On the night of Christmas Eve 1944, eight days into the Battle of the Bulge, Fritz’s mother was preparing soup (the main ingredient being a rooster they had found in an abandoned farmhouse) under candlelight. They then heard voices outside the cabin. The candle was put out. There were a couple knocks at the door. Mother opened the door and saw two men standing there. Another man was injured and sitting nearby in the snow. According to Fritz, they spoke a strange language. They were Americans.
His mother invited them in, despite the risk of incurring the Nazi regime’s wrath by accepting American soldiers during wartime. Speaking broken French with the Americans, she learned of the German attack and “how they had lost their battalion and wandered for days through the snowy Ardennes Forest, carrying their buddy who was wounded in his thigh.”4 The Americans got comfortable as Fritz was ordered to get more potatoes for the soup. The table was set and they almost started with their meal before being interrupted by another knock at the door. Fritz opened the door, expecting more Americans.
This time it was four armed Germans. Young Fritz was paralyzed with fear. His mother rushed over and invited them in for soup – on certain conditions.
[Again, be sure to read all of this — including the later confirmation of the story on Unsolved Mysteries, which Mr. Fog provides. — Ed]
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