“My schoolmates and I were victims of abuse”, Christoph Adam said about the last days of the war. Werwolf was aimed at spreading terror and this had certain consequences.
In the spring of 1945, Christoph Adam was 15. Together with his parents and three-year-old brother, he had experienced the horrors of the bombing of Dresden by the American and British Air Force.
They fled their hometown and eventually settled in Altenberg. It was there that Adam experienced the last days of World War II and witnessed the final Nazi horrors and the arrival of Soviet troops in May.
Child Soldiers for the Fuhrer
Earlier in March of that year, after fleeing Dresden young Adam started “regularly” attending school in Altenberg. On Sunday, 25 March 1945, a special ceremony took place at school – the admission of teenagers to the ranks of the Wehrmacht.
Shooting Lessons and Digging Trenches
According to Adam, 75 years ago, that “initiation” had a major impact on young people:
In addition, they dug trenches north of the highway, between the station and the Hirschsprung area. Sometimes fighters flew over and fired at them:
It was Easter and Easter vacation was actually supposed to last until 4 April, but not for the young soldiers. Nevertheless, Adam “went away” for a few days to visit his friends in Glashütte and on Good Friday, 30 March, he even went to a church service with his mother and grandmother at the old church in Pinge, the mining area on the outskirts of…
