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Fall 2005

ROCKVILLE SISTER CITY CORPORATION

NEWSLETTER

Rockville Sister City Incorporated is a non-profit corporation founded in 1986 in order to support and promote mutual understanding through personal experience based on Youth,

Educational, Cultural, and Commercial Exchanges among Sister Cities throughout the World.

info line: 240-314-5029

Rockville City Police Officer Accompanies Bicycle Trip to Pinneberg.

By Sgt. Eric Over

Rockville City Police Department

The idea of a Rockville Police Officer traveling to Pinneberg, Germany has been in the works for quite a few years. I remember a conversation with Mr. David L’Heureux, President of the RSSC, where he made it known of his intention to sponsor a police officers trip to Pinneberg. I was very excited to learn that his years of work culminated in a request for a Rockville Police Officer to accompany a group of bicyclists to Pinneberg. Although there was a lot interest in the opportunity throughout the Rockville City Police Department, I was one of only six officers who actually applied to be considered for the trip. Every applicant was required to appear before an oral board consisting of two RSCC Board members who, based on a series of questions, were tasked with making the final selection. The results were announced and I was the officer selected to accompany the bike group on their trip. I considered myself extremely fortunate to have been selected by the panel and was very excited about the opportunity given to me to represent the Rockville Police Department in Pinneberg.

I am fluent in German but was just a little rusty from not having conversed in German for quite some time. During the months preceding the trip I brushed up on my German by reading current news and events forwarded to me by the German Embassy via e-mail. Additionally, numerous phone calls to my relatives in Heidelberg, Germany gave me all the additional help I needed……and of course a larger than usual long distance phone bill.

In the early spring the bike group scheduled a bike ride from Rockville to Bethesda. In order for me to get to know some of the riders I went with them on the ride.  As we pedaled along the neighborhood streets I had plenty of time to talk with the other riders and got to know some very remarkable people. It became evident to me on that day how welcomed I was by the group and was looking forward to meeting everyone else scheduled to go on the trip.

The flight to Germany was, for the most part, uneventful; however, we arrived in Hamburg very late due to a serious thunderstorm that rolled through Dulles airport. The storm subsequently delayed our takeoff by two hours. This delay would ultimately cause us to miss our connecting flight from Amsterdam to Hamburg. A contingent from the Pinneberg German-American Organization was on hand at the Hamburg airport to greet us and transport us to the Pinneberg Rathaus (City Hall) where we would meet our host families.

My host, Kai Sibbert, is a Pinneberg police officer whom I had the pleasure of knowing for the past several years. Kai was part of the Pinneberg Sister City group that had visited Rockville several years ago and I had the good fortune of getting to know him then. After a brief reception at City Hall we were released for the afternoon to get settled in with our host families.

In between the days of bike riding, June 17^th was scheduled as the day for me to interact with the Pinneberg Police and participate in an all day “ride-along.” The Pinneberg police department is centrally located in the city and is a few blocks from the town center. The Pinneberg police department consists of a patrol division, a traffic division and a criminal investigations division that includes the narcotics investigations unit. The Pinneberg police are self-contained in their own building. The police cars are all pool vehicles and are made up of Volkswagons and a few BMW’s. Officers are required to attend a police academy and depending on what level of rank the officer intends on achieving can range anywhere from two to four years of instruction. Firearms qualification occurs only once a year with a total of approximately 20 rounds fired.  Officers are not permitted to practice with their assigned firearm during the year and are required to lock their service pistol in a gun safe prior to leaving work. They are not allowed to carry their firearm off-duty and are not permitted to own a personal firearm. Gun control is very strict and only persons who demonstrate a need for a firearm to hunt in order to survive are permitted to apply for a permit to own a firearm. Upon making application to own a firearm the applicant goes through a very extensive background check. Since officers are not permitted to wear their firearms off duty, most officers change into and out of their uniforms at the station.

Kai Sibbert in front of the Pinneberg Police Station

My host, Kai Sibbert, is not only assigned to patrol but is also assigned to what could be described as the "Community Services Office. He is responsible for going into schools and assisting with drug and alcohol awareness classes, driver safety classes and pedestrian and bicycle safety classes. He routinely sets up cone courses for children to practice their bike riding and safety skills.

Our patrol day started by changing into our respective uniforms, Kai in his traditional green and yellow and me in my navy blue Rockville Police uniform. Prior to doing so approval was obtained from both the Pinneberg Police District Chief and Rockville Police Chief Treschuk. Many officers whom I had come into contact with during the day admired our blue police uniform. Kai informed me that that the German police departments, country wide, are transitioning over to a blue uniform as well. In fact, police officers in Hamburg were already wearing the blue police uniform. According to Kai the reasoning behind the transition was to ensure that police departments throughout Europe wore the same readily identifiable blue police uniform and could be easily identified by citizens traveling across European country borders. We picked up a radio from the dispatch center which somewhat resembled the setup of the Rockville Police dispatch center, however, lacked the more modern equipment found in our station. We began a foot beat in the town center of Pinneberg that was comprised of four blocks of retail stores including clothing stores, shoe stores, bakeries, drug stores and coffee shops, just to name a few. The Pinneberg town center reminded me of what our Rockville town center will evolve into, once complete. Throughout our foot patrol, we encountered many residents who had a never ending supply of questions about who I was, the uniform I was wearing, what policing was like in America and questions directly relating to the Sister City Corporation. The best part of interacting with the citizens was the look on their face when I answered, in German, the question they had posed to Kai for me. An overwhelming majority of the people we came into contact with looked very favorably on my uniform and commented on how sharp it looked.

During the patrol we dealt with many of the same problems American law enforcement has become accustomed to handling. We had to ask a homeless person to move on and stop harassing pedestrians, issue a parking ticket to a motorist parked on the sidewalk, and enforce the “no bike riding” ordinance to numerous people riding their bikes through the pedestrian friendly town center. Bikes must be dismounted and can be pushed through the area. We also handled a shoplifting call involving a person who was stopped by store employees for concealing merchandise. The problem was that the items were being concealed in a store shopping bag and he had not yet passed the last working cash register. The store manager was not too pleased that the officers couldn’t do anything more than check his wanted status and warn him not to return. I found it fascinating to learn just how similar the requirement for probable cause are for our two departments. In addition to the calls for police service we conducted numerous business checks and spoke with numerous retail store employees to see if they were having any problems.

We returned to the station to have lunch at the police department. I was surprised to find that Pinneberg police officers are prohibited from eating in public due to the community’s perception that it portrays a negative image of the police department to the community. During our lunch break I had an opportunity to meet and speak with several other officers who came from different parts of the country. One officer I spoke with came from the former East Germany. It was interesting listening to how he was raised in a communist country and the school required that he learn Russian compared to his counterparts in Western Germany who were required to learn English. I also met with another Officer who started his career in the Heidelberg area of Germany, which happens to be where most of my relatives live. I inquired about his ability to speak fluent English and was told that Officers who are assigned to areas near United States military bases are required to have a higher degree of fluency. Prior to concluding our lunch another Officer I met was very interested in corresponding with me in an effort to have our department join the International Police Association, which is comprised of Officers worldwide. Correspondence between us is still continuing.

The Pinneberg Police Cars

The second half of the day was spent on vehicle patrol.The cruiser of choice was a Volkswagon station wagon capable of 150 MPH. We drove the streets of Pinneberg in much the same fashion as we do here in Rockville. Pinneberg consists of several subdivisions much like our Fallsgrove, Lincoln Park, King Farm and College Gardens communities and range from low income to upper income. We met with several officers from the traffic unit who were doing a speed enforcement detail on a neighborhood side street. The detail was generated due to the community’s complaints to the police administration of speeding through the neighborhood. Officers were using a Laser device similar to the Laser units we have been using for years however, it is still considered a new technology in Germany. Since the Laser is a new speed measuring device motorists were stopped, given warnings and released. In order for officers to “run” tags and drivers licenses they are required to call the dispatcher and get the information over the phone. Data checks are not done over the regular radio waves. Our day concluded and we changed out of our uniforms. On a side note the Pinneberg police officer from the former East Germany, Kai Munsterberg, admired the Rockville police uniform so much that he asked if he could have it as a keepsake. I obliged him and in return received several items including two police ball caps and a police bike jersey.

(Left to Right) Kai Sibbert, Me and Kai Munsterberg

In conclusion I would have to say that this trip was by far one of the most enriching and rewarding trips I have taken in my entire life. I have met some very enjoyable people and have made some wonderful friends in Pinneberg. As of today I am still in touch with the officers who I had the pleasure of meeting and look forward to the day when they find it possible to visit Rockville and our police department. My friend Kai will in almost all certainty be accompanying a contingent of Pinneberg officials visiting Rockville in 2007. I hope that I may extend him the same courtesies that he so graciously extended to me during my stay with him and his family. I want to express my deepest and sincere appreciation to all who made this trip possible. Starting with David L’Heureux, members of the Rockville Sister City Corporation and the members of the Pinneberg German-American Organization …without them this opportunity would never have been possible. I also want to thank Chief Treschuk, our police command staff and City Manager Scott Ullery for supporting me and allowing me the time to participate in what I truly believe was a worthwhile endeavor. I would like to conclude by thanking everyone I accompanied on the trip and pedaled the many kilometers around Pinneberg. They are a great bunch of people who I was very fortunate to have spent time with and come to know. I look forward to continued contact with everyone with the hopes of joining them as they pedal around the bikeways of Rockville.

Fall 2005

Falling in Love with Pinneberg

By Nancy Breen and Bill Michie

They always say that if anything can go wrong, it will. Much to our horror, that is exactly what happened at the very beginning of our trip. Our flight was delayed for hours and we could not imagine that our hosts would be waiting for us at the „Flughafen“ in Hamburg. How very thrilled we were upon arrival at Hamburg to see a flag with both Pinneberg’s and Rockville’s coats-of-arms. Our hosts had put off many personal committments to see that we were comfortable upon arrival.

That very same afternoon we met our host families who welcomed us and made us feel at home in their beautiful houses and gardens. This was the beginning of the warm and gracious hospitality that we experienced thoughout our entire stay in Pinneberg.

The next day, Mayor Horst Werner Nitt held a reception to welcome us at Pinneberg’s Rathaus (City Hall). He expressed special pleasure in knowing that Pinneberg provides a model for biking in Rockville. He noted that since becoming Pinneberg’s sister city, Rockville had developed and implemented a Bike Master Plan.

Rockville Cyclists Welcomed at City Hall

The following day we rented bikes in nearby Haseldorf and set off along the Elbe. Pinneberg and the surrounding county, Schleswig-Holstein, is farming country. The region is famous for roses and white asparagus; the county also raises sheep, goats, horses and Holstein cattle. Over the following 8 days we biked through the countryside surrounding Pinneberg. We saw beautiful forests, canals and horse farms meticulously maintained. We visited Hamburg and, of course, Berlin.

Reimer Eck Leads Cyclists Along the River Elbe

On our first visit to Hamburg we toured the vast and impressive Airbus complex. On our second visit, we toured the modern harbour by boat and then the rest of the city by bus, thereby gaining a complete perspective on the entire city. The highlight of our visit was our trip to Berlin and our visit to the Reichstag.We marvelled at this ultra-modern glass and chrome structure that incorporates historic ruins from the original parliament constructed between 1884 and1894. Other highlights included Checkpoint Charlie and the new Holocaust memorial.

If anything could rival our host’s hospitality, it was their organization and attention to detail. On arrival, we received packets with each day’s activities described on color-coded pages. The first page provided an overview of the entire vacation’s activities and who would lead each ride. Also included were two-page ride descriptions with a map for each day, historical explanations, and a pocketsize laminated card of essential phone numbers.

Loading Bikes onto Local Train

We were delighted by the pedestrian and bike-friendly atmosphere throughout Northern Germany. The sidewalks are at least twice as wide as in the US to accommodate everyone. The part for cylists is clearly marked with the international bicycle icon. Moreover, trains, ferries and other forms of transport readily accommodate bikes and bikers during most hours. At train stations, people routinely leave their bikes and continue their journey by train. These facilities make biking extremely enjoyable and completely without stress. As you might guess, virtually everyone bikes.

Loading Bikes onto Ferry to Cross the Elbe

Germans bike to work, school, shopping, and sporting and cultural events whenever possible. German mail carriers use specially designed bikes. A healthy life style is promoted at an early age by encouraging kids to bike to school. The government subsidizes the cost of public buses for students during the 3 winter months; however the rest of the year, they bike.

Rapid/Energy Efficient Postal Delivery

The school board, police department and county council cooperate to provide training. Every youngster looks forward to becoming certified as a qualified cyclist so they can bike to school. Under these conditions, biking is safe enough even for children. We hope that Rockville’s elected and Transportation Department officials will visit Pinneberg to experience multi-modal transportation.

Cyclists Stop at a Farm House in the Schleswig-Holstein Farming Country

We were blessed with sunny and warm weather throughout our stay. This made it all the more sad when our wonderful holiday ended on the ninth day, and we had to return our bikes and bade farewell to our gracious hosts.  We all agreed that our visit was not just pleasant but also educational. Further, it further solidified our relationship with our Sister City. We look forward to the Sister City Jubilee Celebration in 2007.

Fall 2005

Bettina’s and Hajo’s Wedding

By George Albrecht / Brigitta Mullican

RSCC members Brigitta Mullican and George Albrecht visited Pinneberg shortly after the Rockville bicyclists.  They were there at the invitation of Bettina Klein and her fiancé, Hajo Holzmann, to take part in their wedding celebrations.  Brigitta and her family were Bettina’s exchange family hosts during Bettina’s high school senior year; she graduated from Richard Montgomery High School in 1992, then went on to Göttingen University and medical school. She is now a medical doctor practicing in Kassel, Germany. Bettina told Brigitta that what she experienced in America crystallized her decision to become a physician.  Hajo has his doctorate in mathematics.

There were two marriages for Bettina and Hajo. The first, a civil ceremony, took place on Friday, July 8^th at the Trauungssaal (marriage chamber) in the picturesque city of Lüneburg, Hajo’s hometown.  A small champagne reception followed the ceremony, and then invited guests joined the couple and their families for a celebratory dinner at a local restaurant, where courses included a traditional Wedding Soup and the ubiquitous North German dessert “Rote Grütze” (a fresh berry mixture).

Bettina and Hajo

On Saturday, the church ceremony took place at the historic Rellingen Church, located “just across the Autobahn” from Pinneberg.  The ceremony was ecumenical and very similar to a church wedding in America – the wedding couple and their attendants were dressed in tuxedos and lovely dresses, the father gave away the bride, there was a flower girl and ring bearer, and after the ceremony the wedding party and relatives gathered on the church grounds for the requisite “photo op”.

Cap Polonia Hotel

The wedding party took place at the Cap Polonio Hotel in Pinneberg. Many RSCC members are familiar with the hotel, which has a festivities hall that was actually part of a former steam ship, the Cap Polonio. Having said that, well, let it be known that Pinnebergers know how to party! There was excellent drink and excellent food. There were many toasts and many speeches – all of them heartfelt and well prepared. As the evening progressed, everyone joined in the dancing, singing and festivities – and finally a massive six-tiered wedding cake (with sparklers attached) was wheeled into the hall. When Brigitta and George left at 1:00 am, the party was in still in full-swing….

David Patrician with Reimer and Inge Eck

Also among Bettina’s international guests were Rockville’s David Patrician (who is now in Berlin on a Robert Bosch Foundation stipend) and Spanish twin sisters who had been classmates with Bettina at Richard Montgomery.

Fall 2005

SALUTE TO ROCKVILLE NONPROFITS

On September 7 the City of Rockville held it's first Salute to Nonprofits in the city. For 3 hours the block of E. Montgomery Ave. in front of the Regal Cinemas was closed and the city erected numerous booths to accommodate the weekly farmers market and about 35 nonprofit organizations. The Rockville Sister City Corporation, being a nonprofit organization, was represented by it's president, David E. L'Heureux, with an attractive booth including literature and a display of pictures of Pinneberg. About 750 people visited the displays during the 3 hours. Several visitors were pleased to see pictures of Pinneberg for the first time. This event may become another tradition for Rockville.

FILM NIGHT AT THE SENIOR CENTER

Nowhere in Africa

Director: Susanne Linke

Senior Center, Azalea Room

Friday, November 18

Just before the outbreak of World War II, the German-Jewish Redlich family manages to escape the Nazi terror at the very last moment. Five year old Regina begins a new life with her parents, Jettel and Walter, on a small isolated farm in Kenya. Here they lead an impoverished existence far removed from their roots in Germany.

While Regina discovers the magic of Africa, a foreign continent full of strange people, her parents become desperate in the face of poverty and isolation. For Walter, his inability to cut Germany out of his heart tortures him far more than their economic plight. This remains so even when he becomes certain the rest of his family in Germany have been murdered by the Nazis. After all these years, they have learnt to love living in Kenia so that moving back to Germany throws Jettel and Regina into conflict. 'Nowhere in Africa' is the latest film from Oscar winner Caroline Link, after 'Annaluise and Anton' and 'Beyond Silence'. An adaptation of the bestselling autobiography by Stefanie Zweig.

Nowhere in Africa received the Oscar and Golden Globe awards for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year 2003 as well as several European awards. Adapted by Caroline Link, from the memoir by Stephanie Zweig. In English, German, and Swahili, with English subtitles. Filmed on location in Kenya.

NOTICE

SOCIAL GATHERING

Everyone please note that the Wurzburg Haus, where we had our monthly gatherings on the second Friday, has been closed. We are now meeting at Theo's Greek restaurant in the Potomac Woods shopping center. In an effort to increase attendance at these gatherings, we have decided to change the night we meet from the second Friday to the second Wednesday of each month, at the same time, 6:30 PM. Please consider trying us out. The food is excellent and the ambiance superb. For any questions, please call David L'Heureux at 301-424-2290. Thanks.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

SEPTEMBER

24       Rockville Arts and Music Festival

27        Annual Meeting, Glenview Mansion

OCTOBER

3          Tag der Deutschen Einheit

12        Social Gathering, 6:30 PM at Theo's Greek restaurant

20        Board Meeting, 7:30 PM at the Senior Center

28        Fall Wine Tasting at the Senior

            Center

NOVEMBER

11        Social Gathering, 6:30 PM at Theos Greek Restaurant

17        Board Meeting, 7:30 PM at the Senior Center

18        Film Night at the Senior Center, Azalea Room, 7-9 PM

DECEMBER

14        Social Gathering, 6:30 PM at Theo's Greek restaurant

15        Board Meeting, 7:30 PM

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Fall 2005

GERMANY AS IT WAS THEN

Thumbnail Recollections, 1937-1940

By David E. L'Heureux

(Note: This is just a brief overview of a small part of my fascinating life during one of the most tragic periods in the history of the World. As time allows, I will expand this overview and share more of my life experiences, which, when added to the numerous stories I have previously written about specific events, will hopefully provide my memoirs.)

In 1936 my father was stationed in Windsor, Ontario, Canada as a consular officer. In late 1936 he was transferred to Stuttgart, Germany with wife and three children. I was eight at the time and the eldest of three. We rented a house in Stuttgart from a Jewish family. They subsequently fled to US when they learned they were "on the list". I revisited the house in 1950 and it was a brick shell with four walls and the smoke stack was all that remained from incendiaries.

The teenage boy next door was a Hitler Youth. He proudly wore his uniform, with shorts and knife stuck in one stocking. He engaged in activities which he would be jailed for today. Our German maid was pressured to report on us and our activities. A young girl down the street was told in school that if she heard her parents listening to radio and she did not understand what was being said, she must report it to the teacher. This happened a short time later. The girl was taken from school to a young girl's home where, if she met the criteria, she would be groomed for mating with soldiers on leave in order to raise an "Aryan race". Her parents were picked up and never heard from again.

The private school we were attending was unceremoniously closed down. Good Germans cringed, hid and spoke in whispers.

We watched the synagogue burn on the so called "Kristallnacht." We saw the destroyed Jewish shops. We saw lines of injured Jews waiting to get into the American Consulate to get visas in order to immigrate to the US.

We witnessed dogfights in the air over Stuttgart between French and German planes. In my innocence I was watching a parade one day and when the German flag passed, I put my hand up in salute just like everyone else. We were one of the last to see the Hindenberg on its fateful trip to the US and witnessed and heard of other horror stories of the time.

On the other side, we had many good German friends and despite the times we lived in, preserved many wonderful memories of life in Stuttgart.

In late 1939 my father was transferred to Antwerp, Belgium. With prior cease-fire arrangements, we passed through the Siegfried and Maginot defense lines in our car. We were in Antwerp the morning of May 10 when the Germans attacked. At one point there was a bed-rattling explosion outside the house. I narrowly missed being killed by a piece of shrapnel from the exploding bomb or shell (I retrieved the piece and still have it).

We watched the apartment building across the street being hit by an incendiary bomb and burst in flames.  (On a visit in 1982 I found the building still had its burn scars, but the interior had been rebuilt and was reoccupied.)

We fled the same day to safe haven in La Panne, on the coast, half way between Ostende and Dunkirk, which was determined by the US Ambassador in Brussels to be a safe place to wait out the defeat of the German army.

Our father, who escorted a convoy of American women and children from Brussels and Antwerp to La Panne, had to return immediately to Antwerp, but promised to return over the weekend. We did not see him again for 18 months. He later told us a section of the road we fled over on the way to La Panne was destroyed by bombs just after we had passed.

During our trip to La Panne we passed many French military vehicles filled with troops and supplies, in hopes of repelling the invasion. When my father eventually returned to La Panne, Belgium was under German occupation and there was a big crater where he had said goodbye to us at the hotel in La Panne. The hotel had been flooded by the owner with sewage. While in La Panne, we constantly heard the wail of sirens, antiaircraft fire and explosion of bombs. None fell on La Panne during our stay there.

One day I joined some of my Boy Scout friends from Antwerp (I had joined the British Boy Scout troupe in Antwerp) collecting funds to help the poor, hungry and injured refugees all around us. After a few days and realization that return to Antwerp was not possible, we fled with hordes of refugees across France just ahead of the invading German army.

A friend from Antwerp took us some 800 miles to Bordeaux in his Ford which had been in the raid on Antwerp on May 10 and had no windows and the doors were riddled with bullet holes. We passed by Dunkirk just before things blew up there. We could hear the bombs exploding. We headed for Le Havre where we spent the night in normal beds (instead of the car) and ate well for a change. Alarms sounded constantly, but we heard no bombs.

After leaving Le Havre, we heard that about an hour after our departure the city was severely damaged by German bombs. We tried to enter Paris, but it was closed by the French military who also directed refugees away from other areas throughout France.

There were thousands upon thousands of refugees everywhere, in cars, in carts, on bicycles and on foot. We narrowly avoided being strafed by German planes one night as they wiped out refugee lines as we had been advised to spend the night in an open field.

We heard of one horror story where a car arrived in a village with three of five children dead from strafing. My brother, sister and I spoke German to each other and while riding in the back seat of this bombed out car. Driving through small French villages, we were singing German songs together. As we sang one called "Ich Bin Adolf Hitler's Kleine Soldat" (I am A. H.'s little soldier), our mother turned around and in no uncertain terms shut us up. We stopped speaking German at this point.

We arrived in Bordeaux and the American Consul put us in a hotel in Biarritz until transportation was available. We celebrated my twelfth birthday on May 27, sitting on the balcony overlooking the ocean, drinking cocoa and eating buttered bread - both luxuries at the time. As even in wartime, Biarritz society was too "rich" for our blood, we moved to a more modest setting in Arcachon until departure for the United States.

My mother was frantically watching from the hotel room balcony one day as I sat fishing on a pier and German planes buzzed the beach.

Fall 2005

On June 8, we left Bordeaux on the SS Washington, the last American passenger ship to depart Europe. The ship had large American flags painted on both sides. We sailed to Lisbon for more refugees. We left Lisbon at night in hopes of getting past some danger spots at sea.

Off the coast of Spain, at 4:30 AM the next morning, the ship alarm sounded and we assumed it was a drill. On deck, we found out, that a German submarine was on the horizon signaling to abandon ship as they intended to torpedo us in ten minutes. We were broadside to the submarine and at a standstill.

Cleverly, as we were loaded into lifeboats (80 women and children to a boat, with no room for men), the captain slowly turned the ship away from the submarine as if we were drifting. As the ten minutes expired, we headed out full throttle, with lifeboats lowered over the sides and swaying precariously, just feet above the ocean. The captain believed we could outrun the submarine since our top speed was over double that of the submarine.

Torpedoes were fired, but we made a small target and did not get hit. I saw one pass by our lifeboat at a distance. In about forty-five minutes of racing through turbulent sea, we had gained enough distance to stop and bring passengers back on board.We were later told the sea was so rough that if lifeboats had been launched, it would have been a disaster.

Off in the distance, near the submarine, we had seen two merchant ships which we learned later were sunk by the same submarine.

We sailed to Galway, where the bay or harbor was filled with floating porcupines (mines with little fingers - detonators - sticking out all over them).

A harbor pilot carefully brought us through a maze; we picked up more refugees, were grossly overloaded, and after returning through the minefield, sailed for New York uneventfully.

France fell to the Germans on June 20, one day before we arrived in New York. We spent the war years in Washington, D.C. In 1945 my father reopened the American Consulate General in Marseilles and after school that year the family joined him for his two year assignment. We landed in Le Havre where we witnessed the devastation we had narrowly missed five years earlier. I spent the Summer of 1945 in Marseilles, the next year in Washington, D.C. finishing high school, and the second year in Marseilles studying pre-med.

My first assignment in the Foreign Service in 1949 was to Germany. My 44 years in the Foreign Service is another long story. I loved Germany and was the only one in the family to retain my knowledge of German. I loved the "real" Germans.

Germany today is a strong ally of the Western World and we should continue to do what we can to better understand the people and the culture. At the same time we should help them to understand us better. As the World gets smaller through technology, people are drawn closer to each other and it is important to continue seeking ways of living in peace and freedom.

Fall 2005

…Another event in my life, somewhat related to the trans-Atlantic crossing on the SS America is that I sailed from New York on the SS United States on July 7, 1952.  On that crossing the SS United States set a yet to be unbeaten ocean liner crossing record of the Atlantic ocean of 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes at an average speed of 35.59 knots or 37 mph.She was capable of 50 mph, 990 feet long, she carried 2000 passengers and a crew of 1000. United States Lines owned both ships.

… But this is yet another story.

Fall 2005

Meine Kindheit von 1938 bis 1948 Teil 2

Meine persönlichen Erinnerungen an die damalige Zeit sind verbunden mit Bobenagriffen der feindlichen Flieger auf Hamburg. Wir wohnten etwa 15 km vom Zentrum Hamburgs entfernt und konnten die Luftangriffe, die zu fürchterlichen Bränden und Zerstörungen führten, von zu Hause aus beobachten. Um die Ziele zu beleuchten, warfen die Flugzeuge zuerst sogenannte brennende Tannenbäume ab, die alles in ein helles Licht tauchten. Wenn nicht Krieg gewesen wäre, bot das einen beein-druckenden Anblick. Natürlich mussten wir auch den Schutzbunker aufsuchen, wenn Fliegeralarm gegeben wurde. Es gab einen Voralarm als Sirenenheulton, dann mussten alle Sachen für den Abmarsch zum Bunker gepackt sein. Folgte der Hauptalarm blieb nicht mehr viel Zeit, den Schutzbunker aufzusuchen. In unserem Haus wohnten meine Mutter mit mir und meinem 2 Jahre jüngerem Bruder sowie meine verwitwete Großmutter väterlicherseits und gelegentlich meine Tante, die Schwester meines Vaters, mit ihrem holländischen Mann. Bei Bombenalarm gingen wir alle gemeinsam in den etwa 500 Meter entfernten Luftschutz-bunker. Der Weg war stockfinster. Aus Sicherheitsgründen bestand totales Verdunkelungsgebot, kein Lichtschein durfte nach draußen fallen, um so vielleicht den feindlichen Fliegern den Weg zu zeigen. Natürlich gab es auch keine Straßenbe-leuchtung. Es gab aber immer eine Lösung, den Weg zu finden. Als Ausländer verfügte mein holländischer Onkel über einige Beziehungen und versorgte uns mit vielen nützlichen Dingen. Meiner Großmutter besorgte er einen Spazierstock mit einem größeren Rad am unteren Ende. An dieses Rad war ein elektrischer Dynamo montiert und am Stock befand sich eine kleine blau leuchtende Lampe. So konnten wir unter Führung meiner Großmutter auch in finsterer Nacht unseren Weg in den schützenden Bunker finden. Ich erinnere, dass meine Großmutter trotz dieser Sehhilfe einmal im Straßengraben gelandet ist, und wir ebenfalls.

Nach einem Bobenangriff gab es per Sirenensignal Entwarnung, erst dann durften wir den Bunker verlassen. Die Erwachsenen schauten ängstlich nach dem Haus, ob denn alles in Ordnung sei. Wir Kinder gingen auf die Straße und sammelten Flaksplitter und Stanniolpapier. Flak- und Bobensplitter lagen von den Flugabwehrkanonen herum. Stanniolpapier wurde von den Flugzeugen abgeworfen. um das Bodenradar zu irritieren. Was nach solchen Angriffen alles herumlag, wir Kinder spielten mit allem. Beliebt aber selten waren auch abgeworfe-nen Reservetanks von Flugzeugen. Die Tanks waren aus Aluminium, sie wurden aufgeschnitten und dienten als Ruderboot auf den nahegelegenen Teichen.

Die regelmäßigen Luftangriffe stellten natürlich eine dauernde Gefahr dar, man wusste nie, welches die nächste Ziele sein würden. Zunächst wurden die Hafenanlagen bombardiert, dann aber auch gezielt dicht bewohnte Wohngebiete. Durch einen Irrtum hat es einmal auch die Stadt Wedel, 25 km vor Hamburg schwer getroffen. An dem Tag herrschte wegen Nebels schlechte Sicht. Der Wetterdienst hatte totale Ruhe, also auch kein Kanonenfeuer, befohlen. Eine Flugabwehrstellung in Wedel hatte die Meldung ignoriert und fleißig geschossen, als sie die feindlichen Flieger über sich hörte. Die Flieger wiederum, als sie das Sperrfeuer vernahmen, dachten sie befänden sich über Hamburg und haben daraufhin ihre Bombenladung über Wedel abgeladen.

Da diese Gefahr immer größer wurde, ist meine Mutter mit uns viel in ruhigere Gegenden verreist. Es waren wunderschöne Urlaubsreisen und fernab der Kriegszentren (Großstädte und Rüstungsfabriken) merkte man nicht viel von dem Krieg. 1942 waren wir in Heiligenhafen an der Ostsee, 1943 für einen Monat in Bayern am Tegernsee, 1944 zunächst in der Lüneburger Heide, südlich von Hamburg und dann noch einmal an der Ostsee in Boltenhagen. Die Sorge galt natürlich den Lieben zu Hause. Nach Bobenagriffen, über die in den Nachrichte berichtet wurde, rief meine Mutter zu Hause an, immer die bangen Fragen: lebt ihr noch, steht das Haus noch?

Im Jahre 1944 landeten die alliierten Truppen an der französischen Atlantikküste und befreiten zunächst das von Deutschen Truppen besetzte Frankreich und drangen dann immer tiefer in Deutschland ein und marschierten unaufhaltsam nordwärts. 1945, als die Truppen sich auf Hamburg zu bewegten, fuhr meine Mutter mit uns zu ihrer Tante, die in der Heide bei Jesteburg eine Hühnerfarm besaß. Der Ort liegt etwa 30 km südlich von Hamburg, der Fluss die Elbe liegt als strategische Grenze dazwischen, es gibt als Verbindungsstraße nur eine gut gesicherte Elbquerung bei Hamburg. Über die Nachrichten verfolgten wir den Vormarsch der englischen Truppen, dann hieß es: morgen werden die Truppen hier einmarschieren. Ich sah noch, wie sich wagemutige Soldaten mit einer Panzerfaust unter dem Arm im nahegelegenen Wald versteckten. Dann kamen die Engländer mit Panzern und Soldaten. In der Luft kreisten die Aufklärungsflugzeuge. Vor dem Wald mit der Panzerfaust stoppte plötzlich der Tross. Englische Soldaten gingen von der anderen Seite in den Wald und holten die vermeintlichen Verteidiger aus dem Wald, ohne dass ein Schuß fiel. Die gute Aufklärung hatte alles gesehen.

Fall 2005

My Childhood from 1938 to 1948 (part II)

By Hans Georg Beplat

My personal memories of those times are of the air raids of the enemy planes on Hamburg. We lived 10 miles from Hamburg and could observe the horrible Firestorms and destruction that befell Hamburg could be seen from home. In order to light the way to the target, the planes dropped so-called Christmas trees. If this were not war then it would have been a truly impressive sight. Naturally we also had to look out for an air raid shelter, when the air raid siren sounded. There was a pre-alarm, which signaled that all things have to be prepared and packed for the flight to the air raid shelter. When the main alarm sounded there was not much time to head for an air raid shelter. My mother and my younger (2 years) brother, as well and my widowed Grandmother, as well as my aunt, my father’s sister and her husband from Holland lived in our house. When the air raid siren sounded we went the 500 meters (0.3 miles) to the nearest air raid shelter. The way there was incomplete darkness. For safety reasons everything had to be covered, not one light was allowed outside. Naturally there were no streetlights. But there was always a way to find our way. As a foreigner my uncle from Holland, has his own personal connections and was able to supply us with many useful things. My grandmother was able to acquire a cane with a large wheel on one end. To this we attached a dynamo, and a small blue light. Thus we were able to find our way thanks to our grandmother to the air raid shelter. Once this did not work as the blue light lead her, and naturally us all, into a ditch on the side of the road.

After the bombing raid, the all-clear siren sounded, then we were allowed to leave the shelter. The grown-ups fearfully looked about to see whether one’s house was still standing. We children collected the silver foiled paper used to foil radar, and the flak from the street. Whatever was strewn on the streets we played with. Flak and bomb splinters lay around from the anti aircraft guns. What we loved the most were the reserve drop tanks from the planes. They were made from aluminum and were cut in half, and made prefect rowboats for the nearby lakes and ponds.

The regular air raids, mean the long-term danger of not knowing, what the next target was. The harbor facilities were struck first, then the densely populated neighborhoods. Through a mistake the town of Wesel 15 miles before Hamburg was heavily bombarded. In that day there was bad visibility due to fog. The weather service was quiet, and there were no orders for the anti-aircraft to fire. One battery ignored the order and opened fire on the aircraft as they passed overhead. The aircraft, as they approached the flak assumed that this was Hamburg and dropped their bombs over Wesel.

As this danger became ever more prevalent, my mother traveled with us to quiet parts of the country. These were wonderful vacations and far from targets of the war (large cities and armaments factories), one didn’t notice the war. In 1942 we were in Heiligenhafen on the Baltic, in 1943 for a month in Bavaria on the Tegernsee, 1944 on the Lüneburg Heath, south of Hamburg and then once again on the Baltic coast in Boltenhagen. Our worry was naturally with our loved ones at home. After reports of bombing raids, my mother called home, with heavy worry and questions like are you all alive and is the house still standing.

In 1944 the allied troops landed on the French Atlantic coast and liberated occupied France, and moved deeper and deeper into Germany. They marched unstopped northwards. In 1945, as the troops moved towards Hamburg, my mother drove with us to her aunt who had a poultry farm on the heath near Jesteburg. This was 18 miles south of Hamburg. The river Elbe lay as a strategic boarder between the two, there was only one well defended connecting road, and river crossing between the two. We followed closely the advance of the English troops closely. Then it came the news that the English were coming tomorrow. I saw how the dead tired German troops, with anti tank weapons under the arm hid in the nearby wood. Then the English came with tanks and soldiers. In the air the fighters circled overhead, to provide air support. The English came from the other side of the wood and brought the poor defenders out without a shot. The liberation was complete.

Fall 2005

Memories of a Great Ship

By Robert Lloyd Nelson

One of my favorite childhood memories is that of a trip with my father in 1933 to visit kinfolk in Denmark and Norway. This, of course, was three decades before international jet travel became as commonplace as city bus service. Britain, Germany, France and Italy all competed for the prestige of offering the most rapid and luxurious transoceanic steamship service. Our crossings, from New York to Bremerhaven, and later the return, were made on that pride of the North German Lloyd Transatlantic fleet, the SS Bremen.

My father being a small-town pastor of modest means, and not a noted celebrity (like First-Class passengers Marlene Dietrich, Richard Tauber, Max Schmeling, Cary Grant) or a Wall Street tycoon, we traveled in Third Class. Still, we did not lack for comfort. I got seasick a few times but survived. Later, on the return crossing, I learned to dash up on deck and inhale fresh air and stabilize my vision on the horizon whenever I felt nausea coming on.

There was a playroom for children. I don’t remember whether it was just a Third-Class playroom or whether it was for all children on board. It was presided over by a somewhat formidable Kinderpflegerin; imagine Brunhilde as a nanny. I remember picking a couple of palm-sized toy airplanes (World War I style) out of the sandbox and waving them around with air combat motions. “This is the American plane shooting down the German plane,” I explained. “Nein!” Brunhilde corrected me, “Dot iss der Tcherman plane shooting down der Amerikaner plane.” So ended my participation in an impromptu international armaments conference.

Passengers lounging on deck chairs were entertained every day at ten o’clock by a brass band, which played during a traditional German midmorning snack break. For other meals, my father and I sat at a table for four in the Third Class dining salon. Our table mates were two German ladies, possibly in their thirties. I wondered what that foamy yellow drink was that they had with every meal. That was beer, my pastor father said and allowed the ladies to let me taste a spoonful. I think the only thing worse I had ever tasted was possibly castor oil. I never tasted another drop until long after I had entered college, and then it took a while to build a tolerance and eventually an appreciation for good beer.

One day I was taken up to visit the bridge. One of the officers on duty showed me how the forward surface of the bridge, which bites into the wind, was concave, scooping the breeze upward behind a separate shielding lip, creating an air curtain that kept the officers’ caps from being blown away.

On an afterdeck the Bremen was fitted with a catapult, on which sat a low-wing monoplane atop twin pontoons. On the third day of the crossing, this plane would be launched to bring airmail into port a day ahead of the ship’s arrival. For the passengers, the launching was always an exciting spectacle. Remember, this was long before transoceanic airmail. I’ve never heard of any other ships of the era so equipped. The service was so unprofitable, however, that eventually it was removed from the Bremen.

In late August, 1939, only a single decade after its maiden voyage, the Bremen lay over in New York after what turned out to be its last voyage there. With war looming, American authorities hoped to prevent its return to Germany. On August 30, however, without the customary band-playing, horn-blowing, and cheering departure crowds, the Bremen stole quietly out of New York harbor, with lights off and radio silent, and began a mad dash to Murmansk, remaining there until it managed to return to its home port of Bremerhaven some months later.(1) There it came to a tragic and controversial end in 1941, with fire and explosions that tore it apart. One explanation is that it was used as a munitions depot, and British saboteurs set it ablaze. Another version is that a vengeful, unstable crew member set it afire after having been reprimanded and struck.

Our friends in Pinneberg sent me a video about the birth, life and death of the Bremen, which I watch when nostalgia strikes. And whenever I dine at the newly reopened [God be praised!] transportation-themed, Clyde’s Restaurant in Chevy Chase, I always walk around and gaze longingly at the large, shipping-company-lobby model of that wonderful ship. I love to take our Pinneberg visitors there whenever they come, and to recount this memory also to any other friends patient enough to humor me. (We like the food too.)

Robert Lloyd Nelson

(1) For a more detailed account of the Bremen’s final cruise, see “Shadow Voyage: The Extraordinary Wartime Escape of the Legendary SS Bremen,” by retired US Navy Captain Peter A Huchthausen, or surf your Google for other info.

Fall 2005

Elections 2005 in Germany

Germans headed to the polls on Sunday, September 18, one-year earlier than planned, to elect a new parliament, which now lead to a decision on who will be Chancellor. The early elections were prompted by a series of defeats for Chancellor Schröder's Social Democrats in state elections, capped off by the loss in North Rhine-Westphalia in May. Chancellor Schröder lost a parliamentary vote of confidence in July and thereby gained support for his plan to call for early elections, which was subsequently backed by Federal President Köhler and upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court.

Considering the above, the official provisional result – excluding constituency 160 (Dresden I) – is as follows:

With a voter participation of 77,7 percent (2002: 79.1 percent), the parties obtained the following shares of the total number of second votes cast: –SPD: 34.3 percent(20023 8.5 percent) – CDU: 27.8 percent (2002 29.5 percent) – CSU: 7.4 percent (2002 9.0& percent) – GRÜNE: 8.1 percent(2002 8.6 percent) – FDP: 9.8 percent (2002 7.4 percent) – Die Linke.: 8.7 percent (2002 4.0 percent) and – Others: 3.9 percent (2002 3.0 percent).

In the 2005 Bundestag elections, the share of invalid second votes was 1.6 percent (2002: 1.2 percent).

In accordance with Article 1 Paragraph 1 of the Federal Electoral Law, the 16th German Bundestag will comprise 598 Members plus 15 excessive (overhang) mandates. The total number of Members of Parliament will hence amount to 613 (2002: 603 Members). According to the official provisional result, the below parties will be represented with the following numbers of seats (including overhang mandates) in the 16th German Bundestag:

– SPD: 222 seats (2002: 251) including 145 constituencies (2002: 171)

–CDU: 179 seats (2002: 190) including 105 constituencies (2002: 82)

–CSU: 46 seats (2002: 58) including 44 constituencies (2002: 43)

–GRÜNE: 51 seats (2002: 55) including 1 constituency (2002: 1)

–FDP: 61 seats (2002: 47)including 0 constituencies (2002: 0)

-Die Linke.: 54 seats (2002: 2) including 3 constituencies (2002: 2)

In Germany, political parties enjoy a high status and play a significant role in government and society. Political parties form coalitions to build a governing majority. The current coalition is the SPD and Alliance 90 / The Greens. Which coalition would be best for Germany in your opinion?

Grand coalition?

Traffic light coalition?

Jamaica coalition?

Who will become the new chancellor?

Cf. http://germany.info

Fall 2005

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller

(November 10, 1759 – May 9, 1805)

usually known as Friedrich Schiller, was a poet, philosopher, historian, and a dramatist.

Schiller was born in Marbach, Württemberg (located in Southern Germany's Stuttgart Region), the son of the military doctor, J. C. Schiller. His childhood and youth were spent in relative poverty, although he attended both village and Latin schools, and coming to the attention of Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg, entered the Karlsschule Stuttgart (an elite military academy founded by Duke Karl Eugen) in 1773, where he eventually studied medicine.

While at the arduous school, he read Rousseau and Goethe and discussed Classical ideals with his classmates. At school, he wrote his first play, The Robbers, about a group of naïve revolutionaries and their tragic failure.

In 1780 he obtained a post as regimental doctor in Stuttgart.

Following the performance of Die Räuber (The Robbers) in Mannheim in 1781 he was arrested and forbidden to publish any further works. He fled Stuttgart in 1783 coming via Leipzig and Dresden to Weimar in 1787. In 1789 he was appointed professor of History and Philosophy in Jena, where he wrote only historical works. He returned to Weimar in 1799, where Goethe convinced him to return to playwriting. He and Goethe founded the Weimar Theater which became the leading theater in Germany, leading to a dramatic renaissance. He remained in Weimar, Saxe-Weimar until his death at 45 from tuberculosis.

Schiller’s enthusiasm for freedom is well illustrated in “William Tell,” the most widely popular of his plays. Based upon a world-wide legend which became localized in Switzerland in the fifteenth century and was incorporated into the history of the struggle of the Forest Cantons for deliverance from Austrian domination, it unites with the theme of liberty that of the beauty of life in primitive natural conditions, and both in its likenesses and differences illustrates Schiller’s attitude toward the principles of the French Revolution.

Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historian

Cf. Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805). Wilhelm Tell.The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.