Letter from Oskar Kokoschka to J.P. Hodin

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[Translation/transcription]

1688, 55 Park Lane, W1

20 November 1945

Dearest Hodinus,

It's several months now since you sent me such a kind letter. I haven't got round to replying because I've had my hands full getting help - or trying to get help - to my siblings in Vienna and Prague. And because I was writing broadcasts to Vienna, which were sent back by the BBC censor, and articles for the various Free Movements, which didn't get past their censor in Moscow either. Now that I've got myself back on my feet, in a month or so you'll see a large, entirely non-partisan poster by me on every wall in England, saying: 'In memory of the children of Europe who have to die from hunger and cold this xmas.' It shows Christ helping the dying children with a hand that he's wrested from the cross. And next week a smaller drawing for the starving children of Austria will be handed out with the programme of the Austrian composers night at the Albert Hall - five thousand of them. What's more, both drawings are going to be reduced as new year's greetings and sent out around the world in their thousands. I shall reserve a packet of each for you.

It's stifling here in London, not just because one has to watch the Christmas preparations even as mass poverty takes hold in Europe, though current levels of impoverishment there are worse than anything that's happened to Europe before (see the November issue of The Nineteenth Century). The ignorance and blindness with which people look to the future even here is enough to make one ill. The fact that people never seem to learn from events playing out in their immediate proximity, perhaps precisely because of printed books, radio, aircraft. The world is becoming a growing heap of little ghettos while the Last Judgement vainly admonishes us to unity in our very last hour.

The poor child is probably better by now; I could see she was unwell. Perhaps it at least had the positive effect of reconciling your wife to the parents. That was the problem!
Don't come to London now - terrible air, stifling, fog and smut.

I'm just expecting an Italian who's coming to collect photos to take to Florence for the second, expanded edition of the book of my drawings that was published by Masciotta in Rome in 1942. Meanwhile, I'm in a bitter struggle with Faber & Faber, trying to have them delay publication of the book, which makes no sense without my appendix.

You should go to Italy. I'm curious about your novel. You ought to show me some of it. And then our book!!! Hopefully you'll come back here someday, preferably before they chase us out of the flat. Our landlord, who owns eleven thousand flats, has declared that he won't tolerate 'foreigners' in his empire and that he advises us to 'go home' immediately to make room for the soldiers who have liberated us in such glorious fashion. He's due to give us our notice today or tomorrow. I'm curious to see how many of our 'soldiers' are going to come and live on Park Lane!!!

The address of the art historian Valentiner (formerly director in Detroit) is known to Dr Curt Valentin, the art dealer who owns the Buchholz Gallery, 32 East 57th Street, New York City. I can't write that far. I'm finding it hard enough to send a letter here in England. I'm so weary.

Much love to you both.

Yours,

OK

[back of envelope:]

Just borrowed November copy of Magazine of Art, published by the American Federation of Arts, Washington. D.C. 45 with long article by Alfred Neumeyer about my work.

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