Mail Correspondence with Soldiers at War (“Feldpostbriefe”): Letter of German soldier Kurt Vogeler from Russia, December 1941 (Published on 01/10/2024)
Feldpostbriefe and their significance today
When researching Julius Erasmus, one inevitably comes into contact with letter correspondence between soldiers at war and their families from the time of the Second World War, such correspondence being called “Feldpostbriefe” in German. Be it messages about the death of a soldier, written by his superior to his relatives, which were later sent to Mr Erasmus as a hint for a grave search, or other correspondence between soldiers at war and their families at home. Since then, I have also been dealing more closely with field post letters from that time.
Feldpostbriefe are valuable contemporary documents that unfold their timeless message, especially in times like the present, and convey a vivid impression of what war means to all involved. They are a valuable tool to ward off the very beginnings of a renewed striving for war and perhaps to help prevent history from repeating itself once again and with yet more gruesome consequences for mankind. At present, war, weapons and the killing of people on a large scale are once again being drummed up forcefully, although for decades one could have had the vague hope that mankind had finally learned its lesson to some extent from the painful experiences of two world wars in particular. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case once again.
With this in mind, appropriate letters or letter excerpts from various sources will be published here from time to time in the section “Mail Correspondence with Soldiers at War (Feldpostbriefe)” as a reminder of what war means to man and mankind. To provide food for thought and in the unshakable hope that this may make a difference.
Feldpostbrief from Kurt Vogeler from Russia, December 1941 (source: Bähr/Meyer/Orthbandt, Kriegsbriefe gefallener Studenten 1939 – 1945, p. 109 f.(translation from German language)):
“The world has seen many great, even mighty wars. But there has probably never been a war since its existence that could compare with the present one in Eastern Europe. This applies both to its extent, the main battle line of many hundreds of kilometers, the immense spaces in which the battles are fought, the millions of hostile peoples, but also to the way the war is waged. I do not intend to go into this in detail. I am not a general or a man of war who only sees war through the eyes of a tactician, but a person who has experienced war as a human being and continues to do so.
What misery we face day after day. A Russian came to us and wanted to sell us a self-made German-Russian vocabulary in exchange for bread. We were eating and gave him some. He pounced on it like a wolf and devoured it. It was a sight to remember. The man was 58 years old and spoke English, German, French and Japanese as well as his mother tongue. When we asked him about his profession, he told us that he was ill a lot and made a living by making crosses to wear around his neck. The crosses were touching in their primitiveness and demonstrated the deep faith of the Russian people. I never saw a house without a picture of a saint. The Russian people are going through a time of suffering which certainly has its meaning and will perhaps be a blessing for all mankind.
Poor, unfortunate Russian people! Who can help feeling sorry for them? It is still the same people that the great Russian poets and writers have brought closer to us, — that we have come to love because of the depth of its nature. Their plight is unspeakable and their misery heart-wrenching. Can no committee in »highly cultured« Europe, which looks down on the Russians with such arrogance, bring help here out of pure humanity, shake up the conscience of the world so that people are treated as human beings? I forget, the times have changed and people no longer want to know anything about humanity. Brutal violence is the hallmark of our century and so we too will have to suffer along with our Russian brothers and sisters, all of us for whom justice, humanity and love of humanity are an obligation of our faith. Suffering — above all because we are denied the opportunity to help, because we see hundreds of thousands, even millions of people suffering and starving without having the opportunity to intervene with words and deeds against this misery. What an unholy war this murder of people in Eastern Europe is! An outrage against humanity!”
Kurt Vogeler, born on 02/09/1913 in Gieboldehausen-Eichsfeld, fell on 20/03/1942 at Lake Ilmensee in Russia.
(Head picture: German military cemetery Ysselsteyn/Netherlands,
May 2023)
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