Today is 23 years since my Dad passed on! Last night, I was reading more of Gandhi's autobiography. I like Gandhi's ideas on living a simple life insofaras material possessions. My Dad was also a big believer in experiences rather than possessions.
The ideal that both Gandhi and my Dad shared and the one I like the most is; that it doesn't matter what your status is (or how small you feel in the big picture) that you can make a difference!
Also, on a somewhat lighter note!!!!!???I was thinking of my Dad and other people in concentration camps and how some of them survived despite their hunger/pains/pangs as well as other things!
Anyhow, the positive thing is that it made me reflect on how I should continue to be be grateful for what I have and it also made me think I shouldn't whine about inconsequential things - nothing wrong with that!!!!!
Excerpt from my Dad's blog:
My new block was now next to the fence in the Guinea Pig block or experimental block. It was also the center for the combined operations of the camp Resistance, we were the main group. The rest of the Resistance network was spread out evenly in all the blocks. At this point, the biggest threat to us were the German Greens, they were the rascals. They were still patriots and used as "Ferrets" - so we had to replace them as quickly as possible - we got rid of them through concessions given to us by the S.S. - due to our status as political prisoners.
The S.S. still needed us to fulfill their programs for the delivery of new weapons. The war was now beginning more and more to take a turn against the Germans and so our rights as political prisoners had to be considered more carefully now. This balance was achieved through a transition that sent the worst elements into oblivion!
Due to this new perspective, we were now supplied with a bit more food, this only lasted for a very short time. The extra food was in the form of a thin porridge in the morning and Austrian cigarettes supplied by the S.S., later in the day. However, we were soon back to Magorka cigarettes , which consisted of chopped stems from Russian tobacco plants - made from the bottom dregs of Russia's country vineyards at Moselle. We could buy these with our Marks - these small pauses, in our daily routine, gave us a bit of a breather.
By June or July the heat was pretty constant now - so our small slice of bread, with a finger of margarine, was now supplied in the evening. This was before the watery soup round, which sometimes had the addition of a small amount of salami or jam. The allocation of food was all experimental stuff or at least most of it. They were always figuring out what was the minimum amount of food/rations that we could eat while still being of use to them.
The bread consisted of a lot of potato flour with straw in it and other local products - only some of the wheat was present as far as we saw and knew, the remainder consisted of birch nut flour and lots of chestnuts. The margarine and jam were all concoctions and produced by the coal industry.
The meat or salami - unknown to us in its consistency - was about one half an inch thick and one inch wide - it didn't last long either with its meager supply. Sometimes, they made our rations smaller to suit themselves and then the ravages of hunger after that were terrible for us!
If you are wondering whether cannibalism had taken place - yes, we had heard of it. One night, a body was laying outside in the quarantine area, waiting to be collected and in the morning the body was missing a foot.
Nobody saw what happened! New arrivals were constantly coming in via transports on an ongoing basis, usually from worse conditions, very likely coming over to die, which was more usual than unusual near the end...
The ideal that both Gandhi and my Dad shared and the one I like the most is; that it doesn't matter what your status is (or how small you feel in the big picture) that you can make a difference!
Also, on a somewhat lighter note!!!!!???I was thinking of my Dad and other people in concentration camps and how some of them survived despite their hunger/pains/pangs as well as other things!
Anyhow, the positive thing is that it made me reflect on how I should continue to be be grateful for what I have and it also made me think I shouldn't whine about inconsequential things - nothing wrong with that!!!!!
Excerpt from my Dad's blog:
My new block was now next to the fence in the Guinea Pig block or experimental block. It was also the center for the combined operations of the camp Resistance, we were the main group. The rest of the Resistance network was spread out evenly in all the blocks. At this point, the biggest threat to us were the German Greens, they were the rascals. They were still patriots and used as "Ferrets" - so we had to replace them as quickly as possible - we got rid of them through concessions given to us by the S.S. - due to our status as political prisoners.
The S.S. still needed us to fulfill their programs for the delivery of new weapons. The war was now beginning more and more to take a turn against the Germans and so our rights as political prisoners had to be considered more carefully now. This balance was achieved through a transition that sent the worst elements into oblivion!
Due to this new perspective, we were now supplied with a bit more food, this only lasted for a very short time. The extra food was in the form of a thin porridge in the morning and Austrian cigarettes supplied by the S.S., later in the day. However, we were soon back to Magorka cigarettes , which consisted of chopped stems from Russian tobacco plants - made from the bottom dregs of Russia's country vineyards at Moselle. We could buy these with our Marks - these small pauses, in our daily routine, gave us a bit of a breather.
By June or July the heat was pretty constant now - so our small slice of bread, with a finger of margarine, was now supplied in the evening. This was before the watery soup round, which sometimes had the addition of a small amount of salami or jam. The allocation of food was all experimental stuff or at least most of it. They were always figuring out what was the minimum amount of food/rations that we could eat while still being of use to them.
The bread consisted of a lot of potato flour with straw in it and other local products - only some of the wheat was present as far as we saw and knew, the remainder consisted of birch nut flour and lots of chestnuts. The margarine and jam were all concoctions and produced by the coal industry.
The meat or salami - unknown to us in its consistency - was about one half an inch thick and one inch wide - it didn't last long either with its meager supply. Sometimes, they made our rations smaller to suit themselves and then the ravages of hunger after that were terrible for us!
If you are wondering whether cannibalism had taken place - yes, we had heard of it. One night, a body was laying outside in the quarantine area, waiting to be collected and in the morning the body was missing a foot.
Nobody saw what happened! New arrivals were constantly coming in via transports on an ongoing basis, usually from worse conditions, very likely coming over to die, which was more usual than unusual near the end...
My dad's story about his experiences during World War II begins at Day 1 of this blog .................
On the Western Front... The Germans launch Operation Gelb, the offensive in the west. Army Group C (Leeb) holds the German frontier opposite the French Maginot Line while Army Group A (Rundstedt) makes the main attack through the Ardennes and Army Group B (Bock) makes a secondary advance through Belgium and Holland to draw the main British and French forces north. During the day, Army Group A strikes, with three armored corps in the lead, heading for Sedan, Montherme and Dinant. The advance is rapid and the little opposition, mostly French cavalry, is thrown aside. To the north, Army Group B carries out parachute landings deep inside Holland which do much to paralyze Dutch resistance, while German units cross the Maas River near Arnhem and the Belgian fort at Eben Emael is put out of action by a German airborne force which lands its gliders literally on top of it. The fort is meant to cover the crossings of the Albert Canal nearby and this is not achieved. The Luftwaffe gives powerful support. At the end of the day the German advance has gone almost exactly according to plan. Meanwhile, the Allied Plan D provides for the French 1st Army Group ( General Billotte), consisting of the British Expeditionary Force ( General Lord Gort) and the French 7th Army (General Giraud) to advance to the line of the Dyle River and the Meuse River above Namur, to be joined there by the Belgian forces and on the left to link with the Dutch. General Gamelin is the Allied Supreme Commander and General Georges commands the armies on the French Northeast Front. The Allies react quickly to the German attacks as soon as they hear of them from the Belgians. By the evening much of the Dyle line has been occupied but the troops find that there are no fortifications to compare with the positions they have prepared along the Franco-Belgian frontier during the Phony War period. Some of the reserve is therefore committed to strengthen the line. Some of the advance forces of French 7th Army make contact with the Germans in southern Holland and are roughly handled.