Author: Peter Klopp

Walter Panknin (1898 – 1977) and His Family – Chapter 5 Part 3

/ Peter Klopp / 11 Comments

Trying to Find Work in Post-War Germany

Any part written in the first person singular has been contributed by my wife Gertrud (Biene) née Panknin

Being without a job and having no regular income turned out to be a more severe problem. Where would he find work in the Soviet occupation zone as a former police officer and a Wehrmacht battalion commander in Croatia? As such, the Russian authorities viewed Walter Panknin with suspicion and kept a close eye on him.

Papa once experienced joblessness after returning home as a young man with the rank of lieutenant at the end of World War I. How fortunate it was that now he could use the skills he had acquired while training to become a dental technician! He had also built up considerable work experience in Gassen in the 1920s. Good or bad times, there will always be a need for skilled people in the field of dentistry. Finally, a job related to these skills provided hope on Walter’s prospects of a steady income after his return from the POW camp at Bad Kreuznach.

Motti Panknin and the Twins

But there was a major hurdle that the Soviet secret service had placed before my father-in-law. The Russians must have received the list of POWs returning from the infamous Rhine Meadows camps. Undoubtedly, they were especially interested in the higher-ranking officers. They aimed to extract valuable information from those with a Nazi background. They also wanted them to rat on former military friends and colleagues.

Splendour of the Arrow Lakes

/ Peter Klopp / 28 Comments

Wednesday’s Photos

First Day of November Photo Session

Brilliant sunshine greeted us at the start of a usual gray and foggy November day. Foul and colder weather was in the forecast. So my wife and I hurried to make good use of such a rare opportunity at this time of the year. Unfortunately by the time we reached our destination, ominous clouds had rolled in and covered the sky. To our great delight, most trees were still showing off their autumn colours. So despite the dark sky, we had a leisurely photo session down at the local golf course. Enjoy.

The Local Golf Course at the Lake
My wife enjoying a happy time amidst the fall colours
A ‘bird’ hidden among the fallen leaves
Feeling sorry for the poor soul who has to rake up all these leaves
A carpet of gold and brown filling up a nearby ditch

Walter Panknin (1898 – 1977) and His Family – Chapter 5 Part 2

/ Peter Klopp / 8 Comments

Papa is Coming Home

Any part written in the first person singular has been contributed by my wife Gertrud (Biene) née Panknin

Great was Elisabeth’s joy when her husband suddenly and unexpectedly arrived at their home at Gotha. Papa could finally embrace his beloved wife, hug his stepdaughter Elsbeth, and hold the baby twins Walter and Gertrud in his arms. He had not seen them for over half a year.

Mutti Panknin with One of her twins

Unfortunately, several flies in the proverbial ointment all too quickly disturbed the family bliss. The house owner had covered up his illegal black market dealings by having a high-ranking police force officer renting the ground-floor apartment in his house. As many essential items were getting scarce during the war, he used Captain Panknin’s status to deflect suspicion from his shady activities. Now that the war was over, the landlord found him no longer useful and tried to get rid of his tenants. Perhaps he knew some well-to-do people able to pay a much higher rent. With so many destroyed cities, Germany experienced one of the worst housing crises in history.

Oma Panknin with her Twin Grandchildren

Being without a job and having no regular income turned out to be a more significant problem. Papa got by for a while, trading in the plum brandy for things they were lacking. Indeed, his foresight and the effort of collecting and bringing home the liquid gold are remarkable.

Natural Splendour of the Arrow Lakes

/ Peter Klopp / 18 Comments

Wednesday’s Photos

Panorama Video of the Arrow Lake

I took about 10 photos of the Arrow Lake with the camera in the vertical position and 16:9 format. Then I stitched them together to transform them into a huge panorama image, cut it in half and processed the two pieces in my video editor. Enjoy the beauty of our lake captured on November 2, 2021.

Walter Panknin (1898 – 1977) and His Family – Chapter 5 Part 1

/ Peter Klopp / 8 Comments

Mutti Panknin and her Three Children

Any part written in the first person singular has been contributed by my wife Gertrud (Biene) née Panknin

The American forces under General George Patton had advanced with lightning speed into Thuringia in April 1945. There, along with thousands of other German officers and soldiers, Walter Panknin became a POW. If the German high command had placed him at the Western front a month earlier, he would have enjoyed spending his captivity in the United States. Life, food and treatment would have been generally good for a German POW. 

The Twins Walter and Gertrud Panknin

In the late summer or early fall, the notorious Rhine Meadows POW camps were shutting down. The western Allied Forces began shipping the POWs to their designated regions of occupied Germany. If you were a soldier with a permanent address in the Soviet-occupied zone, then there they would ship you. By now, the Americans had handed over Papa’s home province Thuringia to the Soviet administration. They had withdrawn their troops to the American Zone in Bavaria and Hesse. Before they left, food was already scarce. However, life was tolerable even in the bombed-out cities if you were among the lucky people who still had a roof over your head.

Mutti Panknin and Her Children Walter, Elsbeth and Gertrud

Papa’s wife Elisabeth recalled a heart-warming event in the spring of 1945, which she passed onto to her daughter Gertrud. An Afro-American G.I . regularly came by the house in Gotha. There she had been living with her family since the early 1930s. At first, Mutti was terrified and believed he was threatening her when he was wildly pointing as if wielding a gun at something at her doorstep. He kept shouting, “Milk for the babies!” Finally, she realized what the kind-hearted soldier intended to tell her when she saw the bottle of milk at her doorstep. Mama Panknin kept this miraculous story in her heart for the rest of her life.

A Visit to the Vancouver Museum of Anthropology

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Section of the Provincial Native Cultural Heritage

This week my wife and I travelled to the coast to visit our children and grandchildren. In Vancouver, we paid a visit to the Museum of Anthropology. There you will find many sections displaying the cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the world. For the little time we had, we focused on the local cultures of the West Coast Nations of Canada. Here is a small sample of their art and craftsmanship. Enjoy.