The Leirner’s Letters: Polish Jewish Family Correspondence Before the Holocaust

The Leirner’s Letters is a rare collection of family correspondence written in Poland between 1931 and 1932, just a few years before the destruction of Jewish life in Europe during the Holocaust.Through intimate letters exchanged among relatives separated by emigration, the reader encounters the everyday world of a Polish Jewish family: their hopes, worries, humor, and deep emotional bonds. The letters speak about work, family news, illness, marriages, children, and the longing created by distance, revealing the rhythms of ordinary life in a world that would soon disappear.Written in simple, heartfelt language, the correspondence preserves the voices of parents, siblings, cousins, and children who maintained their connections across continents through letters. Together they form a moving testimony of family life, migration, and memory.Carefully translated and edited from family archives, the letters are presented in chronological order while preserving original names, spellings, and expressions whenever possible.Edited by Marcelo Goldberg, The Leirner’s Letters offers readers an intimate historical window into Polish Jewish family life on the eve of one of the darkest chapters in human history. Read more