First Post-WWII Letters to America: Opa to Ida 1946

Translated by Philip Graupner

(1946.05.13 Opa to Ida...translation)

Schlangenbad, 13 May, 1946

Dear Ida and Willard!
Now that we can write directly to each other again, I will write once myself. I already wrote a letter to Hermann and hopefully it arrived there safely, or better said, that it will arrive there.
Yes Ida, we have hard times behind us and the worst is yet to come. Worst of all is the hunger but we can't complain because we deserve it; for this war didn't have to be fought and now the whole German folk will be held responsible for it. This last war can't be compared to that of '14 - '18, of which you three may still have a memory. It was much more radical and for that reason much more drastic for each individual. There are likely very few families in Germany that escaped without loss; either family members that were lost on the battlefield or their homes were bombed, or both. Our home in Mülheim is now only a pile of ruins and we lost almost everything, or what survived is badly damaged. I can't say how long we will stay in Schlangenbad but we will most likely be sent back to our home places, i.e. to Mülheim - Ruhr. I would already be back there if I could only find an apartment, even it were only three rooms. Yes, most people are happy to live in one room with 4 - 5 persons, or in some cases, more. But as I said, the worst is our nutrition. Until now it wasn't so bad but now starvation begins too. It must be acknowledged that America is making a great effort to prevent a famine. Will it be successful? To that end, America is allowing packages to be sent to family members here now, as you probably already know. This will be of great benefit to many German families, since almost every 5th. family has one or more relatives in America which could help them.
Hermann and Karl have already written. Karl also sent a photo of his 3 boys, which Else Jr. has taken possession of. Hermann's family has grown enormously. The Graupner name increases in America while it seems to be dying out in German, i.e. my line...the name won't disappear, there are too many.
I was often reproached, that I allowed you to go to America and I often worried about that but today I am pleased that you didn't have to experience this war in Germany. Karl and Hermann would perhaps no longer be alive, for they would have been among the first to be drafted. Germany is now at the bottom and won't so easily raise itself back up again and the final days of our lives will be terrible and all because of our big industrialists and the Junkers in combination with an adventurer. But, it is too late to complain about that. Now we must hold our heads up and work hard so that we are respected in the world again. The consolation that at least the three of you didn't have to live through this misery a second time will be a help to me. I am old and can no longer do much; still I don't wish to stand on the sidelines during reconstruction; it will take a long time until Germany is respected again and until at least some of the ruins are replaced with new buildings. One won't recognize many cities for a number of old familiar corners no longer exist. Until then, many a drop of water will flow down the Ruhr and the Rhine rivers.
With these observations, I would like to close my first post-war letter with the request to send greetings to Hermann and Karl and their families. Warm greetings to you, Willard and the boys.

Your Father.