Handwritten letter

Handwritten letter with notes from multiple family members

21.09.1941from München (Munich), Germanybetween Julius Oppenheimer, Elsa Oppenheimer, Mina Weiler

Original — Deutsch

3391 / 720  R. 3974/2   [Archivnummern, Bleistift]
N. 45                                             München den 21. Sept. 41
Liebe Mina l. Fritz. Hoffen Euch bei bester Gesundheit, können
auch den Verhältnissen entsprechend von uns berichten. Herman[n]
M. aus Berlin konnte keinen Flugplatz bekom̄en u. versuchen
es mit dem Zug ab Berlin - Barcelona. dieselben waren nur
2 Tage hier. Das Schiff geht erst Anfang Nov. Habt Ihr schon gehört,
es soll eine Versicherung geben welche ganz geringe Prämie verlangt
u. dan[n] für Habe[?] garantiert? es kann ja auch Schwindel sein,
wie man mit Vorsicht diese Sachen behandeln muss. Bei uns
sind die Herbstfeiertage dem [... illegible] nach angekommen u. sitzen
immer noch hier. Eure Post erwarten mit Sehnsucht. [Wilh.?] Sch[?].
besuchte uns gestern, er arbeitet bei derselben Baustelle, ist aber
viel durch sein Halsleiden abgehalten. Bitte herzl. Grüsse an
alle u. entschuldigt. Ihr[?] herzl. Grüsse u. Küsse            Julius

[22.?] Liebe Mina lb. Fritz, nun hat das neue Jahr schon begonnen u. hoffen
wir, dass sich unsre Wünsche, uns alle wieder zu sehen, im neuen Jahre
in Erfüllung gehen mögen. Täglich warten wir auf lieben Brief von
Euch u. hoffen Euch gesund. Habt Ihr von Euren Lieben guten Bericht?
Grüsst alle bitte herzlichst von uns u. unsre Gedanken sind auch im-
mer bei ihnen. Von Onkel Simon u. Margit hatten wir gestern Brief.
Letztere wohnt nun in Ahlem. [Chri…as?] Tante lässt Dich lb. Mina
herzlichst grüssen, sie besuchte uns. Wie geht es [Vallitz?] u. allen lb. Ver-
wandten u. Bekannten? Grüsst herzlichst von uns. Tante Frieda
u. [Gretl?] sind gottlob auch gesund. Von Fuldauers hatten wir Brief vom 2. Sept.
u. schreiben dieselben gottlob sehr zufrieden. Die Kinder sind in der
Sprache schon gut voran. Von Sallys Mutter u. Schwester hatten wir
auch Brief u. sind alle gesund. Inzwischen hatten sie Post. Wie
Frau Bernheimer erzählte, kommst Du als öfter mit ihrer
Tochter zusammen. Das ist schön, dass Frau B. nun als
etwas geschickt bekommt, so hat sie doch etwas zum leben.
Nun nochmals alles Gute u. seid für heute innigst
gegrüsst u. geküsst von Eurer Euchliebenden Else.

Translation — English

3391 / 720  R. 3974/2  [archival numbers, pencil]
No. 45                                             Munich, 21 Sept. 41
Dear Mina, dear Fritz. We hope you are in the best of health; we too
can report of ourselves as well as circumstances allow. Herman[n]
M. from Berlin could not get a seat on a plane and they are trying
it by train from Berlin - Barcelona. They were here only
2 days. The ship does not leave until the beginning of Nov. Have you heard yet
that there is supposed to be an insurance which asks a very small premium
and then guarantees one's belongings[?]? It may of course also be a swindle,
as one has to handle such matters with caution. Here with us
the autumn holidays have arrived [... illegible] and we are still
sitting here. We await your post longingly. [Wilh.?] Sch[?].
visited us yesterday; he works at the same building site, but is
often kept away by his throat ailment. Please give warm greetings to
everyone, and forgive [the brevity]. Warm greetings and kisses to you            Julius

[22.?] Dear Mina, dear Fritz, now the New Year has already begun, and we hope
that our wishes — to see each other all again — may be fulfilled
in the new year. Every day we wait for a dear letter from
you and hope you are well. Do you have good news from your dear ones?
Please give everyone our warmest greetings, and our thoughts are always
with them. We had a letter yesterday from Uncle Simon and from Margit.
The latter now lives in Ahlem. [Chri…as?]'s aunt sends you, dear Mina,
her warmest greetings; she visited us. How are [Vallitz?] and all our dear
relatives and acquaintances? Give them our warmest greetings. Aunt Frieda
and [Gretl?] are, thank God, also well. From the Fuldauers we had a letter of 2 Sept.
and they write that they are, thank God, very content. The children are already
getting on well with the language. From Sally's mother and sister we also had
a letter and they are all well. In the meantime they had post. As
Mrs. Bernheimer told us, you do get together with her daughter
quite often. It is good that Mrs. B. now gets something sent
to her from time to time, so that she at least has something to live on.
Now once more all the best, and for today be most affectionately
greeted and kissed by your loving Else.

Historical context

A double letter from Munich, both halves written on one sheet: the upper half by Julius (his own running number "N. 45" in the upper left) and the lower, longer half by his wife Else, to Mina Kaufmann and her husband Fritz in New York. It is dated on the eve of the Jewish New Year — Rosh Hashanah 5702 fell on 22–23 September 1941 — which is why Else opens with "nun hat das neue Jahr schon begonnen" and Julius mentions the Herbstfeiertage. The emigration news is the last of its kind: acquaintances travelling Berlin–Barcelona by train because no air seat was available, a ship only at the beginning of November, and a dubious cheap insurance scheme for shipped belongings. Within weeks the Reich banned Jewish emigration altogether (October 1941); the letter also places daughter Margit in Ahlem (the Jewish horticultural training school near Hannover, later a Gestapo assembly point) and mentions Onkel Simon, who appears to be Simon Israel Oppenheimer, deported to Riga in December 1941, and the Fuldauers, who had reached Argentina. Julius and Else were themselves deported and died at Piaski in April 1942.

On this transcription

Machine transcription (claude-opus-5) — not yet checked against the original scan. 4 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. Dateline reads clearly "München den 21. Sept. 41" — the 2 and 1 are both distinct, and the day is 21, NOT the 20 given in the metadata; Else's reference to the New Year having begun supports 21 September 1941 (erev Rosh Hashanah 5702). Specific uncertainties: (1) "u. dan[n] für Habe[?] garantiert" — "für" is certain (clear umlaut), the following noun is smeared; it could be another word than "Habe". (2) "sind die Herbstfeiertage dem [?] nach angekommen" — the word after "dem" is genuinely unresolved after repeated magnification; it is a capitalised word of about five letters with a u-breve; do not trust any guess here. (3) The name at the end of that line, read "[Wilh.?] Sch[?].", sits in a badly faded, creased strip at the right margin — only the terminal "Sch." or "Str." is even partly legible. (4) "[Chri…as?] Tante" before "lässt Dich lb. Mina herzlichst grüssen" — first letters look like "Chr" or "Ehr", ending "-as"/"-ns". (5) "Wie geht es [Vallitz?]" — a proper name, initial letter V/W/P, not on the brief's name list. (6) "Tante Frieda u. [Gretl?]" — could equally be "Jettl" / "Grete". (7) Julius's sign-off "Ihr[?] herzl. Grüsse" — the first word may be "Euch". (8) The pencil numbers across the top left ("3391 / 720 R. 3974/2") are later archival marks, not part of the letter. Whole sheet is a low-contrast greyscale scan with a diagonal crease running through the right third, which is where most of the losses fall. Revised readings: Metadata date 1941-09-20 was not adopted: the dateline reads 21. Sept. — reported as a contradiction rather than reconciled. The signature is "Else", not "Elsa", and the male recipient is addressed "Fritz", consistent with the sibling pages. "Eure Post erwarten mit Sehnsucht" was first read as "Schwere Post erwarten..."; magnification shows a clear E with u-breve, so "Eure". "wie man mit Vorsicht" — the second word is written over a struck-out attempt, first read as "mans". Twice the writers use "als" where modern German would use "öfters/ab und zu" ("kommst Du als öfter mit ihrer Tochter zusammen", "dass Frau B. nun als etwas geschickt bekommt"); this was initially read as an error, but it is the Kraichgau/Swabian dialect "als" = "now and then, repeatedly", and it is translated that way. "Herbstfeiertage ... angekommen" was first read as "dem Ende nach" (holidays ending), which is chronologically impossible on 21 September 1941 and was therefore withdrawn in favour of an explicit gap.