STERNBERG, CZECHOSLOVAKIA (June 1945)

They go to their house and find it locked.  There are books, dishes and clothes strewn in the yard. They go around to the bathroom window and open it.  Ernst lifts Heiner up to the window.  Heiner complains about the smell but they make him climb in and open the front door.  They go in.  The toilet is piled high with shit for apparently the occupants did not know about flush toilets.  There are the remains of a butchered cow in the bathtub with the grain from its stomach sprouted a few inches high.  The locked room has been broken open and furniture, dishes and clothing scattered about.  They hear a rattling noise and are afraid there is someone else in the house. It turns out to be worms stirring the bones from the goat meat that they had left on the stove.  They cleanup the toilet and the bathtub and sprinkle some chlorine on them.  But before they can spend one night, some Czechs come and make them get out.  They go to Lisbeth’s house.

They stay at Lisbeth’s for about two weeks.  There are eight Russians living in a house behind Lisbeth’s.  They speak German.  Mutti is picked to cook for them.  Everyday they bring her a small pig and she cooks it.  She wraps the cooked meat in dough and fries this in the grease from the pig.  The Russians have it served to them in a single large bowl along with tall glasses of vodka.  They eat with their hands.  Ernst is handy and repairs some radios for the Russians.  He sits on the front steps and works on the radios.  These Russians treat Mutti and Ernst well.  Mutti asks one of the Russians why some of the Russian soldiers are so brutal and is told that many of them have been away from home and fighting for seven years.  While they are living there a Russian soldier exposes himself to Marianne.

The owner of Lisbeth’s house comes to reclaim it and evicts them all.  Lisbeth wants to go back into the house to get her belongings but is not allowed to.  However the owner permits Mutti to go in to get her stuff.  He had observed Mutti looking after the house and garden and generally taking care of things while she lived there.  He gives her 20 minutes.  Mutti goes in and throws both her and Lisbeth’s belongings out of the upstairs window.  Lisbeth has some very good quality army clothing that Mutti would like to have, because she could use it to make some clothes for the children.  Lisbeth is not willing to share it.

They find a Czech family that is willing to take them in.  Mutti continues to cook for the Russians and Ernst continues to fix radios for them.  At the end of June an order comes down from the Russian command, that all Germans are to leave the Sudetenland. A Russian obtains a hand pulled wagon for them.  Lisbeth decides to return to Neisse.  Ernst, Mutti and the three children board a train toward the state of Thuringen, where Ernst has some relatives.