Chronik des Krieges 1914 in Kurzen Worten; Geschrieben von Marie Mestern, geb. Baasch
Hamburg, Germany: Hans A. Mestern, 1987. Paperback. [10], 75 pages: illustrations; 29 cm. Brown paper cover. A reproduction of the transcription of the account written by Marie Baasch Mestern (1854-1920) in and near Hamburg during the First World War, which she wrote in order to preserve a record for her daughter and son-in-law with whom she had little contact during the war. The author had married Gustav Mestern (1840-1925) in 1882; they had had no children of their own and so had adopted two children orphaned during a cholera outbreak. During the war their son, Otto Mestern (b. 1887), was a lieutenant who was wounded in Aug. 1914. Their daughter, Elsa Mestern (1889-1918), had married Dr. Erich Lübbert (1883-1963) in 1910. This is a fascinating account of the author's life during the war, which she spent in a household with a number of children. Includes a whooping cough epidemic; visits with her son after his foot injury; news of the occupation of Lüderitzbucht, South West Africa, where her daughter and family were; the sinking of the submarine U-29; dealing with the flu, food shortages, and the families of those who lost husbands, fathers, and sons; reports of trench and submarines warfare; and the American entrance into the war. Her daughter Elsa died of the flu in 1918 and so never saw this chronicle. In 1963 the author's granddaughter, Helga, transcribed the account from the manuscript, which was in German script, which her children and other younger people could no longer read. A few handwritten additions to the preliminary text. Scarce. In Near Fine Condition: upper corner of front cover slightly creased; discoloration on inside of front cover and facing (blank) page; otherwise, clean and solid. Near Fine. Item #011595
Price: $125.00