It was written by Rudolf Brinkmann who joined the Luftwaffe in 1941. Originally he was with Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 53 in Diepholz. From summer 1941 he was with the 8th Fallschirmjäger Regiment 2 fighting in the east. He spent time with this unit throughout 1942-43 in France and Italy. At the end of 1943 his unit was once again in the east when he was seriously wounded. After a lengthy time in the hospital he would return to service with the Fallschirmjäger Ersatz-Bataillon 2 towards the end of 1944. They were stationed in Stendal during this time. The unit Provided replacement troops for the II. Fallschirm-Korps and the 2nd and 3rd FallschirmJäger Divisions.
The letter reads :
“Stendal, 25th January 1945
Dear parents!
Just letting you know that I received the parcel today. I'm still doing fine and am hoping the same of you. Wilhelm was lucky to get out so quickly. There's not much news here. The weather is quite nice. Every now and then there's still a bit of snow. The situation in the East seems to be a tad critical right now, but this challenge too will be mastered. For today I remain with kind regards,
Yours”