I met a lovely lady yesterday

[:FI:WillieOFS]

while waiting to get a tire fixed. She asked me a few questions about tires. I answered as best I could.

We were outside where the nicotine nazi's don't reside. I started rolling a smoke and she proceeded to tell me that her father grew his own tobacco and she rolled his smokes when she was little girl. She then went on to tell me that she was born in Cologne, Germany in 1934.

I asked how it was to be a kid in a city that was high on the Allied target list in WWII. She said that it was pure HELL. She vividly remembered the night that the Canadian's, the English, and the Americans firebombed her city. She said she could stand on the rubble that had been her house and see all the way to the far city limits. The town was pretty much flattened.

She said they survived by stealing potatos from the German troops. Her little sister was buried under the rubble of their house for 48 hours after that night of fire. Her litle sisiter lost her mind and had to be instutionalized.

She told of one radio station that only broadcast what Hitler wanted his people to hear. Letters to her brothers that were in the Wehrmacht were censored so the people at home could not tell the troops how bad things were at home. She told how the neighbors listened for anyone to complain and when they did, they reported them to the Gestapo. The complainers disappeared, forever.

She told how during the Allied occupation after the war, that they were issued Peanut butter to eat. She says to this day she hates peanut butter.

It was an interesting visit. Bub sat beside me and let the story go in one ear and out the other..........

They got her car ready as she pulled out a cigarette. I lit it for her and and she "Danke", I replied with a grin asiad "De Nada". She laughed, got in her car, and drove off back to her world.

I enjoyed the visit. I wish it could have lasted longer.

[:FI:Falcon]

Great story Veelee, dank nada.

Don't worry 'bout Bub,

he was probably checkin' out the chicks 'cross the street.

[AltarBoy]

That's very nice Willie. The only war stories told to me was from my late Father and Mother. He was stationed in England during WW2 in the RAF. I was pretty young at the time but I remember him showing me a paper where he had signed up for flight school and falied. Odd thing though he seemed pretty proud about it. He often told me about running for bomb shelters when the Luftwaffe bombed the airfield. My mum was in Trinidad and so were the Americans. She said some used to steal chocolates and give them to her during the rationing. They were pretty decent chaps and not the brawling types you see in the movies. And of course there was that damn u-boat she always said caused an island blackout and the US and British coastal aircraft hunting it down.

Sometimes it's good to run into those folks who experienced the war. You learn a lot.

Now, Willie you see what you did. You made me think and that hurts me head!

[Menace]

A friend of mine "Frau Mackinnon" I like to call her, was in germany after the war. She used to talk about how the babies were so starving for calcium that behind every crib next to a wall the plaster was eaten. She's retired in NC right now. Her husband Ron was the IT head at the local university.

[:FI:Genosse]

Ty for sharing this story, Willie!

It still makes me shudder when I hear those kind of stories telling me of a history I´ve never experienced. It´s still unbelievable for me that my previous fellow men could survive these times especially in the bombed cities where food was only rationed available. I think that´s why so many older Germans are still very graceful for the support by the Allies in form of "Care-Pakete" and so on after the war.

But alway keep in mind: War is hell! Everywhere ...

[:FI:Igor]

Willie,

Good story. I heard some 'real' war stories; its real interesting to hear them from some one that was there (not TV) I remember as a kid in New York seeing tattoed numbers on peoples wrists; i was scared to ask what they were; real glad i didn't ask.

Igor

[:FI:Macca]

Good storyy, Wille, thank you for sharing.

I've also heard some war stories, my grandm used to tell me them. She was born in 1935 and survived the occupation. Her father, a teaher in primary school, used to help people get fake documents during the German occupation and he was sentenced to a "work camp" for it. He escaped but some time later he was cought. Died in Dachau bout two days before the americans captured the concentration camp. Grandma still keeps postcards from him, actually he was in a few camps. There is everything on the cards - stamp with svastika,german eagle, stuff. Censored letters,always saying "I'm ok, don't waorry about me, we should be together soon".

Funy thing is that my grandmother's cousin was German - from Silesia. He moved to Germany some time before the war, joined the Luftewaffe. Got shot down in the BoB and stayed as POW until the end of the war. After the war he stayed in Britain, got citizenship and became a private pilot of some rich businessman. He had an accident, spine was broken but he had surgery on it and could walk again and so on.In the 1980s he used to send us some stuff from the UK, for my sis and me mainly, some vitamins for kids, etc , as it wasn't all that bright in Poland at the time. I'm curious if he is still alive, he lived in London. Probbly he is already dead.

Behind the big picture of big maps with arrows shiwing directions of attacks, bombardements, behind political talks, diplomacy, agreements, there are always millioms of stories o every person Good people, bad people, on both sides. it is worth remembering that nations aren't each others' enemies, it is the politicians that make people go nuts and grab weapons. And last year's meeting was kinda wonderful to me, a polish guy spent some time in Dutchland with his Dutch friends and later drove with his German friend via Belgium and France to the UK to meet their American, Swedish, Irish , Austrian, British friends at an airshow in an anniversary of end of this bloody war. Ain't that flippin' great?

Mac

[:FI:Falcon]

Wow, emotional stuff there Macca. It must have seemed like the end of the world actually living in all that.

We had it tough in the States, but there was an ocean between us and the war. Even though there was tragedy and heartbreak here we had a sence of saftey; not so in Europe.

Thanks,

Falcon

[:FI:Macca]

Wow, emotional stuff there Macca. It must have seemed like the end of the world actually living in all that.

We had it tough in the States, but there was an ocean between us and the war. Even though there was tragedy and heartbreak here we had a sence of saftey; not so in Europe.

Thanks,

Falcon

Well, I'm said to be a bit emotional sometimes...

S!

Mac

[:FI:WillieOFS]

Great story Macca,
Thank you for sharing.

I guess it is the "people" who suffer the most in situations such as we talked of.

I doubt humankind will ever learn from its' past mistakes.

That is why I "keep my powder dry".

[AltarBoy]

Powder? Diaper rash, huh? And to think I was complaining about my adult diapers.

On a more serious note. You may be right about not learning from history. The rise of right wing parties especially in some parts of Europe and of communism in my part of the world should be of concern. And of course the Middle-East. There's just too much extremitism in the world today. And what about all those poor kids in the US getting shot up by insane people with guns they shouldn't have. Just make the old AltarBoy mad.