Page 36 - My Story

from the side turnings, then the street lights and the shop lights went out and we heard the band. The
leaders of the procession arrived now, carrying lighted torches, then came part of the band and then about
a hundred children, all carrying lanterns. Next came more torches, more band and then St. Martin (cheers)
on his white horse, waving to all the people (and he waved to Helen – and Susan and Hilary and Mummy)
then more children and more children and more children all with their lanterns and the band was playing
and the children were singing.

As soon as the procession had passed, we rushed out and took a short cut up the hill to the castle where
it was ending. There was lit an enormous bonfire and standing where we were with very few other people
on our own little hill, we had a perfect view of all the children gathering around St. Martin with the lanterns
bobbing about over the hillside. St. Martin then made a little speech telling them all to be good children
and then it was all over – well, nearly, because when we got home the lady in the shop downstairs brought
up three of these large crispy biscuits that St. Martin had left for the girls and then Daddy found some bags
of special sweets that St. Martin must have left and then this morning they discovered that he’d left a lot
more sweets and bun-men in Kindergarten. Helen said that St. Martin must be magic. I think so, too”.

November ran into December and it was St. Nicholas. Because of our proximity to Holland St.
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Nicholas was a big thing. The children left shoes by the front door when they went to bed December 5
and they were full of sweets the next morning – unless you had been really bad and then you just got a
piece of coal left by St. Nicholas’s page, Ruprecht.

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December 13 was Helen’s fifth birthday. She invited a couple of the grubbiest, most snotty
nosed children home for tea on the actual day – we’d kind of avoided them but they were Helen’s special
friends – and then the next day we had the real party with about fifteen children and games – musical
chairs, pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey, all new to the German children but our parties became
events to be looked forward to. Later we bought the children a Kasperle Theater – a Punch and Judy
Theatre – and Helen and later Susan became expert puppeteers and provided entertainment for the
younger children’s parties.

We spent Christmas with the Bachs and oh wonders, the Bachs had set up a Kaufladen (market
stall) in their basement. Apparently, they had been doing this since their girls were tiny and now it was
there for us. It had everything, real goodies to weigh and sell and eat and money to buy and give change.
The girls were captivated and spent the whole of the Christmas break at the Kaufladen.

We all loved visiting the Bachs. There was always entertainment for the children – Elke and
Gudrun would sweep them away and give them all their attention for as long as we stayed. Peter and I
would be entertained by Hans and Lisa, sometimes taken out for a meal. The food was always good –
everyone sat around the big table and took what they wanted and there was never an issue about what
anyone did or didn’t want to eat! Kaffee und Kuchen in the afternoon was always delicious. Lovely home-
made cakes and Torten were served and nobody ate less than two slices and yet, none of us were
overweight. Supper was usually just an open sandwich, so maybe that is the secret.

Hans never made a secret of his war service. He came from a poor family and took very little persuasion
to join the Hitlerjugend. He was a bright star with them and when the war started, he was transferred to
the army and fought on the Eastern front. He was wounded twice, sent home each time which accounted
for more children. At the end of the war he was imprisoned by the allies for two or three years and then
he came home, saw his hungry family and got himself a job in a sausage factory where the employees had
the opportunity to purchase the products at low cost. He never looked back. But however the Nazi party
indoctrinated him might have worked when he was a very young man, by the time we met him he was
open minded, accepting of people whatever their beliefs, a loving husband and father and a generous
friend. He loved us and entertained generously my Jewish parents. With Lisa there was never any
question – people were people, children were there to be loved and she was the original Earth Mother.

As long as we lived in Germany, close to ten years, we never met anyone who had fought the
English or any of the Western allies! But who was going to confess that to us? We were assured that
nobody had known about the concentration camps or the disappearance of the Jews and I could believe
that in part. If you lived in a small town you would be cut off from national politics and events and

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