-07-28. Legibility: fair. [?] marks are deliberate gaps, not transcription errors. DATE: the dateline reads clearly 'München, den 22. Juli 1941' (the '9' of 1941 is identical in form to other 9s on the sheet; the final '1' sits right at the torn edge but is a clear upstroke, not a '0'). This contradicts the supplied metadata date 1940-07-30 — a human checker should look at this first. SIGNATURE: the second hand signs 'Else', not 'Elsa'. ADDRESSEES: the sheet is addressed to 'Mina' and 'Fritz' / 'Fritzl' (hand 2 writes 'Minn'); the brief lists Mina Kaufmann's husband as Jacob, so 'Fritz' is unexplained. 'm. Abgangsstempel 1.9.' — the digit is formed exactly like the 9 in '1941', but 1 September cannot precede a letter written 22 July; context would suggest '1.7.'. Please verify. 'Henry's[?] Stam̄halter' (line 5) — the capital is an H (not the writer's G, cf. 'Glückwünsche', 'Grüsse'); the mark before the final s reads as an apostrophe, hence 'Henry's', but 'Georgs' cannot be ruled out. 'Reisebüro Cook[?]' — letters read C/V-o-c-k with a breve over the second letter; 'Cook' is the historically obvious firm but is not certain from the strokes alone. 'Arthur[?]' (line 4) is not on the family list. 'damit[?]' at the end of line 3 — the humps do not resolve cleanly. Line 16 ends 'wirst des' at a torn right edge and line 2 ends 'vom 2' at the same tear; text is physically lost there. Line 17 ('Wie man hört, werden schon[?] von Ihn[?] diverse zurückgesandt') runs straight through a horizontal tear that has removed the upper half of every letter — treat that whole line as provisional. Line 19: the first word reads 'väterles' (v-ä-t-e-r-l-e-s) following a hyphenated 'aller-' at the end of line 18, and the second word is genuinely illegible to me (tail reads '...lich' or '...leicht'); this two-word passage is the single worst spot on the sheet. 'von Bruns[?]' (hand 2) — B+r ligature matches the writer's 'Brief', but the remaining letters could also be read 'Buenos' (Irma Fuldauer was in Buenos Aires). 'Trudie[?]' — initial capital could be T, J or Y; not a name on the supplied list. The pencil numerals at the top left (N: 36, 1288/2, 858/3) are later archival marks in a third, non-family hand and are read with low confidence. Revised readings: Line 18: I first read 'wenn auf Verlust beruht'; at higher magnification the double h-loops resolve and the word is 'Wahrheit' — 'wenn auf Wahrheit beruht' ('if it is based on truth'), which also fits the preceding 'Wie man hört'. Line 5: I first took the name as 'Georgs Stammhalter'; comparison with the writer's unmistakable capital G in 'Glückwünsche' and 'Grüsse' rules G out, so I settled on an H-initial name, read as 'Henry's'. Line 3: I initially read the postmark as '1.7.' on contextual grounds and changed to '1.9.' because the glyph is identical to the 9 in '1941' — but the chronology argues against my final reading, so this should be checked on the original. Line 8: 'müssen halt immer Lassen' was my first impression of the verb; the ff-ligature makes it 'hoffen'. The horizontal line through line 17 looks at first like a cancellation stroke but is a physical tear/fold in the paper, not a deletion.