Anna Matoušková writes of her past and of Joyce

Dear Seymour,

of course you can use what I have written.

Please let me send you one old photograph: Pilsen, year 1927, two classmates, young girls of seventeen. Left blond is my grandmother Marie Kucerova, the curly black hair and eyes bauty is Greta Kellner, her best friend. They are in their best years. Future will bring them not more than love, good husbands and next nice ten years. But later Greta, who was Jewish perished in shoa with her family. My grandparents were prisoned by communist and Marie Kucerova lost her husband soon.

Why I am talking abut this? My granny was telling me a lot of stories about her wonderful childhood a youth, she was talking preferably about the sunny side of her life, thus as I remember she never told openly what happened with Greta. Last year in May I was having the call with Joyce about my necessity to know more about the past, about the story of my grandfather, who was actively fighting with communist, who was ten years prissoned and died for cancer as a result of slave works with uranium. I also mentioned to Joyce that I am trying to find out what happened to Greta Kellner. I had not the chance to talk about this with Joyce, she left us so quickly.

But I am going to write it now: at Yad Vashem holocaust victims list was Greta Kellner, her husband Victor, their daughter Tonicka, her parents, her brothers, sisters in law, relatives of her husband... I was expecting it, but it was a shock comparing this short message about perishing the whole family with the joyful photo of the two young girls. But in the end of each report about the Kellner an Koerner familly was written the name of a person who gave this information, each time the same, Tatana Kellner, the niece of Greta and full address in USA. I used Googůe search maybe hoping she has some company or other activities at the internet. How was the surprise she is the fine artist, born in Prague, in aproximately my age, having the own studio workhop near New York. I have find there her email, wrote her and met her during my stay in New York in spring 2008. It was very important meeting, as a bow across the ocean, history and tragedies the two women again met from the families of former friends. Tatana even didn't forget Czech, she is an interesting artist.

I am sure that Greta and Marie would be happy with that and I only regret I couldn't share it with Joyce. She would be the first I wished to talk about this. For sure she would be happy with me, too. So I really belivee she knows it all very well now, although I know, she didn't share my trust in the ethernal life. I hope it is one of the cases she finely changed her mind (as you mentioned: she never was wrong, she only sometimes changed her mind).

Cordially Anna