December 14
Dear Lutza!
In our colony of more than 600 people, we have the great shame and bitter pain of being the only ones not to hear or get help from our nearest and dearest. I have written my fingers to the bone sending letters to Bucharest and Chernivtsi but no one is lifting a finger to help us. I’m really not criticising you but I can’t ignore how much it hurts to see that I have been abandoned in my time of need. And it would be both a shame and a great sin to let me and my family perish in this squalor. I still believe in our friendship and love
and I beg you, in memory of our unforgettable Mia, to try everything to get us out of this hell, and soon, before it is too late. Ten of us in a small, dark room with no heating and the worst food in the least hygienic conditions – living this way leads to a quick and certain death. Poor Margit has it worst of all. She’s lost 20 kg and has aged as many years. We don’t have the slightest desire to lay down to rest in the “hallowed” Ukrainian earth. My pen is not strong enough to describe our situation, our need, our misery, our degradation. I beg you to contact a certain Mrs. Glass in Baltinester
Gasse 16 who was your patient for years. She will give you valuable information. If you can send us anything – we don’t doubt for a minute that you want to – she will know how to help. Everyday the situation becomes more terrifying. One small loaf of bread costs 600 lei these days and you can’t get anything at all for rubles anymore. People only want clothes, linen, shoes, soap, etc., but how can we get all that? For one pillow you get one loaf of bread at best and you need to pay 500 lei for a 25-30 kg piece of timber. I am working as a track-layer and get 1 kg of bread for 5 rubles everyday, which all 3 of us have to live off. If we get an onion with it
Herrn
Dr. L. Krasnoselsky
Cernauti
Str. Mircea Voda 19a
Nr. 19a