My parents were both slave laborers in Nazi Germany. My mother was taken from her village in Ukraine when she was just 16 years old! When we kids would get picky about our suppers, we we would hear some pretty awful stories that certainly would make us grateful for the borsht in the bowl.
Both my mom and dad received monthly "pensions" from the German Government as reparations. My dad has passed away, but every month when I help my 87 year old mom with her bills and banking, she says "Goddamn Nazis!" then endorses the check from Germany.
My in-laws wartime experience and stories are so completely different my parents. Dad B was a cartographer in Patton's army. He was at Hitler's Eagle's Nest and at the liberation of a concentration camp to name but two experiences. He passed away some time ago, but before he died we spent several days with a video camera running, and with maps, documenting an oral recitation of his wartime experiences.
My mother-in-law passed away not long ago, and we have become the caretakers of the carton containing their wartime correspondence. Hundreds of letters, filled with details fascinating and mundane, little drawings and cartoons... it is a fascinating archive. Once I finish these next two books I'm on contract for, I plan to delve in. I know there's a novel in there somewhere.
