I just read a book, "The Occupied Garden" by Kristen Den Hartog and her sister Tracy Kasaboski. It's a collection of memoirs, gathered from several sources, about their grandparents during WWII, which they realised they needed to collect before the information dies away with that generation. Besides being a reserved couple, their Opa and Oma simply did not talk about that time: it was just too horrible.
It helps me realise why my parents didn't talk much about their experiences either. That last winter, especially, was horrific, with mass starvation, no electricity, no heat. And I understand better why my Dad went underground.
I highly recommend the reading of this book, as well as reading the stories of others on their website: www.TheOccupiedGarden.com.
I also hope to get more information from my Mom, and in-laws, so that the next generation can understand, too. But it's a task we ALL need to undertake - we all know that war is awful, but it's something that happens elsewhere and doesn't impact us greatly, but our grand-/parents actually lived through it, and several went on to face the atrocities of Japanese-trained guerillas in Indonesia.
But how to ask the questions? I'll have to start with the photo album and a "tell me about - ". For instance, last week I found out that my Opa gave up a desired career in the army because he met Oma. And that their romance started when she left the house without her umbrella on a rainy day and he took it to her!
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