Fear-of-Heights Reunion

Germany, about 1947. Dad also saved this postcard issued by the Bavarian Railway.

Winter Station

Germany, about 1947. Here's another postcard from the Bavarian Railway.

Sunday Scene

Bavaria, Germany, about 1946. Two of Mom's friends make a passeggiata outside the DP camp.

The Perfect Spot

Isarhorn, Germany, August 1948. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, has found the place for her pillow.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Sunday Summit

Isarhorn, Germany, August 1948. My Dad's friend Casey reaches his hiking destination.

Bavarian Railway Postcard

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Germany, about 1947. My Dad saved a packet of postcards issued by the U.S. Army in the postwar, American-occupied zone. I don't know whether Dad visited the places photographed for the cards, bit it's likely he did.

Before the Hike

Isarhorn, Germany, August 1948. My Dad's friend Casey is ready to head up into the mountains.

Alpine Hiker

Casey reaches the summit.

The Second Update

Recently I posted a postcard my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, had sent to her daughter, Jonė. Here is s second postcard Tatjana wrote before she, Jonė, and my Dad reunited in Schweinfurt.

The card is addressed to Jonė at the "Litauischer Lager"—that is, the "Lithuanian [DP] camp."

Tatjana wrote:

My most treasured Jonė, Yesterday I mailed a letter to you. I want you always to know where I am, and how I am doing. I'm already writing for the fourth time fromm Oberstdorf. I am living and eating at the home of a local cobbler, whose wife looks after me as though I were her relative. I've given her everything she'll need for meal preparations through August 16. In the mornings (and in the evenings) she makes a delicious "malzkafé" with very good, real milk. But by now, I have absolutely no bread. It turns out the bread that Casey's mother gave me was from one of the local [DP] camps, and it came from a "swindler." When we sliced the bread, its inside was filled with a stringy dough. I think it's a particular type of bread made with a large quantity of potatoes. So we dried that bread thoroughly in the sun, and we made crackers. Your aunt left today. Although I truly love her a great deal, I am happy she is gone because she was starting to get on my nerves. She worries way too much about food. Now I won't have to think about food. I am sitting outside, the sun is setting but still high at the top of the mountains. The light continues to sparkle on the peaks, and the blue fades to gray as the light meets the snowcaps. (I'll finish this in the next postcard.)

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us. 

Chaperoning

Isarhorn, Germany, August 2 to 14, 1948. When my Dad traveled to the third National Scouting Jamboree, he was a young adult. Many young scouts also made the trip.

Tatjana describes the situation.

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, arrived at the Schweinfurt DP camp in about 1946 and became active in the camp's administration. Before Tatjana settled in Schweinfurt—where her twins, my Dad and Jonė, also lived after the war—Tatjana briefly traveled in other parts of Bavaria while she was a Displaced Person.
 
Here is a postcard Tatjana sent to Jonė during this interval (probably in 1945): 
 

 
Tatjana wrote:

My most treasured Jonė, your aunt [Victoria] and I live in this hamlet, not far from the church, on the other side of the mountain. Yesterday we already rode 2000 meters to the top of the mountain by means of a particular funicular that takes wagons up a rail line to the very top, in the air. There, we drank coffee while sitting on the veranda and sunning ourselves. Although it was a hot day, it was rather chilly up there. We stood in line for three hours to get a ticket for the funicular. Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, we're going to go to the mountain lake that isn't very far at all from the town—it's only about a one-hour walk. Today it rained a bit so we strolled around the shops. Beyond that, we're looking for a room because we've got to move out by Monday or Tuesday. We've also been looking for UNRRA because it's getting very difficult for us to find bread. Without a ration card we can't get a stamp—one must have a card in the first place to fashion a potato stamp. [DPs sometimes used halved potatoes to craft official-looking stamps that would pass at shops as legitimate documents.] There's no real UNRRA organization here; only a Ukrainian DP camp. [Here, there's a line I cannot read.] I'm quite worried about the bread situation, and it might be necessary for me to come back.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this postcard available to us.

An Exciting Departure

Schweinfurt, Germany, August 1948. Lithuanian scouts from the Schweinfurt DP camp depart for the National Scouting Jamboree. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, is in the first window on the left. She's in the top row, third from the left.

Tour's End

Bavaria, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. Here's another image Dad brought from Bavaria, an area he toured when he was a Displaced Person.

Post-War Calm

Bavaria, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. Here's another image Dad brought from Bavaria, an area he toured when he was a Displaced Person.

An Organized Arrival

Isarhorn, Germany, August 2, 1948. Lithuanian scouts from the Displaced Persons camp arrive at the third National Scouting Jamboree.

A Rocky Spot to Rest

Isarhorn, Germany, August 2 to 14, 1948. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė—on the right—relaxes while hiking with a fellow scout during the third National Scouting Jamboree.

Entry, from a Different Angle

Isarhorn, Germany, August 2 to 14, 1948. Here's another image of the Lithuanian scouts from the Displaced Persons camps as they march in the third National Scouting Jamboree.

They've made it to the top.

Near Isarhorn, Germany, August 2 to 14, 1948. Lithuanian scouts attending the third Scouting Jamboree have climbed to the summit of a mountain to visit the wooden cross.

Campsite established.

Isarhorn, Germany, August 2 to 14, 1948. A group of Lithuanian scouts—all Displaced Persons—convene at the outset of the National Scouting Jamboree.

Alpine View

Isarhorn, Germany, August 2 to 14, 1948. A group of Lithuanian scouts—all Displaced Persons—enjoys the alpine views during a trip to the National Scouting Jamboree.