Description
Object description
Circa 70 letters and postcards (mostly in English, some in German) from Christa Beyer to Marjorie Elkins (later Titley), written between 1938 - 1967, starting as 'pen-friend' correspondence when Christa was a sixteen year old schoolgirl in Hanau, Germany (Marjorie being ten years older and living in Crofton Park, S E London), writing about her school, political developments in Germany (including in her first letter the 'Anschluss' with Austria, March 1938), her family life in Hanau, her reactions to events connected with the build-up to the outbreak of war in 1939, describing also her compulsory labour service in a 'Reichsarbeitsdienst' camp in Thuringia, the letters breaking off for the duration of the Second World War and resuming in April 1946, referring to the impact of the war and the end of the Nazi regime on Christa and her family, immediate post-war conditions in Hanau and Germany generally, particularly the severe shortages of basic commodities (partly relieved for Christa's family by parcels sent from England by Marjorie), Christa's engagement and marriage in 1950, moving to Salmünster where her husband worked in a veterinary practice, the pleasures and struggles of a growing family, and her husband's sudden and tragic death in 1958; small number of photographs of Christa and her family, 1939 – 1950s; printed programme for the 1938 – 1939 season at the Municipal Theatre in Hanau, and a booklet on 'Hanau Then and Now' (1947); short article (2pp ts) on the historical background and context of the correspondence, written by Marjorie Titley's son.
Content description
Circa 70 letters and postcards (mostly in English, some in German) from Christa Beyer to Marjorie Elkins (later Titley), written between 1938 - 1967, starting as 'pen-friend' correspondence when Christa was a sixteen year old schoolgirl in Hanau, Germany (Marjorie being ten years older and living in Crofton Park, S E London), writing about her school, political developments in Germany (including in her first letter the 'Anschluss' with Austria, March 1938), her family life in Hanau, her reactions to events connected with the build-up to the outbreak of war in 1939, describing also her compulsory labour service in a 'Reichsarbeitsdienst' camp in Thuringia, the letters breaking off for the duration of the Second World War and resuming in April 1946, referring to the impact of the war and the end of the Nazi regime on Christa and her family, immediate post-war conditions in Hanau and Germany generally, particularly the severe shortages of basic commodities (partly relieved for Christa's family by parcels sent from England by Marjorie), Christa's engagement and marriage in 1950, moving to Salmünster where her husband worked in a veterinary practice, the pleasures and struggles of a growing family, and her husband's sudden and tragic death in 1958; small number of photographs of Christa and her family, 1939 – 1950s; printed programme for the 1938 – 1939 season at the Municipal Theatre in Hanau, and a booklet on 'Hanau Then and Now' (1947); short article (2pp ts) on the historical background and context of the correspondence, written by Marjorie Titley's son.
History note
Cataloguer SWW
