November

Opa Fritz  

Excerpts from Hartmut’s father’s memoirs (translated)

Fritz Sturm was drafted in 1940 and posted to a searchlight unit near Hamburg to spot British bombers. In April 1945 his unit was ordered to the front. Each soldier received 500 cigarets. Their mission was to destroy  tanks of the Allied Troops advancing along the Autobahn. His unit of 20 had withdrawn soon into a forest. The commanding officer had disappeared. They reached the outskirts of a village and were urged by the villagers to move on, because British soldiers are already occupying the village and they would be shot if they helped German soldiers. They split up into small groups of 4 man and continued move on through the forest for days. To their surprise they found a holiday home and were even more surprised when they were greeted by a friendly family. After a few days hiding there the 4 decided to give themselves up and marched into the village to the British post. That was the end of fighting and the beginning of over a year in  a Prisoner of War Camp. 

Opa Fritz had survived the war.