15. August 1943
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| Catholic parish church Bad Schandau | 
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| Scenes around Bad Schandau |
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| OKW situation map September 1943 | 
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15 Aug 43. A few days ago, I had decided with the Austrian to go to church on Sunday. But then he suddenly didn't feel like it, so I went alone. I was a bit early at the church, so I stood in the street in front of the church to look at the people coming to church. There is a young woman coming up the street with quick steps. She has thrown on a rain cape with the hood pulled over her head. A pretty, fresh face peeks out from under the pointed brownie bonnet. She clatters past me without taking notice of me. Then she disappears into the church. Since it's time now anyway, I go right after her. She has taken the first seat in a pew right at the centre aisle, and I simply stand next to her, unblinkingly, although there were still many empty seats. She sings along diligently, and while leafing through her prayer book, I see that she is wearing a widow's ring.
After mass, I go after her. She walks terribly fast. I have trouble following her with my riding boots. I catch up with her at a notice box. Suddenly she makes a short, quick turn towards the box to read the advertisements. I was not prepared for this sudden turn, could not keep up with it and shot past her. Willy-nilly, I had to keep going. But at the next corner I stop and let her pass close to me to have another good look at her. She is pretty. So I follow her again and catch up with her at the spa park. I speak to her, but in my excitement I must have spoken very inarticulately (or was I so out of breath?) because she asks what I said. I repeat, and in the conversation that follows she tells me that she wants to attend the concert that is about to start. I join in, but she takes the stairs to the concert hall again at such speed and rushes into the hall with a vigour that I have the impression she wants to shake me off. I'm in uniform and can't accept a brush-off in public. So I stop at the entrance and continue to watch her. She had taken a seat and suddenly looks around searchingly. So she must have expected me to follow her after all. But I want to be sure and not expose myself to embarrassment in uniform. Since my military hospital is only a few houses away, I quickly run back to change into civilian clothes. In flying haste I return to the concert, but she is no longer there.
My recovery is progressing. I'm still wearing my arm in a sling, but I'm no longer in any discomfort. This is actually the best phase of the hospital period. There is no more pain and discomfort, you can move freely and yet you are still the pitied wounded who receives preferential treatment everywhere. Despite the poor rations here at home, the body's strength has regenerated, rest and sleep have invigorated the nerves. The warm summer and stimulating acquaintances encourage the newly awakened lust for life. The recovery temperament makes itself felt. A long-lost acquaintance makes an appearance: The flirt. He appears more often now. He changes acquaintances or cultivates them at the same time. Some of them are harmless, others very intense. I met him once on the valley slope with a German Red Cross nurse and more often with the employee of the military hospital office, Käthe from Königstein.
Today I take a walk with Lieutenant Menzinger to Rathen, where we settle down in a small coffee house on the Elbe. We are barely seated when I notice the young widow from the church. She too recognised me. We greet each other. Then she gets up, approaches our table and asks me in her lively voice: "Aren't you the gentleman who approached me on the street on Sunday?" I don't know how many guests at the next tables overheard the question. Actually, it was impossible not to hear. I would have liked the ground to open and swallow me up, but that didn't work. I dared not look around. So I quickly invited her to take a seat at our table, which she did.[1]
And then fate took its course. We met again in the evening on a bench on the banks of the Elbe. When we said goodbye, we arranged to meet the next afternoon, there again for the evening, and so it went on. Once I had forgotten an appointment. The next day I met her on a bench in the spa gardens, where she was sitting next to other spa guests. I went up to her and she immediately began a cringeworthy interrogation in front of everyone about my absence yesterday. She gave me a punishing look with her big, open eyes. She has beautiful eyes, but I was very embarrassed by that look.
One afternoon we went to an ice cream parlour. Ice cream was also rationed, but soldiers got double servings. My companion took shameless advantage of this. She ate four servings. I was embarrassed to keep running to the counter. But when she wanted a fifth serving, I went on strike.
Once we went to a hotel for dinner. There was a better-looking older man with greying temples sitting there and making eyes at my lady. I was about to take him to task, but since my partner claimed she didn't like this complacent dandy at all (or something to that effect), I was somewhat mollified. After all, the guy was good-looking. She always wants to drag me along when she goes on her hikes. She likes to run a lot and fast, but I don't always want to climb up the mountains. Her sparkling temperament and vitality are downright terrifying.
I believe we really love each other. Nevertheless, there has already been serious quarrel. It was the day before her departure and I had resolved not to take her to the ship. But fate had it differently, because the next morning I looked out of the window just at the moment when Carola was passing by downstairs with Janna[2]. That's when my defiance collapsed. I hurriedly put on my tunic and ran - still unshaven - to the jetty to say goodbye finally.
By the way, I changed houses once during my stay. First I lived directly on the Elbe promenade and then at the spa square.
In the treatment room of the hospital, a very distinctive young woman works as an assistant. Rumour has it that she has a fling with a young artillery officer. I once spoke disapprovingly of this, and it came to her ears. One day she put a new bandage on me. She was extraordinarily skilled and had a very light hand. I complimented her on it quite honestly, but she punished me with a cold silence. By the way, you shouldn't throw stones when you are in a glass house.
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