My wife (German) sat and had a conversation with her aunt, who is in the early 90s age....meaning she was born around 1930, and was a teenager during WW II here in Germany.
The topic of the current natural gas crisis and the national fear of limited heat came up.
The aunt was not really shaken or fearful, to which she pointed out.....anyone who witnessed the 1940 to 1945 period....knows that a lot of people had marginal heat. You threw a couple pieces of coal in a fireplace or 'oven' and you accepted the fact that marginal heat was better than zero heat. She really didn't see the chaos or big deal about what was going on.
Some Germans would suggest that society has become somewhat weak over the past couple of decades, and maybe they need a moment like this to face up to reality.
2 comments:
It's always those who don't need to worry about heating their home that seem to have such memories. They forget how the elderly would die during those winters when they were still young and resilient. Anyone who talks such talk should also walk the walk and turn their heaters off this winter. And they should campaign that hospitals and care homes should also turn off their heating.
Typical 'back in my day' delusional posturing.
In the 80s, I lived in a barracks that was to be taken down in six months. Winter arrived and the heating barely functioned for the final four weeks of living in the building (they were not going to spend any more funds to fix the system). Within the room, I doubt if the temperature ever got above 8 C (46 F) in that 1-month period. You just accepted it and counted on the days before they moved you and your stuff to a new building with outstanding heat. I kinda see this winter that way....we will count each day and mark the last day of March as a 'end'.
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