In his first letter from inside Germany, Pfc. Irvin Schwartz describes interactions with residents of newly occupied Nazi territory.
Letters from War – The first letter from inside Hitler’s crumbling “Third Reich,” October 1944

In his first letter from inside Germany, Pfc. Irvin Schwartz describes interactions with residents of newly occupied Nazi territory.
The young soldier from Pine Grove, PA checked in with his former boss at the West Schuylkill Press-Herald in early fall 1944.
A fascinating letter from Pfc. Irvin Schwartz about dining with a French family after liberation of their town.
Pfc. Schwartz writes from Normandy in the weeks after the D-Day landings about what he'd read in his hometown newspaper in Pennsylvania.
The West Schuylkill Press-Herald summarized what Irvin Schwartz reported seeing in the bomb-damaged capital of Great Britain in March 1944.
This is part of our “Letters from War” series documenting the World War II letters of Irvin Schwartz of Pine Grove, PA. The letters were all published in the West Schuylkill Press-Herald between 1943 and 1945. Read the previous letter here Pfc. Irvin Schwartz had Christmas on his mind when he penned the following letter … Continue reading Letters from War – Preparations for a war-time Christmas in England, November 1943
This is part of our “Letters from War” series documenting the World War II letters of Irvin Schwartz of Pine Grove, PA. The letters were all published in the West Schuylkill Press-Herald between 1943 and 1945. Read the previous letter here In his first letter from war-ravaged Great Britain, Pfc. Irvin Schwartz wrote home to … Continue reading Letters from War: From Somewhere in England, November 1943
In this prologue to our "Letters from War" series, newspaper columnist Irvin Schwartz pens his farewell in May 1943.
Clarence Holland was 16 when he first experienced battle during the bombardment of San Juan in May 1898.
The Harrisburg Telegraph published hundreds of letters to Santa Claus in its December 1904 issues. They reveal pictures of life in the first decade of the 20th century.