I was in the attic getting something for my mom yesterday and on impulse I grabbed this stack of papers to bring down and read. I've used my paint program to white out addresses and highlight some information.
This appears to be a resume for a friend of the family, "Kitty", who was like a grandmother to my MIL. A couple of boxes of her things ended up in our attic. Note the sales job as it is the connection between her and the author of of the letters that will follow later in the post.
Included with the letters was also a WPA identification card from 1940,
and a tiny address book with entries written every so lightly in pencil.
These letters are to Kitty from M.M., a woman she apparently worked in sales with in New York. M.M. and her husband had opened their own wholesale business in Denmark. This traces her steps through Europe as she sought to return to the U.S during WWII. She was allowed to leave by the German government but could only take two suitcases of clothes. She was not allowed to take photographs or money with her. Her husband stayed behind to look after their business interests. 
She describes waiting in line for nine hours to board the Manhattan ocean liner for the voyage to back to America. The ship was meant for 1200 passengers and carried 2197 war refugees at double the usual fee. They waited an entire day in line, with many people passing out. Those who did were carried aside and ended up at the back of the line when they came to. She writes, "We were not stopped at Gilbralter for I believe they felt that all foreign ships should get out as soon as possible and England probably suspected dirty work down there....This was a week before war was declared."
She tells about the German army's invasion into Denmark and how they took over the food supply, transportation and the banks.
She speaks of receiving "innocuous" letters from her husband, meant to get word to her of what was happening and still make it past the censors.
She also writes about hostages from Holland being executed and what she feels should happen when the war is over.
There are several letters and M.M. often laments that Kitty hasn't written back. This 1940 letter from a cruise line confirms that Kitty had sailed with them in 1923. It is addressed to M.M.and shows that she went to some lengths to find Kitty. The letters cover a span of about 12 years, from 1938 to 1950 and I only remember one mentioning that Kitty had finally written.It was strange reading these little snapshots of history through the eyes of one woman. Knowing she wasn't receiving much response makes me wonder if she wasn't really just writing for herself, like many of us feel the need to do. We don't know if 60 or 70 years from now anyone will find our words in some digital archive that can access what will surely be obsolete technology by then. We only know we have the need to put our thoughts down in some form. I encourage you to make hard copies, paper copies, of your favorite writings and photos. Maybe someday they will be found in a box in an attic and mesmerize someone for an afternoon.
