Ten Guardian Angels and a Tin Tub: A Memoir
'At one house that was hit by a heavy bomb, rescue workers could only retrieve the body parts of the victims and placed them into a tin tub, which was identical with the one we used as a bathtub when we were little, the one my mother and I used to carry the bread home. Now this tub was the temporary resting place of various legs arms and other body parts.' Throughout Adalbert Krei's life, a tin tub has connected many events. When he was a young boy, it played a role in bathing and imagination, when he imagined it as holding all kinds of wonderful food that his poor family could not afford, food he imagined sharing with his siblings. It was a symbol of hope during the days when the only hazardous games were the ones he played with his friends. But the tin tub became a sad sight in the days of World War II, when this German native was witness to horrific bombings and even entered the army at the age of fifteen. But the war would not last forever, and Adalbert would come out to find a happy life. Here, he shares his memories of his Ten Guardian Angels and a Tin Tub.