Red Cross Letter

In 1933 Gerda Federmann escaped Germany leaving her life and family behind. The growing anti-Jewish sentiment and restrictions on career choices caused her mother to send her to London to attend a typing course. Her mother Eve later emigrated to Britain in 1934. Her father, Paul Federmann, stayed in Germany after the departure of his daughter and his brother to New York, in 1939. Paul’s attempts to leave after 1939 were unsuccessful, however, he maintained close contact with them and during the war sending messages via the Red Cross.

During the war, correspondence between Nazi occupied and Allied countries was prohibited. The Red Cross enabled families to maintain connections with loved ones who had stayed in Germany and were then unable to leave or been deported by running a messaging service until the end of the war. Red Cross letters meant that families who were separated by the conflict could receive regular messages when the normal postal service was no longer possible.

Correspondents could write messages of up to 25 words on a form provided by the Red Cross. The time between messages could take months and during that time families would have no idea whether their loved ones were still safe. The restrictions put on the messages meant people separated by the war could say very little at a time when their lives had been turned upside. They could only write about personal and family matters and in the broadest of terms for fear of censorship. They could not mention service matters, receipt of any form of message, the progress of the war, names of places or suggest corresponding through an intermediary other than the Red Cross as messages would not pass the censor. Even seemingly innocent phrases like ‘I received your letter’ would not pass the censor and correspondents were instructed to use non-committal phrases such as received your message or news.

In a message written by Eric to his brother on 13th August 1943 we can see how restrictive the messages were. ‘Gerda and all of us fine. Working. Hope same of you. Paul, Rudi my wife and I send love’. The message lets them know that they are alive and have money. The receipt of such messages must have been accompanied by both feelings of great relief and frustration due to the restricted content. These letters, however, were a vital means of maintaining relationships with family and friends separated by the conflict.