Kuchda thanks Americans
After meeting Adeline Kuchda, one can't help but be impressed. She is interesting and witty, a mother, a wife, a world traveler, fluent in three languages, and above all strong.
Kuchda was born in Dudelange, Luxembourg, and lived through the German invasion of her country. In her story below, she remembers that terrible time and she wishes to thank the Americans who in September 1944 liberated her hometown.
World War II
By Adeline E. (Tambour) Kuchda
March 10, 1940 — Four o'clock in the morning we heard planes flying over our town, Dudelange, Luxumbourg. There were lots of planes and we knew something was about to happen. At 6 a.m., my father and most of the men went to work at the steel factory (ARBCD). At 7 a.m., all the men were back home. The German Army had invaded Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland. At 10 a.m., we saw the first German soldiers on motorcycles enter our town.
I was on my way to the baker to buy bread. I immediately turned around and ran back home. There was no school. People stood in the streets talking, nobody knew what to do until the German soldiers ordered everybody to go inside.
At 5 p.m., the German soldiers ordered us to go to the school basement. We took pillows and blankets with us. I have to mention that Dudelange is right on the French border and the French Army was right there. We stayed all night in the school basement while the German and French Armies were shooting at each other. We could hear grenades exploding and see the orange and yellow flames from the explosions. It was very frightening.
March 11, 1940 — This morning the Germans told us to go home, pack some clothes, and start evacuating our town. I remember my mother turning around and taking a last look at our house and crying. I was 12 years old, and my sister Blanch was five years old. She was in a stroller with a suitcase over her legs. I had a rucksack, my father a suitcase, and my mother was pushing the stroller.
We crossed into France, and the highway was full of refugees. The French Army was in foxholes and ditches. During our walking, we had to run to the ditches for protection several times because the German Air Force thought we were the French Army and started to fire on us. It was terrible; several people were killed.
We walked all day and part of the night till be got to Brie, France. The French Army took us to the train station (very big) where we spent the night with the French soldiers. All night we worried about the German Air Force bombs.
The next morning they loaded us on trains. The train went as far as the next forest. We stayed there till night time and then traveled during the night without lights so the German planes could not see us. We did this for several days with very little food to eat.
When we got to Charolle (Saone and Loire) we got off the trains. There the French people were waiting for us. We were divided into small groups and taken to small villages. We spent the first night in barns. We were given food and drinks. We were so dirty that I remember sleeping on the hay and I could feel the lice crawling down my neck.
The next morning every farmer (there were two Master Farmers and six small farmers) came to get a family. We were very lucky, we were chosen by one of the Big Farms. It was located at Fonenay Village. The farmer who chose my family was also the mayor of the village. We were given a small house beside the huge farm. The house was previously occupied by the farmer's grandparents. It was a very nice and clean house.
The farmer had two daughters, 21 and 23 years old. I was always with them, helping them with their chores. We became good friends. I should say they let me hang around.
My father worked along with the farmer, and my mother, who was a tailor, was soon very busy sewing. It was a good life while it lasted. They wanted us to stay there and my father told them if he was 20 years younger, he would.
Meanwhile, the Germans had taken Belgium. Belgium gave up after a week, so did Holland. France took a little longer. Luxembourg was taken in one day. We had an Army of just 600 soldiers. After the Germans took all of France, they started to send all the refugees back to their countries.
They put us on trains at all the major stations. The Germans gave us food and drinks. They were very nice at first. After several days riding the trains, we finally arrived home. Our house was still standing, only about eight houses had been damaged by artillery, but the inside of our house was a shamble. My mother stood in the middle of the house and cried, but we were home.
After a week or so, the men got their jobs back, of course controlled by the Germans. Germans were everywhere; schools, the courthouse, and everything was controlled by them. Food was rationed; the bread was black and moldy. There was no coffee, just ersatz coffee, but during Christmas they would give us one pound of coffee and a few oranges.
We bought flour, meat, eggs, and other items on the black market, which was a dangerous thing to do. We were able to get one pair of shoes a year. My mother made us coats for the winter out of blankets that she died dark colors. This life went on for four years. (German Occupation) Some people, mainly Jews, were sent to concentration camps.
You could not listen to the radio (foreign station). If you were caught, you were arrested and never seen again. Those were terrible years.
In 1944 we heard that the Americans and English Armies had invaded France. We hoped and prayed that all would go well.
September 1944 — We got up this morning, and all the Germans had left our town, including the German collaborators, our neighbor was one.
People went to the city hall and burned Hitler's pictures and the German flags. The Luxembourg boys who had gone underground came out. We started celebrating. By afternoon we thought the Americans were getting close to our town, but it was the German S.S. Troops and all hell broke loose. They took hostages, the most prominent people in our town, and told us they would execute them if the boys who had gone underground would not surrender. People ran back to their homes.
The Germans were shooting at everything that was moving. Seven people were killed.
My mother and I were visiting a neighbor at the time, as we left the house, a bullet flew by my head. We crawled all the way back home. Everybody was terrified. We all spent the night in our basements. We did not even dare to look out the window.
The next morning, the Germans were really gone and by 5 p.m., the first American Jeeps entered our town. We all ran into the street. The American soldiers gave us gum, cigarettes, and candies. The next morning we held a large Mass in our beautiful church. For the first time in four years we sang the National Anthem of Luxembourg. We were all crying happy tears.
Day after day, the American troops continued to arrive in our town. The school was used as a command facility. Each household gave one bedroom of their house to help lodge the soldiers. Our family took in two soldiers. They lived in the bedroom on the second floor of our house. We were so happy that we were liberated that we did the soldiers' laundry. They brought us cans of butter, bacon, and even steaks. We were so sad when they left, we did not know how many would survive the war. They still had a long way to go.
After they left, more American soldiers arrived.
Then we had another big scare — The Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes. We were afraid the Germans would be back, but everything turned out all right. But we buried so many Americans, it was so sad and we cried a lot.
So, thank you boys. We will never forget you. In 1955 I came to the United States and became a citizen. I have been here ever since.
