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From Hans in an unknown location. The letter begins with a long discussion about the difficulties in getting post. Hans has just received four letters in a bundle from Hella and some other letters from July. Things are much different now from what he had expected, and many of his comrades have sacrificed their lives. He quickly ends this line of thought by asking why dwell on such things when they are living in the present and not the past. He gave Hella’s [landlady?] a pot of honey and the woman was so delighted she nearly through her arms around his neck. They then sat on the terrace together until 10 pm. The lady portrayed Hella in glowing terms, for instance that she always went to bed on time. Hans was glad it was dark and she could not see his amusement. His leave was short but long enough to make two people happy. When he thinks of their future together he paints it brightly. He is sending Hella a parcel in the same post as the letter.

From Hans in Frankfurt am Main. Hans is extremely happy to have heard from Hella. She has written about a future together. He says that they should not just hope to be together but really hold on to the wish and asks if she agrees with this. His wounds have healed and left no physical handicap. Hans heard that Hella had no post from him since last Christmas. He finds this strange as he was constantly sending her news. He briefly brings her up to date with the news that would have been in the missing letters. On 15 February at 5 pm he was wounded on a train. Two Tommy gun bullets pierced his left hand, and shell splinters went into his left arm and his foot. He gives details of his horrific experiences afterwards including a 48-hour wait in a cattle wagon in Berlin, where he gave a letter for Hella to a woman to post. He was then discharged. His brother was also injured and came home 14 days after him. He is now really enjoying being at the helm of his father’s company in charge of 450-500 men. Once again it is Christmas, the first in many years with his family. He hopes that next year he and Hella will be able to celebrate it together.

From Hans in Sprendlingen. After worrying and imagining all sorts of things, Hans has just received three letters from Hella. He had a call from a friend Georg who asked if he was in love. Hans regales Hella with the answer he gave Georg. The news from Berlin is contradictory and Hans finds it difficult to know how conditions really are there. As far as food goes, Hans is doing well, in fact, he has put on a lot of weight. He is finding life tough. Working all day clearing rubble brings him face to face with the suffering of people. He has heard that Hessen will get its own border police and reminisces back to a car trip through Holland, and Brussels to Paris. He dreams of a small island for the two of them where he can create his own world. He hopes to have his new office ready to move into by May. He asks when they will next meet. He wants to go on a winter sports holiday at the beginning of March and it would be lovely if she could come too. He asks if she has news from Witzke, he no longer has his address. With envelope.

From Hans in Frankfurt. He has just heard that an acquaintance of his will be travelling to the English Zone in Berlin and is sending Hella a food parcel with this man. In the meantime Hella must have received his letters. He got her last one thee weeks ago. He has little news to report. It will soon be the 13th and this is his 13th letter to her. Attached to this letter are a paper postcard addressed to Bruno Scholz, dated 15 March 1946, on which is scribbled an address and date with a telephone number in an unidentified hand; and a small sheet containing directions by another unidentified hand to the residence of a Frau Müller in Heiligenstadt.

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 to Walsh from Harrison Leussler, Houghton Mifflin Company, 500 Howard Street, San Francisco, California. Refers to the death of [Eugene Manlove] Rhodes on 27 June. Rhodes ‘never kept notes while planning out a story’ and so did not leave any manuscript ‘for future publication’. He had been working on a book entitled ‘Old Timers’. It is hoped that his widow will write a biography based partly on that work. Leussler wishes to collect as many letters he wrote as possible for use in the biography and requests that Walsh would send them to Mary Rhodes who will later return them.