Apparently Helene didn’t manage to send off the letters written on February 5 before receiving mail from her children. So she continued Clipper letter #72 with at least two more letters, one today and the last one which we will see tomorrow.
Vienna, 7 February 1941
My dear children! I just wanted to give Papa my letters I wrote to you yesterday and the day before to mail when your letter which I “baptized” #16 arrived. So, you haven’t had any mail for a while either. There are no fewer than 13 letters on the way from me so you have to let me know without my repeated questions if you have received them painlessly, without a break in the letters. Harry’s letter is dated the 23rd, Eva’s the 31. …Eva maybe had his letter but she was so busy in the holidays that she didn’t have a chance to write to us till the 31st. She has tried to make this right by saying at the beginning of the letter that it’s the last one for this year. After she told us that she had to go to the dentist because of her wisdom teeth, she ended this short letter with a kiss which actually took up the entire second page. It seems like in a foreign country you’ve forgotten how to write your native language and you’ve also forgotten about your mother’s mentality that she cannot get enough details about your life. Harry’s ode to his beard I found very good. Yesterday I left the radio on while I was writing to you so I wouldn’t miss the evening news. Some Brunhilde sang Bei meines Speeres Spitze [on the tip of my spear]––Spitze? [tip?] echoed the orchestra. But I understood, Bei Harrys Bartes Spitzeln––Kitzeln [on the little tips of Harry's beard—they tickle. You see, I felt the verse arriving as Wenn Deine Freundinnen Dein Bart stört / nicht mich [If your beard bothers your girlfriends / it doesn’t bother me].* As far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to go to so much expense and trouble to shave - if you give me a kiss with a beard, that’s okay. If Everl spent more time writing to me rather than talking, she might not have had to go to the dentist. (Don’t worry child, I don’t have that much opportunity to chat and I’m also going to the dentist all the time.) The way to the dentist is sweetened by the fact that I can buy some sour pickles at NordSee on the way if I have enough time.
At the moment the sun is trying to get rid of our idyllic snow scene. Maybe the sun is jealous that we can tell so many stories about snow instead of caressing it. My hymn to the sun is older than Rimsky-Korsakov. In my letter yesterday, I wrote to you that the officers of the chamber of commerce and the tax office and all the rest who are around here were busy shoveling the snow and they were really doing that actively. The snow mountains in the streets are still intact right now and there’s no danger of avalanche. Our custodian in this building was wise and he is rather fastidious about things, so therefore he cleaned the snow off our building early in the morning and kept at it until the late afternoon so that nobody who passed by our house would be troubled when it starts to fall. You need not worry about bricks raining down upon you. In the next snow flurry I think we should have everybody help with the shoveling. Papa is looking all over the place, in every corner, for his long-sleeved mittens because they would come in handy. But he’s not finding them. The last time I took inventory I threw them away because I thought they were unnecessary. Of course, I am not going to tell him that and I am mouthing off that he’s so messy of course there’s no way he could find things. Of course, he has everything very well organized. Really, in his suitcase there is perfect cleanliness and he spends many hours cleaning up and sorting his collection of screws. He has crooked nails (those from iron I mean) and he straightens them out. Even if I laugh about this, I have to admit that I have found a use for quite a few nails that he has saved. However, I do hold to my principle that we should give away things we don’t need anymore. Some things if I don’t need anymore do come in handy for some other person. If not, then we put it in the Kolonia-Kübel [Austrian garbage can]. It is easier to find out what we obviously need when we don’t have so much baggage to carry around with us. My purse is the only place where I make some concessions on this. At this time my bag is a replacement for the family album and if I can’t sleep, then I look at the pictures.
I am happy about the news that Robert already has his visa. Hilda will not be disappointed. [in English:] He is also a Darling and told her, Vitali and I are such darlings too. Maybe this affirmation will bring us over a little bit more quickly. …. I am looking forward with great joy to your description of the Xmas party. Good bye.
Helen
* The line Helene imitates is Wer meines Speeres Spitze fürchtet / durchschreite das Feuer nie (Whoever fears the tip of my spear / shall never pass through the fire), from Wagner’s Die Walküre.
It sounds like her children as creative as their mother in their correspondence (Eva’s page long kisses, Harry’s poetry) but their mother was less grateful – wanting to hear every detail of their lives.
We learn from Helene’s funny story about Vitali’s gloves that they have been downsizing in preparation for moving to the U.S. This story also is a window into Harry and Eva’s tendency to save every little item in case it might come in handy some day. Finally, we learn that Paul’s brother Robert has gotten his visa to come to the U.S. I don’t know if he ever intended to move here, but aside from a visit or two in the 1940s, he lived in England for the rest of his life.