Johann P. Weinhardt to William W. Weinhardt, October 25, 1924

Original text

English text

Schwabach, 25 October 1924

Dear Friends and Family,

We received the letter and package containing shoes. Thank you very much for those. They provided much joy for all of us. We could not afford to buy shoes for ourselves since one pair of ordinary boots costs 300-400 billion. The current exchange rate is 68 billion marks for one dollar. I think we are fast approaching the peak of rising prices. Today, one pound of meat costs 6 billion, one loaf of bread, 6 billion; 1egg, 150 million marks. Lard, sugar, coffee and various other items are unaffordable for many people.

My dear cousin, in your last letter you wrote about getting a good gold Swiss watch and a bulletproof chest protector. A good gold Swiss watch costs about 250 Dollars here in Germany. I suspect that is far too much for you; but the 250 Dollar figure is calculated based on the current exchange rate between the Mark and the Swiss Franc. The watch merchant in Nürnberg of whom I had personally made inquiries said that such a watch would also be available in America and probably cheaper.

A shield to protect the heart and stomach area is certainly something that was around during the world war. It was invented by an Austrian. This shield has not, however, been proven.

Hopefully you are all well and healthy.

Here, as in every year past, we have a sick one. Our youngest, Philipp broke his left femur bone while at gymnastics. As of today, it has been 5 weeks. Tomorrow he will try for the first time to get around with crutches. Otherwise, we are all quite well.

We will close now with the hope of hearing again from you soon.

Again, many heartfelt thanks for everything. Your thankful

Johann Weinhardt

along with wife and children.

Translated by John G. Weinhardt