CHRISTMAS IN NAZI GERMANY
Christmas Eve in 1941 was bitterly cold in Europe. I remember it very well for I spent it in a German POW camp on the outskirts of the town of “Rueone” in France. We had little food and practically no fuel. Yet, that afternoon a strange thing had happened. A squad of German soldiers entered the camp, hauling a large tree. “Commandant’s orders,” they said as they erected it in the center of the compound and rigged up the lights. We looked at the tree from our huts, and there were strange emotions. And then later that day as I was passing by another hut, I heard a magnificent tenor voice singing “Holy Night.” I pushed open the door of the hut, which was full of wounded prisoners, some without legs — some without arms. They were stretched out all over the floor listening. And in the middle stood a German corporal complete with greatcoat, rifle, and bayonet. It was…
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