Hans Brenner

"The English… We saw a reconnaissance aircraft at 9 or 10 o’clock. The Germans had no more petrol for their airplanes, but the English did. They scouted from above: Where are the German troops? Where are their positions, where did they dig holes and so on? The airplane shot red smoke and then the English artillery opened fire on our positions. We were situated at the edge of a forest. I had dug a deep hole a bit further away from the edge of the forest. And after they had their breakfast, the English started their attack. But they did not come over the open fields but, because there were hedges, they suddenly came through the hedges. I only heard that to my right a tank came through the hedge. And before I could duck, the tank was close to me. I don’t know, whether he saw me or not. He did not drive over my hole and pushed all the sand and gravel on me. I would have suffocated if he did. Instead, he passed me, so that the gravel and the sand buried me waist-deep. I moved my legs because my hole was quite deep. Within a few hours, all the sand and gravel slid off me and I was free."

"Well, we as the generation next in line were supposed to be trained there either for the leadership of the youth organisation, the Hitler Youth, or for the Nazi-party. And we were supposed to receive an education, in cultural aspects and so one, similar to a high school graduate. We learned a lot about culture there. For example, we made trips to Prague. Some even flew to Rome. I was in Prague with a few others. There, we looked at all the important monuments. This was done, so that we would also develop culturally."

"At first, I was released from war captivity to the British occupation zone, crossed the Green Border and then had to stay for fourteen days in a Russian releasing-camp. This was in Hoyerswerda. We called it “Hungerswerda” because there was not much to eat. There was a simple wooden barrack, no such three-bed rooms, bare ground. And for the first time in my life, I saw bugs. They fell from the ceiling. We crushed the bugs. When it did not rain, I went outside and slept on the grass. And from there, I returned home. I had my release certificate, now even a Russian one, therefore I could take the train. I took a few detours to return home, visited a relative in Freiberg and finally returned home."