大象传媒

After the Germans invaded Holland they needed hospitalbeds.No problem:they took over parts of our hospital,kicking nurses out of their quarters and putting the displaced patients in the nurses'quarters.We were taken in by families living close to the hospital.4 Nurses,including me,were billeted in a beautiful old home.An 80+old lady lived there with her housekeeper and a 60+old maid dressed like she just walked out of"Upstairs/Downstairs".A friend and I shared one large room on the second floor with windows overlooking the street below.But..... no heat and no running water either.The weather was subzero.We said that the Germans brought that with them from Russia. We finished our shift:(NO 8 hr. shifts,one worked till the job was done).We had passes so we could go to our quarters after curfew.In the pediatric ward were several electrically heated and sealed,metal shaped "torpedoes" filled with paraffine in what we called "The mother". We put them in the babies' crib to warm them.(especially when we had premies)If we were caught taking one "home"we faced instant dismissal.But we were s贸 cold.We went to bed dressed as eskimo's: sweaters.mittens,socks a wool hat.In the morning our breath on the blankets were ice cristals:Brrrr!.We had an idea:Whoever worked on the floor where german officers were taken care of,would try to "organize' a bottle of liquor when the nun in charge went to chapel.We had a secret pocket under our uniform.In went a bottle,Another one of our group took care of sandwiches.When she had to bring those around to the g.patients several sandwiches disappeared in her pocket.It was OUR white bread,OUR butter,Our cheese after all.This organisation worked well for quite some time.The empty liquor bottles were put onder our "study"tables.In October the Allied had to fight 5 days to liberate our city.We had shells,tankbattles with a barking sound when their guns were fired.We nurses had to move to the cellar where the patients, we still had ,were put on mattresses.Each one of us was allowed one suitcase from our "home".Well, the Germans lost. When we got to survey the damage to our quarters what did we find??The whole front of the house was shot away,our clothes were hanging in shreds from the rafters but under our tables were rows of liquorbottles ,empty but intact..3 Teenage boys across the street said:"if we only had known".....

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