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Sargorod, 5./ XII. 1941
Dearest Lucin!
You cannot imagine how happy we were to receive your letter of 19./XI. We had run out of our last penny and I was forced to borrow from Jean Bercovici. Your letter with the 2000 greetings arrived yesterday the moment I wanted to change Jean’s money. To borrow is a very unpleasant affair as the others are so short as well. – The misery and what we have had to go through in the last month until we finally arrived here is unimaginable. Here in Sargorod, 45 km out of Moghilau (Mohilav) are most Suczavinians with Dr. Teich and Kimpolunger, who arrived with the 3. transport. We were part of the 2. transport and were as a result of a terrible mistake driven into a different direction from Moghilau. Our entire luggage except a few bits and pieces got lost. We were forced
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to change our entire lei into rubels at 40 to 1 and the rise in prices here is phantastic, so we were very much the worse off for money. At the beginning we had to pay up to 35 rubels that is 1400 lei for a loaf of bread. Luckily Bubi found by chance Sidi’s leather rucksack in Moghilau and was able to sell it for 1000 rubels otherwise we would have run out of money long ago. And so with the utmost care we were able to get by until yesterday when we received your greetings. We were literally starving. We had bread, potatoes and beans to keep us going. No butter, no milk and no eggs. Now bread is 25 rubels (it was down to 16r), a pud [16kg] of potatoes 50r, 1 kg sugar 60r, 1 pud firewood 25r, 1kg meat 18r, 1kg beans, 10r, 1l milk 12r etc. etc. etc. The rise in prices get bigger by the day. When we arrived things cost half of what they are now. To keep alive you need a minimum of 70 rubels. As we lost our entire luggage we have nothing to sell. I had to wear the same pair of underpants for a month from when we left Suceava until we arrived in Sargorod.
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Only here Dr. Shapira gave me a econd pair. Apart from that we had to wear the same clothes for a month sleeping on clay floors and in stables. The group Suczawer with Dr Teich were much better off, they came here directly from Moghilau and generally speaking none of their luggage got lost. I can’t describe what we have been through and suffered on the way. With God’s help I will be able to tell you. Father tried to kill himself in a little place Ozarinetz, 12 km out of Moghilau, where we stopped off for the first time. He drank a bottle of 200gr. of Lysol. By a miracle we were able to save him and he survived an infection with 40 degrees as a result of the cauterization without a doctor or drugs. He is much better now, but still weak. We were and still are heavily infested by lice (large white clothe slice) only natural given the circumstances. We were in luck with a room that Heidi organised in her immediate neighbourhood. It is so small that you
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can barely move, but warm and dry. In most of the other houses (all flats are in a dreadful state of pair and haven’t been renovated since 1941) the water runs down the walls. Until now Sargorod had 2000 inhabitants mostly Jews. Now there are over 4000 evacuees on top of that. Many rooms are uninhabitable so sometimes there are up to 20 people packed together in a room. We live by ourselves, only Julius sleeps on the tiny space left on the floor. His mother, aunt Klara and aunt Mieser live in a different house together with 12 other evacuees and spend the night on tables and bare boards with no bedding. -Bubi sent 5000 Lei twice. This is of course far too little. For a long time Julius was seperated from his mother and aunt Mieser. He was driven away with us while they were left behind in Moghilau. They were driven apart in the middle of the night and learned later that they had been taken in by Mrs. Weingarten. Obviously their baggage got lost. The journey cost them 5000 Lei (Bubi’s first letter): Please write
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to Bubi (Siegfried Schorr, Bururesti V; Strad Voda No.9, Apartment 10) and let him know the conditions we live in and that he should do his best to help. Also, please let him know, that the 2 times 5000 Lei arrived, so that he knows, that his chosen route is good. Julius is selling matches, cigarettes and bread on the market square to earn a few rubels.
The rubel was worth 10 Lei for a long time. Then it rose to 12 Lei, then fell and is now worth 7 Lei.
The route you have chosen is very reliable. They only charged us 31/2 % commission. That is not a lot, very often they charge up to 15%.
Please let us know whether Liviu and Nutzi are in Suceava. All our valuables are there except the yellow vase, which is at Mitzi Jurim’s. My golden watch and father’s, my silver Omega watch, 2 silver cigarette holders are at Nutzi’s. I gave Liviu in Sidi’s presence 3000 Lei on the train to look after as we were told that we were only allowed to take a limited amount. Please write to him to send you the money, also we are owed 6000 Lei
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by Mizzi Jurim. Please write to her to send the money through you. Sidi’s yellow vase is given the circumstances safest with her. There is no news from Pipi’s husband. Rabuita is 150km away from her. The state of the roads is so bad that there is little hope of him visiting. – What do the 2000 greetings cost you? Tell us. They say that Lei is the safest currency. I think it would be best to send Liviu’s 3000 and Mitzi’s 6000 in Lei. There is talk of a 1:1 exchange rate. That is the explanation for the drop of the rubel.
You have probably heard of isolated successful operations. The family of Jakob Beiner was repatriated to S. after Popp’s intervention, also Professor Hauslich from Dorna, a family Tanner from Kimpolung etc. On the day before yesterday instruction to repatriate Frau Hermine Barber from Suceava arrived. As Sigi Barber has no money-he lives in Bukarest as you know-I am guessing that he is under someone’s protection. His mother however does not live here and I don’t know whether they have found her whereabouts.- I beg you to ask him
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how he achieved his mother’s repatriation. His last known address was: Siefried Barber, Bucharest V., Str. Cuza Voda No.11 at Grünberg. I am not sure about the housenumber and would ask you to send a second letter to Bubi Schorr. They live very close by. Better safe tan sorry. –
For weeks there has been talk about a “Triere”, skilled workers, technicians, doctors from Southbukowina are being repatriated. Dr. Teich learned this from Dr. Kalman Tarter, Bucharest, Bulevardul Schitu Magureanu No. 3. Other people from Bukarest also confirm that. There is a commitee, amongst them Dr. Tarter that is working to achieve that. Father being a doctor would qualify to return. Please enquire about that as well.-
Sidi is asking for a torch and 2 batteries. We are lacking in absolutely everything here. A saucepan, a glass, a bottle and other things are unaffordable goods. That a city such as Sargorod has no lavatories sums up the life people were leading and we are leading now. Everything is being dealt with on the streets. Our Romanian administration has now decided that we have to
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walk as far the river. We catch all sorts of colds.
Dearest Lucin!
You and your well known strength is our only hope. We can’t bear this life much longer. We are not equipped for this very tough winter out here. I own one pair of bocaucen. If they fall apart I have no substitute. Snowshoes and galoshes were lost. Luckily father still has his. I have only got a pair of torn gloves etc etc.
Hedi is an angel. I don’t know what we would have done without her. Maybe Fritz repatriation will be the first to succeed. He was at the front in 1941 and was in this area as medic-sublocotenent in July. I have to stop now, kisses to you both,
Yours Mundrin
P.S. Ask Bibi to go to Vindiceni 20 km out of Moghilau. There is a sugar factory there, a group of Itzkanier amongst them Katz and Ing. Horowitz are supposed to be put up there. Up until now nothing has been done and they are still in Moghilau. I received news from Bibi today that she had received a letter dating 25./XI from Franzi and Ricci.-Many kisses
Mundrin
Via Suceava