TRANSLATION WITH TRANSLATOR'S COMMENTS
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Pithiviers, Tuesday June 23, 1942, 3 pm
Beloved Pola and Beloved Jacqueline!
I wrote you a letter in the morning already, in which I told you what the situation is like today in Pithiviers.
I am writing now in the afternoon, to let you know about everything.
Since Sunday the whole camp has been preparing for the departure; everybody is mending, repairing and doing laundry. Now, at 3 pm, as I was taking/washing a few pieces of underwear, gendarmes came and chased everybody into the barracks. [I am unsure about the verb in this sentence – it says “brałem”, I was taking, but it doesn’t really fit the context. Perhaps Leon meant “prałem” – a difference of just one letter – which would mean “I was washing”.]
The whole camp is being cleaned, they go into each barrack and call out people who will not be leaving. They are now at our place and they are calling out 12 people – those who have 3 children naturalized and those who have French women, doesn’t matter if they are Jewish. [I’m not quite sure about the word “natralizowany” – naturalized – perhaps France had a similar process to the US nowadays, where naturalizing=granting citizenship.]
Beloved Pola! As you can see, everybody is leaving, they say that only those will stay as I described to you above. So the departure is already certain, that we are leaving Thursday morning, but it is not know where to.
According to how they are taking, the whole camp
Addition in purple: Szlomek is adding 600 francs for his Marysia. Tell her to ??? a bit. [Unsure about the verb here, since a part of the word is missing – it could be “wyjechała” – travel in the sense of vacationing.]
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is going, a few people are staying.
For now, I don’t know anything concrete, because we can’t leave the barrack, but the most important thing is that I am leaving. From what we know now, 1000 people are going and the whole camp consists of 1300.
Beloved Pola and Beloved Jacqueline! It is certain already that I am leaving Pithiviers and I don’t know in which direction. So, I have one request for you, Darling, that you try not to worry, because you know that it’s not going to help at all. Only I am worried that they might throw you out in Paris, I hope they let you stay in the apartments.
My Sweet One! Please do not worry, know that I will do my best to persevere through all this and come to you and our Jacqueline. So try to make good arrangements for yourself, to work a little bit, so you can feed yourself and out delightful Jacqueline.
Know that I will come to you wherever I may be, because I love you sincerely and you are my beloved one.
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Addition in purple: Greetings for Marysia and Janina.
my most beloved one.
I will write you extensively because I don’t know if this won’t be the last letter from Pithiviers. So, once we can leave the barracks, I will continue writing. Now the time is 4 pm.
[Darker ink starts here – written at a later time.] After four we were all called out in the square and we were grouped into 50’s, it is certain that we will go on cattle cars and they will be locked. Imagine this on such hot days, how we will look.
They called us out and we stood in the square until 8 in the evening, and today was such a hot day. [It looks like there is a syllable missing in the first word – it should say wywołali, not wywoli. ] It took so long because you know French administration, when they have to process 1000 people.
Now I have received your letter written on the day when you sent the package.
We stood grouped into 50’s until 8 pm, and then we went to the barracks, and at 8:30 they gave us supper.
Since Sunday everybody has been packing, even though we have been ready since the first convoy. Imagine the commotion in the barracks, we keep packing through late evening.
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Beloved Pola! I also had a rucksack ready, to make it more convenient. [“Rukzak” is not a Polish word but it must be the equivalent of rucksack/ backpack. Looks like the word is of German origin, so it’s a little mysterious how it made its way into Leon’s writing. I checked the French dictionary, and they don’t seem to have a similar French word.] Imagine when we found out that we are only allowed one package and not more, again repacking started and sending things back home.
I have one package, that is the rucksack, and muzet and coat to carry. [I need to check with Agnieszka what muzet might be – this is not a Polish word, and my guessing of its French origin has been unsuccessful.]
Now it’s evening already and they are beginning to turn the light off. I will write you some more in the morning.
Wednesday morning June 24, 1942
Until late evening, everybody was packing their things and then there was singing until 1 am. Now it’s 6 am, I got up to write a few more words to you.
We are already certain that I am writing my last letter from Pithiviers.
We are for sure leaving today, Wednesday, at 3 pm. The kitchen spent the whole night preparing the foor for us, for the road.
My Beloved! So, as you can see, I am leving Pithiviers today, together with 1000 people, and only 300 are staying,
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Addition in purple:We are staying together and we are of good courage. [Another word borrowed from French – kuraż, from courage. Kuraż does exist in Polish,but it’s used infrequently and not in this way.] We think only about you.
They say a convoy of 1000 people will also be leaving today from Bon-la-Roland.
All my acquaintances are going, Dr. Szajnfeld is staying.
Sweet One! So, please, do not worry because you can see you cannot help in any way. Try to make arrangements for yourself, maybe work a little, so you can feed yourself and our darling Jacqueline. Based on the preparations, we can see that we are going abroad, but it is not certain.
In any case, try not to worry; know that I will do my best to come to you and Jacqueline in good health, and I want to see you and our child in equally good health.
I did not sleep at all last night and I only think about you both; yesterday all day long I kept kissing your photograph, and today at dawn I also kissed you lots of times and our dear Jacqueline.
Sweet One! I would love to kiss you even just once and Jacqueline, and to say proper good-bye and to be able to kiss you both.
So, once again the same, try not to
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worry and know that your Leon will always think about you and the child. So think good thoughts about me as well, the same way I think about you, that I will come to you in good health and we will be happy again.
Take good care of our delightful one, so she grows well like she has so far, and we will have a pretty daughter.
I will be finishing my letter, my most beloved one, and if you don’t see a letter, understand that it is impossible to write.
I am kissing you – I have to kiss you from afar, and my heart aches when I am not able to say a proper good-bye to you. But one needs to be strong in oneself that all this will pass and I will come to you, because you are everything and I love you sincerely. So, when one loves, the morale is good and he lives sustained only by this hope that one will come to you in good health.
Sincerely yours forever,
Leon