Figure 1.--This photograph was taken sometime in late 1943 or early 1944. I am about 8 3/4 year old after I was evacuated from Stuttgart to a safer village. I was lucky because I had family to take me in. The younger boy is my cousin. We both normally wore short pants with long stockings. We also has long pants for playing outdoors in the snow.

I grew up during World War II. After America entered the War, the Allies expanded the stategic bombing campaign. The bombing became increasingly intensive during 1943. Stuttgart as an industrial city was one of the cities which the Allies targeted. As a result, we children in Stuttgart were evacuated during Fall 1943. We were moved to the surrounding villages, if possible to the homes of relatives. A photograph of me in Winter 1943/44 when I was about 8 3/4 years shows me with a younger cousin. He was about 4 1/2 years old. I am wearing my Baskenmütze. My little cousin has a cap with bill. My coat is a warm Lodenmantel with a hood fastened by buttons to the coat. [HBC note: A French reader tells us that Lodenmantel means a coat made with a sort of waterproof woollen fabric. It is no longer made and worn except in Bavaria and Austria (even by adults). In French the term was " manteau de loden ".] Obtaining children's clothes became increasingly difficult as the War progressed, especially by 1945. [HBC note: Clothing became a special problen for Germany during the War. Besides of the War-time priorities and disruption due to the bombings, the Royal Navy cut Germany off from supplies of cotton--all of which was imported.] We "inherited" most of our clothes from older brothers and sisters and cousins. As I was an only child, I inherited many garments from cousins. I was very lucky. We had American relatives who sent us some clothes after the War when it was almost impossible to obtain children's clothes in Germany.

My Family

I have earlier mentioned about my mother and grandparents. Considering the circumstances of the family , my grandfather was contacted by some oppositional groups (church etc). He had to be very cautious.

Bombing

After America entered the War, the Allies expanded the stategic bombing campaign. The bombing became increasingly intensive during 1943. Stuttgart as an industrial city was one of the cities which the Allies targeted. As a result, we children in Stuttgart were evacuated during Fall 1943. Mbr>

Evacuation

We were moved to the surrounding villages, if possible to the homes of relatives. A photograph of me in Winter 1943/44 when I was about 8 3/4 years shows me with a younger cousin. He was about 4 1/2 years old. I am wearing my Baskenmütze. My little cousin has a cap with bill. My coat is a warm Lodenmantel with a hood fastened by buttons to the coat. [HBC note: A French reader tells us that Lodenmantel means a coat made with a sort of waterproof woollen fabric. It is no longer made and worn except in Bavaria and Austria (even by adults). In French the term was " manteau de loden ".]

An Uncle--Small Town

The first relatives to whom I was sent on the countryside in fall 1943 to a smaller city in the south of Stuttgart were more open to the regime. My uncle was a teacher in a secondary school. I stayed there for a quarter of a year; I don't know why my mother/grandparents looked for another place shortly after.

Another Uncle--Village

At Christmas 1943 I was "moved" to another relatives' family more in a smaller village at the countryside near Bavaria. This uncle was away for military service, the aunt was not interested in politics, nor were the neighboring families living nearby. I played with the neighboring children. I remember a girl I played with. She lived next door. Her father was a worker in a metal producing plant there. In the public school which I attended there we had an elder teacher. many of tyhe younger male teachers had been drafted into the military. I don't remember him trying to influence us with NAZI ideas. Our relatives had a big garden at the surroundings of the village near to the camp for prisoners. As I was quite young at the time I am not sure now if the camp was a concentration camp (KZ) or a POW camp. The men walked along the fence of the garden going for work at the metal-working plants. We children were aware of what was going on but the families did not speak with the children much about this (although they were not supporting the regime in any form), On Sunday we went to church and all letters received from the local men who were soldiers were shown and discussed in the neighborhood.

My Wife

A remark about school life of my wife, one year younger, who of course I did not know at the time. but also remenbers the war wea. She had a teacher who started the school day by the Hitler-greeting and constantly spouted NAZI ideas. After the war she (9 years old) met him again, unemployed in the meantime, and greeted him again as earlier in school just to annoy him. He soon began to avoid her on the street.

Obtaining Children's Clothes

Obtaining children's clothes became increasingly difficult as the War progressed, especially by 1945. [HBC note: Clothing became a special problen for Germany during the War. Besides of the War-time priorities and disruption due to the bombings, the Royal Navy cut Germany off from supplies of cotton--all of which was imported.] We "inherited" most of our clothes from older brothers and sisters and cousins. As I was an only child, I inherited many garments from cousins.

Keeping Warm

I want to describe the difficukty we had keeping war in the Winter. As you may know, it is quite cold in Germany during the Winter--colder than england even though England is located further north. This is related to clothing because it explains why German children needed warm clothing. The problem of hearing homes and schools became very difficult in the last year of the War, especially as the bombing increased as it was increasingly difficult delivering coal to the cities.
Winter 1943/1944: Not too many problems. Nevetheless we children were aware of the poster put up in the streets, "Kohlenklau geht um", and collected the small bills showing him with a pack of stolen coal.
Fall 1944: Even in the small villages the heating of the new school building which we attended before - probably a central heating - was no longer possible and we had shortened school in a smaller old building with stoves in the rooms.
Winter 1945/46: At home and later in the hospital it was not so hard. Back in Stuttgart in winter 1945/46 only in the kitchen of our (6 rooms) appartment did we have heat. We now had two additional sub tennants (my grandfather was allowed to have an additional room for working due to his obligations with the post-war government, the rest was the family room, two sleeping rooms for my grandparents and my mother/me, and two rooms for the two tennants. We ha a coalfire in a small stove for heating and cooking. No gas in the kitchen-stove! The glass in the windows had been was destroyed, they were replaced in a makeshift fashion by some by some wooden boards. I remember that it was really cold, I did my school homework in one of our normal rooms wearing heavy clothes and a coat, woolen cap etc. Our four story school building was heavily damaged in the building. The roof in paricular was in poor condition. We pupils had to bring wood collected around in the ruins to have a fire in the four rooms still usable without rain coming in. They were located on the ground floor.
Winter 1946/47: At home we had again glass in the windows. One of the tennants left, the other one was a very old aunt belonging to the family. The living room was heated as well as the gas stove in the kitchen. In Stuttgart (at this time probably about 250,000 population. There was one gymnasium school building (of the about 10 gymnasiums) available, not destroyed and with central heating available. We had school for 20 minutes per week there, presenting our home work and getting new tasks to do for the next week, no sports or swimming. All gymnasiums of Stuttgart together in this school building rapidly changing class rooms in 5 minutes!
Winter 1947/48: Aat home we were able to begin hearing all of the rooms. In school, the building had again a roof and the central heating was operable. It was better again.

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Created: February 23, 2004
Last updated: February 26, 2004