Whether the result of further requests for information, or an additional follow up letter to that sent on 12th February 1945; on the 1st of March 1945, the Timothy's received more news.
Confirmed as having come through the International Red Cross Committee and more interestingly, stated as having been written on the same day as the previous two word message of a month before, the message reads:
Dear Mother,
Just a line hoping this card finds you all in the best of health as it leaves me quite alright at the time of writing. Well Mother, I am very sorry i haven't written before, as i thought perhaps you had left the house. I cannot put any more on this card so I will send you a card later.
Ted
The reason for why a message written on the same day as the previous should arrive through the same channel almost a month later is unclear. As suggested in my previous post, it is possible that the quote in the previous letter was not in fact a quote at all but rather a means of confirming his continued presence in the camp.
It may well have taken some time for the actual message to be both reviewed by the camps staff and edited if required, though i admit this is pure speculation at this time. Given its limited content and questionable message it could of course be some poorly translated generic text provided by the camp itself. What is clear is the message appears disjointed and unlikely to be a true quote from Edward. Its message does possibly serve to confirm that no other letters were exchanged however, other than those in the documents collection.
Accounts of the time admit the success of the Red Cross in both accessing the camps and visiting its prisoners was at best inconsistent. Given the time in the war this letter was written, conditions will have been worsening for the Axis powers as the Allied invasion of Germany itself approached.
The changing tide of the conflict will have undoubtedly affected Edward and the rest of the camps prisoners at this time in terms of the mental state of their captors and supplies reaching the camp. Tensions will have further increased given the camps proximity to Berlin, the Allies ultimate goal and the expectation the Russians would be the most likely to reach Stalag VIII C first.
This will have been a testing period of time for Edward and his fellow prisoners.
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