[Partial translation]

5 May 1939 [Mother]

First of all I Father and I congratulate Joän on her birthday and wish her all the best and the blessing of God, may she grow up and be a joy to you. Will there be a party again? Well, if only it were not so far. Here we finally have summer again. Until Pentecost it was constantly cold and you could not be without a fire. At Pentecost Father and I were in Steeden, there they had a big celebration, namely the 90th anniversary of the dedication of the church [Kirchweihfest]. There we met many friends and acquaintances. There was a choir from Bochum, also from Sperlingshof and from Allendorf near Ulm. The Steeden Choir also sang. Wiesbaden and Frankfurt no longer have a choir. The church was not large enough to hold more than half of the people, which is why the celebration was held in the fellowship hall which was built ten years ago. The pastors admonished the people to give praise and thanks for the pure word of God, which has been preached there now for 90 years. Still, you notice everywhere that attendance diminishes at church and in the houses. How will it look in twenty years, or maybe only in ten, if the government continues like this? We only need to think of Lydia from Steeden, last Easter she had her oldest daughter confirmed in Wetzlar. Her husband has left our church with the children, they say Lina has not left yet, but she does not come to church. All admonitions are useless, it is very hard for her brothers and sisters. Lina’s husband never wanted to work, when Lina’s fortune was more or less gone he sold himself to the party and they took them all in and gave them positions. Maybe the time will come when they regret it, if only it is not too late then. For us, who have heard the word of God since childhood, the punishment will be much greater than for those who were never taught[...]here you can see how great the decline is, many completely leave the church. The national church spends its time arguing, they could be helped if they were really witnessing and if church and state were separated, so that those who are interested could build up a new church[...] on the Wednesday after Pentecost I went to Dietz and visited Hedwig’s parents. Then I went back to Eschhofen and from there to Ennerich, our Father had gone there in the morning in order to make shelves in a wall cupboard for Lydia. We stayed with Uncle and Aunt for a day and then went back home. Uncle has become very old and shaky, if he gets sick it will be the end for him. Willi lives with them and still works at the mill, every year he has pneumonia and is always coughing. He would like to leave the mill, but no one else will do it so he must stay. Many greetings from all of them [...]also from us, Mother.