My mother, my two little sisters and I went to West Germany. We took the animals, two tractors and other things which the Germans left at the house. The trip lasted two full nights and one full day. We had no passports. If we had been captured, the soldiers would have killed us.

After two years there, I met a girl who was going to Canada. She asked me if I would like to go and certainly I said yes. My mother and my sisters decided to stay in Germany, but I decided to go.

I eventually travelled to Montreal and got a job with a Jewish family. After a while I met a young man from Germany. We married and then honeymooned in Florida. When we got back there were very many worries. The Quebecois wanted to be the separatists of Canada. We were Germans and in Quebec during this time, if one was not able to speak French, then one lost his employment.

Immediately, my husband Albert received his pink slip. His employment had been terminated. Albert went to the Department of National Defense and found work in Goose Bay. We looked for a house, found it on Green Street and bought it. Albert had already begun his work with snow removal with the American forces.

We didn't like to live in the town because the people were afraid of our two big dogs. There was a big house on an island known as Eskimo Island. Only one family lived there. We bought the big house and moved to the island to raise a family. I was pregnant with my first child. Unfortunately, our son Nicky died in a boating accident. Our son Roland was born four years later. He is in the Canadian military.

I was always a very active woman. One night I went to bed after working a very hard and long day. In the morning, I woke up paralyzed. It was very difficult to accept. A few years later I moved to the Paddon Home in Happy Valley. Here they have a very good staff, but there is too much work for them.

My life is very different. Generally I am very happy, but as usual it is very difficult to accept that I am handicapped. I have no idea of the future, but I hope that everything goes well.