War Photographer's Notebook

patter
patter
patter
In the splashing water, the amplified footsteps passing through the waterway itself became more and more clear, and the rainbow trout that originally gathered in the waterway were also driven to swim to the gate by the rapid footsteps and the constantly shaking lights accompanying the footsteps.

Finally, when more than a dozen fish jumped out of the gate one after another and jumped into the moat full of reeds with their plump tails, Wei Ran also turned off the flashlight and got out sideways with difficulty.

is it you?Outside the sluice, Sophie, who was hiding behind a pine tree, asked cautiously while holding an MP40 submachine gun.

It's me, Sophie, I'm Victor, Victor Love.Wei Ran responded as clearly as possible.

Hearing this, Sophie jumped out from behind the pine tree where she was hiding, ran all the way to the top of the sluice, and at the same time did not forget to say hello, come and help!

Before he finished speaking, Wei Ran had already climbed up, helped turn the metal wheel with a diameter of one meter, and slowly closed the gate of the waterway amidst the creaking noise.

Until there was only a fist-sized hole left at the gate, and a parabola that just hit a stone was still pouring out, Sophie, who was wearing a youth league uniform, let out a long breath, while shaking the sore Asked with his arms, Victor, is the journey going well?How is my dad?

Fortunately, the road went smoothly, and Uncle Letz was safe for the time being.

Wei Ran was not in a hurry to reveal the chain dog he had just seen on the opposite side, but just took off the watch on his hand and returned it to the other party.

That's good, come with me Sophie took the watch and put it in her pocket, and walked towards the ruins of the castle not far away with Wei Ran in the dark.

Crossing a stone bridge full of weeds and a locked iron gate, Sophie led Wei Ran around the half-collapsed platform, passed through the ruins covered with dead vines and shrubs, and finally got into the Entered the church that was mostly destroyed by bombing.

Compared with the church rebuilt by later generations, the only thing left in the ruins of this building full of weeds and vines is the bronze icon, the room and the bell tower behind him.

As for the church itself, there were only three walls covered with vines and the collapsed dome that was also covered with weeds on the floor.

you live here

Sophie led Wei Ran into the room on the right side of the icon, pointed to a bed facing the fireplace and whispered, your backpack and your things are on the bed, the fireplace is still working, but only When burning coal at night, remember to cover the windows when using it, otherwise it will be discovered by American planes.

In addition, you can only use oil stoves during the day, and remember to put out the coals. The reason is the same. No matter if you attract Americans or our people, we will never survive.

Also, regardless of fuel or coal, it is best to save some, our reserves are not large, and no one knows when this battle will end.

Glancing at Dominic who was sleeping soundly on the bed next to the wall on the left hand side of the fireplace, Wei Ran nodded lightly, and then asked, how about you?Where are you resting?And before."

come with me
Without waiting for Wei Ran to finish speaking, Sophie led him out of the room, walked to the stairwell on the left hand side of the icon, closed the wooden door, walked to the small bed placed against the wall, and put the same The American oil stove and the German gas mask canister turned up the heat of the heater, while explaining, I originally planned to let you live here, but there are many things here that are mine, and you live next door It can also help me keep an eye on the direction of the gate, so I'll move it here. …

Looks like I have no reason to refuse to live next door
While accepting the other party's arrangement, Wei Ran hurriedly looked at the stairwell that only led to the basement by the faint light of the heater.

In this small space, the stairs leading to the basement have been tightly covered by the wooden floor. Sophie's small bed is placed in this position. wooden chest.

Other than that, it's not that big
On the four walls of the room, there are still oil paintings hanging one after another. There is a wooden easel near the head of the bed near the only solid window covered by an animal skin blanket, and the paintings on the tight canvas There is a goat and a kneeling lamb, and on the small table next to it, there are tubes of paint, a camera and a wooden box full of film!
Quietly withdrawing his gaze, Wei Ran couldn't help asking again, Sophie, where are those children?

They're not here"

Sophie yawned, and I will take you to see them tomorrow, they are already asleep by this time.

Well, let's do it tomorrow, there's something else tonight
After yawning, Sophie patted her forehead, led Wei Ran to the room, walked outside the ruins of the building, raised her finger to the direction of the sluice and asked, can you see the jet of water sprayed from the sluice?

can see

Wei Ran nodded, not only could he see the parabolic water column, but he could also hear the white noise of the water column hitting the stone continuously from such a distance.

You sleep in Dominique's room, watch out for the water column"
Sophie wrapped her woolen coat tightly, and handed a shiny whistle to Wei Ran, explaining that if this water column disappears, you should take your weapon as quickly as possible to open the water gate and blow it inside whistle.

understand
Wei Ran took the whistle and hung it around his neck. After a little hesitation, he said, Sophie, there is one more thing.

What's up?Sophie asked as she walked back.

Just before I entered the waterway, I met two chain dogs.Wei Ran paused, and described what happened before in detail.

Did they notice the mill?Sophie panicked, and then said, I see, I will notify my father.

If you need any help from me, you are welcome. Wei Ran followed her and said while walking back.

I'm not polite
Sophie glanced at the rusty statue covered with dry vines, then walked to her room and said, Victor, good night, I will assign you work tomorrow.

Good night, Sophie"
Wei Ran watched the other party walk into the stairwell to the left of the icon, and waited until the other party closed the thick door before walking into the room on the right.

Also closing the door, Wei Ran first glanced at Dominic who was still sleeping soundly on the bed, and then at the burning coals in the fireplace, only then did he have time to look carefully at the room.

Still compared with later generations, the biggest difference in this room is that the wooden stairs leading to the bell tower are gone, not only that, even the top of the head is tightly sealed by wooden boards.If you are here for the first time, you may not realize that there should be a wooden staircase leading upstairs. …

Apart from this change, the furnishings in this room are also extremely simple, a fireplace, two beds, a table and four chairs are all the furniture.

Besides that, in a wooden box by the hearth, there was a tin bucket full of coking coal and a bucket of sand, and there were two American kerosene stoves, and a dirty Dutch pot plus a A heating radiator converted from a gas mask tank.

Gently pull out the wooden box under the bed, and there are stored vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions with soil in different categories, and there are strings of sausages hanging from the ceiling above the head.

Gently pushing the wooden box back under the bed, Wei Ran took off his boots and clothes, got into the American duck down sleeping bag on the bed, and thought secretly.He knew that what he saw in front of him was by no means all.Under the ruins, there must be more things hidden.

After a night of silence, Wei Ran, who was still asleep, was awakened by Dominique's exclamation early the next morning.When he opened his eyes, Dominic, who was cheering, had already jumped on him.

Victor, you are finally here!I've been thinking about you for days!Dominic cheered happily.

How are you doing here?Wei Ran
Sitting up and asking, he couldn't help but yawned at the same time.

It's very good here, many of my classmates are here!Dominic said happily, Victor, get up quickly, it's time for us to help Sister Sophie make breakfast.

Many students are there?Wei Ran froze for a moment, then quickly got out of the sleeping bag, and I got up immediately.

Seeing this, Dominic immediately picked up the bucket of sand in the box, and covered the burning embers in the fireplace with familiarity.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wei Ran also got dressed.Lifting the canvas covering the window and looking out, the water column bubbled from the sluice has been dyed golden by the rising sun, and at the same time, because of the temperature difference, white mist has evaporated.

Just as he was fascinated by the cloud of water mist, a goat poked half of its head over and looked at him curiously through the window.

Wei Ran, who was startled, subconsciously let go of the canvas, and when he opened it again, the goat had already been pulled by its not-so-big horns by a boy who was about as young as Dominique. To the side, another boy of the same age came over with a small bucket, and squeezed the goat's milk familiarly.

And farther away, he could still see boys in groups of two and two, busy carrying water back from the sluice with sticks and tin buckets.

Let's go!Dominic put down the tin bucket in his hand, pulled Wei Ran and left the room.

Looking up at the slightly dazzling Chaoyang, Wei Ran looked around and found that there were seven or eight boys who could be seen on the ruins. There are things to do, some of them are busy milking goats, some are busy fetching water, and some are carrying a small bucket full of rainbow trout, staggering towards the side of the platform building .

Seeing this, Dominic, who was supposed to be the guide, immediately ran over and helped the other party lift up the cleaned tin bucket.

Seeing this, Wei Ran simply followed behind, walking along the stepped path while observing the ruins overgrown with shrubs and vines. …

When he walked around to the side of the half-collapsed platform building, he saw at a glance that in a room that had not yet collapsed, besides a 200-liter oil drum, there were hills piled against the wall. Same coking coal.

In addition, there are several oil barrels thrown in half in this room.Some of these barrels were filled with water, others with chopped firewood, and others with dry sand.

And the rainbow scale fish that Dominic and the little boy of his age jointly threw in were poured into one of the oil barrels filled with water to keep them.

Seeing that no one cared about him, Wei Ran simply went to the next door to have a look.Contrary to his expectations, in this room, there are several girls in the age of fourteen or fifteen, sitting together, talking and laughing, handling various ingredients,

Some of them were busy peeling potatoes, some were cleaning carrots, and a hapless girl with tears streaming down her face was chopping onions on a small wooden board with a pocket knife.

Continue to walk in, after skipping two rooms full of clothes, in the only room with complete windows that survived the collapsed building, there is a girl holding a rag, wiping the long table and Matching chairs, and a sewing machine by the window, while a tall girl was standing on the window sill, wiping the glass window, which was actually clean.

Wei Ran noticed that there were thick canvas curtains hanging inside and outside the two windows, and in the wooden box near the wall, there was also a heater and a wiped clean Wehrmacht oil drum. The not-so-big bookshelf is filled with all kinds of books.

This is where we go during the day

Dominic, who came up, explained that we will read books and tell stories here. On the day I came, Sophie even asked everyone to rehearse a play.

When Wei Ran was about to say something, a few children who looked about ten years old at most also came in with an American or German helmet planted with flowers and plants, and placed them——on the side of the room. throughout.

Picking up an American military helmet planted with unknown wildflowers, there is a frame made of wooden strips outside the helmet.
It is the existence of this frame painted with patterns in various colors that allows the helmet filled with mud to be placed firmly on the table.

These are all made by ourselves. The girl who was cleaning the table explained that Sister Sophie taught us, and we also planted these flowers ourselves.

How long have you been here?Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

I came in October, the little girl pointed to another girl who was cleaning the glass and said that she came the earliest, and she came in July.

July?summer?
Wei Ran was stunned. The Battle of the Hurtgen Forest was only fought in mid-to-late September, so she came before the start of the battle?

Correct

The girl who looked a little older, but was at most sixteen or seventeen years old, replied while busy cleaning the glass, I came here with Sister Sophie, and there was another girl, yes Yes, I'm Heike.

Victor Wei Ran asked after reporting himself, where is Sophie?Sister Sophie is cooking, I'll take you there. …

Before Dominic finished his sentence, he pulled Wei Ran's sleeves and left this relatively warm room, walked along the corridor outside to the end, and then walked into a room on the left.

This room has no windows, but on the wall facing the door, there is a thick curtain made of canvas and American duck down sleeping bags.In addition, there is a circle of washbasins and several iron buckets filled with water near the wall.

Passing through this curtain, hot air mixed with the aroma of oatmeal puffed towards his face, and Wei Ran immediately realized that he had entered the basement of the main building of the castle.

From a long distance, he saw the cells that looked like prison cells, and a chirping kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling above his head.

After walking a few steps forward, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, because at the original entrance of this basement, at the doorway under the tower, there was a German-made cooking cart against the wall!
It's just that this door has been built tightly with stones, and by the way, the chimney of the kitchen truck has also been built in.

In this way, the tower that should have been the entrance to the basement also became an oversized chimney.

Wei Ran doesn't know if the chimney works well, but at least he didn't notice any smoke outside just now, and in this warm basement, he didn't smell any choking smell except oatmeal. .

Going forward a few steps, he also noticed that the basement has been divided in detail, and the row of dungeons with iron railings has obviously been turned into a dormitory, and canvas curtains are installed inside. .

In addition, he even saw two bathtubs and two piles of clothes waiting to be cleaned in one of the dungeons!
And in the two dungeons closest to the dining car, he also saw wooden boxes full of various supplies next to each other, and two big fat cats lying on the boxes!
Then look at Sophie who was busy in front of the dining car. She was leading a girl who looked about the same grade as her, and she was busy filling the lunch box on the table next to the dining car.

Looking closer curiously, these lunch boxes are all written with different names in bright yellow or white paint.

As he watched, Sophie filled the lunch box with piping hot oatmeal, another set the tray with hard-boiled eggs, and, by the way, tended to the goat's milk being heated on the gas burner.

These children usually sleep here?Wei Ran couldn't help asking.

There can't be so many people living on it, and it's safe and warm enough to take a bath.

Sophie pointed to the table next to her while explaining, and put your lunch box there.

Hearing this, Wei Ran hurriedly untied the lunch box at his waist and opened it. He took out a few pairs of new socks and a bag of sugar cubes and put them on the table with a normal expression. Then, under the surprised eyes of the two girls, I took out several boxes of R6 cigarettes from the fort and several zippo lighters I picked up from the fortress.

Finally, using the tray and the main body of the lunch box to knock lightly on each other, Wei Ran put his lunch box on the table.

你 叫 什么 名字？
The girl in charge of distributing boiled eggs had picked up a paintbrush and a tube of white paint from the table on the other side of the dining car while asking. …

Victor!Victor Love!
Dominic rushed to answer the question that Wei Ran should have answered by himself, and said proudly, Victor is my brother!It was he who brought me from the Ruhr!

Victor, how about a pack of cigarettes for me?
The girl with the paintbrush in her hand squeezed out a little paint the size of a soybean as she spoke, dipped the thin paintbrush into the paint, and carefully wrote his name on Wei Ran's lunch box.

of course not
Sophie said angrily, Qiqi, you are not allowed to smoke in the basement, let alone go outside to smoke.

Can I!
Sophie said with her arms akimbo, the air here is already very bad, so no smoking is allowed, we have hidden so much fuel outside, let alone let you smoke!If we set fire to the dead grass outside, we'd all be like "Okay okay!
The girl named Qiqi helplessly put the cigarettes and lighters that were already in her hands on the table.

If I find you smoking secretly, you will be responsible for washing socks for all the boys!

After Sophie finished speaking, she took a large spoonful of oatmeal mixed with carrots and potatoes and put it in Wei Ran's lunch box, and the girl named Qiqi also turned off the heating lamb after she put down her paintbrush. Gasoline stove for milk.

Do I have no poached eggs?Wei Ran asked jokingly.Our chickens can only lay no more than six eggs a day
Qiqi clapped her lips and explained, before you came, there were 22 of us in total, not counting me and Sophie and Heike you may have seen outside, there are still 19 people here, these six eggs and three cups a day Goat milk can only be enjoyed by the youngest 18 partners in turn.

We had plenty of bacon and sausage, although there were not many eggs and feta.As Sophie said, she picked up three slices of sausage from a plate and put them in Wei Ran's lunch box tray. Of course, the most common one was rainbow trout, but it was usually only served at dinner.

Dominic, call everyone to get breakfast!Sophie said as she handed out slices of sausage.

I'll call them over right now!Before the words were finished, Dominic ran out in a hurry.

After a while, young boys and girls came in lined up shaking their wet hands, took lunch boxes with their names written on them, and lined up talking and laughing the same way they left the basement.

It wasn't until the last child left with a lunch box that Qiqi followed with an enamel milk jug, while Sophie scooped some water into the cooking pot and covered it, and then took off the The kerosene lamp asked, would you like to visit?

Of course, Wei Ran, who had been waiting by the side, quickly responded, it would be the best if he could introduce, so that I can know how I can help.

Counting Dominica, there are a total of 9 boys here, the oldest is 16 years old, and the youngest is only 12 years old.In addition, there are 13 girls, the youngest is only 8 years old, and the oldest is Qiqi, who is 18 years old.

After a short pause, Sophie pointed to a cell and said that each cell can sleep 6 people. Dominique suffers from congenital epilepsy. In order to take care of him, he lives with me in the church. After all, this place is not absolute. It's safe, so it's better for someone to keep watch outside. …

After briefly introducing the general situation, Sophie moved a few steps and pointed to the two cells closest to the cooking truck. These two cells are one of our food warehouses. Besides these, there are some stocks outside.

those kids "oh
Sophie sighed, and after a moment of silence, she turned off the kerosene lamp she was carrying in her hand, replaced it with a square box flashlight as a lighting tool, and walked around the basement with Wei Ran while solving the problem.
Shi said, those children were orphans found by Uncle Kasten and Aunt Heidi in the city, and most of the older ones were Dominic's classmates.

Before this fall, my father received an order to conscript children to dig trenches and repair forts in this forest. Dominique’s classmates were all within the scope of the conscript. They were all Aunt Heidi’s students, but Dominique, who suffered from epilepsy More serious is not within the scope of symptoms.

So before that only .yes

Sophie nodded. Before recruiting those children, only Qiqi, Heike and I hid here. They are all my good friends.

"Are they Jews?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

Jewish?Ah..
There was a trace of sarcasm in Sophie's tone, but in the end, she shook her head, don't worry Victor, there should be no Jews here.

So why are they hiding here?Wei Ran asked a little bit inquisitively.

This time, Sophie was silent for a longer time. Finally, she turned off the flashlight, and led Wei Ran to the small window on the edge where several cats struggled to get in.

When the morning sun hit the faces of the two of them along the narrow window, Sophie lowered her voice and uttered a word—white rose.

what did you say?
Wei Ran looked at the other party in surprise, and also lowered his voice and said, White Rose?You and Qiqi are members of White Rose?and many more!I heard that the main member of White Rose has a girl named Sophie, it can't be you.
It's just a name change
Sophie shook her head. Although my name is Sophie, I am not Sophie Sol, I am Sophie Capet.

Before Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief, Sophie continued, but I am indeed a member of the White Rose. I joined the White Rose in 1941, when I was only 16 years old.

Seeing Wei Ran looking at her in surprise, Sophie spread her hands, and then asked innocently with her hands on her hips, Qiqi, Heike, and I are all members of the White Rose organization, Victor, you don’t plan to betray us?

Do not make jokes

As Wei Ran said, he had already pulled out a 1911 pistol he had picked up from the holster on his waist. Under the vigilant gaze of the other party, he turned the handle of the pistol and handed it to the other party, and then hung the submachine gun on the other party's shoulder. neck.

You are. Sophie looked at Wei Ran puzzled.

I also want to join the White Rose. Wei Ran expressed his attitude as a bachelor.

Hearing this, Sophie froze for a moment, then laughed out loud, and said while returning the weapon to Wei Ran, my father was right, Brother Victor, you are indeed a trustworthy person.

Thank you Wei Ran for taking the weapon and asking along the topic, so Uncle Letz.
And my mom and Aunt Heidi and Uncle Kasten, we're all members of the White Rose.Sophie said bluntly that my mother was the first to join White Rose. She had just been hired as a teacher at Aachen University.

The situation of White Rose is not very good now, is it?Wei Ran lowered his voice and asked.really not good
Sophie nodded lightly, and said worriedly, since the Saul brothers and sisters were arrested, the White Rose organizations around the world have also been attacked and hunted down. Qiqi and Heike are, this summer, those damn French The two of them are already wanted.

But the main problem now is that the connection between us and the white roses in other cities has long been broken, and what we can do now is to protect as many children as possible and the white roses who have not been caught. Rose member.

Having said that, Sophie pointed outside, and don't tell those children who we are, including Dominic.

Don't worry, Wei Ran nodded and agreed, is there anything else I can do?The guarding of the sluices will be left to you.

Sophie said without thinking, if possible, how about letting those little boys be in charge of you?
This

Of course you can

Wei Ran thought for a while, and asked extra, Sophie, don't we have to worry about someone coming from the forest outside?

Don't worry too much
As Sophie walked out, she explained that there was a large swamp outside this forest, and there were many landmines in the swamp. Neither the Americans nor the Germans would know this place.

Of course, we must pay attention to the use of fire and smoke. More than two months ago, we accidentally exposed the fire and the church was blown up by the Americans. We were almost buried in the ruins that time.

Wei Ran, who will pay attention to this problem, picked up his own lunch box on the table while speaking.