03:36

Ruth Deutschmann

Benjamin Epp

Kufstein

Sylvia Manning - Baumgartner

Nicole D´Incecco

1918

My father! He had to enlist not because you took the train drivers at the track. My father drove the route Kufstein - that was the border town between Germany and Austria, bordering Bavaria, Kufstein down to Ala in South Tyrol. That was the last station of the Austrian railways. And once, when he went down - and that was a little after mid-1918th His boiler house - that's this building where the engines - were at that time it's only steam locomotives - were maintained, coal refilled, refilled water, oiled and were cleaned. In Fortezza see my father all full of cars for the front, which could not be continued because the Italians have been forced to come South. My father had now returned with the empty locomotive will go to Kufstein. But my father was smart. He's gone to the local chief of the boiler house and the railway station and said he must fix what, in the locomotive, which will take several hours. But he can not now continue from Fortezza to Kufstein. However, it has sought then four men - four Eisenbahnverschieber - and went from one car to another, has torn him and looked inside, what was inside. And he has found two cars that were full of food. Anything! Fat, rice, flour - the best thing you could imagine. And these four men that he has since brought, which he has - as he then told at home - where from his pocket a little tip. Who then pulled out with a shunting these cars from a variety of track sections. My father has attached these two cars to his locomotive, has gone to the board and said, "So, I'm ready to start, I have four axes - locomotive and four axes." Each car two axles, locomotive, four axes. Without saying anything, you have been my father's driving permit. And he is without challenge with these two cars came to Kufstein food. He came home early in the morning, has moved himself, his dirty driver gear gone - new underwear goes inside the municipal office as Mayor Egger again - it was a brewery owner, a cinema owner, a hotel owner, as was just previously. Citizens have made the communities. And he has said. "You, Mr. Mayor, I bring here two wagons are there and the food there, but I demand that you immediately arrange that these foods are distributed to the working people of Kufstein.." "Yes, yes, Mr. Mandler, yes, thank you very much." I think, told my father, he said then. And my father had to go away the next day, early morning. And then came the same day back in the evening. Laughing, he is coming - I can remember - laughing, he comes in and asks my mother: "Well, what have you got?" We were all sad, is not it. "Nothing we get - we got nothing at all." We have had nothing to eat at home. As a farmer came to us. My father was then classified as food-borne Sorger and has gone to the farmers. And since he was a farmer, which you have taken away anything. Who himself had many children. And who has come, while our father was not around, and has packed in coltsfoot had such a ball. It places my mother and says: "You, eh, which then give the Christl, when he is home." And my mother says, "No, no, I can not accept." "Yes, yes, but the take." Then he opened it - a ball of butter was in it. But we could not eat butter ball, because we had nothing to do! No bread, no potatoes, no nothing! So my mother has this ball of butter in the Küchenkredenz - put into it and has just been waiting for, come back to our father. And as our Father hears that we have received nothing, he is in his dirty clothes in his soot-blackened shirt, with his black-and-dirty hat into running into town to town and there was just one council meeting. And the bouncer said to my father: "No, no, you may not enter, now is a meeting." My father has pushed to the side and has opened the door, where she screamed in the community: "If you, gentlemen, now is not immediately distributed the food I've brought, I'll let you all in each of the people's militia Fortress Geroldseck locked up! " There was still no national defense. But my father has used this word because he was so angry. The people, the poor devils in the city got nothing. Well, it's all running together to calm my father to him. But he said: "Nothing either - or!" And then the Mayor issued the order, the food - were already divided in the food shops of the city of Kufstein! - But the food shops owners who wanted to take some of those foods! They were not prepared to carry out the free distribution to the population. But the workers there who said, 'Come on out of the question. " And as my father has experienced - well. Anyway, in the afternoon the food was distributed. Everything has been distributed! All workers and small business owners and employees, all have got something. Two cars - I do not know how many tons of food that was then. But it worked.