Helga, 17 August 1940

Another of Helga's letters is struck out. Again, I've still left it out of the second edition. It does, however, still give a little insight about what it was like for the young women living in Germany.

Dear all,

So good to get our little book again. So relaxing to sit and read it. I’ve been working really hard this summer. I’ve had total charge of the cousins for the summer holidays. They’ve stayed with us. Their fathers are away and their mothers are busy with war work. But tomorrow they go home. My aunt has come to take them back. All six of them will have to pile into my uncle’s car. I really admire my aunt for being able to drive. That’s her job now. She has to drive one of the SS commanders to important meetings. She has a few days holiday and then they all go back to school. She’ll drop the other four off with my other two aunts. I’m not sure what they do – nothing as exciting as Aunt Gabi (the one who drives the commanders) I don’t suppose. She remarked how brown and healthy the children looked.

Father has relented and let me have one of the flower beds back for growing flowers. It’s a little difficult to make nice arrangements for the church with onions, carrots and cabbages. We have lettuce and tomatoes too, though they’re now almost finished. The spinach has been the most successful. And I’ve actually started to like spinach. And you’ll never guess what: I’ve made a very good strudel with cabbage. It really works!

I’ve managed to get a good supply of flour and our neighbour is keeping chickens so lets me have an egg now and then so I can still make cakes and biscuits. I needed to do that with the cousins around. The fresh air was giving them an appetite.

It’s true, you know. There are lots of free ingredients if you look for them. I’m making a blackberry crumble cake just for me and Mutti and Vati tomorrow.

I’m really looking forward to September. I’m starting my training to be a Kindergarten helper then. That means I’ll be working with very young children all the time, though there will be some studying to do as well.

Isn’t the time going by quickly? And I still don’t really feel as if we are having a war.

I look forward to reading your letters again.

Your friend,

Helga