Thanks for the feedback. My Dad was 9 years old in Berlin and experienced the allied bombing raids first hand. I never heard him talking about that whatsoever.
When I visited my grandmother (rest in peace) there in ‘74, she told me about living in the bombshelters at the time. She had nothing but excellent remarks to say about how he dealt with the hardships he had to go through at the time. Despite he being her son, she was impressed (more like amazed) at how he handled himself, listened to and did what she said (without question or hesitation) during what she said would be a most frightening and horrific experience for any child of that age. She said he never quailed, despite they huddling in total pitch black while the air raids went on around them. She said while others screamed and cried, he was silent. Kept all his personal belongings and valuable possession together, able to dress himself and evacuate in total blackness without a moments notice.
She told me of one of the last raids they went to before evacuating out of the city and relocating to Lake Constance area. All the local bomb shelters had already been destroyed. So they took refuge in the basement of the apartment building they lived in, along with other families. A bomb landed in the street in front of the building. A bomb blew apart the buildings on both sides of the building and one landed in the alley behind the building. A bomb hit the building that they were in directly, traveled through three or four floors and came to rest in the middle of the ground floor of the building. It was a dud. If it was not, I’d not be here to write this post.
I asked a lot of questions, and she did the best to answer them. Hoever, there came a time when she got this really pained look in her face and said she really didn’t want to talk about it anymore (the memories where just too painful).
My Dad’s Dad was a battalion tank commander who died in some nameless Russian POW camp some time (decade+) after the war. She said that they were in communication through the Red Cross for some years after the war, but the communication became more and more sporadic. Eventually the correspondance was returned unopened. Nor was there any response or reply to any inquiries made on my Grandfather’s behalf. Sometime in the late 50’s (early 60’s) some Soviet government military attache showed up at her doorstep with a box and stated these were her husband’s personal effects, have a nice day and left.
WOW. Thanks for being here, raygun.
My dad was in Holland, patiently waiting to be rescued by the 101st/82nd Airborne. Both are not impressed with the series so far - too negative and lack of context.
My uncle, my mother’s older and only brother died in Normandy, no he is MIA - SS Panzer Division of some sort. It’s my understanding he escorted the tanks??? He just turned nineteen. My grandfather was in Italy and lucked out. He ended up in an American POW camp. The Russian POW camps were a nightmare from what I heard.
I really have to admire my mom. She is the most optimistic person I know and has some amazing stories. I have no idea how she and my grandmother, or anyone for that matter survived Berlin in 1945. I just thank God my parents met in Vancouver and managed to immigrate here to the good old U.S.A.! There I said it even though Burns doesn’t seem to recognize how blessed he is and how blessed the world is that there is a United States of America. No other country would have sacrificed so much for others. It was a tremendous effort on each and every American's part and they pulled it off magnificently. It is a shame that a significant percentage of today’s Americans do not have the same vision or will.