September 30, 1945.

Mrs. Oscar Szirmai

2 Perczel Mór utca

Budapest, Hungary

Four years without news. Most anxious for details about you and all friends and families. Wish to help all we can.

Lovingly,

Rosika, Franciska Schwimmer

54 Riverside Drive

New York

***

Since 1941 I had no mail from Hungary, nor was I able to get a message through. All efforts to get the information about the fate of relatives and friends, about all the workers of our movements were fruitless.

The daughter of Mrs. Eugenie Miskolczy-Meller, who had emigrated with her husband and two children to Australia, conducted her correspondence with her mother for several years through me, but could later correspond directly. All efforts to get Mrs. Meller, her unmarried daughter and son; and her other married daughter and son-in-law permission to emigrate to Australia were in vain. A few days ago I got a letter from Dr. Meller, Sydney, Australia, saying that she had no letter from her mother since April 1944. A few days ago I got in Mrs. Meller’s handwriting a little hand-painted New Year’s card asking me to write her, and the date was November 1941. Several other friends of me Mrs. Meller had told me that they also got now such New Year’s greetings of that date. The envelope was stamped by German censors, then the English censors, and finally by the United States censor, with the remark that this office was keeping the letter.

On September 30^th, cable communication with Hungary was opened, and I immediately sent a radiogram prepaid answer to Mrs. Irma Szirmai, 2 Perczel Mór utca, Budapest. She was the only one of whom we had authentic news that she was alive and in her old apartment.

In New Reels we had seen bombing of Budapest by the so-called “liberating” Red Army. In these pictures, we saw many areas entirely destroyed where members of our family and friends used to live.

Today I received a radiogram answer from Mrs. Szirmai as follows:

NCT Rosika Schwimmer

54 Riverside Dr. New York

Thankful for kind news. Children and families Doktoressa (Steinberger), Gergely (Janka) healthy, our dearest Eugénia (Meller), Melanie (Vámbéry) deported lost. Impossible reorganize movement. Dearest Oscar (Mrs. Szirmai’s husband) passed over two years ago.

Lovingly,

Irma Szirmai

New York Public Library Manuscripts and Archives Division. Rosika Schwimmer Papers, Box 422.