German Boy: A Refugee’s StoryWhat was the experience of war for a child in bombed and ravaged Germany? In this memoir, the voice of innocence is heard. “This is great stuff,” exclaims Stephen E. Ambrose. “I love this book.” In this gripping account, a boy and his mother are wrenched from their tranquil lives to forge a path through the storm of war and the rubble of its aftermath. In the past there has been a spectrum of books and films that share other German World War II experiences. However, told from the perspective of a ten-year-old, this book is rare. The boy and his mother must prevail over hunger and despair, or die. In the Third Reich, young Wolfgang Samuel and his family are content but alone. The father, a Luftwaffe officer, is away fighting the Allies in the West. In 1945 as Berlin and nearby communities crumble, young Wolfgang, his mother Hedy, and little sister Ingrid flee the advancing Russian army. They have no inkling of the chaos ahead. In Strasburg, a small town north of Berlin where they find refuge, Wolfgang begins to comprehend the evils the Nazi regime brought to Germany. As the Reich collapses, mother, son, and daughter flee again just ahead of the Russian charge. In the chaos of defeat they struggle to find food and shelter. Death stalks the primitive camps that are their temporary havens, and the child becomes the family provider. Under the crushing responsibility, Wolfgang becomes his mother’s and sister’s mainstay. When they return to Strasburg, the Communists in control are as brutal as the Nazis. In the violent atmosphere of arbitrary arrest, rape, hunger, and fear, the boy and his mother persist. Pursued by Communist police through a fierce blizzard, they escape to the West, but even in the English zone, the constant search for food, warmth, and shelter dominates their lives, and the mother’s sacrifices become the boy’s nightmares. Although this is a time of deepest despair, Wolfgang hangs on to the thinnest thread of hope. In June 1948 with the arrival of the Americans flying the Berlin Airlift, Wolfgang begins a new journey. |
Contents
Foreword | |
Preface and Acknowledgments | |
January | |
Flight from Sagan | |
The Train | |
161 Schönhauser Allee Berlin | |
A Town Called Strasburg | |
A Brave German Soldier | |
The List | |
A Winter Nightmare | |
Summer 1946 | |
Escape to the West | |
The Trauen Barracks | |
Refugee Life | |
Winter of Despair | |
Return of the Americans | |
The Face of Death | |
Surrender | |
The Americans | |
The Russians | |
Messenger of Death | |
Sergeant Leo Ferguson | |
Bakers Apprentice | |
Looking West | |
Epilogue | |
Common terms and phrases
afternoon American anymore army arrived asked barn barracks Berlin black market bombs bread cigarette cold couldn’t didn’t know door English eyes face Fassberg father felt Flüchtlinge Frau Zoske friends front Fürstenfeldbruck German Grapentin Grevesmühlen guns hand head heard Hedy Herr Krampe Herr Schmitt Hitler Youth horses Ingrid kitchen knew laughed leave lived Llydia looked loudly Luftwaffe Lüneburg Heath morning mother moved Munster Mutti never night o’clock Oberfeldwebel Oma’s Opa Samuel pants Panzerfaust Pasewalk potatoes pulled quickly road Russian Sagan Schlawe seemed shouted side sleep slowly smile soldiers soon spoke station stay stood stopped Strasburg submachine guns suitcase talk tanks thought told took train train station Trauen truck turned village Volkspolizei Volkssturm wagon walked wanted warm wasn’t watched Wehrmacht Wiedersehen window Woldegk Wolfgang woman women wore