Day 134 - Last pages from in Louis' Memoir

I have decided to write the end of my Dad's memoir on this blog.  Initially,  unilaterally I had decided to exclude his last couple of pages but who am I to decide what should or should not be included - my Dad's words should continue to speak for themself!

Wow, there is a fantastically dark storm coming..... the whole room is dark - I love storms albeit from a safe distance! Wow, thundering and lightning and very, very dark ........heavy rain now and dynamic thunder and lightning - I am glad I am not on my bike - close call ....I just screamed (oh dear) as there was a heavy lightening flash through my window.

Yesterday, I discovered that there is a site called Pro Belgium on fb -  so I do not need to create my own site after all!!!!.  I love it - as mentioned, I like the sense of belonging to Belgium as in previous years I had experienced a sense of disconnect from any cultural heritage!

Last pages of my Dad's memoir: www.fynaut.blogspot.com

My career in the navy was over and I could looked forward to a shore life with allll1 the responsibilities of a large family which ended up with four lovely girls and one boy.

Abroad and competing doubly, I managed to concentrate my acquired engineering skills for working in garages and machine shops in factories which were in full swing at that time with bonuses and lots of overtime.

I even received a nine month rehabilitation course in Ghent for garage management in the higher technical institutes for veterans and alike, under which I was qualified, which entitled me to luxuries by now - as I was paid out like a professional in damage claims.  I received a political cross from Prince Albert with four stars and had the right of the Order of Leopold.

My absence from Belgium eventually got me out of touch with all the news, the last appeal closed in 1953, at which time I had embarked on trying to improve myself with work and making a home for my family ......

To be continued......Via Day 135 - I am going to watch the storm!!!

Day 133 - Pro Belgium bloggers Louis and Paula Fynaut

Louis Fynaut's blog at: www.fynaut.blogspot.com

Paula Fynaut's blog at www.laurafynaut.blogspot.com

Day 132 - Letter sent out from Buchenwald Concentration camp Aug.1944

As far as I know, attached is the only letter my Dad was able to send out from Buchenwald.  It was scribed for him in German - he was allowed to sign with his first name which would have let his parent's know it was genuine - it would likely have been heavily censored!!!!I have decided to continue this blog by adding inserts from books that are relevant to my Dad's story and then very likely create a new blog about his Zimbabwe story ...

Day 131 - Remembrance......

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...

My dad's story about his experiences during World War II begins at Day 1 of this blog .................

Day 130 - Letter from a Belgian War Horse!

Letter from my Dad (in Flemish) to a bureacractic institution about his pension and war service in Buchenwald concentration camp and elsewhere)

Written: 16th December, 1985

Beste Heer; Mr. G.M. BOVY

Hartelyke Gelukwensen voor het nieuwe jaar.

Al mijn papiereu; levensberwyren, reducktie-kaart en formulier voor reistpensioen opgerhonden eender naar de Fuidertoren of wel Wolvengracht.

Als het past nal ik in Engeland vertoeven rond den 12 en tot 45 en van Januarie en in Belgie van der 21 en - 23 en.......

De kweste van rechthebbend op een "Order van Leopold II", in mejn geval, gerniem dat het ze was indertjiel en nooit aangevraagt zon een nieuwe indicening met 70 percent invaliditeit.

En vierder wat betrefgt een individuale decoratie voor aktei; date moet gedaan worden door uw commanding officer of wel gelykgestelde.

Gernien dat Meyintreer, Van Tolderverelt ...., een voormalige officier was in 't Belgiese Leger en Madame De Nile op 't zelfde adres dan; het contact was tueen, Vice-Admiral (Royal Navy, Mr William Stanton, Reserve Officer British Army; Mr. Ronald Stanton en Major in the British Army; Mr. Reginald Bellen,  Zyn dat genoeg commanding officieren????

Alsdat ik de Belgiese Inlichtuigsdienste heb geraadplaagt zal ik natuurlyk het hetzelfde doen met de Britse, beginnende met de
"War Archives: WHITEHALL, LONDON.  Meyn schoonbroeder advokaart en officer in 't Briste Leger kan een affidavit op maker....
In geval van meerdere gegevens:

Het was in Buchenwald dat een gealtieerde weerstande gesticht was onder al de intelligencies orgenten weerstenders en politicken.

Tot dewelke ik rechtstreeks behoorde na een strict verhoor de welke van het grootste belamy was, genierm: de acht V-2 en in Buchenwald alsook DORA met zyn "ïntercontinental bullistic missile":, ondergrondse jet-installatioes, de PANZER - grenadiers rondom de Etterberg: dat was onskamp en constaint niewuwe  S/S in training ter plaatse en mogelyk om wapenen te parachuteren woor een eventuel uitbraak.

Voor dat, het was nan node een koerier to hebben; ingeval van mislukking, een andere, enrh.

Ik was tweede in lyn; gereedgewaakt Nummer een, een EIZASSER? gelukkiglyk, bereikte ryn doel holocaust van finale bombing en wat niet getroffer was kon niet meer getransporteert worden als gevolg.

Wapens werden niet gegropt in geval van "repercussions" op andere dampen, maar wy  waren in straat van zulks te nemer van de dode S/S.

De slachtoffering was enorm maar verhekering "Victory" was groter.

Een gelyk dat, stormden we uit, ieder in Tiejn vechtcommandos met een leider op het gejraste ogenblik en de stoelen varen omge-keerdt met 200 gevengenen op ovre rekening plus medewerking van de U.S.A. 8th Army.

Commanding Officier in Buchenwald was Blum,  Brusselse publisher en senator, thans overleden co-stryder en politieke gevangene Antoinio, ....

Voor de Amerikaanse "Control Commission, S/SGT. ELMER G. Luchterhand (unity Wisconsin).

Jose De Wever, Dentist Antwerpen, Camuz - Boekhandelaar Brussels.  Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas,  allernaal overleden house, Moulineux, Paris en Wales.

In memo: van zovele dappere mensen; de folteringen, ontsnappingen liekten en inviduale akties van moed.

Zal ik quoteern van, "THE MAN ON HIS OWN", Patrick, Ledeux 1963-65 FIRST PRIZE IIIrd CUNEO Festival of Films on the "Resistance";

"He means to react, so this means: Act!
Simply because his whole being, his faculties, his whole
intelligence make him say,
"No, I won't be passive any longer"

Myn mede-genoaten soldaat George, Barbaix wonende to Oostende heeft Engeland bereikt en in lichtingen verstrekt bestreffende de verplaatsing van de soldering voor de nachtbombers verantwoordeljk met de vernietiging van en van de u-boot basises in  Noord - Duitsland en die andre alsook in Oostende verlost in GROSS-STRELITZ kamp de Russen, ingelyjdt voer le maander met de kozaks

Dankie u voor uw aandacht.
Laat me geweten van de mogelykheden!
Fyd is aan het uit lopen veer ans, de laatste

Hoogachtend,

Signed by my dad Louis and written in 1985!

I definitely have typed some of the Flemish inaccurately.  However,  I was going to translate it but then I realized that it doesn't need to be translated it speaks with a universal tone!!!!

Most English speaking people can read between the lines and understand the message about war and its impact and effect on the lives of individuals. !!!!!. My dad was 62 when he wrote the above letter!!!!!! 

. 

Day 129 - Partly Peeled Potatoes and Ear Wiggling!

PEELING POTOTOES

Today, while peeling some spuds or potatoes I realized that it was not necessary to peel the skin off completely!  My dad always used to say that the goodness of potatoes is mostly in the skin!

Also, fortunately for me, I have had the benefit of being around quite a few compulsive people in my life.  My observations from watching people with compulsive tendencies has enabled me to learn a thing or three - I now have come to the realization that making everything perfect does not increase my personal satisfaction about the object produced!  So, my mashed potatoes had quite a few peels in but it was still edible!!!!Hey, I think I may have learned something today!!!!!

EAR WIGGLING

Yesterday, my friend Veronique and I went for a walk and I mentioned that my dad used to be able to wiggle his ear and she said that her dad could do that too.  Veronique's father was born about the same time as my dad and is Flemish too!  Veronique thought that maybe the ear wiggling talent may have been something Belgian boys learned in that era or that possibly genetics are at play!!!

She also mentioned a book she was reading on children who had been adopted.  The book mentioned that something like 98 percent of adopted children try to find their natural parents. That reinforces my experience that most people have an innate desire to connect with their roots. 

Like mentioned before, "I didn't know who I was until I learned more about where I came from!"

Day 128 - Abstract from a paper about Xenophobia!

The Logic of Xenophobia

1. Jens Rydgren
   1. Department of Sociology,Stockholm University,SE-106 91 Stockholm,Sweden jens.rydgren@sociology.su.se

Abstract

In this article I discuss the subjective rationality of xenophobic and racist beliefs. Although such beliefs are mostly non-rational from an objective perspective, because of their incongruence with reality, under certain conditions they may appear rational from people’s subjective point of view – in particular in situations of uncertainty. The reason for this is mainly cognitive limitations and biased background information. I argue that xenophobic beliefs are often underpinned by categorization and inference biases. More specifically, xenophobic beliefs may arise out of invalid inductive inferences and by stereotyped categorization processes. Both these types of erroneous inferences result from thought processes that have the same form as cognitive mechanisms people use successfully in their daily lives, which give them good reason for relying on them without much reflection.

Day 127 - Is this Poem Relevant Today! !What do you think!

Based on reading the news lately, I felt compelled to include my dad's poem about war again!!


Piece written by my Dad and found with his memoir as a loose sheet of paper.  I bolded To Each His Own which was the title of my Dad's memoir.  Also, he talks of spectres, past and present - our family fought the Germans in WWI as well as WWII so he may be referring to that part of our family history!

Glory To War

To Each His Own, evolves a picture of an adverse assembly of spectres, past and present, sitting on a multitude of battle ready horses with mad, drunken, hysterical staring eyes; guided firmly in the saddle by a terrible ghost of grim corrupt dignitaries cloaked in all kinds of beautiful apparel of stupendous splendour, rich ornaments, tiaras, uniforms and medallions.  Covered by an eerie aura of bad stormy weather, darkening the pomp and glamour spectacle galore; wallowing in unsurpassed greediness with the sweet, rotten stench of death ever present around.

Passing by like a macabre parade; trampling casually on the mutilated corpses of long suffering mankind, foe and friend alike.

Little voices crying from beneath the holocaust, faintly heard, by the stunned helpless survivors.

We are next ...

Tell the world, please!

Written by: Louis Emanuel Fynaut

Day 126 - My Dad's 17th Birthday - May 10, 1940!

Blitzkrieg in the west

Friday, May 10, 1940 www.onwar.com

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. In Britain...Churchill visits the King and officially takes office as prime minister. In Norway... British forces are sent south from Harstad to Mo-i-Rana to join the small units trying to delay the German advance to relieve the Narvik force. Some of these units are now engaged at Mosjoen. In Iceland... British troops land on the island. They are the advance elements of a force which is to set up a destroyer and scout-plane base to help in the convoy battles in the Atlantic. Equally, they will prevent the Germans using the island to aid their U-boat campaign. See my dad's story beginning Day 1 of this blog!

Day 125 - Left in the Dark, May 10, 1940 - Belgium!

"In May 1940, Dunkirk, the biggest Churchill defeat of the lot....Letters between Churchill and the French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, revealed the ugly truth that Churchill, himself, gave the secret order to Lord Gort, the British General in command of the British expeditionary force at Dunkirk, "Withdraw, fall back," or as Churchill put it, "Advance to the coast." That was Churchill's wording. "And you are forbidden to tell any of your neighboring allies that you are pulling out. The French and the Belgians were left in the dark that we were pulling out."

I just found the above information on the Internet.  Churchill's decision had a big impact on my family in Belgium fThe most profound thing I have learned from my Dad's memoir and subsequent readings is that life is very random!

From May 10, 1940 onwards my dad, his family and the Belgian and French people were left very much in the dark and initially had to rely to a great extent on their own resourcefulness to survive what they were confronted with as events continued to unfold ...........

Day 124 - Belgian Buchenwald Survivor!

Have just got back from a trip to Europe to visit my mother!  I was able to read a family tree book that she has in  her possession.  My maternal grandfather's family also came from Belgium and settled in London during World War One as refugees.  Yes, my mum and dad are related, which is something I had a bit of trouble coming to terms with until recent times! 

My grandfather on my Mum's side and my Dad's side were both Flemish!  The family tree book traces their common ancestors back to one man from Bruge, now Belgium, mid 1500's, who had four children.  Surreal to see photos of my ancestors staring out at me through the generations! 

I am not sure how this blog is going to continue and what form it is going to take - I will think about that later.  I am still jet lagged and consequently not thinking very clearly.

During my trip,  I visited Spain, France and Italy and was very close to Morroco.  I had time to reflect on some of the experiences my Dad mentioned about Morroco and World War II.  

I was very pleased to see a monument in the harbour at Ajaccio!, Corsica, dedicated to, Resistance Fighters from WWII.  I took some pictures - my dad would have liked that!!! I also visited Rome and Tuscany which included Florence and Pisa in Italy - loved that too!

I feel I should mention my maternal grandmother and her family as they also have had a great and interesting background.  The family tree book describes my maternal grandmother as a "cockney" - she was brought up in London, England - all her family and remaining family were can be very Londonish!!

My maternal grandmother spent a lot of her youth round and about The British Museum and The Strand in central London.  In an article in the, London, "Sunday Times",  my uncle described his mother as a feisty lady - she was alive at the time and took offence to that description!!! 

It is very interesting through reading the family tree to learn about  ancestors from the past.  It would appear that some family patterns and (dare I say, idiosyncracies)  and characteristics have coincidentally!!!???? manifested themselves again and again in future generations, Surreal!!!!!!!!!!!

For new readers this blog starts at Day 1 and is the story of my dad's war experiences during World War II from a Belgian POW's perspective. 

Coindidentally, I met someone yesterday, who mentioned to me that he has never come across anybody who had a family member  who survived a German concentration camp experience and was not Jewish - he is 70 years old!

Day 123 - I have fixed the blog as sometimes it is not visible!

I apologize - sometimes this blog is or has been blanked out in white.  I have fixed it now - there seems to a bug in the system!

For anybody new,  Day 1 - Day 123 are blogs of my Dad's memoir.  Day 1 is the beginning of his story.  The blog is mostly about his experiences in the Second World War as a Belgian political prisoner in France, Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.  

Day 122- Finally settling down!

"My fiancee and soul mate now asked me to come and get married in England.  I was 25 years old!  On an earlier occasion,  with a ring I had purchased in Antwerp with my first month's wages, I had made a quick dash to England with an engagement ring - I was 25 years old! 


For our wedding day in England, the hall was booked, the guests invited and the cake brought over from South Africa - things still being short in England!


At the time, Belgium being slow with permissions due to Napoleonic Laws we had to post a notice in the town hall in Ostend, Belgium.  We also had to obtain special permission to get married.


In addition, we went to Church House, Borough of Westminster, London, England, where I swore on the bible and became an accepted Anglican.


My career in the Navy was over and I could now look forward to a shore life with all the responsibilities of a large family.  I ended up with four lovely girls and a boy.............................


Will be continuing this blog with my Dad's manuscript about our his adventures in South Africa and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia)!

Day 121 - Casablanca and American ciggaretes!

"When we arrived in Casablanca there seemed to be a curfew going on and some trouble.  I had not time to wait for the Pursor to get an advance on my salary. So, I borrowed loose change from my dear friends and also tucked a couple of  packages of American cigarettes under the collar of a raincoat which I then put over my arm.   At that time, American cigarettes were still the best collateral!

Morroco was a protectorate of France and the cigarettes and raincoat as well as my Belgian passport worked well!   Anyway,  I made for Irene's address - not before getting some flowers, which to my surprise had used up all my change when I asked the price, so I threw the bunch back to the Arab vendors and made a run for it taking no notice of the screaming sellers.

Arriving at the house, I was told that Irene was at the cinema, so I bought my way into the show using a pack of cigarettes and with the aid of an usher found her.  Her welcome was warm and hospitable and I told her I was engaged.  She said that I should name my first daughter Irene - my second daughter was eventually so called!  I cannot remember the names of her children!.

The last thing I remember looking at, before leaving Casablanca, was the Casbah.  Lots of men were walking around there hand in hand, which Irene said was quite usual.  She also warned me to watch out for sexually transmitted diseases. 

Soon after we left  we heard that the Atlantic plateau between Safi and Agadir had moved upwards and had caused an earthquake that killed at least two thousand people.  It was a good thing we were away from there at that moment!  After that I never heard from my family in Morroco again.

On our return trip, Roger and I made it back to Ostend.  We later got taken on for the cargo boats by; Maritime Belge in Antwerp.  They respectively sent us off to Angola and the Congo.  I was assigned to Lobito and Roger to Matadi in the Congo stream - a climate Roger could not tolerate.

After that trip, he got married and forever stayed ashore.  For me, it was only the start, the sea was good to me, good money, a home and an appetite like a horse".

To be continued ...

Day 120 - Ports of call Lisbon and Casablanca!

"The ship was waiting and we sprang aboard ready to sail.  Later, my cousin Irene had undertaken the 200 km. trip to meet me.  Unfortunately, she didn't reach Safi before we sailed again and were gone with wind!  The "Gella" now took us north.  On the next voyage we were scheduled to stop in Casablanca so I wrote to my cousin Irene and told her the news. 

We arrived back safely in Ghent with the boat was on a bit of a tipping angle as the load had moved to one side on the high seas.  We had a bit of mutiny going on - the daily meal was always mutton and nothing but mutton every day!  So, we circled around from the kitchen, in indian file, and went bleating to the Captain until we got his promise of a change in our diet.  We went out in Ghent and had a very good time and then went home.

Before our return trip we tried out the lifeboats  - that was a bit of a trial.  Some were leaking, others were lacking plugs and some of the pumps were not working.  In the Gulf of Biscay we floated around without power until John took action.  He had to swim down and under in the engine room to open valves and release the water that had come in to the boat.  He had to keep releasing water until everything was working properly again.

On the next voyage we first went to Lisbon - we had a better time than on our previous time and this time visited the fairgrounds and The Alexander Bar.  Our biggest difficulty proved to be finding our way around town.  The Portuguese woman were very inhibited but we got to the bar eventually and had a good time.  Lisbon looked pretty new and different to us - they now had a lift tram climbing up the side of the cliffs.

Alongside the big seafarers statue we boarded the old "Gella"and again sailed the north coast making for Casablanca but this time we left early in the morning!

To be continued ...

Day 119 - Enchanting Beauty in Africa!

"Even Hano the Carthagenian is supposed to have reconnoited these parts.  That was before the destruction of Carthage by the Romans who sailed as far as the Runeni River near South Africa.

They kept their routes secret until some survivors from the catalyst used them to escape.  They were under orders from an Admiral called, Harrakuk.  After this incident, the maps vanished from the old world view completely and were forgotten for the time being!

With these thoughts I fell happily into a satisfied sleep, with the certainty that the next morning I would find the first opportunity to jump ashore and explore the surrounding area - which I did with my mates.

Phosphate was blown into the holds and we would depart from Safi quicker than we envisaged.  We quickly explored the hills of the Atlas -  ending at the location we were at with the Sahara desert behind it.

We had our first glimpse of one camel with a hump, we had a bet on and wanted to prove, using a photo, how many humps it had.  The picture on the back of  a packet of camel cigarretes hadn't been very convincing for some! 

We actually found two camels with their drivers ready to enter the interior over the hills, to join a caravan.  The fellows posed for us and we placed the biggest disbeliever in the middle - in front of the camel.  When the picture was developed the Dane blended in with the hump and we couldn't see it!

After returning to the ship and letting my cousin Irene in Casablanca know I was in Safi, I came across a Morrocan veiled girl in a Chemist shop, she was  guarded by two armed guards and a chaperone.

Whilst the guards were outside, I tried on some sunglasses.  Looking in the mirror, the girl now dropped her veil - the beauty of this girl was enchanting and also forbidden.  We later heard that two other members of our crew had experienced an unpleasant encounter at a mosque when they had tried to enter.

We rushed back to the ship not giving it any more thought and we took a last photo of a Moslem cemetary amongst the roundish gravestones, some were just headstones.  I got stung by one of the cactus plants along the borders and this was painful, just like a bee sting.

To be continued ...

Day 118 - Africa for the first time!

"We had to walk a long way along the promenade in order to find a bar to help us forget our grief.    We met up with some other Swedish shipmates and with them they had their top prize, a tall Swedish counterpart, a female, "Sparks".  In no time at all, after a few drinks, the fighting started -  so I made off with my mates as it was not our business.

The trip now proceeding close to the Portugese coast gave us a lovely view of the mountains and the water became clearer too, almost transparent so that we were able to see the propellors.
Shoals of dolphins were capering along with us and as we turned the point, near the Gulf of Cadiz, great butterflies came visiting us on board. 

In this manner, we crossed to Morocco, taking a big longtitudenal sweep and a day later, by eventide, pointing the stern straight towards Safi we sailed ahead - this was an unforgettable view.  The ancient fortifications, minarets from the Mosques in the distance, all whitewashed and clearly silhouetted against the dark azure blue sky, with the purpleness of the distant mountains in the last feeble reflections of a sinking sun beyond the horizon.

We had done this trip a thousand years ago, surely it was familiar, and we could hear the deep singing and accompaniment of the Viking band from down below.  I wouldn't have missed these moments for anything in the world as I was a bit of an artist in my school days.  I could have painted on the canvas forever and ever............

I kept on enjoying it until darkness overcame this lovely setting.  For the first time, we entered the harbour for a good night's rest. Now under the dome of the African cloudless sky - getting a better view of the multitude of stars, listening to the melancholy sound of the Berber music and the singing in Arabic from the distance quarter of this ancient town. 

In a bygone age, Safi, had been used as a Moorish recruiting centre for the invasion of Southern Spain - the pirates of the Barbary coast also having had their heyday in this era".

To be continued

Day 117- Edward and an unsung hero!

"I was now seeing Cherbourg from a totally different viewpoint than during the war, the place of memories for me and events contributing to the landings later on.

John and the first engineer went ashore with a pilot boat to get some spare parts.  The damage was fixed in no time and we could proceed towards the Gulf of Biscay, having narrowly missed one of the worst hurricanes since 1927.

I dried my washing in the middle of  The Gulf  thinking of one of my uncles who had lost his life in this approximate area -  that was during the war of  1914 - 1918. 

The troop transport they had been travelling aboard had been torpedoed on its way to South West Africa. My uncle had knocked his head when one of the life boats had snapped - he lost consciousness before hitting the water. Somebody had helped keep him afloat for a while but to no avail.

I was a child when I heard this story in the old Cafe on the Sas and my grandmother cried.  Young Edward had been the only one in the family who couldn't swim and my grandmother said, "maybe he could have been saved if he had been able to swim"!

Young Edward was a very good singer and the darling of the girls at the time.  My grandmother gave me his banjo.  However, I never made good use of it - somehow, it was all Edwards and I could never take a note on it but I loved it when my Dad did.

From Cape Finisterreto Cape Hatteras on the Spanish coast of Galecia the Celtic part we sailed along noticing the fishing fleet had all their flags at half mast.  So many boats had been suddenly overwhelmed during the storm and had not been able to save themselves.

We entered Oporto to dock at Leixius where we noticed a general strike was going on, it was still the time of  The Dictator.   The next day, we were talking to the secret police who had come aboard our vessel.  Suddenly, the army appeared in vans and took the strikers away with them.

We asked one of  the secret police what would happen to the strikers, he answered, "they go on the next boat to Mozambique"! 
Old ways die hard, here they were still very much alive.

To be continued ...

Day 116 - Rough Seas!

"The try out for our vessel was to find out how well the ship stood up to all conditions and of course price!  The greater the faults the lower the sales price.  We carried some individuals on board who seemed pretty suspicious in their intentions.

Our first voyage was characterized by one of the biggest storms in memory in which we were nearly thrown back on the Isle of Wight.  One side of the ship had conked out resulting in considerable loss of power; while turning in the wind and strong tides there to tackle up in it - we nearly capsized!!!The boat being flimsily loaded with cement bags for ballast - The first engineer was a former Polish submarine captain they said.

Anyway, during the second wave, pondering, before we had time to right ourselves that was the crucial moment.  I could see the dangerous angle in the engine room and a loose spare piston managed to jump out of its attachment missing us by a mere couple of feet.

The Polish engineer kept his hand up to give us a chance to make it to the upper deck, if necessary, from the upper railings.  At that moment, the ship started going back and not further down the danger level.

They told us later that it had been a close one!  Some of the inland mates were nearer to tears than us, we now started singing old but still known sea-shanties, releasing our pent up feelings.

We enjoyed singing and felt proud of our sea spirits which we kept high; it was in the blood they used to say.  With the salt spray now in our hair and our faces, we sailed straight ahead  at a steady pace  towards Cherbourg for repairs in calmer waters near the harbour but still out at sea.

To be continued ....

Well written memoirs

Excellent memoirs!! I started reading them around 9 pm and could not stop reading, only around 1:00 am when I was finally too tired to continue.

Paulino

Day 115 - Helle-a! AN OLD VIKING CALL!!

"For myself, Madame Denile had offered to get me a job on the Sabena, as a radio-operator or sparks, after following the one year higher level institute in Brussels.  My Aunt Helen was also trying to help get me a job by tying to get her husband to offer me half shares in his plumbing business.

I had quite a few other offers.  However, they were not quite as  straightforward as the ones above.  One idea was suggested by my Aunt Ray and Cousin Irene who lived in Morrocco - their plan was to get me a job in a machine shop in either Casablanca or Rabat. 

In the end I chose my own way - I wanted to do my own bit - which turned out to be to join The Merchant Navy.

My first ship was to Ghent, S.S. Helle-a.  They needed people who had completed trade school and had experience with motor engineering on trawlers.  After the war, there was a shortage of skilled tradesmen in those categories.  My friend Roger and myself studied the trawler exams.  Roger had been taken over to England during the war and had come back to Belgium as a Petty Officer in The Navy.  

The ship we were to sail in was a beauty!  It was an old ship and on each side had a twin motor capacity of 12,000 H.P.   The ship had been named after an old viking call: "Helle-a", which was uttered before, The Vikings, disembarked from their ships and claimed land.  Similar to the past, she was manned by a crew of  Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Dutch and Flemings.  

She had been sold to, The Chemical Union in Belgium and our destination was Morroco.  Our purpose was to pick up phosphate and then later sail to to India, to collect bones, -  as there were many available there, then.

To be continued ...

Day 114 - Leon Degralle/ Revisions and edits!!!

Daniel was eventually caught for his crime at the Army and Navy store through the co-operation of  two government institutions,  The British Military Police and The Belgian Special Police or Gendarmes.

With his loot he had decided to live it up and helped give himself away by his illustrious living -  splashing his money  around in cafes of ill repute with Madams and their girls -  who sometimes robbed him when he was drunk!  

As a group, we had also come up with a plan to kidnap Leon Degralle, known Rexist blackshirt leader.  We had found out that he was temporarily in hiding in Bilbao, Spain.  Together with other Nazi's from the Eastern Front - he had landed in Bilbao after a belly landed Dornier flight.

We had also heard that he was going to undergo face lift surgery to change his appearance.  We had learned that he was then going to proceed on transportation to South America, so we had to hurry up with our plan!

The idea had been to travel with a fishing boat or small yacht to Bilbao.  I had a friend from Buchenwald called Coublanc and I was going to purchase a boat from him in Sable D'Olonne

Part of our plan was to visit Daniel's uncle in Pithivier and then to casually proceed from there to Bilbao.  We had a nice visit with  Daniel's uncle and were glad to find that everybody had survived .  We learned that just before the end of the war, Daniel's family had been hiding in the forest just behind where they lived.

We then continued towards the coast, the old route!  Coublanc was back to work fishing and working on a trawler.  When we went to visit him he told us that we could stay at his home with his wife and children.  

We then visited a lot of old families that Daniel knew very well.  Many of them had not been as lucky as Daniel and I and there was a lot of tear shedding for their loved ones who hadn't returned - it may well have been, in many cases, that we were the last people from home to have seen their loved ones alive! 

Anyhow, our plan to bring Leon Degralle to justice had to be aborted.  We found now, that we didn't have enough funds to buy a boat and having no sponsors for such a project we had to go back home.    

Daniel acted like Clark Gable after being pursued and before he turned himself in - after jumping from the quay into a fishing boat one of the cross ropes got him in the crouch and thus he appeared in the old dance hall!!!!!!!!

The idea to bring Leon Degralle for trial would also have been an act of justice but at the same time it may have vindicated him!  Taking into consideration, that it was rumored that a lot of war records had been revised and edited just before the end of the war !!!!!!!!!??????

Only a woman interested in Daniel's loose capers would later be able to make him walk straight!!I think a social service program for veterans would have done a lot of good for lost souls like Daniel!

To be continued .......

Day 113 - "Who Dares Wins!

For those that were in better health the government found easy jobs like Commissionaires, cleaners of  "Wagon Lits" for the state transport catering service run by a privateer called "Peeters"who the had the tender forever!

Most of the time, I continued to persevere, always remembering the motto I had adopted, from the S.A.S.,  "Who Dares Wins".
Daniel and George just gave up on claiming their rights through government organizations : it had all been too much and it was all over for them.

I still wanted to lead an adventurous life and was thinking that with our money from the government we could venture out independently as entrepreneurs!  At a reasonable rate, we could obtain an army truck which we could then convert and use as a refrigerated fish truck for transporting fish to inland sites.  We could even get a three man trawler, the speediest in the harbor, which when permitted to do so would be ideal for trawling using two booms.

I mentioned the speediest in the small fishing fleet because during the war these small trawlers had been equipped with Skoda motors.  These motors were so powerful that insurance companies would not consider insuring them until, later on, when the laws had
been changed to allow fishing with two trawler nets on each side.

Daniel and George let it all go for the funfare with the girls - to whoop it up on their meager subsistence level.  After his demobilization, Barbaix, eventually became involved with the stock exchange and never got out of it, except for his general hobbies in electricity and who knows what!!!

I don't know how far all that carried him but it looks as if he led a life of leisure for the rest of his life.  He got married and settled; finding it too much trouble to get his car out of the garage to meet a friend from long ago................

Daniel started his career from jail contacts, this was after he had been imprisoned for emptying a couple of Army and Navy stores as an inside job, helped by and used by a British storekeeper

To be continued....

Day 112 - Conclusion!

"After a while, we had all returned, myself first, then soldier Barbaix and eventually Daniel from the East.  The only thing we could think about was enjoying ourselves but where was the money going to come from, that was the question.

I had just passed our Control Commission, which decided on who was a Political Prisoner and who was most certainly not!  Besides all this, of the ten thousand genuine survivors,  there were ninety thousand imposters: all this prolonged our agony with endless waiting. The whole process was embedded in red tape.  Then there was the battle of the government.  The one we had experienced during occupation and the one in exile.  All this had to be sorted out by the competing factions or eventually compromised on.

With the question of the King, they made short measurement.  Everybody agreed to it, that he should abdicate until his son was ready for the throne.  In the meantime, Prince Albert was his "Voogd".  In fact, it was a moral and symbolic decapitation of  the King himself.

There were a few Political Prisoners who held seats in the Senate and some also controlled newspapers, like Blum, for the People.  The rest was firmly united and organized in the Association for Political Prisoners.

Wherever we seemed to go; I remember seeing demonstrations in the capital which were organized to help speed up our cases so we could start our normal life again.  We now had to fill in lots of papers and were considered to be demobilised soldiers.

Not one of the survivors was really in a very healthy state of body and spirit afterwards and so we were considered to be invalids!!!!

All this was gradually achieved over a two year period.  Some didn't have very far to go, used up!!!!

To be continued .....

Day 111 - Goethe Quote about Hope!

"I have about 10 more blogs/pages to complete from my Dad's war experiences.  My Dad, simply named his last chapter, 
 - "Conclusion"!

I began my Dad's memoir/blog talking about Goethe, the great German philosopher, who it is said, spent a lot of time sitting by a tree in what eventually became Buchenwald.  This spot now seems to me, a good place to put this quote:   

Those who hope for no other life are dead even for this.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, Conversations with Goethe

Day 110 - Self-Imposed Amnesia!

I believe it is likely that people with the same type of  background and ideals would have been naturally attracted to each other and would have been looking out for similar beings!!"After the war, like myself, George and Daniel both went their own way to fight again for their existence"!

It seemed to me, that after their war experiences they both operated with a self-imposed state of amnesia.  Mostly, as a cover because few people would be able to understand or comprehend their plight and inner conflict. 

My opinion is, even if it has to take a lifetime to accomplish, one has to find the strength to overcome and persevere with ever changing world values!  Now, more and more,  I think I understand!  Gradually, everything is fitting together for me, like in a puzzle!  

During the war, people like my sponsors,  formed an integral chain  in trying to keep the Last Empire together by participating in patriotic actions.  Whether achieved secretly or officially or within the confines of the concentration camps themselves - it made no difference!  Each contribution was just as effective and contributed to the whole. 

So, it was thus, we were all used, because we had something to give and the strength, faith and stability to fulfill things.........

My memoir, "To Each his Own",  is a tribute to the vindication of all survivors and an honorable memory to all absent brethren alike, who I hope, have not departed in vain........................

To be continued

Day 109 - Belgian Friends Reunited!

"I went back to ordinary living and fighting and competing for my everyday existence. I didn't accept any charity, I only accepted my lawful rights and earnings.  My status was recognized by Counter Intelligence and government departments.  

I passed the Commission, with flying colors and received, from the Prince Regent Albert, "The Distinguished Cross for Political Prisoners, with four stars.  Madame DeNile and Mister Van Alderwerelt eventually received recognition as well.  I saw both of them quite often as well as Antonio, who's family were well established in Brussels.

Daniel returned six months later, liberated at Gross-Strelitz by the Russians.  Daniel never received recognition as a political prisoner but that is entirely his own fault!  I tried my best to help him but when he had to face, "The Commission of Inquiry", he ran away!   Of course, there is a lot about this I do not understand but let bygones be bygones! 

George was, "another cup of tea", after many cumbersome adventures, he managed to get to England via Germany, Finland and Sweden.  Unlike us, his voyage by transport, was quite different.  He was bombed out of a wagon somewhere in Northern Germany but than made it to Hamburg by hitching lifts.

His papers had been burnt so he made himself out to be a, "Free Worker", which was voluntary, so, in this way, he was able to keep going until he found a suitable cargo ship that needed a deckhand.  From there he made it to Finland and then up to Uppsala, Sweden to load magnetic  ore.

Whilst there, it was "short work", to make himself scarce until it was time to sail with the supply barges.  He hid in the hold until his ship was out of sight.  He sailed to Stockholm, where he worked for the embassies on their "listening in" service and so on to England in one of those light, mosquito planes.  George came back home with, "The Invasion", but just seemed to want to forget!!!!

As in Daniel's case, I did all the groundwork for George in relation to convincing him and others of his  genuine, legal status as far as receiving official recognition for his war effort.  However, neither George nor Daniel pursued it and consequently, did not receive  any official recognition!  It is beyond me to understand .............!

To be continued ...  

Day 108 - Health aftermath - concentration camps!

"We now found temporary accommodation with my Aunt Helen such was her genuine hospitality until we found our own way about!  Antonio stayed on at my Aunt's house until his Dad and the others arrived from Buchenwald which was about a month after our arrival in Brussels.

Antonio's family had a wonderful reception, we couldn't get anywhere near them, the party was tremendous.  It happened on the old Town Square in front of the Town Hall.  My parents were informed, after my aunt had made me a bit more respectable to look at!.  Also, my grandmother was one of the family party and so our family reunion was complete in the best of traditions.  

My grandmother had been sure all along that I would survive and return to them all, how right she was.  In the meantime, my little brother had grown to a decent size.  After the party I stayed on in Brussels to arrange some of my affairs before moving on to the fresh salty air of the seaside.

We were very thin and emaciated, so the order of the day was be careful with food and our general condition! My English cousin who was in the Intelligence Corp (MI5 or 6!!) - he visited me in Ostend and didn't think I was going to make it to survive even at that point!  My grandmother's breed thought differently, being tough and strong and having a survivor mentality!

At this time, I was in the process of being rehabilitated and had to build up my body again to an acceptable level of health - it turned out I had a lot of false fat and water in my body that I had to get rid of  before becoming "normal" again!

The first week back in Ostend, I developed a very dangerous boil on the back of my neck, where I had been stabbed on that scary night in Block 52 at Buchenwald!!!!It was sheer agony and there was nothing anybody could do about it, it suddenly went after a week.

My ankle would give me trouble for a further five years until all the toxins had come out.  To my consternation it would bleed profusely, especially in the summer months.  My stomach would never rectify itself no matter how many doctors I consulted with!

I learned to live with what had become a very thin stomach lining with strong acids - my stomach gave me a good deal of discomfort for the rest of my life but I learned to cope with it!  My hand sometimes reacted to the weather but I was able to get on fairly comfortable with most things!

To be continued .....

Day 107 - Finally, back in Brussels, Belgium!

"Soon we reached the old Rhine River which we crossed on a pontoon bridge which had been built very quickly!   From there, we caught a train to Luxembourg which would place us right back in Belgium territory.  


We were now in Arlon and on our way back to Brussels.  From this point on, we were provided with plenty of good food, fresh fruit, vegetables and drinks.   We were refugees so were cleared by security as soon as possible - all of us with the inherent problems that go with being  a refugee!


At this point, a tall woman began airing her patriotic feelings  -  stating what we should do to the Boche.  In the first place, I do not like that name and secondly, calling all alike people after this infamous mass murderer is wrong!  Lastly, I do not believe we will go very far if we adopt such an attitude - if we do it will be proof that we haven't learned very much from all this!


A lot of people were now waiting around in hope and, more often than not in vain, for their loved ones to come back.  Revenge wouldn't bring them back either, but hope may do it - in a firm belief of a better world!


When arriving back home, some fanatics were still  dressed in their S.S. uniforms - which hurt to hear of such a thing - their little souls had been so badly indoctrinated that they couldn't change.  The maddened crowd would either lynch, drown them, or in some cases chop their heads off before the law could stop them.


We arrived in Brussels and our arrival back went unnoticed by all - nobody had expected us back like this!  A reception party has to be prepared in order to be successful!  In the first place, we were quite happy to be back - that was more important than anything else!


To be continued ..

Day 106 - All Roads lead to Belgium!

"After we had completed our report Elmer told us that we could now return to Buchenwald.  He knew that we would not return!  There is a saying, "All Roads Lead to Rome", well in our case now,   "All Roads led to Belgium".


From a convenient view point, Elmer must have watched and observed us going the other way instead of towards Buchenwald.  That was the last we saw of him and him of us!


We went straight to Erfurt and Eisenach instead of Lower Franconia.  We got rides on all sort of odd transports including an empty tank carrier which shook us up and day and always -  especially when traversing fields and at the same time trying to avoid bomb craters and pockets in the roads.


In the process, we eventually picked up two British Prisoners of War -  armed with a pistol.  Later, we picked up a sharp, thin fellow who seem to me to be disguised.  He was dressed as a Belgian,  wearing a beret -  like the ones seen in British films. 


The beret had the Belgian colors sewn into but we do not wear berets in the way he did!  "With my first cross questioning he fell into the bag completely", !!!??  he confessed to me that he could not deceive me and he was indeed - not a Belgian!


Furthermore, he was too perfectly supplied, he had with him a small, carefully prepared rat pack, which he gladly shared among us.  We eventually passed him over to an American Commandent bivouaced along the road.


Soon enough he had talked himself out of that one!!and the last we saw of him he was walking stealthily away across the fields.  He could have been a Nazi like Eichman!


Along the way we came across a huge, Texas Ranger with a big cigar in his mouth.  He was gesticulating wildly and directing all wagons and vehicles into a parking lot in a field.  By this time,  the oddest thing we had travelled by was a fire engine!  The fire engine carried quite a lot of us!


We were now at a crossroads.  We took the road for Frankfurt which had been heavily bombed and was now enveloped in ruins!  Just walls and chimneys were left standing upright.  The inhabitants probably asking themselves whether it had all been worthwhile.


To be continued .... 













along the road

Day 105 - Eisleben - Martin Luther's birthplace!

"Elmer now took us to Eisleben, which is where Martin Luther was born.  Sporadic fighting was still going on around us, pockets of resistors were holding out and we could hear the distant thuds -   Elmer kept running back and forward to those places.


He now took us to an old farm house on the outskirts of town.  A typical old Saxon place with an old aunt in it.  Her daughter and some of her other relatives lived there as well.  In confidence now, she told us that her daughter's husband was a Nazi official.  This lady was very stuck on the Nazi culture or niche, as she called it, and she came up with a lot of excuses to justify their position. Antonio and myself told her where to get off!!!


We didn't waste any more time on the old aunt and now got on with the job that we were there to do.  Elmer had brought a typewriter with him.  In confidence, the old aunt sometimes talked to us and gave up some of her supplies while we were busy working on the report.


We were in a very historical house and I would not  have been  surprised if  Martin Luther had visited the house in a past era.  The atmosphere was perfect for it, old musty furniture, chandeliers and Dresden china all over the place!"


To be continued ...

Day 104 - The smell of burning flesh around Weimer!!

''The world was well satisfied that justice had been done at the "Nuremburg Trials".  Personally, I lost respect for the process of justice after the Trials! It seemed to me that the money distributed was of most benefit to many of the most affluent victims!  


All I can say is that, "I have been in Auschwitz and Buchenwald.  My files have resided in Bonn, Brussels and The Pentagon and who knows where else!  Whitehall and maybe Moscow but the best place is nowhere!"


Antonio ánd I now descended into the forest and walked towards the old quarry and the open plain.  At the bottom of the hill we came across a funny haystack!  To me, it stuck out like a thorn in the middle of a field and on the wind we smelt petrol fumes and human flesh.  No doubt, the S.S. had been around at work, who else!!!


I looked at the haystack again and said to Antonio, "It seems to be a set-up, probably an ambush -  let's get out of here quickly before we get fried".  It was too early in the year for a haystack and also the flat facade on the front was facing the road towards us.  Besides all that I also felt like someone was starring and watching us!  Once behind the walls of a building we made a safe getaway.  Who wants to get shot at the last minute when the hostilities are over!


When we got back to what had been, Buchenwald concentration camp,  Elmer came to see us.  He announced that he had a mission arranged with the Commandent and that everything was in order for him to take us and start a report.  Antonio was a good hand at typing and I had all the information on Auschwitz and the extra's!


To be continued ...