Farewell to Hamburg

A refreshing and new outlook on war torn Germany as experienced and told by a young German boy from Hamburg. The reader is able to re-live his experiences of the highs and lows of life during the blitz. Cry with Dieter as he sees his first dead person, laugh with him as he and his brother Hans together with their friends play often dangerous games on the German soldiers at the local barracks, then on the British soldiers after the surrender of Hamburg. Wonder at the extraordinary experiences as these young boys enter and exit a local POW Camp at will, mixing freely with the French POW who treated the boys with kindness. Feel his fear of the bombs being dropped over his beloved Hamburg and the excitement of the long train journeys to his evacuation village, the horror of the train being attacked and strafed and the terror of spending a night in the pitch dark forest whilst being machine gunned from the attacking planes waiting for help. Go through the great joy of seeing his father home on leave, then the utter sadness at his departures. The family receive the devastating news that his father was missing in action on the Eastern Front and presumed dead, as the reports indicate his panzer unit being destroyed. What did his young mother do? How did she cope? Initially she was devastated then she was kept busy running her parent's greengrocers after her father was taken ill, then during the occupation by allied forces we can be happy that she was able to befriend a British soldier; this Welshman who worked in the British Army kitchens was able to "supply" the necessary food to keep this family from going hungry, often via difficult and extraordinary means to ensure his own position is not damaged. The sudden death of both his Grandparents and the hardship caused to his mother but her inheritance enables life in Wales to be easier but isolates the young mother even more from her family in Hamburg. Dieter tells all of this in a heart wrenching tale and takes us with him on his journey from the destruction of Hamburg to peace time on the Welsh coast. As with all good stories there is a twist to the tale, which again sees Dieter going through yet more emotional upheaval, but with the ever present guiding hand of his older brother Hans, Dieter is able to face up to all the trials that war had thrown at him and the utter devastation he felt as a young boy in a strange land, when the family moved to Wales - once again he felt isolated, not able to speak the language but he takes the reader through his adventures in this strange country and shows the resilience of the young. Follow Hans and Dieter on their numerous money making ventures and Dieter's return to Hamburg with the Sea Cadets and the reaction of his family when they see him in the uniform of the allied forces.