Now as the first group of British soldiers left out area, the next group came, and they were much nicer to us. They were the ones that would stay in our area . So, slowly, we got to know them pretty well, they were very kind to us when they realized that we were just caught up in the war and had no part in it.. We saw all their food trucks come through and we were so very hungry. One of the soldiers befriended us and would give us some canned food, which was very generous of him. One day a truck was driving by and wound up in a ditch and tipped over on its side. It was full of hard candy. Well you can imagine how excited all the children were. The soldiers aloud us to pick up all the candy that fell out of the truck. Oh my God, we were in heaven we had not had candy in years. By now these soldiers were settling in as much as they could. In our town was a old Castle with a family still living there who were a Prince, his wife and children, and when the war came closer, they moved to a safer place, up North. So the British Officers and their soldiers decided to move in, and made it their headquarters.
We had big gigantic bomb craters all around the town, and children being children we would play in them. Pretending that they where swimming pools. They were wherever the bombs would fall. Still, at least now we did not have to listen for planes dropping bombs or Big Bertha’s whistle, and then having to lay on the ground. Thank God that was all over. We still had our problems, as my poor mother had been saving as much money as she could that was to be our money to go back to America, but by the end of the war the money was worthless, so poor thing, had to start all over again.
My uncle August lived in a city called, Celle, near Hanover, and he was part of the black market were he lived, so he was able to get things that we needed, like some sugar, flour, or other useful things. He would come on weekends and bring us whatever he could. My uncle August was the one who before the war got so close to us, would come and take me and my brother and my friends into the forest and teach us all about the different trees, birds, mushrooms and flowers of the area. As we walked he would have a branch and carve with his knife to make a toy for us. Then on our back home he would take another, bigger piece of wood and shape it in a plate with holes around it’s edge and then put little birds that he had carved before, and put strings through the wholes and attach the birds, then you could make them move, such fun for us children.
One beautiful memory from when I was 5 Or 6 years old . The anticipation of Christmas and Santa Clause was very exciting. First came St Nicklaus Day, on December 6th. The night before we had to put our shoes on the window sill so St Nicklaus could deliver the presents. It was told to us that if we were good we would get a nice surprise, but if we were bad we would get charcoal . So as you can imagine we tried very hard to be good, at least I did but my brother not so much.
Now came Christmas cookie baking time, and oh what fun with Tante Clara, Oma, mama and my brother, Sonny, as we called him. We made Sugar cookies, Butter Cookies, and Gingerbread cookies. We would roll them out in different shapes, put them on cookie sheets, and then bring them to the town bakery, because we did not have the right kind of oven. We would have to make an appointment for our time to use their oven, bring them there then wait for them to be done. Wow, they were delicious. Now came Christmas Eve we would all go to Church at 6:00 o clock ( one of the adults would stay behind with some kind of excuse. Church would take 2 hours with Sermons and prayers and all the children singing in the chorus. Different ages sang at different times. The Church had been decorated beautifully, and the children would act out the nativity. After the services, everyone would start to go home, and as we walked we could see everyones Christmas trees in there Windows. The person that stayed home had decorated ours, as it was never done before Christmas Eve. As we walked home we could see Santa Clause (weinachtsman) all the way down on Main Street, running from house to house and his sleigh was in the street. As a small child of 6 it was very realistic and exciting.
When I was I guess about 7, or 8, my Brother Sonny ( Hermann) decided to teach me how to ride a bike, but my Brother always played tricks on me, so i should not have Trusted him. It started very nice And smooth, and He told me: “i am not going to let go”. There was a shed in the back yard, and he let go of me so I went right into that shed. I did learn how to ride the bike, eventually. Another time while I was walking to school, as I passed a yard that had large geese, they came running after me, Honking and honking, trying to bite me. I had to run real fast to outrun them. In the summer time, as I walked along that road each day, I would pass apple trees, and pear trees, and plum trees and I would grap a piece of fruit and enjoy it… D-E-E-liscious.
Also in our yard was a cesspool in back,where we always played, and one day we were running around it, when I slipped and fell right into it. Thank God only up to my waist, afterwards my mother always said that’s why I grew so tall.
Life goes on and now my mother had a boyfriend, called Willy, cause she was very lonely. At the time, he seemed to be very nice, and eventually, my mother became pregnant with his child. It was very embarrassing for her and us, as in those days there was no way to end a pregnancy safely. My mother was married and her husband was in America, and he was not a good husband, cause he had declared us dead, and then remarried. But still even with the people in our town knowing this, did not treat my mother very nice. One lady kicked my mother in her stomach, and it was scary cause we thought she would loose the baby. When I would see the midwife in town I would ask her what the baby would be, she would smile and say there is only one left, and it’s a girl with red hair. In Germany, at least in my part, no one liked red hair. My little sister was born November 5th 1945 and guess what? She had red hair. Since she was 11 years younger than me, she was more like my child than my sister, since my mother worked, so after school, she was my responsibility, and I thought it was great. I could dress her up, fix her hair, and play with her, it was so much fun for me. I did everything with her just like a mom.
We all tried our best to make things work, but one day we got a little bit of bad news, because the owners came back now that it was safe in our area with the British in Charge and wanted to move back into the apartment we were living in, and we had no were to go. We did not know what to do, but they suggested to us that they could move us into the barn, and could put temporary walls up to give us privacy. My mother said, yes, please and thank you, and we moved in soon thereafter. It was difficult to move in there but we had no choice, and it was kind of weird at night, cause I could hear the mice running around above the ceiling. I was not afraid of them, it was just annoying when you were trying to sleep.
By now “uncle” Willy moved in with us, and I did not like him and he did not like me. He is the father of my little sister, Renate (I gave her that name), so I tried to get along with him. Sometimes, I would just stay by Tante Clara and she would protect me from him. One time he was drunk and threw a concrete dog dish at me, thankfully, it missed my head by inches. There were other incidents, my Tante Clara would let me stay with her from time to time. She did not like Willy and she did not like that the Town was gossiping about her sister.
By this time I had a paper route so I was able to help my mother a little bit. My Tante Clara was a fantastic seamstress she would take something old and make something new for me. She made a skirt from one of my mothers dresses. I remember it had butterfly’s on it it was so pretty.
We befriended this very gentle man from Scotland that was a British soldier helping us as much as he could. He gave us food when he could and cloths for us kids. He had a family in Scotland and when his time was up, he went back to his home. He did not forget us, as he wrote to us frequently, and sent us care packages, and things for the baby. He was a very caring man.
In the house that we were in was another family, and their mother’s name was Charlotte, who had 3 children, a girl who was around 19 or 20, a boy 14 and another boy that was 10. A very nice family but the 10 year old was sick all the time and died, so, it was very sad for me, as I would play with him all the time.
Years went by so fast now, and Tante Henny, my mother’s sister who was living in Glendale, Queens, New York, sent us our first care package. It had coffee for Mamma, and all kind of can foods, and even Crisco. My Mother was so happy for her coffee, because she had not had coffee for a long time. She had tried to make something like coffee with wheat, and would put it in a frying pan to brown it and then pour hot water over it in a cup, and drink it, so you can see why she was so happy. Also she would use the Crisco by toasting bread on the stove, then put Crisco on the bread. When your hungry you will eat anything, but she did sprinkled salt on it for flavor. By now we had some chickens, and one day my mother sent me into the yard to get a chicken for dinner. She said to me “Just twist the neck and that will do it, just like you see when I do it” I did not want to do it but she said “If you want to eat, bring me that chicken.”
I was now getting older and started to work, and my first job was to take care of a small child for a the family who owned a small delicatessen and the lady of the house ran it. They were a very nice couple who had “money”, and a car, and used to go to the opera. It would be a dream for me to be able to go in a car and then even to the opera. After this job I worked in a Restaurant, and helped to make ice cream, set the tables, and put the day’s news paper on a hanger so the restaurant guests could read it. I would take the daily newspaper and place it between 2 sticks that held it at the ends, so people could read it for free, and then leave it for the next customers. I was now at the age to go to High school, but I could not go because we could not afford it, so after 8th grade I worked full time, or I could have gone to trade school to learn how to run a house.
Tante Clara who was never married because she was the caretaker of my Grandmother but later met a very nice man, who was called Karl Spreier and soon thereafter, they were married. We were so happy for her, because now finally she had a life too.
When we were able to afford better meals and bake again, it was so great. Tante Clara, Mama, and me would make delicious butter cookies, sugar cookies and Butter Kuchen Zucker Kuchen so much fun and all was delicious . We did not have an oven so we would make an appointment at the local Bakery and bring the shaped cookies cakes and breads there To be baked.
My friend Hildegard and I made friends in school, and on weekends we would all get together, and go dancing . There was a Restaurant and Bar in town called Habelas that had a barn in the back of the restaurant that they made into a ballroom . We could go there on the weekend and we had a great time.
We could just to go by bike into neighboring towns. There was one place called Conditory in a town called Steinhude that was about 45 minutes to an hours ride by bike . It had the most delicious Pastries, cakes and ice cream, that I can still taste it. Or, we would go to the lake itself (Steinhuder Meer) where they had little booths set up, that you could have a sandwich, a drink, pastries, or ice cream and gifts. So I would get a Herring sandwich aaaawwwwsum it was sooo good! (Later when I went back with Sal it was one of our important stops.)
We also had a great time in the winter at the lake. We would ice skate and ice-sail with our little sail boat. Can you imagine with a high wind, how fast we could go. To get to the lake we had to go on a path that went to the Cassel, (Castle) . The walk was lined on either side with huge Rhododendron bushes that had a beautiful color of deep purples. absolutely gorgeous. We would pass the Castle on our right and then go to a stream where we would put our little sailboat into the water and sail to the Lake itself. It would be my brother Hermann, me, Hildegard, and her brother Wilhelm, and sometimes, Hildegard’s other sisters, Irmchen , Gerdtrud or Dorchen.
Now as more time passed, things were changing. Uncle Willy, (Mamma’s friend and Renate’s father), began starting to drink a lot. He also decided to bring his other family that we did not even know about, to live in our town, he had a wife and four children. Can you imagine what nerve? But by then, my mother had already kicked him out, as he was drinking way to much. One day, since he did not like me, he threw a concrete doggy dish at me, barely missing my head. So good riddance. He became the town drunk and was always walking it’s streets swaying, and could hardly walk.
My mother was starting to think about us going back to America. My brother was turning 16, so she thought it would be a good time to send him to his father. The sad part is that our father had already decided to declare us all dead, because after 7 years, with the war on, if you did not hear from a person you can declare them dead, and get on with your life. The only flaw with that was, we were communicating with him during that time, and we had proof. So, he remarried in the mean time as he was never concerned about us. My Brother left 1948 or 1949 for America, as my father said it was Ok for him to come. I don’t know my brothers story when he arrived there, and thereafter.
After my Brother left, my mother decided that I should learn English. She knew this man, I don’t remember if he was British or American, and he was living with Farmers close by. So I started going to him for lessons. The first couple of times it was OK, but then suddenly he started saying things to me that made me very uncomfortable. Then one time he tried to kiss me and he was grabbing me very tight. I was really scared, and pushed him away from me, and ran away from him, and never went back. When I told my mother, she went to talk to him, but he was already gone and we never saw him again.
When we were still in the house part of the apartment, before we moved into the Barn, and I was 11 years old, there was a male tenant living in one of the other rooms, so my mother asked him to keep an eye on me when she at work. One morning he came into our apartment while I was still sleeping, and scared me to death, and then started touching me. I screamed and screamed, until our nice neighbor came in and chased him out. He had also tried something before that, when I was in a hallway, he pushed himself up against me and I felt something wet. Again I screamed, and ran out to our neighbor. He was then asked to leave , and being only 11, I had no clue what he was after.
When I was about 15, my Tante Clara started to make cloths for me, and once she took me shopping and bought me shoes, under wear, stockings, a dress and a coat. It was a wonderful experience since I had never been to the city of Wonstorf. We had a fantastic lunch, and afterwards she showed me around the city. It felt like I was in wonderland and it was so exciting. I had never eaten at a Restaurant. I had also never had new cloths always hand me downs. My Aunt was such a good person to me.

Riding bikes with Hildegard just before I left for America in 1951
We had beautiful trees in the back of the house . Apple , Pear, Peach , and Plum. And Raspberry ,Blackberry , Blueberry and Gooseberry bushes. Plus a great vegetable Garden. This of course was there long before the War destroyed most of it. We had a beautiful Holiday around Harvest time. All the Farmers would bring the best of there crop of fruit and vegetables to the Church and to the Alter for Blessing. . The church choir would sing, first it was the adults and then the children.
My girlfriend Hildegard (my best Friends ) and i would Ride Our Bikes to Steinhuder Meer, where we would get a Herring Sandwich-hm! hm! Sooooo good. We would then go into Town to The Konditorei And get Ice cream or a delicious Pastry , After all These years I can still taste it. This is The Time When Things were geting better for us. Well I’m trying to remember all but I’m sure I have forgotten some thing, but when I remember I will then add it in.
Now comes the time when its time for me to think about leaving to go to America. I do not want to go . I am scared and don’t know what the future has in store for me. But my mother wants me to go as she says the opportunity will be much better for me in America, as I was an American citizen. The Man ( my Father ) who I did not know what he looked like, was to pick me up at The Pier.
So my adventure began. My Tante Clara took me shopping in Hanover. She was so generous. Her and I had a special bond. She always took care of me. After years of being alone and even while she took care of her Mom ( my Grandmother Oma). When my Oma died she only had herself to care for and me . Then she met a wonderful man named Karl Spreier, and eventually they were married and we’re happy . He used to make his own Liquor in our kitchens big copper tub. I haited the smell, but it was wonderful to see Tante Clara so happy, as she deserved Happiness.
When Tante Clara and I went shopping she bought me Shoes stockings a dress and a winter coat and other nessesary items. We also went out to eat I had never been out to eat at a Restaurant . It was quite an exsperiance for me. So now I was ready . My Mother and I had to get all the paperwork for the trip. Then it was time for me to go. It was very emotional and sad to leave my family and friends. Just emagine I had to leave my Mother and little sister who was just 5 years old. And very attached to me. Because I took care of her when my mom worked. She was like a Daughter to me. We did a lot of crying. My Tante Clara came part of the way with us but my Mom and my sister went all the way to Bremerhaven to the pier. I was going on a Freighter, cause we could not afford a fancy Cruise liner. We all went on the Ship, and were introduced to the other passengers, I think there weren’t more about 8 of us. My Mom asked the nice two older women who were sisters, to keep an eye on me, and they were really nice to me.(pictured below)
Now came the time for them to leave the Ship, and I was able to walk back to the bus that was waiting for my Mom and sister. Oh my God, it was Heart breaking. They got on the Bus and my little sister did not know that I was not going with them . She started to cry and then scream and banging on the window. I had to walk away crying my eyes out . The bus pulled away and I was all alone for the first time in my life. I wanted to run after the bus but could not.
My Mother told me the bus driver felt so bad he went a bought a doll and a doll carriage for my sister to make her stop crying.