We had Polish Prisoners in our town but they walked freely around. They were very kind, and very talented. People could order things from them including toys which were made from wood. I remember they make the most realistic wooden guns, trucks, planes, and all of these are beautifully painted. They made these in exchange for food. My brother even ended up with a nice wooden gun one time.

One man came up to our living room and mom asked him about soldering one of the bowls she washed the dishes in. It had a hole. They communicated using their hands and feet. Our metal night potty also had a hole in it and I thought it’s now or never. We better get it fixed or we had to go down to the outside toilet in the winter. Mother was embarrassed, but the man just motioned that he also had little children. Well, it did not take long and he returned with the bowl and the night chamber potty. I do not know what favor mom gave him; I think she gave him a pair of socks from my dad.

We also had other visitors who had other motives in their mind (I did not know at the time). 3 men came into our bedroom at 4 am. Mom had me and my siblings with her in bed when they came, so we all drew very close to her. One man said, “Passport!!” And mom just said, “NO passport in bed.” Mom made me get up and she told me to get the ID they were after. Mom kept a little wooden box (which I still have) in our closet. I handed the passport to one of the men, and they looked at it. Soon they handed the passport back to me and they turned and left. There were Angels at work.

One evening, my cousin Otto came to visit mother. He was about 10 years older than I am. While we were playing, we heard a big noise coming from our home. We rushed there to find my cousin Otto rolling down the stairs. My mother must have had a good reason to throw him down. I think he learned a lesson that day.

Photo from Wikimedia commons

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