So we received, then, some fire. I could not get up. I could not stand up, because
always somebody was shot. And then, after an unknown time… sudden silence.
And suddenly, a voice… “Hello, boy! Get up, come here!”
And I look up, and there are three G.I.’s standing in front of me, having their rifles aimed at me.
Hey everyone, I’m Josh from Memoirs Of WWII. And real quick, before we get into our veteran’s
story, I want to tell you about who we are and how you can help with this project. Memoirs Of
WWII is an organization run by myself and my family. We travel all over, interviewing the
last living veterans of the Second World War, and sharing their stories in this series to ensure
that their service and this important history is never forgotten. We are funded by donations from
people like you, both through Patreon where you can choose what dollar amount you’d like to give,
and through our website. So, follow the links in the description below and you can be part of
preserving this history. Thank you for your support, and now on to our veteran’s story.
After having fought and suffered through Germany’s devastating loss in World War I,
an Austrian-born politician named Adolf Hitler rose through political turmoil to gain power and
bring the Nazi party into control by 1933. With a goal of restoring Germany to glory, Hitler created
a new society ready for war, and German citizens like Wolfram Forster prepared for a new era.
Because my father was in World War I, the things he told me about were awful and horrible. When the
Nazis started the War, I could not equate the war he talked about. I can remember the day that the
war began. The radio was on and it was Hitler on the radio to say the Poles had attacked a
German radio station, and there was lots of shooting. “And now, we are shooting back!”
The supposed Polish attack on German territory was nothing more than a ruse - an excuse for
Hitler’s forces to invade Poland in his quest for global domination.
But France and Britain had been closely watching Hitler’s increasingly aggressive behavior,
and warned him that an invasion of Poland would lead to their declaration of war against Germany.
Hitler’s disregard of this warning lead to the official outbreak of World War II.
Eventually, the people of Germany not only endured nightly bombing raids,
but the oppressive rule of a tyrannical leader who demanded total and complete allegiance.
Say the wrong word and you’re in big trouble. A dentist had a patient for thirteen years.
She asked him what he thought about the war. He didn’t say anything bad. He said, very cautiously,
“If you look at the Führer’s daily bulletin, there’s this warning, there’s this warning.
There’s the news from Stalingrad: our troops are retreating, and this and that. And every night
another city goes up in flames from the bombing. The English by night and the Americans by daytime.
It’s disturbing, is it not?” And she gave him a look, which he immediately caught. “Wait a minute.
Was it too much I said?” She said, “Yeah, but don’t worry about it. Our Führer is the greatest.
He will save everything. We will win.” She went to the Gestapo. He ended up in court. And one of
my classmates, we skipped one of our lessons when we were in medical school, going into the court to
sit down out of curiosity. The dentist was accused of sabotage of the war effort and defeatism.
“The accused has been found guilty as charged. The penalty is death.”
There, my friend and I, we sat, hearing. This poor guy is going to be killed because of what he said!
And that is an unforgettable moment in my life. Say the wrong word and you’re dead.
Then, come November of ’44, I get a draft notice to be taken into the Army.
By the time Wolfram was drafted, Hitler’s quest for global domination had already begun to crumble
around him. The German foray into Russia had proved to be a disaster, and in the West,
British and American forces were quickly loosening his grip on Europe, one country at a time.
It was then that Hitler concocted a radical plan to turn the war back in his favor.
Shortly before Christmas, the company commander wanted to have some people
who could sing practice some Christmas songs for a little Christmas celebration.
And then, suddenly one day, “Stop everything! Stop everything!” “Why?” “Well, everything
has been canceled because the German Army started a new offensive in the Ardennes.”
The German offensive, known as the Battle of the Bulge,
initially succeeded in halting the advancing Allied Forces. But the bitter cold of winter
and gruesome combat ensured a long, bloody struggle that would continue for over a month.
Eventually, German forces began to wain as Allied reinforcements and supplies continued to pour in.
We were in combat relatively short, and I started getting
pain in my neck. And the next day, it was so bad I had fever, I had chills. I was out of commission,
being within combat. I was totally unable to do that. So, with permission,
I did leave the front to walk. And a young doctor there said, “The next train going west again will
take you to Hamburg. Somebody on the train from the Army will take you to the hospital.”
With a failed offensive, German forces no longer had control of the front lines,
being pushed further into their homeland territory.
On the road to recovery, Wolfram faced the reality of being put back in action.
Would he be sent to Western lines to face the oncoming American forces, or the far more brutal
Eastern front to face the Russians, who held virtually no compassion for captured enemies?
I had to report to the German commandant in Berlin. Do they send me to the East or
to the West? It was very clear if they send me to the East, I probably would not come back. Well,
they sent me to the West. And there was a little town called Salzwedel.
And I ended up there, reported for duty the 10th of April, ’45. We were supposed to go and block
the approach to the main road, coming from the Western Front to the town of Salzwedel to give
the town time enough to get as many civilians from the hospice out of there. So we received, then,
some fire. And the one thing I remember is I could not get up. I could not stand up,
because always somebody was shot. Then, when I was lying down,
as soon as I raised my head to see where am I, really, somebody shot at me.
They hit the ground, or a rock - I could see stones hitting my helmet. So the best was,
you know, digging the ditch a little bit deeper so my head wouldn’t stick out too much.
And then, after an
unknown time… sudden silence. I wasn’t sure, could I raise my head or not? I just thought I’d wait.
And suddenly, a voice… “Hello, boy! Get up, come here!” And I look up, and there are three G.I.’s
standing in front of me, having their rifles aimed at me. So, what do I do? I get up, and I do this.
And I’m not exaggerating or trying to make a catchy story out of it. At that moment,
I knew - I realized - I’m a survivor. For me, the war was over.
The next morning - also unforgettable - the drone of airplanes - hundreds of airplanes.
B-17’s and B-24’s in formation, going to Berlin.
The entire day, we were on the road. They were taking us west.
If we came to a German town or a little village, they stopped, and let the German population come
out and gave us whatever - a piece of bread or a cigarette, or whatever. They were very
friendly. And then, to the next stop. We were taken to a big, huge acreage field
with no trees, with no bush, with no building, with nothing on it. And we started digging holes.
Then came one day, where the guards outside were shooting their rifles.
“Oh my god, what is this shooting?!” They shot in the air. And the cry...
the call… “It’s over! It’s over! It’s over! The war is over! Germany has surrendered!”
By the end of April, 1945, the Allies had completely overrun Nazi Germany. With Russian
Forces right outside the door of his bunker, a defeated Adolf Hitler took his own life. After six
long years, the war in Europe was finally over. All that was left for Wolfram was to return home.
My father had an old friend from World War I who lived near Wiesbaden, in the mountains, that if
we survive - they survive and I survive - and we do not know how to get together, this would be our
point to meet and get information. Until about a month later, he comes back with an envelope
in his pocket, and says, “Here’s something for you.” It was a letter from my mother.
In 1946, Wolfram was finally reunited with his family,
and began the slow return to living in a world without war.
By the end of the 1950’s, Wolfram saw his childhood dream of living in the
United States become a reality. He became a doctor, and even served in the U.S. Army,
reaching the rank of Colonel. But to this day, Wolfram continues to see events unfold
in the world around him that bring back memories of war-torn Europe.
Things which, today… what I see on television every day, hits me in a way, because
what I see: the bombing, the destruction of the houses, of the facilities, the people helpless…
I have been there. I have lived that same way of living.
Seeing this on television right now, is simply recalling unpleasant things of my past.
I’m not very happy to see the daily news that way.