Greece 1944

In the summer or 1944 I belonged to a small group of students who were sent on tour to give performances for the soldiers. We had a singer, a violinist, one or two pianists,a young dancer and a 15 year old xylophonist, the only male in the group. At first we were supposed to go to Norway but since the German army constantly retreated our destination also constantly changed and we finally ended up being sent to Greece.These four months, in spite of the fact that it was still war time and we did not belong to the people who were exactly welcome since we could be considered as belonging to the occupation forces, have been for many years among the most wonderful time I had ever experienced.

Greece at that time was in dire straights. Not only had the country been overrun by a foreign force, us, the Germans, but it also suffered from hyper-inflation. This meant.for example, that there was no real “normal”trade. You did not just go into a store, put down some money and bought, whatever you wished to buy. You traded, or haggled, or “dealt”. Black market was the order of the day. At least as far as the Greek population was concerned with whom we had no connection. We were housed in a small hotel somewhere down town which,of course, was requisitioned by us, the occupation forces. I have to confess, I was simply not concerned with all the political “ins” and “outs”. I just accepted life as it came.

Yes, we girls had no worries. We were assigned our rooms, in my case, three to a room. A shared bathroom but, for example, not much water. We filled the bathtub whenever there was water and scooped a bit out of it to wash at least our faces. Usually a fine film of dust settled on the water in the tub. On the other hand the view from my bed was extraordinary. My bed stood parallel with a large window which was kept wide open to catch whatever breeze was coming into the room. This was simply pleasant and welcome but what was stunning was the view through the glassless window Out there, in the not too far distance,above the roofs of Athens stood the Acropolis. Just turning my head a bit to the right I was looking straight at this incredible landmark with which I was very familiar ever since I had doodled the columns in History class listening to a very boring lecture given by a very nice but very boring teacher. So I knew to draw the Doric column,the Ionian column and lastly the Korinthian column.I was very familiar with the Parthenon and the Erechtion etc., etc. There they all were, somewhat in the distance but very visible and distinct, with or without moonshine. Simply there. For me to look at while I was slowly drifting off to sleep.

I have to admit that I was very disappointed when I walked around the ruins and saw how crumbly the marble was. It did not look like what I thought I knew what marble should look like. Nice and polished even as a ruin. I thought the view from the Acropolis over the roofs of Athens was much more impressive.But the most magnificent view I experienced one evening when I went to a concert one night with a friend when we were sitting on a rock below the Acropolis but above the Ampitheatre which lies just below.We sat above the tiers of seats in the dark looking through the three arches out onto the Aegian sea which was barely distinguishable but for tiny dots of light here and there created by the night fishermen busy on the water watched over by a thin sickle of the moon way above the sky. A few stars also blinked. Way below, in the pit the Athens Philharmonic played Mozart. To this day this to me was pure magic. During all these years I have heard many concerts,played by great orchestras in wonderful halls many of them conducted by great conductors but never have I had this sense of pure magic as that night barely lit by a small sickle of moon and a few glittering stars blinking over the silent activities of night fishermen plying their trade.

Did I say it was hot in Athens? It was more than hot. No matter how tired we were we woke up early simply because we were getting hot. All around us you could see people rising from their cool night on the roof to get ready for work.

Not only was it hot during the day but much of the country was infested with bed bugs. One night we had performed on the peninsula Attica and were supposed to stay at a small hotel for the night. A few of the girls had contracted a three day malaria which we were told was called papadachi fever.This meant they had to stay in bed. As it turned out, the hotel was totally infested with the bugs which crawled over the beds even when the lights were turned on. I was lucky not to have contracted the fever thus was able to spend the night sitting on the stoop of the hotel all night long thus avoiding being stung by the pesky bugs.Yes, the bugs were a nuisance but to me, sitting on the grass one night on cape Sounion, looking down the slope onto the still and peaceful water and across onto the island of Salamis, trying to imagine the battle which was fought there in 480 BC these bugs were just a minor nuisance..Never mind the bed bugs, never mind the discomfort or black market, this was simply a different world to me.

Slowly I had learned a few words of Greek.I think the first time I was taught a word was when sitting on an open truck which transported our group to next nights performance as well as a refrigerator.At one point the young mechanic, in charge of the refrigerator smiled at me, pointed to a lone tree we were passing, telling me the name. So I repeated the word, it seems to his satisfaction and my delight. I love languages, though I only speak two plus a smattering of a few more. So I had a good time on top of that truck looking out at the landscape around me and learning a few words of Greek.

What I remember most about my stay in Greece is the kindness of ordinary citizens. For some reason I never was subjected to any taunts walking down the street or any kind of harassment such as being spat at with peach stones. I had set out on the tour with the resolve I would not be bothered by pettiness such as pushing for the best seat on the train, I would just accept what was available. Which meant,I did a lot of standing and probably was being considered very aloof. But never by the everyday Greeks.

One night I came back to the hotel after curfew Marshall law had been declared, the streets were blocked with barbed wire and I was late coming back from a jam session at the radio station playing four hand Mozart. The hotel was locked down for the night,the streets deserted.Very, very timidly I pressed the bell button at the only entrance to the hotel, hoping the German head honcho would not hear the bell.After a few minutes the heavy door was opened a crack by one of the concierges. He quickly pulled me inside and up the ten or so steps to his office. He and his colleague were just getting ready to have their meager supper. I wrung my hands in apology for having disturbed their meal and these two men in turn pulled a third chair to their little table motioning me to sit down and share their meal with them. All they had was a bit of bread and one tomato. In front of my eyes they made a great show how they had washed the tomato, turning it this way and that so I could see how clean it was. I ended up sharing the tomato and bread with these two concierges who would have felt very offended had I not eaten with them.

Every so often one of them checked if the German boss was still up so that I could sneak to my room on the top floor. Finally they declared the ascent safe and I made it into our room only to be received with great relief by my room mates since we had gotten orders while I was gone to pack and get ready to leave Athens. I was horrified. I wanted to stay in spite of all the danger, heat and bed bugs. In tears I started packing. After a while the maid with a sweet smile took over and packed my suitcase for me. Never in my life have I had such a beautifully packed suitcase.

We ended up leaving Athens with the last train and were lucky not to be killed on the way home.The journey or trek home took two weeks and how ever difficult and dangerous it was I have always thought of these three months in Greece as an enchanted time enhanced by the kindness of the simple people who so often were condescended to by the German GI. How do you keep your surroundings clean if you have but one cup of water the entire day for all your chores?