On the 14th my brother [Arno Stein] said goodbye to me before his departure for America. On All Souls Day, we will both remember our mother [Auguste (Courant) Stein]. This remembrance is always very comforting for me. I have the firm conviction that my mother now has the power to help her children in these great afflictions.
Saint Edith Stein
Letter 280 to Frau Hedwig Dülberg (excerpt)
31 October 1938
Nota Bene: When Saint Edith Stein mentions “great afflictions” she surely is referring to the heart-wrenching choice that Arno had to make to leave his developmentally-disabled daughter Eva behind in Germany as he fled for safety in the United States to join the rest of his family. Youthful Eva, born in 1915, was deemed “unemployable” every time that Arno and his wife [Martha (Kaminsky) Stein, who possessed dual citizenship] attempted to obtain a visa for her; Eva repeatedly failed the necessary I.Q. tests. Stein family members still in Breslau remained part of the close-knit circle that surrounded Eva, but as the Nazi ethnic cleansing of Breslau continued, Eva’s circle grew smaller. Eventually, Eva herself was deported from Breslau to Auschwitz on 4 March 1943. Our thanks to Wikitree for all of these fascinating, though distressing details.
Stein, E. 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Discalced Carmelite, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Carmelite Quotes 
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