Thank you for this suzanna. It's fascinating to hear stories of the post-war German landscape in the American sector 1945-47'. Far too many of these accounts are never published. Eisenhower's (Morgenthau's) revenge was diabolical and probably still hidden from 90% of the American populace. Around the time your father found those GIs seeking interpreters my grandfather (from Freiburg and later Mainz) was living on a farm in Switzerland under an assumed name. In 44' he "deserted" with my French grandmother who was in the resistance. How war upends lives and defers dreams.
Well, dear readers, I know a bit about Jews in Germany. (what is said)
1) They were said to have created and thrived in the practice of being
"high society", controlling and owning the arts. Not including any Germans
in that/their world. They would be the wealthy prospering Jews, and they
also were part of an international system of wealthy others. Those peeps,
with brains, left Germany B4 war progressed.
2) Jews unaffiliated with the elite remained in Germany, living their lives,
and enjoying being German, until they didn't.
3) The most humble Jews became workers toward the war effort in camps
of workers. Some were abused, others not so much. They, as a whole, were
valuable workers replacing Germans that became soldiers.
4) As war broke out, soldiers received the meat and proteins, and food in general,
to the despair of the Germans. As food became scarce and more scarce the
women could not feed their babies. At one point, carrot juice was all that was
available for babies, and they all turned orange. As the average German was
starving, less was available for residents of work camps and they began to starve,
and died from that and accompanying disease.
5) I do not want to get into Eisenhower's "revenge" but my Dad at near 18 yrs.
was rescued from an open air prison because GIs in Jeeps were at the fences
calling for English speakers to interpret for them to gain access to the spoils of
war. They traded food for goods. My Dad spoke English well, was anti-war,
avoided conscription by being hidden in a Girl's school, until he was found.
He was thrilled to see the Americans, spoke fluent English, and thus was released
and then worked for the Americans. My Mother, also an English speaker, worked
for the equivalent of the Red Cross making bandages eg. Later she became the
house keeper/maid/interpreter for a colonel who lived in a seized home part
time looking after the family's huge Boxer Dog and supervising the outdoor staff
of 3.
Thank you for this suzanna. It's fascinating to hear stories of the post-war German landscape in the American sector 1945-47'. Far too many of these accounts are never published. Eisenhower's (Morgenthau's) revenge was diabolical and probably still hidden from 90% of the American populace. Around the time your father found those GIs seeking interpreters my grandfather (from Freiburg and later Mainz) was living on a farm in Switzerland under an assumed name. In 44' he "deserted" with my French grandmother who was in the resistance. How war upends lives and defers dreams.