Christmas 1915
Event ID: 315
Categories:
24 December 1915
Source ID: 10
“Fate has been kind to us. Our wishes have come true. We celebrate Christmas together and you could almost feel like you’ve been transported back to earlier, carefree times. Once again, I stood under the tree of lights with my four children. I sat down at the piano and played ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’. Manfred and Ilse sang along splendidly with their beautiful, clear voices. Lothar (completely unmusical and without a voice) kept his lips closed, but his eyes shone all the brighter. All three, including Bolko, were in uniform; Ilse in her nurse’s uniform… …Manfred could also be quite breezy, even exuberant; it was refreshing when he could laugh so boisterously at some funny story. I couldn’t help thinking of a breezy little incident that Menzke, the lad, had told me the last time he was here in the kitchen. Once, in peacetime, Manfred was annoyed that the gawkers stood in clumps at the barracks gate every day and made more or less meaningful comments about his efforts to train the recruits. For the next day he had provided Menzke with a good portion of firecrackers. Menzke had to pretend to be working at the barracks gate and, in a crouched position with his back to the spectators, set off the fireworks. Bangs and hops and screams all around. The frightened walkers tore out like sheepskin, running round each other. Market baskets of apples, cabbage and eggs rolled onto the pavement, the gawkers scattered, some cursing, some laughing. But it was the Uhlans who laughed the most, Manfred slapped his thigh and couldn’t stop laughing – until the squadron leader, who was laughing himself, forbade his inventive lieutenant such effective but all too original lessons once and for all. This boyish exuberance is always evident in Manfred, he is so unspent, but – it does not determine his nature, something else prevails in him: masculine drive, coupled with an iron will and an unswerving sense of purpose. I say purposefulness because I believe that he always had a clearly defined goal in mind that he wanted to and would achieve, regardless of the field. Manfred was by no means a daredevil. His way of life was to ‘weigh first – then dare’. With a clear head, a plan was conceived and recognised as the right one – but then nothing was able to put him off. He never lacked the courage and energy to realise his plans. He could also make a decision at lightning speed, he always knew immediately what he had to do. He never wavered in his opinion. Despite his youth, I also enjoyed discussing many things with him – as one usually does with the head of a family. Manfred saw amazingly clearly. He always gave the right advice with complete calm, which hardly seemed to match his age. It was wonderful to talk things through with him. When you heard his opinion, you could act on it with peace of mind. ‘Manfred is always right’ – that was also Lothar’s irrefutable opinion. No one could make him change his mind. It was Lothar’s gospel, his guidance in life. It was a matter of course for him that Manfred came first. He knew no envy, he rejoiced in it. He felt comfortable under and next to this brother, this was his place, this was where he wanted to be – and with a full, undivided heart. Lothar loved Manfred more than himself, and these are not empty words: if it came down to it, Lothar would have sacrificed his life for his brother’s without hesitation. Such a loyal friend was invaluable to Manfred – in a way, it was a reinforcement of his own ego. Lothar had calmness and contempt for death. He had unrivalled grit. In this respect, he was not one step behind Manfred. And who in the family didn’t love Lothar! He was touchingly patient with his father, who was hard of hearing; how he always knew how to make the little cadet brother happy! How loving he was towards his mother and sister! … This Christmas Eve, which I was able to spend with all my children and my husband under the tree of lights, made me grateful and happy.”
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