Heinz Beck

I read an article by an unknown writer in the Stuttgarter diary of Fred Wiesen dated May 3, 1997. His writing so depicted my generation that I, like Fred Wiesen, came to the conclusion that it was worthwhile to bring the following to a larger readership.

Quote:

"We were born before the invention of TV, penicillin, vaccinations and frozen foods and plastics. We didn’t know of contact lenses and definitely not the birth control pill. We bought flour and sugar in paper bags not in packages that have to be recycled now. We were here before there was radar, credit cards; fax machines, nuclear fission, laser and ball-point pens.

When we were born, there were no dishwashers, dryers, air conditioners and data banks, and no man had yet landed on the moon. In our time bunnies were little rabbits and the "Bug" was not a Volkswagen. We were here before there was "stay at home fathers", emancipation or Pampers. In our time there was no such thing as group therapy, Weight Watchers, second cars or maternity leave for fathers. We did not think of the "Wiener Wald" (Restaurant) in association with fried chicken. During that time "Made in Japan," meant cheap merchandise, and no one had heard of pizza, McDonalds or instant coffee. Words like "Software", for everything that can’t be touched on a computer as well as "Non Food" for everything that you cannot eat or drink were not invented, nor were marriage brokerages on the computer.

To "date" someone meant almost being engaged. We married first and then lived together. Also, we are the last generation to be as naive as to think that a woman would have to marry a man in order to have a baby. All these new developments had to be accepted and absorbed. Who would be surprised if we are a little confused at times because of the huge generation gap? But we spat in our hands, removed the remnants of war, rebuilt the nation and survived it all!"

(End Quote)

Fred Wiesen adds:

"Facts remain. We have had to think about the reasons of war and cruelty since the beginning of man. Why is it we see a splinter in someone else’s eye but not the plank in our own? Why are we not allowed to tell the whole truth in our Federal Republic? Why are we not allowed to tell the whole truth when we speak out for the many who bled to death on the battlefields and were forced to fight in a war under the threat of being put to death?

Every war is a crime, and every war results in crime! Historically it is true that every army commits crimes and always will. Amazingly, in Germany only our own people are exposed while in England, with the approval of our government, a monument has been dedicated in honor of Admiral Harris and the murders of Sudeten-Germans during their expulsion were sanctioned. Need I mention more? These terrible acts must come to an end. We must promote peace among men; document our love, not hatred. Only the whole truth will bring love and reconciliation." (End Quote of Fred Wiesen’s remarks)

A person like me who was brought up in materially poor conditions, who achieved modest prosperity, who with open eyes and critical mind traveled to 30-40 countries in 4 continents and listened to the people, should be allowed – in my mind – in the 8^th decade of his life, to try and take stock of some sort to be able to give qualified answers. For me, the first 20 years of my life were the critical ones. It is of that time which I am most asked about, even more so now. Time’s witnesses become less and less! When we pass and are silent, all will begin again.

I will not write a novel but rather write in essay form of the things I can remember most - From the time I was born, to my homecoming after being a prisoner of war. I will try my best to write as exact and realistic as possible without the loss of some good humor here and there. I am not looking for perfection, rather, finding the heart of the matter.

Inevitably, the reader will learn that no one lives for himself. I claim that not even the hermit does. We live in families and partnerships, in-groups at the workplace and communities. The sexes don’t live by themselves; neither do the different nations and races. Not the strong and weak, healthy and sick, old and young, good and bad, smart and dumb and not the superior and inferior. All of us are God’s children and responsible for each other. We are also responsible for God’s creations in the world of animals and plants, which God loyally loaned to us. Therefore "No one lives for himself," means that all of us are called upon to unselfishly contribute his or her talents into our community. I am not writing this for my own sake. I would be pleased if I should inspire others to think.

Stuttgart, January 1998
The Author

1. Aftermath of World War 1 (1914 – 1918)

The 1^st World War lead to the Peace Treaty of Versailles which assumed the sole war guilt lay in the Central Powers and imposed great loss of territories on the German Reich as well as unforeseeable demands of repair. It was a peace treaty, which bore the seed of dissension from the beginning.

My father, born in 1900, was drafted into a heavy machine gun company during the last days of war at age 18. After the war he joined Volunteer- and Self-Preservation groups who stopped the assumption of power by the communists and were successful in protecting the border in the east from Lithuanians, Polish, Czechs and others. He wore a Reichs-Forces steel helmet with a large black swastika in the front. I would wear the helmet later when I worked as an air-raid assistant. Five French divisions reinforced by Belgium units occupied the Ruhr area in 1923 to enforce and assure terms of the treaty.

The Weimar Republic honestly tried to fulfill the terms of the Peace Treaty in order to regain the trust of the former enemy and to slowly loosen the chains of this dictatorships peace. Instigators (agitators; people, groups who pursue or instigate political upheaval) who are still at work against the Federal Republic of Germany today stirred mistrust in foreign countries. After the 1st World War general dissatisfaction was the breeding ground for nationalism. Today, when young unemployed youth join radical groups, we can trace it back to the same roots. Responsible are our politics. No one lives for himself.

2. Childhood, Beginning of School, Elementary School

I was born in Stuttgart, on April 17, 1925. There was no money for a cradle so the first and only child of my parents was temporarily laid to sleep inside a laundry basket. Father worked for Daimler Benz in Untertuerkheim, then for the Stuttgart Trolley Company and later as a skilled worker for the Machine Factory Seeger in Cannstatt. Mother was employed by a textile factory in Stuttgart. I was raised mainly by my Grandmother and Grandfather from my mother’s side who lived in Cannstatt. Grandfather was a day laborer. At age 55 he was often without a job. Grandmother was a diabetic and could not be overburdened. She was a schwaebisch Pietist and ruled the house with a strict devotion to God. I was taught that all people who had some sort of an advantage over me were people that I was to respect. Grandmother insisted that in 1931, a few days after my sixth birthday, I was to go to school at the Evangelic Elementary School, the Schiller School. During this time Heinrich Bruening was the Chancellor and the "Brueningtaler", a 4-Pfennig coin, was named in his honor. It was enough to buy a pretzel. In first and second grade of elementary school my teacher was Mr. Hegel. He was an older gentlemen made of the same "wood" as Grandmother. He had been the teacher of my mother and her brother. Like most teachers Mr. Hegel was taken by surprise when in 1933 the aging Reichs President von Hindenburg, formerly a General Field Marshall, appointed former Private 1^st Class Adolph Hitler to be the Chancellor of the Reich.

Germany was accepted into the League of Nations in 1926. (The League of Nations can be compared with today’s United Nations). The Reich operated as the peaceful balance of interest for the countries. During a radio broadcast with many national leaders Hitler called the League of Nations a "chatter shop" in which the "Third Reich", founded by him, had no place. This was the first attack on the Versailles Treaty- dictate system. On October 14, 1933 Hitler announced Germany’s withdrawal from the League of Nations.

Hitler’s initial political successes literally fell into his hands. After 15 years of managing the League of Nations and economical exploitation by France, the population of the Saarland region was required to vote for their affiliation to either Germany or France. The Nazis had published a wonderful songbook for use in all German schools. The children sang enthusiastically in the melody of an old mining song.

"Deutsch ist die Saar, - "German is the river Saar,
deutsch immerdar, - German forever,
deutsch ist unseres Flusses Strand - German is our rivers shore,
und ewig deutsch mein Heimatland!" - And Germany is my homeland forever!"

At the population’s poll on January 13, 1935, 91% of the people from the Saarland region decided in favor of affiliation with Germany. The reclamation of economic regions at the river Saar improved the foundation for the German war industry. According to the terms of the Versailles Treaty, Germany was allowed to have an army of a maximum of 100,000 men only. Hitler on the other hand ignored this completely and on March 16, 1935 announced universal compulsory military service. We boys were very exited when the mounted military band marched out of the Dragoner Barracks the next day for a huge parade at the Cannstatter Wasen. The beautiful horses seemed to dance to the music as they walked. The riders wore the traditional uniform of the Black Hussars.

The school began to be politicized during third and fourth grade. Mr. Ellinger who was the teacher had a hard time getting used to it. He too was a strict man. He really had it out for us "guys from the Island Korfu" (slang for Cannstatt by the people). We lived at the area around the railroad viaduct at the Neckar River where gypsies camped out occasionally. We were not any dumber than the next guy and we even knew how to swim, but we were treated like outcasts. Often times the bigger boys would catch us and throw us into the Neckar River.

We had two guest students in our class. One of them was a freethinker whose parents had left the church community, which was unusual in the years of 1934 and 1935. The other was a Jew named Schwab, son of a cattle-dealer from the suburbs and considered a student 4^th class. The freethinker was considered 3^rd class. Children who did not join the German Youth Groups voluntarily were 2^nd class. Myself, I was 1^st class because I was voluntarily active in Youth Groups. My father had organized that.

3. Taking of Power by the National Socialistic German Workers’ Party (NSDAP)

On January 30, 1933, Hitler was in power. Grandmother was a simple women but quite intelligent. Spontaneously she said: "Now there will be a war. Planes will come and drop bombs and all of us will have to die!" Economic depression, poverty, unemployeement and over one hundred parties who fought each other physically and psychologically to their annihilation made up the inner political scenario.

Father belonged to the "Old Fighters" of the National Socialistic German Workers’ Party. The only thing he wanted was for Hitler to be the politician to revise the Peace Dictate of Versailles (dictate because the Treaty was dictated to the Germans, all they had to do was to sign). He was a troop leader of the assault division (SA, Sturm Abteilung) and did not take part in inner political confrontations. Direct confrontations by his political rivals he answered with the swiftness, target and aim accuracy of his hand. Therefore, father was attacked from behind. This was the reason why the communists among his colleagues painted a big swastika with cart-grease on his sweater, which was hanging in his locker.

Mother had knitted the sweater. She had to save money for wool from her household money. When she saw the ruined garment she was devastated. Another time the communists released a pile of pipes in such a way that father, who was inside a pit, could have been crushed. Agile as a cat, father was able to escape the danger zone.

My distant relatives belonged to the Social Democratic Fighting Organization, the "Three Arrows". Uncle Karl marched behind the "Red Banner" singing combat songs of the communists. No wonder: Capitalists considered laborers to be the lowest scum.

At 12:00 noon, sirens sounded in the factories. Women and children served as "food carriers". They carried buckets containing simple small meals. Laborers with oil and soot covered faces ate their meals in the factory courtyards. Tables and a place to sit were not made available. After the taking of power by the National Socialistic German Workers’ Party the German Labor Union arranged for mess halls for the laborers.

Starving, unemployed youth stood on street corners. Out of boredom they were up to a lot of mischief. Then came the promotion of sports. After the power takeover in 1933 the German sports fest was initiated. The "Adolf-Hitler-Arena" at the Cannstatter Wasen was opened. After the war the arena was called the "Neckarstadium", today it is the "Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadium". From all over Germany, Athletes came to Stuttgart. They were taken care of by National Socialistic organizations, which also put the teams together by regions and housed them in public buildings and among the population. Athletes from the Saxon region were guests in Cannstatt. Therefore Cannstatt was decorated with flags in their regional colors, white/green. Although the local people didn’t have much they shared what little they had with their guests, which led to friendship, understanding and mutual respect of fellow nationals.

The unemployed, among them my grandfather, were to pick up their meager "Stempelgeld" (unemployment money) at the unemployment office on a daily basis. Grandfather got up at 3:00 A.M. to be first in line while grandmother waited for a few Marks to go food shopping. The "Nazis" put an end to the long wait by coming to the unemployment office at 7:00 A.M. with a box from which the waiting people had to take a number. If Grandfather picked a high number he went straight back home. During the winter months that meant that he went back to bed until it was time to collect his money at the unemployment office, which was nothing more than alms. If he picked a low number he waited his turn.

Soon the unemployed were obligated to perform community work. Mostly it was the building of housing developments of single families homes and single-family homes with a small garden for families with children. Then the Reichs- Work Duty was established for women and men. General draft for military service was re-introduced which led to the great decline of unemployment.

Nobody needed to be hungry or cold any more. The National Socialistic Public Welfare group (NSV) supplied the needy with "Pound Offerings", which were groceries donated by affluent fellow citizens. During the winter there were additional coupons for heating supplies.

Through the teamwork of the group "Strength Through Joy" (KdF "Kraft durch Freude") organized by the German Labor Union, even the "little guy" was able to visit a theater, go on vacation, receive a radio or be eligible to receive a claim form to own a VW. Some regions still lived in poverty.

Musicians from the Palatinate region roamed cities and towns playing music and begging for donations. Since this was forbidden they were constantly on the lookout for police officers on foot. They even hauled a regular size piano from town to town.

The Erzgebirge (mountain region) in Saxon was in a similar situation as the Palatinate. Both Saxon and the Palatinate received help in the expansion of their shoe production and/or their woodcarving shops as well as in the development of sales for their products. This led the population to be enthusiastic and to have more and more trust in Hitler. The burdens of the Peace Dictate of Versailles slowly diminished.

My friend and schoolmate Alfred Ohngemach lived on Freiligrath Street in Cannstatt. His father was a train driver for the German Railway. Regularly he drove the route from Stuttgart to Strassburg. In compliance with the Versailles Peace Dictate German train drivers were to arrive in Strassburg with a fully loaded coal tender, filled water tank and cleaned wagons. As a small part of the enormous reparations contribution the train was taken over by French personnel in Strassburg and driven further into France. Back in Strassburg the German drivers took the train back, which was uncleaned and with only enough coal and water to reach the station in Kehl. Sometimes German train personnel were beaten, kicked, spit on and embarrassed by French train personal during the exchange.

Because of this treatment, the psychological impact of the Peace Dictate of Versailles was felt in the smallest families of the population. The homeland was bleeding from thousands of wounds. Adolph Hitler was looked upon as the savior.

There was always a lot of "Heil" hollering at the Nuernberg Reichsparty days when Hitler showed up. Butcher Gustav Haegele was fed up with this. Spontaneously he took his radio, which he had just purchased for 30 Reichsmark at Radio-Knoerzer, and threw it out of his first story window. This could have led to a disadvantage for his business but, thank God, nothing happened. As recommended by the Party, Gustav’s wife Ottilie was busy hanging a sign on the door of the store identifying the business as a German business.

When the handicapped neighbor and mother of arch-communist Karl Eisenmann from Schmidener Street hung the red flag with the hammer and sickle instead of the black-white-red flag, or better yet, the flag with the swastika, Gustav Haegele laughed like crazy. Karl Eisenmann was picked up by the police and taken to the Heuberg, known to be a "labor camp". Later on, during the war, Karl was one of a Correctional Battalion and had himself captured by the Russians. By chance we met at the end of the war at the "Schwarzwaelder Hof" (restaurant, pub) on Markt Street in Cannstatt. He was completely cured of communism.

My grandparents lived in a farmhouse. The house across the road belonged to the Wertheimer’s, a Jewish family who lived on the first floor. Due to the way they looked, walked and dressed, the whole family could be recognized as being Jews from quite a distance. At the time of the Passah Celebration (Jewish Holiday) Mrs. Wertheimer passed out Matzen bread to the children on the street.

Mr. Wertheimer was a cattle-dealer. One time he said to grandfather: "Sing, can you take a cow from Sielmeng to Degerloch for me?" My unemployed grandfather agreed to the opportunity to make some money. Grandfather took me along. We climbed the green bus of Line A at the Kursaal. The driver wore a brown corduroy uniform and cap. The seats on the bus were made of nice smelling leather. Proudly we sat in this vehicle. We would never be able to afford the price for the fare if Mr. Wertheimer would not reimburse us. We arrived in Sielmingen and somehow located the farmer who was to give us the cow. Grandfather carried a heavy stick, the one I used as a hockey stick sometimes even though I was not allowed. Grandfather pulled the cow ahead and sometimes I would make the cow move faster by slapping it’s behind. Back then there was not much traffic on the country road from Sielmingen to Degerloch and it took us about 3 hours for the 10 km walk. Mr. Wertheimer waited for us at the "Hirsch" (restaurant, pub) in Degerloch which is still in business today. Grandfather was given a glass of beer and the cow was given water but there was nothing for me. Because I was just as thirsty as everyone else I grabbed grandfather’s glass and quickly took a big sip of the barley juice. The 8-year-old "Heinze Boy", my grandmother of father’s side called me that, was drunk for the first time. Grandfather Sing had to carry me home and his Kathrin was very, very mad when we arrived in Cannstatt.

Mr. Grupp rented the attic flat at the Wertheimer house. After the power takeover he quickly exchanged his black uniform shirt from the communists with the brown Nazi uniform. He confronted my grandfather and said: "If I see you cutting wood for the Jews again, I will take you to the Heuberg!" More and more often the Wertheimer’s could be seen on the street "Mauscheln" (talking with a lot of hand gestures) with other Jew’s. One day they secretly and quietly left the country.

4. Youth Groups And Grade School

In Cannstatt, if you were 8 years old, you were allowed to join the "Saeuglingssturm" of the "German Youth Groups". This group was lead by Lebrecht, a music teacher who smelled heavily of perfume. Normally only the 10 – 14 year olds were allowed to join. The youngest ones of the youth group were called the "Pimpfe". In this group we were able to prove the kind of guys we really were. Coming from the struggles for existence we became clever, bright boys who looked out for one another. The crime rate among the teens was zero in comparison to today ‘s high crime rate.

In my 5^th year of school, in 1935, I entered grade school and had to attend the Neckar School. The schools and classrooms were now divided by National Socialism ideology rather than religious faith. The 5^th and 6^th grade teacher’s were Mr. Hanssum, Mr. Hub, and Mr. Schaefer who taught history and geography. He suffered from a war injury and, because of our requests, would sometimes skip the subjects and tell us of his adventures while fleeing from Siberian war imprisonment. I was now 10 years old and therefore a full member of the youth group. Ten-year-old girls were allowed to join as well and were active in the German Young Girls group.

Boys and girls wore uniforms, which the parents had to provide. Sometimes that was not easy at a time when money was scarce. There were children with incomplete uniforms and some with uniforms that were not in the best of shape. In the summer, the boys wore black shorts, brown button down shirts, a black neckerchief with leather knot, black buckle and shoulder straps, gray socks and black shoes. The girls wore knee long black skirts and white blouses, neckerchiefs with knots like the boys, white socks and black shoes. During the winter the boys wore black trousers and black vests over the brown shirts and some type of ski cap. The girls wore brown vests in the winter month in addition to their regular outfit. The uniforms changed in time and during the war the uniforms were practically designed so the different pieces could be worn when not on "duty".

There were many ways to perform one’s "duty" which took place in so-called "Heimnachmittage" or "Heimabende" (meetings in the afternoon and evening) and were held in public conference rooms. In some cases the rooms belonged to youth groups from different parties and churches but by now they were either forbidden or taken over. "Dienst" (meetings) were held at least once a week and we learned about politics and the world’s situation. We also sang, played music, played sports and theater. Everything we learned in the Youth Groups was performed to the public during special events, so-called "Parent Evenings". Often times the performances were of high standard and all were entertaining and funny. The public appreciated them.

Fund raising was also one of the activities. Because of the shortage of raw materials, we collected paper, tin foil and iron. In the name of "Winterhilfswerk" (Winter Relief Organization) the boys and girls collected and distributed donations for needy fellow citizens. The recipients had to be Aryan. The boys and girls were always very busy collecting for the "Winter Relief Organization", "National Socialistic Public Welfare" and the "Recovery Organization for Mothers". Diligently they stood at doors of businesses and on the streets with their tin cans.

Every year all German youth gathered for sports competitions during the "Reich’s Youth Games". Standards for the different events were established. Children who reached a certain number of points received a pin. There was also a special emphasis on summer camp. All children attended during summer vacation for weeks at a time and in many cases the parents were glad to have one less mouth to feed.

The boys especially liked the Youth Group’s orientation of traditional customs of the foot soldiers from the 16^th century. They were divided into "Bands", "Troops", "Squads" and "Tribes". I belonged to the Kienbach Squad and the Wolfersberg Tribe. When we assembled for marching, which could be at any time, food soldiers- drums and trumpets were played in front of the different flags. One of the flags was black with white stylized "S" resembling a lightning bolt.

Many of the songs we sang originated from the songs of the 16^th century foot soldiers. Later we sang national socialistic battle songs like "We will keep on marching, even when everything falls into ruin, because today Germany belongs to us, tomorrow the whole world!" or "The brittle bones of the world are shaking before the enormous war!" and "Death will put his hand in greeting to the helmets edge and the soldiers will attack death and build their home of stars!" Adults and elderly people must have shuddered when hearing this song but they could not interfere! Parents were not aloud to speak up. Even teachers didn’t dare say anything anymore. The National Socialistic-Teacher Union held them in a tight grip.

"Hitler Youth" was founded in 1926 as a pure political party- organization. In 1936 they became the "State Youth" under the leadership of Reich’s Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach. After the takeover of power in the year of 1933, he took control of all other youth organizations one by one, integrating them with the Hitler Youth Groups, which in turn lead to the mass movement of the Hitler Youth Groups.

Determined by the Dictate of Versailles the Rheinland region was de-militarized. On March 7, 1936 Hitler ordered armed forces back into the Rheinland. We saw pictures in the newspapers of troops crossing the bridges of the Rhein River. The troops, marching in a nice formation, looked snappy with their steel helmets, guns and packs. People crowded closely along the streets with their right arms held up for the German greeting. We boys were moved by this sight, and hot and cold sweat ran down our backs. We wanted to be among them.

Part of the national socialistic upbringing of youth was to teach them to save their money. City banks gave out cards with 20 fields. Children who saved 10 Pfennig received a stamp on a field showing a 10 Pfennig coin. Each week the school held a savings day. Students brought their savings to school. I was treasurer of our class, which was noted in my report card. I had fun trying to entice my classmates to give me their money, sometimes with a funny phrase. I borrowed one of the phrases from Monk Etzel who operated in the late middle ages: "And when the coins clink in the collection box, the soul is leaping into heaven!" Quite a few savings cards were filled and taken to the savings bank at the Wilhelmsplatz. The amount saved was then recorded in the student’s savings books.

In sixth grade honor students were allowed to take a test for the admittance into "Special Courses for Foreign Language". Heinz Kant and I passed the test and took English lessons at the Jakob School in Stuttgart. Mr. Baumann was our teacher. This class was made up of 12-year-old boys coming from schools all around the greater Stuttgart area. We had a lot of fun together and studied hard.

Mr. Pfrommer was our teacher in 7^th grade. We called him "Pfropfer", he called us "Zulukaffer" and "Loetfeilen" (nicknames). During the First World War he donated his golden pocket watch including the chain for the financing of the war. In return he received an iron chain without a watch and a dedication. With pride he wore the chain day in and out. Mr. Pfrommer was strict. Singing lessons usually ended in a fistfight. All of us boys were at the age of the change of voice. Therefore our singing together was hard on his ears. "Who is the one singing in this coalminers bass"? He would interrupt. It didn’t sound so bad to us, at least not as bad as when the teacher abused his violin. We received many "Tatzen" (lashes with a cane on the fingertips). The next level was "Hosenspanner" which means the child who was to be punished was to lie on a desk and would received lashes on the rear end with the cane. Out of fear and pain there were quite a few who wet their pants.

Singing was a graded subject. Students had to sing in front of the entire class for entry in the report cards. My classmate Jakober didn’t sing very well, yet he got a better grade than I did. Jakober came from a Nazi family and sang a Nazi song. I on the other hand sang a folk-song. Then it dawned on me, it doesn’t matter how good you sing but rather what you sing! Unfortunately, it was too late for this report card.

The Peace Dictate of Versailles stood in the way of Germany’s union with Austria, which had its supporters even after the 1^st World War. On March 12, 1938 the army marched into Austria. The "Union" resulted in great enthusiasm among Germany’s and most of Austria’s population. Movie theaters showed Hitler returning to his homeland. At the Heldenplatz in Vienna the population was highly enthusiastic and could hardly be held back when Hitler passed the memorial of Archduke Karl. He was standing in an open car. "Heil, heil, heil!" sounded from thousands of mouths. Seven years later no one wanted to be reminded of this spectacle.

Afterwards Hitler went on a tour of Germany during which he also visited Stuttgart, the "City of Foreign-Germans". It was the same in each city: Cheering masses, bells ringing and no school. Youth formations gathered in front of the Stuttgart City Hall and shouted "Dear Fuehrer be so kind and show yourself at the window!" If the window was opened as much as a crack, the shouting of "Heil" began and everyone pushed to the front to get as close to the "Fuehrer" as possible.

5. "Manager" Of A Business At The Age Of Nine

My Grandmother arranged for me to work at Gustav Haegele’s butcher shop where I had to report to the store on a daily basis. At first I had small jobs like shopping with a grocery list that I had been given, the cleaning of bicycles and the cleaning of the butcher chopping block. With a cart I had to pick up blocks of ice for the refrigerators from the ice-manufacturer and baby-sit the grandchildren. Later I was allowed to use the bicycle that belonged to the store to help out with customer deliveries. My boss was very impressed by my enthusiasm and he announced to the customers: "This is my Manager!" I was very proud. My pay was up to the boss’s wife. I always received sausages and cold cuts that would have been thrown out, never any money except for tips on deliveries. My dear friend Karl Braun worked for a bakery. His situation was similar. Instead of sausages and cold cuts he received old pieces of pastry. He never made it to "Manager"; he didn’t have a business mind.

Youth groups organized a "Field Game" one Saturday afternoon in which the groups had to find "enemy spies" and "foreign agents". I walked along with a basket full of meat packages to deliver, when the boys stopped me. They rummaged through the packages saying that they were looking for "smuggled goods from the enemy!" I was near tears. I couldn’t deliver the ordered goods to the customers like this. Angrily, the boss’s wife repacked the meat. A butcher apprentice was sent to do my deliveries to make sure this wouldn’t happen again. I had to accept quite a cut in pay because the apprentice pocketed all of the tips from the customers, which I so much depended on.

Two days later I had to crank the whetstone by hand while the apprentice sharpened the knives. Slowly I lost my strength. "Crank it boy, or else I’ll beat you up!" he hollered at me. There was no bargaining with him, not at the whetstone, and not with the sharing of tips from last Saturday. He even slapped me, manager or not.

Our boss Gustav supplied a few hotels in Cannstatt. Among them were the very nice hotel Concordia across from the train station, the fancy Golden Hahn at the Karlsplatz and the Kursaal. There was a chronic shortage of innards in the kitchens of these hotels. Innards were less desired in the country. Therefore my boss would send me to butcher shops outside the city on the bicycle with a phrase I was to repeat, "Mr. Haegele from Cannstatt, Schmidener Street sends his regards and would like to know if you have any Liver, Heart, Stomach, Kidney or Sweetbread!" The bloody stuff was wrapped up for me, and Gustav or his wife Ottilie somehow compensated the country butchers. In my 5^th year of employment Ottilie was quite surprised when I wished for a wristwatch as a present for my confirmation and good-bye present. She did get me a watch, begrudgingly I assume, one with a gray leather band.

6. Storm-Lightning Over Europe

In the first chapter of this biography I mentioned that the so-called "Peace Treaty" of Versailles bore the seeds of dissention. Like ripe fruit, Hitler picked at the paragraphs of the "Dictate" one after the other. He accused those who wrote the treaty of making mistakes due to their boundless hatred of Germany and Austia-Hungary. After the 1st World War, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were founded from part of the Habsburg inheritance. Without a population poll the Sudeten-German area with its 3.5 million Germans was given to Czechoslovakia. Hitler evoked the so-called "Sudeten-Crisis". During the Munich convention on September 29, 1938 British Prime Minister Chamberlain, French regime chief Daladier, Italians "Duce" Mussolini and Hitler agreed that the border territories of Bohemia and Moravia, populated by Germans, would be assigned to the German Reich. Czechoslovakia also had to accept the loss of territories to Hungary and Poland. Czechoslovakia who was not represented during the convention had to accept the agreement under heavy external-political pressure. After World War II allies annulled the Munich Agreement. As Dr. Konrad Adenauer once said, "What do I care about yesterday’s dumb gossip"!

In March 1914, my mother had her confirmation. The sky over the political horizon was full of black clouds. Twenty-five years later, my confirmation was also up for debate under similar premises. "The confirmee needs a dark blue suit!" New? I don’t think so! Mother picked up a suit for a couple of Marks from a colleague name Zink who lived in Botnang. I didn’t have a fitting. "It fits!" they said and that was that. Starting on the day of my confirmation I was to wear the suit daily until it was tattered.

My confirmation was celebrated at the Martin-Luther Church in Cannstatt on March 19, 1939. Back then there were a lot of children. Therefore each priest in the community was to hold his confirmation on a different Sunday. Priest Frank – even though he was Evangelic – looked very much like Pope Pius XII who was in office, he had 40 boys and about the same number of girls.

The day of my confirmation was the "Day of the Army" as well. Tanks rolled passed the church on Waiblinger Street toward the Cannstatter Wasen for a parade as we were in church kneeling in groups of threes at the alter for our consecration. Many people, among them confirmees, ate lunch with the soldiers courtesy of the field-kitchen. They served some sort of stew with noodles. My friend Karl Braun, who’s confirmation was on the same day at the Apostolic Church, stood in line in front of me. He was served the last ladle of stew, which was hardy and thick. A new kettle was brought up. The chef gave it a quick stir with a long piece of wood and gave me the first serving. It was thin like water. I was pretty upset but learned something for later life in the army: Never stand first in line at the Gulaschkanone! (field kitchen)

On March 15, 1939, a few days before my confirmation, Hitler ordered the Czech Rest-Republic who was practically unable to survive, under the "protection of the German Reich" within the Reich’s-Protection of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia, a state of Hitler’s pity. But that was not all Hitler wanted: Lithuania bent under Hitler’s pressure and gave up the Memel territory on March 22, 1939.

Great Britain had enough and would no longer allow the un-bloody triumphs of Hitler. In spite of it all Hitler demanded the return of the free state Danzig to the German Reich. An ex-territorial street and railway connection through the so-called Polish Corridor was to be established (meaning: street- and rail- connection between the Reich and through the Polish Corridor, jurisdiction belonging to the Reich); however, Poland declined. Hitler also had set his eye on the guaranteed declaration from Great Britain and France to Poland given on March 31, 1939.

In this difficult situation the British government tried to restore their pre-war ties with Russia. Negotiations came to a halt because the Soviet Union demanded a free hand over the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and the right for passage through Polish territory in case of war with Germany. Great Britain and France did not act fast enough. Soviet Foreign Minister Wjatscheslaw Molotov suggested an extremely confidential discussion between Germany and the Soviet Union to debate the demarcation of both party’s interests in Eastern Europe. What no one believed: The two swindlers Stalin and Hitler came to an understanding and also made a non-assault pact in August 1939.

7. Mobilization, Beginning Of World War II

It must have been during the night of August 14th or 15th, 1939 when a special Reich’s-rail train puffed through the Bavarian and Bohemian Forrest with me and several hundred boys ages 14 through 18 from Hitler Youth Groups on board. Its destination was Bohemian Krumau in Sudeten country. Everyone tried to find a comfortable position on the hard wooden seats to get a bit of sleep. We got off of the train around midnight. All of us had to carry as much gear for camp as we were able to. Unfortunately, we did not march through Krumau quietly. Some people, presumably belonging to the Czech population, felt disturbed in their sleep and threw flowerpots down at us in the street followed by the contents of night-bed-pans and watering cans.

After more marching through the darkness we were ordered to "Halt" in relative flat countryside near a lake. We dropped our "Monkeys" (backpacks) to the ground, unbuckled our blankets and in the early morning hours lay down to get some sleep. Activities started as the first rays of sunlight provided some warmth. A flagpole was raised. The banner of the Hitler Youth flapped in the wind. It showed a black swastika on a white horizontal stripe in the middle with a red background. Oval shaped tents were put up for two "Kameradschaften" (groups) in each tent. Each "Kameradschaft" (group) was made up of about 10 "Men" who slept on opposite sides of the oval tent. With wooden poles and boards a table and benches were set up in the middle of the tent and straw was spread out over the sleeping areas.

Women from the "NS-Women League" (National Socialistic Women League) cooked simple food. Of course we were assigned to help out in the kitchen. Usually we didn’t mind because there were extra scraps of food. We were very hungry because of sports and extensive "Field Games", (let’s call them prior military and survival training). "Every one eat, as much as you can!" As mentioned earlier, there were people around our campsite who were not very fond of us "Hitler Boys". We had to be very careful. With spades and axes as our "weapons" we guarded the campsite around the clock.

An 8-day "Drive" followed camp. Each "Kameradschaft" set out by them selves. All we knew was when we had to arrive in the city of Passau and where. Everything else was left up to us and our wealth of ideas. We cooked our supplies on self-made fire pits, preferably near creeks. In the morning we had rancid margarine, marmalade, army bread and "Niggersweat" (malt-coffee without milk). For lunch, "Niggermudd" (semolina pudding with cocoa and raisins) was a favorite. For dinner we mostly had bread, and sausage, which we ate right out of our hands.

Cleverly, we took paths through forests and fields along the River Moldau where we could find berries and such. Resting in the shade of farm buildings was also smart because we would often receive food and drink and a place to sleep. In return, we told the people of the achievements of National Socialism, as we were instructed to do before we left camp. Model behavior was also a must.

Heads of the political party did not trust the Sudeten-Germans. We noticed that the people were impressed by Hitler’s strong hand in politics. The Poland question reached a boiling point. The older generation who grew up during the glamorous Donau Monarchy of Austria-Hungary whispered of a war if Hitler did not yield concerning the Polish Corridor.

Exhausted from our daylong march we crawled into the hay in a barn in Wegscheid about 35 km from our destination of Passau in the evening of August 25, 1939. During the night it became loud in town. We tried to listen but soon fell back to sleep. On the morning of August 26, 1939 we heard the news about mobilization. Because we were brought up with national-socialistic views in school and youth groups it was not surprising that the news gave us great joy.

We arrived promptly at our given destination in Passau and were directed to a gym. The train, which was supposed to take us home, was being used for another purpose. Remember; this was the mobilization. Our mothers waited in vain. After one to two days delay however, their boys finally made it home.

My mother was a simple woman, honest and straightforward. She was the same way towards the Nazis, which could have caused her a lot of trouble. Attendance for the above mentioned "Drive" was a must for all the Youth Group boys from Stuttgart. The fee was five Reichs Mark. My father had to work a whole day for five Reichsmark, my mother even longer. Mother decided not to give me the money and she would not give in. Our group leader Thea Meyer who lived at 20 Wera Street in Stuttgart arranged for me to attend for free, "because I was such a good boy".

Hitler called the Reichstag on September 1, 1939. He declared his patience with Poland exhausted and that in the previous night Polish soldiers had attacked German territory. "Since 5:45 we are returning fire!" Hitler said. Even as he made his announcement German soldiers had already torn down Polish border- crossing gates. The Second World War had begun which would give rise to the biggest catastrophe in war in the history of mankind.

Western allies kept their promise to protect Poland. On September 3^rd, 1939 they declared war against the German Reich. Only two weeks later German troops stood before Warsaw. On September 17, 1939 the Red Army crossed the eastern Polish border to take part of the bounty. Men from the SS and the Gestapo ruled in the western part of Poland, men of the Soviet NKWD (Narodny Commissariat Wnutrennich Del., secret police of former Soviet Union) ruled in the east.

8. Higher Trade School Under the Pressure of Political Events

Our elementary school teachers Mr. Hanssum and Mr. Pfrommer supported classmate Heinz Kant and myself. Mr. Pfrommer arranged for us to take a test for acceptance into higher trade school. We passed the test and were exempt from 8^th grade of elementary school, to attend the higher trade school in the spring of 1938. From now on we had to pay money to attend school. Books and other supplies also had to be bought by us, which was tough on the wallets of our parents. Sometimes we were able to purchase old, used books from students who had graduated. It was not until classes that we noticed how old some of them really were and the teachers were not always lenient with us. Heinz Kant lived at the Steinhaldensiedlung. He transferred into Streetcar 21 at the upper Ziegelei (Brickworks Factory). I waited for the Tram (streetcar) one stop before the Kursaal. We did not attend the same class and our schedules were different. There was a strange mood on the streets on the fogy morning of November 10^th, 1938. I meet Heinz Kant in the streetcar. He said there must be "an awful lot going on in the city". Just before the Cannstatter Wilhelmsplatz the streetcar, which in today’s standards was going considerably slow, slowed even more. Biting smoke came out of the Synagogue at Koenig Karl- and Waiblinger Street. Firefighters secured nearby apartment buildings.

My teacher Dr. Ignaz Lott said that a few days ago in Paris the Legation Secretary of the German Embassy Ernst vom Rath was shot to death by the Polish Jew Herschel Gruenspan. He said that the Jews are a race that is no good and that during any time the Jews were scattered and pursued all over the world. They even killed our Savior. Synagogues all over Germany went up in flames during the previous night and Jewish businesses were destroyed.

After school we could see for ourselves. Doors and window fronts of stores had been shattered. SA-Men in uniforms with signs that read, "The Jews are our misfortune!", "Die Jews!" and similar phrases stood in front of the businesses. Before all of this we boys didn’t even know how many Jewish businesses of all kinds there were. We cherished some of these stores because we were able to buy good merchandise inexpensively.

Dr. Ignaz Lott who apparently came from a rural, strict, catholic family was very rough. He would slap the students around from one corner of the classroom to the other, sometimes blood would flow. Biehler Fritz, later a successful boxer, was expelled from school because he would defend himself with fistfights. Ernst Haar, who later became to be a secretary of the state for the federal ministry of transportation and boss of the railroad union, had the same fate because of his politically red aspiration. "I don’t mind spending the 50 Pfennig for postage to send a certified letter to your father!", was one of Dr. Lott’s favorite threats. Therefore we gave him the nickname of "Father". He lived at Melanchthon Street in Cannstatt and was a "Golden Pheasant", that’s what political leaders were called because of all the gold on their elaborate uniforms. At the end of the war the gossip was that he had terrible things happen to him. Presumably he was beaten until he died by Polish migrant workers while on his way home to his apartment the "Brown House" (domicile of Ortsgruppenleiter, a political leader, a party big shot). It’s even possible that he was hung. No one ever heard from him again.

Beginning grades where transferred to the Schwab School. Whoever completed with the necessary grades was entered into the intermediate grades. This meant moving into the time-honored Knosp School, which is still standing today at Knosp Street in Stuttgart West. From now on Heinz Kant and myself did not have to change streetcars. Number 21 would take us to school through the center of the city. At the station a police officer directed traffic. He wore the Tschako on his head, a military headgear. Coming from all directions, many streetcars meet at the Schlossplatz. Located at the Rotebuehlplatz was a military-district command. If an Officer approached, the guard had to present his rifle. We boys were very impressed. In a nutshell: we saw many people and our new way to school was very interesting.

My new teacher was Dr. Frey, a bachelor who was SA-Group leader and lived right around the corner at Rotebuehl Street. He was also a "Beater". Many rulers broke on our backs! Our 1^st "Rex" (principal) was Dr. Hoffman. He was the author of a history book with a national socialistic train of thought, and a true Nazi. After he was called for military duty Mr. Waetzig, a small guy from Saxony took over. He introduced us to the mysteries of bookkeeping and oversaw the "Uebungskontor", a dummy firm, which was run by us students with enthusiasm. As far as I remember all of the teachers were more or less forced to be in the party. Pastor Petri from the Paulus Perish presented the lessons in religion very lively. We were fascinated. He too wore the party’s badge. My chemistry teacher was Dr. Buhlmann. He killed himself at the end of the war; overwhelmed by Germany’s defeat.

In Higher Trade School the priority was the study of commercial business knowledge and know how. The students learned a lot for future professional life, even though the Hitler Youth demanded much of their time. Just think of the pre-military training and air defense. I took the intermediate high school exam and left school to begin apprenticeship in the spring of 1941. I joined the "Alte Gilde", a commercial club of former students from Higher Trade Schools and Commercial High School. To this day I am thankful that I was able to be a student in Higher Trade School and I am still faithful member of the "Alten Gilde".

9. The First Years of War

In anticipation of England’s and France’s intention, German troops occupied Denmark and Norway on April 9, 1940. The attack on the Netherlands, Belgium and France began on May 10, 1940. Despite expectations from military experts the West-Campaign was a triumph for the armed forces. On June 22, 1940 the "Cease-Fire of Compiegne" agreement had been signed in the same train carriage in which Germany had surrendered on November 11, 1918.

The knowledge of wood-workshop was in great demand at the air-raid defense. Out of wood, nails, ropes and black paper objects were constructed which were useful for keeping windows dark during the night. After that a civil air-raid defense system was organized. In cooperation with political leaders of the NSDAP the Reichs-Air-Defense Alliance had to organize the air-defense. During air-raid alarms I had to report at the guard station and be available as a communications specialist.

A guard said, "Communications specialists can’t be shy to talk, they have to have good observation skills and a good memory, they have to report the messages exact and be brave!" Would it be my destiny that later in live my superiors in the Armed Forces would recognize my talents as a communication specialist, that I would serve as such till the bitter end and that I would be decorated with awards?

Since 1939 it was the duty of all youth to belong to "Hitler Youth" groups. Girls ages 14 to 21 had to serve for the "German Girls League" and were separated into different groups. They practiced their future roles as German housewives and sacrificing mothers. Many families, especially those engaged within religious communities would not allow their children to join the Hitler Youth groups. Only after their children came home crying because of the teasing from classmates and teachers would they give in and let them be part of the youth groups.

With the SA as an example, special Hitler Youth units were formed and trained in the duties of motorized troops from the Air Force and Navy. Some were trained in the communication- and medical field. Since I was a committed young man, I signed up for the medical/first aid training. I was 14 years old and learned once and for all that there are two different kinds of people in this world, men and women. Before that, some thought there are three kinds: Cannstatter, Stuttgarter and Niggers.

The children from Navy- Hitler Youth Groups wore blue and white uniforms like the sailors, with caps and blowing ribbons. I was impressed with their uniform and soon after signed up for duty. With enthusiasm I learned of seaman trades like the signaling with flags, about knots and rowing. Lastly I was appointed to be Schiesswart (Rifle Guard) and Group Leader. I hardly ever took off my uniform. That’s why my confirmation suit lasted much longer.

In 1940, at the end of the "West Campaign", I was attending my second year of higher trade school in Stuttgart when my father, who was 40, was drafted to the Landesschuetzen, originally a Home-Country Defense Group. He was a guard for prisoners from France, Belgium and Holland who were working on farms. Mother still worked in a knitwear factory at Rosenberg Street in Stuttgart. Because we lived in Cannstatt, Teinachstreet near the Kursaal, she had a long way to work.

My father was with the soldiers and my mother was at work. No one was home who could get something to eat other than the food available on the grocery cards. Our 70-year-old grandfather lived with us but he was too frail. "Mother, I am so hungry, don’t you have another piece of bread for me?" I begged. "Go to Goering’s!" she recommended. This would be a reason for the Nazis to hurt my mother if they could hear her.

On June 22, 1941 "Operation Barbarossa", the surprise war against the Soviet Union began. With 153 divisions, 600,000 motorized vehicles, 3,580 tanks, 7,180 pieces of heavy artillery and 2,740 planes, the Germans were the strongest military force ever united in action. Initial enormous success strengthened the believes of the leaders that this campaign could be over victoriously in just a short time. But the beginning of winter halted the attack.

As special announcement trumpets sounded over the radio that Sunday morning, people turned up the volume of their radios and opened windows and doors so everyone could hear the news. I was 16 years old and goose bumps ran down my back when I heard that the Soviet Union had been attacked. Somehow I knew that I would be drafted for war. The "biggest Field General of all time" declared war with the U.S.A. on December 11, 1941 in order to legitimately sink U.S ships with its submarines, which supplied the allies in Europe with all necessities. In mid 1942 German troops arrived at the North-Cap, along the Atlantic Coast all the way to the Spanish border. The Swastika flew in Finland, Egypt and on top of the Elbrus, the highest mountain of the Caucasus. Around the time of the turning of the year in 1942/43 offensive forces of the German army were exhausted. Nevertheless, Hitler was determined not to give up even if it would cause the total destruction of Germany. In some way he declared war on his own nation!

In the beginning, the strength of the attacker determined the outcome. Later, bigger reserves were the determining factor. At the end of 1941, the U.S.A. alone supplied the Soviet Union with millions of dollars and millions of tons of defense materials such as 15,000 planes, 13,000 tanks, 430,000 trucks, locomotives, steel and light-metal. And there were also the supplies coming from England.

The 6^th Army under the command of Field Marshall Paulus and his 300,000 men were surrounded in Stalingrad on November 22, 1942. An escape would have been possible but Hitler ordered to hold out at any price. The coming end of the 6^th Army seemed to take painfully long. On February 2, 1943 they surrendered. Only 100,000 German soldiers escaped the hell of battle only to begin their way into the inferno of imprisonment in Siberia. From that time on it was defeat after defeat. The British started area bombings of cities and industrial installations. Anglo-Americans dominated the air space over Germany. Enemy air-war strategists intended to break the morale of the German population with their terror attacks. Allies of the Third-Reich either dropped out of the war or joined the enemy. Hitler was forced to expand his reign to other territories, for example Italy in September of 1943.

1939

1 9 3 9

1942

1 9 4 2

10. Vocational Training, Apprenticeship And Business-Vocational School

In October 1940 the "NS-Kurier" was the only newspaper of Stuttgart and displayed in a showcase at Eberhard Street. Under the "Help Wanted" section I read that the General Pension-Administration, Life and Retirement Insurance-AG was looking for a bright young man for the Insurance-Apprentice position. Because their office was nearby at 24 Tuebinger Street I went there right away. The human resources boss, Director Rieger, his assistant Miss Josefa Matthes and the secretary of Managing Director, Dr. Hafner offered me hopes for employment after reviewing my documents, which I still had to supply. A few weeks later my father and I signed the apprenticeship contract. Father signed "Private 1^st Class Robert Beck". After graduation I began my career at the General Pension Administration Office, established in 1833. The first year my monthly pay was 30.00 Reichsmark and 40.00 Reichsmark in the second year. My contributions for pension, health insurance and unemployment were deducted automatically.

My apprenticeship would last for 3 years. Beginning on April 1, 1941 and ending on March 31, 1944. I had to attend Business-Vocational School at the same time. Because I graduated from higher trade school I was able to start in the second grade of vocational school right away. Still, I was ahead of my classmates. I thought school was fun and didn’t take our teacher Paul Nanz who was from Gablenberg very seriously. Nevertheless, he appointed me class president. I was responsible for everything but had no say in anything.

Class began with the same regulation as it did in other schools. When the teacher entered the classroom the class president had to shout "Attention" in a loud and military voice. The students had to stand up straight. After the teacher greeted the class with "Heil Hitler" the students had to greet the teacher in the same way. The class president would then read the slogan of the week posted in the classroom. Most of the time it was about "Old Fritz" or another person from Prussia.

"Nanza Paul" was like an institution in the Stuttgart Insurance-Circle. He knew all apprenticeship leaders and human resources managers. He was the "buddy" type with a robust schwaebisch appearance and language of the same. He explained the curriculum with funny examples and made it easy to understand for anyone. The figures of his stories were always classmates, whom he usually made look bad. Classmates Wohlleb, Ernst Weiler and Gerd Winter were his regular targets. Wohlleb was from Hofen and employed by the Wuertembergisch Insurance Society. He always had a strange expression on his face and his whole body. He even looked as if he were not the brightest person.

Ernst Weiler, an apprentice at the Wuertembergisch Fire-Insurance Company sat next to me. He was from Niederlaendisch India, Island of Borneo, and son of a missionary. Both Ernst Weiler and Nanza Paul had fun with their regular verbal arguments and one time Paul Nanz ended the dispute with the comment "Halt dei Gosch, hock na. Wissa isch, wenn mer woiss wos stoht!" (Shut your mouth and sit down. Knowledge is to know were it is written). To this day I remember this phrase.

Gerd Winter was a "pretty" boy and very attracted to the females. One morning on the way to school "Nanza Paul" observed him and "his Marie" as they switched trains at the Schlossplatz and he overheard the garbage Winter would tell the girl. Afterwards, "Nanza Paul" shared his knowledge with everyone in the classroom. Gerd Winter protested passionately but it didn’t help.

Walter Fried from Rohracker Street in Hedelfingen was also in my class. His father worked for the trolley company and made money on the side as a winegrower. He was on the board of the Hedelfinger "Woodland-Home Club" and politically red aspired. "Walterle" was an apprentice for the "Magdeburger" (Insurance Company) at Neckar Street and he was a nerd. Many times we did our homework together.

Later, my classmate Haller and I were together at the Reichs-Work Duty (Reichsarbeitsdienst RAD) in Tannheim. Majuntke, who was also one of my classmates, did not surrender to the Americans in time during the last days of war. He was captured by the Russians and taken to Odessa. He returned 3 years later. I can still remember classmate Kocher very well. He worked for Allianz Insurance Company.

Rolf Frasch and Alfred Roemer who started their apprenticeship at the General Pension Administration Office the same time as I were called by their first names and often sent to get lunch for coworkers. Interestingly enough no one ever tried that with me. I was very satisfied with my instructors and I think they were equally satisfied with me. For teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 the regular weekday workday was 8 hours. Traditionally the General Pension Administration Company was closed on Wednesday and Saturday afternoon. The lessons at Business-Trade School continued of course, and counted as work-time. Since I was 16 years old my annual vacation was 12 weekdays. Because I regularly participated in 10-day camping trips with the Hitler Youth Group my annual vacation was raised to 18 weekdays.

The end of my 2^nd year of apprenticeship and business-vocational school neared in February 1943. Superintendent Nanz registered me for final exams. I passed with flying colors. For my "achievements, performance, diligence and good behavior" I received a certificate of commendation and a book from the city of Stuttgart. Even though this was only my 2^nd year of apprenticeship my employer registered me for exam by the Industrial-Board of Trades, which I passed brilliantly. My Business-Assistant-Certificate was dated March 4, 1943. Soon after that I received notice that I was drafted for the Reichs-Work Duty.

1943

1 9 4 3, age 18
Reich’s-Workman in Tannheim / Tyrol

11. Reichs-Work Duty (Reichsarbeitsdienst RAD) In Tyrol, Bombing In Cannstatt

From March 10, through June 2, 1943 I belonged to the Tannheim/Tyrol Reichs-Work Group, Josef Ennemoser’s unit, number 3/330. We were assigned to the different troops according to size. I was assigned to the 2^nd Platoon, 6th Troop. The command post of Troop XXXIII Alpenland was stationed in Innsbruck. With pride we wore the traditional insignia of the Edelweiss (flower which only grows high in the mountains) on our caps.

The training was very hard and we lived in cabins right below the Aggenstein Mountain. Wake-up time was at 6:00 A.M. Within 15 minutes we had to make our bed by shaking-up the straw-sack and shaping it in a rectangle like a big box, wash, shave and report in our physical-training clothes for morning exercise. At first it was almost impossible but due to imminent punishment we soon got the hang of it. We took our meals inside the mess hall. Food was in short supply. Silently we wrangled for the portions every day; otherwise we would have to eat our food outside the mess hall, standing up and while singing.

We built firing-ranges in Graen and carried wood to the Landsberger Cabin located at the foot of Mount Lachenspitze (2,130 m), which we picked up at the Vilsalp Lake. "Oberstfeldmeister" Feige (comparable to a Camp-Commander) from Hassia, the boss from our "Abteilung" (Company), reminded us on a daily basis that we didn’t deserve our meal because of bad productivity. "Feldmeister" (rank of a Lieutenant) Sattleder from Salzburg, Austria was the leader of our "Zug" (Platoon). He was married to a Schwaebisch woman from Stuttgart, which is where he stayed in hiding for a while after the war. Later he worked in the office for Construction Company Stephan in Cannstatt. He was of small stature, soft hearted and sensitive, but pretended to be tough.

My troop leader was a foreman and like all men of the same rank he thought he is God. One of the things the troop leaders had to do was to make sure the spades from the men were spotless on all parts. So clean, that the spades reflected the sun like a mirror on the pine trees across the valley during drills. What a spectacle it was when 200 men were on drill! "Attention! "Take spades!" "Shoulder Spades!" "Right face!" "March!" "Left, left, left, two three four!" Commands echoed throughout the courtyard as the units marched in formation. Bad performance meant the "Flachbahn-Race" was in order along with bad threads. "To the creek, march, march!" "Lie down, stand up!" "Full cover!" We Schwaeble did as we were told, no one complained. Only the guys from Vienna, about half of the troop, dared to expressed their displeasure at times. One of the leaders who sat behind a wall on the troop’s Donnerbalken (crude toilet made of boards with round cutouts, sometimes for up to 10 man) overheard the complaints from one of the guys. He barley pulled up his pants and quickly approached the mutineer, a tall guy from the 1^st Platoon. It was a sight for the gods when on the next day the short guys from the 4^th Platoon led the tall guy to the "Bau" (penitentiary cell). He was not allowed to wear suspenders, a belt or any badge or decoration and was sentenced to 3 days arrest.

Oh yes, we also had our fun at the "NS-Spade-Club". We slept on bunk beds. The cabin oldest was Koder from Feuerbach whose bunk was above mine. He had reddish- blond hair, a "Copper-Roof" and freckles and he boasted like 10 naked black man. He had a deep sleep and snored. "Tonight we paint Koder’s ass black with shoe polish!" was the talk. Günter Schlag and his friend, both from the well-known Leonhards area in Stuttgart talked among themselves in amateur gang slang. At night they climbed up my bunk and painted Koders ass. Koder took care of the rest himself as he sleepily put his hands in shoe polish then rubbed his face. There was a lot of laughing and mockery during morning line-up.

Koder promised revenge, which in turn challenged the "Old City" boys to do some more painting the next night. Unfortunately this had its consequences. The shoe polish did not wash out of Koder’s sheets. Because it was considered damage of national-public property, Koder had to report the incident. And as always the punishment was collective. Our troop was to "Line up in Dress Uniform in 2 minutes!" "Dismissed!". "Line up in Work Uniform in 2 minutes!" "Dismissed!". "Line up in Exercise Uniform in 2 minutes!" Dismissed!" The Forman threw all of our spades wildly throughout the room. "Locker inspection in 2 minutes!" There was lots of yelling and cussing. The room looked like a war zone.

Air-attacks on German cities kept getting stronger. During the night of April 15, 1943, preceding about ninety air-raid attacks on Stuttgart, approximately 400 enemy bombers destroyed the area of the train-viaduct between Cannstatt and Muenster into rubble and ashes. This was the area were my family lived. 192 people were killed. Among them was the mother, brother, and sister in-law of my friend Karl Braun. The news reached me at Reutte/Tyrol where I lay in a hospital bed in Kreckelmoos because of my appendix. Right away my request for emergency leave was granted. When I arrived in Cannstatt I found only the base of the house we lived in at Teinacher Street 11. The house had collapsed in itself and only a smoking mound of rubble was left.

Father served as a soldier for the Armed Forces-Abnahmestelle (a place where products for the armed forces are checked for quality). He worked at the leather-goods factory Roser in Feuerbach. Fortunately he was at home the night of the bombings. He helped people out of their cellars and burning houses before the buildings collapsed. Some people ran across the asphalt like burning torches. Despite heavy defense by anti-aircraft cannons a few enemy bombers dared a low-level attack and fired their on-board weapons. Father suffered from smoke inhalation but still directed people to the meeting place at the Kursaal grounds. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.

Help for the people came fast and un-bureaucratic. They received used furniture, clothing and some money. Mother and Grandfather were assigned to live on the top floor in the house of the Bareiss Family, 69 Zeppelin Street in Stuttgart-West. Beginning of June 1943, after I had been discharged from Reichs-Work Duty after 3 months, I also lived there.

With the loss of our old apartment came the loss of old friendships within the building. Along with us, the Munder family had lost their home. The family was scattered throughout. Mr. Munder was a classmate of my father. Alfred, his older son lost both of his legs while serving in the east. When his father went to visit him at a hospital in Warsaw he was too late, Alfred had died. Walter, the younger brother died either in the beginning of 1945 at Weichselbogen or perished while in Russian imprisonment. I was friends with both of the boys.

Despite the painful experience, the last week of Reichs- Work Duty was entertaining. Troops held "Masquerades" of different kinds. Before bedtime they paraded throughout the rooms wearing all sorts of different costumes. The rooms housed ghosts, prisoners, pirates, monkeys and others. Our troop was called the "Under-Privileged". We didn’t wear anything except for the Reichs- Work Duty caps also called "butt with handle" because of its shape. We had belts around the waist, a rope around the neck with a washcloth at the end, and hidden in the washcloth was the "Working man’s prized possession", sneakers.

On June 1, 1943 we received our suitcases with our civilian clothing, which had been stored away. My suitcase was made of compressed carton and I had a brown suit; "German Woods" was the brand name. It rained on June 2. The room-oldest reported to the Forman who stayed behind: "Room 6 is heading out with 12 men! The dust is equally distributed throughout! The brooms are on vacation!" No one came to pick us up at camp. We carried our belongings about 12 – 14 km to Pfronten-Steinach, through the Engetal valley. Soaked from rain and sweat and wrinkled in appearance we climbed aboard the train towards home. We got away!

12. Time As Recruit In France

During the last days at the Tannheimer Camp the mailman brought more and more draft orders. Within a short period of time most of us had to report to their troops. After my initial inspection one year ago I received a service pass that read "Accepted by the 2^nd Admiral of the North-Sea Station, Wilhelmshaven, Career IX, Heavy Units". The foundation for this was my pre-military training in the Navy- Hitler Youth Group and professional knowledge as "Pen-Pusher". In the Navy, Career IX stood for administrative service. I was probably assigned to the "Heavy Units" because I wore glasses and therefore not able to serve on a Submarine.

Due to the tremendous loss of territory, people and material, setbacks in the east as well as failure in the war at sea and in North Africa, it was necessary to strengthen the army by all means. Crewmembers from destroyed planes and warships replenished the heavy losses of the army. What would the Navy want with me? On August 26, 1943, after a quick medical check by a navy doctor which was only a formality, I was assigned to the company of Grenadier-Reserve Battalion 460, stationed at the old fortress of the Williamsburg Castle in Ulm. With a coffee cake in my baggage I walked through the big archway where the guards were housed.

My civilian suit, which I wore when I arrived for Reichs- Work Duty, I sent back home. After I received the field-gray uniform I was handed an oval metal tag to put around my neck for identification. The tag was engraved with troop identification, the number 1587 and my blood type 0. I wore this tag until the time I got back home after my imprisonment and still have it today. Maybe there will be someone who will put it with me when I am called to our "Big Maker".

I still remember my roommates Heinz Holm, Oskar Roehrig and Rudi Blumhardt. Because we experienced so much disappointment already, none of us followed the call of the flag with enthusiasm. Still, I think there was not one of us who didn’t want to serve the best he could.

Heinz Holm lived in Stuttgart near Heilandsplatz/Metz Street. He got ill while in Sens and we went our separate ways. He was sent to a Regiment in Holland. By coincidence we met in Stuttgart while on convalescent leave in 1944. Both of us had been hospitalized after being wounded. I don’t know of his whereabouts since that time. I think Oskar Roehring was originally from Kaltental but I have lost track of him as well.

Rudi Blumhardt came from Esslingen. In January of 1944 he was assigned to a different troop while in Le Valdahon, maybe because he lived in America before the war and was fluent in English. I saw him at the Charlottenplatz in Stuttgart in 1945 or 1946. I think he may have gone back to the United States afterward.

Troop-Leaders from the Reich’s Work Duty Groups were now Army Group-Leaders. One Group consisted of about 12 to 20 men. My Leader in Ulm was a producer in Munich in his civilian life. He was a great guy and had the rank of a Non- Commissioned Officer of the Reserves. In my first days as a Recruit he gave me a few words of wisdom which were not found in any military service manual:

1. A soldier never attracts attention to himself, positive or negative.
2. An Infantry soldier sees everything but is not seen himself.
3. Infantry soldiers let the enemy approach until they see the white in their eyes. Then the action is swift.

To my benefit, I followed his advice whenever I could. I was also told to remember:
Infantrie, du bist die Krone aller WaffenInfantry; you are the crown of all weapons,
Infantrie, du traegst mit Stolz den schweren AffenInfantry, with pride you carry the heavy "monkeys",
Infantrie, ja dich vergess ich nie,Infantry, I will never forget you;
mit dir marschiert der Ruhm aus Deutschlands grosser ZeitWith you marches the glory of Germany’s
Hinein in alle Ewigkeit."biggest" time of all, into eternity.

According to the military service manual, training lasted 14 days. After that we were somewhat able to salute and understand the commands. "Left row, March", "Right row, March" etc.. On September 11, 1943, we climbed aboard a passenger train in the city of Ulm, heading to France. At first the train drove through our hometown of Stuttgart, nearby Pforzheim and Karlsruhe, then along the upper Rhein River through Rastatt, Baden-Baden, Kehl to Strassburg in the Elsass. Through Saarburg we reached such well-known battlefields of the 1^st World War at the Marne-Rhein-Canal and at the River Marne as: Luneville, Nancy, Toul, Bar le Duc, Vitry, Chalons, Epernay. After a short delay at the East Station in Paris we drove through Meaux. Along the route of Paris – Lyon we headed towards Sens. Sens is located at the Yonne River, 110 km southwest of Paris and was conquered by Wuerttemberg in 1814 during the wars of liberation against Napoleon. As a reminder of that time, a bronze plaque showing the Cathedral of Sens and the still unfinished tower can be seen on a column at the Schlossplatz in Stuttgart.

In the sunny fall of 1943 I began my combat training. There were more Units in Sens who like us also belonged to the Infantry Regiment 260 of the 165^th Wuertembergisch-Badisch Infantry Division. The barracks, which used to house the French Colonial Soldiers, was now home to Companies 1., 2., 3., 13. and 14. The first three Companies were the Rifle Companies. Company 13 was the Heavy Machine Gun Unit and Company 14. the Infantry Artillery Unit. In the field we called them the "Genickschussbatterie" (shot through the neck battery), because sometimes they fired grenades too short of a distance and the impact was felt on our lines instead of the enemy’s.

The Rifle Company was housed in the main building, which was structured ideally. Each Company had their own entrance, staircase and their own room. The staircases were joined. In the mornings, Non-Commissioned Officers on duty would blow their whistles at almost the same second on each floor. "Companyyyy Rise!" We would already have to be out of bed when the officers pushed open the doors right after the sound of the whistle. Casually the officer would yell, "Move it, Move it" before he disappeared. Now everyone had to make their bed, organize their locker and dress within a very short time. In between we heard the command "Person to get coffee, step forward!" In the meantime the guys on room-duty busied themselves getting the ashes out of the woodburnig stove and cleaning the room. The coffee was black without milk or sugar and therefore got it’s name "Niggersweat". The bread was dark and clumpy, the marmalade un-identifiable, most of the time bright red. Every now and again we also had rancid margarine and artificial honey.

Training was done quickly. Physical training in the morning was neglected in comparison to physical training during Reichs- Work Duty. Companies had to report at the barracks-square in field-gear almost every day. The Company Sergeant was in charge. We called him "Spiess" for short. At first it was a guy who called us "Boy’s". He said he would not ruin his voice on account of us. Thumb down means "Lay Down", thumb up means "Stand". This was the practice for a few days until someone else took over. He looked as grim as the "Kohlenklau" (Coal Thief) on the posters, who was supposed to remind us to conserve energy. He would stick his notebook between the buttons of his uniform. Soldiers had a song about the Spiess: "The Spiess, he has a very thick book, with names of soldiers who didn’t clean their boots or didn’t report for duty. The lark is still awake but the Spies is making a lot of racket. This is our morning blessing".

After the Company Sergeant inspected the Company, First Lieutenant Anliker came, sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback. The Company Sergeant reported the Company, how many man were fit for duty and how many man were sick. With bulging eyes the boss barked "Good Morning Soldiers". We answered "Good Morning Sir First Lieutenant". "Company right face! Forward march!" and we walked through the barracks gate. The Battalion Commander’s quarters were above the guard station and he watched the singing companies move out. Whether we were coming or going each company always sang their same song. As an identification song so to speak. This way the Battalion Commander would know who was about during dawn or by night.

Because we were infantry soldiers we trained in long distance marching. Training site Ferme Saint Pere, which means "Court Holy Father", was closest. Some of us did think about the Holy Father when the call "Grenades!" came and we had to dig ourselves in the ground as deep and as fast as possible. Our leader and trainer Private 1^st Class Brunner from Boeblingen was a soldier with frontline experience. So was his helper Lance Corporal Bentele from Oberschwaben who was not even afraid of the devil. While on a mission in the east he "took care" of enemy tanks on his own. Both of them stood right behind us if we didn’t dig in the ground like moles. Months later we found out the reason for this. Gunner Finkbeiner had fired shots without having a target or an order. Enough reason for First Lieutenant Anliker to have Gunner Finkbeiner from the Freudenstadt area locked up for three days.

Our shooting range was even further away than Ferme. The way there was difficult. Gunners assigned as Gunners-I had to carry a MG (machine gun) of about 30 pounds, a pistol and a toolkit. Gunners-II carried a gun a reserve barrel and reserve- lock for the MG. Gunners-III carried their gun along with 300 rounds of ammunition for the MG’s. Combat packs with blankets, ammunition pouches, side-arms (bayonet), spades, bread pouches, cantinas, mess-tins, steal helmets and gasmasks were among every one’s supplies.

Out of a soldier’s prayer book:
Ich bin ja nur ein armer Infanteriste,I am only a poor Infantry soldier,
Schuetze eins, das ist mein hoechstes Glueck,To be Gunner-I would be the best of luck.
Des abends 9 Uhr steig ich in die Kiste,At night at 9 o’clock I crawl into my crate.
Mit Sehnsucht denk ich an die Jugendzeit zurueckLongingly I think about my youth.
Griffe klopfen, Beine strecken zur Parade,Knocking on a pistol-grip, stretching legs for the parade,
stillgestanden, Augen rechts den Blick,standing still, eyes right face,
Des abends Negerschweiss mit Marmelade,in the evening "Niggersweat" and marmalade.
Mit Sehnsucht denk ich an die Jugendzeit zurueckLongingly I think about my youth.

One day during the march the Company Chief came up with the idea to sound the alarm for a gas-attack. Everyone put on their gas masks in a hurry except for our trainers. Because of the weight of the mask the trainers had only packed the "box" (outer case) and left the gasmask itself in the lockers. First Lieutenant Anliker stopped the company, chased the trainers into the woods and made them hop like rabbits with their arms held in front until they fell over.

15 km from the barracks was an area used for combat and sharp-shooting practice. The march there and back took 8 hours and we were engaged with activities in the field. So, we learned to fall into some sort of sleep even while marching. Every now and again one would call out "It is so nice to be a soldier"!", so we wouldn’t really fall asleep. Sometimes we heard "Hurray, we are going crazy"!. When we finally walked singing through the barracks gate we still had to complete one round in parade-step. On one occasion that didn’t go very smoothly so the boss had all of us take position and storm the kitchen including the mess hall. The MG’s fired blanks. Under fire-cover, gunners advanced in groups. For close combat the orders were "Side-arms ready" The barracks courtyard was clouded in dust. The knees from the guy on kitchen-duty were shaking. Grinning, the Battalion Commander looked out of his window. The French took cover. Later we heard that our boss got in big trouble with the Major because of this incident. We hardly ever saw the Major, which is why I don’t remember his name or what he looked like.

And how did we look in training? Like shooting gallery figures! Fatigues were usually a certain shade of green, a dark leaf green perhaps. During times of peace they were a white-gray shade. There were plenty of both kinds of uniforms leftover in the clothing room and had to be used. This is why some of us wore the light colored uniforms, some the green and some a combination of both. Only in the rarest of cases did the uniforms fit well. Either the sleeves were too short, the pants too long or too wide, or the jacket too tight. Did anyone complain? Keep your mouth shut. Better yet: One group had MG 38, the other group MG 42 and the third group a cheep imitation made of wood.

This is how we marched through the streets and alleys of our garrison. Often times the French would laugh at us and they couldn’t stand our singing any longer. They held their ears and stuck out their tongues. We were acknowledged but their expressions told us that they despised us. When once again the Resistance (that’s what the French Resistance Movement called themselves) slit the throat from one of our comrades we searched the whole area around the Cathedral. Our rage was immense and quite a few things broke due to the passive behavior of our opponents.

Our security personnel found out that a certain Monsieur Vernon belonged to the Resistance. He owned a villa on a tree- lined avenue behind high walls. I was one of a 10-men Commando Unit. On October 13, 1943, it was the 73rd birthday of my grandfather, we marched singing, seemingly by chance along the avenue. A guy from the Military Police who spoke French fluently and accent free rang the bell at the gate of Villa Vernon at around the same time. He was dressed in civilian clothing, wearing a beret and sunglasses. A cigarette was hanging from the corner of his mouth. We saw the gate open and our friend, who looked like a partisan, involved the maid in a conversation until we got closer. At the command "Stop" we stopped our singing and stormed through the open gate of the estate. Immediately we occupied the house and garden. Monsieur Vernon was tied and questioned. His answers were audacious. During the course of the evening more guys, members of the Resistance, arrived for a meeting at Vernon’s. The maid invited them in and we welcomed them properly. When it was completely dark the maid closed the shutters. Engineers arrived on schedule as planned to install detonation devices on doors, windows and skylights, set up to detonate if someone opened them. Quietly and secretly Monsieur Vernon and his buddies were taken to our barracks during the night. The guy from the Military Police, a few others, Madame Vernon, the maid and myself stayed in the Villa throughout the night. For the common soldiers the mission was over in the morning.

Our meal-rations were very slim. I already mentioned what breakfast was like. Lunch consisted of low-fat barley or carrot stews. For dinner we had army bread and hard, smoked sausage. At the sight of the sausage we started to scratch our feet and neigh like horses. The tea was indefinable. I thought about the French prisoners who were working on German farms. They had good food comfortable beds. Some guys found out that there was a restaurant near the barracks serving tasty food. Unfortunately the heavyset restaurant keeper charged a lot of money and we were only able to go every now and again. As ordered we did not go by ourselves but in small groups. As we were entering and leaving the restaurant we did our "Maenchen" which means: we stood at attention and greeted those present in snappy military style.

At times, one guy’s bad behavior would get all of us in trouble. We had drills or were not allowed to leave the barracks. On some nights the "Barracks Ghost" would visit the offender. Officially there was no such thing but it was silently tolerated. During the midnight hour the spook began. Water was thrown onto him. He was covered with blankets and like the thrashing with a flail; belt buckles flew down on him till he screamed. Afterwards it was as if nothing ever happened. The Irony: This comrade was the first to receive the Infantry-Assault Badge. We shot a wild pig on our training site on Christmas 1943. The chef used all eatable parts to make a loaf for our Christmas dinner. Our portions were plenty and the French red wine flowed in streams. Most of us were drunk and the latrines looked accordingly. There was a certain gallows humor on that day and all seemed forgotten. Personal leave form, when will you be mine? I would like so much to go home to see my sweetheart!

My longing was fulfilled:
From New Year, December 31, 1943 until mid January 1944 our Company was granted leave. Equipped with field gear and 5 bullets, which we had to keep in our left breast pocket, we traveled on a special train to Stuttgart then back to my unit in Sens. As soon as we got back we went on a hunt for Partisans. Planes had left a supply of material as well as more men for the Resistance on the Plateau of Langres. We had to move fast. Military vehicles were not available so all sorts of different vehicles including drivers were gathered from the French. According to the lettering, one of the vehicles must have belonged to a wine dealer. Another was for the transport of building materials. The third was from the motor pool of a street- cleaning company. This colorful arrangement arrived at the Plateau but what we found was not much. As we approached to capture the Partisans, some of them acted as suicide bombers. We didn’t shoot anyone. Interrogation of the prisoners led to the location of one off there hideouts. It was a restaurant in Sens near a bridge that crossed the river Yonne. I apprehended one of the Partisans during the raid and handed him over to the Military Police. The imprisoned Partisans sat in our barracks with bread and water. For other necessary "business" they were taken, cuffed together, across the barracks-square to the Donnerbalken. Guards pulled down their pants and even cleaned their butts!

340th

340^th Infantry Division

"….. We learned what our tactical sign was: a knight’s shield with a sword pointing down in the center. Around the handle of the sword a triangle, a square, a circle and the letter E, to symbolize the 340^th Division under Division Commander Erik …"

13. Preparation For Front-Line Engagement

After 3 full days of raids on the Resistance on the Plateau of Langres we were ordered to the French-Swiss Jura (mountain formation) on January 17, and 18, 1944 without any announcement beforehand. The troop- training site in Le Valdahon was close to the Swiss Border. I heard that some soldiers took off into Switzerland. All the more reason to guard the border especially well. Within 14 days our unit was supplied with almost everything needed for front line engagement.

We saw film material on the training of Russian Infantry Troops that was captured from the Russians. We were very impressed by the diligence of the Red Army in which they dug trenches as well as how good their Tank Troops worked together with their Infantry. We had fun during our lesson on weapons. Slender Sergeant Poppel explained the different parts "The MG 42 falls apart into the following main pieces: First, the barrel …" etc…. What kind of MG is this if it falls apart? And what is so special about it anyway?

Inside the teargas-chamber we practiced the changing of the gasmask-air filter to see if the masks were airtight. Thank God we never had to use the gas masks! We also trained the changing of Gunners at the MG. Gunners-I and Gunners-II had to change places while in a lying position but this was also not the way things happened at the front line. Among other things we also learned something that was already familiar to us from the time in Hitler- Youth Groups. For example: a map is a small layout of the earth’s surface.

There were a few pubs and a whorehouse in the town of Le Valdahon. Just before deployment to the front lines we were able to have a look around. I was not able to go because on this day, it was a Sunday, the Company Sergeant saw me standing at the bulletin board with my hands in my pockets. The punishment; I had to chop wood for the field-kitchen. Gulaschkanonen (field kitchen) were transported on uncovered platform vehicles. Other vehicles were loaded with provisions and, ridiculously enough, lots of personal luggage. Units scattered straw onto cattle trucks on which canon-heaters and heating material were loaded.

We left France traveling through Besancon-Montbeliard, the former Wuertembergisch Moempelgard, Belfort and Muehlhausen through the Burgundy gateway. The train rolled day and night. At one point we crossed the Neckar River in Cannstatt on the King-Wilhelm Viaduct. Melancholically I peered through a crack in the door, down to "Korfu Island" where I spent part of my youth. There was no escaping. Non-Commissioned Officer Michel who lived at or near Pleckethaldenstaffel in Stuttgart, today Novalisstaffel, was allowed to get off the train. He had a very bad looking infection on, and inside of his nose. He was able to go home for a short time. I was jealous.

Mother lived with her father about 200 m away from Michel’s family at Zeppelin Street. Would he be able to give my family my kind regards? I saw comrade Michel a few times after the war but I never asked him about that. During the day we passed Heilbronn, Crailsheim, Nuernberg, Schwandorf, Fuerth, Taus and Pilsen. When the train rattled across the maze of railways in Prague it was pitch black and we were not able to see anything of the city. Now came the towns of Krakau, Tarnow, Rzeszow, Jaroslau, Przemysl and Lemberg, which we were familiar with from the Poland-Campaign.

All of a sudden the train engaged its brakes. The wheels made a screeching sound and the buffers crashed together. A sign told us that we were at the small Polish station of Klaj. Soldiers were able to get off the train and stretch their limbs, numb from traveling aboard this tight cattle wagon. There was snow on the ground and we were still without winter clothing. While in France our Squad had purchased a camera. Whoever was still alive at the end would keep it. We took the first picture of the whole Squad; 11 men and standing on the left was Squad Leader Private 1^st Class Brunner from Boeblingen. I still recognize all the faces but I cant remember all of their names. There is comrade Frueh from Undingen, a farmer’s son from Schwaben who was not afraid of anything. Then I see comrade Tritschler from the Glottertal Valley in the Black Forrest, comrade Albert Renz from Beuren, Buck, a short guy from Huelben and comrade Herman Wolf from Urach.

We were in an area infested with Partisans. Therefore a few freight cars loaded with sand and gravel were coupled in front of the locomotive for the protection from mines. A freight car loaded with a Four-Barrel Anti- Aircraft Cannon was coupled in the back of the train. After the Unit was supplied with rations and the water tanks of the locomotive were filled the boiler man threw fresh coal into the fire. The locomotive pushed clouds of black smoke into the snowy sky. Heavily the train started moving towards Dubno – Rowno in the Ukraine.

The town of Brody was the next and final stop of our train voyage. We were still asleep when we arrived. The run down, barely lit station looked eerie. Troops of soldiers stood everywhere who where on their way to different locations within the German Reich. We looked at the unshaven faces and talked to the worn-out, emaciated men. Feeling sorry for us they asked what we little guys wanted here and mentioned that there was nothing else to win and that the Ivans (Russians) would beat us into pulps. We didn’t believe them. How dare they talk to us like that? The train was unloaded the same night. On the tracks leading towards town stood an excellent camouflaged Panzerzug (several camouflaged freight cars with mounted artillery. The pulling/pushing locomotive is also equipped with weapons and is camouflaged). So there: what do you guys want? We are still somebody!

The town of Brody made a very easterly impression. The houses and streets looked just as we saw them in the news. We didn’t see anything or anybody except for a few Panjewagen (a small wagon which can be pulled by a small workhorse) with Polish-Russian workhorses in the front. Snow, straw and rubbish was lying in the streets. What has happened here we wondered? We took a look around inside the mostly two-story buildings. Empty! We rummaged through the scattered things but didn’t find anything useful. Eventually came to a house in which we found tools in the attic that were un-known to us. I picked up a book. The writing was Hebrew. White curtains hung from the beams. We were about to leave this place when we saw a bride lying on the floor, covered in a white veil. Dead. She looked pale and her cheeks were sunken in. This was our sign to go. We left hastily and never talked to anyone about our experience.

In the meantime our Troop was supplied with horses, ammunition and camouflaged uniforms. The uniforms were reversible: white on one side camouflage on the other. Our morale was lifted tremendously. We were told that we were now part of the 340th Infantry Division, Grenadier Regiment 694, 1^st Battalion, 3^rd Company, Platoon 3. Our tactical sign and the symbol for the 340^th Division under Division Commander Erik was a knight’s shield with a sword pointing down in the center. Around the handle of the sword was a triangle, a square, a circle and the letter E. Non-Commissioned Officer Hans Hahn, a guy from Weilersbach near Forchheim in Oberfranken and former member of the Grenadier Regiment Greater-Germany introduced himself as our Platoon Leader. The snow was getting deeper and our unit began to move out. The land was hill country with a lot of woods. We saw dead horses laying on their backs with bloated bodies, their legs pointing up in a strange way. We passed the settlements of Radziwilow, Rohozne, Dublany, Demidowka, Szwishow.

For whatever reason the field kitchen was not able to supply us with food. Most of all we missed the tea to quench our thirst. We were not allowed to eat snow. Somehow comrade Frueh and I got our hands on a bottle of French brandy. We sipped it. During the long march on snow covered narrow paths through the woods, our feet got heavier and heavier. There was no denying it: We were slightly drunk. Privates 1^st Class were the backbone of the army and most of them were honored with the "Gefrierfleischorden" (nickname for a medal), which they received after the winter-deployment of "Operation Barbarossa". One of them, a guy from East Prussia, heaved both of us onto the horse pulled wagon. We slept the sleep of the righteous. At night we arrived in the village of Ochmadkowa. Comrade Frueh and I crawled off the vehicle. Right away we reported to Non Commissioned Officer Hahn with the request to take on the night watch. He agreed and retreated inside one of the abandoned Panjehauser (low house with clay walls and straw roof. Often times it housed people and animals) with the rest of the unit. The clay walls of the houses were reinforced with bales of straw to keep out the cold. The overhanging straw roofs of these houses made them even look a bit homey. Comrade Frueh and I had no idea in which tactical area we where. We assumed to be about 50 km north east of Brody. The night was still except for a container on a fence that sometimes rattled in the wind.

14. Baptism Under Fire in the Ukraine

At daybreak we saw two Tank-Scout Vehicles rolling towards us from the east. As a precaution we woke our Platoon Leader. As the vehicles came closer we thought we recognized the "Balkenkreuz" (mark for identification) but we couldn’t shake our skepticisms. Men wearing black uniforms, caps and headphones sat on the vehicles. One of them shouted: "Where can we find your chief? We are the last ones here; no one else will come. The Ivan is sitting over there on top of the hill. Take care!" They were gone. So this is it! We are standing right on what would become the (HKL) main firing line.

What should be done in this case? Our own Scout Troop would have to move out. When the first men returned they brought back one who had died. Comrade Buerkle had been shot right in the middle of his forehead. We could see blood trickling out of a penny- sized wound. He was the first of our men to die. Our Company Chief was a giant of a man. Even though there were strict orders for Officers to be accompanied by a Communications Specialist the chief walked throughout the area alone. When he was missing a search party went to look for him. He was found dead at the left flank. The Chief had the knowledge of an order we had been unaware off. We were supposed to take the hill in front of us, the enemy’s left position where the Chief was killed, than advance to the River Styr the next morning, on February 22, 1944.

At first our assault made good progress. Our fighter planes appeared in the sky. We lay’d out so called ground- panels to enable the pilots to see our position. But, what happened? Obviously disoriented they dropped their bombs behind our lines. Luckily without harming any of us. Then the planes launched a low-level attack and flew into the woods in front of us. The Ivans had withdrawn into these woods. We had to advance across the open terrain with hardly any cover. The Russians who were bringing up the rear welcomed us with angry gunfire. Bullets flew all around us. Millimeter by millimeter we tried to dig deeper into the snow and ground by scratching with our hands and feet. I even used my teeth to pull out the frozen blades of grass. "Oh, dear God" It went through my head, "have mercy, I will never make it out of here!" My grandfather came into my mind. I admired him because I learned so much from him. We did have our disputes and he used to say "Boy, one day you will think of me!" Back then I would laugh at him in my mind! Now I though of him faster than I would have imagined. "Dear God, don’t let me die here but if it has to be please let me get buried at home!"

Squad Leader Private 1