Germany after the War

Heroes Remember

Germany after the War

Transcript

I went out a couple of times and it was a nasty, nasty feeling, you know, you could just feel this hostility. We were hissed and booed and you know it was really, it wasn't pleasant at all so we just stayed right in our little enclave. They took another girl and I out and took pictures of us in Bonn with the bomb damage. And I can remember, at this time I had met my husband, we were engaged. He belonged to the legion, the legion, to the outfit and we had gone down. A friend and I had flown down to, back to Belgium, back to Brussels, and instead of flying back we hitched a ride with a car, a general's car, and we went through the destruction and it was just, you just can not imagine, you know. I can remember going through Cologne, driving through Cologne over the Bailey bridges and we got to the town square and there were all these people wandering around trying to get home, you know and bicycles piled high, you have seen pictures of them. It was just, surprisingly it was very impressive. The only thing standing was the tower of the cathedral in Cologne. You could see it from anywhere in Cologne. Everything else was just rubble. It's just amazing how they've come back. We just scooted right through, we didn't stop or anything. It was just so heart-breaking seeing all these people who were trying to find their way home. Well, I was there for V-J Day, I was there until the fall I guess. I was home back here by October. Oh yeah, we were all glad to be home.

Description

Ms. Walt talks about her time in Germany after the war ended and all the destruction.

Anita Catherine Walt

Anita Catherine Walt was born on June 11, 1921 in Port Arthur, Ontario. Her father was an officer in the First World War and remained in Europe afterwards to help with reconstruction as he was an engineer.

After finishing high school Ms. Walt went on to take a secretarial course. After hearing of the Japanese invasion at Pearl Harbour she decided to follow in her father's footsteps and enlist in the army.

Ms. Walt completed her training in Bellevue and Vancouver and shortly thereafter was sent overseas to London, England as a private. She worked there as a stenographer and was in charge of an office.

In the fall of 1944, Ms. Walt was sent to Belgium and spent some time in Germany before coming home to Canada in the fall on 1945.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:08
Person Interviewed:: Anita Catherine Walt
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Germany
Branch:: Army
Rank:: Private
Occupation:: Stenographer

Language selection

Germany after the War

Heroes Remember