You Can't Go Back. But You Can Still Visit It!

nos·tal·gia

/näˈstaljə,nəˈstaljə/

noun: nostalgia; plural noun: nostalgias

-a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations...

...which I am a complete sucker for. Google and Youtube can easily suck up an hour's worth of my life while I dig up old, obscure TV shows, pictures, cars and whatnot from the WayBack Machine that the internet can be. Ah so what, it makes me feel good.

I know our pasts weren't all rosy and filled with chocolate bearing bunny rabbits. I can point to specific times in my past I'd rather skip if I could. But there were the good times also. Those I can focus on with relish. I can time warp back and start to remember details I thought I forgot all about.

Here's a goofy story about nostalgia proving people are people all over no matter, what time or where.

A friend I have once traveled extensively in post war Germany. He avoided any touristy place as most of them were still bombed out or just the fact that touristy places are money vacuums anyway. He found various little beerhalls in the smaller unscathed towns and could speak enough German to get by. After a few beers and once the locals warmed up to him enough, they'd open up about their lives and thoughts and whatnot.

Since he was a history professor and based his thesis on WW2, he had particular interest in the various living makers of history as he found them. He found a few guys and became very interested in them at a beerhall in Berchtesgaden.

He found some veterans of the Deutsches Afrikakorps (Rommel's guys) who were enlisted men at the time of the great battles in Northern Africa. Think Eisenhower and Patton squaring off against Kesselring and Rommel. If you saw the movie “Patton,” the early part of the film is exsclusivly about Kasserine Pass and Northern Africa. The Germans eventually lost it all to the American and English forces in Tunisia and after that, Rommel was implicated in a plot to kill Hitler and that ended his career right quick.

So my friend has hit a gold mine of information, actual men who campaigned under Rommel. The problem was that most Germans right after the war, and to this day, are horribly embarrased to even admit the fact they had anything to do with the Nazi regime. They really prefer NEVER to discuss this with any American.

So, after more beers and more easy light hearted talk, my friend slyly slips in some old song he said he once heard of called “Erica.” He did this to see if anyone of those veterans would bite.

Erica was an old song sung by German soldiers who were pining away for their girlfriend's back home. The Wehrmact was comprised of regular, drafted soldiers who were more civilian vs straight military. The scary images of German armies you see promoted on TV are the SS divisions, which is a totally different animal. The Werhmact armies were young men who were taken away from home and longed to return. They were your regualar day to day schlubs trying to make a living.

So my friend sings a few lines, badly, in order to soften up these guys who won't speak of their time in Africa. Since they are now good and drunk they all start to sing “Erica” correctly and one guy starts to tear up and finally has to break the Code of Silence.

“How do you know this song?” the surprised veteran asks.

“I learned it, somewhat, back home in the US around 1939 from a german family that lived near us.”

This was a complete lie my friend told. He knew it because he's a rabid history fan of anything of WW2. He can sing a great version of the British WW2 love song, “Vera Lynn” too. He probably knows all those WW2 loves songs that long to see their best girl once more after the war is over.

So, imagine a table full of fat, balding ex Wehrmact guys with one American singing away. Finally, the sentimental veteran leans over, puts his drunken arm around my friend and says:

“Ah, you're a good American...you understand!”

After that, the guys start spilling their guts about their time in the AfrikaKorp under Rommel. To which, my rabid history friend is gobbling up like mad. They also spoke of their defeat and deportation to American POW camps in Georgia and Missisippi. But even then, as very young men, some of them had great memories of America.

People are people...you open them up about their youth and they'll go on and on and enjoy the hell out of it. I will too if you don't shut me up in time. I'll tell you all about 70's Pawtucket till you're bored silly!