Paul Sternberg visited Ilse in Neustrelitz, Germany in June 20-29 
of 1999.  Anneliese took the train to Ilse's also.  Paul had questions 
for Anneliese, and Ilse was the interpreter.  

P:  You were around 4 when the war broke out, what do you 
remember about the attitudes of the people when the war started?
A:  My parents were afraid and did not want this war.  They did not 
want to leave home.  My father fought against the Polish.  He was 
sent back to work the farm.  He had two prisoners of war to help out. 
 One was American and the other was Polish.  

P:  I have never heard of prisoners of war working the fields. 
Couldn't they run away?
A:  There was no where for them to go and it was dangerous for them.

P:  Somewhere around March of 1945, the Russians started to advance 
on your own city.  What do you remember about this time?
A:  One day I saw three Russian tanks on the road between Rummelburg 
and Falkenhagen.  One tank was destroyed by an anti-tank grenade.  This
was around February 26th, 1945.  We packed a wagon with two horses 
and fled to the Baltic Sea, to Rowe, now Rowy, Poland.  From there we
intended to take a boat to Germany.  There were 4 children, mother and 
father and grandmother Amelia.  Uncle Robert and his family joined them 
with a polish prisoner of war.  They took him with so he could tell that 
they were good people and had treated him well. The Russians caught up
with them at Rowe.  Other fathers were taken away, (most died).  But their 
fathers were not taken away.  They were sent back home to the farm.

Grandma Emilie lived after the escape with uncle Robert. The family 
felt she would be safer living with Uncle Robert in the countryside 
than with us.   One day, Russian soldiers came.  They wanted to rape 
her.  She fought back, then she was killed by the Russians with a stirrup. 
In March 1946, we were expelled from our farm because a Polish family 
moved in there.  We lived in a small room in the neighboring village 
Marienhütte until we had to escape completely from Falkenhagen.
We lived there 'til July of 1946.  There was a poster in town saying that 
all Germans must leave.  Anne was the first to leave.  You had to get 
permission from the Polish Mayor to leave.  Others were kept back to 
work for the Polish for 1 year. (like her Aunt in Schonburg).
People were robbed of everything on the train.  It would slow down 
suddenly and gangs of polish people took everything and jumped off.  
We had nothing.  

There were 4 refugee camps set up.  Stettin, Lubeck, Hohn by Rensburg, 
and Schlewig-Holstein.
With the backpacks on our backs we approached the Poles again, we rode 
the train to Stettin, not stopping to eat.  There was a passageway-camp there. 
We lived there 14 days,  Then, we continued to Lübeck, again into a camp.  
There, all refugees were registered and were distributed.  We came into a 
camp in Hohn, district Rendsburg. There were 4 camps full of  refugees there.  
 They lived in barracks.  Ilse visited them.  Only women who married Poles
stayed behind. All germans were expelled, 12 million from Prussia and 3 
million from Czechoslovakia.
  
We children went to the school, my parents worked with other farmers for 
money.  My mother knitted and sewed for other people.  Aunt Alwine and 
Uncle Fritz (Fred Sternberg)from America had procured papers for an 
emigration to the USA, however my father believed in a return to 
Pomerania and refused this trip.  He had the letter-like contact to his 
sister in Minnesota up to his death.  They were in a refugee camp for 
six years, 'til 1953.
There was no industry, no work, in Hohn, that's why we settled in 1953 to 
Baden-Würtemburg.  We could only get a 3 room-apartment there.  My father 
worked in a factory.    
In 1956, a sideline-settlement was offered to my parents to purchase in 
Neumunster