The Book Thief Letters

Max Letter 2

Dear Liesel,
I wish I was there with you. Although the basement may not be much, seeing you there with me and comforting me made such a difference. I wouldn't be alive without you, Liesel, and all your love. You have kept me alive through the tough times and been by my side. I know that we come from two different backgrounds but you have definitely opened up my world, Liesel Memiger, and I am forever grateful.
My life has been quite a struggle. It is cold and damp near the Amper River. I am chilled most of the time and find myself drawing sketches of you by the river to distract the numbness. I place my pencil on the paper and start to sketch your simple smile and curly hair. Then I start to draw myself, with my twig like hair and cold fingers. Several times I read the "Standover Man" and looked at my sketches. I remember my first impression of you. I wrote in my copy of Mein Kampf about you, how you seemed and affected me: She was short but not very small, around the age of nine. I could see the intelligence in her eyes. She would look at me a lot and I would question her presence."
The other day when the sirens went off I thought of you too. I wondered what would happen to us? What if they did bomb Himmel Street? I didn't see any planes fly overhead which gave me hope. I like to think back sometimes to the fights I used to have. How I felt when I was in a fight with someone I really couldn't beat. I feel like I'm living my past, fighting an unstoppable opponent who may defeat me entirely. Or will I win this fight?
Every day I pray to not be taken away from here. I don't know what it would be like if I was. People say it's horrible at the camps and that any Jew who goes there is sure to die. I don't want to die, Liesel, not anytime soon. I've read over the letter you sent me many times, and even sketched on it a few times and wrote poems on the envelope. Sometimes I read over the remaining pages of Mein Kampf, looking over the Führer's story, questioning society and the world. I left your Mama a story before I left. She will give it to you when you are ready for it, but I know in my heart that you have always been ready and prepared to read it. You were ready the day I met you and the day I left. The world is a big place and I hope you get to see the good in it.
I still have dreams about good and bad things. Sometimes I will wake up at night and see the black river in front of me. I could tell you many things, Liesel, and share my story with you.
Sincerely yours,
Max Vadenburg