continued from: Part I; I am the Queen of England (2)
London, England, on Nov 20, 1913, the day Yry was born, was a vortex of political volatility. The Ottoman Empire had all but collapsed. Germany was amassing naval power at an alarming rate, which stimulated a similar buildup in England. Each country feared losing control over their respective colonies. Meanwhile tensions were increasing in the Balkans. The world stood at the brink of a black hole.
As Yry was learning to walk, France, Russia, and Britain were learning to use each other as ballast against Germany and her allies. Yry’s mother was English. Her father was German. As she toddled around the house, lurching from chair leg to table leg for stability, she was innocent of the twisted trajectory that lay in store for her and her parents.
Living in England at the outset of the World War I, Herman and his brother Willy were expatriated from their homeland. Within days of England’s declaration of war against Germany, Parliament passed the Aliens Restriction Act, which required men between the ages of 17 and 55, of German or Austrian nationality, to report to internment camps. By 1919, 600 camps in the Commonwealth held up to 32,000 civilian prisoners. The media portrayed Germans as bloody savages and tricky spies in the same way as America would do for Japanese Americans some 20 years later. Nora, the wife of a bloody Kraut, became a lonely outcast. With her daughter, she moved into a one-room basement apartment and hoarded her dwindling resources as best she could, while steeling herself for angry epithets when she ventured outside to the market.
Herman spent four years in a tent village. Britain’s incessant rain turned the camp into a cesspool. Although prisoners were fairly well treated and the residents of the camps organized themselves into social hierarchies to provide entertainment and comfort to each other, the cold and damp conditions were aphids that sapped Willy’s strength. Despite Herman’s efforts to hoard extra food and blankets for him, Willy grew so weak that he had to be hospitalized, which inevitably saved his life. Indeed, he remained thin and frail throughout the remainder of his life.
Detainees were allowed monthly 15-minute visits by no more than two relatives or friends at a time. The visits were monitored by guards and conversation was limited to English. For those precious few minutes with her husband each month, Norah endured the full-day, round-trip journey by bus and by train, often bringing the baby with her.
With his brother isolated, Herman occupied his time in the tent camp by devouring every book he could get his hands on. Though he lacked a college education, intense reading and study expanded his knowledge, perhaps beyond what he might have learned in a University. He spruced up his French, Spanish, English, and Italian, and taught himself Greek, Russian, and Chinese. His talent with languages would serve him well later in life. His literary and acting skills made him a popular attraction at impromptu performances that the internees presented to pass the time.
Meanwhile, from the camp hospital, Willy was able to contact their father who smuggled money to Norah. Yry and Norah spent many nights huddled together during the blackouts and bombings. The cacophony of the air raid sirens, of low-flying airplanes that vibrated the windows and glassware, and of bombs whistling through the air and thudding to a deadly stop, were forever etched into Yry’s memory, making fireworks an agony in later years.
Keith said:
Linda, this is very vivid. The cesspool caught my attention. And, the impact on Willy for the rest of his life. I, too, would devour books to pass the boredom. Thanks for sharing, Keith
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rangewriter said:
Thanks, Keith. I was worried about bogging down in background detail, so it helps to know that it read well for you.
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Keith said:
Linda, I love history, so I am enjoying the little tidbits you are sharing. It is not time wasted at all. Thanks, Keith
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Lynz Real Cooking said:
Another wonderful write Linda! I love reading this history and you are such an eloquent writer it brings it all home for me!
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rangewriter said:
Thanks, Lyn. I try to breathe a little life into old news. It’s helpful to know that it works at least a little bit. 😉
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Lynz Real Cooking said:
I love it! You make things very real!
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Bryan Hemming said:
“I was worried about bogging down in background detail,…”
You’re half right there, Linda, but only half.
I gave myself a few days to ponder this latest episode, as I wanted to consider what you’d written, and your reply to Keith.
By what you told Keith I can see you’re not completely convinced you’re going the right way. Well, I can put your mind at ease straightaway regarding that; you are.
It’s rather brave to post the way you are doing, and a very interesting experiment for an observer to witness at the same time.
Then again, I’m pretty sure you’re not posting here just to get praise showered on your brilliance, so I thought I should try to offer some constructive criticism, as well as the encouragement you might desperately need at times – I know I do.
My view is that you have to get everything down as it comes, and not worry too much about the pretty bits, for the moment. And, as the historical narrative is so important in this work, you have to see it as providing the vital framework to support the story, without which it might fall apart. The embellishment will surely come later. You’ll know when it does. Be patient with yourself, and go easy on the whip.
When it does come you will probably feel the need to engage yourself with Herman and his brother more to breathe some essential life into them, if they don’t start breathing more life into themselves, that is. Characters are a bit like new friends: the more you get to know them, the more they grow on you.
For the moment, keep going. You have already proved you can write prose, now you have to plow on as you are doing, and keep the faith. I certainly have faith in you, based on what I have read so far.
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rangewriter said:
Bryan, I can’t express how much I appreciate your studied and careful consideration. Indeed, I am seeking constructive, critical criticism. But I understand how difficult it is to expect that from readers who are fed small snippets of a story. Even a writer’s group has difficulty providing helpful critiques because reading a work a bit at a time is always different than reading it all of a piece. At least as I flounder through this, I am setting myself some soft deadlines that keep me plugging away. Otherwise it’s too easy to drift off to some other project or activity.
I think you are right about fleshing out the brothers more, especially Herman, as Willy is not really central to the story. This is not even something that I had considered, so that is very helpful advice. Thank you very much Bryan!
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Otto von Münchow said:
I agree with Bryan Hemming – and I understanding your worry about bogging down in too much details. But it’s the details that makes the story interesting and come alive. You capture me with what happened to Herman and Willy.
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rangewriter said:
Thank you Otto. I really appreciate the time you invested in reading and sharing your response!
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auntyuta said:
“The Aliens Restriction Act”, imprisoning “Aliens” in internment camps, All this is WW One history. It is very interesting to read about it, Linda. the way you mention the facts about this time in history, telling us about the fate of one particular family, awakens my curiosity what else is going to happen during the lives of the people in this family. To imagine that 15 minute visits required the English wife to take all day round-trips, conversations with the internees being limited to English. On the other hand, Herman “spruced up his French, Spanish, English, and Italian, and taught himself Greek, Russian, and Chinese. His talent with languages would serve him well later in life. His literary and acting skills made him a popular attraction at impromptu performances that the internees presented to pass the time.”
How amazing is this that he could achieve all this!
If I remember correctly, Linda, you are related to Yry ?
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rangewriter said:
Thanks Auntyuta. Yes, she was my mother. My grandfather was, as she always told me, a brilliant and self-taught man. He died when I was a toddler so I have no memory of him at all. There are some really fine genes in my family. I’m afraid most of them trickled down to Willy’s progeny who still live in Germany. They are an amazing!
I am hoping that as I continue with this story, when I write something about Germany or about history that sounds ludicrous to someone who was there, you will not hesitate to set me straight. (Of course, I know WWI was before your time…but you’re far closer to it and more educated about it than I. And of course, there is more to come….)
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auntyuta said:
This is a very interesting family history, indeed, dear Linda. Of course I am looking forward to reading about your German family connections! What goes on within a family, can often be seen from different perspectives. I mean, the people more closely involved may see things a bit differently to people on the outside. However, people on the outside perhaps sometimes grasp the significant historical facts more objectively?
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rangewriter said:
Absolutely true. And a person writing from within a family, but who was not present during much of what went on, must make a lot of conjectures to connect the dots and breathe life into a story that will be meaningful to outsiders.
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moondustwriter said:
I like the way you make this war personal and the parallel to Yry’s life is great.
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