A letter written by Tadeusz Perl's sister, Jadwiga, who signed it as Maria. Maria Karczmarek, whose address is also given as the return address for the correspondence, acted as an intermediary for all previous correspondence between the ghetto family and Tadeusz Perl. It is likely that Jadwiga Perl left the ghetto after the Grossaktion and went into hiding. The name of Tadeusz Perl as addressee – written for safety with the added suffix "-ski" (although it was crossed out by another hand; presumably, this happened in France). In the letter, she encrypts messages about the family, writing, among other things, about “Jadzia's parents”. They don't see each other. From the context of later letters, we can guess that she is the only one on the so-called Aryan side. Their parents are starving (the letter talks, in cipher, about losing weight). Jadwiga, née Perl, suggests what is best to send (stockings "are certainly much cheaper where you live". i.e. in Warsaw, this is a commodity that can be sold for good money). The ending refers to her husband Stanisław Wohl, with whom Jadwiga separated before returning from the eastern territories of the Second Polish Republic to Warsaw; she has no contact with him.
Content:
16 XI – 42
Dear Tadzio, I was very happy to hear from you, as it seems a long time since you wrote. I'm feeling pretty good and getting by somehow. You ask about Jadzia's parents – I don't see them at all, but I talk to them sometimes by phone. I know they're healthy. They both work. Other than that, they're fine. They have only lost a lot of weight, apparently. There's nothing new going on with me. If food parcels cannot be sent to us, perhaps they will allow small parcels such as women's stockings, which are certainly much cheaper where you live. I don't know anything about Staś, but I assume he's well. Warm hugs and kisses, write to us, Leon and Mela were very happy.
Maria
