Child of Hitler by Alfons Heck

Author:Alfons Heck
Language: eng, eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Many Hats Media, Inc.
Published: 2011-09-09T02:43:26+00:00

Frau Friedhoff

Girls of the Hitlerjugend and Reichsarbeitsdienst who served as cooks on the Westwall in the fall of 1944

Field kitchens were set up in the cobblestone yard of the convent. Leiwitz persuaded the nuns to squeeze all 80 girls into every usable space of the convent short of the cloister itself for a large monthly payment in addition to plenty of food, which was by then getting scarce. From that moment on, the convent was beleaguered by hundreds of boys. "I don't suppose the holy shrine attracts them," mocked Leiwitz.

The nuns didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, many a Saturday night they came out on the archway which bordered the yard on three sides to listen to our singing. No political organization in the history of the world sang as much as the Hitler Youth; it was a tool to bind us together in the common cause of Germany as well as a form of relaxation. When we were assembled in large numbers, its effect was hypnotic, as our leaders well knew. When we roared the most famous lines of our anthem: "Today Germany belongs to us and tomorrow the world", it wasn't just a forlorn hope, it was a cry of utter conviction. The Saturday night singing in the convent, though, consisted largely of folk songs, some slightly ribald. The nuns applauded lustily.

Saturday was the only night of the hard week when the Hitler Youth was permitted into the two pubs of the village. Curfew was at 11:00 P.M., late enough to get drunk. Our Streifendienst had its hands full to drag inebriated boys back to their quarter. The punishment for staggering drunkenness was a two-hour punishment drill in the schoolyard at 6:00 on a Sunday morning. That stopped all but the most determined revellers. Normally, no drinking was permitted in Hitler Youth camps, but these 15-year-olds were asked to perform back-breaking labor under dangerous conditions. They were paid like men and they needed an outlet to let off steam one night a week.

I soon became used to the fact that I alone was responsible for my Gefolgschaft. The feeling of power was sweet. Villagers doffed their caps when I passed them (although some crossed to the other side of the street when they saw me.) It was a mixed population of Germans, Luxembourgers and even a few French. We were well aware that to them we were the hated conqueror. I put the town of Remisch "off limits" for all members of my Gefolgschaft with the exception of the four Scharführer. The SS field police on the bridge had orders to detain any Hitler Youth member without a pass. Rumors of resistance activities reached us every day and I wasn't about to have someone meet with an accident in the alleys of Remisch.

It was astonishing how fast young boys matured under pressure and unrelenting duty. Most of them acted like hardened men. Many had already lost a father or brother in battle and they were inured to the possibility of death.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.