Fifteen years in a childhood paradise

Churchill warned the Polish Government in Exile, residing in England, not to resist the borders as set out in the so called Curzon-Line between the USSR and Poland, and not to object to Lvóv being handed to the Russians. At the same time he announced the generous reparation Poland would receive from German territory to the west of Poland's border. He spoke for the first time of resettlement and displacement of several millions of Germans. The centre of Germany could take many millions, as the victims of the war had reduced the population, and the victims still to come in the new year would see to it, that room would be created." (Armin Ziegler, p.7)

However, it was strictly forbidden to listen to any foreign broadcasts, and so we didn't know anything about the planned movement of millions of Germans from east to west.

Instead, orders were issued to dig fortifications around Posen, supposedly as an additional security, but they were never used. No one was told about the true situation. The propaganda machine let everyone believe, that the final victory was just around the corner. A headline of the Ostdeutscher Beobachter dated 13.1.45 announced: 'Evidence to Believe in Victory'.

I did not get any home leave until Christmas, as all hands were needed to dig some trenches, connecting our six guns with the command bunker.

As a special concession for Christmas, a roster was drawn up of all FLAK Helpers, who wanted to have leave over Christmas. These were divided into three groups, and I was allocated leave for Christmas Eve. I had to report back on Christmas Day by 12 noon.

For me it was a very sad Christmas, the first in my life without Günter. Onkel Werner and Tante Margaret left early, as Bernd was expected the next morning. We talked about the clouds of uncertainty. The German people from the Baltic states, who had been through similar situations before, had all packed their things and were about to leave, against official orders.

What were we to do? The easiest thing was, to sit back and wait for orders. We sat in the salon, the candles lit on the Christmas tree, letting them burn out one by one. No one said a word. We were immersed in our own thoughts, looking at the ceiling, where the diminishing candles cast strange shadows. It was getting darker and darker, reflecting our mood. We knew we would soon sit in complete darkness. Now, all but one candle had gone out. It stayed bright for so much longer than the others.

"Could this be an omen for us, a sign that God is still in charge although right now it doesn't seem so?" Mutter broke the silence. "Only a really strong faith can see the light of God amidst the darkness all around us. We need to believe in a loving God who will overcome all the hatred in this world."

"I am very worried about the future, full of foreboding," Vater began to

129