Letter from Edwin A. Shanke to family, ""Mom-Ber-Dad,"" December 27, 1939 |
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December 27, 1939
Berlin, Germany
Dear Mom-Ber-Dad:
My third Christmas in Germany is history. It was drabber than the others but then that was to be expected in these times. To begin at the beginning. We celebrated Christmas eve on Friday instead of Sunday night because Frau Volmer's son, Norbert, was home from the front for two days. I managed to switch shifts_ with one of the other boys so that I was free that night.
Festivities opened around the Christmas tree with the lighting of the candles. There was no Christmas candy hanging on the tree this year because 150 grams
per person is little more than a mouthful. Then Berta, Frau Volmer's daughter who lives in Cologne, and a friend of hers, played German carols on the piano
and violin while all the others sang. This was followed up by a reading of the Christmas story from the testament.
Then with Norbert as Santa Claus the presents were distributed. I received a couple of books and a tiny box of candy which was very nice of the Volmers. Presents reflected, in general, the limitations under the war-time rationing and the scarcity of so much goods which is regarded as essential for the army. I imagine that now after the holidays stores will have
very meager stocks because what they did have on the shelves before Christmas mostly had been made before the war broke out. They haven't been receiving new
supplies and wont be receiving any from now on except barest essentials. Textile and leather goods gifts were, of course, rarest.
After that we sat down to Christmas eve dinner. There was no turkey-or even chicken or goose-this year. We were satisfied with a venison
roast, which we had plenty of. The wine as usual was swell. After dinner we had coffee-real coffee--made from my present to the Volmer family, rather expensive
coffee imported from Holland. I also sent a big Christmas plant. The evening went fast and we toasted Norbert with champagne before he left for the front again at midnight.
The Volmers observed the real Christmas eve once more. Christmas day we had tongue for dinner. It was a nasty, rainy day so I didn't go out. Yesterday it snowed just a little. I had off both Christmas day and the
second "feiertag". I spent them eating, playing cards and reading.
I had a great experience in the subway the other night. Our office boy and I were traveling from the office home. We were speaking English in a corner of the car when suddenly a big, fat German sitting near us shouted out "speak German." We didn't pay any attention to him but he kept on butting in and lecturing the other occupants of the car on the danger for the fatherland of fellows who spoke English etc etc. We enjoyed him tremendously and the more we laughed and talked back the angrier he got. He finally threatened to have us arrested. I shut him up, in German!! and put him in his place. The incident, however, shows the feeling among many Germans now toward the English.
I received Christmas greetings from Jan and Dolly by cablegram yesterday. I suppose you are having them up for dinner some evening during the holidays.
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | Letter from Edwin A. Shanke to family, "Mom-Ber-Dad" December 27, 1939 |
| Description | Typewritten letter from Edwin A. Shanke to his family, "Mom-Ber-Dad" December 27, 1939. Shanke is writing from Berlin, about his Christmas experiences. |
| Creator | Shanke, Edwin A. |
| Date-Original | 1939-12-27 |
| Rights | This image is issued by Marquette University. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with a staff member. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please credit: Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries. |
| Subject |
Shanke, Edwin A. -- Correspondence World War, 1939-1945 -- Journalists -- Correspondence War correspondents -- United States -- Correspondence War correspondents -- Germany -- Berlin -- Correspondence Foreign correspondents -- Germany -- Correspondence |
| Format-Original | Typescript |
| Identifier-OriginalItem | Box 1, Folder 2 |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned as TIFF at 300 dpi on Epson Expression 10000XL. Display image is generated from the archival TIFF. |
Description
| Title | Letter from Edwin A. Shanke to family, "Mom-Ber-Dad" December 27, 1939 |
| Page No. | p. 1 |
| Identifier-DigitalFile | MUA_EAS_00136 |
| Rights | This image is issued by Marquette University. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with a staff member. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please credit: Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries. |
| Transcript | December 27, 1939 Berlin, Germany Dear Mom-Ber-Dad: My third Christmas in Germany is history. It was drabber than the others but then that was to be expected in these times. To begin at the beginning. We celebrated Christmas eve on Friday instead of Sunday night because Frau Volmer's son, Norbert, was home from the front for two days. I managed to switch shifts_ with one of the other boys so that I was free that night. Festivities opened around the Christmas tree with the lighting of the candles. There was no Christmas candy hanging on the tree this year because 150 grams per person is little more than a mouthful. Then Berta, Frau Volmer's daughter who lives in Cologne, and a friend of hers, played German carols on the piano and violin while all the others sang. This was followed up by a reading of the Christmas story from the testament. Then with Norbert as Santa Claus the presents were distributed. I received a couple of books and a tiny box of candy which was very nice of the Volmers. Presents reflected, in general, the limitations under the war-time rationing and the scarcity of so much goods which is regarded as essential for the army. I imagine that now after the holidays stores will have very meager stocks because what they did have on the shelves before Christmas mostly had been made before the war broke out. They haven't been receiving new supplies and wont be receiving any from now on except barest essentials. Textile and leather goods gifts were, of course, rarest. After that we sat down to Christmas eve dinner. There was no turkey-or even chicken or goose-this year. We were satisfied with a venison roast, which we had plenty of. The wine as usual was swell. After dinner we had coffee-real coffee--made from my present to the Volmer family, rather expensive coffee imported from Holland. I also sent a big Christmas plant. The evening went fast and we toasted Norbert with champagne before he left for the front again at midnight. The Volmers observed the real Christmas eve once more. Christmas day we had tongue for dinner. It was a nasty, rainy day so I didn't go out. Yesterday it snowed just a little. I had off both Christmas day and the second "feiertag". I spent them eating, playing cards and reading. I had a great experience in the subway the other night. Our office boy and I were traveling from the office home. We were speaking English in a corner of the car when suddenly a big, fat German sitting near us shouted out "speak German." We didn't pay any attention to him but he kept on butting in and lecturing the other occupants of the car on the danger for the fatherland of fellows who spoke English etc etc. We enjoyed him tremendously and the more we laughed and talked back the angrier he got. He finally threatened to have us arrested. I shut him up, in German!! and put him in his place. The incident, however, shows the feeling among many Germans now toward the English. I received Christmas greetings from Jan and Dolly by cablegram yesterday. I suppose you are having them up for dinner some evening during the holidays. |
