Letter 264

Norway June 22nd 1940

Dear Werner and Family.

Thank you for the letter from June 21* that I got on Friday. I am grateful to see a sign of life from you again. You can imagine how it feels to get mail from home. Yes I can understand that you do not have much time to write and to top it all, your Papa had a call up note as well. If you write again, let me know his FP # or his address. I shall write to him, I have that much time to spare. I also want to write to all our other Comrades but I can not, because I need their FP #’s or addresses. Maybe our old teacher knows where most the guys are? I will try and write to him later today. Maybe he is able to send me all addresses . I am sitting here in an office and its raining out there, My Comrades are engaged in washing floors in their rooms, we cant do nothing about it, Orders are Orders it says, but often I wish I could be out with my Comrades doing drills, or sport, I could go crazy here in side. You might be surprise, office duty in war, yes that needs to be doing too, but I like to go out as well so the limbs don’t stiffen. Maybe sometime in the future you will experience it too. But do not worry, after rain there always be sunshine , at times I would like to be back weeding in rows of four , but it wont help me now. I can not tell you where I am for secretive reasons, or all the FP # would be useless, You will learn it too, but I suppose it will take a while yet before your time comes. It is practically impossible to go on furlough from Norway , if I get 2 weeks furlough, I will be on a homeward trip for 10 days or more. So I rather decline furlough. Then there is the danger of a Sea journey across the Skaggerak as well. But I am happy that nobody from us has died yet , and don’t worry, I am well, and can hold out here. What are you doing on Sundays? Going into town is not in, but I suppose there are a few back roads to get out. I can not imagine that the whole German Folk can be ordered to bed at 10 PM. Well that is all I had to say for now, I can not write more but will tell you when I see you again

Auf wiedersehen at home

Greetings Edwin.

Edwin Ketschau was in an Infantry Regt serving in Kirkenes northern Norway and to get home from there took 10 days via ship fromKirkeness to Throntheim or Stavanger, from there by train to Oslo, from Oslo another ship across the Skaggerak to a German port, then another train to his home town .