I was once told a story by a German immigrant, that at the end of WWII, the Americans took furniture from the homes of German citizens in order to quarter our troops. This has been bugging me for a long time. I am not particularly fond of this guy, he is always self-entitled, arrogant and insidiously deprecating to those who must work for him. The story came about one day in Oct 2004 because I had recently stated parking my car in the company parking lot. My car in the last three months had the alternator die, the battery die, needed new tires and with driving 48 miles round trip to work the gas prices were killing my cash flow. The result was that I didn't have the money to pay my insurance until November and my registration was due back at the end of September. One day my car was ticketed by parking enforcement. Not a registration ticket but a parking ticket (not a fix-it ticket but a fine). So thereafter, until I the end of the month I parked my car in the company's parking lot. I had worked for the company for 5 years and was the Production Manager. The parking lot is poorly laid out and getting in and out is a bit of a hassle. After lunch one day he came out and asked me in a mealy mouth sort of way, when was I going to start parking on the street again? - Excuse Me? Im a manger, I run Production, there are extra open parking spaces in the lot and your telling me that upper management wants me to park on the street. Swine! So I tell him about my car woes and he suggests to me that I should counterfeit my registration sticker. I am at first, somewhat put out because I think the SOB is looking down his nose at me. I am 45 years old and I have not done anything that foolish since I was 20 (young & stupid). But he is serious, he tells me that, that would be quite the trick. He says it in a way so as to let me know that HE would find me as someone very clever indeed were I to pull it off. He there after emotionally reinforces his statement... And this is where the story about the furniture comes in. As he relates it, American troops were quartered in the Public/Gov buildings in his town and as they were in need of house furnishings, troops were sent about to requistion property from the local citizens. That one group came by and marked selected pieces of furniture with numbers and then later another group would arrive with trucks to remove the property. Enter Wolfgang, Not liking which pieces of furniture are to be appropriated, in the interim between the two groups of soldiers, using turpentine he removes the numbers from the furniture and transfers them to other furnishings. He tells me this story with a desire to: A - Invoke sympathy for the taking of his families property & B - With a gleam in his eye for having hoodwinked the Stupid American Farm Boys. I was stunned, doubly stunned. He really means it. He is really telling me I should disregard the law and counterfeit my registration. Secondly I at 45 am the son of a father who fought in WWII and he is insinuating that Americans are stupid. More that I should feel sympathetic maybe even a little guilty that his family was deprived of some bits and piece of wood when Germany is responsible for starting a war the cost 50 million lives. What he was really telling me was that he is a Cheat and a Thief and not to be trusted. I had known this guy for 17 years but driving home that day, much of what remained a mystery about his behavior cascaded into place. What I also realized, was that as one of the 3 senior executive at our small company, and that even though we had had a year where our company had done 3 times the business in an area that is considered bonus work, he was going to screw us. And he did. He screwed each of us in middle management out of 20 grand. 80,000 dollars. If he is a Cheat and a Thief, then it stands to reason he is also a Liar. Here is what I do know about American Occupied Germany at the end of WWII. American Joint Chiefs of Staff Directive (JCS) 1067 strictly forbid the taking of personal property from the homes of the German citizenry. The war had been hard on everyone. What was to take place was that every home was to be inspected and any Nazi propaganda removed. Further that any home found to be in possession of property that could be identified as having was belonged to the Jews, was to have that property seized. The problem with Wolfgang's story is in the telling. He can't tell his story of cleverness without talking about the NUMBERS. Why the Numbers? What were they for? The story doesn't ring true. Americans don't quarter troops in the homes of private citizens and it does not make sense that we would TAKE the homes out of the houses in order to quarter our troops elsewhere. The number stand for something... a value?, an address?, a cataloging?... I want to know what the numbers represent. I believe Wolfgang remains an unrepentant Nazi, he entered the Nazi youth when it was at its greatest strength, and was set on a track to university. Something that only happened to the childern of the bourgeoise and the party favorites. After WWII he married a bourgeoise German/American, immigrated to American and has lived with his wifes family's silver spoon in his mouth ever since. In cheating my co-workers and myself of our bonus pay, he was re-living his youth and proving that his is in no sorry for what his country had done. What is revealing is that when it came time to hand out the bonus checks, he skid-diddled off to the mountains early, leaving his colleagues to dole out the disappointment. Just as he no doubt stayed out of site when the troops came back, leaving his Mother to face the music if things went badly. So that’s my story, needed to get if off my chest... I welcome your comments.
I live in Germany and the town where I now live was, at the end of the war surrounded by the Americans, shelled and then occupied. I have often spoken to old people who were living in the town at the time and there have been several independant stories that claim the following. Large areas of the town were evacuated of the local population in order that the American forces could be accommodated. Not billeted with families, but everyone from the areas chosen were given a couple of hours to grab what they could and then old men, women children and babies were left standing on the street with what they could carry and expected to find thier own accommodation. There was no need to collect furniture as they didn't allow the evacuated families to take theirs. Other places may have been different and when they needed tables or funishings they considered it fair to obtain them from the 'enemy'. The families were allowed to move back into their own houses shortly after the British took over administration of the town. Again, I have to point out that this is from several different sources two of which were evacuated from their homes and others who were witnesses, all are bitter with the way the americans conducuted themselves during their time of occupation. As for the comment that the German's were "Germany is responsible for starting a war the cost 50 million lives"? That is of course applying 'collective guilt' that may not be appriopriate. Although I don't condone his attitude, there may grounds for it. At the end of the war the german people had been through deprevations that although the British people could possibly understand, were much worse. It is not unusual for people who have lived through times of hardship to spend the rest of their lives holding on to everything they obtain. Cheating the system, although wrong, would be a form of doing this. The had nothing's never ever want to have nothing ever again. Consider also the fact that having been through such deprevation having been on the loosing side, and now working amongst the old enemy, using any power obtained could be a natural but sub-consious 'revenge'.
(briansoper @ Oct 14 2005, 08:51 PM) [post=40054]I believe Wolfgang remains an unrepentant Nazi, he entered the Nazi youth when it was at its greatest strength, and was set on a track to university. [/b] How old is he? If he is old enough to have been a member of the HJ, he must be well over 70 today.
