| #15 Feb 12/42
It is now Feb. 12. I have lost my voice completely for the last ten days and am just getting it back. the ailmant is laryngitis. I have received two personal parcels from New York but as the sender didn't put his name on outside or inside of parcel I don't know who sent them. They were sure wizza. The clothing parcel contained (and incidentally the price tags were on them and are such):
1 doz handkerchiefs
1 Sweater $5.00
1 Shirt $5.00
1 Long underwear $4.00
3 pair of socks at $1.00
Food Parcel
1/2 lb of chocolate
2 lbs of ham (tinned)
1 bag of biscuits
1 package of cheese
1 package of assorted fruit
200 Chesterfield cigs
If whoever sent this stuff and I believe it was Aunt Ruth, will never know how much I appreciate it.
We have not had Red Cross parcels now for two weeks and have been starving on Reich food; I know what it is to go hungry and have been living on slices of bread and a cup of soup per day for the past two weeks. I am past the stage of hunger and have got to the stage of weakness, all we do is lie in our pits all day cause we haven't the energy to do otherwise.
Recollecting my thoughts it comes to my memory that after being shot down, as I related the next day several real Prussian officers came to the farm to take me for questioning, they had the bulk and gate of Prussians and as I waited in the office for my escort to the camp, different officers would enter, click his heals, raise his right hand up and forward and gave a bellow of "Hail Hitler" again, a bunch of amusing idiots. They all had in that office a very good look at my pictures of Mom and Betty I was carrying and since Margaret was showing a lot of leg I imagine the remarks they made were interesting, too bad I don't speak Deutch.
Well I am hopefully praying that by the end of June this will come to an end. There is rumoured fighting in Poland and the Huns have retreated several miles this winter. I think a good offensive on Russia's part in the spring will see them through. There is little food whatsoever in Germany and the stores are empty (gen from one of the lads who has been to Berlin and Prague) all they have are spuds and soup, there is also some of the proverbish sausage and that is there stocks, hence the reason we are starving here, no parcels.
A working partty going through Breslau was stoned by a mob, very heavy RAF damage there. The Germans have large slave gangs of workers from occupied countries which clean up bomb damage as soon as it is done, therefore lessening the effect of it's public moral this way, however the damage is so great and bombs so big and raids so often that the people have a miserable time. Guards from the camp here tell us that they spend on leave much time in shelters. However roll along that boat for England and then home before we starve to death, au revoir. |