A time of uncertainty

In transcribing my family’s correspondence, I find myself drawn into a dialogue with ancestors I never had the chance to meet. My family left Russia before the Revolution and later settled in Germany, where they lived through the aftermath of the First World War, the rise of Nazism, and then the Second World War.

This blog will initially focus on correspondence from the 1930s. These letters offer a window into life during the rise of Nazism, with echoes that still resonate today.

Throughout these years, they wrote frequently and at length to one another. Much of what they shared feels strikingly familiar: friendships, health, children, love—the everyday concerns that shape family life. Yet these letters were written against a backdrop of profound uncertainty, marked by political upheaval, economic hardship, and the steady escalation of conflict.

Meta writing a letter to her daughter Edith in Australia

Reading these letters feels like a form of time travel, offering the rare privilege of witnessing an intimate, private exchange across generations. I find myself wondering how my family navigated such turbulent times. What did they think? How were they affected? And perhaps most importantly, how did they respond?

Transcribing takes time—It is a gradual process of discovery—and I don’t know what I will find out. I look forward to sharing that journey here.