Chapter 1. On the Roof of Himmler's Guesthouse

Fritz Traugott arrives in Berlin with an advance party on 2 July 1945. One of their tasks is to find accommodation for the rest of the unit, which is scheduled to arrive in Berlin a few days later. They soon find lodging in Berlin-Wannsee. In the first letter Traugott sends his wife from Berlin, he writes: 

Berlin - Wannsee, 3 July 45 

Darling, 

Greetings from Berlin, and you can have every bit of it. The trip was very tiresome. Although it was only about 100 miles, it took from 9 in the morning, until after 12 midnight. The reason for the delay was that we didn’t live up to the agreement with the Russians somehow, and it took several phone calls to straighten matters out. […] Well, we finally arrived and are at a temporary house. We looked around for something more permanent and found a wonderful palatial estate. Tomorrow morning, we will have to try and get a claim on it. The only drawback is right now that the Russians have lived in it for a while, and the place is in a condition beyond any description. But that can be straightened out in due time. […] Well, my darling, more when I have time. […] 

With all my love, Yours, Fritz 

After beginning his deployment in Europe, Fritz writes home regularly. His family has preserved many of his letters. The vast majority are addressed to his wife, Lucia. This letter and others show Fritz to be both an attentive observer as well as a devoted husband and family man.

17 May 45 

Darling, 

Not knowing how the mail connections are these days, I better send this letter off today, so that it reaches you for your birthday, for which I wish you all the very best in the world. I am quite confident that it is the last birthday we have to celebrate apart and then we make up for all the lost time. You are a big girl now, with a son almost one year old, and a husband who loves you very dearly. (That’s me!). As it is impossible to buy anything in this godforsaken country, I am sending you a money-order, although I don’t like that kind of a gift. […] I hope you have as good a time as possible on your birthday. I know I’ll be thinking of you that day more than ever. And about 3 weeks later Michael will be one year old. […] 

Sweetheart, take an extra big kiss and hug on your birthday from yours always, Fritz