Source

Zernsdorf, August 4, 1931

My dear child,

Your letter of the twenty-second arrived on the thirtieth. Meanwhile, you should already have received two letters from me describing the terrible situation. Technically, I’m in no position to give you a complete picture of the collapse, which you’d need in order to really understand what’s happening. The year 1930 was still a good one. We were a bit in the red; but given more or less normal business, we still hoped to make it up eventually. We never would have taken such a long trip if we’d had an inkling that such a crisis lay ahead!! It hit us like a catastrophe. An enormous fall in the demand for price tags caused our debts to swell. Just as all business came to a halt, the bank failed; so there was no one to speak to. The banks went into a government holding company, which showed no interest in the debts of „customers.“ All of this happened at once. It looks as if we’ll lose everything. It’s cold comfort to know that the entire commercial sector is in the same position and that more shops are going under than staying afloat. Since everywhere you look there’s desert, you see no chance to plant anything new. The situation is desperate. […]

I cannot continue to maintain my own house and household—this much seems certain. A pity, isn’t it? My mama, hardly a wealthy woman, at least died in her own apartment. Of all the possible alternatives left to me, moving in with Erich seems the best. Hermine is leaving on the first of September, and Martha will move into her room. As long as we can still keep the house, I want to stay in my own apartment. For now, the rent of 170 marks is still easy to come up with. Martha helps with the cleaning, and for lunch I go upstairs. I make my own breakfast, and evenings I’m mostly out. As an innocent victim of Germany’s crisis, I will have to place my existence upon the famous „other basis“ and enjoy the last good thirty years of my life like a fine-tasting stew.

Even though at the moment things aren’t so bad that I have to give up the household, they could reach that point at any time. I’ll ask you now if you could use anything, because it takes two to three weeks to get a letter back from you. Selling things amounts to giving them away. I’ll let Werner have what he can take; other things can be stored in the attic of the Fregehaus. It’s impossible to send furniture to Palestine, isn’t it? Shipping and taxes are expensive, and who can pay them? You must bear in mind that we have nothing. […]

With kisses, Mum