Letter XIV, no date[1]
Dear Boys,
We hope you were not terrified last time by the incident where one of ours was smacked in the face while receiving “spiritual food” – a typical picture of our relations. Anyway, the incident ended without consequences thanks to our driver, who is friendly to us. Generally, this week passed quietly; thanks to God, nothing new happened. Only today (on Sunday) our friends working in Gruneberg will be leaving for a permanent stay. They must do a roll call in front of the bathhouse at 9 PM, but they will be transported to Grüneberg immediately the following day. Other than that, nothing new. We want to settle some matters without delay, and so – first, Dear Boys, please do not send us candies for which we are so grateful. Your carrying attitude and willingness to sweeten our lives melts our hearts. We had tasted the sweets already, thank you so much; however, we cannot accept the fact that you share things with us while denying yourself them – you too, from time to time, must sweeten your sour lives – is not that true? So let’s agree, we hope you fulfil our request. A few things more, you cannot imagine how we were surprised by your apologies for not keeping external or social formalities when contacting us. My God, here, there is no social etiquette. It seems to us unimportant and redundant. Indeed, merit, not form, is most important in the circumstances. And true is what comes from the bottom of your heart, not the social formalities and worn-out common phrases. So, we are grateful for calling us the way you have done it and do not apologize for that. We would contact you the same way. We think that that way is more straightforward and friendlier. And so, Dear Boys, we are grateful for the books – you can imagine how thirsty we are for literature. But we have a question and a request at the same time. Did the books accidentally end up at your place, or did you could choose them and how many of them you may get? We are so grateful for any of them, but we have dreamt of reading some of our especially favourites for years. For example, “Wyrąbany Chodnik,” which one of our sick friends wishes to read, but you do not have it now. My God, we wish we could read “Anhelli” by Słowacki, “Noc listopadowa” by Wyspiański, or any book by Żeromski. Please do not be upset; these are only our wishes and shy requests. We are convinced that you will do us any favour if you can, so do not worry either way we thank you so much for everything—finally, Dear Boys, the one thing you must understand. We are not going to give up even in the worst situation. Our fate treated us harshly, but it made us challenging and hardened us – so do not worry. We will keep our heads high; we will not allow ourselves to crush or weaken our enemies. At any time, we are ready to sing honestly and happily the song of youth “we are the future of the nation, the full strength in our arms.”
We shake your hands heartily. Be Prepared!
[1] Written by Wanda Wojtasik-Półtawska, the date was not established.