USAFE students receive unique history lesson

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amaani Lyle
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg (USAFENS) --  Textbooks sprang to life May 9 for scores of Bitburg High School and European students who met at Luxembourg’s Abbaye de Neumuenster Cultural Center to interact with World War II veterans and compulsory workers of the same era.

The Abbaye, where 4,000 men and women were once imprisoned by German State Police during the 30’s and 40’s, was the backdrop for students from more than a dozen countries to encounter actual living history with the event’s theme, “Libération et Mémoire, Europe 2005.”

“We selected students with some knowledge or interest in foreign languages, particularly French and German, to come and see the languages they are studying in action,” said Dan Schaffer, Bitburg High School foreign language teacher.

Twelve World War II witnesses assembled in various Abbaye rooms -- each containing some 20 students -- to share frank, candid accounts of their involvement in the war.

While there were some English translators available to facilitate the question and answer sessions, several French, German and Austrian participants spoke in their native tongues as students listened intently to chronicles of the bravery, wit, resolve and, at times, dumb luck that saved them from demise.

The speakers exposed students to some of the lesser-studied aspects of the war -- particularly that of the Luxembourg resistance, the Irish guard’s participation in the liberation of Luxembourg, and the contributions of African Americans.

The ‘Résistance’

The Luxembourg resistance organized soon after the Nazi occupation there on May 10, 1940. Its repression involved the imprisonment, deportation and transfers of thousands of patriots to concentration camps.

The small country of Luxembourg, an unarmed neutrality, found itself nearly overrun with thousands of deserters from the German army.

Several witnesses who spoke about hiding and living in the region asserted that the contentions and dangers were so high that nearly all people there were “either in the resistance or they were not.”

Deserters, allies and an assortment of activists banded together to inform, educate and ultimately save lives.

One witness, Aloyse Raths, a founding member of a Luxembourgish resistance group who wrote and distributed resistance pamphlets, told by way of an English translator, the adolescent audience an incredible story of his nearly ill-fated escape from a “holding” home where prisoners stayed before their transfer to more permanent quarters or concentration camps.

“I was arrested at the Russian front and charged with being the chief of an intelligence association,” Mr. Raths said. “Once at the holding home, I ‘joked’ with a German guard that if he fell asleep, I would escape. The guard laughed, relaxed and fell asleep -- I actually did escape.”

Mr. Raths also noted that even the most seemingly benign household or office items could put people in danger if they were not careful enough to explain their purpose to the Nazis.

“My job as a teacher made me subject to scrutiny by the Nazis, who correctly suspected I may be writing and distributing resistance materials,” Mr. Raths said.

“Even owning a typewriter could raise a red flag if you couldn’t verify to the Germans what it was used for,” he said.

Irish Guards, the Grand Duke

Another witness, John Ross, enlisted in the Irish Guards in 1942, at the same time as then Prince Jean of Luxembourg. Though Mr. Ross became a lawyer after the war, he and the now Grand Duke Jean have remained friends. Mr. Ross said he was inspired by the Grand Duke’s yearning to enlist as an ordinary soldier in the name of democracy and freedom.

“I remember a drill sergeant asking Jean to sound off his name while we were in formation,” Mr. Ross said. “It was funny to hear him say ‘Jean … of Luxembourg!’ I’ve never heard a drill sergeant get so silent,” Mr. Ross said over audience laughter.

Mr. Ross said camaraderie and esprit de corps united allied forces troops from around.

“You’ll still find a lot of Irish regiments in the British army, but it didn’t matter which allied force you were a part of,” Mr. Ross said. “The idea was to survive and beat the Germans.”

Power in diversity

Another veteran, 81-year-old Shelton Smith, served as a mechanic in Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s 3rd Army at a time when African Americans were generally not allowed to serve in combat units. His unit supplied ammunition, supplies and fuel to keep General Patton’s tanks in action.

Mr. Smith, who married a Luxembourg native and now resides in Luxembourg, said his experience with the students at the Abbaye meant “everything” to him.

“Back in my day, you didn’t have much time to think; you only took orders,” Mr. Smith said.

“So it’s so wonderful to see young people here who want to think for themselves and understand how many lives were saved, as well as the many sacrifices made during the war.”

Many of the U.S. and European students present applauded and stayed well after the question and answer sessions just to shake the hands and get photos of the raconteurs.

“Europe Day taught me that while I have one view of the war, other people have many others,” said BHS student Gabby Ussery, daughter of Susan Ussery, Bitburg Elementary School principal.

“I was glad to hear the veteran’s views and experiences,” Gabby said. “They brought their stories to life, while a textbook merely records such stories.”