"...When the stags fight, the doe goes to the winner..."

"It was really easy for the Americans to get girls, with all their nice pubs and bars. We just couldn't compete in this respect. And as physical specimens as well - compared to a skinny, undernourished Austrian returning from a prisoner of war camp, the Americans were far superior. In those days, celery was the most popular vegetable among Austrian housewives, because it was said to be able to reinvigorate tired husbands. Along with the returning POWs came the many reports of the soldiers who had died in battle. It was no wonder that many women were afraid that they wouldn't be able to find a husband. So the Amis had an easy time of it. It's exactly the same in the wild - when the stags fight, the doe goes to the winner."

Josef W., born in 1920 as the son of a farmer. He served in the army in World War II, and was 25 years old at the end of the war (Boltzmann-Institut/Steinocher-Fonds Interview Archive, Salzburg)