“MANY THANKS”

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 72, 13 January 1947, Page 7

“MANY THANKS”

LETTER FROM POLAND

GIFT SENT THROUGH U.N.R.R.A

The appreciation of a Polish woman for the receipt of a pullover for her adopted daughter was expressed in a letter sent by her to Mrs H. W. Firth, of Awaiti Road, Paeroa. Mrs Firth had enclosed her address in the pocket of a garment that she had given to the U.N.R.R.A. and received a reply written in Polish. The letter was sent to Massey College for translation. The letter read: —

“My Dear Lady—Many thanks for the pullover, which I have reecived for my adopted daughter, through the good services of U.N.R.R.A., during the summer of 1946 —your note found in the pocket encourages me to write this letter. The little girl lost both her parents during the occupation—they died to T.B. I myself am a childless widow. The girl’s name is Halina, she is eight years of age, healthy and normally developed. She does not attend school as yet, but learns at home as all. schools in Warsaw have been destroyed.

“The city is bombed out and burned to about 75 per cent. I hope that she will start school as soon as one is being built in our district. Last night she went to the pictures for the first time in her life; she saw ships and the ocean and I explained that you live far beyond the sea.

“Halina wished to know whether the pullover belonged previously to your daughter, how old she is and how she looks. She would very much like your photograph. She wishes you to know that she has a little puppy dog called Pikus. “We already had our first snow this year; it is going to be a hard winter, but thanks to U.N.R.R.A., Halina will be all right as she received an overcoat and shoes. “The war has ruined our country. We will have to start anew. My own flat was burned out. I have been taken to a German camp and returned only in August, 1945. I am working in the City Council. “Many people were killed off in Poland. Warsaw alone lost 100,000 persons—but slowly we forget the horrors of war. A new generation is rising, new times coming—but the dead will never return. However we will recover, as our country is rich and fertile.

“Please let me know if you get this letter. Many thanks in mine and Halina’s name for your kindness. I wish you good health and prosperity.—Sincerely, Z. Wieczorkowska.”