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Ernst Altien
Letters from his mother. The letter that never was sent.
This
is the first letter, which he found in 1996 after her death on a
hospital in Hamborg. It was folded a lot of times, and late in his life
he understood, why she had never given it to him. But he never quite
forgave her for not sending it to him, before she died. The
letter was written after the devasting bombardment of Lübeck of the 28
of march 1942. Ernst Altien never really understood the problems his
mother had faced and the only thing he could do reading the letter was
weeping bitterly. 1943. My
dear son, she wrote, It is early and the whole world is changing.
I love you so much as only a mother can love her son. You are so dearly
to me, and you will always be in my thoughts and although we have to
part, neither the death, the time or the destiny can tear us apart. You
were given to me as a precious gift and I have never lost the
gratefullness toward whoever made it possible for me to bear a child
like you. I
see big problems and changes in our world, but although our ways must
part, you will always be in my heart. your mother Some
time later she must have written the following part on the backside of
the paper. It was probably written after ww2. Now when everything is lost and my home country smeared with blood and guilt, I hope for you, you can stay peacefully in Denmark and forgive your mother for not being the one, you needed, although I did my best. Only my sorrow and regrets can mirror your pain. your mother
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