Article

2024-08-17 -Land of the Free

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Besoeker 2024-08-17 05:49|| || Front Page|| [11138 views ] Top

#1 It’s amazing how effective playing stupid is. The Nazis had received a tip and were searching the house of the family sheltering my mother. She wasn’t truly hiding as such — her not-very-good papers said she was a little Catholic maid, and in that rôle she trotted off regularly to run errands, including for the Dutch Underground — so there she sat in the kitchen, peeling potatoes.

“Look at that one,” said the one officer to the other. “With her dark hair she could be Jewish.”

“Nah,” replied the other. “Look at how stupid she is. That’s not Jewish.”

My mother continued to sit there, unresponsive and slack-jawed, as she very carefully cut thick peels off the tubers. They left her there among the peels, having triumphantly borne off the son of the house and the little wireless radio he’d thought was so cleverly hidden.

Mama had to find another refuge shortly thereafter, but the new family treated her well instead of charging her for the privilege of being the overworked household slavey, so all’s well that ends well.

That flash of a moment figuring out how an intellectually limited person might do a task she decades later turned into a cutting edge occupational therapy program for a school and sheltered workshop for mentally and physically handicapped children and adults in Buffalo. See here.

Posted by trailing wife 2024-08-17 14:18|| 2024-08-17 14:18|| Front Page Top

#2 That's a great story, tw. Thank you for sharing it.

Posted by Matt 2024-08-17 20:26|| 2024-08-17 20:26|| Front Page Top

#3 ^ Amen

Posted by Frank G 2024-08-17 21:32|| 2024-08-17 21:32|| Front Page Top

#4 You have a well deserved pride in your Mom TW, great story!

Posted by NoMoreBS 2024-08-17 21:35|| 2024-08-17 21:35|| Front Page Top

#5 Thank you, gentlemen. Not the kind of heroism as shown by Douglas Hegdahl, who carried off in the face of extensive torment and torture, and managed to help his compatriots even so, but I am proud to be her daughter.

Posted by trailing wife 2024-08-17 22:21|| 2024-08-17 22:21|| Front Page Top

23:52 Harry Platypus2574
23:47 Ululating Platypus
23:38 trailing wife
23:35 trailing wife
22:58 Nero
22:55 Harry Platypus2574
22:41 Titus Schwarzeneggar7587
22:32 DarthVader
22:21 trailing wife
22:16 Spats Oppressor of the Heathen Rus3831
22:12 trailing wife
22:11 trailing wife
22:06 Graiting Spaviter6515
22:04 Graiting Spaviter6515
22:00 Ho Chi Lumplump8465
21:56 Ulimp Griger1624
21:56 Ulimp Griger1624
21:35 NoMoreBS
21:32 Frank G
20:26 Matt
19:58 NoMoreBS
19:56 ed in texas
19:54 swksvolFF
19:37 Frank G