As /u/RockoMcNamara already said, the problem is to go through the handwriting and words, that are not so commen anymore. Grammar and syntax seem to be influenced by english and maybe yiddish - but I'm not an expert at all.

Maybe it would be best to start by creating a german transcript.

Mein lb. (lieber?), guter Burton (?), Trudy (?) und big Barry!

Shanghai, den 14. Dezember 1946

Hocherfreut kam heute dein bzw. (?) Eure lb. (lieben?) guten Zeilen (?) in meinen Besitz, worüber ich mich riesig erfreute. Ich bin gesund und ersehe dies gottlob auch g.s.d (Gott sei Dank). Einerseits, besonders mehr ... hocherfreut und ich musste rührend weinen, als ich voll (?) Freude die Bilder von unserem Goldbuben kl. (klein?) Barry entnehmen konnte und nochmals gottlob er gedeiht zu all unserer größten Genugtuung, besonders konnte ich entnehmen, dass er nach seinem Pappi in Zügen zum Ausdruck kam, genau als ich unseren lb. (lieben?) guten Burton (?) als klein persönlich noch vor 25 Jahren in meinen Händen fing (?). Mit Recht und Stolz eine Freude für die Großeltern, die das Bild einer alten schönen guten Erinnerung (?) vor sich sehen, wenn sie diesen lb. (lieben?) schönen Enkel in ihre(n) Arme(n) nehmen können und unser Herrgott möge sie noch viele Jahre erhalten lassen was sie alle beide und Ihr an die Menschheit für schöne, gute volle (?) Taten vollbracht haben. Der Junge (,) gemeint ist klein Barry (,), ist ...

..., ... muss ich feststellen wie sein Pappi. Diese Bilder erfreuen mich riesig und ausserdem danke ich für den inhaltlich eingelegten U.S. 1,- (ein US-Dollar) herzlichst (?) - Nun komme ich auf das (?) ... Schreiben zurück, sage es auch der lb. (lieben?) guten Mutti und (dem) lb. (lieben?) guten Vater (,) gemeint ist (der) lb. (liebe?) Siegfried. Ich war nun über 14 Tage beordert in das hiesige ...haus (?) Altersheim mit noch einem ... weil alles dort in der Küche krank war. Ich arbeite 10 Stunden in der Küche als Aushilfe (,) weil ich sonst (?) im ... Department Hongkong R. beschäftigt bin und dies ist in City von Shanghai (.) Ich musste also noch (?) bei 10 Stunden Arbeit jeden Tag 3/4 Stunde nach Hause und ... sehr müde, so dass an einem Schreiben es mir unmöglich war, dafür habe ich jetzt 3 Tage frei und hole alles nun nach. Dies ... , so dass ich pro Tag wohl 3 Stunden nachbezahlt bekomme/bekäme (?), weil die Arbeit sonst pro Tag nur 7 Stunden ist. Also ich schreibe Euch und Ihr lasst es durch (?) die (?) lb. (lieben?) guten Eltern lesen, so habt Ihr mir viel Mühe und Arbeit erspart. Nun komme (?) auf das wichtigste zurück, all Eure (?) (Sorgen?) ... und die Meine(n) (?) gottlob waren umsonst. Ich selbst habe viel Mühe und Arbeit gehabt, weil Ihr alle mir immer die Schuld in die Schuhe schiebt (??) ... dies ist aber alles nebensächlich, da (?) ich weiss, dass Ihr es mit mir gut gemeint habt, besonders Ihr meine gute(n) beste(n) Lieben. Die Arbeit ... (die) Burton (?) geleistet war mehr wie (?) gut gedacht aber er schrieb doch zu viel an (?) Consul (??) . Ihr müsst denken, dieser hat mit abertausend ... (Anfragen/Personen?) zu tun. Ich kann (?) Euch mitteilen, dass ich auf Grund (?) meiner Registrierung (?) anfang des Jahres 1946 aufgerufen (?) bin und auf den (?) 19.12. ein appointment habe.

So far for the first two pages. Now it should be possible to translate it. Very interesting letter /u/mgold227.

EDIT: Wow - there's even a (pretty controversial) bestof thread about this letter and its translation: http://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/2tyvkh/redditor_finds_letter_from_an_ancestor_who/ I'm glad that my transcription motivated some of you to contribute!

hi! While you may get help with this question here, note that there are subreddits who specialise in these kinds of requests: /r/Translator and /r/Translation

In short, the letter describes the saga of obtaining a visa -- lots of paperwork and photos. He needed a birth certificate and got help with preparing what we must assume is a replacement, 12 (!) 2-inch square passport photos (he's dealing with the Americans), affidavits (he accidentally gave the duplicate to the Consulate instead of an original), and so on.

If all goes well he could be [have been] able to travel within 2-3 months. He writes about the ship he plans to take including considerations not just of port (Baltimore) but also safety (rank in the insurance lists) and needing a berth or consideration for "Aunt Berta" who is someone's sister-in-law, I think his.

There's nothing about the war nor anything about his experience in traveling from Nazi Germany to the Orient.

I can read it but with some difficulty -- the handwriting isn't great because he was trying to pack as much into that aerogram(me) as possible. I'll see if a friend has time to walk through it with me but it would be faster for you to repost this in /r/de.

I don't see anything of general historical interest beyond some insight into the postwar return to civilian life, not that I wouldn't want to come across such a letter from my own family member.

Wow! We've received incredible feedback from all of you and in such a short period of time! We originally found the letter very intriguing and it held a certain amount of sentimental value to us. But as you can see from the graphology and old style of German, we had no idea what it was about. However, within 24 hours the reddit community was able to translate this letter and add additional context. We'll certainly cherish the letter as a piece of our family history. Thank you!

Now to provide you all more context:

Sam (the author of this letter) was picked up in an early roundup of Jewish men in Berlin and my great-grandfather bribed a Nazi officer to get him out of the prison camp if he left Germany immediately. The only place to send him quickly was China so he headed for Shanghai because there was a Jewish community there.

Upon arriving in China he was placed in an internment camp because Japan had invaded China and Germany was Japan's ally. Thus, he spent the war a prisoner of the Chinese Government.

Yes, Sam did make it to America. As I've learned (thanks to you!) my Grandpa and Grandma Burton and Trudy, among others, were instrumental in arranging his journey to his new home. He made it over at some point in 1947.

The handwriting is beautiful, but incredibly hard to read. There is some easier parts such as "Very tired, so writing was impossible to me, but I'm off work for 3 days now" on the second page.

Sometimes there seem to be missing words at the end of the rows and there are tons of abbreviations that I don't understand. Translation is really the smallest problem here.

Try finding people in a German sub (/r/germany for example), maybe there is someone who can read that writing better. You can still repost the story here after it's translated.

Full Translation
I'm not a native German speaker, although I have been raised with it. I may not have properly translated some words, and I have incorporated some corrections given to me by other users. Below is the full translation, with my comments italicized between brackets.

Part One
My dearest, good [lieberand guter together enhances the tone of affection and this tone is used throughout this letter] Burton, Trudy, and big Barry,

Shanghai, the 14th of December 1946

With joy your, respectively your [first your refers to the person he addresses first in the letter, Burton, the second your refers to everyone in the letterhead] good letter [Zeilen, meaning lines, likely implying the letter this one responds to] has come to be in my possession, giving me great joy. I am healthy and thank God you are too [gottlob and gott sei dank mean the same thing, added for emphasis]. I was tearful with joy [emotional with tears] when I saw the pictures of our precious Barry [Goldbuben refers to a precious little kid, and literally translates to golden kid], and thank God again that he is well [thrives], I especially noticed that he takes after his father in facial features [in Zügen may refer to facial features], just like our dear good Burton whom I caught up in my arms personally 25 years ago [A tone of pride; the man whom he held in his hands as a baby/young child is now a father himself]. With honest pride [Recht und Stolz means "just and pride", implying that he is honestly proud] a joy for the grandparents, who see in the picture an old and good memory, when they take this nice and beautiful grandson in their arms, and may our lord God grant them many years to come, as they contribute many beautiful and good deeds to mankind. The boy, I mean little Barry, is [...]

Part Two
[...] admittedly [literally 'I have to admit'] like his dad. The pictures fill me with enormous joy, and I would also like to thank you from the heart for the U.s. $1,- inserted in the letter - Now I will get back to the [..?..] writing, also tell our dear good mother and dear good father, with whom I mean the dear Siegfried. I was only ordered in the local [..?..] home for the elderly [Altersheim is a home for the elderly] with another [..?..] while everyone in the kitchen was ill. I worked 10 hours in hte kitchen as a temporary help, while otherwise I worked at the department Hongkong R. in the city of Shanghai. After the 10 hours of work each day, it also took 3/4 hours [or 3/4th of an hour] to get home and [..?..] very tired, hence making writing a letter impossible, which I got 3 days off for now to catch up on everything. This [..?..], in order to get 3 hours paid per day, while the work normally is only 7 hours per day [This part may be mistranslated by me or incomplete]. So I write you and you will let the dear good parents read it, saving me a lot of time and effort. Now I will get back to the important part, all your worries and my own were for nothing thank God. I had a lot of stress [effort?] and work, while you always blamed me [schuld in die schuhe schiebt literally means to push the blame in ones shoes], but this is minor [nebensächlich, means 'besides the point', implying it's not very important], since I know that you only mean well for me, especially you my dear good ones [gute beste lieben means good best dears, like many parts in this letter the tone is one of great affection]. The work [..?..] that Burton did was with good intentions [or well thought of] but he wrote so much to the consul [..?..]. You have to realize, this one [the consul] has to work through thousands of inquiries/persons. I can tell you that on the basis of my registration in the beginning of 1946 I have been called in for an appointment on 19.12.

Part Three
Thank God I have had the birth certificates made in English, and had them confirmed by the municipality [local town government officials], then had 12 passport photos 2x2 inch made hoping that 3 affidavits would be sufficient to get a visa. I hope to be able to tell you more [about these proceedings] in 8 days. Now the dear good Burton has made a small mistake, to the consul he sent the original and [u. means und, which translates to and] a duplicate affidavit that is now probabily in their files [die wohl dort sind in dem Akt, may imply that they are now in a file somewhere at the consulate], but the duplicate, as I have written him, should have been sent to me, because the consul sent me everything [die Ladung literally translates to 'the load', which I translated as everything] on 9.12.46 and added 1 general attachment-writing [might be that 'allgemeines Beilage-Schreiben' refers to a specific document, but I'm unsure]. Now I was [..?..] for example with miss Berta Neuberger [..?..] Baltimore [the word 'to' is in here, but it's not a German word so it might be a misinterpretation of the writing], I don't know where she lives in hte event you are to ask me that question. What I do know is that she is a modist [Putzmacherin, someone who makes lady's hats] who leads a department store for lady's hats, and she is an older/elderly lady, and she is very high in the insurance [not sure what this refers to, but it might be about that boat mentioned in another post]. This wrote with dear good [..?..] [illegible, but likely a name] to our dear Aunt Berta who is the sister in law. Else nothing [Punkt translates to dot/point, but another user mentioned it could be 'sonnst', which translates to 'otherwise', or 'elsewise', implying that there is otherwise not much going on in the current topic of the letter], hopefully everything will come through, making the first heavy stone for you and myself fall from our hearts [Stein from Herzen fallen means literally 'a stone falling from the heart', which is a saying that a worry has disappeared, or in this case will disappear]. On March 26th all 3 affidavit with duplicates were sent to him from New York [it says 'ab New York', which means 'from New York', but perhaps it should be 'zu', which means 'to']. How good that I had the birth certificates here [...]

Part Four
[...] Now I will get back to the content of the letter you sent on [or received on] 22.11.46, in so far I haven't yet addressed it yet [oben is up, so referring to earlier in the letter]. You cannot imagine how the value of the Chinese $ is on the rise, today is reported that from 5 US$ = China $5200. Small 1 and 2 US notes are only listed with 4500 Chinese $. The Chinese $ is on the rise just like the merchandise [Waren means products, possibly implying that things are getting more expensive] and there is also an inflation in the national government of china like myself and your good parents in Germany in the year 1919 until august 1923 have known, while in such a huge country [Riesenland means giant country] such as China today war, or revolution exists [He is unsure whether to call it war or revolution] among the Chinese in the country themselves. It was only 8 days ago as in Xiangwan, a suburb of Shanghai, one munition-depot with 20,000 bombs exploded [in die luft gegangen means gone in the air, basically: blownup], one could hear the detonations [explosions] from Saturday 2:30 hours [It says 1/2 3 hours, which would mean "half 3", or 2:30pm, as /u/ScanianMoose has noted] until early Sunday at 8 hours and everyone first thought that the Chinese communists are marching into Shanghai, which reminded me a lot of the famous 17th of Juli 1945 in Shanghai, when huge bombing runs [Bombenangriffe translates literally to attacks with bombs] were present in our ghetto [in unserem getho herrschte, means it ruled in their ghetto. Basically, there was a large presence of bomb attacks. It doesn't say whether this was by plane, or whether the bombs were planted in buildings]. It cost a lot of human lives there again, and in China this doesn't really matter [spielt dies keine Rolle translates to 'it plays no role', implying that no one really cared about it], as [..?..] it [...]

Part Five
[...] has about 400 to 500 millions [implying that the country has 400 to 500 million people, so a few dead doesn't make a dent]. So new affidavits are not needed, it could only go about a new tax confirmation and that Miss Neuberger keeps her continued help for me going [aufrecht erhält means keeping it up, or keeping it going], but waits here for further notice to you after I visited the consul, so after 19.12.46 you will immediately get another Airmail sent to you.

Subject: [Betr. possibly means betrifft, which is 'contains', or basically 'subject'] Your continued writing to the consul is unnecessary, and meanwhiles I have caught up to all the messages from dear Burton and I hope that I will survive these hard times soon. Please, by God don't send any packages or clothes as you have said you would [possibly in an earlier letter], you should have done all of this 3/4 years ago, as it is too late now. If everything with the help of God will end up working out, then I will be ready to travel in 2 or 3 months [He also adds that he is not just ready to do this, he also will do this]. The packages have just arrived, and they run 3 months late, and you have uselessly thrown out the postage, furthermore I had to spend a lot of time at customs [in order to receive the packages] [...]

I'm very curious and confused here - which camp did he start out in and how did he end up in east Asia?

Since /u/nevrome did the first two, I thought it would be best to continue from there on. Unfortunately, I had only time for one picture, so here comes part three:

Ich habe gottlob die birth-certificate in Englisch anfertigen lassen double, bei der Gemeinde bestätigen lassen, dann 12 Passbilder 2x2 inch anfertigen lassen hoffend, dass ich mit 3 Affidavits das Visa erreiche. Ich (Euch?) in 8 Tagen später Euch mit Gotteshilfe mehr mitteilen können. Nun hat der lb (liebe) gute Burton/ kl (kleinen) Fehler gemacht, am konsul hat er Original und Duplikat-Affidavit gesandt, die wohl dort sind in dem Akt aber das Duplikat musste er mir wie ich auch schrieb senden, nämlich der Konsul sandte mir am 9.12.46 die Ladung und fügte/ allgemeines Beilageschreiben bei. So wäre ich nun auch orientiert zum Beispiel bei Mss Berta Neuberger to Baltimore wo sie wohnt weiss ich nicht, falls er mir diese Frage stellen sollte. Ich weiß wohl, dass sie Putzmacherin ist, Abteilungsladen führt für Hüte für Damen und ein älteres Frl (Fräulein) ist und sehr hoch in der Versicherung ist. Dies schrieb mir lieber guter (Fettchen??) und zu unserer lieben Tante Bertha die Schwägerin ist(sister in law). Sonst nichts, hoffend komme mit allem durch und so wäre mal der erste schwere Stein für Euch und mich vom Herzen gefallen. Am 26. März alle 3 Affidavit mit Duplikat an ihn ab New York gesandt. Wie gut, dass ich die Geburtsscheine(?) hier hatte ----

Notes: birth-certificates and sister in law is not an alteration or addendum from me. It is written in english there. Also, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affidavit

I'd also consider the fact that the handwriting may be Sütterlin, which was taught in Deutschesprache schools at the time, and that has some weird quirks to it, although in most respects it's relatively similar to modern handwriting.

I agree with /u/flakAttack510 — a historian would like, at a minimum, to scan the letter for availability to future scholars, and most such will happily provide translations with context notes for anyone offering those records; and if you want to get it back, you certainly can — even having the scans (or, in the old days, the microfilm) is helpful for scholars.

My daughter speaks German — I don't. I see that other German speakers, however, have already contributed some translations.

I will show my ignorance here by asking the following; where was the initial camp that he escaped from such that it was feasible to later fall into Japanese hands? Surely not eastern Europe?

I am currently on mobile and the scans seem pretty low-res. I'll check it out tomorrow on a pc. In case it isn't scanned in best quality available, please re-upload it.

Also, like said above, give /r/translation and /r/translator a x-post.

edit: I checked the wrong picture on mobile :-) Good scans. Since the first two parts are already done, I did the third one. See below somewhere.

"Züge" could be "Gesichtszüge", implying that he looks like his father.

I'm not sure your uncle was "captured" by the Japanese. The Jews that emigrated eastwards through the Soviet Union typically were routed to Kobe, where after a few months of vacillating the Japanese government redirected many of them to Shanghai (due to a general fear of Westerners in Japan at a time when Japan was about to go to war with the West), where they stayed in an overcrowded ghetto in what basically amounted to a war zone where starvation was common. But I don't know of any sources that state that the Japanese tortured Jews-in fact the Japanese considered it to be none of their business and ignored most Nazi communications to round up and persecute the Jews, or for that matter silencing a Jewish newspaper that mocked Hitler daily.

I'm sure this will get buried, but OP PLEASE READ THIS:

My grandpa (who is Jewish) escaped from Berlin and also fled to a Jewish ghetto in Shanghai (since Shanghai was the last available port open for the refugees). He was there until he moved to the United States in 1947. My grandpa lived in a classroom of a school building with other families. Do you have any information about where specifically your great grand uncle was living in Shanghai? Perhaps our relatives know each other?

i know this is an old post but my family recently had my grandmothers war time letters translated via the holocaust museum. in order to do so we had to let them keep the originals but they are extremely interesting and tell a lot about her family (im jewish) left behind in germany