Headline: Letters from Hastings and from Russia
Mr. George Hoffman, Hastings, Nebr. writes on June 16, 1924:
Esteemed Welt-Post:
It has been a long time since I reported, so my letter will certainly be welcomed. We are now having the best weather so that we can't complain about it. My health is still good but there are many people dying here. I have received 2 letters from Russia which I ask you to please publish in the Welt-Post because the people were so poor they could not afford to write to all their relatives and so there are very many names of persons written in the letters who are being asked for help. Like myself, there are many people here from Norka and Brunnental. My wife is an Aschenbrenner from Norka. I would like to help and whoever else wishes to do so can perhaps do so together with me.
My address is: George Hoffman
215 South Colorado Ave.
Hastings, Nebr.
For Christian Steinmetz: I cannot come during harvest. It is way to far to go from Nebr. to Kansas. You should also let Pastor Hergert and Friedrich Hill hear from you.
It has been a long time since I reported, so my letter will certainly be welcomed. We are now having the best weather so that we can't complain about it. My health is still good but there are many people dying here. I have received 2 letters from Russia which I ask you to please publish in the Welt-Post because the people were so poor they could not afford to write to all their relatives and so there are very many names of persons written in the letters who are being asked for help. Like myself, there are many people here from Norka and Brunnental. My wife is an Aschenbrenner from Norka. I would like to help and whoever else wishes to do so can perhaps do so together with me.
My address is: George Hoffman
215 South Colorado Ave.
Hastings, Nebr.
For Christian Steinmetz: I cannot come during harvest. It is way to far to go from Nebr. to Kansas. You should also let Pastor Hergert and Friedrich Hill hear from you.
Letter from Russia, written the 3rd of May from Heinrich and Christina Burbach:
Blessings and peace be with you and an affectionate kiss and greetings of love from us, Heinrich and Christina Burbach, to you dear cousin Elisabeth and your husband and children.
You ask how it goes with us--here things are going very poorly. Time has taken everything from us. You know how it once was and now we are so poor. We have 2 fields that we work, we have no cow, only 2 sheep. You cannot imagine our poverty. We have no seed to sow and also nothing to live on. Our children ask; "What is there still to eat?" We cannot rely on you dear brothers and sisters because you have your father to deal with. But if it is not too difficult, could you help us a little?
Dear cousin, I have a request of you, we have already written 5 letters to the children of cousin Fritz; Johannes, Heinrich and Adam, Christine who married Johannes Krieger and to Anmari, Konrad Hohnstein and Peter Jak and Elisabeth and all our friends that they should help us because we are in such great poverty. If only each would contribute a little. We wrote for help but they have not replied. We do not know why, whether they are not able or do not want to. We have no cow, there is no bread or flour and no lard. All are foreign to us. It is the same if one goes from house to house and it is deeply depressing.
We would be happy to have a cow. Dear cousins, if you have love for us, then write a letter to Wesliesi Dielmann and you can all go together and send us some money so we can buy a cow. If one has only milk then one is not so poor. Heinrich Kaiser can help a little too. Our God will reward you for it. You could also write to brother Feder Heinrich Kern, he will help us.
The fruit is not good and in addition, my husband Heinrich did not return from the war. We have 4 children, 2 daughters and 2 sons. The youngest is now 5 and the eldest son 10 years old.
I ask you to reply soon.
You ask how it goes with us--here things are going very poorly. Time has taken everything from us. You know how it once was and now we are so poor. We have 2 fields that we work, we have no cow, only 2 sheep. You cannot imagine our poverty. We have no seed to sow and also nothing to live on. Our children ask; "What is there still to eat?" We cannot rely on you dear brothers and sisters because you have your father to deal with. But if it is not too difficult, could you help us a little?
Dear cousin, I have a request of you, we have already written 5 letters to the children of cousin Fritz; Johannes, Heinrich and Adam, Christine who married Johannes Krieger and to Anmari, Konrad Hohnstein and Peter Jak and Elisabeth and all our friends that they should help us because we are in such great poverty. If only each would contribute a little. We wrote for help but they have not replied. We do not know why, whether they are not able or do not want to. We have no cow, there is no bread or flour and no lard. All are foreign to us. It is the same if one goes from house to house and it is deeply depressing.
We would be happy to have a cow. Dear cousins, if you have love for us, then write a letter to Wesliesi Dielmann and you can all go together and send us some money so we can buy a cow. If one has only milk then one is not so poor. Heinrich Kaiser can help a little too. Our God will reward you for it. You could also write to brother Feder Heinrich Kern, he will help us.
The fruit is not good and in addition, my husband Heinrich did not return from the war. We have 4 children, 2 daughters and 2 sons. The youngest is now 5 and the eldest son 10 years old.
I ask you to reply soon.
Norka, 30 April, From your father Heinrich Aschenbrenner
This letter is from the old homeland from your old father Heinrich Aschenbrenner to you dear children Georg and Lisbet Hoffman. We would like you to know that we received the letter your wrote on the 15th of February. We are happy that you are well and we also, thanks be to God, are well although things are going badly here, as you can well imagine. Because there is no one here to lead the family you can imagine how things are going. Our dear father is still well but he is as old as the other people that you do not write to anymore.
Continuing: First, you should know that we safely received the $10 gift from Heinrich and Molly. We are truly grateful for it and we used it well. We bought 10 Pud of seed and we traded some for stones to fix our old ramshackle house and have also sown the seed that was left over in order to get by.
We bought a horse for the $50 that you sent us earlier and with it we were able to do some sowing because the 2 eldest sons were out of school. I hired out the two who were out of school. Dear brother-in-law and sister-in-law one must always do whatever one can to survive.
You ask what I do for work?---All winter long I sat in front of a cold oven patching together rags. When you have 6 children you are always poor, always distressed and always sad, so you can imagine that, like Jonah, one wishes for death.
Further, you ask how may head of livestock we have---we have the one horse and a cow, but they will not last for long because they have been sick for some time now.
We received a letter from Peter in Lingen (Lincoln?) with a receipt (probably a voucher) and our father put it under his mattress and, as they say, forgot about it until we were notified that the things had arrived. We then sent the receipt to Saratov where there should have been money to pick up but it was returned to us without any money because only father himself could receive it and he is no longer able to make the drive to Saratov. And that was that! If anything else is sent for us it should be sent to the eldest son, or to me. You can decide for yourself.
In closing you asked about the "Ellerhause Fisers," the elders are all dead. There remains the daughter's husband Heinrich with Christine and "Chal" with his wife and 2 children. The children go around begging and the two have told us that there is nothing left at the farmstead.
Finally, we want you to know that we have often thought about being there with you. Write us your thoughts about it and, as with everything, God will provide.
You are heartily greeted by everyone, especially by your old father.
Do not forget to write and do not forget to help us in our time of need.
---here is another greeting from an acquaintance, Georg Kaiser, to his two brothers Hu and Joh. Kaiser.
I also should not forget to ask whether Peter and Christine can send more money. Without their money we can do nothing.
Continuing: First, you should know that we safely received the $10 gift from Heinrich and Molly. We are truly grateful for it and we used it well. We bought 10 Pud of seed and we traded some for stones to fix our old ramshackle house and have also sown the seed that was left over in order to get by.
We bought a horse for the $50 that you sent us earlier and with it we were able to do some sowing because the 2 eldest sons were out of school. I hired out the two who were out of school. Dear brother-in-law and sister-in-law one must always do whatever one can to survive.
You ask what I do for work?---All winter long I sat in front of a cold oven patching together rags. When you have 6 children you are always poor, always distressed and always sad, so you can imagine that, like Jonah, one wishes for death.
Further, you ask how may head of livestock we have---we have the one horse and a cow, but they will not last for long because they have been sick for some time now.
We received a letter from Peter in Lingen (Lincoln?) with a receipt (probably a voucher) and our father put it under his mattress and, as they say, forgot about it until we were notified that the things had arrived. We then sent the receipt to Saratov where there should have been money to pick up but it was returned to us without any money because only father himself could receive it and he is no longer able to make the drive to Saratov. And that was that! If anything else is sent for us it should be sent to the eldest son, or to me. You can decide for yourself.
In closing you asked about the "Ellerhause Fisers," the elders are all dead. There remains the daughter's husband Heinrich with Christine and "Chal" with his wife and 2 children. The children go around begging and the two have told us that there is nothing left at the farmstead.
Finally, we want you to know that we have often thought about being there with you. Write us your thoughts about it and, as with everything, God will provide.
You are heartily greeted by everyone, especially by your old father.
Do not forget to write and do not forget to help us in our time of need.
---here is another greeting from an acquaintance, Georg Kaiser, to his two brothers Hu and Joh. Kaiser.
I also should not forget to ask whether Peter and Christine can send more money. Without their money we can do nothing.
Sources
Die Welt-Post, June 19, 1924, page 3.
This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
Last updated March 7, 2016