The rainbow never sets

Strykowo? Would there be a decisive battle fought in our area, as had been planned by the Poles? When would we be able to go home?"

There were no answers to these questions. The only source of information was the radio. So we switched on an old set that stood near the dining table. We all sat around the table and heard familiar march music. Then the announcer came over: "In a minute our Führer will be making a broadcast to all Germany. Please stay tuned in."

There were anxious moments. What would he be saying? Would he tell us something about Poznan?

Then came Hitler's speech over the radio: "Since five o'clock this morning German troops have been marching into Poland É" A rather long and involved speech followed, saying that the Poles would be defeated in a short, but fierce battle and that all oppressed and persecuted Germans in Poland would now be freed. He gave all sorts of reasons for starting the war. The main thrust, though, was that the injustices of the treaty of Versailles would now be righted and that all Germans would again be united. There was no mention of Poznan or our province. We were rather disappointed.

His voice sounded harsh and rasping. He said that the Free State of Danzig of this morning, was incorporated into the German Reich.

We started to listen eagerly to news bulletins to learn about the progress of the war. Our ears were longing to hear names that were familiar to us, but so far we had not heard one mentioned. From now on, our holiday spirit was gone. The beach had lost its attraction. All our thoughts were centred on home and what we could do about getting back there again.

There was no resistance in Danzig, as the population was almost 100% German. After we had eaten breakfast, a newsflash came over the radio: "The Poles of the shipyard in the town of Danzig, called 'Westerplatte', had resisted German take-over and they are prepared to fight it out. A German battle ship is ready with heavy guns to respond to the challenge."

Soon we heard heavy gunfire in the distance. "Can we go to the beach and see what these explosions are?" we asked Klärchen. "We can hear the sound, it clearly comes from beyond the beach."

"Would it be safe?" "Oh, yes, it's far away, we won't go near it!" Our curiosity got the better of us. We trundled off to the beach with Klärchen, who was not at all sure whether she should have let us go there in the first place. But we wanted to see what was going on.

On the last sand dune we stood mesmerised. "Look at that huge battle ship," Günter said. "Yes, I can see it," and rather timidly I added: "But it is far away from us, and it is shooting to the left."

There it was before our eyes, facing Danzig. Each time we saw puffs of black smoke a few seconds before we heard the heavy guns firing.

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