I'm utterly humbled...

[Alex Franke]

I'm reading through hundreds of letters between my grandmother (with her kids in Germany) and my grandfather, who had left for America to seek out a better life for his family. The separation was supposed to be short, but ended up lasting over five years -- from 1930 through 1935 -- and they wrote, and wrote, and wrote, and wrote... sometimes several times a week.

It's a real page-turner, and it touches on so many things in both countries that I've only heard about or read about in books... the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, bank failures, the rise of Nazi Germany, bedbugs, the Graf Zeppelin, immigration issues, big city life in the 30's, and so much more.

One in particular made the separation feel so absolute because the family was not yet offered a visa: "I have to give you very unpleasant news: The Globe Bank in which I have most of my savings has closed because of insolvency. I was as though paralyzed to hear this, and now could not even return to Germany should the need arise. I'm totally shattered."

The hard times I've experienced absolutely pale in comparison.

I don't know why I'm compelled to share this stuff. I never knew them, and I wish I could still thank them in person for the better life they gave us... Maybe this is my way of doing that.

[cgallery]

I don't know why I'm compelled to share this stuff. I never knew them, and I wish I could still thank them in person for the better life they gave us... Maybe this is my way of doing that.

No, this is good stuff. There are entire web sites (for example, http://www.deardaddy.com/) devoted to such long-term family correspondence. This type of primary-source information is invaluable to historians.

And you're right, it puts our 2009 problems in perspective.

[Pappy]

You are right, Alex. The problems we are experiencing today, although bad when compared to the lifestyle and prosperity we are accustomed to, pale compared to the troubles your grandparents and my parents endured.

My father bought a ranch in the mid 20's after growing up on a dirt farm and survived the Depression with hard work and perseverence, only to be wiped out in the Dust Bowl. Instead of expecting the government to come to his rescue, he packed what he had left, headed to the city, found work and built a new life.

The ethics people had and lived by then are sorely needed today.

[Hoover]

The hardships, the disappointments, and the fear of leaving loved ones in Europe, in order to emigrate to the US, our ancestors endured much hardship. I don't know if I could be that brave. We are truly blessed.

[leehljp]

Thanks for sharing this. I talk to my 85 year old Aunt about once a month and I always ask her things about pre-WWII life, and the things she remembers from her grandmother and grand father.

It was a different life then, people with respect, character and integrity. You are right Pappy, people with ethics.

[jhart]

I've been doing a lot of work on our family tree in the last few months after stopping in the mid 90's. It's really almost unbelievable what's available on the Internet now. Traced my mother's side back to England in the 1490's.
Have 4 great Aunts (sisters) all in late 80's and early 90's that I have been corresponding with back and forth, and they have some great stories of early 1900's life.
One of my wife's ancestors wrote a number of published stories, including his autobiography, about life as a riverboat captain and the Indian wars in Minnesota.

It really is great to read and hear about all of this. No way would I want to be growing up then. Those were very tough years.

[cabinetman]

We can only imagine what life was like during those times. I've had clients that had numbers tattooed on their arms. Trauma that they live with on a daily basis.
.

[crokett]

Alex, thanks for sharing this. Our grandparents' generation truly was the greatest generation. I recommend reading Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation Speaks". It is a collection of letters similar to your Grandparents'.

[docrowan]

My mother was born a few years before the start of WWII in Wurzburg, Germany. She wrote her memoirs by hand in a composition notebook, which my brother typed and then had published. It's titled "The Lion's Bridge: A Girl's Life in Hitler's Wurzburg". My mother writes extensively about day to day life experiences including baking bread, laundry by hand, gas lighting, coal heat, storing potatoes for the winter, etc. After reading it, it makes me feel like a whiner when I complain about my utility bills. I'm surprised my mom didn't slap me as a kid when I looked into a mostly full refrigerator and complained about having nothing to eat. My mother has a hunch in her back due to malnutrition caused by poverty and the war. Despite that, my mother is a very happy person and she doesn't dwell on her negative experiences.

BTW, the book's available from Amazon.com if you're interested in it.

[jackellis]

Those letters highlight a couple of interesting things:

- We're almost all either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. My grandparents emigrated from Eastern Europe when they were young children.

- Life was a lot tougher in those times and even for the poorest, has largely changed for the better over the last 80 years.

- Hard work and the will to succeed can get you a long way here. Much further than in many parts of the world.

My wife has a theory about why America has been so successful that's worth thinking about. Those who emigrate are risk-takers while those who stay are risk-averse. If risk-taking is a genetic trait, then it tends to get concentrated here. Without folks who are willing to take risks by starting businesses (or joining them), we'd be a much different country.

[germdoc]

My father and my mother corresponded regularly when he was in the Far East during the Korean War. As a kid, I remember seeing boxes of letters and postcards.

A few years ago, I asked my mom what she did with all those letters. "Oh, I threw them out. They were taking up space, and I didn't think anyone would want to read them anyway."

I could've choked. Some people have no sense of history.

[scmhogg]

I just finished reading the biography of John Adams by David McCullough. If history books in school had been like this I might have studied more. Much of the book is based upon correspondence between Adams and his wife and other gods of the American pantheon.

I highly recommend it.

Steve

[Alex Franke]

Another interesting tidbit:

Brooklyn, September 14, 1930
"New York itself is a cauldron; high buildings and a terrible amount of noise because of the thunderous elevated trains and traffic on the streets as I have never seen it anywhere else. The subways operate on two stories, one above the other and also under the Hudson and the East River."

"Political gatherings of the unemployed take place on the streets. Every once in a while one sees people just lying there I don’t know whether because of weakness or because of poisonous alcohol."

"Last evening, with a member of the Navy Club, I was in a bar on one of the most populous streets of Third Ave. Strong beer and whiskey was freely sold there and this in spite of Prohibition. My companion told me that nothing happens to these bars, of which there are quite a few, because they grease the palms of the appropriate authorities."

"That’s America."

[JR]

Wow, Alex, you HAVE to save those letters. They need to be transcribed for publication. It's a living history.

My sister organized a sort of memoir for our grandmother. She lived to age 99, dying in 1986. My sister visited her on a number of occasions in her later years, interviewing her about her life and the times. It's a very informal document, but a wonderful read. There are recipes and anecdotes and brief rememberances of each of her sons. It's very touching.

On being humbled... My grandmother graduated from Boston University in 1909. As a Catholic girl she wasn't allowed to join a sorority, so she and some friends created a group called the No Name Social Club. They remained friends into their 80's and 90's. Even with this independent streak, Grammy had been against women's suffrage. Men were supposed to make those difficult decisions. That didn't stop her from becoming one of the first women to get a driver's license.

Thanks for prompting me to open up the memoir!

JR

[gad5264]

Alex, this is a great story. My grandmother passed away a while back at the age of 102 and I truly enjoyed sitting with her and talking about old times. The local historical society came for a visit with her the day after she turned 100 with old pictures and she was a great help to them identifying people. It was a great day.

Now my nephew is the director of the Geniology depatment in our library system and he is publishing a book with old letters and like items that she had. This might be a good idea for you to look into. Just a thought.