The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1945-05-31
Sgt. Odin RoIseth
Tells Of Plight
of Germans

Sgt. Odin Rolseth writes his faith
er, Ole Rolseth from Somewhere"
of the hopeless mess the German
civilians are facing as they trudge
homeward with their worldly pos
sessions, to once more start building
their lives; Of the pity that strikes
one only to disappear upon recol-
lection of what suffering they have
caused. His interesting letter fol-
lows.
Dear Dad:
Somewhere in Germany-or may
be it would be better to just say
somewhere, because what | have
seen of Germany has been nothing
but series of Systematically Gre
ated Debris piles.
We entered the country at the
Venlo (Holland) gate and we
drove east across the flat wooded
and agricultural land toward the
Rhine things didn't seem much diff
ferent from what they had been in
France, Holland, Belgium, and Lux
enbourg. The windows were blown
out OF most of the buildings, few
shakes had been knocked off by
concussion; only here and there
were there single buildings that
had been completely demolished.
Along the road was the string of
shattered and burned vehicles that
marked the eastward flight of the
German army. Dug into the cor
ners of fields and the shoulders of
the road were the graves of men
who had fallen in the flight and had
been buried where they fell, be-
cause there probably hadn't been
time to give them formal cere-
mony But each grave was marked
with wooden cross and steel he'll
met and the civilians nearby had
added the considerable touch OF
fresh-cut tulips, lilacs, lilies, and
other spring flowers. Yes, the
scenes along the highways Of Ger
many were just about the same as
those ! have seen hundred times
along thousands of miles of high
!. way since the early days on the
beach; only the blank, cold look
of the civilians was different from
the smile and wave we were always
given in the other countries.
When we reached the Rhine we
had to stop for about half hour
and wait our turn to pass over the
bridge While we waited we were
able to have panormic look at
what had at one time been the
beautiful city of Vessel. Oh, it's
still there, | mean the land is still
there, but slightly pocked; and,
suppose, there are the same num-
Der of bricks, and the same amount
of mortar and steel that were once
put together to make metropolis.
But everything had been reduced.
To put it figuratively, the only
thing in the entire place that tall
man couldn' look over the top Of by
standing on a soap box is the green
shake covered steeple of a pulver-
lied cathedral.
It's an odd thing about that
steeple We drove by it as we
passed through town. It stood on 9
little hill, and while everything
around it had been completely de-
molished, including three walls OF
the church, this spire and the front
wall of the main nave still re-
NAMED And high on the wall
looking down and over the rem
nants of the city it had once beer
the very center of was life-sizcC
Christ on the cross. In the sun Of
mid-afternoon it shone like new
ivory, and was as clean as if it hac
been polished only the day before
From Vessel east Il can't say
how far) the, signs Of more des
perate stand than any that had beer
made in any of the other countrie:
was ever more evident. In the ur
ban localities there was hardly {
tenable building to be seen, each
one had been used as a fortress
and as such had been destroyed
Though many of the country home:
were still in tact, all of them dis
play large white flags as signals o.
surrender.
But people are coming back t.
these ruins, and someway ane
where they find places to drol
their meager belongings and star
some form of existence. | see then
every day, hundreds and Thousands
OF them, moving slowly and labor
iously along the highways; a hui
man caravan going back to wha
they know isn't there, but probab
ly hoping that they will find a eel
lar or dilapitated shack or even
cave they can move into out Of tn,
weather
Some Of these people are luck,
q n,
which to pile their possessions, mos
of them have utilized anything mo
bile from a bicycle to a two Whee
cart; but many of them trudg
along bent half double under tn
weight of the pack that carries al
of their worldly goods. Old PEG
pie, the middle aged, and ittl
kids are all equal; none 60 empt.
handed
AS trucks approach them the