Uwe Timm: A Voice from Germany's Dark Past
"Upon arrival, GIs rapped on the door"
Hey there! Today, we're delving into an insightful interview with German author Uwe Timm, who provides us a firsthand account of World War II as a child in Hamburg. His writings often explore the war, the country that emerged from the Nazi era, and the people who lived through it all.
ntv.de: Mr. Timm, you experienced World War II as a child in Hamburg. What prominent memories do you have?
Uwe Timm: Picture this: I'm being pushed around in a pram, covered with wet towels, seeing fires on both sides of the street. Those were the days, with little flames burning in the air everywhere. The windows' glass had burst from the heat, and the streets were filled with dead bodies. The family apartment was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943. My father, being on vacation by chance, escaped the tragedy.
What do you remember about the end of the war?
I was in Coburg, where we had been evacuated to, having relatives there. I can still recall the German soldiers digging trenches by the Itz river, and I even fell into one. The Americans arrived and simply pushed aside a barricade made of a circus wagon full of stones. There was shooting, but then, suddenly, American soldiers were there. It was the Black Panthers who stormed our city that day.
Had you ever seen black people before?
No, they were the first. We were initially afraid of them because we had been told terrible things. But they turned out to be well-behaved and polite. Then the GIs came and stormed into our houses, searching for hidden German soldiers. Later, we saw the adults burying Hitler pictures in the garden. Suddenly, it was: "Don't say 'Heil Hitler' anymore and don't click your heels!"
Politics- The Nazi Death Camps- Scrutinizing the Americans- The Zeitgeist of Change
Man, the adults who had previously always bellowed around in that nasal tone, suddenly became very small and said: "I knew nothing" or "We had nothing to do with it." The local leader of the NSDAP, Veitmeier, who was feared, was a dangerous figure. He suddenly stood in the street and had to sweep it. If it rained, the GIs drove by in their car and splashed him wet. He then jumped onto the sidewalk.
Did you still fear him then?
Not anymore. My entire generation experienced that authority suddenly meant nothing. After a few months, the men returned from captivity, and then it relativized again. But before that, the men were very, very weak, and the women were very strong. They had been practicing professions. I knew a woman who had been a crane operator in the Hamburg harbor. She thought that was great. Then, at some point, the old crane operator returned and she had to give up her post again.
What was the country like in May 1945?
The weather was brilliant, unusually warm. Thank goodness, because many were on the run. But there was immense uncertainty, people were afraid. You could tell, they spoke softer, no longer in a commanding tone. Some had to leave their apartments because Americans moved in. The prisoners from the concentration camps, the forced laborers, took the things they needed. There was looting. The women were afraid to go into the woods. It was a time of transition. The old order was not yet completely gone, but the new one was not there yet.
Politics- The Last Days of the Nazi Regime April 1945 - The Red Army Storms Berlin- Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker said in a famous speech in 1985 that May 8 was not only a day of defeat, but also of liberation. Is that true?
Absolutely. That's the great thing about this Weizsäcker speech. It was a turning point. Today, it's hard to imagine how the Nazi era was still glossed over back then. There were still Nazis in the offices everywhere. I had Nazis as teachers who still said, "the thing with the Jews" wasn't that bad. And even in 1945, there was actually this feeling of liberation. A liberating act in Coburg, for example, was the looting of a military camp. My mother was also involved and had taken some canned goods.
Undoubtedly, something new began after the war. What was new?
Something new was the fascination with the Americans. It was a completely different world. You'd always hear German soldiers marching, stomping their nailed boots. Suddenly, the Americans arrive, quietly on rubber soles. That casualness that came with it. You didn’t snap your heels together anymore. The language changed, became completely different. The commands were instilled in my ears, like: "Come here", "Leave that", "Do this, do that," always in a commanding tone. That disappeared.
Did the Americans also distribute chewing gum?
Yes, they did. Tobacco was precious, and cigarettes were highly sought after. In the fall of 1945, we received our first care package. The pants, the suit, those leather shoes, everything was excellent. The food was excellent. Then there were the jeans, a functional, simple, great pair of pants. That's how the Americans also convinced with their consumer possibilities. The adults were speechless. I also heard jazz later, although my father wanted to forbid it. And the chocolate tasted simply incomparable.
Politics- Children and Elders Against Tanks - The Volkssturm - Hitler's Last Resort- After 1945, a new identity began to grow in Germany. Your novella "The Discovery of the Currywurst" also deals with this. Why was the currywurst so important to the people in Berlin?
The Berliners claim that they invented the currywurst, and I believe that's true. When this typically German sausage meets an exotic like curry, it shows how things are changing. My mother didn’t know curry before that, just like many Germans.
With that, we've explored Uwe Timm's unique experiences and reflections on the post-war era in Germany. His riveting accounts serve as a reminder of the darkness of the past and the emergence of hope for a better future.
- The European Union and its various institutions, such as the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission, have played a crucial role in shaping relationships and politics in post-war Germany, as seen in Uwe Timm's narratives.
- Uwe Timm's accounts provide insights into the trials and tribulations faced by the German populace during denazification, a general news topic that marked the transition from the Nazi era to the connection of new relationships and the political landscape.
- In his narratives, Timm recounts encounters with American soldiers in post-war Germany, describing moments such as the distribution of chewing gum and the influence of American consumer possibilities, further illuminating the new relationships that emerged during this time.
- The currywurst, a popular food item in Berlin, serves as a symbol of the changing identity in post-war Germany, as seen in Timm's novella "The Discovery of the Currywurst," reflecting the blending of Eastern and Western influences that characterized this period.
