Crealde Christmas Party

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Returning from Europe, I was hoping to re-establish my courses at Crealde School of Art in Winter Park. The problem is that Crealde published a printed course brochure and submissions for the courses happened while I was away. My Urban Sketching Course was not in the printed brochure, so I would need to wait until the next brochure was printed. I filled out a revised course description last week to try and generate interest in the art of sketching on location. Instead of focusing on Urban Sketching, I decided to re frame the course focus more about Travel Sketching. My course will be offered again in the summer and fall.

At the Crealde Christmas Party, I got to meet the new Crealde Executive Director & CEO Emily Bourmas-Fry. She was wearing an adorable set of deer antlers. She was warm and inviting and made me feel right at home again. Jim Hobart the Crealde Photography Program Manager has been talking to me about mounting an exhibit of my series of WWII sketches that follow my father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken through Europe in 1945. It has been 80 years since Germany surrendered to end WWII and I sketched every city where my father’s C-Company was encamped and fought in France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.

Towards the end of the series I started adding black and white paintings based on historic photos on top of my location sketches which show what the area looked like in 1945. I now have to go back over all the sketches I posted while I was traveling in Europe to add these black and white historical visual notes. Since history is repeating, I sometimes let modern history morph into the history of the 1945 atrocities. I plan to show the paintings by framing them in white shadow box frames and then having the black and white historical paintings elevated on the glass to show some parallax and separation of past and present.

In sketching the artists mingling, I noticed David Cumbie, the Sculpture Garden Curator & Sculpture Program Manager. I sketched at one of his welding workshops once and when I think of an artist who is completely committed to forwarding the Crealde art cause, I think of him. My course is offered on Sunday mornings and when I used to walk to my classroom, I always noticed David hard at work in the sculpture studio.

For over 3 months I have not interacted with people since I could not understand what they were saying. In some ways that is liberating. I would just assume they were complimenting my sketch, and I would say, Merci, Bedankt, Dank Je or Danke, My American roommate had suggested that I would meet the love of my life in Europe (Eat, Pray, Love style) but that was impossible since I could not understand any thread of conversation. I did not know any French, Flemish or Dutch. I was happy that my limited German was partly understood for the final months of the trip. One German female artist did invite me to her studio, but when we discussed meeting again, I had misunderstood what she said, and I went to the wrong place.

American party small talk therefore was not something I was prepared for at this Christmas party. I talked to a few people about the project I am working on, but when I discussed the German Stalag Forced labor camp that my father’s C-Company helped liberate, I could see people’s eyes glaze over. It seems discussing war atrocities tends to be a party conversation killer. I listened to one conversation, but it was all about commuting times and I lost interest and walked away. I wasn’t interested in loosening my inhibitions with drink, so after I sampled the food and desserts. I drifted off and made my way back to the home studio where I could settle in for a quiet night to write and sketch.

Howie in the Hills Christmas Festival

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I went to Howie in the Hills to sketch a small town Christmas Festival. I fell on love with a home in Howie in the Hills which looked like a 1920s Hollywood hacienda. The home was on the main road where traffic is supposed to travel at 35 miles per hour, but the huge 18 wheelers seem to roar by at 55 miles per hour. The studio would have faced out on that main road.  I returned to the home a second time to see if the noise was an issue. The first time the real estate brokers had been talking constantly. This time I wanted a moment of peace to stop and reflect. There was a tall grouping of bamboo between what would have been the studio windows and the road. I considered planting more bamboo to further muffle the roar of traffic.

On the second floor the real estate broker confided for the first time that there was termite damage to a door frame. The termites had infested the home starting in the kitchen and then migrated through the walls upstairs. The door frame was so hollow that the door higes had nothing to hold onto. The door was resting 0n the floor. I hadn’t tried closing the door on my first walk through of the home. I abandoned the idea of buying that home. It was also too far from the events that I love to sketch each day. I like being able to walk to coffee shops and arts venues to sketch at a moments notice. Howie in the Hills is about an hour and a half drive from any Orlando events.

I am 0n a staycation at an AirBnB in Thornon Park, Orlando Florida. Since staying here, I have been doing several sketches every day. After I teach a virtual class tonight, I will be walking down the street to City Arts Factory to sketch Story Club. If I was still out in the country the hour and a half drive would have made the sketch opportunity a no go. The AirBnB is in a great location, but it has no WiFi, so I have to move again in a couple of days.

I parked across the street from the Howie in the Hills home I had decided was all wrong for me and I walked to the Christmas Festival. There was a stage for performers and I leaned against it to sketch the inflatable bounce houses. One of the staff who were supervising the bounce houses and slides set up beside me to eat lunch. He explained that he had to ask one kid to leave because the kid was bullying other children. By refusing the bully admission, the other kids could play without the harassment. If only politics were so easy.

I enoyed watching the kids trying to scale the rock climbing tower. One boy kept trying and failing at reaching the top. I admired that he never gave up. An older girl managed to get to the top on her second try. She raised her hands in victory and was lowered to the ground swaying on her safety rope. The little boy looked on in wonder and then attempted his climb with renewed determination. He failed again. He was dropped to the ground swinging on his safety rope with his arms dangling. I don’t know if the little boy ever made it to the top of the tower. As I packed up my sketchbook he was in the midst of another attempt.

I walked down the street filled with tents where vendors offered their Christmas knick knacks. I wasn’t tempted to purchases anything. To be honest I kind of skipped Christmas this year. My Christmas highlight this year was a Christmas market in Plettenberg Germany and sipping mulled wine while overlooking Wiesbaden Germany from a mountain top. This small Howie in the Hills estival felt overly commercial and shallow in comparison. There wasn’t much history behind the festivities. Being single and completely unattached, the holidays have less meaning. I might just treat myself to a new sketchbook or some new tubes of paint. I can’t order them online, since I don’t know where my next address will be.

Florida Film Festival Poster Second Pass

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It was pointed out to me that I got the dates wrong for the Florida Film Festival. The festival actually ran from April 10 to 19, 2026. When I was throwing together the comp, I just lifted type from previous posters to get the impression of what the final poster might look like.

From several Airbnb’s and hotels in Germany I made revisions to the Florida Film Festival poster. First the soldier from my first pass of the poster had to be replaced because America is a country which embraces peace rather than war.

Since racial diversity was called for, I added a Chinese man, and an Indian woman. I didn’t know how many races to add, so I tested the water and waited to see if more was needed. Many of the distant audience was still just blocked in without detail. The festival asked to add details that are unique to the Enzian Theater. I sketched inside the Enzian when renovations were being done, so I was familiar with the look of the interior. I have never sketched the theater looking back from the stage. I searched Google images to see what the back wall of the theater looks like. I held off on polishing the painting to a final look since I was certain that more changes were to come. Working digitally is ideal for changes. Each character in the audience was drawn and painted on their own layer. If a character had to be removed, I could do that with the touch of a button.

For the rest of my trip through Europe, I heard nothing about the need for more Florida Film Festival poster changes. My assumption is that another concept was approved for the festival poster and promotional materials. The concept I was working on was a mine field of possible problems with hundreds of possible revisions and refinements. The poster concept I had been assigned must have been been rejected.

My attention shifted back to a full time dedication of documenting a time in 1945 when America defeated fascism at the end of WWII.

Back to the States

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The temperatures in Paris France were dropping fast. Even with gloves on, my sketches were getting a bit shaky.  I had to leave my hotel near the Eiffel Tower very early to meet my Uber driver for a ride to the airport. I had success navigating Paris with the Metro and considered taking it to the airport, but the maps were not super clear on which stop I needed at the end of the line. I also was concerned about possible wait times as I switched trains at several stations. I’m glad I took Uber because it gave me a chance to look at the landscape as we drove out of the city.

I was rather sad to leave Europe because I knew I would be returning to strip malls and a fascist government. I documented an World War from 80 years ago but war was most certainly likely to break out again. The American president considered himself a war time president during the worst of the pandemic. He will only truly feel masculine when he is using the military against Americans and against nations of his choosing.

I thought I was documenting the worst possible fascist regime by sketching WWII sites my father passed through and liberated in Germany, but Germany learned its lessons from America which has always been racist and had no problem putting Japanese Americans in concentration camps at the start of WWII. Germans put people who were not Aryan enough into concentration camps. America is now following suit by randomly picking up people off the streets who do not look American enough. Children are being used as  bait to seize and imprison parents in the detention centers.

It started to snow as we drove towards the Charles de Gaulle Airport. It was the first now I had seen in my three months sketching the movements through Europe of the 75th Infantry Division. I am sure my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken had visited Paris on leave from Camp Cleveland which he helped run. My father left Europe on about August 1, 1945, on a boat to America. He had been in Europe for 1 year, 3 months and 18 days. I originally wanted to stay in Europe sketching for the same duration, but the Schengen rule only allowed me 3 months to complete my sketch project. I had to rush through the 70 or so cities in France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany at a much faster pace with my tiny French rental car.

You can tell a lot about a country by how people drive. Driving in Paris was of course hectic, but country driving was a delight. Belgium and the Netherlands both felt relaxed. Trucks drove below the speed limit, and all the other drivers were very polite. When I drove the speed limit, I would always find myself passing most of the traffic. Germany on the other hand is much like America in that all the drivers seem to be in a furious rush to get to the next stop light. Germans tail gate even closer than Americans do. They would rather drive though you than around. I had no desire to have a German officer stop me for driving too fast so I stuck to the speed limit. I started singing a little jingle every time there was a German on my butt. Every German I met who saw my rental car always commented on the French license plate. It looks just like a German license plate but with a tiny F instead of a tiny G. It might have been a mistake to drive the whole trip in a French car.

I also have a baseball cap that has the American 75th Infantry logo on it. In France people love the Americans for their help liberating their country from German occupation. The cap helped me fit in with WWII reenactors and others who appreciate the accomplishments of the greatest generation during WWII. People in Belgium and the Netherlands also appreciated seeing the emblem from 80 years ago. When I crossed the Rhine River into Germany, I stopped wearing the 75th Infantry Division hat, replacing it with a simple black cap.

At the time of my flight back to America the government had been shut down and air traffic controllers were not being paid. I was almost certain that flight would be delayed. I had no choice, my 3 months in Europe were up. Other than the exhausting wait going through customs the flights ran on schedule. All 6 of the sketchbooks I had filled were in my backpack along with multiple books about Stalag VI-A the POW camp that the 75th Infantry Division helped liberate. I am still translating the German book about Stalag VI-A too learn all about the camp which would have opened my father’s eyes to the horrors of how people are treated as subhuman and starved to death for the sake of a fascist Aryan ideal. I have no doubt that what he witnessed would have molded his world view for the rest of his life. If he were still alive, I would have so many questions.

May 7, 1945, Late Pasta Lunch in Paris

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A block from the hotel I was staying at in Paris was a breakfast place that was really popular. I tried to get in, and the hostess pointed out the door. There was a long line of people hoping to get inside waiting in the street. That was not going to work for me. I walked past the place every morning and there was always a long line. It was too popular for me. I walked a few shops down the street and walked into Ricci which was a pizza and pasta restaurant. I sat at a table towards the back of the restaurant and ordered a plate of pasta.

I sat at this table because there was a group of men eating across from me at a long table. However, they were close to being done. I noticed their cups near empty and there was no food left on the plates. Sure enough as I started laying in my sketch, they got up to leave. I was left with a large empty table and a small family tucked away in the corner. Their, two children were squirming and impatient. The waiter was really good with the kids, entertaining them as their parents also got up to leave.

I was left to sketch the gaudy and tasteless painting of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and I think Leslie Caron as Gigi, hanging on a mirrored wall. Each of the women was blowing a big bubble. The tacky paintings had gold leaf and bright colors. The owners might have thought this is the type of art that tourists wanted to see. Maybe they think that people come to Paris for gaudy pop art rather than to see classical masterpieces in the world class museums.

The German Generals signed the surrender document on May 7, 1945, in a red brick schoolhouse in Reims France in a room whose walls were covered with war maps. This was General Eisenhower’s headquarters. I thought this was too humble a spot for signing such an important document. It really should have been signed in a more opulent setting. The Russians had the same idea, and they insisted that a second document of surrender should  be signed the next day at the former Soviet engineering school in Karlshorst, Berlin Germany. This room felt more like a courtroom with dark wood paneling, dark leather chairs and above was a golden chandelier.

Then I thought to myself it might be more fun to sign the Document of Unconditional Surrender in a gaudy Paris restaurant with Marilyn, Audrey and Gigi blowing bubbles. What the occasion needed was plenty of mirrors, cheep restaurant chairs and pop art. Of course, pop art wasn’t a thing until late in the 1950s and it didn’t become popular until the 1960s, long after the war was over.

My spaghetti Marinara was good and I ordered two Cokes for the caffeine rush. I also ordered a dessert since the sketch was taking some time to create. I nursed my desert taking my time to complete the sketch. The waiter walked over to my table. I was the only person in the place. He informed me that they needed to shut the restaurant down. I did not realize that some restaurants took a break between lunch and dinner. I tended to eat at odd time on my trip since I would only eat between sketch opportunities. I apologized and wolfed my desert down. The sketch was as done as it was going to be. I kept hoping that someone might sit down at the large table I was drawing but that was not going to happen.

I got up to pay my bill. I got some stink eye from a second waiter. He must have been annoyed that the American tourist would take so long to eat a plate of spaghetti. He wanted his afternoon break. I walked back to my hotel and made plans for what I might sketch the next day.

March 1, 1945: Trier Germany

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After visiting my Thorspecken cousins in Wiesbaden Germany, I had hundreds of miles to drive to get to back to Paris France before my flight to the States. My three months in Europe were quickly drawing to a close. I divided the drive in half and decided to stop on the first night in Trier Germany. The drive to Trier was 100 miles. Trier is a historic old Roman city on the border of Germany and Luxembourg. It was a long day of driving on winding mountain roads and quick sprints on the autobahn where there is no speed limit.

In Trier I stayed at a quaint historic hotel on a hill overlooking the city. There was a walking trail down into the city which would have been lovely but it started to rain. In the morning I decided to sketch the glorious panoramic view from my hotel window.

Prior to the Allied advance, the Jewish community in Trier was harassed, with roughly 600 people deported between 1941 and 1943. In September 1944 Trier was subjected to almost daily bombardment by American artillery. Allied forces carried out three large-scale aerial attacks on the city later in the same year. On December 19 at 3:30 pm, 30 British Lancaster Bombers dropped 136 tonnes of high-explosive bombs over Trier. Two days later, on December 21 at 2:35 pm, 94 Lancasters and 47 American fighter-bombers dropped 427 tonnes of ordnance (high-explosive, and incendiary bombs). Another two days after that, 700 tonnes of bombs were released over the city. At least 420 people were killed in the December 1944 attacks on Trier. Numerous buildings were damaged. During the entire war, 1,600 houses in the city were completely destroyed.

Trier Germany was captured and liberated by American forces, specifically Task Force Richardson of the 10th Armored Division (Combat Command B) of the U.S. Third Army on March 1-2, 1945. The troops secured the city and it’s historic Roman Bridge during the Allied offensive to clear the Rhineland before crossing the Rhine River. The capture was highly significant with General George S. Patton and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force Dwight D. Eisenhower visiting to honor the success. The quick capture of the historic bridge lead to the quick fall of the city. Around 3000 Wehrmacht soldiers surrendered when Trier was captured.

The 75th Infantry Division was not involved in the capture of Trier. On March 1, 1945 they were liberating Venlo Netherlands from the Nazis as part of Operation Grenade which pushed the Nazi troops back across the Rhine River into Germany.

March 28, 1945: Hessian State Theater, Wiesbaden Germany

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After sketching in Plettenburg Germany, I arranged to visit distant Thorspecken cousins in Wiesbaden Germany. Back in 1994 I visited all of the Thorspecken relatives I could find based on researching my family tree. One relative was a professional flute player for the state theater in Weisbaden. When I interviewed her back in 1994, she was nursing her newborn baby girl. That child was just married, and she helped me on this project by agreeing to allow me to ship the empty sketchbooks to her home in Koblinz Germany. When my first sketchbook was completely full, I drove to Koblinz to pick up the other 6 sketchbooks and was treated to a delicious traditional German breakfast in their home..

We all agreed to meet at Hessan State Theater in Wiesbaden. This is where my cousin performed fin the orchestra for so many years. She retired recently from performing in the theater, but she knows every nook and cranny of the place. One entrance of the theater was for the king and all his horses. She showed me the kings box seating which was of course the best seat in the house.

I loved when we explored the prop rooms and the huge scenic shop. Large scenic drops were on the floor being painted. Another theater had a rehearsal going on but my cousin marched in with confidence, and we watched for a while from the back rows. Another rehearsal was going on in a lobby which was super elegant with highly ornate gold trim. We watched that rehearsal which was in English from an upper balcony. The theater was a buzz with activity.

Wiesbaden is situated above natural hot springs. Steam can be seen rising from the ground in many spots. A fountain allowed people to sample the sulfur flavored water which is supposed to have healing properties.

My cousin used to live in Weisbaden but she just recently purchased a home out in the country. The home had a wood burning stove and a balcony that has a gorgeous view of the valley surrounded by large hills. I loved the way her home was decorated, it had an elegant old world feel. She practiced her English and I practiced my limited German. After a day of exploring Wiesbaden with my cousins, they insisted we go to a spot high on the mountain that overlooks the city to have a hot mulled wine. It was the perfect end cap to an amazing day.

Wiesbaden became a military base during WWII for the General Command of the XII Army Corps and the 3rd battalion of the 38th Infantry Regiment. It was also a target for Allied bombings because of its industrial support for the Nazi war machine. Allied bombing raids targeted Wehrmacht facilities, the Glyco-Metalworks production plant, the Dyckerhoff and sons cement works, Kalle chemical works, the Albert chemical plant among others. There were frequent attacks on both industrial and residential areas. By the end of the war, around 30% of Wiesbaden’s buildings had been destroyed.

The Hessian State Theater that we visited, had extensive damage to the north side during the Allied air raid of February 2 to 3, 1945. In that air raid, nearly 500 British aircraft dropped 1,251 tons of bombs, including several so-called blockbuster bombs, which could destroy entire city blocks. But the city was lucky — heavy cloud cover meant it was spared the destruction suffered by many German cities in the war.

Wiesbaden was liberated from Nazi control on March 28, 1945, by the U.S. 80th Infantry Division alongside elements of the 4th Armored Division during the drive to the Rhine. On that morning at 5:45 a.m., a white flag was raised on the bunker at the museum, marking a peaceful surrender despite the Nero decree which insisted on evacuation and destruction of all infrastructure. My father, 1st lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have been much further north, crossing the Dortmund-Ems Canal on the way to attacking Dorsten Germay. The 75th Infantry Division did not take part in the liberation of Wiesbaden.

After Wiesbaden was liberated, it became a major hub for American forces. The city served as a major U.S. Air Force base (crucial during the 1948–49 Berlin Airlift) and housed the “Central Collecting Point” for art recovered from the Nazi’s by the Monuments Men.

Plettenberg Germany, Böhler Cemetery

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Cross shaped headstones for German soldiers were right behind me as I sketched the Böhler Church in Plettenberg Germany. It seems any time I sketch in a cemetery there is a small army of lawn mowers buzzing between the headstones or it is raining. The lawn care guy mowing near me got closer and closer. I shouted out, “Do you need me to move!” in German. He shouted back “Nein!” After he was done, he looked over my shoulder, probably to see how long I had drawn the grass. After I sketched the church, I considered leaving since it was rather cold, but I could not resist and I turned around and sketched the headstones.

In Plettenberg, the first Allied artillery shell landed just beyond the Böhler Cemetery. Between 10 and 11 a.m. that Friday, the American troops advanced again in skirmish formation, coming down Grafweg, into the Plettenberg town center.

Manfred Rettig recounted: “…My father, Walter Rettig, owned the Wilhelm Schade factory canteen during the war. In 1945, my father had to provide the mess hall for a Wehrmacht unit. Some soldiers from this unit had entrenched themselves above the former collection pond at the Schade company. There was a tank barrier in the valley. As far as I know, these soldiers were killed by the Americans. We children, (about 10 years old) could still see the blood in the ditch for a long time afterward. A few days after the war ended, a friend of mine was killed by a rifle grenade that was found…”

There are over 50 soldiers’ graves in the Böhler cemetery, including 9 graves of Hitler Youth who died during clean-up work in Dortmund Germany. According to a census from January 1951, there are 159 war graves in Plettenberg; a total of 40 foreigners (30 Russians, 2 Poles, 8 Italians) who were prisoners of war, or forced laborers in Plettenberg were buried here; during World War II, 111 German soldiers were buried in Plettenberg. The total number of victims of the Second World War can only be estimated. Estimates range up to 80 million war dead.

After the war in 1949, demolition experts were clearing ammunition near Plettenberg, when an anti aircraft shell exploded. Police Sargent Bruno, was killed and a bomb disposal expert was seriously injured. A 17 hear old farm hand who was showing them the duds, miraculously was not injured. The bomb disposal expert was quickly rushed to the hospital, and doctors tried to keep him alive.

On April 15, 1945, the 75th Infantry Division located possible camp sites for Displaced Persons, and checked road and bridge conditions in the area south of Dortmund Germany. On April 22, 1945 the 75th was given the task of placing road guides on the approach to Plettenberg. The troops then assembled in Plettenberg at 11:30am. On April 23, 1945 the first platoon including my father 1st lieutenant Arthur Thorsecken’s C-Company, set up an Observation Post (OP) on the main North West road into Plettenberg. An OP is a position used by soldiers to monitor enemy movements, warn of approach, or direct fire. On the 24th they were relived of OP duty and assigned the mission of reconnoitering in the area South of Plettenberg, Germany in the Division area to look for road blocks, road and bridge conditions, and ammunition dumps. On April 26, 1945, the 3rd and 1st platoons continued reconnaissance of area South of Plettenberg, Germany in the Division area. The 2nd platoon set up OP at the Division Headquarters in Plettenberg, Germany. The 1st platoon was alerted. On April 27th to 30th, the Division set up Ops at the Plettenberg Hospital and Radio Station.

After the German surrender on May 8, 1945, the 75th Division was tasked with securing the Westphalia region, including Iserlohn and Plettenberg. The division’s duties included managing displaced persons, securing the area, and caring for Allied prisoners of war.

Plettenberg Germany: Böhler Chapel

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The Böhler Chapel in Plettenberg Germany is a historic religious site, serving as a significant Lutheran preaching spot from 1723 to the mid-18th century, particularly when the main town church was unavailable. It was a center for early morning services and is adjacent to a quiet, historic graveyard that reflects local history. A stone in the wall of the church has the date July 19, 1907. A sign in the cemetery notes that the cemetery was founded in 1906.

The wall surrounding the church has a World War I and World War II memorial. A Column with a metal dish on top that looks like an eternal flame has a plaque that says WE REMEMBER. Another plaque with a relief sculpture of a man in a trench coat with his hands outstretched says REMEMBER THE PRISONERS. At his feet are Prisoner barracks with four sentry towers. This is probably referring to the thousands of Russian Soldiers who were starved to death at Stalag VI-A.

On April 11, the Americans advanced as far as Meinerzhagen and Herscheid (West of Plettenberg) and arrived in the outskirts of Plettenberg around 1 p.m. on April 12. The German troops that had been stationed in and around Plettenberg in the preceding days had already withdrawn or gone into hiding. Nevertheless, there were instances where, despite the obvious futility of further resistance, the desperate orders of the higher command were followed verbatim. This was the case not only with the demolition of the road bridge at Kaley, but also with the railway bridge at Siesel. When the first American tanks entered Plettenberg, a German soldier attempted to destroy a tank with a Panzerfaust on Grafweg, next to the Rempel company, and was killed in the process.

During the course of April 12th, the Americans advanced on the center of Plettenberg. Artillery pieces were positioned near Sonneborn Germany. The town center around Christ Church came under fire.

According to eyewitnesses, the very first shell hit the church tower. On the morning of April 13th, the townspeople were startled early by renewed artillery fire. Bernhard Schulte wrote: “ On April 13th, 1945, Artillery shelling of Plettenberg. In the afternoon, American tanks advanced from the direction of Leinschede into our village. Houses along the main road, behind which German soldiers fled, were shelled. The Catholic church would also have fallen victim to the shelling if Father Busch, the parish priest, hadn’t left the air-raid shelter to go out to meet the Americans.”

Leinscheide is a 9 minute drive to the northeast on the opposite bank of the Lenne River. The American tanks would have needed a bridge to cross the river. It is possible they could have crossed at the Fish Belly Bridge.

When the Americans had actually occupied Plettenberg on April 13 and a truce had been declared, the terrified population still dared not believe that the horrors of war were over. That evening, most of the Americans retreated to their quarters and left Plettenberg by car, heading towards Herscheid Germany (the town West of Plettenberg). A rumor quickly spread through the town that Plettenberg was to be carpet-bombed, and some of the residents, along with their families, boxes, and suitcases, fled to the surrounding hills. Some of the more cautious didn’t return home until the following morning.

Schulte continued: There was Fierce resistance during fighting. “Albert’s house and farmer Otminghaus’s house received direct hits from the tank fire. No livestock was killed. The first tank then turned towards Grabenstraße. A truck was parked in front of the first house on the left. A German soldier fled behind it. The tank set the truck on fire. This caused the old house to catch fire and burn fiercely. The soldier was seriously wounded. At Siepmann’s bowling alley…” Seventy-year-old Mrs. Stutzke was hit by a bullet. She died soon after. At 6:05 p.m., the first Americans arrived in our cellar. I immediately looked at my watch to capture the moment. The German soldiers were captured and taken away. The fighting was over for our town,”

The 75th Inantry Division Command Post wasn’t set up in Plettenberg until April 22, 1945.

Plettenberg Germany: Fish belly arch bridge

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I I decided to spend several days in Plettenberg Germany which was the command post for the 75th Infantry Division at the end of WWII. I drove to the Lenne River where I parked at the AquaMagis water park and then walked to this steel beam Fish Belly Bridge built which was built in 1914. Since it was cold, the water park was quiet. It was a crisp fall afternoon and the walk along the river was gorgeous.

The Fish Belly Bridge was once used for a railroad line. It was closed in 1969 and has been designated a historic site. The  Bridge survived World War II. A walking platform was added to the former railroad bridge. From on top of the walkway, you would have a wonderful view of the Lenne Valley. I climbed up onto the bridge platform. The bridge leading to the west stopped abruptly after a few yards. A metal gate kept people from walking on this dangerous section of the bridge. The other direction over the river is still operational.

As I was sketching, a grandmother and daughter stopped to talk to me for a while in German. I know enough German for short conversations but I only understood maybe half of what the grandmother told me. She was old enough to have been alive in 1945. She wished me safe travels. The daughter knew some English since she lived in the United States for some time. Talking to them made me realize I was hungry for conversation. I had been drawing for 3 months straight every day and people often stopped and spoke to me in French, Dutch, and German. My usual response was “Thank you” in each respective language. Distractions were limited when the people vying for my attention could not be understood. I missed talking to a friend back in the states who is a consummate conversationalist.

The 75th Infantry Division occupied Plettenberg in April of 1945, and stayed for some time while doing governmental work, building up the hospitals, railroads, bridges and water pipes. As always, immediately upon arriving in Plettenberg , the Division’s units set up their Command Posts and a series of signs throughout the town indicated their locations. Each Division in the European Theater of Operations, (ETO) had a different letter with which their individual outfits’ code name began. And so the indicator for 75th Headquarters was D for Diamond.

Water points were established to supply fresh filtered water for the troops. Not only was the job of purifying water in combat important, but it was equally vital when the Division settled in towns like Plettenberg where it was necessary not only to purify water to increase the supply for the troops, but also to test the civilian supply already in operation. With men living so close to one another, the dangers involved in contracting  germs carried by water could result in catastrophe. The men of the water points were diligent, knowledgeable , and tireless.