Georg Karl’s letter to Thea

June 10, 1944

My Sweet Darling,

As I wrote to you a “business” letter yesterday, I promised that in the evening I would begin a real letter. When it was evening, the commander said today we will play SKAT [Card game]. Of course he noticed that I didn’t want to, and my protest was that I was supposed to write was countered with the statement that there was no pick up of mail today anyway. The penalty followed immediately because until now ever since the first letter, I had gotten a letter from you with every mail except for yesterday. I have to blame myself.

Now it’s afternoon “nap time”, so that it isn’t like yesterday and again I am not able to write. I am taking advantage of the overall quiet so you will get your letter on time. Darling, before I started this letter, I changed the picture in my frame and said to my darling strong words of love. Then I looked through my collections of letters and read a few since I haven’t received any new ones, and wanted to read a few sweet words form my darling.

So now I should be ready to write a letter that would deserve a loving and long response. I want to begin with a topic that certainly will interest you a lot. The reason that I am starting with this is because we spent all morning talking about leave. The adjutant is now at the top of the list so when you are that close to getting leave time, then you can’t think of anything else. Almost every day we get a list and figure it out [the leave time]. For me unfortunately, nothing more definitely comes out of it than September. At this time I’m number 8. Of course time passes and if you think rationally about it, maybe it’s not so bad that I can go in under 5 months. A year ago, I wouldn’t have dared to think about such a thing. And yet I always realize the same thing. A quarter of a year is a damn long time. Even though the individual day passes quickly, there are still 100 nights that I must spend without you. Darling, and when one is so in love and has so much longing that it will still be very difficult until the happy days arrive. The date is still September, on that you can definitely count on and prepare. Darling, please write and tell me how much vacation you think you’ll have, because it’s obvious that you have to also have vacation or we will not be able to spend enough time together. And another main topic, the invasion. As reasonable people, it is clear to both of us that our entire future depends on the results of the invasion. I am convinced that in this year the outcome of the war will depend on the results of the invasion. Naturally the end of the war isn’t here yet, but it is only a matter of time. If the west first is defeated, then we will have enough troops to take down the east. It is impossible to see today how things continue in the west. The news of a few prior is very favorable, that we can anticipate the future battles. Darling, everything will be fine again and soon the decision will be made and we will only get these advantages if things go well. And all the other people in Germany will also have it good, and it is only human to think about oneself after so many years of separation. Especially when someone has a darling at home that is so sweet. I have read the letter through and determined that I probably once again will claim to look to the future ------ I had planned to write such a nice letter, but darling, what I wrote is certainly important for us. In the second half of the letter I will talk about other things. I should probably write about the radio, because it is through the dance music in the radio that I always think of you again and again. I have written that often. Do you remember, Darling, when we sat together and were all alone and you were sitting on my lap on the sofa and sang the top tunes about abd u was---- and I listened thoughtfully. Even if I don’t remember the words of the songs, I can imagine your voice already clearly, and I can also get totally swept up in the mood. But not only because of listening to these radio songs do my thoughts go to you, but also the text especially of the new hits makes one think of ones beloved. So by nature you have to be a little romantic and totally in love both, since they both apply to me and they have that effect. I definitely believe that’s the same for you and that you feel the same way I do. Sometimes I have thought that I would also like to be able to express myself like in some of the music hits. I frequently look for the words that would allow me to describe how I feel and how much I love you. Unfortunately not everyone has that talent and so some thoughts remain unexpressed. My thoughts are really never ----so tender as one can imagine when one is very close to the beloved but cannot write it. It’s a shame that so many letters could be very different and bring much more joy if all the tender thoughts could be put down on paper. I think there is a certain shyness that not everyone can get past. A letter could go into the wrong hands, and the idea that a stranger could see into my soul would be unthinkable. But, my little darling, under no circumstances should that mean that we both limit ourselves to the mundane stuff. When you pursue thoughts further you arrive without trying from the topic on the radio to the mundane-non-personal stuff. When in face my feelings are different. I would like to lie in the sun and dream of happiness and give all my thoughts to you even if it were only in a dream to have you next to me.

Darling, can you imagine what all I would like.