JOHN S. AND GEORGIANA SONNEN:

Correspondence between John S. Sonnen, a St. Paul native who served in anti-aircraft battalions with the U.S. Ninth and Third Armies, and his wife, Georgiana (Kippels) Sonnen, during John's service in World War II.

The couple corresponded almost daily and the letters provide intimate details of John's army experiences and Georgiana's life at home in St. Paul. John's letters detail his basic training at Camp Stewart, his advanced training at Fort Bliss, the crossing of the Rhine River during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, the early postwar occupations of Germany and Austria, and his tours of England, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Georgiana's letters describe her daily routine, the development of their young son, household finances, the Sonnen family's grocery business, and occurrences with family, relatives, and friends, as well as local Twin Cities news and events

Letters written by John's father, Charles J. Sonnen, his mother, Katherine Sonnen, and his brother, Charles Sonnen, a captain in the Engineer's Office at the U.S. War Department in Little Rock, are also included. Additionally, letters written by John to his brother, Robert W. Sonnen, were forwarded to Georgiana during the war and are included with the collection.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. John S. and Georgiana Sonnen Correspondence. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,276

Processing Information:

Processed by: Monica Manny Ralston, December 1997

Catalog ID number: 990017345600104294

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An autobiographical account of the Sonnen's wartime experiences based on this collection of letters was published as "Out of the Attic, or What Price Memorabilia: A Minnesota Couple's World War II Letters," in Minnesota History, 53:56-67 (Summer 1992).

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Army spouses -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Berlin, Battle of, 1945.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Economic aspects -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Social aspects -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Places:

Austria -- History -- Allied occupation, 1945-1955.

Europe -- Description and travel -- 1945-1970.

Fort Bliss (Tex.).

Fort Stewart (Ga.).

Germany -- History -- 1945-1955.

Persons:

Kippels Family.

Sonnen Family.

Sonnen, Georgiana, 1915-1989.

Organizations:

United States. Army. Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 468th.

United States. Army. Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 597th.

United States. Army -- Military life.

Types of Documentation:

Love letters.

V-mail.

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