Photo : Elisabeth
Crestline June 6, 1952
Dear Otto,
I received your letter with joy, but read it with horror. I want to quickly give you a correct explanation for my stupidity.
Mary asked me if I received the first letter from her, and that I should send her a letter from you. She asked me to do this twice, but I never sent one. She said I didn’t trust her, so 14 days ago I sent her a letter from you. Don’t think that I have sent her knowing what one. She asked so much and said she would send the letter back to me immediately, but she unfortunately did not. I was very desperate all day when I didn’t receive a letter from her, and I didn’t regret once that I had sent her the letter. Unfortunately now it has happened and I can’t change that anymore.
3 days ago I finally received a letter from her and also your letter. Then I once again desperately wrote, that I want to have my letter back. She apologized saying that where she works somewhere else and only returns home on Sundays. Mary usually writes two letters a week and we were still best friends. I have never written to anyone in my life that they should not write me anymore, and never to Mary.
I confess to you honestly, that I don’t want you to send my letters to someone. It was only a single letter Otto, when you found out. If you don’t believe me, you can calmly turn to Mary and she will certainly confirm it. That her sisters are capable of writing something like this to your girls — it is very strange from them, since I had gotten to know them better on the ship. On the ship I was good, but that is always so. All 5 of them annoyed me everywhere, for food, on the deck, to the doctor, I was always there when they had needed me. A hundred times I had gotten water and brought them food in bed. I shared all of my things, even when I was still in Bremen, and we all got along wonderfully.
I’m a dumb goose to write you first, send you the addresses alone, and they have ran with telling such horrible things. I’m sorry that your girls must think so badly of me. Mary will certainly not know any of this. I’m very mad, I would not like to write anymore. I also wrote them from the lake Erie.
I hope that this is enough clarity and also for my apologies Otto. This letter was written in a flurry, please excuse me. Many greetings from your Elisabeth
I didn’t mean anything with it, only that she didn’t believe that II don’t want to trust her.
