Altenburg

Friday, 22 March 2013

A common experience for young men in France during the World War II was transportation to Germany to work, replacing the men who had been conscripted into the German Army.  Not all experiences were positive, but fortunately for Bernard Bruneau, Dominique’s father, he managed to find work in a butchery using his qualifications, rather than being set to work in munitions factories under the management of the SS.  His place of work was in Altenburg, near Leipzig and that is where we visited today.  Fulfilling a promise to his parents, he wrote home regularly during his detention and numbered each letter to indicate if any had been intercepted or lost.  Those letters have been preserved, and it was with this information that we set out to retrace his steps.  We found an impressive train station, which must have been less welcoming in 1940 than it was in 2013.  We found a pretty town and lovely people.  His letters report the same from 73 years prior to our experience. 

The Market Building

Inside the building

We took some photos of the meat market in which he first worked, now derelict, and spent some time retracing his steps through a museum, and trying to identify a painting which he reported depicted a town near his home in Mamers.  The museum staff was very helpful; the Tourist Bureau seemed uninterested until Dominique mentioned the years in which he visited their town.  Then they could not do enough.  Finally, the man who stopped in the street when we were taking photos and identified himself as the former inspector of the meat operation, and son of the previous inspector, was eager to pass on information.  We have email addresses and leads to follow and will certainly re-visit Altenburg for its own charms as well as to follow the story further.

The symbols on the outside