A One-of- Kind Christmas Eve That Had No Tradition or Custom

by Alfred Opp 

It was December of 1945 in Alfdorf near Stuttgart, Germany. We had just arrived in south Germany on December 10th of that year. We were poor and homeless - just out of the prison house that Poland had become for us.

 

In Alfdorf, the mayor gave us a two-room flat that we had to share with another family, separated only by a door. For the other family to go outside, they had to walk through our room. On Christmas Eve we went to the local church for the Christmas Eve service. The locals then went to their homes for their traditional dinner. We went back to our room. The only heat in the place was a small old stove that burned wood. That evening we sat by that stove to keep warm. We had no tree or candles symbolizing Christmas. Mother made tea and served us children squares of bread with marmalade on top, to make it look like cookies. At 8 pm, in keeping with our tradition, we sang "Es ist ein Rose entsprungen," "O Du Froeliche," and "Stille Nacht, Heilege Nacht." We had such a beautiful feeling.  We were free!! The gift we gave each other was hope that better times would come - and they did.

Alfred Opp