Browse Items (635 total)

Jörg Funfoff (b. 1942) recalls his experience of being a young boy at Heiligensee, a Berlin suburb on the flight path of approaching bombers. He tells how he was the first to hear the bombers approaching before they are in sight (a fact he was proud…

Brigitte Terboven (b.1930) recalls the bombing of Essen and the dropping of an air mine by a British bomber, trying to evade a German night fighter. The bomb hit the ground about 20 metres from her home, which collapsed like a house of cards. She…

Agnes Stocker (b. 1932) recounts her evacuation from her hometown and the journey to Ueckermünde. Agnes tells how she get separated from her sister, her brother and her cousin, who followed the road to Swinemünde, while she, her mother and her aunt…

Gerda Gentner (b. 1934) recalls the first bombing of Dresden on 7 October 1944, and describes how she, unsuccessfully, tried to persuade a young boy to take shelter with her in the basement; she recalls her feelings when she heard that he had died as…

Maria Teresa Boazzelli describes the bombing of Frascati on 8 September 1943 and provides an account of life inside an improvised shelter: people praying and screaming after explosions. She explains how the Germans had been expecting the bombing and…

Dirk Bosch was eight years old when the German army occupied his hometown of Amsterdam. He describes what life was like for him during this time. He tells of seeing Dutch Jews rounded up and deported. He describes the hunger of the time and the…

Rob Carter was born in the village of Scampton and reminisces about his life on the land before the war. He recalls the foundation of RAF Dunholme Lodge, which his house overlooked. During the war, he served in the Auxiliary Fire Service. He was…

Barbara Bulleyment worked at a department store in Boston until she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and was, initially, stationed at 16 Maintenance Unit Stafford and then 209 Maintenance Unit at Broughton. She recounts her life as an…

Charly Pfeifer recounts his experiences of the bombing of Betzdorf an der Sieg, a small town not far from the Ruhr. He explains the strategic importance of the city, due to the presence of locomotive works. He recalls taking shelter from the bombs in…

Franco Nocchieri recalls his early years as an orphan living in several different towns in the Province of Pavia. He describes the bombing of the Voghera railway station, which started while he was heading to school. He goes on to explain how he and…