The Iron Cross

“Dear Mum!

I have some good news to share with you. Last night, I received the Iron Cross. How are things in Lemberg? Here’s some advice: if the Russians come, bury everything you want to see again deep in the garden or somewhere else. What you leave behind, you will never see again. You are surprised that I am saving so much money, but after the war I will have to buy everything new. Everything I took with me is gone – lost, burned, torn to pieces by grenades, etc., including my saddle gear. If I should emerge from this war alive, I would be luckier than I am sensible.”