Fritz Frankenberg 1630 St. Nicholas Ave. New York N. Y. NY Mai 11, 1938
My dear Puppiken, thank you so much for your letter dated May 1, which I received yesterday. The telegram arrived quickly. I only sent it Thursday evening. Can you believe I have not heard from Nieheim at all? On the other hand, Suse wrote yesterday. It’s a good thing the mail [delivery] did not [try to] find you during the night. Isn’t it crazy to try to wake someone for a message of this type in the middle of the night? My relatives were at the ship. They even have to come on board. Otherwise, the immigrant will not be allowed to disembark. You are asking whether they are nice. Yes, they are. They have not been able to help me a lot because they are busy with themselves. That means that I have to settle in on my own. What is a huge factor here is the size of the city. As much as I would love to have you here occasionally, I am really glad that you will have it easier soon because I will know how things work here. I have been living with Walter Stern who is a cousin of Mrs. Leibholz’s (their fathers are brothers). He has been here for well over 10 years, he is very knowledgeable about everything and very helpful, but he has remained poor and without connections. Nobody here can help you find work.
You have to do it all on your own. But I can ask the Sterns for advice, which is worth a lot, and I pay very little rent and am not defrauded, which is something you have to be careful about wherever you go. If you don’t have to buy clothing and don’t have major expenses otherwise, you can easily get by on $15 a week. Laundry, movies, cigarettes, streetcar (very expensive) etc. included. I want to take this opportunity to ask you to send me M 10 every month. You know that the currency office has only approved M 200 for me, and that money is gone in a flash. I have already written to you asking you to not buy anything any more except a good winter coat. If you can get a fashionable fur coat at Brühl(?), nicely cut (not too heavy), you can buy it for yourself. I think you can get one for M 150. I saw Lotte, who was at the Weills’ house, and she told me you could get one for that much. If you know how, you can get things for very little money here. There are things that are more expensive here than over there but there are also many that are cheaper. If you look at everything essential, you could say that you can buy things for $1 here that cost M 2.50 in Germany. Now, I am going to answer your questions, otherwise I will not have a chance to do so.
I received my suitcases right after disembarking the ship. I did not have to pay customs. I did not have anything to declare anyway. Any type of clothing, linen, household items are exempt, whether they are new or used, whether they have your name on them or not. What is most important is that they are items for personal use. F I wrote a card to Ruth today. Things are not the way she imagines. The Leibholz’s refuse any kind of help. They are too afraid to be sponsors for a family of four, which is understandable. They have to look out for themselves, currently rebuilding their lives in a New York suburb. Of course, they are worried whether or not they can manage, so they are busy with themselves. It is also ??? difficult to find employment. But eventually, Ruth and Fred should manage. And what will happen with their children? No one here is helpful as R. imagines. But, most importantly, who will provide an affidavit for a family of four with two small children? I will see what I can do. But it will not be as quick as R. thinks. I have not tried to find a job. Otherwise I would not have time to help R. or Garbel(?) or Schiff(?). I promised those people, and I will keep my promise. Anyway, I had planned to help others during the first few weeks.
F The items that were in the trunk were in good shape, in the other one, everything was a mess because the suitcase was not full enough.
Please call G. and tell him he should not be impatient. He should wait for my next report. There is no point in rushing me. The heatwave was not that bad here. The warmest day was the day of my arrival. This week, it is cool and rainy. Regarding your salary negotiations with Miss Schm., you are surely aware that she did not talk with Mr. Herz at all. Remember that it has always been like this. So if you want to know if H. refuses, you will have to talk to him yourself. You will have plenty of opportunities to do so. Did you send me candy? (I did not receive any except for kisses)
But I don’t want you to send anything. It’s the thought that counts. I will close for now, because I still have two take care of a few things. I assume that you are well; I feel good. Much love to the [your?] parents, Gisela, and Joachim. 1000 kisses for you from your Fritz
Where is the photo?
Please give my regards to Mrs. Löwenstein, Herschkovitz, Pfeiffer, Gartenbergs.
Sterns send their regards
