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The True Story of a German Evaquee During The Second World War |
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FR ÄULEIN TOMM-TOMM by Ursula Atkins
"On the thirteenth of July 1943, just before my seventh birthday, I found myself with hundreds of other children standing on a platform at our main railway station in Hamburg, waiting for a train to take us away to a place considered safer from the bombings. My mother told me that I was too skinny, and a holiday near the seaside would do me good. I accepted that explanation. I only wondered why I had to go, though my brother, who was two years younger than me, could stay at home with my mother ..... I did not realize then that I was leaving my sheltered life in our flat behind for ever ..... " This extract is taken from 'Fr ä ulein Tomm-Tomm' by Ursula Atkins A true story of a young evacuee from Hamburg during World War Two. Nicknamed 'Fr ä ulein Tomm-Tomm' because she couldn't say 'komm, komm' (come, come), Ursula Atkins early years were spent as a child in wartime Hamburg. Times were difficult and dangerous and only the resourceful got by. Her mother was ill, her father was posted missing and food was in short supply. A two year interlude in the Austrian Alps was her happiest time as a child. "I could not recognise anything. Where was our block of flats? Where was the dairy? Where was the corner shop? And my school! What had happened to it? Where was the road? And the trees? And where was the archway? All were gone! There were just heaps of rubble, but my father somehow knew where we used to live and pointed to where he had found the axe-head. I cried about my lost dolls." Fr ä ulein Tomm-Tomm is a wonderfully evocative memoir. Full of humour and well-remembered details, it recounts what the horror of war and the hardship of peace were like for an ordinary German family.
Ursula's fascinating story is is now out of print. The one print run of 500 books has been successfully sold but there are no plans for further runs. It can be reserved at your local library, and also can usually be found on Amazon (one or two outrageous prices, but usually reasonable!. To order, please write, phone or email: Mrs Ursula Atkins, 35 Laxton Way, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2QL, UK. Telephone: +44 (0) 1795 473609
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Ursula Atkins
was born in Hamburg and spent her wartime childhood
in Germany and Austria. After studying at the commercial
school in Hamburg, she worked at the head office of the Deutsche Bank in
the city for 17 years. She met her husband, Fred, on holiday
in Spain. Since their marriage she has lived in
Sittingbourne,
Kent (UK) and taken various jobs - including teaching German.
They have two daughters Jennie and Martina.
