The letter inside this envelope was written by my father Herbert Lowit in February 1945 while serving in France with the Czechoslovak Independent Brigade at the Siege of Dunkirk. It was sent to his father, a Czechoslovak refugee who was working at a glass factory in Yorkshire. The letter is written in their native language of German: the family were Jewish Sudeten Germans from Bohemia who, as prominent anti-Nazis, had been rescued from the occupation of their homeland in late 1938 by British-organised transports.
As Herbert was on active service and the letter had to pass the censor, he was not able to write about life on the front line but he could reassure his parents. The letter says in part:
“Yesterday I received your dear letter of 2 February. I am glad that you hear from me regularly. . . Here, too, we have the most beautiful spring weather. Of course it rains often, but we had some sunny days when it was really warm. . . I think with the holiday the problem is whether we will run out of time; if everything goes on as now, we may not have time for holidays, but go straight home. . . I am alive and well and hope the same of you. Surely you will already have started working in the garden. I hope to hear from you again soon, and remain with warm regards and kisses.”
Herbert wrote later about the actual conditions around Dunkirk: “We frequently shelled enemy positions and strongholds which invariably provoked the enemy to retaliate. By spring the Germans had decided to flood us out and had opened the dykes. As most of the terrain lay below sea level, the floodwaters caused additional hazards.” Herbert’s best friend was killed in one of the last operations of the Siege.
Being fluent in German, Czech and English, Herbert played a role in the surrender of the German garrison at Dunkirk in May 1945. He visited his parents in England 3 months later. He lived in Prague for 2 years before joining his parents in Yorkshire and marrying a fellow Czech refugee.
