A letter from Jadwiga née Perl to her brother and, on the verso page, from Leon Perl to his son. Written on Leon Perl's stationery – at the top left is the inscription: LEON PERL – as the content shows: in the Perl family house. At the end of the part of the letter written by Jadwiga née Perl, there is an allusion to Madagascar as the place of the planned mass settlement of Jews, and probably above all to the slogan of Polish nationalists: "Jews to Madagascar".
On the verso page, a short note by Jadwiga's then husband, filmmaker Stanisław Wohl (in 1938, the film "Strachy" he co-created had its premiere, see MPOLIN-A50.1.2).
Fragments of the text underlined in pencil, probably by the addressee. At the bottom of the first page, between the lines, there are small, blurred drawings.
Content (spelling and punctuation have been partly updated):
Dear Brother,
thank you very much for the wishes. Indeed, "Strachy" turned out wonderfully in terms of pictures (lots of reviews) – as a film it's not bad either and has a lot of interesting aspects. Recently, we celebrated Felka's 'bachelor' party – there was drinking, shouting, and so on. Your friend Tross got so drunk that he bit my hand so hard I still have a mark, and while intoxicated, he shared many interesting things about you. I immediately repeated them on Chłodna Street, causing quite a scandal. Anyway, you probably know more about it than I do. I don't have many interesting things to write about because we're all quite depressed. However, we maintain a cheerful spirit because we are pessimists. On the other hand, Papa-optimist is clearly down today. We don't have much money, and we can't even have a proper drink for comfort. There's a beautiful English fog in Warsaw now – you see, not only in Paris. Honestly, it's still quite pleasant. We have no plans to go anywhere because we can't afford it, and where would we go if we could? Not everyone has beloved ones whose brothers are French!!! I hope recent events won't hinder your continued stay in Paris. I recently teased Szwalbe a bit [?], even showed him my knee, saying I'm your sister. Of course, just out of sisterly love.
I think we won't see each other soon. Try to stay there as long as possible and have a good time. Everything is fine at home. Melcia [i.e. mother], of course, misses you greatly. Tomorrow I'm sending you chocolate. Apparently, there's no duty on it because it's a sample with no value and weighs less than 1/2 kg. Staś is playing cards with Melcia right now. If you feel like it, you can write to me. If not, I won't be offended because I assume one can spend time in Paris better than 'writing letters' to the family.
Warmest kisses and see you in Madagascar
[signature] Jadzia
Kisses and greetings
Staś
14/November 38
My dear! I do not find your doubts about my sanity justified. God rules the bold – the Russians used to say. The other issue is that you don't want to write to I.K.C. [“Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny”] (the “Illustrated Daily Courier”). Tros, when I shared my concept with him, saw nothing impossible or extravagant about it. As for “Kurier Polski” (the “Polish Courier”), I don't have anything specific, but we could try. I have some connections there and so does Tros [the second half of the sentence underlined and with the note: 'great']. We have to protect ourselves. I approach visits to the 'family' and Mr E[?] from this perspective as well. It's good to have as many points of support as possible, especially in today's sad and unpredictable times. I am deeply impressed by what is happening in Germany. The greatest pessimist could not have imagined anything similar. It's one way to prepare the nation for war, for ruthlessness that respects nothing, for cruelty that contradicts the most primitive human feelings. I read that a regulation has been announced in France regarding foreigners. Does it concern you too? In any case, remember that you should try to renew your passport in advance. It seems that when it comes to the privileged passport, you have to submit an application to the Ministry. Find out at the consulate how to proceed. Alternatively, send the application here, and I will push it through. What's the latest on enrolling in the doctoral course; have you done it yet? For the December issue, we already have over 3000 advertisements, but that's not enough because we are in debt by 2000. Of course, we are trying to get more of them. Write to me. Kisses, Leon
[Note along the left edge, father's handwriting:] Since I was usually in charge of getting your shoes in order (soles and heels), I would like to draw your attention to this detail of your wardrobe and the need to have it repaired before the damage goes too far.
