John Stieber - Against the Odds - Survival on the Russian Front 1944-1945 [2nd Edition]

My father had been appointed as assistant manager to the Carlow sugar factory, about fifty miles south of Dublin in Ireland, and we left Brünn for our new destination in the spring of 1933. I remember having an instant liking for our new home, the surrounding area and the town of Carlow. The house we lived in was one of the spacious Strawhall Villas, which the Sugar Company provided for its senior staff. It was situated on the Athy road within walking distance of the factory and about a mile outside the town. Surrounded by a large garden on three sides, and backing onto open fields and a small wood, it was in a perfect setting for young children who loved the outdoor life. To me it was like being back in England again, but now I had lots of children to play with. There was a large colony of factory employees living near us and most of them were not Irish. The foreigners were German, Czech, Dutch and French. They were mostly engineers, supervisors and specialist craftsmen.

When we moved to Carlow, I was not yet seven and faced going to school for the third time in a different country. My parents decided to engage a governess so that Erika and I would get off to a good start after spending almost a year in Czech schools. Our teacher, Miss Dorothy McMullen, lived about half a mile away and gave us several hours of lessons each day.

Our first playmates in Carlow were the children of other employees of the sugar factory. In time, other children were introduced to us through our parents’ social contacts and, later again, it was in the local schools where I made more friends. What a change Carlow was from Brünn. Apart from enjoying the advantages of a rural environment, I was once again living in a country whose inhabitants were relaxed, full of good humour and, to my mind, well-adjusted.

Just as in England, I was acutely conscious of the differences in manner of our continental neighbours compared with the native population. That is not to say that there were no exceptions among them, but the general comparison was still valid. Once again, I categorised them as foreigners and felt as if I was “back with my own people”. My parents continued our bilingual upbringing, but though I was fluent in German and enjoyed reading German books, I still felt more at home with English. I must also admit that, although our parents always spoke to us in German, unless English-speaking people were present, we almost invariably replied in English.

In 1934 my parents considered that Erika and I had received sufficient individual tuition and were ready to hold our own in a regular school. Erika was sent as a boarder to Alexandra College in Dublin, while I attended the local Methodist School run by Miss Dixon, a tall, thin lady who was a good teacher and a very kind person. I immediately felt at home in the Methodist School; the friendly atmosphere was so different from the impersonal relationship I had had with my classmates in Brünn!

Erika had been an avid reader for years and I developed the same passion as soon as I could read effortlessly. The county library, situated in the magnificent Carlow Court House, attracted me like a magnet. There were two rooms with floor to ceiling bookshelves presenting me with a huge selection from which to make my choice. Although I often went back several times a week to get new books, the librarian, Miss Iona McLeod, was always friendly and glad to help me find what I wanted.

I have always felt that the people of Carlow belonged to a particularly happy community. The thriving nature of the town was reflected in its tidy streets; the small industries it boasted, as well as the sugar factory, were all doing well. It was a constant hive of social activities and the big attractions in summer were the many tennis parties that were held at different venues. These were always organised as competitions in which the winners were given small prizes. There was no shortage of facilities and I used to practise enthusiastically with my friends on the courts, which the sugar factory provided for the residents of the local staff houses.

After I had attended the Methodist School for a year, my parents felt that the environment of a school under the direction of a male teacher would be better for my development and that I should transfer to the National School. I was quite happy about this change especially since some of my friends were going to make the same move.

Because of my fluency in two languages, and my past tussle with Czech, it was no great problem for me to learn Irish. In fact, I used to get top marks in class and was usually only beaten into second place by the son of one of the Czech workers in the sugar factory. This goes to prove that learning Irish was even then a problem for nationals in the early days of the State’s existence.

My mother was the more strict of my parents, but they were both quite firm where a basic code of good behaviour was concerned. At the same time they placed great trust in me and I was allowed an inordinate amount of freedom. An example of this was that I could roam the fields for miles on my own or spend hours cycling. At ten years of age I was given a Diana air-gun and could sally forth armed with it and my catapult to engage in target practice wherever I wished, as long as I did not use them near people or houses. Taking pot shots at tin cans, or little targets that I set up as I went on my rambles, soon made me into a competent marksman, and handling my small weapons became second nature to me. The fact that I was always encouraged to acquire fresh dexterity and new skills was a demonstration by my parents of their trust in me. This must have instilled in me tremendous self-confidence which served me well in later years.

In 1936, Hitler began to feature more prominently in the news reports on radio and in the daily press. I remember my father sitting through Hitler’s long speeches on our Pye valve-radio set, and being impressed by his eloquence. Although I normally obeyed my father, I was not happy to join him in listening to these speeches. From the start, I had no time for Hitler’s ranting and considered him to be somewhat unbalanced. However, out of respect for my father, I sometimes compromised by sitting in the room with him, but I would read a book and, to humour him, occasionally listen for a few minutes to what Hitler was saying.

Erika’s move to her new school meant that we became separated for long periods at a time, but we always made up for it in the holidays. In summer we even went so far as to set our alarm clocks at an unearthly hour so that we could go for long cycle rides together, before returning home for breakfast to tell our parents about all that we had seen and done. Another pre-breakfast activity of ours was doing physical exercises in the back garden under the direction of my father. We both enjoyed this somewhat unusual pastime and, to this day, I can get great satisfaction from early morning exercises.

As time went by I got more and more busy. I began to take violin lessons from Mrs Born, the wife of the German organist in the Catholic cathedral. Then I joined the Lifeboys, the junior section of the Boys’ Brigade. Our weekly meetings took place in the gym room of the Town Hall and I used to cycle the mile and a half in and out, even on dark winter nights. Our uniform consisted of navy-blue shorts and pullover, and a flat, sailor-type cap with “Lifeboy” embossed in large letters on the front. It was all good fun and I enjoyed marching to music and playing games.

Early in 1937, my parents decided that I should go to a German school the following year for my second-level education. Since my Aunt Hella was now married and living in Karlsbad, the famous spa in the Sudetenland, it seemed an ideal solution to send me to the nearby town of Eger which had many excellent schools. I was to attend the Realgymnasium as a day boy and could live in a nearby home for students. The reason for not living with my relatives, who had no children, was that I would not become a burden to them. At the same time, they were near enough for me to visit them easily or be able to ask for advice about any problems that I might have.