Kayt18 asked Sigrid MacRae:

How did you find so much information about Germany and the area in such a personal way? My mother was among those that were pulled out of Czech/Sudatenland to repopulate Germany. Thanks for giving me a look into some of what she and her family had to go thru.

Sigrid MacRae One answer: Lots and lots of reading. Anything and everything, letters and journals,from family and friends, from the Wehrmachbericht, to Goebbels' and Viktor Klemperer's diaries. Often these yielded only tiny details, but that's where non-fiction lives. In the case of diaries - once personal slant is taken into account - dates, notes on weather, the people's mood are invaluable. Bibliographies in serious works of history can yield great sources. Wm. Shirer's "This is Berlin", dated broadcasts from Berlin until war broke out (edited by Noel Rae) was invaluable. Together, they all added up to the crazy patchwork.

I'm curious about the timing of your family's relocation to repopulate Germany, but glad you got a look at what things were like.

flag