Trudel Adler, my mother, came to the United States 1934 when she was 21 years old. She frequently wrote long letters home to her family in Germany and asked them to save her letters and they did — over two hundred handwritten pages.

Trudel was an amazing young woman who grew into a fascinating warm wonderful woman, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was funny, serious, forthright, and considerate. She worked hard all of her life and gave to the world more than she ever got. The tale of the rest of her life was full of challenge,sadness and joy. These early years are more than that. They reveal the strength of character, the chutspa, the love, that helped her through all those years. Preparing her letters for this blog has been like entering a conversation with her and getting to know the young woman I never met.

Trudel as in Strudel

When asked how to pronounce or spell her name, Trudel, would reply, “Trudel, as in strudel.” She always said the “s” in strudel was for sugar and she was sweet enough without it. But all was not sweetness and light. In 1933, Trudel wrote in her diary, “There is no future for Jewish youth in Germany. I think I shall go to Palestine.”

On May 8, 1934 she sailed for the United States. What happened next is told in her letters  A good way to navigate is to use the month by month by month archives in the sidebar on the right side of each screen.  Her first letter is here. 

May 9, 1934 On board SS Manhattan

Note: Because the usual order of posts in a blog is latest first, the navigation links at the bottom of each screen may be reversed – “older posts” will take you to the next set. “Newer posts” will take you to the previous set.    A good way to navigate is to use the month by month by month archives in the sidebar on the right side of each screen. But if you are on the home page, just scroll down from here.

Trudel on the S.S. Manhattan, May 1934

For more information about this blog visit the About Trudel’s Truth.

News about Trudel’s Truth

• Trudel’s Truth was the subject of a featured article in TribLocal —Blogging the past – one letter at a time
• Trudel’s Truth was featured in a recent article “Archive helps genealogy blogger ID World Fair child violin prodigy” on the The Archive Blog | JTA – Jewish & Israel News