"Yesterday, we picked up one of your CARE packages again. The joy was just as great as the first time. Many longing and jealous eyes followed our way as we carried your package radiantly home through the streets of Hamburg."
In February of 1947, the German port city of Hamburg was in disarray. Citizens struggled to feed themselves from meager rations offered by the Western Allies, and increasing winter cold threatened to freeze families living among bombed-out ruins. Black markets flourished as Germans sought to supplement their meager diets with illegal goods, many often trading a quantity of cigarettes for a single loaf of bread. Thus, when 22-year-old Jutta Christoph received a package containing a bounty of cured meats, dried vegetables, and candy from her American friend Richard, her gratitude was unending.
The Lost Letters of Hamburg features a 40-letter collection of post-WWII correspondence between Richard and Jutta, including full-resolution scans of the original letters and a German-to-English translation. The letters contain a fascinating glimpse into life in post-war Germany and the rapidly intensifying Cold War. Richard's WWII service as a combat engineer is also described in full detail, including his unit's heroic actions during the Battle of the Bulge and his prohibited first meeting with Jutta in the forests of Central Germany.
In 2023, their story was painstakingly pieced together from correspondence, archival research, diary excerpts, and dusty artifacts miraculously saved from the landfill in 1997.
It is a tale of a long-lasting friendship that was almost lost forever.
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