[European style] go home

We were ordered to wait at Leipzig Central Station that day, and it was not until 5 o'clock in the afternoon that our military column drove into the platform with exaggerated white smoke and roars.We recruits with immature faces were organized into our respective compartments neatly and orderly. Erich, I, and Karl from Silesia (①) were in charge of guarding this open-air compartment. A Stuka dive bomber with its wings removed, the fuselage still covered with a thick layer of canvas.All kinds of ammunition are neatly stacked around it, almost building a hill of shells.

Night fell quickly.After we had dinner in the dining car, we decided to take turns changing the guard, two hours each, starting with me.I stood at the door of the carriage with my rifle on my back, and the cool autumn wind blew over my cheeks, like my mother's gentle caress.Thinking of this, I can't help but miss my parents at home - the two noisiest people in the family have left all at once, they must be very lonely, right?

Sergeant Gowers paced up and down our ranks, and he was, in fact, the hardest working man here.We can ask our friends to go instead of us when we are tired, but for him, no matter how tired he is, he has to persevere, because he is the only sergeant major in the whole column.

Contrary to his heavy and busy duties, I am in a relaxed and happy mood. Although there are rumors about the evil of saboteurs everywhere, I always believe in the principle of seeing is believing. Before I met the legendary guerrillas in person, I knew This news can only be taken with a skeptical attitude.But my current task is to prevent saboteurs from interfering with the transportation, so I must use my sharpest eyes to scan the four directions to prevent anyone from slipping through the net.

During the two hours when I became the patron saint of this car, I fantasized more than once, if I really subdued the rabble of guerrillas with my own hands and protected the safety of the huge property of the army, would I be promoted several times in a row tomorrow? Level, became a lieutenant?In this way, I can ignore any sergeant major, but they will bow to me and flatter me.

Of course, if my military career had been as easy as I thought it would be, I wouldn't be half a year away from private first class—nothing happened on our train ride from Leipzig to Warsaw.In fact, not only on this section of the road, but also on the road from Warsaw to Minsk, and then from Minsk to Kiev, those cunning guerrillas were silent like turtles, hiding in their lairs. Ken came out, which led us to a smooth ride, stopping only for a break.It's not that they think our military column is worthless, or that our engineers have cleared all obstacles in front of us early-these guys are awesome!

Since I have never left the platform, in my opinion, there is no difference between Warsaw, Minsk and other cities in the occupied areas. They are all included in the territory of the Third Reich, and there are German soldiers with live ammunition everywhere. The locals walked with trepidation, fearing that they would offend these uninvited guests who had the privilege of life and death.

It wasn't until I got off the bus in Kiev that I realized how different it was from mainland Germany.Our train arrived at 3pm and for the rest of the day we were allowed free time in the city until our return at 8pm.This is a rare benefit!

Erich and I walked out of the train station and went to the streets of Kiev to experience the real life of this city.Kiev is an elegant and beautiful city as rumored. Since the battle between the German army and the Soviet army basically took place outside the city at that time, it did not suffer the bad luck of being destroyed like Minsk.The buildings here are as beautiful as they were before the war, and the life here is as quiet as it was before the war.It was sunny that day in Kiev, the temperature was a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius, the blue sky and white clouds were as clean as if they had been baptized in a baptismal pool. Standing on the tower of Hagia Sophia (②), we can overlook the whole city.Everything in this famous Eastern European ancient city is well-arranged, with criss-cross streets and rows of buildings on both sides, and cars shuttle slowly through it. If it weren’t for another church in the distance with a golden onion dome (③), I would Almost thought he was back in Germany.

At sunset, we took a walk on Hryshchak Street (④).It is full of our comrades, almost all of them having fun on this famous street in Kiev.Ukrainian girls with blond hair and blue eyes welcomed us with bouquets on both sides of the street, and their smiles were as bright as sunflowers in their hands.There are many anti-Bolshevism people who were persecuted by the Soviet authorities before, but now we, the liberators of tyranny, have come, so they are very grateful to us (⑤).

If we were willing to go a little further, we could see the wide Dnieper, but the pleasures here held us back.We ate in a traditional Ukrainian restaurant. Because there were so many people here, the restaurant was already overcrowded, so we could only sit at the same table.Fortunately we didn't mind.

We were seated at a square table where two officers were already seated.I believe that every recruit is very resistant to eating with someone with a higher rank than himself, but we have no other choice, this is the last vacant seat.One of the officers, with brilliant blond hair, was lighting a cigarette.To tell you the truth, my friend Erich's head is nothing but dead grass compared to his blond hair.I noticed his hand holding the cigarette, it was a pair of bony, slender and white hands, as sexy as the hands of the beautiful Ukrainian girls I saw on the street just now offering bouquets, maybe these hands were once on the keys Having played a moving piece of music, or perhaps once painted a beautiful oil painting on canvas - I am always willing to judge a person's likes and dislikes by their appearance.

In the days that followed, I missed Kiev not only because it was the first city I stayed in the East, not only because it had beautiful scenery, but also because I met someone here who would be in my next life. A very important person in my life, and he was sitting across from me.

I must confess that I am not immune to any pretty face, even if it belongs to a boy, sinful though it is.Except for Helmut's, of course, I've always been ashamed to be Narcissus (⑥).When I saw clearly his face behind his raised head, my heart trembled violently.This young officer was probably what the Führer called a "standard Aryan" (⑦), and had the most handsome face I had ever seen since joining the army, his features so well put together that I dare Guaranteed, God must have regarded him as a work of art when he created him.What fascinates me in particular is the pair of blue eyes, like two pure sapphires, as dazzling as his blond hair.He combed his hair meticulously to the back of his head. If he wanted, he could take off his dark green military uniform and put on a complicated ancient costume to look like a handsome and noble Prussian prince.

I couldn't help but look at his collar, trying to figure out his military rank so that I could greet him smoothly.When I saw the two lightning-shaped "SS" (⑧) logos embroidered on his left collar, I really broke out in a cold sweat, as if I saw the secret police rampaging everywhere in the streets of Dessau with arrogance ( ⑨), you know, the Sterns were ordered to close their store.

But obviously the SS officer in front of me was not one of those people, and if he really was the Gestapo, I would be devastated.What surprised me even more was that when he saw me staring at him, not only did he not show a sullen look, but he asked me with a smile, "Where are you from?"

"Leipzig training camp," I answered first, "we belong to the 76th Infantry Division."

"Great," he smiled, shaking the cigarette dust into the ashtray on the table, "Kiev is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir." In fact, I wanted to know his name so much, but I was just a private soldier, and the difference in rank made it impossible for me to speak.

"This is Captain von Kagneck." The junior officer beside him introduced us.

"Wal. ter von Kagneck." He offered his hand to me.All this made me feel unreal. Such a handsome officer is actually so approachable!In comparison, the sergeant majors I met in our company were all so arrogant, it was downright annoying.

"Schumann. This is my friend Kranz." I held his hand, feeling the warmth and strength in his hand.During the next meal time, no matter how delicious the red cabbage soup and Kiev meatloaf were, I could not take my attention away from the captain. We had a pleasant conversation. During the chat for nearly an hour, I learned that he was a Berliner, born in 1922, graduated from military academy, and joined the army two years ago.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Erich and I returned to the company's barracks.It was such a beautiful day for me, beautiful holidays, beautiful Kiev, and a beautiful new friend... I couldn't sleep because of all the excitement.

The author has something to say: ① Silesia: a historical region name in Central Europe.Currently, the vast majority of the region belongs to Poland, with small parts belonging to the Czech Republic and Germany.

② Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kiev: a landmark building in Kiev.Built in the 11th century in Baroque architectural style.It was built by Yaroslav the wise to celebrate the victory of the ancient Russian army over the Turkic Pechenegs and to celebrate Christianity. "Sophia" means "wisdom" in Greek.After the church was completed, it soon became the religious, political and cultural center of Kievan Rus.

③ "Golden onion-domed church": that is, the golden-domed cathedral of St. Mikhail's Church in Kiev.It was built in 1713 and is a pure Ukrainian national style building.

④ Khryshak Street: Kiev's central street is also the busiest street in the city.Destroyed in World War II.

⑤ "Here lives...with tears of gratitude": Due to dissatisfaction with the Soviet regime, many Ukrainian people welcomed the German army and openly supported it in the early days of the Soviet-German war.

⑥ Narcissus: The most handsome man in Greek mythology.He falls in love with his own shadow and eventually turns into a daffodil.

⑦ "Standard Aryans": Hitler advocated racial "purification" and the superiority of the "Germanic nation", the so-called Aryan "superior nation".The ideal "Aryan" blond, blue-eyed, tall.

⑧SS: The SS.The SS is usually divided into the Armed SS and the subordinate SS (secret police, guard battalion, special operations team, etc.).Captain von Kagneck in this article belonged to the Waffen-SS.

⑨Secret Police: The Gestapo.Controlled by the SS.