tuesday, june 15, 1943

dearest kitty,

heaps of things have happened, but i often think i'm boring you with my dreary chitchat and that you'd just as soon have fewer letters. so i'll keep the news brief.

mr. voskuijl wasn't operated on for his ulcer after all. once the doctors had him on the operating table and opened him up, they saw that he had cancer. it was in such an advanced stage that an operation was pointless. so they stitched him up again, kept him in the hospital for three weeks, fed him well and sent him back home. but they made an unforgivable error: they told the poor man exactly what was in store for him. he can't work anymore, and he's just sitting at home, surrounded by his eight children, brooding about his approaching death. i feel very sorry for him and hate not being able to go out; otherwise, i'd visit him as often as i could and help take his mind off matters. now the good man can no longer let us know what's being said and done in the warehouse, which is a disaster for us. mr. voskuijl was our greatest source of help and suppor when it came to safety measures. we miss him very much.

next month it's our turn to hand over our radio to the authorities. mr. kleiman has a small set hidden in his home that he's giving us to replace our beautiful cabinet radio. it's a pity we have to turn in our big philips, but when you're in hiding, you can't afford to bring the authorities down on your heads. of course, we'll put the "baby" radio upstairs. what's a clandestine radio when there are already clandestine jews and clandestine money?

all over the country people are trying to get hold of an old radio that they can hand over instead of their "morale booster." it's true: as the reports from outside grow worse and worse, the radio, with its wondrous voice, helps us not to lose heart and to keep telling ourselves, "cheer up, keep your spirits high, things are bound to get better!"

yours, anne