10th January 1944

Loose translation using DeepL

I have just found your letter of 18.12.1943 among my correspondence - I do not know whether I have already answered it and sent you a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year, but if not, I return your greetings and wishes most sincerely, and if so, let us say that twice is better. Hopefully our mutual wishes will come true. -- Here in Berlin it looks terrible, I estimate that 60% of Berlin and the surrounding area is in ruins. On 29.12.* in the evening at about 19:30 I visited Curt, as I was on my way the sirens were wailing, I went to Curt at a gallop; there I had to go into the air-raid shelter. Soon the humming and bumming started and the bombs crashed down in front of and behind us to the left and right and when the flak guns fired, the whole building shook. I was worried about my home and when I stuck my nose out, the city and its surroundings were in a blaze of light. Now I hurried to my flat. The journey was not so easy, I had to walk over bricks that had fallen down, over partly... I had to climb over fallen bricks, over partly burning trees, branches and fences and... when I got to the street and saw that my home had been spared, I was happy and thanked God. -Since then we have had several large fires. Thank God I have still been spared. Hopefully... things will continue to go well. Curt is still here at the O.K.W. A fortnight ago he went on another tour to Italy, but I don't know where he is now - I haven't heard from him in about eight days. - Smoking material has not yet arrived. I am doing well according to today's conditions and am satisfied with my health, and I hope and wish the same for you, your uncle sends you his best regards. Goodbye!

*29/30 December 1943

712 aircraft - 457 Lancasters, 252 Halifaxes, 3 Mosquitoes. A long approach route from the south, passing south of the Ruhr and then within 20 miles of Leipzig, together with Mosquito diversions at Düsseldorf, Leipzig and Magdeburg, caused the German controller great difficulties and there were few fighters over Berlin. Bad weather on the outward route also kept down the number of German fighters finding the bomber stream. 20 aircraft - 11 Lancasters, 9 Halifaxes - were lost, 2.8% of the force.

Berlin was again cloud-covered. The Bomber Command report claiming a concentrated attack on sky-markers is not confirmed by the local report. The heaviest bombing was in the southern and south-eastern districts but many bombs also fell to the east of the city. 388 houses and other mixed property were destroyed but no item of major interest is mentioned. 182 people were killed, more than 600 were injured and over 10,00 bombed out.

M. Middlebrook and C. Everitt, The Bomber Command War Diaries (London, 1990), p.462