Until 1938 our lives were going normally: school, our obligations with water, wood, help mother in the kitchen, buying things in groceries and in the butcher shop and playing in the big backyard  or in front of our house- (there were no motor cars, only horses or oxes cars).

My father worked in the gendarme office, when he was not on duty circuling in our district, he was in the investigation of some crime. In that time the crimes were in the great majority of stealing or robbery, dead and assault with guns were rare crimes. The arms where only to hunt and with the prefecture and competent surveillance organs licency.

Everything looked calm and in order, but it was our mistake,  in our neighbourhood the Germany was boiling. After the great economic crise the national socialism party came to power, whose founder and chief became after the death of the german president Hindenburg. He rose in the leadership with the title of Fuhrer - Adolf Hitler, supreme chief of the national socialism party. He was a skilful politician, good orator and prepared to became Leader of an economic and morally fallen society.

He promised to the thousands of unemployed the work and to turn the Germany in the greater and most powerful nation in Europe and in the world! He found easilly between the fanaticized youth a group of adventures, that received tasks of achieve by all means, in great majority violent ones, their objectives.

The first victims were the Jews, that owned great industries and were masters of great business. Under the pretext of being explorers of the german people and called impure race, equal to the gipsys and later to the Slavs also, barbaric people that occupied the "Lebensraum" - the place of living of the exploited german people.

The fanatic youth destroyed the jewish shops and destituted the industrial chiefs. Many jews and their families were murdered or transferred to the so called Concentration Camps, that were created in various parts of Germany. All the Jewish properties were confiscated by the nazy party to be owned by the german people.... 

Hitler reorganize the army, creating between the most faithful and fanatics the SS and the SA, that were owners of life and dead of any german citizen.

They began to construct superhighways throughout the country, named Autobahn, to rapid movement of troops and to the industry. They began to fabricate armaments, airplanes, war material, tanks, cannons  and military equipment. Hitler knew that it would be necessary to use force  to achieve his objectives. He was born in Austria, in the German frontier and soon made the idea that Austria, with a people spoken german was always part of Germany and in april 10 of 1938 he simply dismissed Schuschnig, the Austria president, and occupied the country with german troops, because of this - this act was named Anschluss of Austria ( the Annex). There began the expansion of Germany.

The next country, that called Hitler's attention was Czechoslovakia, that was in the epoch a prosperous country, democratic, created in 1918 by the Versailles accord, when it was part of the old Austria-Hungary, whose after loosing the First World War was dismembered in various smaller countries, but that had their millenary existence comproved by the world history.

Bohemia and Moravia had have their kings more than a thousand years ago,   their czech language, that was part of the great group os slavic languages, like russian, polish, serbo and croation between others. The history of the czech  and slovak people is fascinating and tell of many wars between the neighbour people, mainly germans by politic motives, but also of religious fund, their revolt against the pops  of the middle age, those who sold indulgencies, commited barbaric crimes agains the "enemies" and the terrible Inquisition that order to burn alive many religious and free thinkers, that did not submit themselves to the Vatican (old Rome).

In this way entered to history the rector of the Prague University, John Hus, (1369 to 1415), religious reformer, condemn to fire. This revolted the religious people and was formed an army of religious and free citizens that declared war against the pop army that was formed by adventures of various countries, payed by the strongbox of the pop.

During many years the czechs resisted against foreigners invasions, named Cruzades, they even accomplished the division of catholics and protestants czechs and in the final battle of Mount Blank they were defeated in 1620 and annexed to the Austrian-Hungarian empire under the Habsburg command.

But, returning to the biography: In principles of the year 1938, a Nature phenomenon called the attention of the people situated in the Central Europe, mainly of Austria and Czechoslovakia. In the beginning of the night appeared in the sky in the North direction a light red-purple, that in the beginning we considered as the reflex of a great fire in some near city, the firemen were in alert , waiting for the help call in fire combat, but nothing happening. The illumination began to change color, some parts of the sky became yellow, blue and green, but predominated the red: Almost all inhabitants got out to the street, to observe the phenomenon better and to know some news.  An old czech lady, our acquaintance declared: These are North lights, when these lights appear in our land, it means that the war is coming...A cold passed in my spine - a presentiment.

In the next days the scientific-astronomic explanation appeared: The Northen Lights or Aurora Borealis is normally very common in the countries situated near the Polar Circle like Norway, Finland and Sweden and it is seen also in the North of Canada and Iceland, but is rarely seen in the South region like in Germany, France, Czechoslovakia or Austria.

It has its origin in the solar activity, that in each eleven years has its activity doubled, appearing sun spots, that are provenience of explosion, that by their time causes the solar winds, that escape in the space and follow in the planets direction. The electrodes follow in great speed (800 kilometers by second) and they collide with the circles and earth magnetic waves and cause the red lights, interference in the radio waves, the magnetic  needles begun to spin round without end ... it is reported in the history books, that people since the prehistoric period believed, that their appearance means the coming of wars.

And coincidence or not - in the abril 10 of 1938, Hitler annexed the Austria to the Third Reich, at september 30 the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) and in the first of September of 1939 invaded Poland and give beginning to the Second World War.

But, returning to the biography - the year of 1938 was fatal in the world history with the expansion of the Nazism throughout Europe, but also in the personal life of thousands of citizens, mainly in the Central Europe:

The persecution of the Jews began in Germany and Austria and soon ahead of the czechs, polishes and gipsys. They were considered by the nazis  "impure race" and were initially indicated to work in stone-quarrys, coal mines and heavy services in factories, railroads and in the field, but as soon began to appear sabotages, badly executed services and many escapes to foreign, the headstrong Nazis invented the Work Camps in various parts of the country, the first was inaugurated in Dachau, near Munich, that I had a little later to know personally.

During the school vacations, in my country between July and August, in 1938 - I had completed the third year of the secondary school in Znojmo and was lacking one year to complete the course, when we listened in the radio the world news and read in the newspaper that Hitler talk in his angry speeches about the Czechs, that as was saying, persecuted the Germans, beat the poor ones, mainly in the german and austrian frontiers, that the soldiers assaulted german girls and ladys, etc...

My father who was "gendarm-policait", told that this was a great lie, that he had never seen a mistreat citizen, independent of his nationality and showed us the Republic Law book, that all citizens had the same rights, as in any democratic state.

The month of august of 1938 came, in a beautiful afternoon - I and my brother were lying down in the grass of our backyard, taking sun bath, mammy was cleaning the kitchen, when  in the middle of the afternoon,  our father arrived unexpectedly, with abased physionomy, called us all and gave the fatal notice: Just now a top secret government news arrived, that Hitler planned to attack the most sooner possible the Republic of Czechoslovakia and that came the recommendation, that the czechs families of the government servants transferred their people mainly in the region named Sudetenland, where the german majority lived, because the Sudetenland was the principal aim by Hitler and his ignominious traitor, czech citizen, Henlein.

The notice fall like a stone in all our family, my mother began to cry, my brother enlaced my mother's skirts, I retired to the funds of the backyard, climbed the peach tree, where I had my retirement place and also cryed. We passed fourteenth happy years of our life in our house and now we need to leave rapidly, without returning never more. There was no doubt: the war was coming and maybe we all are going to die... Our Youth ended, the most beautiful part of our life... Our Odyssey begun!

My father entered in contact with various relatives, telling our situation, everyone was solicit, trying to help, but accomodate four persons with furniture and belongings, it was difficult. Finally we received one letter from the city of Jihlava, where one of my mother's sister lived, she was married with a mechanic of machines, that had build an upper story in his house and he offered to disoccupy the upper floor for our use: it was a living-room and a bedroom, a very small place for all our furniture and belongings, that during long years we acquired, books, father's tools, our toys, uncountable vases of plants of my mother, clothes and shoes...Father gave the order: we could carry only essentials things, the rest stayed!

We run against the time: the rumors arrived of partial invations in the czech territory in various places...We rent a truck, carried the "indispensable ones" and we took our way with tears in our eyes...

We went just in time, because thirty days later, in a Munich conference, the "big allieds of Czechoslovakia" - Anglia and Francia -  conceded to the threats of war of Hitler and the Sudetenland were annexed to Germany. Six months later - on march 15 of 1939 the german troops occupied the rest of the czech territories and created a Protectorate Czech and Moravia.

Jihlava, our new domicile, was a city of more than thirty thousand inhabitants, located in the division between the states of Bohemia and Moravia, a region lightly mountainous, open to the cold winds, blowing from the North. 

As in the beginning of September the school year begun I and my brother matriculated in the disposable schools and continued our studies. 

Mammy became definitively sick, in bed, and my father treated of his retirement.

The two years, that we passed in this city I considered unhappy and without interest, our relationship with the relatives became tense and nothing agreeable and our political situation under the german  "protection" , chaotical. The lack of food and clothes - the ration was beginning. Each citizen received "bonus" and could buy only the stipulated and not all shops and groceries had sufficient stock to give what each citizen had right. The black market naturally appeared but it was prohibited by the Reich laws and the penalties were severe: Imprisonment or even Concentration Camp.

When I accomplish the last year of the secondary school, my father took me to the city of Trebic (around one hour by train of Jihlava) to do examination and passing the exams to inscribe in the Commerce Superior School, a four years course, that prepared students to the commercial life and after absolving the course to the end to submit oneself to the final proof, called "matureness", that gave rights as our vestibular, of studying in University or technical-superior schools. The principal subjects in this school were accountancy, economics, mathematics, geography, history, chemistry, physics, czech and german language and other to choose: english, russian or french. We practise  tachygraphy, typewriting, calligraphy, technical drawing - the subjects were very practical, so that in the end of the course the student was capable of execute any commercial office service or enter in the municipal or state service.

I began to study in the Commercial Academy in Trebic in September 1939, travelling by train from Jihlava to Trebic, going and coming every day. My father finally received his retirement and came to search a house to rent in Trebic. After a certain time he succeeded and in may of 1941 we changed there. But mother already was wasting away, very sick and transferred to an hospital, she died with forty-seven very suffering years... All family was overturned and abated with the early departure of mammy, but she suffered ten years and became very fragile and the death was for her a physical relief.

We were in the beginning of the Second World War, living in a called Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia, occupied by german troops, that brought us hunger, fear and terror. Every hour we heard that someone was arrested and condemned to death for treason or send to concentration camps. It was prohibited to listen to foreign radio stations, read magazines or books not approved by the official german censure. We had to maintain "black-out", keep the windows and doors closed to the lights not attract enemy airplanes.

In june of 1941 the german troops invaded the Sovietic Union, although Hitler and Stalin had signed the "non-aggression Accord" in the time of the Invasion and the Division of Polony in 1939... The thousands of german tanks were rolling almost without resistence in direction of Leningrad (Petrograd), Moskva (capital), Caucasus(Stalingrad)  and the Black Sea.

In the day december 7 of 1941, japanese airplanes attacked, without  war's declaration, the north american war ships in Honolulu, in Hawaii and destructed almost two thirds of the north american war fleet, that had as consequence the war declaration of the United States against the Japan and Germany. The war initially European, became World wide. But this is a part of the History. The occidental Europe was occupied by the Hitler's troops, with the exception of  England. The oriental Europe was also under the domain of Germany and the Mussolini's  Fascist Italy, that formed the axis with the Nazi Germany and in Asia with Japan.

And in this mad world lived us poor citizens, suffering by the others who caused the world chaos.

When I was frequenting the fourth year of the Course, came to all the superiors schools the advise of the Board of Education, that the final proves had to be advanced by three months, because Germany needed more workers in the German factories and that the Protector of Bohemia and Moravia chose as ideal the ones borned in 1924, because will complete twenty years  in the next year, considered ideal to the diabolical plans of our Fuhrer....

Then we made our  "matureness" proves in march, 1943, received our Certificate of Conclusion and that we were "apt to frequent the Superior Course!" This frase became without effect, because the universities and all superior courses where long time ago already closed in all the Protectorate territory.

In the Nazi vision, the inferior races did not need doctors or engineers, they were preset to the execution of inferior work in the coal mines, in the factories and in the fields, under supervision of the Superior race - the Arian, of skin and eyes clear... But Hitler commited the same error as Napoleon with the Russia invasion: The strong Winter came, the temperatures all over Russia lower suddenly until 30 degrees below Zero, the invincible german tanks were being hold back in the mud way of the russian Steppes, that turned into ice and snow and the german soldiers had no uniforms to face the cold, food began to miss, supplies, gasoline, petrol, arms - the advance in the russian frontier stopped! And, the russians were able to organize the reserves, they were well accustomed to winter and received American supplies, and began to counter-attack and to recovery the lost ground - the Stalingrad was surrounded by Russians, the Allies opened new battle fields in the West with the Normandy invasion in France. The experts german generals perceived that the war was lost and began to conspire against the Fuher, the genius was now called mad .....

And the famous organization and administration of the Third Reich begins to show signals of disorganization: Since the year of 1942 existed the Law of avail occupied countries workers in the german factories, mainly those involved in the war production, that reclaim of insufficience of manual work, because the great majority was conscript, some foreigners already work, mainly war prisoners (what was prohibited by the international Laws, signed in Geneva), but soon appeared complains of sabotage, small production, many defective products and consequently soon the hope of new workers from the Protectorate, beginners and without experience, that let themselves be influenced easily in work and are more obedient. In the meanwhile, it was only in the end of the year that we began to receive the advises of Compromise of Work in Germany, what give time to the smart ones to find job nearby home, where little industries appeared, as for instance to make parts of uniforms, that naturally work to the army also and gave the advised ones the receipt  "indispensable work to the bellic industry of the Third Reich" - and they were dispensed to travel to Germany. Others acquired with doctors, that collaborate with the young, and found deficiency in heart, lung, one arm shorter than the other, etc...Naturally, these doctors risked their own being, because all chosen were submited to official doctor examination, of entire german confidence and the doctor that was denounced  giving false diagnostics was sent to Concentration Camps -and various were.... I found various in Dachau!

I was relatively new in Trebic, had little friends outside my schoolmates and I did not want to put my family at risk, mainly my father, that received little retirement wages, payed the house's rent and my brother, who was studying. Subject myself to the official doctor, communicate to him that I had only one eye, he told me "But the other is good- tauglich! Apt!"

My father made a big wood valise (we did not have a big bag in house and there was no one for sale) and I put in it some pieces of clothes, a pair of shoes (in the trip we use boots), slippers and some food, mainly the black-bread, toothbrush and shoes brush, german-czech dictionary, a notepad, only the essential things. And in january 24, 1944, give farewell to my family and went to the train Station, where I was supposed to meet another schoolmates. But, to my surprise, of the forty five schoolmates of my class no one appeared, some were older, not subjected, others worked in the talken little industries and the rest was all "sick", remained only I... I was sorrow, decepted, not warned... not even one friend! The station was full of people, boys and girls, that had the same destiny, like mine, with many companions, family and friends of the "condemned". Some wagons were destined for men, others for women, I went up with my valise in the train and found a place near the window, in a bank for five people. Finally the train whistle, then again - and we left in destiny to Munchen-Allach to the firm: Bayerische Flugmotorenwerke, nowadays known as BMW. The train gave a big round, did not go direct to Germany, passed first in our capital Prague (Praha), then went to one industrial city, famous as the producer of the best beer (Pilsen) and after, in the next day, january 25, took the South course, it was already night, when finally came to its destiny, Allach, around 13 kilometers from Munchen (Munich). A whistle of a railway guard and his shout wake up us from the long travel torpor: "Alle austeigen!". We began to search for our bags and belongings and began to go down in the dark night. It was "black-out" in all station, it was raining lightly: We begun to pull our heavy bags in the wet and mud soil. We followed a guard, that took us through the tunnel, that was illuminated and passed under the train line  to another side, where was the way to our camp. They took us first to the camp center, where rised an enormous Canteen, with various meating living-room, in the center of the salon there was a stage, that served to musical presentations and was full of uncountable tables and lateral banks. The organization was perfect: men in the left of the salon, women right. A queue was formed in each salon side, I tried to stay near the fellows I knew during the trip... Each one picked a soup-plate and a spoon, that were piled up over a table and went ahead in line in the direction to the kitchen where a woman with white and black uniform was serving the meal from an enormous pot: the famous "Eintopf"- potatoes with legumes and little pieces of meat, everything cooked with water, forming a thick soup. Another woman give us a piece of black bread. We took a seat in the numbered tables and took our first hot meal after two days of travel.

In the stage went up the Lager-Kommandant with interpreter, gave us "welcome" and first instructions: The men are going to leave in Karlsfeld, in the barracks near the station, the girls in Ludwigsfeld, that are in the other side of the fabric, around two kilometers away. Our lodgings, as well as all BMW factory were surrounded by barbed wire and all our entrance or exit was only allowed by presentation of Ausweis with photograph and signature of Lagerfuhrer. The lodgings was formed of various wood barracks of one floor, with concrete pavement and super wood structure treated and impregnated, amianthus roof. The houses as well as the rooms were numbered (Baracke 9, Zimmer 11). In each room there was eight sleeping berths ( to sixteen people), two big tables with lateral benches, two cupboards (one in each door side) with various subdivisions, that could be closed by portable lock, a big window in a wall side with wood venetian blind (that must be closed at night, because of the black-out), in the roof two socket of a candlestick with electrical light. In each door was fixed a regulation, rigid-prussian. In the wall, by the door side, a bulletin board with the name relation of all the room's members. In the side of each barrack there was a bathroom with douche and water-closet. The personal letters we received after passing by the censure and our letters were always sent open and stamped. 

In the night of our coming, directed ourselves to the store, where we received two sheets and two blankets ( the bed already had the mattress). From the store finally we had been informed of the barrack and room and our bags due idenfified were took by electrical little cars to the lodgings, where we received them and took to our room. Finally, near three o' clock in the midnight, we arrived tired in the chosen beds and soon fall in a deep sleep. But the first night lasted little: At seven o'clock sharp in the morning one strong whistle of the guard in our door got us up and afterwords we heard his shout: "Alleraus, zurKantinne!" (Everybody out, go to the Canteen!) Rapidly we washed our faces, dressed and again to the restaurant. 

We were served watered coffee with little of milk and one little bread. In the stage surrounded by nazi flags they put some tables with chairs and again appeard the lodgings commandant that announced and an interpreter translate in czech, that the next days will be dedicated to registration and distribution of all, men and women, to the indication of the work that must be executed. To this service it will be necessary our collaboration. Asked, afterwards,  to climb in the stage the ones who speak german and have superior school. Around twelve persons climbed, I among them. The personal section chief assumed table and chair put in the stage and made rapid enterview with all the presented ones in the stage. I was soon chosen by the chief as his assistant and asked me to help to choose some more to do the registration. The beginning of this work "must begin tomorrow at seven o' clock in the morning in the proper place". The personal chief was a young, tall, thin, blonde with blue eyes, a bavarian from Munich, very sympathetic and as I discover later, did not sympathizer with the Nazis (as the great majority of the Bavarian inhabitants, they felt themselves oppressed by the Prussian, that made a superior caste between the nazis. The bavarian liked good food and beer, that now with the war they were private...)

The rest of that day we were free to give order to our belonging and  residence. In the next day we begin with the "register", name, address, profession, knowledges, in an eventuality if were "specialized" in a kind of service. The german clerk made the questions and anotations and we, the interpreters, translate from czech to german. But not everybody called was czech, there was in the middle slovaks, serbians, croats, polishes and there the hand and fingers were necessary to interpret correctly, but I soon pick up the way and translate to german from any nationality. The personal chief liked my work and promise me that I was going to work in his office. But the Destiny resolved to stretch its finger: One day appeared in the presence of the chief a beautiful girl, accounting secretary of the BMW: her chief order her to ask for a person, that speaks german and have knowledge of accounting. The chief look at me and sad: "I have a person like this, but he is indispensable to me, he is going to work with me" and indicated me. The girl look at me, ask some questions about my work and schooling and after knowing that I was formed by the Commercial Academy and noticing my fluency in german, turned to the chief and told: "He is going to be mine", turned and went... 

Francys, called "Fanny" by her friends, as I knew latter, was a very beautiful girl, "brunette", blue-gray eyes, seventeen years, had been working in the last two years in a big accounting office, where 30 more people worked also, in the great majority girls and ladys and some few men, of a certain age, (because the young served as soldiers). The accounting chief was a sir of around sixty years, already retired, but called again to work because of the lack of specialized manual work. This one formed his team and named Fanny as his secretary. When Fanny returned to the office and told her discovery and the refuse of the personal chief, this one pick up the telephone and entered in contact with Franz, who was the personal chief, but this one insisted that he was not going to release me. But Herr Eigner had his trumps: He called the commercial director, his former fellow and friend and explained the problem. That director called Franz and give him three days to release me, because an expert in accounting, to the BMW direction has priority. Franz ask me to choose a substitute, because he had to relinquish to the director. I choose a fellow, who I made acquaintance in those days and passed him my work. In the third day Fanny came personaly to took me to the accounting, where presented me to the chief and other fellows. The chief made an interview and indicated me as Fanny's assistant, nothing better could I help.... Fanny was an excellent girl, tender but energetic and excellent "teacher" - she became my friend to many years... In the accounting  sector, bills to pay, worked around thirty girls, some married, but the great majority was single, young and sympathetic, and seven or eight men, in the third age,  but there were also two dutch of my age, ex-university students, because the superior schools were closed after the military occupation in Holland, as were closed in my land and another countries occuppied by the Nazis. Between the men soon one called my attention: In being introduced to him- a tall man, strong, with gray hair, gray eyes, aware ones, soon presented himself: I am Swiss, bank retired officer and my house is behind the factory and gave me his visit card. As I discovered latter, Herr Rothe was a man extraordinarily cult, talked fluently around six languages, his "hobby" was collect rare plants and an excellent ornithologist - bird expert. He was single and lived with his mother, an old lady, fragile and sweet, german by birth. In visiting his house showed the whole house and the garden, beautiful plant collection that he brought from various parts of Europe and told me: I am not a nazi, I work here cause I am obliged and I know that this war is going to end soon....He offered me delicious real coffee, that I had not take during all the war, in porcelain cups. We became friends for all life and changed correspondence until the end of his life, when I was already living in Brazil.

In the beginning we worked ten hours in the factory, afterwards twelve hours, with an interval of half on hour to "lunch". We marked our cards in and out of work and whose came ten minutes later, lost the day. We received monthly our wages, payed in german marks and tickets to ration things - in the epoch practically everything was rationed. The german money - the marks,  had value only in Germany and in the occupied countries, outside not even the paper had value, in the form that all the workers worked by grace, was the modern slavery...

In the begining the work in accounting, I was presented by Fanny to the fellows and a writing-desk was put by the side of my teacher and future friend. My job was simple: Record the payed invoices in alphabetical sequence and date of the made payment. The clerk chief many times called me to locate the invoice of a certain firm, to inform the made payment date. Well, the service was easy, the ambient good, but the daily labour hours were painfully bitter, we worked from seven o'clock in the mourning through seven o' clock at night, with a little interval in the middle of the day for lunch. But not all patricians had the same luck, many worked in machines, workshops, girls worked as servants, cookers, waitress and had bad people as superiors, truly pests. Like in the offices, even in the factories worked people from around occuppied Europe and the great majority did not speak german, only knew their mother language, but all have one thing in common: Hate of the Germans...

The food was always the same: Eintopf, or a soup of vegetables with a piece of black-bread, mix up with potato flour. The potato that never miss during all the war.

At eight o'clock at night the loudspeakers were turned on in the canteen, first we heard from the Belgrade radio the beautiful song "Lily Marlen" and afterwards the war news, naturally elaborated by the ministry of propaganda of mr. Goebels.

In that time - begining of 1944- already begun the Germany defeat in every of the world parts  - In Russia, in Africa, disembarkation of the Allies in Sicily and the begining of the air attacks in the german cities and factories in great scale. The attacks to the cities were directed and organized by the Major English State and American in England, initially at night, later at any day hour. Incendiary and explosive bombs of various types and sizes were utilized in accordance with the place  and the focus to be reached. The bomber airplanes were initially bi-motors, fabricated in England, of various capacities, that were released by a push-button, under the pilot and co-pilot command, generally special trained officers in the England interior and more five plain men, all with determinate function. After the entrance of the Americans in the war, they begun to use quadri-motors, with greater potency and also reach, being able to achieve determinate focus in any Europe's part. The group of initially tenth of bombers, was increased to hundreds, until a thousand airplanes, accompanying by hunt speed airplanes, to protect the bombers. 

When the allied group of airplanes approach to 100 kilometers of the place, the german antiaircraft command ordered to sound the sirens, means Alarm (Attention) and all were instructed to find "Bunker" - a place to protection against bombs. But we soon discovery by the "experts", that to protect ourselves  against a thousand kilograms of an explosive bomb, it was necessary at least a cover of three meters of reinforced concrete, a bomb of 500 kilograms thrown down a build with three floors - or just saying, this place does not exist in the factory or in the lodgings, where existed  Bunkers under the floor of the lodgings with a meter of concrete. This served as partial protection, but not against direct impact. The case was to go the most distant possible from the factory and the lodgings, but passing ten or even fifteen minutes on foot we could not go distant. Even more, in the alarm  case, the antiaircraft protection  began to spread  a gas that formed a mist from the apparatus put around the factory, this must difficult the pilots vision, to see the factory, but sometimes the strong wind carried the mist to fifteen kilometers from the factory, what confound the pilots and they discharge the bombs away from the factory. Happily the first weeks after our arrival- there were no allied airplanes in the surroundings of Munich and consequently we had time of accostumed ourselves to the new environment, our work and knew the neighbourhood: In the first place we went by train, that circulated between Munich and Dachau with german punctuality, from fifteen to fifteen minutes and the trajectory through the city took exactly twenty five minutes, with two stops. The Munchen city was and today is again a beautiful city, in the Isar river, was the Bavarian state capital with around two millions inhabitants, with many baroque buildings, in the center the beautiful Frauenkirche (Our Mother), many parks, arbored streets, many shops and city center commerce and a great industrial park, localed in the suburbs (between them the matrix of our BMW with many planing and general supervision offices). The city remembered me Prague, capital of the old Czechoslovakia. The bavarian people of agricultural origin, used to have a little house with garden, where plants and legumes were planted, liked also many flowers in the houses front. Away from the city there was a rural region, where wheat, rye, potato and barley grown, fruit of their work. They liked also to eat and drink well, there were many beershops, mainly dark-Munchen, their registered mark. With the war they loosed the fruits of their work and were obligated to eat the Eintopf and had hate to the Prussian who caused all this...

I need still to complete the antiaircraft defense system: All the factory and courtyard were covered with a net of wires, decorated with artificial foliage, many trees were planted in all corners, grass and others camouflages to deceive the spy airplanes and air search, to hide the maximum possible of the factory. In a mount, that was in the neighbourhood, was fixed long tunnels and to there the most important and delicates phases of the fabrication were transferred: The first  jet airplane motors, easy combustion material, explosives etc...

All of this we discovered by little, with talk with other fellows, with the cleaning people, with occasional visit and talk with war prisioners, french and ukraine, that in accordance with the Geneva Conventions were prohibited to work, but the germans, found themselves in distress did not care to the conventions and international accords. But, many war prisoners had links with the Resistance people, worked as spys outside the factory and had connections with the allies in England. In this way, the greatest war secrets passed from German to England and vice-versa also, because germans had also their spys in that Island and in the USA... All around the factory antiaircraft cannons where placed, named FLAG (Flugzeugabwehrgeraet), observation towers, misty system and alarm. Outside working hours and on Sundays we could get out the factory enclosure, but at 10:00  o'clock shart at night we had to return to the lodgings, any delay must be justified and the miss for more than 24 hours must be communicated to the Lagerfuehrer. Also, during the alarm we could go out of the factory and find protection in neighbour woods or take advantage of the conduction vehicles of transportation in the factory, that had orders to go out of the factory as soon as the sound the sirens announce the attack. It is good to accentuate that generally few minutes after the Alarm the bombs were already falling, in a way that  no long we reached and many times the airplanes were reached by the Flag or because of bad visibility and the bombs dropped away of the factory. There was no secure place and by this motive many times I stayed in the lodgings trying the luck ! Until the june 13 of 1944, when I had the first disagreeable experience: I was with three or four mates lying on our beds, observing calm the outside movement, when, suddenly we heard a bomber surflying exactly up our lodgings, probably reached and in this case the chief-pilot gives the order to drop the bombs and try to land: One of the sides of our barrack opened in the fall of the bomb in the neighbourhood, the air pressure exploded all the windows, we jumped out of the broken windows and outside we run lately to the nearest bunker, but the plane had already went away and I do not know if it fall or not. In any case we passed by enormous fright and aftwerwards we constated that the bomb fell in the neighbour barrack, happily desoccupied and only two mates cut themselves by the glass, that exploded, and another deslocate the arm in falling the berth. Happily nobody died. After the disembark of the Allies in Normandy, increase the intensity of the daily air attacks. The systematic attack to the big german cities began, mainly the industrial ones with the participation of hundreds of the quadri-motors bombers, accompanied of others hunters, whose task was to protect the squadron against eventual german hunters. Cities like Hamburg, Berlin, Norimberg, Kiel, Augsburg, were decimated, burned  by the thousands of tons of american and english incendiary bombs. In July 31 was the Munich time and surroundings, inclusive our BMW factory. Soon, after given the alarm, around ten o'clock, I was able with some fellows to pick up a truck, that runned away of the factory in direction to Dachau, seven kilometers distant, famous for being the first concentration camp, inaugurated by Hitler in 1934, again with his nazi aces of that time.

Soon after our coming to Munich, in a Sunday, we went by curiosity to visit that city. The city by itself was not ugly, had  in the epoch 30.000 inhabitants, but the horror was found soon near the railway station. An enormous camp, surrounded by electric wire, innumerable wood barracks, very similar with the barracks of our lodgings, was inhabited by thousands of human beings, thin and dressed with ribboned "pyjama", truly human skeleton...In a big entrance portal to this hell was  written a cynic inscrition "Arbeit macht frei!" ( The work make free)...

But returning to the air attack of our factory: Our truck parked around ten kilometers away of the factory, by the side of a  beautiful pine wood. We went down the truck and penetrated the wood by little groups of known persons. I remember that I was with a fellow that lived in our barrack and a girl, that worked in the office, our neighbour. We were by our calculation at least fifteen kilometers away from the factory and consequently secures. We heard a noise of great quantity of airplanes, certainly hundreds flying the woods, relatively high. Suddenly we heard a plane, probably hitten by the Flag, of lower altitude, in the top of the trees, dropping bombs and by what we could see, followed in our direction. Instinctively we throw ourselves in the ground by the feet of a thick tree and presumed that arrived our hour: a bomb of thick caliber drop in front of our protective tree and opened a hole of three meters of profoundness, another fell 10 meters away. A great quantity of stones and earth fell above us, but the bomb splinters were in the trunk of our tree - saviour of our lives. I called the fellows to see if they were hurt, the two were so much paralysed by fright that delayed to answer. We began to move and took great quantity of earth from our clothes, palpate our bodies, apparently no one of the three were hurt, only little scratchs by the stones. From a little distance we heard various bomb bursting, was evident that our factory was attacked. We went out of the forest, found the road in the direction of the lodgings. By the distance we saw the smoke up from various parts of the factory but happily the barracks of the lodgings were up, only by the side streets we found various holes and the canteen was partially destroyed. But the girls lodgings in Ludwigsfeld were in flames. We were not allowed  to enter the factory, not even the next day, various no exploded bombs were found and there was fear that  these could be "timebomb", that are regulated to explode some hours later and experts were working to unfasten them. It was Monday, Tuesday we did not work and only the next day we were aware that almost all girls's lodging was burned and the girls lost everything they had let in the rooms, and there was suspicion that some lost their lives. The factory direction was heartened searching for some place to install the girls provisorily. Also there was necessary clothes, blankets, towels, shoes  and toilet articles. As we new later, the Munich city was seriously dangered, mainly the center, the railway station, various factories and hundreds of buildings and houses were destroyed and burned. With the disembarkation of the Allies force in Normandy, in June 6, 1944 and the advance in France and Belgium, increased also the bombardment of german cities... The german generals themselves knew that the war was lost and tried to save their skins and tried to do accords... But Hitler did not want accords and ordered to execute the ones who tryed to gave over, believed in new arms, as the flying bombs V-1 and V-2, direct by distance and in the atomic bomb, that the german scientists try to fabricate. But it was too late, the Soviet Union forces advanced to Berlin and the Allies from West to East, France was free and the war was developed itself inside Germany... Munich and even the own factory BMW were after July many times attacked, some work fellows made diaries and told that during our staying in Munich- from January to December of 1944 there was no less then two hundred and seventeen alarms, air invasions, with or without bombardment. The attacks were by day and by night and sometimes even three times during the day and we became in time apathetic  against bombs. The factory production dropped and many employees became without work and were transferred to inside the tunnels in the mountain, but the pieces furnished from others places began to miss. In the end of November our contract of learning in the BMW finished and as there was no work, we were dismissed and returned home. From train, that took us  to our house we observed the enormous city destruction, without people, that took refuge in the interior of the country and to the mountains, of the factories not even smoke from the chimneys, but from the discomfiture that remained - a hell begun.... it was the end.