Letters from the Front

The packet of 11 letters and 12 postcards reached me from Kharkov, through a combination of fate, serendipity and sheer luck. They were written by my father, Alexander Suchovy, from the front during World War II, and were addressed to his first wife, Varvara, and their son Vasily.

The fact that the letters survived 80 years, virtually intact, is nothing short of a miracle.

They span 10 months. The first postcard is from July 20, 1941, one month after Germany invaded Russia, and the last letter and postcard are from May, 11 and 13, 1942, respectively, written on the eve of The Second Battle of Kharkov, a conflict that proved disastrous for the Red Army, and resulted in my father being taken prisoner by the Germans.