Letters show Romanian's remarkable journey from war to Waterford Crystal

The documents, translated from German by the family of Josef Cretzan, form part of the story about his life in a new biography by his son, David Cretzan.

Author David Cretzan from Ballygunner, Waterford, has written a book about his father Josef. Picture: Patrick Browne

Letters long kept in storage have revealed the troubled origins of a Romanian man who went from a rural village in the Carpathian Mountains to become a master craftsman at Waterford Crystal.

They show his struggles post-war as he was separated from his family who he would never see again, to his later life in Ireland as he became a world-class glassblower designing crystal masterworks that would adorn far-flung corners of the globe.