Nazis, even if they were German. The Russians really scared me, but we ended up being spared their arrival. Our part of Germany was invaded by the Americans, and I didn’t hide my national origin. I even got the cooks to fix pot after pot of chili for the Yanks. A few of them recognized the recipe as being Texas chili: point for them. They wanted to stay. One of the American soldiers actually showed up on his own after the war. He was gay and recognized that we had more than our share of gay men, and he wanted to be part of the crew.
Menz’s land had always been known as a good source of hops. Paco had been in charge of the fields for decades, and his work had earned the respect of brewers all over Germany. Paco loved nature and farming, and he made sure that the hops crops were expertly tended. The yield would be called “organic” today, but those who bought hops just called them a good product back then.
Hops production was cut back during the war. Paco planted more rye and barley, and he let more eggs hatch into chickens. Paco worked magic in making the farm continue to earn money while increasing food for our hundreds of guests.
He planted vegetables in some of the formal gardens. When I told him it was a shame to lose the gardens, he told me it was more of a shame to lose so many young men. Around others, Paco maintained some show of support for Germany. In private, he was angry that his own country would start a second major war in his lifetime. He cried when he read the papers because he knew the military often lied about how the war was going. We all knew that Germany was losing another generation of men.
I know: Germany deserved to be whupped. The country was brutal in its treatment of the Poles and others. It doesn’t make the destruction easier to accept. Not when you saw everything from the inside. I cry just thinking about it.
From the outside, it looked like Menz was doing his part for the war effort. What he was really doing was feeding and protecting hundreds of people who would have been taken off to be killed or forced to work in a factory until they dropped dead. Our underground visitors were all terrified. I visited them often, even though my German was awful. I made sure all the gay boys got kisses. Everyone else got big hugs. One woman, probably a gypsy, knew how to crochet, and she made me a small American flag, all in white thread but with lots of intricate detail. All the stars and stripes were in the right places.
After the war, some Germans said they had no idea of all the terror that was going on. That’s what they said. They lied. Of course they knew. Everybody knew, and Menz was going to help save as many as possible. And yes, the Jews were killed in higher numbers than anyone else, but gay people were rounded up too. If you looked like a gypsy, you weren’t safe while the Nazis were in charge of Germany. There was so much hatred. Oberon understood hatred; he could almost taste it. He loved helping protect the humans in our basement. He was more engaged in the project than I have ever seen from him before or since. Oberon was quiet, but he was fierce when it came to protecting those hurt by society.
Vampires were the civilized beings during the war. It was the human race that was completely out of control. I was embarrassed to admit that I was even human once. When the war was over, all the Nazi laws were thrown out except for the ones against gay people. They figured that Hitler was awful but that he got at least one thing right. That antigay law stayed on the books until the 1960s, and it is still hard to find any memorial to the gays and lesbians who were murdered in the concentration camps.
There’s a modern Roman Catholic website that denies gay people were taken to concentration camps. These so-called religious people call it the “Gay Holocaust Myth.” It’s bullshit. I saw it, and I still have a pink triangle (gay) and a black triangle (lesbian) torn from the uniforms
Menz’s land had always been known as a good source of hops. Paco had been in charge of the fields for decades, and his work had earned the respect of brewers all over Germany. Paco loved nature and farming, and he made sure that the hops crops were expertly tended. The yield would be called “organic” today, but those who bought hops just called them a good product back then.
Hops production was cut back during the war. Paco planted more rye and barley, and he let more eggs hatch into chickens. Paco worked magic in making the farm continue to earn money while increasing food for our hundreds of guests.
He planted vegetables in some of the formal gardens. When I told him it was a shame to lose the gardens, he told me it was more of a shame to lose so many young men. Around others, Paco maintained some show of support for Germany. In private, he was angry that his own country would start a second major war in his lifetime. He cried when he read the papers because he knew the military often lied about how the war was going. We all knew that Germany was losing another generation of men.
I know: Germany deserved to be whupped. The country was brutal in its treatment of the Poles and others. It doesn’t make the destruction easier to accept. Not when you saw everything from the inside. I cry just thinking about it.
From the outside, it looked like Menz was doing his part for the war effort. What he was really doing was feeding and protecting hundreds of people who would have been taken off to be killed or forced to work in a factory until they dropped dead. Our underground visitors were all terrified. I visited them often, even though my German was awful. I made sure all the gay boys got kisses. Everyone else got big hugs. One woman, probably a gypsy, knew how to crochet, and she made me a small American flag, all in white thread but with lots of intricate detail. All the stars and stripes were in the right places.
After the war, some Germans said they had no idea of all the terror that was going on. That’s what they said. They lied. Of course they knew. Everybody knew, and Menz was going to help save as many as possible. And yes, the Jews were killed in higher numbers than anyone else, but gay people were rounded up too. If you looked like a gypsy, you weren’t safe while the Nazis were in charge of Germany. There was so much hatred. Oberon understood hatred; he could almost taste it. He loved helping protect the humans in our basement. He was more engaged in the project than I have ever seen from him before or since. Oberon was quiet, but he was fierce when it came to protecting those hurt by society.
Vampires were the civilized beings during the war. It was the human race that was completely out of control. I was embarrassed to admit that I was even human once. When the war was over, all the Nazi laws were thrown out except for the ones against gay people. They figured that Hitler was awful but that he got at least one thing right. That antigay law stayed on the books until the 1960s, and it is still hard to find any memorial to the gays and lesbians who were murdered in the concentration camps.
There’s a modern Roman Catholic website that denies gay people were taken to concentration camps. These so-called religious people call it the “Gay Holocaust Myth.” It’s bullshit. I saw it, and I still have a pink triangle (gay) and a black triangle (lesbian) torn from the uniforms
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