Abschiedsbriefe Gefängnis Tegel

"One cannot be closer to death. And not closer to love."
Thomas Karlauf, Die Welt
The correspondence between Helmuth James and Freya von Moltke from the last weeks before his execution has miraculously been preserved in its entirety. The politically and personally candid letters, which were smuggled past censorship almost daily by the prison chaplain Harald Poelchau at great personal risk, are a stirring testament to a great love during the resistance against an inhumane regime.

"This correspondence is unparalleled. Here, two people write for their lives and yet, in God's name, surrender themselves to the impending death. Each letter could be the last; the day of execution is postponed. These are letters that deal with what is humanly possible. They are read breathlessly, even though the end is known: the execution of Moltke."

Elisabeth von Thadden, DIE ZEIT.