Memoirs
March 2018
Owl place
From the incredible life of Rudi Kleineich or search for happiness in a hard time
by Harry Schmidt
This excitingly written book takes place between winter 1945 and Christmas 1953 - with skilfully inserted flashbacks to the years 1919, 1923 and 1930. The owl village that gives the book its title is the Lindenhof estate workers' village in Vorpommern, a place without owls, without newspapers and without electricity. One of its inhabitants is the 25-year-old day laborer's son and "bee man" Rudi Kleineich, who is of military age, as it was then called, but suffers from the life-threatening hemophilia and yet has an unbridled will to live. This will is even increased when, in the turmoil of the time, he comes into possession of a voluminous encyclopedia from 1886. From it he learns that he does not necessarily have to die as early as his uncle, from whom he copied beekeeping. The actual action begins a few days before the Russian invasion, which is expected with great fear and uncertainty, and which is supposed to be just outside the village. When the Red Army actually arrives, many terrible things happen in Owl Village, too, with which the soldiers with the red star take revenge on their German enemies - especially on their wives, almost no matter how old or young they are. In this Vorpommerschen place, too, Harry Schmidt, in reference to the hard historical facts, lets a real rape frenzy of several days happen. Law and order seem to have capitulated to the violence of the war and even officers no longer know either decency or humanity. But then suddenly it is over. As if someone had flipped a switch in the occupying forces, the intoxication is ended, and where rape and murder could have been committed with impunity, the perpetrators from their own ranks are now threatened with drastic punishment - including summary executions. The new order is taking hold. But what will the future bring to the little people of Lindenhof? And does Rudi's tender love for Christel, the refugee girl, have a chance?
