Baba Uploads her first Story to In Repose

Although most memorials are created for people after they pass away, here at In Repose  I am encouraging everyone to archive important family information and stories on their online page BEFORE it is too late.

Not only does the person then have a say in how they are remembered, in photos and documents and stories, they also save their family the burden of creating a memorial in what could be a terrible time of grief and stress.

I am helping my mom, known to all as Baba to upload cherished photos and important family history and stories, before they are lost forever!

We invite InRepose readers to observe this process and follow along as we begin documenting and archiving the life of this fascinating woman.

We began with one of her more harrowing accounts of life in war-torn Czechoslovakia in 1945. This story, entitled, "The First Time I Ever Rode a Horse" is my mother's story, but was told to and recorded by me.

The first time I ever rode a horse was in early April, 1945, in Budweis, Czechoslovakia. I was only 17, but employed by the German Army.

Earlier that year, the government had closed all of the high schools to support the war effort. All of the teachers were pressed into military service.  All of the other girls my age were made to work for the German Army or “Arbeitsdienst” to help run the farms or the hospitals which had lost workers to the war as well.

The boys my age were all drafted too. They received three months of marching training, and then were showed how to hold a gun. Then they were sent to the Russian front.

Our former Headquarters had been bombed the week before. Of course it was not allowed to listen to the BBC, but we knew that the war had nearly been lost. The Russian air raids happened almost every day. But increasingly the pilots used machine guns rather than bombs. That meant the day of occupation was coming soon. They wanted the soldiers dead and the buildings standing for future use.

For many weeks we had prayed for the Americans to come and to take the place of the Russians whom we were so fearful of, but our prayers had not been answered....

To read how the story ends, tune in tomorrow for part 2, or click over to Baba's page and click on the document link near the bottom of the page.

Baba's page

Comments

[Johnathon]

Wow, I had not thought to look at your online memorials till today, although I have been a regular reader of your blog. What a great idea. I have been wanting to chronicle some of our family stories for a long while. This is an easy way to do that and add photos, too.

[Arlene]

What a memorable horse ride. I hope you share more stories, Baba.