大象传媒

Alice Crocker鈥檚 Story
This story was submitted to the Peoples War Site by Peter Nicholas of Link into Learning, Cornwall County Council. It was recorded on behalf of Mrs. Crocker by East Cornwall Stroke Association and Link into Learning. It has been added to the Peoples War site with Mrs. Crocker鈥檚 permission and she fully understands the sites terms and conditions.
Today Alice lives in Cornwall. Through Illness she has lost much of her communication skills but was determined, like her friends, to tell her story, the story of her life as a young girl in Germany. Although the story is short, it is the result of many hours work by volunteers from the Stroke Association in communicating with Alice and researching place names and locations.
Alice was born in Germany and was only 12 when the war broke out. She lived in Hamburg.
On the outbreak of war Alice鈥檚 father, a Naval Officer, was sent to Norway, leaving Alice at home with her Mother. Alice鈥檚 father did not return home, leaving Alice to be brought up by her mother. Alice and her Mother were evacuated to Sahen where they stayed for between 6 and 9 months but, as Alice鈥檚 education was suffering, they returned to Hamburg.
In Hamburg, Alice returned to school, she joined the Church Choir and was recruited into the Hitler Youth Movement. Alice did not like the youth Movement but joining it was compulsory. Her mother was employed in a local factory as a Secretary. Only later did they find out the factory had been engaged in the manufacture of munitions. Hamburg was badly bombed and, like people in British Cities, Alice had a bomb shelter at the bottom of her garden where she, her mother and their neighbours would go during the air raids. It was after one such air raid that Alice, then 15 years old, and her mother emerged to find their house destroyed. Having nowhere to live Alice and her mother went to stay with relatives in a town called Celle.
Celle was close to the concentration Camp at Belson. As she travelled to Celle by train Alice remembers seeing prisoners from Belson, an horrific sight that she will never forget. In Celle, Alice鈥檚 mother worked for the post office. The authorities wanted Alice to join the forces and go on the searchlights but somehow her mother managed to prevent this. Alice remembers that although food was scarce the soldiers always seemed well fed.
After the war Alice married and came to live in Cornwall.

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