Four letters

FOUR LETTERS

January 1928
Dear Erich,
I finished reading your new novel last night and have never slept a wink since then. When I recollect that episode with the poor guy carrying his wounded friend to the camp on his back, only to discover upon their arrival that a stray splinter killed him on the way, I start crying like a baby. That death was eventually the last straw for him and it is hard to imagine someone being so disillusioned and crushed after experiencing the horrors of the battlefield that he becomes indifferent to whether he survives the war or not… "Let the months and the years come, they can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more...” It’s brilliant, brer! Send a copy to the publishing house as soon as possible.
Sincerely yours,
E.

January 1929
Dear sir,
I am not sure if there is still much interest in World War I in our country , however I think we can try to publish your manuscript. Your depiction of trench warfare from the perspective of young soldiers is quite realistic and vivid.  I also like that sense of empathy for the enemy and the concept of a “lost generation”. Let’s do it. But before we send the text to the print shop, I insist that you should correct the following paragraph:
«We killed people in that war and we can’t forget it, because in our age one’s thoughts and actions are connected to each other. We are no hypocrites, no cowards, no burghers and keep our eyes wide open. We don’t justify anything with necessity or idea or motherland – we fought against people and killed them – people who we knew nothing about and who didn’t do anything bad to us; what will happen when we come back to the relationships we used to have and face someone who try to stand in our way? <…> Some will be quiet and some will keep weapons in their hands.”
I would recommend you to get rid of it at all. Don’t make waves.
Best regards,
 N.

March 1933
Dear Magda,
We have won! The publication of that wussy piece of crap which was created to misrepresent and vilify the image of our soldiers, is finally prohibited and I will make sure its author pays the price. The era of extreme Jewish intellectualism is now at an end, but the internal enemies are still among us and we need to be consistent and merciless if we want to purify our language and literature. I’m so glad that you are with me in this war.

Love you,
J.

May 1933
Dear Gerhard,
I think it’s a good idea to adorn the purge ceremony with some kind of manifestation. When the students start to throw the books into the bonfires I suggest that they should declaim a “Fire Oath”, something like “No to decadence and moral corruption! No to scribblers who betray our veterans! Yes to bringing up the youth in a spirit of genuine historicism!” Oh, man, I look forward to what is going to happen! I’m absolutely sure that our Action will be remembered throughout the history and the mendacious paper junk will soon be forgotten together with the names of their creators.
Heil Hitler!
K.