Link to Family Tree to understand family relationships.
From: Haim Seneor Cohen, Vienna
To: Miss Eva Marie Lowell, 2200 Post Street Nursingschool, San Francisco, California, USA
Dear children!
Special greetings to our May child! Not knowing when these lines will reach you, we are also thinking of our January kids. We are healthy. Greetings and hugs to all of you.
Date: 11 May 1942
Signature: Haim Seneor Cohen
This is one of only two letters I have from Vienna written after October 1941 and before Helene and Vitali (Haim) were arrested and deported to Ravensbrück and Buchenwald in October/November 1943. Both letters were sent through the International Red Cross via the German Red Cross. Although they were still living in the same apartment in May 1942 that Harry and Eva had lived throughout their childhood, the boilerplate indicates that Helene and Vitali were considered prisoners of war. The Luftpost stamp on the top left says that it was paid with 3 “American coupons”.
Rather than say anything about their situation within the 25 word limit – besides which it no doubt was censored and they wouldn’t have wanted to worry their children – the message shows that despite the circumstances, they are always thinking of and missing their children, especially on their birthdays. They have no idea when they’ll be allowed to write again, so in addition to sending May birthday greetings to Eva (which were received in late July), they acknowledged eventual Harry’s birthday in January.
At this time, Eva was 21 years old and in nursing school, while her 18-year old brother had enlisted in the army the previous month. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be separated from her entire family, to receive this letter and be unable to help her parents. As far as I know, this was the first news she’d had from them since the a brief letter sent in October 1941 before the U.S. entered the war.
Old Mount Zion Hospital where Eva lived and trained to be a nurse from 1941-1943