My name is Jack Goldstein. I live in Sudbury MA. I arrived in Salzburg
in December of 1945. Was trained as a rifleman to invade the beaches of
Japan, the end of the war fortunately changed my intended destination. I
was assigned to the 42nd "Rainbow" division and became stationed in
Salzburg. Infantry rifleman were not needed in the occupation forces,
and instead of wearing a blue neckpiece (anyone from the 42nd will know
what I am referring to) I wore orange since I was transferred to the
signal corps where radio operators were needed. Lucky for me, my
hobbies were radio and photography. I started being trained as a radio
operator but ended as a signal corps photographer. My recollections of
Salzburg (and lator Vienna) are still vivid and too lengthly to describe
here. The thing that stands out best in my mind to this day, is
"Salzburg is Music and Music is Salzburg. Early on I fould that when
other GI's were spending their time at the company pub and womanizing I
attended the music events that were always taking place at the Mozarteum
and other music halls. I learned to love music at Salzburg, and corny
as it might sound the movie "Sound of Music" has a place in my heart.
One performance which stands out to me is attending Lehar's Land of
Smiles operetta. At music events Salzburgers treated me with respect and
kindness, and I learned the power of music to overcome hatreds and
prejudices. I will remember Salzburg as "the land of smiles". I always
vowed that I would revisit this beutiful city which has been called the
"Jewel of Europe" but Austrian anti-semitism never seems to die. I have
many interesting stories to tell about my time in Austria and they are
too lengthly to recount here.
My dad was another of the men who spent several years in the Occupation Army
in Austria, something I didn't know until very soon before his death three
years ago. He really liked the Austrians as a group but like anyone else who'd
see the Nazi atrocities, couldn't understand how such outwardly-civilized
people could become such raving animals.
Anyway, dad was 12th Armored Division, 3rd Army. After training for an Africa
campaign that never happened, and spending time in Patton's phony army in
England, he and his unit crossed the channel after D-Day and before the Battle
of the Bulge and mustered out of the Army in 1947 or so from Austria.
If you're putting together something about these guys, his name was Menzo
VanSlyke (Menzo's not a mis-spelling by the way; it's an old Dutch name).
After reading about " liberation of the concentration camps " I
remember in 1951, when I was there, how at the main entrance gate entering
the camp they dug up the roadway for one reason or another, and when digging
they came across 17 corpses that was thrown in a grave then covered. The US
determined it was 17 French laborers, all had been shot.
Camp McCauley I believe was a Luftwaffer air strip, that billeted the
Luftwaffer, and an SS outfit. at the time our main gate was a 1/4 of mile in
front of of their main gate, That was all the info we were given at the time.
A Great Page:
Brings back many memories of Linz, and Salzburg. I was with the 102nd
TT Reg Co. Was at Cp McCauley, then was billeted at Spalerhof in Linz.
It was a small complex, with 2 men to a room. The towns people did all
our chores, cleaning, clothes, mess, etc. This was 1951 and 1952.
I worked as a passenger train agent at the Linz Bahnhof, we took care
of all troop movements, and all American personel, service or civilian
going to and from on Austrian trains.
At that time you needed a Gray pass when you left Linz on your way
towards Vienna, after Linz the next stop was Enns, it was a Russian
check point. Two Russsian soldiers would board the first car and two
would board the last ( each carrying burb machine guns ) car and check
the whole train for Americans without a pass.If the spelling was
misspelled, or the signiture was smudged, anything ! They would take
you off the train, and hold you for a few hours until the MPs got the
call and pick them up. If you gave them a hard time, it will be days
before you were returned.It was very tense there at that time with the
Russians on one side of Danube and we on the other, a matter of two
blocks. As for the Austrians the greater majority wanted us out and
showed it, they didn't want that 50 year occupation.
Am disappointed that the emphasis of WWII activities seems to be
concentrated in ARMY history. What has happened to the other services,
including the merchant marine???
My name is Jett J. Johnson from Goldthwaite, Texas. I came across
your
topic on Austria regarding the War of Occupation and found this
topic to
be of interest to me. My father was a lieutenant in the 99th
Infantry
Division during the war. After the war he was transferred to the
83rd
Infantry Division. It was at this time he was assigned to the
small town
and community of Gallspach, Austria. My father was more or less
the
"Burgermaster" of this town from the fall of 1945 to the spring of
1946.
My father died in 1979 and as many other veterans, he did not talk
much
about his war experiences. However, for the last ten years I have
done a
tremendous amount of research regarding his war experiences. I
have even
had the pleasure of visiting Gallspach in 1992 and was able to
compare
many pictures that my father took in the 1940s!
I was a soldier with the 3rd Inf. Div in Salzberg in May 1945 and
until
we moved up to Kassl a couple months later. My outfit, HQ Btry 3rd
Inf.Division Artillery, had commandeered a house that I would
like to
locate again.. I have a picture of it. I went back in 1984 but
could not
find it If anyone who reads this knows where Divarty was at the
time
plese contact me. I've also asked a Travel agency to convince a
newspaper
there to publish a picture of me holding two
little Austrian girls in the
hope they will be recognized and I can meet with them again. When
things
finaly settled down after disarming the population and taking
charge of
things our Division put on a Concert at the Symphony hall. I dont
remember the name. I still have the program in my souveniers. I
really
enjoyed Salzburg. I know there was much suffering as the
Austrians would
meet my garbage truck and search the contents for someting to eat.
We
held no animosity towards the Austrains and they withheld any they
had
towards us quite well.
I really enjoyed your page on Salzburg, it brought back a lot of
memories.
I was stationed there from 1954 to 1955, and I have my fondest
memories from there!
My wife and I enjoyed our visit to your site. We have many fond
memories of our three year (51-53) tour of duty in Austria. Our
youngest son was born in the Army hospital at Camp Truscott. I
can
understand why some Austrians are not fond of Americans; however,
I
believe USFA did a good job of carrying out its mission without
imposing
undue hardships on the local population.
I have just spent several very enjoyable hours reviewing this
site. As
an American "Baby-Boomer" who had a parent and other relatives
serve
in the Occupation it was truly a fascinating experience indeed.
Congratulations on a job well done- a marvelous testimony to the
value
and usefulness of the Internet.
I was
with the 26th Infantry Division stationed in Haiboch Austria,
beautiful town on the Danube just down river from Passau.
I was given the job of I&E noncom ( Information &
Education). My job was to instruct the troops that Austria was a
liberated country, not a conquered.
I never saw the "Handbook for Germany".
This is really an interesting experiment at pulling diverse people
together. I was a schoolboy (US civilian) in Vienna, 1949, and my
main
interest was in studying German and finding out who the Wiener
Sangerknaben were (I was a choirboy in US). My happiest memories
were
the Officers Club at Clam Gallas, where I could finally (again)
have
hamburgers and butterscotch sundaes. Now I am curious about what
was
going on between US military and Russians in the First Bezirk, and
how
the Prater got rebuilt. Does the Augartenpalais still exist?
Still the
home of the Sangerknaben? Does anyone know whether the life of
Father Schnitt has been written? Just alot of questions which I
would
love to pursue, from days that today's Austrians probably know
(and care)
little. Keep it going.
I was a young Lt. in the US Army stationed in Salzburg from
1953-1955 when
the peace accord was finally agreed upon and all "foreign forces"
withdrew.
I lived at Camp Roeder (sp?) and worked at Camp Truscott. I was
a bachelor
then and spent much time enjoying exploring Salzburg and its
environs. I
became quite informed about the best places to dine ( a couple of
my
favorites were the Goldener Hirsch and the Weisser Kreuz) and
often served as
an unofficial guide for visiting "dignitaries" who all seemed to
arrive in
Salzburg on Friday and leave on Monday. Naturally, we would have
to
entertain them on the weekend, and since I was "unattached", it
usually fell
to me to escort these visitors (a "job" that was entirely pleasant
for me).
My mother arrived in Austria in February 1954 and remained with
me in
Salzburg until November 1954. We rented a small apartment in a
home on Ufer
Strasse. The landlord's name was Hoepke (sp?) as I recall. We
spent many
pleasant hours at the Osterreiche (sp?) Hotel right on the river,
and also
enjoyed visiting all the beautiful sights of Salzburg. I still
keep in touch
with several of the families who were in Salzburg at the same time
I was. I
think that we all agree that duty in Austria was the best that we
ever had!!
I have been back to Salzburg only once since then. I was
stationed in
Germany from 1964-67. I traveled with my wife and children to
Berchtesgaden,
and we took a bus tour of Salzburg. It was like "coming home" for
me. The
old city hadn't changed at all, and even the environs didn't seem
to have
grown so much at that time - maybe it's different now.
I was in Salzburg from Jan. to April 1947. My husband was in the
Army, and I was one of the first dependents sent over to Europe.
We were housed in the Hotel Pitter. What an interesting city. We
walked all over, to the castle on the hill and to Mozart's
birthplace. While sledding down the hill with the Austrian
children, somehow I came down with the mumps. While I was
isolated in the Army hospital, unbeknownst to me, my husband was
sent back to the States, on temporary duty. They were not
supposed to send me back, but they did and 6 mos. later they sent
us back to Berlin, Germany. I enjoyed the Austrian people, they
were so colorful. While there I met an Austrian woman, Helen, who
was going with a Sgt.in the US Army. In Sept. 1949, I met her
again in a Navy Hospital in Long Beach, Calif. What a small
world! We were both giving birth, me to my second daughter, and
her to her first child. We had not been in contact with each
other, but I reconized her right away. I am now 72 years old and
live in Port Townsend, Wash.. Come visit some time. It's
beautiful here too.
Your web-site is a model of how such a document should be
organised. The
interactions between the citizens of Salzburg and their American
conquerors or liberators are clearly traced and sensitively
presented.
This theme does however beg the question of that other
interaction: that
between the people of Salzburg and the Nazis. The rapturous
reception
accorded Hitler's troops by the people of Vienna is well-known,
indeed
is part of the iconography of the period. The reaction of the city
of
Salzburg to the same event remains untreated in these pages.
Rather, it
hangs over them as an ominous and unanswered question. 'Ein
Anschluss'is
a word which admits a wide range of meanings. I suggest that over
fifty
years after the event, the time has come to define it.
As a five year veteran of the US Army during WW-II, I frequently
surf
the WWW looking for interesting WW-II information. Consequently,
I
was pleased to encounter your "Austrian-American Dialog" article
because I was stationed in Austria from Nov. 1945 until Jan. 1948
in
Gmunden and Linz for 9 and 17 months, respectively.
While in Linz I worked in Military Government where I was in
charge
of the Military Government Garage with about 50 Austrian and
Volksdeutch employees.
Because of this I was forced to learn a considerable amount of
German;
mainly Ober Osterreish dialog.
Although life was hard for the Austrians immediately after the
war,
in my experience they were generally quite friendly. Perhaps I'm
prejudiced. This is because I brought a beautiful Fraulein back
to
the US with me. We've
been married 48 years and have 5 children who are all married.
Four
of the children have been to Austria several times and look
forward
to returning when their work permits. My wife and I return about
every 3 years for good beer, good food, good friends and
gemutlichkeit.
To celebrate the end of WW-II, this past spring my wife and I,
along
with a daughter and her husband, toured places around the Mosel
River
and the Rhein River Gorge where my division went through Germany
during the war. Afterward we spent 10 days in Austria enjoying
time
with friends and relatives.
If you would be interested in further correspondence about my time
in
Austria after the war, please E-Mail me at fkee92a@prodigy.com.us
Auf wiedersehen!
Sorry for the absence of umlauts.
Cecil L. Boyd, fkee92a@prodigy.com.us
I am writing you from Dallas, Texas - and as you may deduct from
my name,
I was born in the former Austro-Hungarian empire.
The image that you are trying to create, namely that there was
justification after WW2 to treat the Austrians differently than
the
Germans, is ridiculous. The Anschluss was wildly greeted in
Austria.
There were opponents, of course, as there was also resistance to
the
Nazis in Germany Proper.
Anybody knowledgable of reality needs only to look at Austria
today,
where you can find more real Nazis than in Germany, more
heart-felt
sofa-antisemitism than in Germnay, etc. Just look at the right
wing
student fraternities / Burschenschaften in Austria which are
frequently
shunned by their German counterparts due to their extreme
positions.
I realize how fashionable it is in post war Austria to deny
commonality
with Germany and that incorrect historical immages will easily be
accepted by your gullible readers. Do us a service and don't
promote post
mortem a situation that did not exist.
Es ist sicherlich eine here Aufgabe, den Ruf Oesterreichs in Bezug
auf
die dreissiger und vierziger Jahre aufzupolieren - jedoch lehne
ich es
ab, dass alleinig Deutschland als Naziland erinnert wird. Stehen
Sie zu
Ihrer Vergangenheit. Es war kein Zufall, dass Adolf Hitler aus
Oesterreich kam.
Jedoch, nach ueber 50 Jahren haben beide deutschen Laender
Anspruch
darauf, ohne die "Berufserinnerer" moderne Weltbuerger zu sein.
Found your work interesting. It also seemed that there was a
particular slant to the interviewee's responses. I was born in
Hallein, Austria in 1946. For half the year we lived in the
Russian
zone in Vienna (my mother is Wienerin); the other half of the year
we
lived in Hallein (my father was a transplanted Sued-Tiroler). So I
got early impressions of both the U.S. and the Russian occupation.
I can't say that I remember everything quite as rosy as seems to
be
the case in many of the responses. However, most of those had
contacts
directly with the occupying troops whereas my remembered
experiences
were with occupation troops.
Regardless of perception differences, I have to say I enjoy the
presentation. Wish you had even more interview responses on-line.
Erich Franz Stocker, stocker@spso.gsfc.nasa.gov
last update 1996-12-30 alto
The Encounter of the People of Austria with US Soldiers after
World War II