2nd November 2019
I have been reading a book about letters written by all sorts of well known historical characters. It was so enjoyable and I was so surprised by some of the content. A few of the letters are from hundreds of years ago and what is incredible is that these letters discuss some of the same issues we deal with today and mimic some of the language we use today (possibly this is because of the way it has been translated). I will copy a few of the letters here as they are fascinating. I also think letters are a more truthful way of understanding our past. First hand, un-doctored. Though I accept you could argue translation does not leave these documents untouched.
Some of the more memorable letters include one written by a mother. She and her Jewish family were entering a concentration camp. Her son was lame and was instantly sent by the guards to the queue to be murdered in the gas chamber whilst she and the remainder of her family were being sent to the queue to work. She without hesitation asked to go with her son as she could not bear to let him die alone. She writes a beautiful letter to her husband as she is going off to her death. That selfless action, that love for her child…even now I feel tears pricking my eyes thinking about it.
One letter was by Michelangelo as he was painting the Sistine Chapel. You never really consider what a physical a job it must have been and he certainly was fed up being upside down for many months and became ill because of it. In his letter he laments how he is feeling and the torture of the work. Online today you can view the Sistine chapel in some detail. What an incredible piece of art. The breadth and the beauty particularly bearing in mind he would have had to contort his body into such awkward positions to paint it.
Another letter was a humorous note from Tito (former president of Yugoslavia) to Stalin. Stalin had tried and failed to kill him and the letter stated that if Stalin kept trying, that Tito would do the same and wouldn’t fail!
And a last one I’ll mention from Bush senior to Clinton – a letter he left in the drawer of the White House as Clinton took office as President after beating Bush senior. Such a statesman like letter and so magnanimous in defeat, wishing his successor the best as he puts the interest of the country before his personal loss.
Curiosity and the rascal 