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From Hans in Sprendlingen. He has just watched Tosch and his head is full of the great love depicted there. This leads him to think about Hella. He asks what is wrong and says that Herr Schrietzke lost her letter, but it was found and he now has it. It says that Hella wants to come and visit in the middle of May and so each day Hans is waiting for her. He cannot come and visit her in Berlin as her parents wish as he cannot get a zone pass no matter how hard he tries. He won’t allow himself to try and travel without a pass as this would be too risky for the company. He mentions the English zone and an unspecified relationship, hoping that it is not a friendly one but only one necessary to get the job done. Hans says that his mother thinks of Berlin as somewhere far away and so does not understand why he had to choose a girl from Berlin. However, he knows that she will be happy with whatever makes him happy. His sister is painting a great picture of Hella for their mother. He has just turned on the Berlin radio and remarks that although it is only a 12-hour car journey to Berlin it is still so far away. He asks her to bring her food coupons with her but they can provide everything else. He hopes her father is feeling better and encloses some stamps for him.

A typed letter from Hans in Sprendlingen. Hans has just received his eighth letter from Hella in seven months and is not very happy. He is also disappointed to learn that she has started to enjoy a social night life in Berlin, which seems such a change of character. He has also lived life on the wild side but this is over. When he was young he couldn’t wait for the exams to be over to enter the big wide world. He chose as his motto ‘work and life’ and he has both work and success. According to Herr Schwitzke, Hella was supposed to come to Hans in May. Hans thought that they would happily spend the rest of their lives together although of course they would have to make changes from what they were used to. For example, Hella would have to adjust to becoming a housewife. He thinks that everything is not lost and asks Hella what she thinks. He says that he can’t marry a butterfly but owes it to his family and business to marry a German woman who is full of character. There are many desirable women in Sprendlingen but it is Hella that he loves. He asks if they spent too short a time together to really know each other or whether their time together was too long ago. True love is founded on faithfulness and trust and Hans urges Hella to think on this. If things were different Hans would be in Berlin more often, but they are not. He says that Hella is not bound to him, but she should make a clear choice of who she wants to be with. He thanks her for her nice letter and sends greetings to her parents. He is using the typewriter as he has hurt his thumb.

From Hans in Sprendlingen. He apologises for having been too lazy to write. He was affected by Hella’s last letter. He then side-tracks to narrate a story from the canteen before revealing that he has lost the last two letters Hella sent. They came together and he had begun a reply when he was called away. Now he has lost the letters. He says that unlike previous women in his life, Hans knew that Hella was the woman for him, for life the moment he met her. He reminds her that they need to thank God that they found each other again, especially in such tough times. He feels that due to the separation they have experienced it is only natural that they should sometimes have doubts about their relationship. He has had two pictures taken for his identity card. It is now midnight, the Viennese radio broadcaster is signing out for the night with the song ‘Come back I am waiting for you’ and with these words Hans will say goodbye too. With envelope.

From Hans [in Wels?]. Hans observes that he spent Christmas Eve with deceased relatives – his father, grandparents and a cousin who had become a Nachtjäger [a pilot trained for night combat] at the age of 19. He calls Christmas the most German of all festivals. He thought about those who had died during the war or who had loved ones they had not heard from in a long time. He also thought about Hella. Hans states that he believes in God and that true goodness will triumph but he does not know when. Hans has been reading Schiller and Goethe and wishes he had done so more thoroughly earlier as he would have saved himself from a lot of disappointment. He thanks Hella for her presents. He really likes the photos and hopes she likes what he sent, but it is not a parcel as they are not able to send these. He cannot find a photo of himself to send her, and cameras are forbidden where he is. It seems that because of delays in the postal system Christmas Eve was the first Hans heard of Hella’s move and thinks it is shameful. He therefore suggests that in future they should number their letters to each other. He wishes he could take all of Hella’s troubles away from her and suggests it might help if she stayed with his parents. Of course he would ask her parents’ permission. He adds that she could study later (cookery for example), as he will always be able to provide for them in the future. Until that time he asks Hella to bring all her troubles to him. He has been worrying about her, especially because of a strange dream he had.

From Hans in Sprendlingen. He wonders how many of his letters Hella has received and complains that Herr Schwitzke is not delivering them. He asks if the post offices are shut in Berlin or if there is no writing paper. He cannot understand her long silence. He encloses some stamps and says he has received letters 1-7. The number 23 is written boldly at the bottom of the letter.

Letter of introduction from Hannah Sheehy-Skeffington to [Madge?] Daly for Elizabeth Freeman from the USA.

From Günther in Fürstenwalde. Another day is gone. Günther is listening to music in the recreation room and again has nothing to do except think of Hella. Everything went well on Sunday although the journey was long. He thought about phoning Hella’s house in the evening to check that they had not been bombed, but from the newspaper it looked as though they were alright. Thanks to the RAF, Günther managed to spend a few extra hours with Hella. The next few weeks will not offer him a chance to repeat the visit. He is on fire sentry duty next Sunday. When the weather warms up Günther will invite Hella to Fürstenwalde. At the moment it is not very pleasant as all the streets are icy. He asks whether she has passed her certificate of achievement. He then asks if she has any other worries or if she has insomnia. Günther says he has insomnia sometimes but knows who to blame for that. He sends greetings to her parents and thanks them for the invitation to the cinema. With envelope.

From Günther in Fürstenwalde. The past week was busy for Günther. There is a new weekly duty roster, and they have to get up at 4:45 a.m. now. She is right about the fact that he is already tired again by the time she gets up at 7:00 a.m. One day last week, after their flying duty in the morning, they were given rifles and sent into the field. They viewed it as a lovely spring walk in beautiful weather. Normally, they only get to see nature’s beauty from above. At the end of the march, they pretended to fight over a village, which left a strange impression on the residents. The day was a nice change from the usual routine. According to his parents, who he had just talked to on the phone, the attack on Berlin is said to have been one of the worst so far. He hopes that Hella is doing well. Tempelhof is said to have been hit particularly hard. Even some walls of his parent’s house are supposedly missing. Apparently, an aerial mine hit only 100 meters away. He has already set everything in motion to go home and inspect what can be salvaged. Günther thanks Hella for her letter, which has served as a ray of sunshine in the dark for him. Thanks to the practical format of her photo, he can take it everywhere. When he is in a bad mood, he simply looks at it and smiles again. With envelope.

From Günther at the officers’ quarters somewhere near Belgrade. He complains that Hella is always ironic, and he is afraid that it will cause him to become shy again. He does not feel comfortable writing what is on his mind anymore. The weather is not as nice now, so he cannot sunbathe anymore. He is the only one not on duty, so he has decided to answer his mail. A huge coincidence caused Günther to reunite with two old military school comrades. They play cards in the mess every night, drink wine, and lose track of time. They only go to bed at 11 in the evening, which is much too late because they have to get up early. This behaviour must end soon because, in two days, flying duty starts again. To answer Hella’s question about how long he will stay there, Günther estimates his stay to be about four weeks. He would like to know how long his letters take to arrive. He sends them directly to Berlin-Tempelhof with Lufthansa, but her letters take four days to arrive. With envelope.

From Günther at the officers’ quarters somewhere near Belgrade. His birthday was as uneventful as expected. His comrades forgot all about it, and they had flying duty in the morning and had to study for the oral exam in the afternoon. The exams took place this morning. Now, the only thing left to complete is a 1-hour test flight. Apart from that, there is not much to do. Only when everyone is done with their exam will they be deployed. Günther thanks Hella for making his birthday at least a little special by sending him four packages, including chocolates and biscuits, and looks forward to thanking her in person soon. Hella and his parents were the only ones who thought of him on this birthday. His dad even wrote him a letter of two pages, which is unusual for him. Günther does not believe that there will be a fourth year of war. As he has already told her, he will not be at his current location for long anymore, so Günther suggests taking a break from writing letters until he knows where he will end up. This will also relieve the burden on the postal service. He is saving some of the sweets she sent him for later. With envelope.