In a Pershing tank of the "Third Armored Division" the 19-year-old Clarence Smoyer sits at the gun, on the other side the 18-year-old Schäfer. Just before the crossing of the Christophstrasse with the ring, the three German tanks meet with the American troops.
"As soon as we had arrived on the left bank of the Rhine, have blown up the bridge - our own people," Schäfer says. On the withdrawal of the Americans he had already reached the saving right bank of the Rhine in March, when he was ordered again to advance to the attack on the invading Americans over the Hohenzollern Bridge. At 17 he had volunteered for the Wehrmacht, a year later he fought in Luxembourg and France. And Schäfer concluded: "Hopefully this madness will never happen again."Īs a youth he had seen it differently. "Now we're friends, even though we almost killed each other back then," says Smoyer. 68 years later they face each other eye-to-eye for the first time and can hardly restrain the tears. The two were enemies and on March 6, 1945, when the Americans invaded Cologne, they delivered a fierce tank battle in the Christophstrasse. They have just set laid flowers together. Behind Clarence Smoyer (87) stands Gustav Schäfer (86) in the small cemetery of St. “Give me a few more minutes”, says the older gentleman in the Army Blouse and looks quietly at the wooden cross with the inscription "The Unknown Dead". “At that time we had nearly killed ourselves”Ĭommemorating American and German soldier set laid flowers for the victims of their battle in the Christophstrasse I used Translate to come up with the following transcription, so any assistance to improve the translation will be most welcome.
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