Georg Mootz

Georg Mootz

Georg Mootz's account of the events at Mühlengasse 11.

1944-03-15

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Record 35

BKasselVdObmv10035

Translated from the original in German: Present is Mr Georg Mootz and makes the following statement:
A few days before the raid, I had had a fit of nerves and had been brought to Neue Mühle. During that night, we saw every hit and heard every bomb; each bomb was aimed at my family. It was terrible. The earth was shaking where we were. An airplane was shot down and crashed about 100 metres from us. Now they’re all dead, my wife, my daughter, daughter-in-law, grandchild. I lost one son in Russia, one had been shot in the lung through the carotid artery. Another one has malaria. I had five people at the front, my sons-in-law included. The one who lost his wife and children was in the Caucasus. At the beginning of the attack, my family was in Mühlengasse: My wife, little Herbert, he was my favourite, I had him with me, my grandchild. My daughter-in-law, she had not been married for long. She was from the Baltic Sea. My daughter was with her children in Marktgasse 6, where she was found as far as I know, with her children. One of them reportedly was lying a hundred metres away from her. That was little Günther. I also searched but I blacked out, I had a nervous breakdown. When I talk about it, I see them in front of me. Ask the master machinist Brübach what he has to say about our family. We were all so happy. My wife too, she was ahead in everything. I wanted to keep on living down there, until the end, because I had a garden 100 metres further on. They also destroyed that, the criminals.
Little Herbert went to fetch help, Herbert too, my wife too. It seems that they were killed in Marktgasse by a falling beam. She always said: “If anything happens, we have to hitch up our knickers and help.” She was known for that in the whole of the Nazi Women’s Organisation, she was such a fun-loving woman. She always volunteered, she did everything that needed doing.
I now live at Judge Zimmermann’s, Neue Mühle, for the time being, until I get sent to a village, where I want to go out in the sun, in order to recover. We will have to win this war and we shall.
Note of the minute-taker:
Mr Mootz gives the impression that he cannot let go of the pain of having lost his happiness. At every sentence, he bursts into tears. His arm is also still paralysed in part. I therefore had to get his wallet out of his pocket as he wanted to show me pictures, the last remnants of his lost happiness. He obviously need to talk about his misfortune and although he bursts into tears, this seems to give him relief. I think he’ll be well again in a few months. Physically, he appears to be quite sturdy. It is therefore even more surprising that he is so depressed.