From letters written by

Grete Wolf

after Kurt Müller's death
to his son (Kurt Müller jun.):
 
"Kurt [senior] was the last whom I knew from childhood on, i.e. I still remember the moment when my mother told us: 'Fritzi has a little brother.' The joy was greatr, it was a boy. Kurt was a very kind child and very quiet and a good pupil, and so was Fritzi. At that time

[Kurt's birth]

we lived in the same house

[Elberfeld, Seilerstr.3].

We, i.e. our parents, knew each other as long as I can think. I played a lot with Fritzi and Kurt. I was together with Fritzi very much though she was a bit younger. Our families were

very

good friends, the parents as well as us children. My father and Kurt's father played chess together very often. It was always very enjoyable when we came together. We had the same interests."

Above and below:
Grete Wolf and her family (1960s)

Below: Very probably this young woman is Grete Wolf. The picture was taken in the garden of the house Prinzenstr. 34 in Elberfeld,
in front of the garden pavilion, about 1920.

Below: Further excerpts from letters
sent by Grete Wolf to Kurt Müller jun.

From

Grete Wolf's last letter

(1982) to her friend Kurt Müller (senior):

"I often think of you

[plural]

, particularly around this time

[christmas]

when our families came together; that was real friendship which you scarcely find here

[=USA]

. For better or for worse we hung together. I really loved your dear mother, and so I liked to come to you and play with Fritzi."

Below:  Grete Wolf and her husband
Heinz Ullman ca. 1946 in USA

Below:
Original commentary  
by Kurt Müller sen.
about this picture (left)
in the family album

"After I had married I lived in Frankfurt / Main, but when I was in Elberfeld to visit my mother we always came to the Müllers, as well, or they came to us. Later on, I saw your dear father only rarely since he was not in E. any more, but he maintained his friendship, in spite of the horrible times & he as well as his mother did not refrain from staying in connection with us, so close were the two families to each other."

Grete Wolf

born  3. April 1897 in Elberfeld, Germany
died 12. Februar 1993 in Buffalo / USA
 
Grete Wolf was from a Jewish family who lived in Elberfeld (now central part of Wuppertal), initially in the same house with the Müller family. Her parents had come from Gütersloh. Her 3 sisters were killed in the Holocaust. She and her husband escaped to the USA.

"As you perhaps know, our families were close friends, the parents as well as us children. I was very much together with your aunt Fritzi though she was a bit younger. When I was in Elberfeld for the last time, in 1962, we also visited your dear grandmother. She was such a kind woman and so industrious. She & your father remained faithful to us in spite of Hitler. I lived in Frankfurt / Main, and my 3 sisters in Hamburg, Berlin & Koblenz. So my mother stayed in contact with your grandmother. Your father was very much like his father, in appearance and character. My father & your grandfather played chess together very often. It was always very enjoyable when we came together. We had the same interests, what nowadays is rarely found."