Towards the Light at the End of the Tunnel
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Thursday, February 1, 1945 Today is a clear, cold, winter morning. It is about five o’clock. The three of us...my boss, our Polish prisoner-helper, and I...have just completed the morning chores including feeding the livestock, cleaning the barn, and milking the cows. After preparing the milk for the pick-up to the dairy, we are ready for breakfast. Suddenly there is a terrible noise outside. Opening the front door, we see an enormous tank loaded with soldiers approaching our barnyard. The noise is horrific, the dog is barking like mad, and we are totally stunned! Who and what is this??? Before we can form any opinion, the first shots are fired! The dog and some chickens are lying in their blood. The next thing we know, soldiers are jumping down from the tank and coming at us with machine pistols, ready to shoot. Our first introduction to the Russian Army! We are pushed into a corner in the kitchen while the Russians search the place for German soldiers. We do not understand what they are yelling at us or why they are destroying things so badly. We have nothing to hide, so we think! It seems as if a hurricane is going through the house and outside buildings. Michael, our Polish worker, advises us to keep quiet and to wait. He understands their language. We are terribly frightened! One room of the house is locked because it belongs to my boss’s mother-in-law. We have no key. One Russian officer demands to have it unlocked. When he is told that we cannot unlock it, he becomes very angry and says that he will shoot us. At this point, Michael intercedes and talks to the officer. After the Russians break down the door, another bad moment occurs...in the room is a large picture of Hitler! We are yelled at for being Nazis and are told that Nazis have to be killed. Again, Michael is able to calm the Russians down. By now, some soldiers have found canned cherries and pears. Before we can realize what is happening, an atmosphere of laughter and goodwill is created. (During the time to come, I will often experience these very quick changes in the Russians’ tempers.) The reason for the sudden merriment quickly becomes clear to us. The soldiers bring out their bottles of vodka, and a celebration begins with the fruit the soldiers have found. The soldiers are drinking their vodka with the fruit juice. Food is brought to the table. After forcing us to sample the food in case it is poisoned, the soldiers begin to eat and drink. They are inviting us to join them and become angry again when we refuse. We are so very scared...we could not swallow any food for all the tea in China! We ask ourselves if hours and hours of this nightmare have really gone by. My boss’s little daughter cries and cries. Meanwhile, some of the soldiers leave, and others are coming. The nightmare goes on and on. We are still in shock! As evening approaches, we try to make the Russian soldiers understand that the livestock has to be fed and the cows have to be milked. After a lot of arguing back and forth, we are allowed to go to the barn. In the barn, soldiers are watching us with machine pistols drawn (we found out later that these weapons fired 100 rounds continuously). The attitude of the soldiers, who had been calm, suddenly changes. They want us to speed up our work, and we do not know why. They become pushy and angry, with more yelling and cursing going on around us! Michael, the Polish prisoner-worker, tries to get a message across to us. Thankfully he succeeds and is able to give us a warning to leave our home as soon as possible. He makes us understand: Don’t ask, just DO. He is in great danger, too.
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Towards the Light at the End of the Tunnel
But life in her new country was not without its personal challenges. Her marriage was not a happy one. After many years, she at last found the courage and determination to establish a new and rewarding life for herself on her own terms.
Ms. Schneider’s story is a riveting and inspirational tale of hope and survival under almost unimaginable conditions. Considered in the historical context of her time, Towards the Light at the End of the Tunnel also presents a point of view of world events which is still very little known or even acknowledged in the United States.
About the Author
Gisela H. Schneider was born in Berlin and spent her eventful childhood and teenage years growing up in Germany during the Great Depression and World War II. After the war, she and her mother and brother lived in a small village near the Baltic Sea in the Russian-occupied part of the country. After escaping from behind the Iron Curtain to postwar West Germany, she married and had four children and lived for many years in the South of Germany. In 1959 she and her husband and children immigrated to the United States, where their fifth and last child was born. At the same time that she was busy raising her family, Ms. Schneider joined the workforce in her new country. She eventually became a histopathology laboratory technologist and over the years has been employed in several San Francisco Bay Area hospitals. At present she is working at the University of California, San Francisco. Writing her life’s story was originally meant as a legacy for her children and grandchildren, who until recently knew nothing about her life before her marriage. The author currently lives in Walnut Creek, California.