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Vienna, the 14th January 1939

... My brother in New York is trying to get us to America. Since our quota, as you know, will only have its turn in two years’ time, my brother wanted to get us to Cuba in the meantime. For this purpose he had already deposited the Landungsgeld there. Since, apart from the financial part, there were also other conditions to be fulfilled to obtain the Einreise, such as the medical examination, which had to be carried out only by a doctor assigned by the consulate, all three of us had to go to the consulate in Bremen for this purpose.

Since Bremen is not far from the border post Kleve [Cleves], we decided to go to Kleve on our way back for the purpose of orientation. We arrived there on 6th December at 8 o’clock in the morning. Herr X. advised Lenchen to go to a certain inn called Zur Goldenen Rose [At the Golden Rose], where we would get the necessary information. Not familiar with the place, we looked for the inn and it transpired that it was located on the Dutch border. Not even the driver with whom we drove to the inn could provide any information about it. Lenchen booked a room with the intention of resting for a few hours and then travelling back. When Lenchen came out of the inn, customs officials came towards us and accused us of wanting to flee across the border. We were stopped and arrested.

The next day, the 7th December, Lenchen was found dead in bed, the right hand wrapped around the body of the child, pressing it hard to her chest. When the child woke up cheerily it found its Mutti no longer with it. This is in plain words the report about the terrible tragedy, which a poet’s imagination could hardly have accomplished.

Now here I lie, wholly buried under the wreckage of this dreadful catastrophe, and still cannot pull myself together to save the child.

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