DOCS.
516,
517
APRIL
1918 537
516. To
Auguste Hochberger
[Berlin,
before
24 April
1918][1]
Dear
Guste,[2]
From Mama’s
letter
I
learned with
great dismay
that
you
have lost
your
brother.[3] I
can
imagine
how
heavy
a
blow
this
is
for
you.
Rest assured of
my deep sympathy. Also please
convey
my
condolences to
Mrs.
Victor and
the
children.
In
big
things
as
in
small,
life is
hard,
and
destiny is
blind and
without
mercy.
But there
are
honest
persons
who
go
through
life
steadfastly
and
honestly
nonetheless and
are
able
to
keep a
sound mind
while
doing
so.
You
are
such
a
creature;
that
is
why
even
after this
severe
blow
you
will
regain your
balance.
May your family
and
friends,
my
mother
among them,
support
you
in this!
My
mother’s
Oppenheimer-fatigue
makes
an
imminent
change
of air desira-
ble.[4]
As
soon as
the
ice
has melted in
the
railway cars,
she should be
coming up
north
to
us or
to Uncle Jacob
to
the south
or
both.[5]
It
is
a
pity
that
you
old
girlfriends
will
thus
be
separated
once again.
With best
regards, yours,
Albert.
[...][6]
517. To
Auguste Hochberger
[Berlin,
before
24
April
1918][1]
Dear
Guste,
You
sent
me
a
very splendid thing
indeed with these
apples,
fit
to
provoke
the
envy
of
all
of
Berlin.
Every
day
I
eat
one
with
such intense
contemplation
as
though
it involved
the
execution
of
a
religious
rite
function. Thank
you
from
the
bottom
of
my
heart.
You
would not believe what
a cozy
situation
one gets
into,
having
such
an
illness. One
appears
to
others in almost
as
rosy
a
light
as
if
one were
already
dead,
and
yet
life is
very enjoyable. Everything,
even
laziness,
is
gilt by sympathy,
everyone
is
so
concerned,
and
no one
is
malicious
or
sly.
In
short,
being
sick is
nice,
but
it
is
naturally
not allowed to
get
out of
control
....
Now
Mama’s Heilbronn
days
are
numbered.
That
will
be
a
leave-taking
be-
tween
the
two of
you
to melt
a
heart
of
stone.
Long,
long ago,
in Heilbronn
I
also
had the
pleasure
of sharing
solumn farewells
of
this kind.[2]
But this
time
it
is
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