The village where we found Refuge was very small, 900 people excluding the children. We lived in poverty. We all shared 2 rooms; one was the living room and kitchen and the other room was our bedroom. We didn’t have our own room. We didn’t even had our own bed. I had to sleep with my older Sister in one and my mom slept with the 3 little ones in the other bed. She didn’t have any room to turn around even if her back was hurting, she had to stay in that position. But then again a mattress of straw covered with a blanket doesn’t feel comfortable no matter how much room you have to turn around, but it was a Blessing we had two rooms and a roof over our head to call home.
The happiness of my dad’s homecoming was great but the poverty wasn’t less. There was no opportunity for my dad to work and raise a family. I remember my dad getting up very early in the morning and coming home late in the evening. He helped the farmers in the village spreading insect killing powder on the potato plants; field after field. There was no protection for him not to breath the deadly poison. It was a job no one really want to do but for us it was a necessity to survive.
My mom studied art in Switzerland before she got married. She stayed in touch with some of her friends even after the war was over. I received a letter from my mom many years later, in 1995, to explain why she went back to Switzerland. We, all 5 siblings, where separated from each other and send in different directions. My little brother and sister went to a christian children’s home. My oldest sister stayed with my dad, I had to go and live with my uncle and aunt in Berlin and my other brother went with my mom to Geneva.
She wrote to me how hard it was for her to separate the family but she wanted to help getting us out of poverty. She received the offer to earn a good paycheck there and she wasn’t afraid of hard work. She earned enough money to pay the childcare at home, send money to my dad and send many packages to Berlin.
She and my little brother stayed with one of her life-long girlfriends and her family. Her girlfriend took care of Wilfried (my oldest brother) while she was working for some rich families earning good money. It was not easy for her being away from the rest of her family. One night she wrote, it was Christmas Eve and people started to celebrate the holiday. The Christmas trees where lit and people started to exchange gifts, but she had to finish washing windows. She looked around at neighbors houses, same there and she couldn’t hold her tears back. She missed her family, but her work wasn’t done she had to go to another job cleaning floors in a factory.
She worked hard and long hours to earn money to send things home for my dad to sell. Coffee was in a big demand.
At home my dad was busy building bunk beds; surprise for my Mom.
Living in Berlin with my aunt and uncle was not a pleasant time for me. My uncle had a home laundry washing linens and towels for restaurants and if I wanted to eat, I better work. The deliveries and pickups where done with a little wagon by foot. Till I learned the route, my cousin went with me. Later I was on my own. In my free time I had to help in the laundry. I was only 12 at that time.
(That’s probably why I received that letter from my mom after so many years she still felt guilty and sorry for the way I was treated.)
Before my Mom returned she bought a used, very reasonable priced, sewing machine. With this sewing machine she was able to sew and alter clothes for us and others. At that time after the War you could buy absolutely nothing in Germany, so people where happy to make the things they had last.
But the struggle wasn’t over…