I am so grateful that I was born in Austria in 1987 and could live for more than 30 years now here in a peaceful country. But in terms of human existance the first and the second world war are only 77 and 104 years in the past and Austria was involved in starting both of these wars. Both my granddads fought in the second world war luckily got cought as Prisoners of War by the Americans and could return to Austria after the war. Both my granddads didn't tell a lot about the war but when they did it was always terrible and something they would not wish anybody to experience.
One thing I can remember very well was how excited my granddad was when Austria joined the European Union and when the Euro was introduced December 2001 / January 2002. He gifted me the "Euro Starter Package" wich contained all the new Euro Coins. He cried because for him this was a message that there will not be any war again in Europe. He also gifted me a book he wrote about his live and eventhough compared to his livespan (90 years, but when he wrote this book he was 70) war is one of the biggest chapters in the book. Maybe I will read it, but now I am a little bit build a little too much by the water and probably would cry to much. One thing I can remember when I flicked through the book was that according to my grandfather war always feels like "Waiting".
Waiting for the bad things to end, waiting for new orders, waiting for food, waiting for the day to end, waiting for a time to go to toilet, waiting for news, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting........... and this waiting is slowly killing your mind.
Sorry for this long text but I had to write it. Hope good times will come sooner than later and wish you all the best. Best greetings from Austria.
I highly appreciate your "long text"! Your grandfather was a wise man. His life made him wise. In my opinion, a person who has survived the war will never want to go through it. It doesn't matter if he is on the side of the losers or the winners. The time will come when you will be ready to read his book. But I can say that he very accurately described the war as waiting. This is what my life is, every hour and every day is waiting.
Thank you ❤️