‘No, they didn’t,’ I said. ‘I was already awake. It was nice to hear them, to hear sounds of home. I’ve missed them.’

‘All right then, dear. Get yourself some breakfast. It’s on the stove. Your mother’s kept it warm for you. Everybody else has eaten.’

‘Thanks, Tante, thanks, Mutti.’ A warm glow filled my chest at all the little things my mother was doing to spoil me. She had missed me and, now I was here, I realised how much I had missed her. ‘Where’s Erich?’

‘He’s in the garden, playing with the boys,’ called my aunt.

Standing at the doorway, eating porridge, I watched Erich with the boys. I didn’t mind the gluggy consistency that stuck to the roof of my mouth and came from not using enough milk; it was rich, sweet and filled my belly, settling the nausea I was becoming used to. I felt sure that it wasn’t regular breakfast fare but that it was made especially for my arrival.

Tante Susie had four boys ranging in age from five to thirteen. Erich was chasing them around the garden. The older boys were laughing as they kept out of his way, while the younger two shrieked as he got close to them. I couldn’t help but laugh myself as Erich caught the youngest, Hansi, and tickled him until he was writhing on the ground uncontrollably. The other boys ganged up on him, jumping on top of him, trying to hold his arms and tickle him too. Erich wrestled with them, grunting with the effort, until he somehow had all four boys on the ground. He whooped in triumph and grinned at me. The boys took that moment to exact revenge and were on top of him once more, this time wrestling him to the ground. The boys cheered so loudly, I was sure the whole of the town could hear them.

Their mother came out to investigate this latest noise. ‘Enough, boys,’ she said clapping her hands. ‘Leave Herr Drescher in peace for a while. Come, I have chores for each of you.’ The boys groaned and Erich pulled himself to his feet, still grinning broadly. They reluctantly left the garden, dragging their feet as they trudged past me back into the house.

Erich dusted himself down, chuckling.

‘Well, you looked like you were having fun,’ I said.

‘It took me back to my childhood games with my cousins,’ he said. puffing a little. ‘I’d forgotten how strong and rough boys can be.’

‘You’re a natural.’ I wanted to hug him close but I didn’t dare. Our carefree days were over.

‘Hansi reminds me of my son,’ he said, his voice catching just a little. I touched him on the arm, his warmth creeping into my chilled hand. ‘Sometimes I wonder what it might have been like to see him and his sister grow to adulthood.’ He sighed. ‘It was good to spend time with Susie’s boys. They certainly let you know that you’re alive.’

‘They’ve always been bundles of energy.’ I looked back to the house for a moment, and then asked the question I had been dreading the answer to. ‘What will you do now?’ Erich had refused to broach the subject while we were travelling. There were so many variables that couldn’t be addressed until we had made it to Windsheim.

He shrugged. ‘I honestly don’t know. I have no home to go back to but I’ll look for a job, I suppose. I don’t know when I’ll be able to go back to my profession but maybe I’ll find work at an airfield somewhere. Maybe that’s the way to start.’

My heart went out to him. It wasn’t right that he was left like this, like a leaf tumbling aimlessly in the wind.

‘What about your parents?’

‘With Silesia under Russian control, it’s not safe to go back to look for them just yet. When I’m settled, I’ll try to find them. Hopefully by then it will be easier to get information.’

I nodded, taking in every line of his face, like I couldn’t get enough of him. I didn’t want him to leave.

‘Has your mother had any news of your father?’

‘Mutti’s beside herself. The last letter she received from him was as the Americans arrived in München. He was waiting to surrender with his unit. He expected to be interned at a POW camp but she’s heard nothing since. I only hope that he’s all right.’

‘He’s probably fine. Your father is no threat to anyone. Most likely, he’s held somewhere near München. I’m sure they’ll release him soon and he’ll be writing for you and your mother to return home to him.’

‘I hope so.’ I was worried about my father. He wasn’t a young man anymore but there was nothing we could do among the chaos that came with the fall of Germany. The dry, tickling cough I’d developed began again now I was out in the cool air.

‘Come on, you need to go inside until it gets warmer.’ His hand pressed lightly on my back, but I felt his touch like a smouldering ember through my clothes. I let him guide me into the house and back under the watchful eye of my mother.

Erich and I were pressed into helping the household by a grateful Tante Susie. She was happy to have a man around the house and she asked Erich to stay until we knew it was safe for him to leave and look for work. The Americans had a strong presence in the town, especially with their occupation of the Illesheim Airpark nearby, which, according to Tante Susie, now accommodated a POW camp.

We helped the boys in the vegetable patch in the backyard, weeding, watering, picking off snails and harvesting the few potatoes, carrots and beets. Thank God in Heaven, the house hadn’t been damaged during the war but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t work to be done. Using Onkel Werner’s tools, Erich started on a long list of maintenance jobs. This kept him busy as he patiently showed the boys what he was doing and explained the process to varying degrees of interest. He was good with the boys and they warmed easily to him.

The biggest job was cleaning up the town, removing rubble from streets and public areas. The main water pipes had been damaged and the Americans were already repairing the ruined sections of pipe but we didn’t yet have running water. We used the water from the rainwater tank in the yard sparingly. We were lucky there had been rain and it was summer; in winter, the water would be frozen solid. There was no electricity when we arrived, and gas was unavailable too. We soon discovered coal and wood supplies were low. Our kitchen stove at home in München was electric. It was modern and beautiful to use but would have been no use to us now. Tante Susie’s was gas but thankfully, allowed for heating by coal or wood as well. Somehow she managed with what we could get, using the stove to cook and heat water only when necessary, to extend the supplies we had. I prayed things would improve by the winter, because otherwise it was going to be very tough.

The burgomeister had organised rosters but the work crews were mainly women. I joined Tante Susie and Mutti when it was our turn. It was dirty, back-breaking work but we were proud of what we achieved, trying to repair the homes and town.

‘No matter how long we move rubble, it seems we are no closer to finishing,’ said Mutti one day as she wiped the perspiration from her brow with a once white handkerchief.

‘We’ll get there,’ said Tante Susie, not breaking her rhythm, picking up pieces of debris from a pile and throwing them into the waiting American truck.

Younger women like myself carried the larger pieces across to the truck and, with the help of an American soldier, dumped them into the tray. I stopped for a moment and stretched my aching back, waiting for another woman to help me with a large piece of stone.

The American soldier smiled at me. ‘All right?’ he asked in English.

‘Yes, I’m all right.’

He looked at me in astonishment. ‘You speak English?’

It was my turn to grin. ‘A little.’

‘That’s wonderful,’ he said. ‘I’ve been looking for someone to translate for me. Can you help me direct these ladies so we can get the job done more efficiently?’

I nodded shyly. ‘I’ll do the best I can.’

‘That’s good enough for me.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out something covered in a paper wrapper. ‘Gum?’

I frowned, not understanding.

‘Chewing gum.’ He unwrapped the tiny parcel with deft fingers and popped it in his mouth, chewing deliberately. I smiled at his demonstration.

‘No, thank you.’ Walking around chewing all the time didn’t seem very nice to me, not very classy at all.

Chewing away, he gestured where we had to go. ‘Come and I’ll explain to you what I want done.’

It was a great relief to take a break from the heavy lifting. I tired a lot more quickly than I had expected to, probably from being so run down on our journey home. The American soldier had worked in his father’s demolition business before he enlisted in the army. He had good experience and organised our work crew so that before long, we began to see the results of our labour.

Erich stayed at the house. Despite his protests, Tante Susie agreed with me that it was too dangerous for him, a man of military age, to be seen out in public yet. Who knew what the Americans would do when they discovered his civil service rank and potential affiliation with the Nazi Party. He continued working around the house and yard and began tutoring the boys, as there hadn’t been any school for them for some time. He was a surprisingly versatile man who could turn his hand to many things.

It was easy to keep Erich with us. And while Tante Susie had a need for him, he was happy to help. However, I didn’t miss the odd scowl sent his way from my mother, who didn’t seem too happy to have him around.

‘When’s he leaving?’ she muttered, after a few days of holding her tongue. We were in the kitchen, preparing a vegetable soup from whatever we had.

‘Amelia! What’s wrong with you?’ Tante Susie stared at Mutti in amazement. ‘He’s wonderful. He’s fixing everything. He’s good with the boys and allows me to take my eyes off them for more than a second. It’s good to have a man around the house for security purposes too. Not that I’d tell Ernst that, because he thinks he’s well and truly old enough to be the man of the house.’