Inspite of All the Tears and Fears

The first section describes living conditions in our village in the 1930s.Our home had no running water, no indoor plumbing, no central heating, and no refrigeration. Every family was self-reliant and self-contained, meaning you had to grow and produce your own food. Prior to 1940, there were limited markets of food supplies available. After the war, stared coupons were provided by the government, but their rations did not meet our needs. The Hitler regime brought about a critical change in the way the two nationalities lived together. Prior to that, they coexisted peacefully. Now there developed a mistrust and insecurity at gunpoint in our daily lives. However, as human nature would have it, there were many heroic good deeds performed under the radar of the political powers by both groups. The second section of this story begins with the last day of World War II and the beginning of Ethnic Cleansing in Czechoslovakia. All the Germans who lived in Jihlava and the surrounding areas were evicted from their homes under the watchful eyes of their neighbors. It ends one year later with the Germans being transported by freight trains to Bavaria in Germany. Freedom, yes, but what next? This chapter concludes with painful time of hunger, working hard, and becoming accepted by our new neighbors.