Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 1 of 15

ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT: LIFE HISTORY OF EDELTRAUD F. FELLENDORF ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 2 of 15 The following interview was conducted with Edeltraud Fellendorf Rodriguez for the life history of Edeltraud F. Fellendorf oral history project. It took place on July 8th, 2010 at 3615 Conger Road, Huntsville, Alabama, 35805. The interviewer is Cindy Rodriguez. Todays interview is just going to focus on the Hitler Youth. Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: When did you become a Hitler Youth? That was in 1940, when I was 10 years old. Do you remember the month? No. Can you explain what you thought the Hitler Youth was? Well, I knew a little bit about it because my cousin in Schlesien was the highest ranking; he was a Stammfhrer [Battalion Leader]. He was the highest ranking in Fellhammer? Yeah. When I visited, I was always invited to come to his meetings. I liked that. We sang and played games. After that, my cousin would give orders to the girls and boys, telling them what farms they would work and where they were needed most. There was also a theater group. A Hitler Youth theater group? A theater group, yeah. They put on plays? Yeah. Was there a ceremony when you joined? I dont remember. Did you have to swear an oath? I dont remember that either. Do you remember there being a membership fee? No. Do you remember getting a membership certificate or identification card?

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No. Did they ever give you a book or a pamphlet telling you about what the Hitler Youth is or what the Jungmdel was all about? No. Its just that I dont remember. Got it. Do you remember which unit you were in? No. But it was in Berlin though, right? It was in Berlin, yeah. But I dont remember which unit it was, because there were so many other groups. How did you get assigned to this unit? How did they determine what unit you belonged to? Well, let me see. How was it? I mean you were assigned to that unit based on where you lived? Yes. Not based on what school you attended? No. But where you lived? Where we were living, yeah. Okay. It included all the girls I went to school with. They were there too? They were there too. But they lived near you anyway. Yeah, right.

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 4 of 15 Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: How many girls were in your group? About 12. What ages? From 10 to 14? Who was in charge? Eva. I dont remember her rank. Were they nice to you? Oh, yeah. I liked that there was a camaraderie amongst everybody. Not only in our group, but with everybody. And very much respect toward each other, boys and girls. So what did you think about the Hitler Youth? I liked to go. Because, you know, we did nice things. We were knitting. We were singing. We learned how to make packages for our soldiers. We had to go take care of older people. The girls, they would go shopping for the elders. The boys, they would bring the coals from the basement up in the apartment. I liked it. What had you heard about the Hitler Youth in Berlin before you started? Oh, I knew they existed. But you know, I didnt think about it. I knew we had them because I saw the girls and boys in their uniforms, you know, going to their meeting. What did your parents think about you joining the Jungmdel? My father, he didnt say anything. But my mother, she was a little bit hesitant because we were boys and girls together. And she didnt know about the respect we had for each other. All she was thinking about was boys and girls. And the older ones, they didnt behave very well sometimes because they were interested in each other. But if any higher up would notice this, they would get punished. Did you ever run across any mean Jungmdel or Hitler Youth? What? Did you ever run across anyone that was mean in the Jungmdel? Uh-uh, uh-uh. or in the Hitler Youth?

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Uh-uh. Did any of the girls have a crush on Hitler? No. I didnt notice. What did the Hitler Youth or the Jungmdel teach you about being a woman, a German woman? Well, we were brought up with discipline, honesty, and to help others. That was the main thing that was taught in the Hitler Youth. And camaraderie, being helpful, helping. And thats why I liked it. But loyalty to Germany? Loyalty, oh yeah. But you know something? We were not taught about politics so much like everyone thinks. We were signing the songs. We had to know when Hitlers birthday was. Nothing else. Well, they indoctrinated you through the songs. They got to you because what they wanted to teach you was loyalty to Germany, respect. So they did get that through to you. Well, I dont see anything wrong with that. Describe your uniform. It was a dark blue skirt. I dont remember if we had whiteYeah, white socks, black shoes, white blouse. How often did you wear your uniform? One a week once when we had our meeting. Do you remember what day that was? Wednesday. Wednesday. Did you have to do anything to join the Hitler Youth? No, you only had to be 10 years old and automatically you were in the Hitler Youth. Yeah, its by law. There was nothing asked. You just had to be there.

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 6 of 15 Q: A: You said you got a letter in the mail telling you where the meetings were? Whenever I went to the meeting Eva would tell us, Next Wednesday at this and this time. But how did you know to go there in the first place when you first started? Well, they notified us by mail. What was your favorite thing about being in the Jungmdel? I liked my uniform and I liked the singing. I liked to be with the girls and boys. You know? And when I think back, we were not silly or anything. We took everything so seriously. It was a serious time you were brought up in. You know, it was very much discipline, my girl. What was your least favorite thing? My least one? Well, what I didnt like is that sometimes I had to run errands for my mother who said she comes first and then I could attend my meeting. One day she sent me to the meat store to buy some Blutwurst. And honest as I was, I told Eva that I was sorry I was late, but I had to buy some Blutwurst for my mother. And that was the name they gave me: Blutwurst. Your nickname? My nickname, and I hated it. That is what I didnt like. What was your favorite song? Ich hatt' einen Kameraden. What was that about? It was about a soldier and his buddy. They went in battle and then a bullet came. And the soldier wondered, Will this bullet be for my buddy or me? And it was for his buddy who got killed and fell in front of the soldiers feet. And they were marching into battle. Thats when that happened. It was in a sad one. Yeah.

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 7 of 15 A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Its hard to translate. You did a good job. But if you want, I can sing it. What did you do at your meetings? Can you walk me through a meeting? The very first time? No, just a typical meeting. From the time you first arrived to when you had to leave. Oh. We did some singing. We got our schedule, what to do, how to help the people. Sometimes they also would tell us when a shipment of fruit, meat would arrive. We had ration cards at this time, you know? So we could already be in line at 7 in the morning. I dont know how Eva found this information or how it worked but she would tell us. And it helped? Oh, yeah. Did you participate in any parades or sporting events? When our soldiers came back from Poland there was a parade. We all went there [Unten den Linden] in uniforms and flags waving. And that was the first time I saw Hitler. Yeah, that was. I didnt realize that was connected to your Jungmdel duties. Oh, yeah. And then we also had sports and that was in Tempelhof at one of the parks. We had to compete with other groups. How often? That was just once a year. I scored 188 points, and I got the silver medal. Very good. Did you know anybody that hated being in the Jungmdel or Hitler Youth? No. But a lot of girls couldnt afford a uniform and they were embarrassed. I also think they were treated a little bit differently because of that. The ones who couldnt afford the uniform? Hm-hmm. How so?

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 8 of 15 A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Everything was on ration, right? They didnt have the money. Even though they didnt have a uniform they would show up? Yes. But they didnt like showing up because they were embarrassed. They felt out of place. Yeah. And they were treated differently? It was, you know, Eva would say sometimes, Well, if you had a uniform you could go there. You need to borrow a uniform. I loaned out my uniform sometimes to a friend. Friedel was invited to the theater, but could only go in uniform. She didnt have one so I let her have mine. You ask me before about the uniform? It was a dark blue skirt. I was not finished then. Remember? Oh, oh. Yes. White knee socks, black shoes, a white blouse, andI dont know how you call it. That black ... Neckerchief? Yeah. The jacket had long sleeves and made out of cloth like velvet. And we had the Hitler Youth insignia patch on it. And did you have different uniforms for the summer, winter? Or were they all the same? Well, the summer was without the jacket. The winter was with the jacket. And your mother made it. Yes, she made it but bought the jacket. She made the skirt and the rest of it. Did she have to save money to buy the cloth and everything? She never said anything about it. Did she present it to you as a present? No, no. She just gave it to you?

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 9 of 15 A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Yes. Did you know anyone who wasnt allowed to join the Hitler Youth? Jewish girls. What about anybody that had physical problems? They were not allowed either. Did you know anybody like this? I knew about my girlfriend s sister. What was wrong with her? She wasHow did you call it? Mongoloid. Ah, okay. Did she ever disappear because she was handicap? No. How many of your cousins were in the Hitler Youth? And where? Oh God, all of them. All of them. There were about 18 of them. Mostly in Schlesien? In Schlesien, yeah. I was the only one in Berlin. And Fritz was a Stammfhrer. When I went for a visit, oh, I loved it. And sometimes they would give us a band march, you know, in the town and all the people came out to watch. It was so neat and nice. How were the boys duties different from the girls? Well, the boys learned a trade. And then they would help the elderly, you know, to fix things. But would they eventually move on to join the military when they were old enough? Did they have to train with guns or anything? Cindy, they were only 16 when they got drafted. That was at the end of the war. They were drafted. And Bhme never came back; he went missing. And Ronald, he was standing guard on a bridge close to his home. His mother could see him from her apartment window. Ronald was your friend?

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He was my boyfriend. He got killed. And what did his mother think about that? His mother, she was kind of disabled. She couldnt talk. She had no speech. She was mute. Yeah, right. But I knew her and I also knew the father. Very nice people. And they took it hard? Yeah. Ronald was their only son. My friend Hans got drafted too. He was a Kanonier [cannoneer]. He was captured and sent to a Russian prison. About one and a half year later, he came home. He had no hair. They shaved his hair. Since there were no men left and most of the boys were getting drafted, did the girls start taking over as Kanoniers? Well, only young men, the youth, and the old ones were left. The other ones, they were in the war so the women took over. For instance, they were driving buses. They would collect the money in streetcars or subways. They were working in ammunitions factories. But did the Jungmdel have to help put out fires and pull bodies? No. Do you remember what rank you achieved in the Hitler Youth? One rank, but I dont know how you call it. Yeah. Didnt you say Scharfhrer? Yeah. Okay. Were there any special ceremonies that you remember for Jungmdel? Because I made Scharfhrer? No.

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 11 of 15 Q: A: Q: A: Because you were a Hitler Youth. As a Hitler Youth or Jungmdel. The thing I remember most was the sports fest. Sports? And then when Hitlers birthday came around? And when Hitlers birthday came around, we had meetings and then it was mentioned. And then we sang Die Fahne hoch. Whats the Fahne hoch? Die Fahne hoch. The flag, pulling up. What do you think being a Jungmdel prepared you for? I think it prepared me for hard work, honesty, discipline. Thats what it prepared me for. And camaraderie, sharing things. In the war, we had a terrible, terrible air raid. Our group was called in and we met at the city hall. There were so many people without homes. When they came in, we would feed them. I was told by one really fat woman not to put so much sandwich meat on the bread. But when she looked away, I did it anyway. I put more on because I was so mad at her. We were all skinny and hungry and she was fat, you know? I figured out that what was left, theyd take. Thats why they didnt want us to put too much meat on the bread. Were those the wives of city officials? Or who were they? The fat ones. The fat ones? They belonged to a woman organization related to Hitler. I forgot the name. I found cages and cages of fruit in the hallway fruit which I hadnt seen for years! It was raining that day so many of us had brought our rubber boots. Before we went home, we all filled our boots with fruit. Was the fruit supposed to feed the hungry? It was for the people but they didnt give it to them. They were hoarding it? Yeah, right. Can you describe your Jungmdel duties, what you specifically had to do? Well, I was told to help my mother, to help any needy people, to go shopping for the ones who couldnt walk. Didnt you help out in a hospital and write letters?

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 12 of 15 A: Q: A: Oh, yes. That was the Barbarossa hospital. We took care of soldiers there. What kind of soldiers did you take care of? They had no legs. They had no arms. They were called basket cases. Most of them were depressed. Some of them were joking and they would say, Oh, my feet are itching. Could you scratch them? They had nothing left. We had to shave them. The rest, like changing them, was done by the nurses. How did that make you feel when you first saw them? Scared. I was, oh my God, oh my God. I wanted to turn around, you know? And then a nurse came, and said they need your help. And did you talk to them? Oh, yeah. The older girls, they would write letters for the soldiers. I remember one soldier, he didnt want the parents or his girlfriend to know what had happened to him. That he had no arms and legs? Yes. So later on, they were picked up by ambulance and put outside of Berlin. But I dont know where. Theyre relocated to another hospital for longer term care probably. Yes. How do you think that experience affected you? I think I grew up a little bit then because I was thinking, the same thing could happen to me during an air raid. You know, you could get brain damaged. All these little things went through my mind, and I had a hard time sleeping. When the siren sounded because of an air raid, it affected me. I had to use the bathroom right away. Did any of the soldiers tell you how they got injured? Did they talk to you? No. I dont think they were allowed to talk, and we were not allowed to ask questions. See, these bad things, they didnt want us to know. When I told my mother, she didnt want me to do to the hospital anymore. But I had no choice because they needed my help. It was part of your Jungmdel duties anyway. You were expected to do that. Right, right, right. Describe your writing duties to German soldiers on the frontline.

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We picked addresses out of a hat. I got a guy, I think his name was Walter. He was very nice. He wrote and told me he had a son my age. And of course he was married. I think he was in Russia at this time. He didnt say anything that could get him in trouble. Do you think they were reading his mail? I think some of them, yes. And he didnt make it. He got killed. The letter came back stamped, Gefallen fr Fhrer, Volk und Vaterland. [Fallen for the Fhrer, People and Fatherland] And how many soldiers did you write? Two. Two? The other one was single. I think his name was Hans. He got killed too. Your letter was returned? Yes. There were a lot of our men, including my father included, in the war. When the mailman came and brought them the gefallen news, it was terrible. One lady had four small children. I think from three years old to ten years old, all killed. So they would just get a telegram and thats it? Yeah. In the name of the Fhrer, We have to inform you that your husband got killed. Did you know of any boys younger that were fighting at the end? Well, I didnt see it but I heard they took 12 year olds and 13 year olds too. What about any of the Jungmdel or any of the girls? No. For us it was just hospital work and taking care of the elderly. But I mean in the end. They didnt recruit you to fight? At the end, there were no more Jungmdel meetings. When did the meetings stop? I would say the end of 1944. Were they always once a week until then?

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Yeah. And then they just stopped without notifying you? No. I saw Eva once. I ran into her and asked when our next meeting would be. I said it had already been three weeks since our last one. She said there would be no more meetings. Because it was too dangerous? Because they dont want to be recognized or associated with the Hitler Youth. In case they lost the war? Yeah, yeah, hm-hmm. Yeah, hm-hmm. At the end of the war, there were people who were Nazis and we didnt even know this. Im sure they wanted it that way. What do you know about Lebensborn? To tell you the truth, I heard about it on TV. You never heard of it while you were in the Hitler Youth? Yes, I heard about the Lebensborn, but we didnt know what it was. Okay. You see? First of all, it was outside of Berlin, in a different region. I think it was in Bavaria where they had that big house and hospital and everything. But we didnt know about Lebensborn. I would say it was about a year ago that I learned what it was from a documentary on TV. Did you understand what Hitler was trying to do? Me? Yeah. Well, what I understandI didnt know too much about sex, but I understood that he wanted the high Arien blonde race. Is there anything else that you can think of about the Hitler Youth that you want to discuss?

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Fellendorf, Interview #3 Page 15 of 15 A: When I went, I didnt find anything wrong with it; we did nothing wrong. If we learned a Nazi song, we didnt hurt anybody with it. Yeah. Like I said, it was a lot of discipline. Very much. No fooling around allowed between girls and boys. If they did, they got punished. All right. I liked it in Schlesien because my cousin was the highest ranking Hitler Youth. God, they treated me like a queen, like a princess. Respect, you know? And then I spoke the highclass German while they spoke the dialect, you know. I liked it. All right, ma. Thank you. Going to stop the tape now.

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