The rainbow never sets

kilometers from their home, where Onkel Werner had found a farm which would take me. Herr Hoffmeister's farm was the first in the village. We walked through a large double gate to a pretty Tudor style farm house. On the opposite side was a barn, and the stables were joining the two buildings, making a rectangular yard, with a dung heap in the middle.

Herr Hoffmeister opened the main door and cordially welcomed Onkel Werner and me.

"So this is your nephew Dieter. I hope he will be happy with us." Addressing me he said, "Have you ever worked on a farm before?"

"Not on one like this. I have worked on a large farm with many other workers, on the one my Father is managing now."

"This is a small farm, and everybody is expected to chip in. We can't afford any loafers."

"No, I'm happy to work and at the same time learn something about farming methods."

"You won't learn the latest methods with the most modern machines here, you know. We are only a small farm."

"That's fine with me. I'll be happy to work here." Herr Hoffmeister seemed a kind person, and I felt that we would get along together.

"I can't afford to pay you a salary. You'll have full board here, and some pocket money of RM.3 per month. The second year I'll give you RM.5. You'll be able to attend any courses in connection with your training."

"Thank you, Herr Hoffmeister." At that time I was not too concerned about the low pay, although I had hoped I would get more. It seemed to me that it was more important to get full board, rather than proper pay. Farmers' food was good and substantial in those days, and through my hepatitis I had become rather thin. My body needed building up again.

Onkel Werner and I left. "I'll be back tomorrow morning with my things," I promised. I started working there on Monday, 1 September 1947.

My room was small, but I was glad that I didn't have to share it. After leaving my things there, Herr Hoffmeister introduced me to his wife. She had a stiff knee from a previous accident and couldn't work the fields any longer. Then he showed me around the yard.

"We have 80 morgen (roughly the same as acres) on this farm," he explained. "Six cows, which are presently in a paddock. They are being milked twice a day. The two horses in that stable are ploughing at the moment, and two oxen are working with the potato harvest. The pigs are mainly for home consumption, so are the chickens, ducks, and geese."

Then we walked to the nearest fields he owned. "Our land is very scattered, bits and pieces everywhere," he explained. "You will get to know where they are, after a while."

The first worker we came across was Herr Kothe. He was ploughing with

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