Students as soldiers / Hamburg 1945

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Pummelchen
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:49 pm

Students as soldiers / Hamburg 1945

Post by Pummelchen »

"Hamburger Schülersoldaten 1945" by Helmut Stoklossa (translation by me)
End of 1944 the students born 1929 and in evacuation in the countryside were called back to Hamburg.
After a short introduction to military drill in the local barracks, we were taken by Reichsbahn to Weddewarden
at the river Weser for our military training. In April we were transferred to Jenfeld to the Holstenhof,
where our Belgium uniforms were changed to "Feldgrau". Then we were taken to the front, to Harburg.

Within seven days we moved our positions eight times, finally ending up in a pub called "Schloß Ecke" on 1st May.
The railroad tracks from Harburg to Cuxhaven were next to us and the Brits sprinkled us with their mortar.

On 2nd May the rumour reached us stating that Hamburg was to be handed over without a fight, which was
confirmed in a special edition of the "Hamburger Zeitung".

From that moment onwards, we did not see our officers, nor the instructors anymore. It was said we were supposed
to fight the Russians further away in the East. The officers and instructors left and organised themselves civilian clothes
and went into hiding. We, the 15 year old student soldiers, were left to our own devices. We did not have any papers,
just our fieldgrey uniforms.

I was the only one from Harburg in our group and thus with local knowledge. I overheard that the last train direction
Hamburg was to leave at 11 pm that night and then the bridges across the Elbe river were to be destroyed.

In the evening we made our way to the station. Heavily armed with life grenades in our pockets, we reached the train
before 11pm. I said my goodbyes to my comrades from Hamburg and set off on my dangerous way home, passing the Gestapo Wache.
Kind regards.
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