By: Madita Krafft
The Fateful
Premonition
World War 2 Russians coming into town
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I dedicate this to my grandmother for letting me interview her and letting her share this story. Also I would just like to thank my mom for helping me when I got stuck. Last but not least I would like to also thank my friends for peer editing my work.
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Table of condense:
• pg 1 Dedication Page • pg 3-4 Story Board • pg 5-14 Packet • pg 15-16 Story • pg 17 Afterword • pg 18 About The Author • pg 19 Bibliography
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window. As the Americans were driving the big grey tanks through the bumpy roads, everyone started to worry about what was going to happen, because they couldn’t understand the language that the Americans were speaking.
Now, a year later, things had really changed. The Americans were actually really nice. My mom had started to work as a translator, so that the Germans could communicate with the Americans. I could always hear her typing on the black typewriter next door in the smallest, prettiest bedroom of all times, which smelled of rosemary flowers. Therefore, my mom decided that it was time for us to
meet them. The Americans were so wonderful, that every time we saw them we would ask, “Could we have some gum please?” and they would say, “Sure, here you go.” Then we always sat there in the corner of the road and chewed it joyfully enjoying the peppermint taste. After a while we all became really good friends with the Americans, so that the American soldiers told her, that the Russian soldiers were going to come and that we had to flee. Our family had heard a lot of bad things about the Russian soldiers. My mother knew, that she had to leave and take us away from here, but her husband Normann was in the war and she didn’t want to leave without him, because then he would not know where we were. So she decided to wait at least another day, because she had a feeling, that my dad was going to come home any time soon. When she told us that we had to flee, we were all very nervous 15
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t was one of these dreary afternoons again. I was sitting at this small brown, broken table, on a big, yellow, squeaky stool, looking out of the window and had no idea how special this day was going to be. Although we had been here for three years now, it still did not feel like home. We were living here with my two sisters Uschi and Barbie, my brother Wolf, my mom Ilse. Also, my aunt and cousin lived with us, because their house in Berlin was bombed. I could see my sisters playing in the pretty, green, large, flowery garden and in the distance I could see the beautiful, white, majestic castle which belonged to my mom’s old friend. She kindly let us live in her cook's cottage and helped us, because we had nowhere to go. I could remember when I was not allowed to look out of the window. The moment my mom saw the Americans, she closed the baby blue curtains, with really pretty white ruffles at the edges and told us not to look out of the
about what was going to happen next. Our suitcases were packed and even a taxi had been organized. A couple hours later I saw my sister, Uschi crying of happiness, waving and shouting, “He is finally here!” “Oh my goodness, mom did you hear that?” I said in a very blessed voice. “Hear what?” “Uschi said, he is here!” I said again. Uschi ran in to tell us the news again, but as she told us, my mom gave her a very big smack in the face. “Don’t lie to me!” she shouted in anger, “I’m not lying, really look outside, it’s true!” she cried. My mom looked out of the window, shocked and angry at the same time. Suddenly her eyes opened wide, when she just about saw his face, but it just took a few seconds until she saw my dad walking down the street. The whole family ran down the road to greet him. We were all very happy, excited and blessed to
see him. My mom whispered to my dad, “A dream came true.” He answered, “I’m happy to see you all.” The following day, we packed our bags and suitcases into the trunk of the taxi. We left just in time before the Russian soldiers arrived in town. I will never forget what happened that day.
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Afterword: This happened in the summer of 1946. This was one year after the second world war had ended. Germany had lost the war and was divided into 4 parts. My grandmother and her family had fled to Morungen in Thuringia in the East of Germany. This is where they lived in the big and white castle. The Russians took over from the American soldiers and eventually this area became part of the German Democratic Republic and belonged to the Soviet Sector. Because the Americans warned them, the Rodenacker family (my grandmother family) were able to flee to Hannover in the Western part of Germany. Luckily my great-‐grandfather Normann came home from Russia, where he had been a prisoner of war, at exactly the right moment. In Hannover they lived in very poor conditions on a farm with all of them sharing one room. This was very difficult for them, but they wanted to stay together.
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Madita Krafft was born in Berlin, Germany on the 7th November, 2002. She is currently 13 years old. She lives in Istanbul, Turkey and goes to an International school, which is called ‘Istanbul International Community School’. She has moved around four times, and has lived in two continents. She loves to play sports that involve working as a team. She also really enjoys traveling around the world and getting to know new cultures. Lastly she also enjoys watching YouTube videos because they make her feel calm and happy.
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Bibliography: 1. "How Did World War 2 Start?" The Week UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. <http://www.theweek.co.uk/europe/60237/how-‐did-‐world-‐war-‐2-‐start-‐ 75-‐years-‐ago-‐today>. 2. "World War Two (WW2) for Kids." World War Two (WW2) for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. <http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/Britain.html>. 3. N.p., n.d. Web. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zxq4kqt >.
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