Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - ”It's a long way to Tipperary...”
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distant. We experienced events which could not but
strengthen our belief that hatred between belligerents
was not so deeply rooted as we had often supposed.
I was invited on board of one of the German
ships together with the German and English officers,
and I noticed that the British prisoners of war and
the German crew had formed an orchestra which
played violin, guitar and mouth-organ until the deck
plates rattled. I went among the English prisoners
on one of the German hospital ships to tell them that
they would soon board an English ship for transport
home. They informed me that the German doctor
had just performed an appendectomy on one of the
English invalids. Later, German doctors asked me
if they could buy some wrist watches to present to
their English colleagues as an expression of their
gratitude for fine cooperation.
In my talks wiht these men, American, English
and German, I was aware of the deep depression
which characterized them and the agonized feeling
of insecurity with which they viewed the future.
I remember an old German trading vessel captain who
sat in silence in his compartment, waiting for the
train to leave for Trelleborg. When I asked him if
he were not glad to go home, he answered: ”Well,
yes, it is nice to be returning home again. But I am
from Hamburg, so you will understand that I have
not much hope of seeing my family again. It has
been several years since I left them.”
Otherwise, feelings of joy predominated. Many
said to me that everything was like a dream. Among
them were soldiers who had experienced the terrible
disappointment on the English Channel. I can still
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