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LISTEN TO THE PAST:

TRUE STORIES REFLECTING

THE SECOND WORLD WAR

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Partners:

Liceul Tehnologic Economic “Virgil Madgearu”, Iaşi, Romania

Gimnazija Jurja Barakovića, Zadar, Croa ia

Erich-Gutenberg-Berufskolleg, Bünde, German

Galatasaray Lisesi, Istanbul, Tur

The International School, Birmingham,

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key

United Kingdom

Erasmus+ programme, Key Action 2 - Strategic Partnership, 2015-2017

ISBN 978-973-0-22097-1

The European Commission support for the production of this publication

does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views

only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any

use which may be made of the information contained therein.

9 789730 220971

LISTEN TO THE PAST:TRUE STORIES REFLECTINGTHE SECOND WORLD WAR

Erasmus+ programme, Key Action 2 –Strategic Partnership, 2015-2017

Listen Stories engaged in the Past – the Second World War

Iași, 2016

This project has been funded with the support of theErasmus+ programme of the European Union

ISBN 978-973-0-22097-1

CONTENT

Motivation .............................................................................. 5

Romania .................................................................................. 7

Romania during the Second World War ............................... 9I took part in the ba�les to free Bessarabia ......................... 21The fear of dying was always in my heart and in my soul ... 26Remembrances from the war ................................................ 30Painful memories from the war ............................................ 34A story of deportation ............................................................ 38

Croatia ................................................................................... 43

Croatia in World War II ................................................... 45The weeds in the garden of my grandmother's youth ..... 53Remembrance from the war time ......................................... 60Painful memories from the war ............................................ 62The Second World War through the eyes of a children ...... 65Recollections from the war .................................................... 68

Germany ................................................................................. 71

The Second World War – an introduction from the German point of view ...................................................... 73Gerhard Saalmann: Hitlerjugend, from student to soldier in 1944 ....................................................................................... 83Renate Späth (nee Minning): Air raid attacks and bombs at the end of the war ............................................................... 88Manfred Brendel: Manipulation of young people,experiences during the war ................................................... 93

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Hedwig Biermann: 1945-46 German refugee fromSilesia/Schlesien (today: Poland) ..........................................97Ernst Tilly: Loss of everything, refugee in Bünde ........... 103

Turkey ................................................................................... 107

Turkey in World War II .................................................. 109Nazife Kaplica: While boys joined the army, girls wereploughing the fields .............................................................. 113Fatma Özsan: Walking through difficult times .................115Aziz Gürbüz: Living with the burden of fear ................... 117Ümit Sönmez Ateş: The war brought a lot of austerity measures ................................................................................. 120Metin Kirvanoğlu: Be thankful for the bread we have… .............................................................................. 122

United Kingdom .................................................................. 125

World War Two in the United Kingdom .................... 127Steve Callow: Recollections from the wartime .................135Gwen Thomas: Eyewitness of the London Blitz, 1940 .... 137Ron Hill: I wanted to be a real soldier ............................... 139Jim London: Witness of the battle of the River Plate ......141Jack Maddocks: Bravely serving the Royal Navy ............ 143

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MOTIVATION

The book „Listen to the Past: True Stories reflectingthe Second World War” is the first Intellectual Outputof the Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership “Listen Storiesengaged in the Past – the Second World War”. It gathersfive of the most representative stories learnt by the stu-dents in each partner school from several survivors ofthe Second World War and its consequences. The storiesrepresent the outcome of the research carried out bystudents on the Second World War and its impact, con-sequences and moral implications, having as startingpoint the discussions with their grandparents or otherelderly acquaintances from their family or communitywho participated directly in the Second World War orthe period that came immediately a�er it. The aim ofthis research was to take into account intergenerationaleducation and to gather and write down some signifi-cant gripping life-stories from the Second World Warand its effects (collectivization, arrests, forced Stalini -zation, the division of Germany and of Europe etc.).

The 70 years that have passed since the end of theSecond World War increase the difficulty of gatheringauthentic information from the survivors. This is why weconsider it is highly important to bring our students in

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direct contact with people who ma�er for them (grand-parents, relatives) instead of only learning about theevents from history books. Thus teenagers have a chanceto understand and empathize with those who lived andsurvived the horrors of war.

What makes this book unique and of high impor-tance is the fact that the 25 stories gathered from the5 countries bring together different experiences fromthe Second World War and the period a�er its ending(Romania and Croatia became communist states, UnitedKingdom and Turkey kept their free country status andGermany was divided into two systems, communistand capitalist).

Therefore, the project management teams in all thefive partner schools aim to make this book into a com-pelling document for current and future generations.Practically, the book contains an original collection ofhistorical recordings – gathered by the students involvedin the project – of simple people’s memories of their dailylives during the Second World War, a pledge to acknow -ledge the past and to value peace.

By bringing forth the past and the experiences en-dured during the Second World War, we have in mindnot only to help the young to tightly connect with historyand its deeper meanings, but also to promote the edu-cation for peace and solving conflicts amiably as prio -rities of the contemporary society.

Mihaela Ţurcănaşu, project coordinator

Listen Past:True Stories reflecting WW II

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Listen to the Past:True Stories reflecting the Second World War

ROMANIA

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ROMANIA DURING THE SECONDWORLD WAR

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

On August 23, 1939, the Nazi Germany and the SovietUnion signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a secretprotocol that divided Poland and Romania betweenthe two totalitarian powers. In Romania, the SovietUnion claimed Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia.


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Signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Mihaela Ţurcănaşu

On September 1, 1939, Poland was invaded anddivided according to the pact. Romania remained offi-cially a neutral country. Up to 120.000 military Polishpersonnel, the treasury and the exiled governmentwere evacuated through the Romanian Bridgehead(the Polish border with the Northern Bukovina) toreach the British territory (Alexandria, Egypt).

The loss of protection and external support

Romania’s two main guarantors of territorial in-tegrity – France and Britain – crumbled in the Fall of France(June 1940). The borders of the Kingdom of Romaniawere threatened by the territorial claims of Hungaryand Bulgaria, supported by Germany and Italy, and ofthe Soviet Union. The country faced increasing turmoilas a result of the authoritarian regime of King Carol IIand the rise of fascist and other far-right movementssuch as the Iron Guard, which advocated revolutionaryterrorism against the state.

The Loss of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina

In June 1940, a week a�er the fall of France, the SovietUnion issued two ultimatums to Romania urging theimmediate and unconditional evacuation of Bessarabiaand Northern Bukovina. Thus, Romania was forced toevacuate and surrender without fighting Bessarabiaand Northern Bukovina, because it had no externalsupport. The summons was based on the secret annexof the non-aggression pact signed on August 23, 1939(Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact).

Listen to the Past:True Stories reflecting WW II

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The Vienna Dictate

The Vienna Dictate was an international treaty signedon August 30, 1940, under which Romania was forcedto cede almost half of Transylvania to the Hortyst Hun-gary. Arbitrates in this situation were the Nazi Germanyand the Fascist Italy. Hitler expressed his support forthe territorial claims of the government in Sofia. As aresult, on August 19, 1940 the Government of Romaniabegan negotiations with Bulgaria and on September10, 1940, Ion Antonescu signed the Surrender Treatyof south-eastern Dobrudja – Cadrilater.

The way to the warIn the summer of 1940, the loss of the Romanian

territories and the disorders caused by the Legionnaires


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Romania’s lost territories in 1940

(the Iron Guard), allied with general Ion Antonescu,led eventually to the abdication of King Carol II. Ten daysa�er, the National Legionary State was proclaimed,legionnaires being the main political force of the go -vernment for almost half a year. Taking into accountthe new realities, Romania was forced to enter the war.

Romania on the Eastern Front (1941-1944) of theSecond World War

On September 6, 1940, general Ion Antonescu wasnamed prime minister by King Carol II. Two days later,on September 8, 1940, he forced the abdication ofCarol II in favour of his 19-year-old son Mihai. On No-vember 19, 1940, general Antonescu le� to Berlin, in hopeof regaining Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina forRomania. Romania signed “the Tripartite Act” on No-vember 23, 1940, joining thus the Axis Powers.

The German troops entered Romania in 1941, usingour territory as a strategic point for the planned in-vasions in Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Romaniawas a great resource for Germany, in particular for oiland cereals.

Operation Barbarossa

Romania has contributed with nearly 700.000 sol-diers when the Invasion of the Soviet Union began, onJune 22, 1941. At 2 o’clock in the morning of June 22,1941, the Romanian Army received from general An-tonescu the famous order: “Soldiers, I order: cross thePrut river! Crush the enemies from the east and north!”,


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a non-formal declaration of war. From June 22 to July26, 1941, the Romanian troops fought for the liberationof Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, to re-establishthe borders existent in January 1940. But Antonescucommi�ed Romania to Hitler’s war effort beyond theDniester and thrust deeper into the Soviet territory,thus waging a war of aggression.

The war of aggression: August 1941 – October 1942

The Romanian Army invaded the Sovietic territory.On August 30, 1941, Romania occupied “Transnistria”,formerly a part of the Ukrainian SSR, instituting a CivilGovernment. Romanian units fought side by side withthe Germans onward to Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingradand the Caucasus.

During the 1942 campaign, Romania contributedtwo full armies (3rd and 4th) to the Axis order of ba�le.


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The Romanian and German soldiers preparing to cross the Prut River

The plan was to secure the Don and Volga rivers. Thenext target was Caucasus, with its rich oil fields. By theend of June 1942, the Axis Powers forced the Red Armyto withdrew behind the Don river, heading eventuallyto siege Moscow.

The beginning of the end: November 1942 –February 1943

The Soviet armies had congregated on either sideof Sta lingrad, specifically into the Don bridgeheads,and struck on November 19, 1942, punching throughthe Romanian lines.

The Romanian formations (The Third and FourthArmies) were vaporized in the opening moments ofthe Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad.

From all points of view, the ba�le of Stalingrad wasthe bloodiest and the most expensive battle ever. Itlasted for 199 days. The Romanian forces, made upprimarily of infantry, were overrun by large numbersof tanks and suffered enormous losses (≈160.000 men),which effectively ended their offensive capability onthe Eastern Front for the remainder of the war.

A�empts to withdraw from the war

Aware that Germany was losing the war, MarshallAntonescu and King Mihai authorized the DeputyPremier and Minister of Foreign Affairs to set up contactswith the Allies. The secret negotiations at Madrid,Stock holm, Lisbon and Cairo failed.


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The most advanced armistice with the USSR wasat Stockholm, under the following terms: return to theRomanian-Soviet border set in June 1940; participationof the Romanian Army in the fight against Germany;payment of unspecified war reparations and the obso-lete character of the Vienna Dictate.

War comes to Romania

By 1943 Romania became a target of Allied aerialbombardment (the oil fields of Ploieşti - August 1, 1943).Bucharest was intensely bombed by the Allies (April4 and 15, 1944) and Germans (August 24-25, 1944).

In the spring of 1944, the Soviet Union launched thefirst ground offensive against Romania. The Jassy–Kishinev Offensive (August 20, 1944) ended with the


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American bombardier flying over a burning oil refinery at Ploieşti

collapse of the German-Romanian front in the regionand the capture of Târgu Frumos and Iaşi on August21 and Khisinev on August 24, 1944.

Romania a�er August 23, 1944

By August 23, 1944, the Russian troops had alreadyentered Romania. In that morning, the politician Gheor -ghe Brătianu took one step further in convincing theMarshall to close the Truce. Marshall Antonescu metKing Mihai I saying he is willing to sign the Truce a�erthe front is set and a�er he obtains Hitler’s agreement.

That same evening, King Mihai announced on radiothe exit from the alliance with The Axis Powers and theimmediate closing of the war with the United Nations.Between August 23-28, 1944, there were heavy fights in


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King Mihai in the evening of August 23, 1944, delivering his speech on Radio Romania

the Valley of Prahova, in the Danubian ports, in Do-brudja and Oltenia. Bucharest, the capital, was the sceneof some bi�er street-fighting between the Nazi Forcesand the Romanian troops.

The Truce Convention – September 12, 1944

The Convention declared Romania a defeated coun-try in the war imposing payment of some war damagestowards the USSR worth of 300 million $. The arbitrageof Vienna was declared null and thus Transylvania isreturned to Romania.

The Liberation of Transylvania

The last enemy resistance in Northern Transylvaniawas on the Carei-Satu Mare alignment. Two RomanianArmy corps were sent to set free, along with the SovietArmy, the cities of Carei and Satu Mare. The attackwhich liberated Carei took place in the night of October


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Ceremonies held to celebrate the liberation of Transylvania

24 to 25, 1944. The Nazi Forces gave ground and eva -cuated the city of Carei.

A�er the liberation of the national territory and thecancellation of the Vienna arbitrary decision from 1940,the major operating units of the Romanian Army, to-gether with the Soviet Army, took part in the releasefrom occupation of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and of someother areas from Austria.

In Czechoslovakia, the Romanian army foughtalongside the Soviet Army, between December 18, 1944 –May 12, 1945. A large number of Romanian soldiers(285.000) took part in this campaign, a quarter of themdying.


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The Romanian army in Czechoslovakia

The Yalta Conference – February 4-11, 1945

The Yalta Conference took place at a time when theend of the war was foreseen and it rallied leaders fromthe United Kingdom, the United States and the SovietUnion. Military cooperation problems were debated, aswell as the organization of the post war Europe underthe influence of the Big Three. The unconditional sur-render and the administration manner of the Germanterritory were established.

The military and the workers’ parade were dedi-cated to May 9, 1945, entitled the Victory Day. Manypeople took part in the parade, among which the Pre -sident of the Council of Ministers, Ivan Zaharovici, thegeneral colonel of the Soviet army, his Majesty KingMihai I, Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej and representativesof the United Nations.

Since the Yalta Conference, Eastern and Central Eu-rope came under the influence of the Soviet Union.The Russian troops supported the establishment ofCommunism in Romania through political abuses. In1947, the Communist Party defrauded the parliamen-tary elections, and therefore the Communists took thepower.

The Peace Treaty of Paris

This document confirmed the loss of Bessarabia,Northern Bukovina and the southern part of Dobrudja(Cadrilater). Through the Peace Treaty of Paris signedin 1947, the leaders of the United Nations forced Ro-mania to accept harsh political, economic and military


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conditions. On December 30, 1947, the Communistsand the Soviet Army requested King Mihai’s resignation.

The a�ermath of World War II in Romania

For Romania, World War II meant:- The irremediable loss of Bessarabia and Northern

Bukovina; - The economic crisis and the destruction of a major

part of the industry;- Devaluation of the national currency;- Skyrocketed inflation;- Imposing of huge war damages (1,2 billion $);- Starvation and disrupted families.


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Romania signing the Peace Treaty of Paris Gheorghe Tatarascu (standing), the diplomatic leader of Bucharest

I TOOK PART IN THE BATTLES TO FREE BESSARABIA*

“My name is Mihai Bălănici. I was born on the 9th ofApril, 1911. I graduated the primary and Cra�s Schooland I am a ploughman. I was assigned to the 3rd FrontierGuard Regiment stationed in Chernivtsi and I servedthere for three years together with the frontrunnerPeliniţa. In 1937 I got married.


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* Le�er wri�en by me, Mihai Bălănici, Vlădeni village, Iașicounty, to my grandson, Răzvan Buişteanu

Mihai Bălănici

Răzvan Buișteanu

In September 1939 I was once again summoned tothe Regiment and in October, the same year, I arrivedhome. There was a special order for the mobilization ofreservists and we went back to work in the villageVadul lui Vodă, in Dubăsari, on the Dniester River.Here, we found out that France had been defeated andI told myself that it was not going to be good for us.

And this is exactly how things were. In June 1940we received the order to evacuate Bessarabia and inthree days we arrived at the Prut River very upset andhungry. The regiment was very disappointed. Our flagswere broken and lined up on a fence. When we wantedto cross the Prut River, the Soviet army took out thefloor from our bridge. Our lieutenant, Ciocan, tried toreason with them, but there was no use. They explainedto him that they had received an order to disarm us.Angry, Lieutenant Ciocan informed Colonel Popescuabout our situation. The la�er ordered us to cross thebridge as soon as possible, even under the Soviet’s con-ditions. Lieutenant Ciocan fired his gun above the Sovietsoldiers, scaring them to death. Before they realisedwhat was going on, we managed to put together a floorfor the bridge out of boards, doors and logs. When we gotto the border in Albiţa, the Soviet border guards werethreateningly waiting for us, with their machine guns.The Colonel showed them the order and we managedto pass safely the bridge above the Prut River.

In 1940 Colonel Constantin Popescu told us aboutchanging the name of the Regiment. Therefore, we wereno longer part of the 3rd Frontier Guard Regiment, but of


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the 10 Mountain Rangers Regiment. We later found out thatthis reorganization was part of the war preparationsto free Bessarabia and a continuation of the war againstthe USSR, alongside Germany. Not coincidentally, aguy of German origin named Raoul Halunga becamethe leader of our Regiment. Our Regiment had an im-portant role within the Munich Operation. Therefore,on the 4th and on 5th of July 1941, we forced the passingof the Prut River in the Drănceni-Câlcea region. Ourregiment was quoted for heroism and bravery in theOrder of the 15th Infantry Division. A�er encounteringa strong Soviet resistance at Nisiporeni, we gloriouslyentered the city of Tighina, a garrison city that we hadle� a year before in humiliating conditions.


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Romanian soldiers – Odessa, 1941 (source George Damian)

Hundreds of soldiers died in order for us to crossthe Dniester River and to a�end the destruction of theStalin line of front. Between the 3rd and the 5th of August1941 the Regiment and I were part of the Sibka area,in Ukraine, where we defeated 7 countera�acks. Ourregiment was again quoted for heroism in the DayOrder of the Division. Between the 14th and the 23rd ofAugust we fought at Adjealâk-Adjialischi, near Odessaand we managed to throw the Soviets into the sea.Once we got close to Odessa, I hid myself in the holesdug by the Soviet bombardments and cannons. It wasvery difficult for us to defend ourselves and to coun-tera�ack. During the night we couldn’t move or seevery well because of the enemy searchlights.

On the 28th of August,colonel Halunga defeatedan artillery countera�ackwhile he was inspecting aterritory that he had toconquer at Bujalik, whileanother projectile seriouslywounded lieutenant’s Vio -rel Cuge reanu’s right foot.The intensity of the a�ackson Odessa made me com-pletely lose my hearing inmy le� ear.

Starting with July 1942,I took part in the Blue Ope -ration in Caucasus where


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Mountain Rangers – Caucasus,1942 (source George Damian)

we got close to Terek. Losing the ba�le in Stalingradmade our troops to withdraw towards Kuban in Crimea,from where we were gra dually evacuated to Romania.A German officer chose a group of Romanian soldiers(and I was part of it) to take care of 300 horses. When wegot the chance to escape we ran and went to Bârlad, atthe recruitment centre. Here we found Colonel Popafrom the same village I was living in. We made a planto arrive on the Iaşi front at Strunga and Târgu Frumos,where we stayed in pillboxes for 5 months. On the 23rd

of August 1944 we received the order to stop shootingand to go outside. We later found out that Romaniaturned arms against Germany. The Russians caught us,cursed us and took our weapons. We were treated asprisoners and not as allies, as we were supposed to be.This was extremely frustrating.

There are many other things I could tell you aboutthe war, for example how I fought in Czechoslovakiaor things about everything that I endured during thewar or how my life was negatively influenced by thisslaughter. But all of it is grief.”


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THE FEAR OF DYING WAS ALWAYSIN MY HEART AND IN MY SOUL*

“My name is Gheorghe Enea. I was born on the 2nd

of April 1926. I was a police officer. In April 1943 I was dra�ed and distributed in the

3rd ba�alion of Pionieri (Pioneers) in the 3rd Division of‘Vânători de Munte’ (‘Mountain Rangers’) alongsideother 285 young men from my village Duda, Vaslui

county. I was 17 when I le� hundreds of kilometresaway from my home and my country, leaving behindan almost deserted village and a lonely mother in tears.I went to training for two months before I was sent to


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* Le�er wri�en by me, Gheorghe Enea, Duda village, Vasluicounty, to Rafael Maxim

Gheorghe Enea

Rafael Maxim

the front. I fought in Ukraine and Bessarabia until Iwas taken prisoner.

I spent seven months on the front, during which Iwas promoted as platoon commander. The conditionswere extremely difficult. I put on the be�er clothes andshoes of the killed soldiers to withstand the bi�er coldfrom Russia. Food was supplied intermi�ently, so wewould only eat an 800 gram peas can every two orthree days. We would sleep wherever we could, in thetrenches, in stables, on hay. Our sleep was haunted bythe sound of bullets whistling past. It was terrible!

The fear of dying was always in my heart and inmy soul.

One of the most difficult moments in the war waswhen the explosion of a shell triggered a landslide thatcovered us. In the few hours I spent beneath the earthI thought I wouldn’t survive because the earth was ex-tremely heavy. We slowly made progress by crawling,like moles. Those who managed to get out helped theother ones, pulling them out.

I can’t believe the things I went through and theawful things I saw! My war comrade, Constantin State,was wounded in the leg by an enemy grenade shard.It was deemed that it wasn’t necessary for him to getemergency medical assistance behind the front so he keptfighting until he healed. How the poor fellow com-plained! He was a year older than me. He was like abrother to me! We would eat together, build a shelternext to the other, we encouraged each other. ‘Will wemake it?’, he’d ask me. ‘That’s up to God!’, I’d tell him.


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Those who died were thrown in a mass grave.Earth was thrown on top and that was it. I was lucky,God loved me and was always by my side. Unfortu-nately, one of my brothers, Vasile, died in the ba�le onthe Don River, while my second brother, Dumitru, sur-vived and came back home.

While on the front, I couldn’t keep in touch withmy family. I didn’t know anything about my brotherson the front, in different war theatres. I was alone. It’salso how I felt when I was caught and kept prisoner bythe Russians. I can’t even remember how many days Iwalked without food or water. We would hold handsto keep each other warm, to support each other, so thatwe would pull through. Those who couldn’t keep upwith the march were taken 5 metres behind the columnand shot by the Soviet soldiers. I worked in a coal mine.There was li�le food, unnourishing. The soup, whichwas watery, cabbage and fish heads were the only foodwe got.

In mid-1946 we were taken inside the concentra-tion camp and told we would be taken to Romania. Thestock train le� us in Galaţi. When I got off in Vaslui, Icrossed myself and thanked God I made it back safe.Then I got on my knees and kissed the ground. I thenlearned from the village city hall that out of the 285young men from Duda who were dra�ed only 173came back. The rest had died in the war.

I was decorated for the military services broughtto the Romanian state in WW II. I believe that the most


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precious honour is life itself, given to me by the Al -mighty, and I am happy to have entered the ninthdecade of my life.”


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REMEMBRANCES FROM THE WAR*

“My name is Costache Radu. I was born on the 2nd

of February, 1928 and I am a winegrower. I was taken to war in April

1944. Buglers were walking aroundthe village calling out with sternvoices: ‘All youngsters have togo to the city council in order tobe divided into groups and sentto war.’ I hadn’t turned 15 yet,but I was proudly standing inline, thinking that I could dosomething for my country.

At that moment, my entirevillage Dumeşti from VasluiCounty was bustling, as if youhad aroused a swarm of bees.The groups were established ac-

cording to our age. The oldest became troop com-manders, because they were considered to be moremature, more educated and be�er trained physically.We walked to Buhăieşti and from there we took the


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* Le�er wri�en by me, Costache Radu, Dumeşti village, Vas -lui county, to my granddaughter, Georgiana Radu

Costache Radu

Georgiana Radu

train to Vaslui. From here on, we went to Râmnicu Vâl-cea in a waggon and we arrived there three days later.On our way we found out that the front had moved onthe Romanian territory and that the general staff hadissued new concentration orders to defend ourselvesfrom the Soviet army. Because we were too young andinexperienced we were sent to prepare the defenceagainst the Soviet troops. For 5 months in a row wedug anti-tank trenches, we built wire obstacles, shootinglocations and shelters for the infantry. We understoodthat these preparations were part of the Romanianarmy’s final resistance in the way of the country’s con-quest by the Soviet Union.

During that period Romania was allied with Ger-many. On the 23rd of August 1944 the officer who was


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The Romanian army (source Istorie pe scurt.ro)

in charge of us received the order to put the youngerones on the train and to send them home. The olderones together with their fathers were sent to the front.I don’t know the administrative and bureaucratic reasonswhy my father was not taken to the front to supporthis son in war. Although my direct involvement in thewar was over, my family’s involvement wasn’t.

My brother, Gheorghe Radu, ended up fighting inHungary and in the Tatra Mountains. He told me thatthe Russians didn’t support the Romanians in the fightsagainst the German army, not even through the ar-tillery. On the contrary, they made sure that we didn’twithdraw by killing the ones who gave up their positionsin any circumstance. We received more help from theCzech and Slovak partisans than from the Russian troops.The fights took place in very difficult conditions, during


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The Romanian army – Slovacia (source Historia.ro)

blizzards and against an enemy that was well equippedand thoroughly armed. The lack of modern weapons andmunition o�en transformed the a�acks into a grapplewith the bayonet or with the stock of the rifle. For thesereasons, we experienced great losses. But only whenour troops became insufficient to support an a�ack, westopped our advancement and we asked for reinforce-ments from Romania. These were the only momentswhen we could catch our breath and have a li�le rest.

My brother sadly told me about the horrible scenesthat he had witnessed. He had always refused to takepart in the executions of the captured German prisonersand this cruel task was gladly taken over by the Sovietsoldiers. Even some of the Russian officers, from whomI had other expectations when it came to their behaviour,asked for the execution, with no exception, of all theGerman civilians met along the way. He saw how womenwere using mud or dejections in order not to get raped,but killed directly. Mothers sacrificed themselves to savetheir children. Civilians preferred to commit suicidethan to be tortured by the Russians. It was somethingthat cannot be described. He told me never to lose myfaith or forget about the Christian teaching, as thesewere the only ones that saved him during those timesfull of hatred and malice.

We were lucky that my brother, although injured,came back alive from the front and even earlier than hewas supposed to, on the 9th of May, 1945. His wound,however, remained as a scar for the rest of his life, re-minding him of the painful moments of the war.”


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PAINFUL MEMORIES FROM THE WAR*

“My name is Gheorghe Strugaru. I was born on the18th of November 1921. I am a winegrower.

Even before the war, life was hard. I was a simpleman working from dusk till dawn to make ends meet.The outbreak of war complicated things even more. Itseemed as though the world had ended and the wholefamiliar universe collapsed, making room for the unex -pected and for death. In September 1940 I was dra�edwith a brother of mine, but we fought in differentplaces. I had to go through a brief period of militarytraining and then I was sent to the front. I didn’t knowif I would ever see my house and the village I grew upin. The ruthless war and hundreds of miles kept meaway from my new bride. Only the thought that wewould eventually see each other again in this lifetimegave me the confidence and trust to keep going.

I went to the war as an infantryman. I fought againstthe Soviet army first to free Bessarabia and a�er the23rd of August 1944 against the Germans, because thatwas the order we had received. It hurt that I had tofight alongside those who had killed my comrades andbrothers.


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* Le�er wri�en by me, Gheorghe Strugaru, Vulturi village,Popricani, Iaşi county, to my grandson Dumitru Strugaru

Dumitru Strugaru

Life on the front was more than difficult. There wasli�le food, and of poor quality. There were also dayswhen I wouldn’t eat because there wasn’t enough forall or because there wasn’t time due to the intensity ofthe fights. There wasn’t enough water to drink, not tomention to wash. I wouldn’t change my clothes for threeweeks in a row. The overcoats, few as they were, provedinappropriate for the terrible cold, as they allowed thefreezing air to ‘get into one’s bones’. The companyshelters were overcrowded, few and far between. Wewould sometimes sleep outside, on the frozen ground.The necessary supply with ammunition and modernfighting equipment was lacking. The marches in the coldwere so exhausting that we wouldn’t have the strengthto counter-a�ack. I fought in Cernăuţi, Odessa, and inthe Tatra mountains, but the most difficult fights wereat the Don Bend. Fighting when one is withdrawing is


35

Romanian soldiers - Odessa, 1941 (source George Damian)

far more difficult than when advancing. Unfortunately,when we turned against Germany, the Soviet sent us –in revenge – where the fights were the most difficult.On the Western front we reached the border betweenCzechoslovakia and Germany, where I fought until theend of the war (the 9th of May 1945).

I couldn’t help but notice the effect of war on thecivilian population that was lucky enough to run awayfrom the front. The the�s commi�ed by our troops, butespecially the abuses on the part of the Soviet soldiers(the�s of all kinds, rapes, destruction and fires, espe-cially murders) made the war even more inhuman.

I went back home on foot for thousands of kilo-metres. I le� in June and arrived back to Vulturi in Au-gust. The village was nothing like what I had le� behind.My house was now a ruin bearing the marks of bullets,trench mortar and bombings. The fields were full of


36

The Don river bend, 1942 (source Vasile Soimaru)

cannon bombshells, bullets and corpses. I finally sawmy wife again, who had sought refuge with her relativesfrom the neighbouring county when the front linemoved on Romanian territory.

It took a while for the marks of the war to be erasedfrom the village. Not to mention, it was hard for me tostart my life all over again. The bi�erness of it all was,however, alleviated by seeing my brother again, who hadcome back from the war although he was wounded.

The good Lord kept me safe so that I could cameback alive. Moreover, I was lucky enough not to havebeen wounded in the war. Nevertheless, the loss of mycomrades, the hardships on the front, the horrors I wit-nessed, missing my loved ones, being afraid for myown life – all this le� deep scars in my soul, makingme cold and unfriendly, even with the members of myfamily. The Second World War had such a deep impacton me that I avoided talking about anything that hadto do with this armed conflict. I thought that if I didn’tspeak of the ordeal I had been through or what hadhappened on the front it meant it wasn’t true. As muchas I tried to erase the war from my mind, I couldn’t do it.I tried in vain to pretend it was a nightmare or a figmentof my imagination. I know that the war was real and notfrom history books, but from the painful experiences Iwas part of, which scarred me for the rest of my life.”


37

A STORY OF DEPORTATION*

“My story, like any war story, is a tragic one, soakedwith tears of grief. I have never thought that, duringthe ba�les, thousands and hundreds of families, lives,destinies, would be destroyed. I have never imaginedthat I would suffer so much in the loneliness of myyears and that the grief in my soul would be greaterthan the bone pain in the old age.


38

* The story of Anica Durnea, as told to her nephew, the grand-father of Ana Toporeţ

Petru and Ana Durnea The Durnea family

Ana Toporeţ

I lived an astounding story. For more than a de cade,I was lost among strangers, suffering from cold andhunger and, a�er I returned home, my eyes have notknown joy anymore.

Before the beginning of the war, I had a flouri shinglife with my husband, Pe tru, who was a landownerand mayor of three villages: Răuţel, Pîrliţa, Funduri. Ihad never wanted more than this. I had enough to feedmy children. I had a beautiful house and a garden totake care of. Mihai, Nicu and Tamara were the apple ofmy eye and I could not imagine one day without them.They were my comfort and I could not bear to seethem suffering.

Then, the year 1940 came. It was the beginning ofsummer. I remember that I worked day and night inorder to see my family happy and healthy. It was veryhot, very hot indeed, and the roads were still sloppya�er the rains. Nevertheless, I had a heavy heart; therewas something in the air, as if a wave of suffering andtotal madness was coming. There were rumours in thevillages that the Russians were coming, that they wantedto kill our children, to kill us for betrayal, and the bellrang heavily.

That night was colder than the north wind duringwinter. We heard cannons coming from the Răuţel trainstation. The land and the houses thundered. The firstshout came from the house of Igor, the protopope.Auntie Sașa came running to us and whispered: ‘DearAnicuţa, take with you some bread and some sheets, Iwill take care of your children…’ When I went to see


39

Petru, I felt a sour smell of smoke. The fire was burn-ing in the bakestone. He had lit the fire using bankbills, papers and documents… I did not ask him wherehe got them from. That night, I warmed up in my home forthe last time.

The Russian soldiers knocked on the door politely andread an order in their language; then, they searchedthe house and the yard. We were forced to get into thecar; otherwise, they would shoot our children in frontof the house. I had no right to shout, I had no right tocry, I had no right to get angry, I could not move. I wasforced to get into the car and to keep my mouth shut.We were taken to the train station; then, they separatedus. I was forced to get on another train, I did not lookback, I did not have the courage to do it.


40

Bessarabian children deported in Siberia

They took us in a ca�le train. The smell was awful,unbearable. The waggons were loaded with bodies,bodies whose souls had remained home. Women andyoungsters, whose hopes were ruined when the waggonswere put into motion. The girls were very scared; I wasscared, too, but I did not show it… I was afraid that thefear would break me down. I did not show any feelings;only during the night, sometimes, I used to cry weakly.

The journey lasted for 7 weeks. We barely had anyfood and almost no water. We did not stop to rest… onlyto throw away the dead bodies from the waggons. Theair became heavier and heavier and the real nightmarebegan when the children started to bite their nails be-cause of the hunger. Poor children … they reminded meof my own, my beautiful and dear children, who werele� without their mother. From time to time, they usedto give us a piece of dry bread and a bo�le of water. Atthe edge of a forest, God knows where, at a halt, somewomen and children tried to run, but we soon heardshots. In one of the waggons, where the poorest werehoused, they could not bear the grief and they set them-selves on fire, using a single match – thus, they burnedtheir infernal grief. My eyes and my soul were burningtoo as they were passing away. At that moment, I wishedI burned with them, forever.

I did not know where they were taking us, some-where in Russia, through the woods, a�er the mountains,in the Omsk region, as I heard a�erwards. Those of uswho remained were unloaded from the waggon andle� in the middle of a small forest. We were given axes


41

and saws to build houses or to kill each other... the choicewas completely ours. We chose life. We found food, webuilt a shelter and we lived hoping that we would befound and rescued. We were strong enough to endurecold and hunger, but not disease and grief.

Months passed by elusively, until the cold came.The memory of my house kept me alive. Salvation camewhen no one expected it. Searching for food throughthe shrivelled forest, I found a pit where dead animalswere buried. I found traces that led me to a small villageat the edge of the forest. I knocked on the door of thefirst house and asked for help or at least for a place towarm up. The house belonged to the mailman. His fa -mily first accepted me as a servant in the house, offeringme shelter and a place to work. It was impossible to goback to Bessarabia as the deportations were still takingplace. It took me 10 years to obtain the necessary docu -ments to return home... I had to change my identity andorigin. I was old and sad when I finally returned home.My heart was joyful, but my soul was aching becauseof everything that I had lost. I was led by a strong forceand willpower. I travelled on long and difficult roads,taking small steps; I had the patience to overcomehunger, cold and fire.

The most difficult years passed by slowly and Icannot tell you more than this…”


42


CROATIA

43

CROATIA IN WORLD WAR II

The Axis occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941 allowedthe Croatian radical right Ustaše to come into power,forming the ‘Independent State of Croatia’ (NezavisnaDržava Hrvatska, NDH), led by Ante Pavelić, who as-sumed the role of Poglavnik. Following the pa�ern ofother fascist regimes in Europe, the Ustaše enactedracial laws, formed eight concentration camps targeting


45

The Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, 1941-1943

Kristina Matošić

minority Serbs, Romas and Jewish populations, as wellas Croatian partisans. The biggest concentration campwas Jasenovac in Croatia. The NDH had a program,formulated by Mile Budak, to purge Croatia of Serbs,by “killing one third, expelling the other third and assi -milating the remaining third”. The main targets forpersecution, however, were the Serbs; approximately330,000 of Serbs were killed.

The anti-fascist communist-led Partisan movement,based on pan-Yugoslav ideology, emerged in early1941, under the command of Croatian-born Josip BrozTito, spreading quickly into many parts of Yugoslavia.The 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, o�en hailed as thefirst armed anti-fascist resistance unit in occupied Europe,was formed on the 22nd of June, 1941, in Croatia, in the Bre -zovica forest near the town of Sisak. As the movementbegan to gain popularity, the Partisans gained strengthfrom Croats, Bosnians, Serbs, Slovenes, and Macedonianswho believed in a unified, but federal, Yugoslav state.It was a joint fight against the Fascist terror. Many people,especially from occupied Dalmatia and Istria, joinedthe People’s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia.

By 1943, the Partisan resistance movement had gainedthe upper hand, against the odds. People’s liberationmovement gained momentum in September 1943, whenItaly capitulated. All the decisions that were made bythe State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberationof Croatia were confirmed on the 29th of November 1943on the second session of Anti-Fascist Council for the Na-tional Liberation of Yugoslavia. The decisions of the State


46

Anti-Fascist Council for the National Libe ration of Croatiaand the Council itself are the foundations of modernday Republic of Croatia.

A�er the capitulation of Italy, Pavelić wanted Zadarto become part of the ‘Independent State of Croatia’(NDH). The German army entered the city and preventedUstaše from entering Zadar. The city became the centreof a new Italian territorial entity, called Governorship ofDalmatia, including the provinces of Zara (now Zadar),Ca�aro (now Kotor), and Spalato (Split). Under fascistreign, the Croatian population was subjected to a policyof forced assimilation. This created immense resentmentamong the Yugoslav people. However, the YugoslavPartisan movement (which was already successfullyspreading in the rest of Yugoslavia) managed to take


47

Poglavnik Ante Pavelić and Italy's Duce Benito Mussolini on the 18th

of May 1941 in Rome. The Ustaše were heavily influenced by the Italian Fascism and politically supported by the Fascist Italy

root here since more than 70% of population of Zadarwas Italian.

A�er Mussolini was removed from power on the25th of July 1943 and arrested, the government of PietroBadoglio signed an armistice with the Allies on the 3rd

of September 1943, which was made public only on the8th of September 1943, and the Italian army collapsed.Just four days later on the 12th of Sep tember 1943, ‘IlDuce’ was rescued by a German military raid from hissecret prison on the Gran Sasso mountain, and formedthe Nazi-puppet Italian Social Republic in the north ofCroatia. The NDH proclaimed the Treaty of Rome to bevoid and occupied Dalmatia with German support. TheGermans entered Zadar first, and on the 10th of Sep-tember the German 114th Jäger Division took over. This


48

Zadar a�er the WW II bombing

avoided a temporary liberation by Partisans, as was thecase in Split and Šibenik where several Italian fascistgovernment officials were killed by an angry crowd.

During the Second World War the city was bombedby the Allies lasting from November 1943 to October1944, with serious civilian casualties. Many died in thecarpet bombings, and many landmarks and centuriesold works of art were destroyed. A significant numberof civilians fled the city. Fatalities recorded range fromunder 1,000, up to as many as 4,000 of the city's 20,000inhabitants. Over the course of the bombing, 60% ofthe city's buildings were destroyed. Zadar has beencalled the ‘Dresden of the Adriatic’ because of perceivedsimilarities to the Allied bombing of that city.


49

Robing prisoners of their valuables

In late October 1944 the German army and most ofthe Italian civilian administration abandoned the city.On the 31st of October, 1944, the Partisans seized thecity. The population of Zadar numbered at that mo-ment only 6000. Formally, the city remained under Italiansovereignty until the 15th of September, 1947 (Paris PeaceTreaties). The Italian exodus from the city, together withsome valuable pieces of the Croatian treasure, continuedand in a few years was almost total. The last stroke tothe Italian presence was made by the local adminis-tration in October 1953, when the last Italian schoolswere closed and the students forced to move, in oneday, into Croatian schools. Today the Italian communitycounts only a few hundreds of people, gathered into alocal community (Comunità degli Italiani di Zara).

In 1945, with help from the Soviet Red Army (passingonly through small parts such as Vojvodina), the Yu-goslav Partisan movement expelled the Axis forces andlocal supporters. The ZAVNOH, S State Anti-FascistCouncil for the National Liberation of Croatia, func-tioned since 1944 and formed an interim civil government.NDH's ministers of War and Internal Security MladenLorković and Ante Vokić tried to switch to Allied side.Pavelić was in the beginning supporting them butwhen he found that he would need to leave his positionhe imprisoned them in Lepoglava prison where theywere executed.

Following the defeat of the Independent State ofCroatia at the end of the war, a large number of Ustašeand civilians supporting them (ranging from sympa-thizers, young conscripts, anti-communists, and ordi-nary serfs who were allegedly motivated by Partisan


50

reprisals) a�empted to flee in the direction of Austriahoping to surrender to British forces and to be givenrefuge. They were instead interned by British forcesand then returned to the Partisans. A large number ofthese persons were killed in what has come to be calledthe Bleiburg tragedy.


51

Stone Flower Monument dedicated to the victims of the Jasenovacconcentration camp

THE WEEDS IN THE GARDEN OF MY GRANDMOTHER'S YOUTH

GRANDSON: It's morning. The warm rays of suncaress my already frost-bi�en cold cheeks while I'mdriving to my grand grandmother, to Radašinovci. Mostpeople are unaware of the village's existence, becauseit's hidden in the hills near our Vransko jezero. I enterthe garden, and my grandmother's warm smile andopen arms are waiting for me in the porch of the house.I hug my grandmother and breathe in the fresh villageair while my soul finds peace and serenely swings in themild winter breeze. My grandmother is already curious.With a worried and sweet voice, she asks hundreds ofquestions:

GRANDMOTHER: “How are you, my love? How'sschool going? Have you grown a li�le bit? You must behungry! Let's go into the house so that grandma canmake you something!”

GRANDSON: She's a lovable woman, my grandgrandma, she still runs a�er stock around the garden,even though she is 87. If you saw her, you would saythat she has more life in her than most of young girls.“Grandma, don't worry, I'm completely fine, and school


53

Kristina Matošić

is going excellent. I don't know if I have grown or haveyou become shorter.”

Grandma laughs happily and asks me again if I'mhungry.

GRANDMOTHER: “Well, that's how it goes, myLuce, time flies, I was also as young as you are now, butwhen was it, a long, long time ago.”

GRANDSON: Then I remembered. “Grandma, sit,I'm not hungry, tell me about your youth. You've beenthrough the Second World War, if my memory servesme well. How was it to like to live then?”

GRANDMOTHER: “Well, those were differenttimes. It was hard to live; life wasn't at all like today. Iwas born in 1929, and I didn't even know about thewar before the Italians came in 1941. There were 12 of us,4 kids and 8 adults, we squeezed ourselves in a houseas li�le as today's a�ics.”

Grandma was remembering nostalgically.GRANDMOTHER: “There were no beds then, so

we had to make the beds ourselves; you take 4 piecesof wood, make a rectangle and fill it with beams full ofrye, and then you put your ta�ers on it, or a blanket …if you happened to have one.”

GRANDSON: Grandma's story intrigued me. “Whatwas it like to you as a child? Were there any schools?How did you spend your free time? How did you play?”,my questions were pelting from the sky.

GRANDMOTHER: “We went to work on the fields,cultivate wheat, corns and vegetables; what school? Tothis day I still don't know how to write properly. Every


54

morning I had to get up and bring water from the wellwhich I were to carry it in large bowls. If you had adonkey, it would be useful, because it would carry thewater home; otherwise you would have to carry it your-self, while going by foot. I won't even mention that thewell was 5 km away from our village. There were notoys like there are today, we played with what wecould find in the nature. Boys would compete in whowould throw a rock the farthest, and us girls madedolls out of linens. I took care of the sheep, fed the pigs,but what else could I do? There was no such technology,there wasn't even electricity; candles were our greatestpossession. I was just thinking today, everyone isspending money in vain, wearing the latest fashiontrends, driving big and powerful cars, my goodness!”

GRANDSON: She paused for a bit, sighed heavilyand continued:

GRANDMOTHER: “Hunger was a problem, wedidn't have money for bread, let alone anything else!The shop was in the nearby village, but when you don'thave any money, it doesn't mean anything to you. Theclothing was horrible, it went from one knee to another,I had only one traverša and juštam, and when mumwould wash them in the night, I would already beasleep. We stoked the fire in the house and cooked onit, we all ate from one bowl, but we were still healthierthan most children today. There were no tumours, cancers,or any kind of serious illnesses back then.”

GRANDSON: I tried to visualise her life. I was hor-rified at the thought of all children today that are not


55

thankful enough and don't even know what real po -verty is. “How did you communicate; how did youtravel?”

GRANDMOTHER: “We had a horse, people readnewspapers and knew what was going on around theworld; and we communicated with our friend andfamily who lived far away through le�ers.”

GRANDSON: She remembers everything, eventhough she was only twelve. “What happened when thewar began?” She got lost in her thoughts for a momentand then started:

GRANDMOTHER: “The Italians came here in 1941,and stayed here for two months. Everything changed.You were not allowed to go out of the house from sunsetuntil sunrise unless you wanted to get yourself killed.They walked around the village, stole hens, and every-thing they asked for had to be given to them or other-wise they would kill you, or even burn your housedown... People started running away to Lika, to thesouth, wherever they could. You had to say ‘Hello!’ tothe Italians every time you went past them because itwas a huge insult if you didn't do so.”

GRANDSON: I was ge�ing more and more curi-ous, travelling through my grandma's story in mythoughts. “Grandma, did the Croatians have an army?How did they get rid of the Italians?” I wanted to asksomething else as well, but grandma interrupted me,recalling her memories.

GRANDMOTHER: “There was a day when thewhole village was instructed to go to the army, of course


56

men only, or they would end up in a prison cell, or evenworse, in a grave, because they didn't obey the law. Youcouldn't get away from it, even though most of themdidn't even have proper clothes, let alone army clothes orany weapons. They didn't have a gun or a rifle, but theymanaged to get rid of the Italians. They were waitingfor the entire army two by two and a�acked them likethat, they had no weapons, and the Italians had guns,rifles and cannons. When you think about it, you areable to have weapons when you're from a wealthycountry, while ours was poor so we didn't have any-thing. The whole ex-Yugoslavia stood up, every partof it, to make the Italians go away. If my memoryserves me well, England was financing us, sending usammunition and rifles.”


57

Zadar a�er World War II

GRANDSON: “Has the condition in the countrygone any calmer a�er the departure of the Italians?”

GRANDMOTHER: “Oh!” sighed grandma, “it didn'tget any calmer because the Germans came then, butthen we had the necessary weapons so we could fightagainst them be�er than against the Italians.”

GRANDSON: “How did you know that the armywas coming?”, I asked grandma while she tried to seton the fire.

GRANDMOTHER: “Well, it was well known, thevillages were all connected, you knew when the raidwas coming, that's how we used to call it. Then youwould hide wherever you could, in the hills or in thefields. Once, my siblings and I, when we found outthey were coming, went to hide in the wheat fields.When we approached the road, we saw the army inthe distance. And what to do now, where to go? Thankgoodness, as the road wasn't going straight, they wereright at the beginning and we crawled our way out.We were lying in the wheat for about an hour untilthey had gone away. A�er that, we climbed the treesand tried to hear if the army was far away enough, andif someone else was coming.”

GRANDSON: “Today's kids wouldn't manage to getout of such a situation”, I thought to myself. “How manyof them came back from the war?”, I asked grandmawhile we were strolling through the garden.

GRANDMOTHER: „Everyone from the village went,including my father, but he, along with 23 others, neverreturned. We didn't know where they were buried, or


58

where they were killed. Whenever someone died, theyle� him there and moved on.”

GRANDSON: I noticed a tear in her eye so I askedanother question: “What about the Partisans?” Shestopped for a second and then started talking:

GRANDMOTHER: “They were hiding in the woods,no one knew anything about them, we were all afraid,but later they uncovered and told us that they were onour side, so we started organizing something like anantifascist army.”

GRANDSON: “What was it like in the end, howdid it end?”

GRANDMOTHER: “It was peaceful, economy startedto develop, but people were still hungry, poor and mise -rable. That's how it was, I didn't have a carefree child-hood, it was the time of war. We were poor before thewar, and later it just got worse, I was poor materially,but also spiritually because I lost a member of my family,who was innocent and sacrificed his own life for mine,ours, yours and Yours life!”.


59

REMEMBRANCE FROM THE WAR TIME

I have conducted this interview with my grand-mother who unwillingly recalls those days, but for thelove of her granddaughter she agreed to return to thatperiod of her childhood she wishes to forget.

GRANDDAUGHTER: “Grandma, from which agedates back your earliest memory of the Second WorldWar?”

GRANDMOTHER: “From age 7 throughout thewhole war.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “Where did you live andwho were the members of your family back then?”


60

German soldiers and a Croatian Ustaša

Nikolina Radović

GRANDMOTHER: “I lived in a small family offarmers: my father, my mother, brother and I.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “So, what were the events thatmade those times so unpleasant for you to remember?”

GRANDMOTHER: “Before I begin retelling thestory, let me remind you that my parents were mereuneducated peasants.

In those times, the people from my village didn'tknow who were the Ustashas or Partisans nor Domo-brans. The first army that arrived in a village wouldrecruit all the capable men. If they wouldn't want tojoin them, they would've been killed. In our case, thefirst ones to arrive were the Ustashas. They took awayand recruited all the men that were in the village at thetime, including my father. So, my mother, brother, andI were le� on our own.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “What happened a�er that?”GRANDMOTHER: “A�er that, even harder times

came. The Partisans arrived and, in order to punish us,they took everything we had: all the ca�le and food.That's why we spent all the war, and even the time a�erit, in constant hunger and search for food or a chanceto earn some. We would work hard whole for just apiece of bread. All those things could have been easilyforgo�en if only I had had one more chance to see myfather again. But, I never saw him again, nor do I knowwhere he is buried.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “Grandma, thank you forsharing that awful part of your life with me and allthose who will listen or read to this!”


61

PAINFUL MEMORIES FROM THE WAR

GRANDDAUGHTER: “Grandpa, can you tell meabout some events from the Second World War?”

GRANDFATHER: “Oh, even though I don't like torecall those days, I will tell you about it. The War hada huge impact on me, just like on everyone else whosurvived it. Even today I remember that terrible thoughtin my mind how that could be the last moments of mylife, but I bravely decided to stay strong despite every-thing that was surrounding me.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “Tell me, how old were youback then?”

GRANDFATHER: “I was around 20 years old whenthe first rumours started coming to my village. Everyonewas saying – ‘They're coming, prepare for the ba�le onlife and death, do not go outside your homes unlessyou really need to!’ We were all scared, but none of usreally knew what was going to happen.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “So, what were you doingat that time?”

GRANDFATHER: “Oh, I was everywhere backthen. I remember how I used to carry food to the army inthe neighbouring village. The opponent army alreadyarrived there. I really thought that I won't see another


62

Doris Bugarĳa

day. My army gave me a sign so that they could recogniseme and know I was safe. But, I knew I could not comethere using that sign, I knew the opponent army wouldkill me right away if they recognised me. So, I hangedthe sign on the stone wall near the place where I had toleave the food. And I was right, the army that waswaiting there was not the one whose sign I had andonly God knows what could have happened if I had nothid my identity. Within my opponents I finally foundthe people I was looking for in a small, hidden house,I gave them food and went away from that village. On my


63

Church of St. Donatus a�er bombing

way home I took the sign and brought it to the villagewith me, because if anyone knew I went there withoutit, they would have killed me too.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “So you're telling me thatnowhere was safe, even the ones you trusted betrayedeach other?”

GRANDFATHER: “Sad but true. There was alwaysa traitor between people you trusted, the deceptive op-ponent. You could only find out who he was when itwas already too late, you understand what I am tryingto say. Your grand grandfather was killed that way. Avery good friend of him was a traitor, your grandgrandfather didn't want to believe in that so he went toa trip with him one evening. They were supposed to carryfood to a village around 30 km away. Your grand grand -father was naive and went with him without thinkingabout it because no one from the family had a reasonto be suspicious on a ‘friend’. Unfortunately, neitheryour grand grandfather, nor the traitor ever returned.It took some time for us to find out that he was tor-tured and taken to the camp. It is really hard for me toeven think about this.”

GRANDDAUGHTER: “Oh grandpa, it is hard forme too. Thank you for sharing this with me. I pray toGod nothing like this happens ever again!”


64

THE SECOND WORLD WAR THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILDREN

For this interview we hadhelp from Ivona's grandfather,Ante Stanišić. He answe red a fewquestions about his life duringthe Second World War.

Q: “Grandfather, tell us some-thing about World War II. Whatdo you remember about that pe-riod of time?”

A: “I was five during WW II.I was living in Petrčane, a smallvillage occupied by the Italiansand the Germans who coveredthe entire area with their blockhouses. The school andthe police were, of course, Italian. Our well-knownPinĳa went from hand to hand between those twosides.”

Q: “Were you ever in close contact with the occu-piers?”

A: “Yes, multiple times. Firstly, it happened whenI was five, and my mother took me to the field whereI wanted to pick some juicy grapes. Soon a�er, I waspre vented from doing so. Just when the grape got


65

Lucĳa Barešić i Bernarda Medić

Ante Stanišić

close to my hungry lips, I heard blunt steps that camefrom one of the German commanders. He said: ‘Halt!’.Even though the field was mine, I didn't feel safe there,so I took a way home.”

Q: “How did they behave in general?”A: “The Italians had us shaking in fear. I remember,

one day, they told us all to come to our local meadow.When I heard that, my blood froze in my veins. I sawhuman blood for the first time, which was somethingmore than a scratch on the knee caused by children'sgames. Yes, they killed two innocent men.”

Q: “Who were the victims?”A: “I'm not sure, but if my memory serves me well,

they weren't locals.”Q: “Were you ever directly in danger?”A: “There was a day that is still engraved in my

memory. I was six back then. As the Germans com-municated through telephones, there was a moment whenthe wires were cut. I was nearby with my friends, andI couldn't even imagine what was about to happen inthe next few moments. A man came and took us withhim to a dark room with no windows. He made uskneel and threatened us with a gun. We didn't knowwhat to do or what to say because we were shocked sowe burst into tears. But in the end he let us go becausehe figured out we did nothing wrong.”

Q: “We are sure that it was a horrible experience,but were they always behaving so terribly?”

A: “Mostly, yes, but there is one man that I re-member who was kind. One year, while my father wassailing the restless sea, hunger overcame our home.


66

My father didn't return, he passed away. It le� a hugeimpact on me. One German commander le� his horsesto rest in front of my house. I stole one apple and eventhough he saw me, he didn't react badly, he just gaveme a bag of sugar.”

“Grandfather, thank you for your story, you gaveus a lot of interesting and useful information.”


67

RECOLLECTIONS FROM THE WAR

I talked with my grandmother and grandfather.They are in age of 65, my grandmother and 74 yearsold is my grandfather.

Q: “Grandfather, can you tell me something youremember from the Second World War?”

A: “My father was aDomobran. A�er war hasfinished, Partisans tookhim to the railway stationtogether with other pea-sants from the village andthey were offered to enterthe train in order to havea be�er life in a future.Peasants who didn’t boardon a train are still alivetoday and those who en-tered train (including myfather) are not alive any-more and no one knows

where their bodies are. That is why I had a very hardchildhood, because I lived only with my mother, with-out my father; we had a poor life, in bad conditions.Those days we were not able to talk about that because


68

With my grandfather and grandmother

Sara Jukić

Partisans and Communists were the authority. I hopethat you will not have to feel what I felt in this periodof my life.”

Q: “Grandmother, can you tell me your experiencefrom World War II?”

A: “My father was a Communist and he joined thePartisans at the age of 22. My mother had a problemduring his belonging to the Partisans because she wasalways interrogated by authorities. I was a child and Ididn’t realise what was happening. When I comparenowadays to the period when I was a child I can justsay that we can be happy that we are alive. A�er theWorld War II, I had be�er childhood, but I rememberwe had lack of everything: sugar, flour, oil and we didn’tknow what chocolate is. But, at least, we survived thishard period.”

“Grandmother, grandfather, I appreciate that youshared these emotional moments with me.”


69


GERMANY

71

THE SECOND WORLD WAR – AN INTRODUCTION FROM

THE GERMAN POINT OF VIEW

Reasons for the success of the National SocialistsAdolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor by

Reich President von Hindenburg on the 30th of January

1933. Before that his political party, the NSDAP (Na-tional Socialist German Labour Party), again turned outas the strongest political power in the general election


73

Adolf Hitler - Reich Chancellor, January 1933

Wilfried Kura

with a share of 33%. So they had to accept a coalitionwith other right-wing parties.

Why did so many Germans vote for the NSDAP?One main reason was certainly the misery suffered bylarge parts of the population. Since the beginning ofthe worldwide economic crisis the number of joblesspeople had risen to about six million people in 1932.Many of the jobless people did not get any or just veryli�le public support.

Furthermore, most Germans had not overcome thedefeat in the First World War. Germany had lost 13%of its territories (e.g. West Prussia and Posen in the Eastand Alsace-Lorraine in the West) a�er World War I. Inaddition, The Versailles Treaty in 1919 imposed high re -paration payments on Germany. Moreover, many Ger-mans felt humiliated by the Versailles verdict of beingthe only nation responsible for the breakout of the FirstWorld War.

In 1919 the monarchy in Germany was replaced bya democratic system, but large parts of the populationcould not identify with that democracy. Anti-democraticparties on the le� and on the right wing were stronglysupported by the people. That is why the Weimar Re-public between 1919 and 1933 is o�en referred to as a‘democracy without democrats’. What is more, manyGermans identified with the radical anti-Semitism ofthe NSDAP.

Consolidation of government and society; depri-vation of rights of German Jews

Immediately a�er the transfer of power, the Na-tional Socialists started the radical reconstruction of


74

government and society: They eliminated their politicalpartners and prohibited all democratic structures likepolitical parties and labourunions. Broadcasting and thepress were brought into line.All children and youths of tenyears and up were forced to or-ganise in the ‘Hitler Youth’ (Hitler-jugend), where they were poli -ti cally indoctrinated and phy -sically and mentally preparedfor fighting in a war. The SecretState Police (Gestapo) had infor -mers and spies everywhere: Cri -tics of the regime were arrested,tortured and even murdered.


75

Hitler receives a warm welcoming from Hitlerjugend, 1933

Jews wearing the compulsory yellow Star of David

Soon the Jewish part of the German populationwas deprived of their rights: Jews were e.g. no longerentitled to work as teachers, professors or lawyers,marriages between Jewish and Non-Jewish Germanswere forbidden, and since 1941 all Jews had to wear theyellow Star of David (Judenstern) in public. In this yearthe systematic murder of European Jews began, theHolocaust.

Full employment and social improvementsThe NS-government achieved a rapid economic

upswing, fostered by an enormous re-armament andinfrastructure program that, right from the beginning,was intended to prepare a new war. Within a few years,full employment was achieved, which convinced a lotof former critics of National Socialism. At the same timethe regime introduced a lot of social improvements:For instance, families with many children received fi-nan cial support and holiday entitlement was increased.Many Germans could afford a cheap holiday for the firsttime in their lives with the help of offers of the ‘Strengththrough Joy’ (Kra� durch Freude)-organisation.

War, Holocaust, plundering of occupied territo-ries and forced labourIn 1939, Germany started the Second World War with

the invasion of Poland. The strategy of the ‘Blitzkrieg’(‘Lightning War’) showed overwhelming success inthe beginning, so that the last sceptics of the NS-policy fellsilent. In the occupied territories the SS (Schutzstaffel –‘Protection Squadron’, military and paramilitary troopsof the NSDAP), partly supported by the regular army, led


76

a murderous regiment: Thenative elites and the Jewishpopulation were mur deredor deported to ‘eli minationthrough work’ in concen-tration camps.

At the same time the oc-cupied territories were plun -dered in a brutal way. Food was ruthlessly taken toGermany, in order to prevent combat fatigue in thewake of supply shortages like in the First World War.Because of the lack of workforce in Germany due to themillions of men fighting as soldiers, more than 13 millionforeign workers, prisoners of war and concentrationcamp prisoners were forced to work in all branches ofthe economy. In agriculture, they nearly had a share of50% of the workforce during the war (see the report ofMrs Fischer).

Bomb warIn order to stop German war production and to

weaken the power of endurance of the citizens, the Alliesstarted their bombing and air raids of German cities in1942. Nearly every German town with more than 50thousand citizens was a�acked. More than half a millionpeople died. Some cities were completely destroyed(e.g. Düren at 99% and Paderborn at 97%).

Escape and expulsionA�er the defeat in the Ba�le of Stalingrad 1943, the tide

turned and the German army was on the retreat, whilethe Russian army proceeded to the West.


77

The Blitzkrieg, 1939, Poland

At the end of 1944, the ‘Large Escape’ began: millionsof people escaped from the proceeding Russian army inEast Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia. Because there wasno longer a train service, people started their trek tothe West walking with trolleys or with horse-drawnvehicles. Many of them froze or starved to death duringthe long way in winter, were shot by Russian tanksand low-flying planes or drowned at the a�empt tocross the ice-covered Baltic Sea.

At the same time the systematic expulsion of theGerman population from the German Eastern territoriesand the formerly occupied areas in Romania and Cze -choslovakia began. Those who did not escape or were


78

The territorial expansion of Germany from 1933 to 1943

not expelled o�en had to do forced labour under mise -rable conditions. An estimated 1.4 million women fellvictim to rapes by Russian soldiers.

On the 8th of May 1945 the German Reich surren-dered. However, the expulsions continued, sanctionedby The Potsdam Treaty in 1945.

Today historians estimate the number of Germanrefugees and expelled persons in these days to 12 million.At least 500,000 persons, some estimate 2 million, diedduring their escape or expulsion.

The refugees were not really welcome in the occu-pied Western and Central parts of Germany: the supplyof the population had collapsed to a large extend, andas a consequence of the war destructions the cities did nothave enough housing space anyway. And now several


79

4 May 1945, Germany - Thousands of German prisoners march alonga modern highway

million refugees competed with local citizens for food,clothes and accommodation. Very o�en the authoritiesforced people to share their flats and houses withrefugees, which was of course a permanent source ofconflicts.


80

German refugees crowding a train leaving Berlin a�er the end of war, 1945

The survivors todayA�er the war the survivors were very eager to set

up a new existence. They suppressed their horrible ex-periences and did not look back for decades. But

nowadays, when they are ge�ing old, the hidden me -mories break up and they again feel the horror of hid-ing in basements in nights of bombing and fire, of theescape from their home, of rapes and the omnipresentdeath at the front line. Nightmares and panic a�acksare torturing the survivors and so the horror of war in-fluences their lives and that of their families eventoday.


81

Jack Mandelbaum, a Holocaust survivor, spared from Auschwitz by twist of fate

Gerhard SAALMANN: HITLERJUGEND, FROM STUDENT

TO SOLDIER IN 1944

Sex: maleYear/place of birth: 1928/ HerfordConfession: Jewish influencesPlace of residence during the national-socialism: HerfordPolitical environment: enlightenedHave the parents been members of any NS-organi-

zation? noWas the interviewee a member of the Hitler-youth? yesInterviews recorded on February 11, 2016 in the

Erich-Gutenberg-Berufskolleg by Christina Miller,Michelle Damm, Linda Bokel, Jenny Klekawka, Anna-Tabea Thimm

Gerhard S.: “Don’t expect me to tell you somethingabout ba�le experiences. I have never done this, and Iwon’t do it either. It is terrible. You could read about itfrom others or what eh ... there are so many moviesabout people who were missing and ... and everythingabout and ... but it’s ... even these movies that are madenow... everything is not as bad as in nature, if you have


83

Christina Miller

ever experienced it and I have never fully accepted it.But I have never spoken about it in my whole life.

I have three children and the youngest, she wasaround 18-19, ehm, I talked about it with her one timethen, on the second, I will never forget it, on the secondChristmas Day and, eh … it all just dispersed in thefamily and then she said to me: ‘Listen, I have heardand read so much about World War II in my life, butnever from my father, who experienced all this, younever told me anything about it and now I just want tohear something about it from you.’ Well, then I did that,and then we went to my work room, I picked out somephotos showing how you looked back then as a youthand then with a uniform and everything, but then,ehm ... that’s why they don’t expect, we can talk aboutthat and we were supposed to talk about, … what warmeans and the feelings of the people, it’s, that’s verybad, we are seated opposite to each other and we canlook each other in the eyes und talk about it; that wasn’tpossible back then. But in that time you had to leaveschool, you got a gun in your hands and you had tolearn how to shoot people.

It was always about, especially when you were onsuch a piece of artillery, ehm you didn’t have a chance,you couldn’t run away, ehm if you jump from the movingtrain, ehm… you don’t know what could happen to youand if you stay on the train you’ll have to shoot, evenif you don’t want to. Because the first time I shot some-thing, and that’s the only thing I will tell you, there waslow-flying aircra�, he landed on the meadows and ...


84

he spo�ed us too late ... and I was able to see him in hiscockpit, his face, his pilot cap and the glasses he wore,and then he shot at us, and I consciously shot at a personfor the first time and it was terrible, terrible!

The worst thing is that we have so many wars atthe moment, around 40 und eh ... I don’t see an endand there will never be.

We can get used to the idea, that there will never bea time when there’s no war, will never exist, a�er ehm ...my ... When I have troubles sleeping occasionally orwhen I’m bored or I want to do something different, Istart writing down what comes to my mind, I did itduring the war too:

Am I a dreamer? Oh God, you created the beautifulworld in all its magnificence through your power.

When you took the high-point of creation to your joyand reward, you created humanity.

But they weren’t grateful, killing and fighting eachother wiping out their own kind,

not only through the slice of swords - but also throughwords and ideas they understand

to provoke murder and wars and defeat the weak onesin ba�le.

When you created mankind you gave Cain weapons tokill his brother.

Humans can lawfully say God gave us everything andeven death and life and we

can decide what we want to do with it, start wars anddestroy the world.

God will never listen to us; no one ever asks: ‘Is justiceon my side?’


85


86

The WW II witness Gerhard Saalmann

The WW II witnesses Manfred Brendel, Renate Späth andGerhard Saalmann in front of the interviewing students


87

Ruins of the town of Monte Cassino a�er the ba�le betweenthe 17th of January and the 18th of May 1944

The Coventry bomb damage: On the 14th of November 1940the Lu�waffe launched its most devastating bombing raid

of the Second World War

Renate SPÄTH (NEE MINNING):AIR RAID ATTACKS AND BOMBS

AT THE END OF THE WAR

Sex: FemaleYear of birth: 1932Confession: Christian – Roman CatholicFamily: father, mother, 2 older sisters, 1 older brotherHas been living in Herford since 1936

R.S.: “Now comes the worst day for me, I will readit out for you. So the shockwave of the air mines de-stroyed the trees, and in the background you can seethe Neustädter Church, which was already destroyed.The worst challenge happened on the 3rd of March 1945.My mother was going out a�er breakfast to get rationcoupons from the institution in charge which was atthe embankment of a school. But she returned soon,without having succeeded. The official in charge saidthat enemy air force was approaching. The citizenshad to return home immediately. Indeed, the alertstarted soon a�er. I wanted to pay a visit to my friendBaerbel in the neighbouring house and so I wentthrough a hedge, over the outside-stairs of the cellar.Shortly a�er the visit I wanted to return to my mother,


88

Michelle Damm

Baerbel`s mother said: ‘Nati, you can’t do that now.The aircra�s are already above us.‘ So I was scaredand the family was separated in this terrible situation:father in his department in the barracks, the older sisterordered to help at the dentist department of the bar-racks, the brother fighting on the Russian front and mymother and my other sister in our house. I was alone.

In the air-raid shelter of Goerbes there were theneighbours Vehmeier, nice refugees from the Ruhrarea, their mother, Baerbel and her siblings. Just as I satdown next to the children on the ground, an intenseroaring and pressing became audible, followed by a de -tonation, the window panes of the cellar were ra�ling.A firebomb fell in the anti-splinter sha�. Some concreteblocks were built up in front of the windows and thebomb fell in there and exploded. And then: We keptsi�ing … err, err. The wall of the chimney we were si�ingbehind protected us from the phosphorus that was flyingaround. Then a giant explosion. Ms Vehmeier startedpraying the ‘Our Father.’ We joined her and endedwith the request: ‘Dear God, don’t let our deaths last toolong.’ What happened? A high, high-explosive bomblanded on the street that was in front of the house.About 25 metres, or only 20 metres away from the placewe were si�ing at that moment. The house rose andfell. When the bomb a�acks ended it became quieter;I wanted to return home quickly, but Baerbel’s mumtold me she has already spoken to my mother. Nobodywas hurt there. The children had to stay in the cellar


89

until the situation was cleared. We learned later whatthat meant. In the house of the Woelke family therewere two fires: One in the a�ic, another one in a li�ledining room. The fires were put out with the help ofthe entire neighbourhood. A�er that the children wereallowed to leave the cellar. Quiet and disturbed, welooked at our ba�ered environment, but still gratefulthat we were able to hug each other without havingany injuries. In the gardens, many striking holes fromfirebombs were found. In our garden we counted 70holes. In a neighbour’s garden there was an undeto-nated firebomb. Experts defused the bomb the day a�er.We children witnessed it from a safe distance. Our houseand the bomb hole had also been damaged. The win-dow panes were destroyed for the most part, the frontgardens devastated and our flats demolished. Since allcables had been destroyed, we neither had electricity,gas or water. It was six meters deep, the hole. We couldget water from Miss Rosenberg, an old lady who livedin a small house in our neighbourhood. (…) From thereon everything started going be�er.”

Q: “What does war mean in your opinion?”R.S.: “War is madness becoming physical. The war

le� many people with clear scars. In many cases peoplewere traumatized and didn’t even speak about whatthey had to go through, because they would have tore-experience it in the process of telling others about it.”


90


91

A�er an air raid in Herford near Buende

Devastated houses in Späth's neighbourhood in 1945


92

Stobbe-barracks in Herford built in the 1930s by Späth's father

Witness Renate Späth on her first day at school in 1939 - The signs onthe blackboard are le�ers of the Sü�erlin-alphabet taught in Germany

since 1935

Manfred BRENDEL: MANIPULATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE,

EXPERIENCES DURING THE WAR

Sex: MaleYear of birth: 1930Place of residence 3rd empire: Suburb of Breslau/Wro-

claw, Schlesien/Silesia, Germany (today: Poland)Place of residence now: Bünde, Germany

Q: “Have you also experienced that children wereexcluded at school because they didn’t join the Hitler-jugend?”

M.B.: “It was practically impossible not to join theHitlerjugend. It has happened that parents did notagree at all. If it is from Christian position or from thele�, Communists. If then the parents said: ‘My child willnot become a Hitler’s boy, you could forget that’, he didnot get a school education. Or an apprenticeship.”

Q: “Did this have very extreme consequences?”M.B.: “Yes, of course, of course. My parents were

not interested in politics. For them it did not make anydifference. I would have marched along. If the warwould have lasted another two or three years, I wouldalso have gone to the SS or, otherwise, whatsoever.”


93

Linda Bokel

Q: “That means this was so drummed into them,that they …”

M.B.: “Yes.”Q: “For you as a boy, was the war the big adventure,

trying to survive again every day?”M.B.: “Exactly, certainly. And I have only been angry

that I was not 18 yet and could not move in the war yet,could not become a soldier. This was the most gloriousthing you could do, to die for the fatherland.”

Q: “Didn’t you notice that there were largely losses,did you only hear messages of victory?”

M.B.: “Yes, the first turning point came, Stalingrad.This was in 1943. When everything went to hell, thenit leaked through already, that many soldiers died.Also from our village 5 or 6 people died in Stalingrad,our village had 500 inhabitants. This was already di-rected by the Party, so that we did not get to know toomuch, so that no agitations were caused.

So one thing is certain of course, everyone who didnot play along, … you cannot imagine this today, Ithink, … when today somebody says: Nevertheless,you could have resisted… So from my generation no-body thought about doing anything against it. Every-thing what we did, seemed to be ‘right’. When the warwas over a�er that, our eyes were opened.” […]

“A mother asked a German officer: ‘Tell me, Mr.Major, is this damned war then soon to be over?’ Theofficer answered: ‘Dear woman, be glad for everydaywith war, because the peace will be terrible.’

And in a certain way, he was right. The peace wasterrible, at least at the beginning, since we were the


94

ones who lost. As long as the war lasted, we were fed,but a�erwards – nothing! …”

Q: “What about health care, during the escape andin general? Hospitals, …”

M.B.: “Doctors and in such a way … They meancare? If … Nothing was there. Charge free condition.”

Q.: “If someone was ill, was he lost?”M.B.: “Then you were lost. The relatives had to

look a�er you, you could consider yourself lucky ifyou had the chance to get a doctor. But as I said, as achild everything bounced off of me. I believe I did nottake any damage from all of this. Looking back, I cometo that conclusion.”


95

Witness Manfred Brendel reports his experience


96

The Centre of Stalingrad a�er liberation

The destroyed Warsaw, capital of Poland, January 1945

Hedwig BIERMANN: 1945-46 GERMAN REFUGEE FROM SILESIA/SCHLESIEN

(TODAY: POLAND)

Sex: FemaleYear of birth: 1932Place of residence 3rd empire: Schlesien/Silesia, Ger-

many (today: Poland)Place of residence now: Bünde, Germany

Frau Biermann: “(…) and then as I said we cameto Prachatice [today Czech Republic]. And there welaid in front of a school. And then the American came.

Student: “You mean from the other side?”Frau Biermann: “Yes, in Bavaria Typhus was spreading.

We could not go to Bavaria. The American put us on thetruck again, and sent us to Budweis. Well there werethe Russians. […]

But not just us, soldiers as well. Because in Prachatice,I remember, were German soldiers. They were also sentto Budweis. Then we were in Budweis, and the olderpeople called it ‘Schü�boden’ (‘rubble ground’). So wewere in a big agricultural building. Down to the campand above, we were like the first to come, and chose a


97

Jenny Klekawka

small place for us to stay, since we didn’t know how tomove on. And then, as mentioned before, the Americansent the German soldiers. The first ones hid between therefugees. There the refugees gave them some clothes,civil clothes so the soldiers could throw their uniformsaway. Then they hid between the refugees. Then laterwe heard that the Czechs caught them on the way. Andwhat happened there, I don’t know. You only heardterrible things.”

Student: “How did it go on then?”Frau Biermann: “And then we moved further,

without my sister. We went to the west. The ‘Friedland’camp. You know what it means, don’t you?”

Teacher: “The big encampment for refugees, wherethey stayed. What were you allowed to take with you?”

Frau Biermann: “Only what we could carry. Onlywhat we could carry was allowed. And then it went to‘Friedland’. ‘Finally’ we thought, there we come reachthe west. At that point we knew that my oldest brotherwas in the west, and then we arrived there, and that wasthe end of the story: The camp was overcrowded. Wehad to leave it again, and then came to Saxony-Anhalt,to ‘Bermburg’.”

Student: “On the Russian territory.”Frau Biermann: “There we were in a camp again, and

from there we were spread into the different villages.So in November 1946 we were in ‘Neudorf’. There wearrived. We came into a room, which was assigned tous. It was cold as ice, the winter was difficult. It was inNovember.”


98

Herr Kura: “Yes, that was terrible winter. It wasone of the coldest winters in the 20th century, for weeksup to about 20 Celsius degrees minus.’”

Frau Biermann: “There was no chance to heat theroom. Even at day we could only stay in bed, there itwas at least a li�le bit warm. But we were lucky, in adifferent room there stayed a family, which decided togo to the west. And that room could be heated. We gotthat room as well, since we were 4 persons.”

Student: “Was that a private house where youstayed in?”

Frau Biermann: “Yes, it was a private house.”Student: “How did the people treat you?”Frau Biermann: “Don’t ask!”Herr Kura: “Yes! That is an experience, which many

people made.”Frau Biermann: “We were like Gypsies, yes, like

Gypsies!”Herr Kura: “My mother told me the same, she also

was treated like a Gypsy.”Frau Biermann: “Like Gypsies: They don’t have

anything, they never had, they behave like they hadsomething.”

Student: “What’s about school during that time?”Frau Biermann: “The first thing I had to do was

going to school. And the house at which we stayed wasnext to the school. The next day I and my father wentto school. Well, I had no school from November 1944 toNovember 1946.”


99

Student: “I want to turn the a�ention back againto the admission. You had to share the bath and toilet.How about the kitchen, and the other rooms?”

Frau Biermann: “Bath? There was no bath. Thatwas a grand house where we stayed. But there was nobath, there was only a toilet. And on the ground floorthere was a dentist. He had a practice there, he wasforced to leave his home in Magdeburg, because of thebombs, that’s why he stayed in that house. And on thetop floor, there lived the wife of the owner. So therelived the wife and she had to give up two of her rooms.One for us, the one you couldn’t heat, which was icecold, and the other one, which could be heated.”

Student: “You washed yourself with a water bowl,didn’t you?”

Frau Biermann: “Of course, at least we had a faucetin the hallway. There was water for us to get. Two bedsand a wardrobe stood in the room we got. So that wasa room where four people found accommodation.Hold on, four? No. There were five of us, not four. Mysister came later, around 1947 she joined us.”

Student: “How did you come to Bünde?”Frau Biermann: “And in 1953 my friend from

school came for a visit again, and she said to me: ‘Whatthe hell are you still doing here?’ I said: ‘Yes, you areright.’ So she said ‘Well, come with me then.’ And Imoved away.”

Student: “Yes, and then you just started a new life.”Frau Biermann: “Yes. So I told my mother: ‘I am

going with Inge. And I won’t come back’. Mother: ‘You


100

can’t do that!’ I said: ‘Yes, I won’t come back! The dayI turn 21 I’ll leave. Then they can’t blame you’. Andthat’s how I reached Bünde in 1953 on my 21st birthday.”


101

On the 10th of June 1944, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in then Nazi-occupied France was destroyed

Students presenting their results in a multiplier event in Buende –the WW II witnesses si�ing in the first row


102

On the 10th of June, 1942, the German-Nazigovernment announced that it had destroyed the small village

of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, killing every adult male and some fi�y-two women.

Ernst TILLY:LOSS OF EVERYTHING, REFUGEE

IN BÜNDE

Sex: maleYear/place of birth: 1937 near Breslau (Wroclav, Poland)Confession: Christian - Roman catholicPlace of residence during the national-socialism: Bres-

lau (Wroclav, Poland)Have the parents been members of any NS-organi-

zation? no

(…)Alina: “Have you seen the end of the war as a defeat

or as a liberation? I guess rather as a defeat…”Mr Tilly: “Well, I had mixed emotions. We had lost

our home country and were thrown out of our newhome again at the end of the war. We didn’t knowwhere to go and then we came to a completely de-stroyed town I had never seen before. And I had lostmy second brother. I was 8, he was 6. He had been myplaymate, because my other brothers and sisters weretoo li�le. So I realised this as a personal catastrophe,because we were bombed out twice and were forcedto leave our new home again. But at the same time it


103

Anna-Tabea Thimm

was a liberation and relief, because my Dad returned.When my Dad was drawn in to the army, I was one-and-a-half-year-old. A�er that I had seen him just duringsome short visits. And then I met him a�er the war, ac-tually at the beginning of 1946, when I was almost nineyears old.

So it hit me very hard when my father died 25 yearsago, with sleepless nights and so on – more than mymother’s death ten years later. I had a very strong re-lationship to my father and I suffered a lot.

And on the other hand we realized the end of thewar as liberation, of course. Finally, we could live in ademocracy. Democracy not only for the country as awhole – far away in Bonn (the German capital from1949-1990), with the VIPs, ‘fat cats’ as they were calledin those days – I think of democracy at school.

The distance between pupils and teachers meltedaway to a certain extent. It started with the announce-ment from some teachers that the pupils no longerneeded to greet them with their titles and ranks, butby their names. The headmaster did the same. Butthere were still some old teachers as well who missedthe ‘good old times’. We always had to greet them in thestreets when we went to school. We took vengeance onone of them: He had complained about us because wehad not always taken off our caps when greeting him.So we built up a chain and greeted him individually.And he had to take off his hat again and again. A�erone week he came to school with a beret…

So we were able to try out some things – so it really


104

was a liberation from the old habits and structures, asI realised it.

I have always admired the generation of the so-calledTrümmerfrauen (rubble women or ruins women), thegeneration of my Mum and her neighbours, who re-built Germany without men and husbands. Even fromold flags they sewed new bed sheets and other usefulthings. They altered clothes and kni�ed for their families.And they fed their children with most simple means.Even today I love this thick pea soup or lentil soup orpotato pancakes with these very li�le pieces of bacon.Childhood memories come up in these moments. Yes,so much to the mixed feelings.”


105

Mr. Tilly starting his presentation on the 16th of April 2016


106

Dresden, a�er the bombing between the 13th and the 15th of February 1945

The Ba�le of Ro�erdam began on the 10th of May, 1940, and ended with the bombings on Ro�erdam

on the 14th of May, 1940


TURKEY

107

TURKEY IN WORLD WAR II

Turkey was not involved in the Second World Waractively; it remained neutral. The country had sufferedhugely as a result of the First World War and despitethe fact that both the Allies and the Axis tried to bringTurkey into the war on their respective sides, IsmetInönü, the president of the country during the time ofthe Second World War, believed that the country hadto stay out of the Second World War to avoid furthersuffering. Turkey managed to remain neutral until the


109

Food rationing in Turkey

Murat Güneşdoğdu,Deniz Bayram

final stages of the SecondWorld War, trying to main-tain an equal distance withboth sides that were at war,however, the country couldnot continue her neutralityuntil the end of the warand on the 23rd of February1945 Turkey declared waron Germany and Japan, anecessary precondition forparticipation in the Con-ference on InternationalOrganization, held in SanFrancisco in April 1945, from which the United Na-tions emerged. Turkey thereby became one of the fi�y-one original members of the world organization. Itshould be noted that Turkish troops were not activelyinvolved in combat during the war, as the country re-mained non-belligerent until the 14th of August 1945 —the day when the war finally ended upon Japan’s sur-render. As a result of president Ismet Inönü’s skilfuldiplomacy that exploited the continually changingba lances of power during the war, Turkey survived adisaster that killed tens of millions of people world-wide without loss of a single citizen.

Although Turkey remained neutral for most partof the Second World War, the negative impacts of thewar were felt deeply across the country. There was a


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Mustafa Ismet Inönü, the secondpresident of modern Turkey

shortage of food as bread was rationed, and tight se-curity measures such as curfews and blackouts wereintroduced during the war.


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Roosevelt, Inönü and Churchill at the 2nd Cairo Conference, 1943

Nazife KAPLICA:WHILE BOYS JOINED THE ARMY,

GIRLS WERE PLOUGHING THE FIELDS

”Our family was quite populous back in the 40s. Ihad two brothers and two sisters. We had a farm inKırklareli which is a town located close to the borderwith Bulgaria in western Turkey. Boys were ploughingour field and girls were collecting the harvest. Whenthe war began, the government announced that all the


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Zeynep Sıla Özcan

Nazife Kaplica in the presentNazife Kaplica back then

boys were required to join the army. Therefore, boysle� the town to fight for the independence of our nation.Shortly a�erwards, we got the responsibility of ploughingthe fields. We were struggling to keep up the work inorder to ease the state of emergency. Occasionally, findingsomething to eat was quite a hassle. On top of it, wehad the fear of losing our relatives. Bad news was com-ing continuously about the war and Turkey’s partici-pation to it. Just like everything, this war endedmerging our families.


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Fatma ÖZSAN:WALKING THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES

”My name is Fatma Özsan, and I'm from a villagecalled Mu�alıp of Eskişehir, a city near the capital,Ankara. I was 19 and my husband, his name was Şefik,was 24 when the Second World War began. We alsohad a li�le daughter, Ayşe, who was 1-2 years old.

We went through very difficult times. I rememberthat bread was rationed and wheat wasn't found veryo�en. Workers were paid 1 Turkish lira per day and


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Deniz Enfiyeci

Fatma Özsan in the presentFatma Özsan back then

the price of a loaf of bread was 1 lira as well. Those witha ration card were given sugar and bread, dependingon the number of family members.

Compared to those who lived in the city, we werein much be�er condition in the village. We didn't havenew clothes or anything, but we had enough flour tomake bread, enough cows to milk and enough chicken tohave eggs. There weren't so much that we could affordto waste, but from time to time people from the citywould come and ask for eggs and milk. And we wouldhelp them out.

We didn't go to war, but war was practically knockingon our door. The Second World War could spread toTurkey anytime. The government started to stock food,primarily wheat, and provisions to prepare for a pos-sible war. The government would spare enough wheatfor us to make bread and plant next year, then seize therest. Some of our ca�le was given as tax to the government,and besides that we paid heavy taxes for the ones le�.20 kilograms of wheat was given as tax for every coupleof oxen.

People planted potatoes and wheat in their back-yards. Even schoolyards weren't le� unplanted. Breadwas never fresh. They were sold stale, to further reducethe consumption.

It was forbidden to let light out of houses; therewas dimming. We were scared of a possible air a�ack.Fortunately, war ended without us participating in it.I can't even imagine what would've happened if we'dgone to war...”


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Aziz GÜRBÜZ:LIVING WITH THE BURDEN OF FEAR

”I don't recall going through a lot of hardship as afamily or maybe my parents made me feel as if weweren't in distress. Because I was a child, I think I wasseven or eight years old, I wasn't entirely aware ofwhat was going on. I was the only child back then. Myfather worked for a good salary for that time's conditions.Of course, we were hearing of other people having certaindifficulties. They had to give their crops and goods to


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Bilge Arslan

Aziz Gürbüz in the presentAziz Gürbüz back then

the government, considering the fact that the countrycould go to war. Ismet Inönü, the ‘National Chief’ ofthe time, had thought it was appropriate to stock foodconsidering the situation our country was in. As a result,most of the food was given with a ration card. Every-body knows that bread, for example, was rationed. I re -member that people used to wait in unending queuesjust go get a loaf of dark, tasteless bread. When walkinghome from school, my father used to tell me why ourcountry suffered and why people waited in such longlines for a loaf of bread that didn't even taste good.

Nights that we used to spend with the lights out,si�ing in darkness, also comes up to my mind. At first,I would get mad at my parents and couldn't under-stand why we would do such a thing. For me, the nightsof si�ing in shadows were only when the power wasout. During the nights of dimming, I would feel a certainuneasiness and always lie on the knees of my mother.From time to time my father would light a candle, andstruggle going through work documents. My motherwould tell stories; however, my fears prevented mefrom paying full a�ention to her. Although blackoutswere on particular nights when there were certain en-quiries, we would avoid turning the lights on wheneverpossible. Everyone had an everlasting fear of going towar. Our parents and elders have lived their lives withthe burden of that fear. At family gatherings, the issueof the ongoing war always came up and everyone saidhow the world had become a minefield. Thank god


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that our country never actually went to war, and I'msi�ing here telling you what I experienced and felt. Ihope that you, my li�le one, never have to go throughthe difficulties that we did.”


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Ümit Sönmez ATEŞ:THE WAR BROUGHT A LOT OF AUSTERITY MEASURES

”We were three siblings back then. My family wasbarely making enough money even before the SecondWorld War and it became harder to support the familywith the austerity measures taken place during thewar. We only had one piece of bread to share in thedinner and we were fighting over for that one piecewith each other. I remember my parents' bi�er faces


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Sinan Yılmaz

Ümit Sönmez Ateș in the presentÜmit Sönmez Ateș back then

during those nights and it was unbearable for them tosee us fighting over for food. It took me couple of years,until I get old enough, to really comprehend the diffi-culties my family went through.

As there was not enough food supply in the country,even the bread did not contain the necessary ingredients.I still wonder how we all managed to survive thoseyears only by consuming carbohydrate foods. I guessit was partly the mulberries we grabbed from the treeswhile playing football in the streets.

For my part, poverty and hunger were the twothings that le� the greatest mark. It is because of thisburden that especially bread holds an important signi -ficance for me and it is for this reason that I keep re-minding my grandchildren to always be thankful forwhat we have.”


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Metin KIRVANOĞLU:BE THANKFUL FOR THE BREAD

WE HAVE…

”Even if Turkey wasn’t involved in World War II, itwas in a situation full of difficulties. When the warbegan, I was a three or four-year-old kid. I don’t re-member much about the war but in contrast, the mem-ories about me and my family struggling with thosehard conditions are still vivid in my head. My family’seconomic situation was relatively be�er compared to


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Raul Deniz Altın

Metin Kirvanoğlu in the presentMetin Kirvanoğlu back then

other families. My dad was a farmer and he used tocultivate his own land, therefore, before the war wewere able to make a living easily. I also remember mydad helping those who were in need in the war time.Government imposed a tax called ‘wealth tax’ in orderto further contribute to the country’s economy. Duringthe implementation of this tax, most of the people’sgoods were transferred to the ownership of the state.Objections to this tax were not tolerated and those whorefused to pay it were punished and even sequestrated.

Being in a good situation as a family, we were alsoin trouble with those harsh measures taken during thewar. Most of the goods that my family possessed wereconfiscated. On some days we were even unable tofind half a loaf of bread, that is why we usually didn’teat the whole bread we had in one day. My dad alwaystold us that we had to be thankful for what we had, forthe bread we found to eat.”


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UNITED KINGDOM

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WORLD WAR TWO IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The legacy of the Second World War has had a lastingimpact on the national identity of the United Kingdom.This is even true of our school. In the main assemblyhall of the International School we have a roll of honourcommemorating the names of former pupils and staffwho gave their lives in the defence of our freedom duringWorld War I and II.

Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill was

our war time leader andheld the country togetheragainst continual setbackswhen, at times, all seemedlost. Many of our school havevisited his war time bun -ker in London from wherehe led the war.

DunkirkIn the face of the Nazi advance across Europe in

1940, followed by the collapse of French resistance, ina one-week period at the end of May and beginning of


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Winston Churchill - Never,never, never give up!

Neil Mackintosh

June 338,226 soldiers were evacuated from France. Al-though a defeat, this rescue enabled the UK to continueto defend itself and recover to fight again.


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Dunkirk, 26-29 May 1940

Hawker Hurricane fighters

The Ba�le of BritainFrom the 10th of July – the 31st of October 1940, the

Royal Air Force (RAF) fought a desperate ba�le forcontrol of the air above the United Kingdom. Churchillnamed this the Ba�le of Britain. Winning this ba�lemeant that the Nazis could not launch an invasion ofBritain from France.

The BlitzWhen the Nazis failed to destroy the RAF, they

changed their tactics to target factories, ports and cities.This became known in the UK as the Blitz. From the 7th

of September 1940, one year into the war, London wasbombed by the Lu�wäffe for 57 consecutive nights.More than one million London houses were destroyedor damaged and more than 40,000 civilians were killed,almost half of them in London.


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The Blitz of London

The Ba�le of the AtlanticThe Ba�le of the Atlantic was the longest continuous

military campaign in World War II in Germany, runningfrom 1939 to the defeat of in 1945. As an island nation, theUnited Kingdom was highly depen dent on importedgoods. Britain required more than a million tons of im-ported material per week in order to be able to surviveand fight. Winston Churchill said: “The Ba�le of the At-lantic was the dominating factor all through the war.Never for one moment could we forget that everythinghappening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air de-pended ultimately on its outcome.” The Allies lost36,200 sailors, 36,000 merchant seamen and 3,500 mer-chant vessels and 175 warships.


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The Ba�le of the Atlantic

Not just EuropeThe armed forces of the United Kingdom fought

not just in Europe and the Atlantic but across much ofthe rest of the world: North Africa, Middle East, Hornof Africa, South East Asia, Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean.

D DayOn the 6th of June 1944, British forces returned to

mainland Europe. British and Canadian forces landedon three of the five beaches. 83,115 British and Canadiansoldiers were landed on the first day.

The whole Empire foughtThe whole of Britain’s Empire was involved in the

war including the Dominions: UK – 5 million, Canada –629 000, Australia – 413 000, New Zealand – 128 500,India – 1 440 500, South Africa – 136 000.


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The D Day - Landing in Normandy

AfricaIn addition to the Dominions, the colonies also pro -

vided servicemen and women to fight. This includedthe rest of Britain’s territories in Africa. There were sol-diers even from the Rhodesian African Rifles fightingthe Japanese in the jungles of Burma. Rhodesia is nowcalled Zimbabwe.

West IndiesAs well as from Africa soldiers came from the

Caribbean to fight, like soldiers from the West IndiesRegiment, which would have included people fromMontserrat.

IndiaThe Dominion of India provided huge numbers of

soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Many of these would havebeen from what is now known as Pakistan.


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African soldiers marching in Burma

CDWGThe dead of both world wars from the UK and its

Commonwealth countries are buried in military ceme-teries near where they died that are maintained by theCommonwealth War Graves Commission. They maintaincemeteries, burial plots and memorials in 154 countriesacross the world. Many of us have visited these ceme-teries in France and Belgium as part of our study of theFirst World War.

RemembranceIn the UK the symbol of remembrance is the poppy.

Armistice DayOn the 11th of November every year we remember

the dead from all conflicts. This is the date that markedthe end of the First World War. The Queen leads the


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CWCG - Cemetery in France

national act of remembrance in London. Throughoutthe country people observe a to minute silence at 11.00on the 11th day of the 11th month. This includes schools.On the nearest Sunday to the 11th November churchservices are held and poppy wreaths laid on memorialsand graves.

In every villageEvery village in the country have a war memorial

upon which the names of villagers are recorded who didnot return from the two world wars and other conflicts.There are also plaques in churches and in many busi-nesses and schools.


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Ceramic poppies in front of the Tower of London - the 11th of November 2014

Steve CALLOW: RECOLLECTIONS FROM THE WARTIME

Steve Callow joined his local army reserve unitwith his three brothers in 1939 when it seemed to themthat war could not be avoided. He was sent to Francewith the British Expeditionary Force and ended up re-treating with the rest of the army to the beaches ofDunkirk. He remembers the terrifying screams of theStuka dive bombers a�acking them whilst they triedto find shelter in the sand dunes. The soldiers were firing

back with any weapons they had whilst the German’smachine gunned anything that moved. He remembersthe terrible site of the bodies of soldiers being washedback and forth up the beach by the waves. Eventually


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Steve Callow in the presentSteve Callow back then

Luke Williams-Farnhill

he was evacuated by HMS Worcester off the NorthMole of the harbour. Soldiers were trying to climb ontoa rope ladder but kept falling into the sea so ‘I didn’trisk that, I just jumped onto the deck’.

His regiment were then sent to Egypt where they hadto sleep on the ground despite all the scorpions comingout at night. The food was awful – o�en corned beefsandwiches full of sand and biscuits in tins that said‘consume by 1917’! He was so ill at one point that allhis teeth fell out.

The regiment then followed the invasion of Italyand were in support of two Indian Army divisionswho greatly valued the accuracy of fire the regimentcould provide.


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Gwen THOMAS: EYEWITNESS OF THE LONDON BLITZ, 1940

Gwen joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS)shortly before the war and was based at HounslowBarracks, in London, in 1939. She remembers being ina church when the priest suddenly stopped the serviceto announce that war had been declared. She remem-bers the service being cut short and within minutes airraid sirens going off and when they got into the sheltersfinding that they were ankle deep in water.

Gwen remembers this being a frightening timewith soldiers digging trenches in the parks. As the warprogressed the bombing became real and Gwen was


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Gwen Thomas in the presentGwen Thomas back then

Salma Mohammed

nearly killed by a German fighter plane that was ma-chine gunning the barracks. ‘I was carrying water fromthe cook house when a sergeant shouted at me “Can’tyou hear it – get back inside!” I dropped my bucketsand dived through the door. The plane was so close Icould see the pilot. He was shooting everything thatmoved. If I had not jumped back inside I would havebeen riddled with bullets.’

Gwen remembers the Blitz starting and comingback into London on a Sunday a�er a visit to friendsand seeing the city burning:

‘The bombers kept coming and coming, neverstopping! I was really angry, I wanted some action, Iwould have given anything to have a gun!’

She then saw a notice for volunteers to join an anti-aircra� unit. She found the training very easy and wasgood at identifying different aircra� and their heights.Gwen worked the predictor instrument and fed in in-formation from other women before declaring the gunready to fire.

‘We hit a plane which exploded and came down inflames. We were all cheering for several minutes be-fore we stopped and thought – that was a man in therewe just killed.’


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Ron HILL:I WANTED TO BE A REAL SOLDIER

Ron was a mill worker in Derbyshire and ‘had aboring life’. When war broke out he ‘couldn’t get in thearmy fast enough!’. Because his dad had been a soldierin the First World War he asked his advice, which was‘join something where you won’t get shot, like the PayCorps’, to which Ron said ‘oh Dad, I want to be a realsoldier! So I joined the Grenadier Guards’.

In 1942 he was sent to North Africa. ‘We were called on parade and the company com-

mander said he had some exciting news – we thoughtwe were going home! “You are very privileged to be


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Ron Hill in the presentRon Hill back then

Tanatswa Hapaguti

the first into action in the planned a�ack!”. Then in themidst of the fighting an officer came around taking or-ders for the NAAFI shop: “You can only have one tin ofBril Cream between two” – mad’

In a later ba�le Ron was advancing uphill with hisbayonet fixed behind a creeping artillery barrage whena shell landed in front of him. His shoulder was hit byshrapnel and he felt no pain, just numbness.

A�er recovering from his wounds Ron re-joinedhis regiment as a sergeant for the invasion of Italy.They faced stiff opposition from the Germans andwere in action constantly for days at a time, o�en withno chance to wash or change clothing. It was very coldand raining.


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Jim LONDON: WITNESS OF THE BATTLE

OF THE RIVER PLATE

Jim joined the Royal Navy, 1937, to see the world.In 1939 his ship, HMS Exeter, was near to completinga two-year cruise of the America’s and he was lookingforward to some leave. They were half way to Rio deJaneiro when war was declared. The ship was imme-diately tasked to look for German warships that wereraiding merchant shipping in the Atlantic. As a result,they joined the force of Royal Navy warships that cor-nered the German cruiser, Admiral Graf Spee, in whatbecame known as the Ba�le of the River Plate. Jim re-members the shock waves produced by the guns and


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Jim London in the presentJim London back then

Demi Kilmarten

the force of incoming shells and how a Chief Stockerwas blown away by a passing shell. HMS Exeter wasbadly damaged, mostly in the forepeak where threefriends who joined the navy with Jim were killed. Hewas pleased to take part in the ba�le because it helpedprotect other ships and was a welcome piece of goodnews when the Allies were losing everywhere else.

Jim was then transferred to a minesweeper in theMediterranean and was patrolling the south Italiancoast two days a�er the invasion of Sicily.

‘We found four submarines. One escaped, twowere sunk, and we captured one a�er depth chargingit. It was Italian and the crew did not know Sicily hadbeen invaded and they were changing into their bestuniform ready to go ashore.’


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Jack MADDOCKS: BRAVELY SERVING THE ROYAL NAVY

Jack joined the Royal Navy soon a�er war brokeout. He joined his ship, HMS Indomitable, an aircra�carrier, at Birkenhead, near Liverpool. It was a newship and was launched by Winston Churchill. ‘I wasone of the youngest sailors on the ship and when hecame to me, whilst inspecting the parade, he asked mewhere I was from. I told him I came from Ledbury. Hethen said, “I know it, in Herefordshire, beautiful coun-tryside.” I was very impressed with him, he had greatpresence and I thought we shan’t go wrong with himin charge!’


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Jack Maddocks in the presentJack Maddocks back then

Salma Mohammed

In 1941, HMS Indomitable was on patrol in theNorth Atlantic searching for German U-Boats. It hadlaunched two Swordfish fighter planes that morning.Jack remembers being on duty as a radio operator:

‘I picked up some Morse code messages comingthrough in English and it was from one of the fighters,they had gone down in the sea. I had to take a bearingon the signal and then informed the duty officer.Straight away I was moved from the wireless desk anda Chief Pe�y Officer took over the operation. The captainmade the decision to turn the ship around to pick upthe pilots. This was a brave decision because it wasvery dangerous. I should have got a medal!’

Later they went on sea trials in the Caribbean anda navigation error meant that the ship hit a coral reef.

‘Everything was falling over and we stuck fast. Theship would not move so they tried pull her off withtugs. This failed again so at the next high tide all theships company were assembled at the a�er end of theflight deck with the Royal Marine band. As the bandplayed we all had to jump up and down together asthe tugs pulled. Eventually she floated off!’

HMS Indomitable then went to the Mediterraneanwhere it was involved in a desperate convoy to relievethe island of Malta. There were fi�een merchant ships,three aircra� carriers, and many cruisers and destroyers.The convoy was under constant a�ack from Germanaircra� based in North Africa and Sicily, mine layingaircra� and submarines. Jack’s ship was a�acked atone point by five Stukas and hit by three 500 lb bombs.


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This caused huge damage, set the ship on fire, andkilled 64 sailors.

‘It was mayhem; I was told to help clear the bodies.The chief said “just put them in that bag over there”’.


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Coordinators:Daniela LivadaruMihaela Ţurcănaşu

Technical Writer & Design:Rema Zugravu

Cover Design:Rema Zugravu

Project Logo:George Ţurcănaşu

Collaborators:Romania: Mihaela Ţurcănaşu, Anca Patrichi, Răzvan Buişteanu, Rafael

Maxim, Georgiana Radu, Dumitru Strugaru, Ana ToporeţCroatia: Kristina Matošić, Dajana Tomić, Nikolina Radović, Doris

Bugarĳa, Lucĳa Barešić i Bernarda Medić, Sara JukićGermany: Wilfried Kura, Christina Miller, Michelle Damm, Linda

Bokel, Jenny Klekawka, Anna-Tabea ThimmTurkey: Murat Güneşdoğdu, Deniz Bayram, Zeynep Sıla Özcan,

Deniz Enfiyeci, Bilge Arslan, Sinan Yılmaz, Raul Deniz AltınUnited Kingdom: Neil Mackintosh, Tanatswa Hapaguti, Demi Kil-

marten, Luke Williams-Farnhill, Salma Mohammed

The European Commission support for the production of this publicationdoes not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects theviews only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsiblefor any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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TRUE STORIES REFLECTING

THE SECOND WORLD WAR

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