Brian J.

The comments about Pearl Harbor triggered some of my memories of WW II.
I was born in 1938 in Leeds (Yorkshire) where I lived until moving to the U.S.A. in 1965.
I remember rationing but must admit I do not remember ever going hungry. I had 4 uncles & 3 of them served overseas but none of those 3 ever talked about their experiences. The one who stayed in England was the only one who regaled us with stories about the work he & his crew did developing film taken by the RAF 'planes over Germany. That uncle later had a room in his attic where he had his hobby of developing films. When my step-father (who served in the desert during the war) came into my life he commented to us that the way that uncle talked you'd think he'd won the war single handed! Much later, however, I saw a movie (I do not remember the title) which described the important work done by people who developed film in order to get a map of Germany as Hitler had banned the export of any maps & had many maps destroyed so I had to send a posthumous apology to that uncle about doubting the importance of his work.
Rationing was summoned up one time when as a child I was with my mother at the local kosher butcher's store when a lady ahead of us asked him if he had any meat for her dog. Never known for his being tactful he replied in a mixture of English & Yiddish, "We ain't got the meat for the menschen (people) never mind for the bloody hundt (dog)."

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Interesting information, thanks.

Michael1079 Loc: Indiana

Loved reading this - thank you for sharing your experience!

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

Great stories. They had a part in shaping your world outlook I'm sure.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

Brian, you may be interested in a book I'm currently in the midst of, "Sand and Steel" by Peter Chaddick-Adams. It is an in-depth research of D-Day, the months ramping up (where there were upwards of 1.5 million Yanks were on the island) to the results of the invasion. In the book he covers recon work extensively. I've become immersed in WWII lately, thanks to a couple of blokes (James Holland and Al Murray) who host a wonderful podcast series "We Have Ways of Making You Talk" where they geek on WWII non-stop (there are over 400 episodes). My uncle flew B-24's in the Mediterranian theater and my dad was a Flying Tiger under Chennault in China (later flying "The Hump" until the end of the war). The conditions in the UK for the war period are eye-opening to say the least!

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

I was born in late 1950. I learned photography from my father the doctor using his Leica cameras He traded food tobacco and liquor after the war while stationed in Bremerhaven in Northern Germany.

Fast forward to 1968 to 1971, my family moved to Augsburg Germany, where I graduated high school and then had two years at the University of Maryland, Munich Campus. That campus was located on the old SS military base at the edge of the city of Munich.

The fact is that the program of de-Nazification was a miserable failure. It was clear the 'the people' were still enamored with the Nazi cult/mind set. One dared not speak openly in any negative fashion about the war years.

I simply can not believe that people did not know what was going on in the Dachau concentration camp. Dachau is a small town that is so close to Munich that it is best regarded as a suburb of Munich. My own visit to Dachau was to walk the tracks that went into the camp. Even in 1970 the area was located in the old forest that surrounded the camp.

A few years ago you could purchase a full colored poster of the supposed entrance to Dachau sold at placed like Wall Mart. It turned quickly into a huge controversy, and the posters were pulled from sale. That poster depicted an idyllic garden like entrance to Dachau with the slogan "Work makes Freedom". In 1970 there was no such entrance and the phrase "Arbeit macht frei" was over the rail entrance to the camp. Inherently enough, this phrase read correctly from outside the entrance, prisoners would never have been able to see this, it was more as a 'joke' to anyone reading it from the outside, more Nazi/SS humor! So the poster's depiction above an arboretum entrance was more of what is still the sick humor of Nazi propaganda.

Part of Germany's attempts to cover up the past was putting the extension of the Auto Ban through the city of Munich. The road was put right through the center of the old military center of the SS and Gestapo where the University of Maryland was located, thus allowing for the removal of all the old Nazi headquarters that was centered in that old military camp. Quite an interesting action that destroyed for ever much of that history.

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

Yes, Timmers, I also question the mind set of the German people. Unfortunately for me, my son now lives and works in Germany due to his wife's career. If they have children there, what a cosmic joke it will be on me. I visited Auschwitz, in Poland, and was not prepared for how large it was. But then again, when you are trying to wipe out a whole segment of population, you need space!

Brian J.

Many thanks for your interesting responses. As was mentioned, events that influenced each of our lives live on in memory. There's a song by the Mitchell Trio on their album "Violets of Dawn" that speaks directly to the German attempt to cover up the Holocaust titled, "We Didn't Know".

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Here's the vocal of "Violet's of Dawn". BTW: Netflix has a plethora of movies and documentaries about the Nazi concentration camps. I've watched scores of hours of them.
https://youtu.be/GHG_PSN4-Ws

Mark

Old Coot

Interesting, I was also born in 1938 but in Halifax (!3 miles from Leeds). Must be the Yorkshire genes keeping us alive. Moved to the USA in 1976.
Remember the good old Yorkshire motto

Hear all, See all Say nowt (Nothing)
Eat all, Sup (Drink) all, Pay nowt
And if you ever do anything for nothing, Only do it for ourself.

Brian J.

Thanks to Mark for the You Tube site. I'm not that tech savvy to do that.
And in response to Old Coot another Yorkshire motto, though no longer politically correct, "Nowt so queer as folk".Maybe that makes me a "daft apeth" (halfpenny) for posting it.

KillroyII Loc: Middle Georgia

Brian, I have seen, and been involved in, several aspects of preparing for and execution of battle. I highly respect the people who are day after day part of the kill or be killed parts of warfare, and would never speak against their assertions of its importance… I had a few months of carrying a rifle and being dug in but not the kind of experiences so many had…. But enough to get my attention. I also had years of experience in various aspects of the collection, interpretation, and use of intelligence. Reconnaissance/surveillance film has been an important part of that. I had some involvement that impressed me on how essential to the fight… and while many do not recognize that importance… or sing songs of its accomplishment… your uncle had good reason to feel the importance in what his part was in the war. There are many-many jobs that work together to make the effort a success. Most of the time you know how important it is, or was, when some aspect fails the overall effort.

Also, lived in England 3 years… visited Leeds 1 time , for just a few hours, giving a friend/neighbor a ride there to pick up a car at his parents.

drucker Loc: Oregon

When I was in college in Oklahoma in 1966-67, I transferred to the Technical College in Okmulgee to study lithographic photography. It was housed in a former army hospital. Most of the buildings were connected by covered halls that made it easy for the many disabled Viet Nam vets who were taking classes under the GI Bill to get from their dorms to classes and to the dining hall. The lithographic classrooms, camera galleries and darkrooms were in a former surgical wing so the walls were all green tile. We had three Robertson process cameras with 30"x30" film vacuum boards and all with copy boards larger than the film boards. Overall size 22 to 30 feet from film board to end of copy board rails.

The primary camera instructor was long past retirement age but generally had the knack of making learning fun, although we wondered at times why we were learning some things. He was mostly all business, but we'd learned bits and pieces about his work history but more likely we knew more about which grandchild was playing Little League that afternoon. Film chemicals at the time were available in standard brands/formulas but Mr. Henchee's method was to mix chemicals using the basic ingredients and we were taught the function of each chemical and what effect changing the strength of each solution and the ratio of combinations of solutions and temperature had on the film. Mix chemicals, expose film, develop, analyze results. Change chemicals, repeat . . . .

One day some of us were kind of complaining to the Stripping instructor about why Henchee was teaching us such details when we knew there were cubitainers of Kodak Litho Developer Parts A & B in the darkrooms. [Before you get bent out of shape over "Stripping instructor," stripping is a no-longer-used process of stripping the emulsion off of film and transferring it to a sheet of plate glass for platemaking.] The term continues to mean the process of assembling negatives to expose printing plates but the process is becoming outdated because most plates are imaged with lasers. Mrs. Piquano sympathized with us a bit and then suggested that the next morning we make a quick trip to get donuts at the morning break and then join her and Mr. Henchee in the faculty break room and ask him what he did in WW II.

We got the donuts and five of us headed with some trepidation to the break room. Mr. Henchee greeted us with a twinkle in his eye when he saw the donuts. Mrs. Piquano just said. "They've come to as you some questions." His first answers were a bit evasive like, "I worked in photo reconnaissance in England." After digging out a 10"-sq. negative and a 3 ft-sq. print, we learned that he was "loaned" by Kodak from their research labs. He didn't just "work" there, he was head of the technical division. They maintained the aerial cameras, and tested various films. exposures, filters, etc. Then various developing chemicals and processes to achieve the greatest detail possible in the film and prints. He was technically a civilian but functioned at the rank of colonel.

He asked if we'd like to see one of the reconnaissance cameras and of course we said yes. He brought it in the next day on a hand truck along with more negatives and maps (prints) -- and we brought more donuts.

About the time we were about to head back to class he said, "About the question you didn't ask." (Mrs. Piquano tattled on us.) I want you to learn to never quit asking how and why something works and never be afraid to ask if there is a better way. He repeated that message several days later, then told us we would be using the premixed chemicals for the rest of the term.

Dennis

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

And of course, you learned that the Kodalith A was first diluted with water 1 to 3, and the Kodalith B part was also diluted 1 to 3 and only then were the two combined, the diluted part A being added to the part B with continuous stirring. All in stainless steel containers before being placed in the large stainless steel flat tray tanks. Sam Houston State University, Huntsville Texas.

Brian J.

Thanks to KillroyII. Your comments helped put things in perspective.
To Dennis-thanks for relating your experience & the good advice you got.