Horst Martin

"People actually treated us very badly. I would almost say that our relationship to the Czechs in Mariánské Lázně was much better than to this village community. We came in as intruders of their peace and we were looking for accommodation. The inhabitants of the German countryside suffered little during the war; almost not at all. Those who had a farm could have made a relatively good living. The inhabitants of the cities suffered a lot, the cities were in ruins. Our village accommodated a lot of people from Kassel, which was 80 % destroyed. And then we came in and wanted housing as well."

"Americans were a bit oversensitive. For instance, when someone put up a cardboard with the English inscription 'contagious disease', the Americans hadn't entered that house at all. On the other hand, already back then, they offered their ways of entertainment to the Germans. I recall one indian [native American] tribe which performed for them. They did various artsy tricks, which we could have only dreamt of. It was on the railway between Mariánské Lázně and Karlovy Vary. We surely hadn't perceived the Americans as occupiers."