Henri to Yvette.

650 Gen Tpt Coy
Italy

3 August 1944

I have received a long letter about Clara and a short one about the Conference of the I.B. at Haifa. About Clara I agree with you and we wont talk about it any more. As for the IB, I don’t know why this story leaves me rather cold. It seems to me that it’s an enterprise dedicated to failure. You see it belongs already to history, given that the new war with its new constellation of “heroes”, the misery that in between times crashed down on all people without exception, given all that I don’t believe in the possibility of realising the aims, which our friends insist on. And also, now  it feels a little like cheap advertising. And I don’t like that. History has made a formidable leap between 1936 and 1944. One mustn’t forget that. And one must no longer live on past glories. If I’d been there I would have been opposed to the formation of this new pretext for chitchat. Above all when I knew the Palestinian reality. For that also, it is perhaps better that I was not there and I wish them much success.

(Sends money regularly. No response, lost? _ You are clearly having financial problems. Can you let me know how much you receive from the army; are you having difficulties with the Gorochow? I am anxious about you.)  You imagine my return, my fresh face, the two of us sitting on the divan, telling each other things. Darling, my little Yvette. I don’t believe that my face will be fresh and I don’t believe that I will tell things. I believe that I will kiss you, I will look at you…. I will hear your heart beating strongly against mine…We will be silent…Words..sometimes I have a real horror of them..