Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - We begin our Work in Germany
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so much help to her neighbors. Evidently, they still
felt great sympathy for Finland, and again it was
pointed out that Finland was the only nation which
had paid her debts after the first World War.
Mainz was very depressing. My intention was to
try to meet the Bishop of Mainz to ask his opinion
about conditions in Germany, but unfortunately, he
was away on a trip. We met one of the priests,
however, who gave us a great deal of interesting
information about the town. Among other things,
he told us that of the 114,000 inhabitants before the
war only 54,000 were known to be left at the time of
our visit. Of his parishioners, who in peacetime
numbered 2,000, he was only in touch with fifteen.
Mainz was heavily damaged, and as far as we
could see there was scarcely a spot untouched. There
were few people in the streets and little traffic. In
contrast to the towns in the British and American
Zones, there still was a good deal of rubble in the
barely passable streets.
On the way back, we crossed the river. The suburbs
of Mainz also showed clear marks of the war but
when we came out into the country, everything
looked peaceful, though, of course, far from
prosperous. We got the impression that the effects of a
modern warfare very soon disappear in the country.
When travelling in an automobile one hardly notices
them at all. From the air, however, one sees an
occasional bomb crater, trenches, and tank tracks in
the farm yards.
The German troops had systematically destroyed
the bridges over the river. It seems that the
Germans themselves were annoyed by this. A workman
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