Description
Object description
German schoolgirl in Dresden, Germany, 1939-1945; civilian in Dresden and Leipzig, Soviet Zone of Occupation, Germany, 1945-1950 and Munich, American Zone of Occupation and West Germany, 1950-1963
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Dresden, Germany, 1930-1939: family; daily life and living conditions; description of Dresden prior to bombing in 1945; attitude towards Nazi regime; memories of Nazi rallies; question of conformity; attitude of parents to joining Hitler Youth; Nazi propaganda in education; opinion of Nazi philosophy; question of freedom of speech; attitude towards treatment of Jews in Germany; awareness of concentration camps; daily life in Dresden; attitude to German expansion and concept of enemies.
REEL 2 Continues: presentation by Nazi regime of meetings between Adolf Hitler and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, 9/1938; reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 1/9/1939. Aspects of period as schoolchild in Dresden, Germany, 1939-1945: effects of war on daily life; rationing system; problem of lack of food towards end of war; extra rations for special groups; effects of war on education and question of pride in achievements of Nazi regime; father's duties with German Army broadcasting unit in France and Soviet Union; story of father saving boy in Caucasus, Soviet Union; attitude of father to Soviet people; knitting clothes for German troops on Eastern Front; memories of escape from Oflag IV-C Colditz by Airey Neave; father's wounding and hospitalisation near Dresden; story of brother joining Schutzstaffel (SS).
REEL 3 Continues: collection of metal items for war effort; comparison of home fronts in Germany and GB; opinion of Prime Minister Winston Churchill; question of German people being aware of concentration camps; reaction to seeing films of concentration camps; attitude to revision of death toll in Dresden after bombing raids, 2/1945; reaction to German surrender at Stalingrad, 2/1943; question of Dresden being regarded as a 'safe city'; opinion of air defences in Dresden; description of Allied bombing raids on Dresden, 2/1945; experience of firestorm; separation of family; casualties; how twin brother was blinded; problem of trying to escape from Dresden and civilians being fired on by United States Army Air Force aircraft; story of finding burnt corpse of mother in cellar.
REEL 4 Continues: reunion of family in hut near Leipzig; story of father being redrafted in German Army following air raids, 2/1945; description of bomb victims; soup kitchens; problem of lack of medical facilities and fire-fighting equipment; description of refugees in Grossgarten; effects of air raids on civilian population and question of adjusting to conditions; clearing away bomb damage; attitude towards Soviet occupation and behaviour of Soviet Army troops from Far East; helping father prepare information about Soviets for use in schools; story of hiding in tree trunk to avoid being raped; problem of snipers; reaction to end of Second World War in Europe, 8/5/1945.
REEL 5 Continues: how Nazis reported failure of July bomb plot against Adolf Hitler, 7/1944; long-term emotional effects of bombing of Dresden; further comments on revision of casualties during bombing of Dresden and opinion of German historian Reiner Pommerin. Aspects of period as civilian in Dresden and Leipzig, Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany, 1945-1950: description of daily life under communist regime; story of father founding Kulturbund in Dresden; living conditions and shortages; helping in restortation of statues at Zwinger Palace while art student in Leipzig; morale of civilian population in Dresden after air raids; memories of Christmas; story of attempts by family to escape from Soviet Zone of Occupation, Germany to American Zone of Occupation, Germany, 1950. Aspects of period as civilian living in Munich, American Zone of Occupation and West Germany, 1950-1963: living conditions and accommodation.
REEL 6 Continues: comparison of living conditions in East and West Germany, 1955-1959; attitude of Germans towards Second World War and Holocaust; move to Oxford, GB, 1963. Aspects of period as civilian in GB, 1963-1996: marriage; story of singing in choir at Royal Air Force memorial service in presence of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris; attitude to Allied victory in 1945; visit to Dresden in 1980s; opinion of importance of oral reminiscences for historical research and therapeutic value; prior recollection of family reunion after air raids on Dresden, Germany, 2/1945.
REEL 7 Continues: story of meeting former Royal Air Force bomber crew who participated in Dresden Raid; further comments on singing in choir at Royal Air Force memorial service in presence of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris; reflections on importance of reconciliation.