AMC
Airman
Many years ago after first moving into our estate, I became friendly with a nearby neighbour who hailed from Germany. Having always being very interested in all things WW2 I would have some conversations about his young boyhood wartime recollections, living in eastern Germany near the Polish border
Mainly interested in WW2 Aviation back then I recall purchasing a wonderful book about the Luftwaffe ground attack Knights Cross Holders. (from W.E. Hersant, London, my main book supplier then)
In time I showed it to my friend and we went through it together!.
Some way through the book he stopped at a page and exclaimed "my God Hans Schlalanda the Stuka Pilot"
He then went on to tell me Schalanda was billeted in their house for a while, but he never knew what had become of him. Now he knew……
As an aside, during my long lifetime I only briefly knew two German people, and it turned out they both lost their fathers in Russia, never to be seen again. I believe one had been a "Sonderfuhrer" ( my neighbour friend) and the other a "Mathematician".(she was an elderly lady and I did not pry further)
So here I am bringing Hans Schalanda back into the light, perhaps one last time….
Mainly interested in WW2 Aviation back then I recall purchasing a wonderful book about the Luftwaffe ground attack Knights Cross Holders. (from W.E. Hersant, London, my main book supplier then)
In time I showed it to my friend and we went through it together!.
Some way through the book he stopped at a page and exclaimed "my God Hans Schlalanda the Stuka Pilot"
He then went on to tell me Schalanda was billeted in their house for a while, but he never knew what had become of him. Now he knew……
As an aside, during my long lifetime I only briefly knew two German people, and it turned out they both lost their fathers in Russia, never to be seen again. I believe one had been a "Sonderfuhrer" ( my neighbour friend) and the other a "Mathematician".(she was an elderly lady and I did not pry further)
So here I am bringing Hans Schalanda back into the light, perhaps one last time….
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