Handwritten letter

Handwritten letter — two separate notes: a condolence letter and a personal note

11.10.1941from München (Munich), Germanybetween Julius Oppenheimer, Elsa Oppenheimer, Karl Maier, Josef Oppenheimer, Mina Weiler

Original — Deutsch

[oben links, moderne Hand/Bleistift-Stempelnummer:] 1952-509[?]

München den 11. Okt 1941
Sehr geehrter Herr u. Frau Langerbein!
        Durch die liebe Mina hörten wir von dem
schweren Verluste, den Sie durch das Ableben Ihres
l. Bruders erlitten haben u. sprechen Ihnen unser
herzlichstes Beileid aus. Karl haben wir hiervon
verständigt auch liesen wir dur[ch] Karl eine Messe
für den Verstorbenen lesen. Wir hoffen, dass Sie sich
von Ihren Aufregungen etwas erholt haben.
Gleichzeitig danke ich Ihnen für Ihre Hilfe uns
gegenüber sowie für das Gute, d[as] Sie l. Mina
u. l. Fritz jederzeit darbringen[?]. Bleibet gesund
u. empfanget herzl. Grüsse Ihr
                    Julius Oppenheimer

--- [zweite Hand] ---

Sehr geehrte Familie Langerbein,
        auch ich möchte Ihnen zu dem allzufrühen
Ableben Ihres lb. Bruders u. Schwagers meine aufrichtigste
Teilnahme aussprechen. Über Mina hören wir von Ihnen
u. freuen uns, dass Sie gesund sind. Sie ist in
ihrem neuen Beruf nun befriedigter. Wie wir von Karl
hören, ist Ihre lb. Mutter u. auch Karl mit Familie
gesund. Auch von mir nochmals vielen herzlichen Dank
für alles u. beste Grüsse Ihre
                    Else Oppenheimer.

Translation — English

[upper left, modern hand, archival number:] 1952-509[?]

Munich, 11 October 1941
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Langerbein!
        Through dear Mina we heard of the
grievous loss you have suffered through the passing of your
dear brother, and we express to you our
most heartfelt condolences. We have notified Karl of this,
and we also had a Mass read through[?] Karl
for the deceased. We hope that you have
recovered somewhat from your distress.
At the same time I thank you for your help toward
us as well as for the good that you bring[?] to dear Mina
and dear Fritz at all times. Stay well
and receive cordial greetings, yours
                    Julius Oppenheimer

--- [second hand] ---

Dear Langerbein family,
        I too should like to express to you, on the all too early
passing of your dear brother and brother-in-law, my most sincere
sympathy. Through Mina we hear of you
and are glad that you are well. She is now more
content in her new job. As we hear from Karl,
your dear mother, and Karl with his family too, are
well. From me too, once again many cordial thanks
for everything, and best regards, yours
                    Else Oppenheimer.

Historical context

A single sheet carrying two condolence notes written the same day in München: the first by Julius Oppenheimer, the second, below his signature, in his wife's hand signed "Else Oppenheimer". Both are addressed to the Langerbein family — evidently emigrated friends/relatives in America, since news of them reaches München by way of "die liebe Mina" (Mina Kaufmann in New York) and her husband "Fritz" — on the death of the Langerbeins' brother and brother-in-law. Julius reports that he informed "Karl" (possibly Karl Maier of the family circle) and had a Mass read for the deceased, which indicates the Langerbeins and Karl are Catholic; Else relays that the addressees' mother and Karl with his family are well, and that Mina is now more content in her new job. The dateline reads 11 October 1941, twelve days before emigration from the Reich was prohibited (23 October 1941) and about six weeks before the Munich deportation to Kaunas of 20 November 1941; the letter itself contains nothing about emigration prospects, consulates, affidavits or summonses — it is purely a letter of sympathy and thanks, appearing to keep a channel of gratitude and family news open to contacts abroad while that was still possible.

On this transcription

Machine transcription (claude-opus-5) — not yet checked against the original scan. 2 passages marked doubtful in the text.

Re-read from the original scan on 2026-07-28. Legibility: good. [?] marks are deliberate gaps, not transcription errors. Dateline read independently as "München den 11. Okt 1941"; the month is an abbreviated, heavily flourished "Okt" (with the abbreviation stroke through the final letters) and the day is clearly "11." — this agrees with the metadata date 1941-10-11. Surname read as "Langerbein" in both salutations; the letter group after "La" is ambiguous between "n" and "u" in this hand, so "Laugerbein" cannot be fully excluded — a checker should look at the second salutation ("Sehr geehrte Familie Langerbein") first. "darbringen" in "das Gute, d[as] Sie l. Mina u. l. Fritz jederzeit darbringen" is uncertain: the second letter looks more like a narrow "e" than "a", so it may read "derbringen"/"erbringen"; sense favours "darbringen". Two paper losses (small tears) affect: "auch liesen wir dur[ch] Karl eine Messe" — the "ch" of "durch" is torn away — and "für das Gute, d[as] Sie l. Mina" where the tear clips "das". An ink blot sits over "jederz[ei]t" but the word is still readable. "liesen" is written thus (for "liessen/ließen"). The writer's "u." abbreviation is drawn as a crossed stroke resembling "+"; transcribed as "u." throughout. The upper-left number "1952-509" is in a modern hand/pen, unlike the writer's ink, and looks like an archival accession number rather than the writer's own letter numbering used on sibling pages; the middle digit could be "0" or "8" ("1952-589"). Revised readings: Initially took the upper-left "1952-509" for the writer's letter number as on sibling pages; on close view it is a thick modern pen in a different hand and at a different angle, so it is recorded as an archival accession mark instead. Also first read the second signature as "Elsa" by analogy with the family list in the brief, but the final letter is a clear "e" — "Else Oppenheimer", matching the sibling pages. In "Sie ist in ihrem neuen Beruf nun befriedigter" I first considered "nun befriedigt", but the comparative ending "-er" is written out.