Klara Kempkes

Klara Kempkes (née Brömmling) remembers how Allied airborne troops landed near Hamminkeln. On the orders of British soldiers, she and other villagers were herded into the Catholic church in Hamminkeln. Confined to the building for two days, they had to endure the shelling that was directed at Hamminkeln by German artillery.

We - seven children, father and mother – sat in a self-built bunker behind the house and felt safe there. Nevertheless, we were all very afraid. A German soldier was also present in our bunker. When the English troops landed with their gliders and parachutes, father tied a white handkerchief to a stick and surrendered. The English took the German soldier with them and we all had to go out into the hallway and were anxious to see what would happen. The English soldiers occupied our house and after a few hours an order came that we would be picked up at seven o'clock and taken to the Catholic church. We were allowed to go into the house and get blankets, pillows and a few things. At seven o'clock we were then picked up by armed English soldiers. They took all the families from Roßmühlenstraße to the Catholic church. Old people, young people and children, there were also many evacuees from Wesel who were staying with relatives in Hamminkeln. In total there were about 98 people in the church. The soldiers were very nice and friendly to us and also took care of our physical well-being. There was bread, butter, sausage and milk. I was asked to make sandwiches in the parish hall with my neighbour Christine Zerene while my mother made coffee. The bread was then brought to the church in baskets and distributed. 
There was a lot of shooting outside over the next few days, including shells fired at our church because an English observer was sitting up in the church tower. An elderly man was hit and wounded in the leg as he went out the side door of the church. Everyone was very scared and there was a lot of praying going on. The English soldiers often came into the church to check that everything was all right with us. I then had to go with two soldiers to the van Nahmen and Köster shops to see if there was anything left to eat, but we didn't find much, just some sausage, rice and sugar. But the English soldiers made sure that there was always something to eat.

(recorded in 1994 by the author of the book “Krieg vor der eigenen Haustür”)