Fifteen years in a childhood paradise

be killed yourselves." These were the orders of Lieutenant Günther.

Then we were sent into the fields like the drivers in a hunt. I felt absolutely awful. I had no problem going on a hunt and shoot hares or pheasants, but shooting a human being, even if Russian, no! I couldn't do it. I was scared stiff, and my knees were knocking, as we walked through that tall corn field. I probably wouldn't shoot anyhow, I thought, the Russki would jump up and grab me, before I had any chance to do any harm to him.

We kept about five meters distance from each other. I thought of the hunt at home, and a shiver came over me. Here we were, trampling the still green corn down, looking out for the escapees. I prayed, that we wouldn't see them. After about two hours we heard a shot in the distance. Word came quickly down the line, 'the boss had shot one escapee.' After an hour more, the search for the second man was called off. I hoped he was able to get away. I was greatly relieved when this episode was over. At 15 my constitution was still too sensitive to cope with this. I never set eyes on the dead escapee.

'D'-Day, 6 June 1944. Lieutenant Günther had us all assembled again. "The Americans and the British have landed in France. They are holding on to the bridge head, and it seems that we will be fighting again on two fronts."

We looked at each other in dismay. "This means, that the German army needs every available soldier. Five regulars from our battery will have to leave us. We wish them well. For the rest of you, you will have to do more work, and put more effort into our battery, so that it can function as before."

The battery was dismissed. I knew that Horst was stationed in France, and I was worried about him. On 22 June there was another special assembly. This time we were informed, that the Soviets had started a major offensive and had achieved a break-through on the river Dnieper. Within a few weeks the Soviet army reached to about 300 kilometers from Posen. (Amin Ziegler, Posen, January 1945, p.5)

Then came 20 July, the assassination attempt on Hitler. Had Hitler been killed, the war would have been over, I thought. What a pity. On the other hand, I was scared. I was too much influenced by German propaganda. In the afternoon we were called again for a special assembly.

"As you have all heard, the assassination attempt on Hitler has failed. We have been ordered from now on to show our loyalty to Hitler in a special way. All military units are to observe the Hitler salute, instead of the common military salute. Heil Hitler!"

His right arm was thrust forward in the familiar Hitler salute, which we thought looked quite ridiculous coming from an officer in the air force. The exercises that followed to perfect that salute seemed to us all even more ridiculous, and none of us took it too seriously. Was there a seed of

125