Page 45

Saturday, 20 January, 1945 – Sunday, 21 January, 1945

[Continued from previous page] very nicely. We had a quiet day in general. The 2D Platoon drew a little artillery fire but suffered no casualties. Something big is going to break soon. It is in the air. Don’t know what it is but am sure that the Germans won’t like it. Worked for a while tonight studying maps and situation. Hit the sack about 2000.

Saturday, 20 January 1945 Berbourg, [Luxembourg]
I arose at 0600 this morning. The weather has turned a little warmer but it is not thawing. Some snow fell last night. It has stopped now and the skies are nearly cloudless. Nice bombing weather. The day, as a whole, was uneventful. A few jerry shells landed close to our C.P. which we pretended to ignore (the shells, not the C.P.).
Trier, a German city located near us (a large city) is expected to give birth to a limited offensive soon.1One of the oldest cities in Germany, Trier is located on the banks of the Moselle River near the border with Luxembourg.  During the war, it was an important rail center and staging area for British prisoners of war captured at Dunkirk.  In late December, 1944,  Allied forces heavily bombed the city.  By March, 1945, much of the city had been reduced to rubble.  Heavy concentration of tanks and artillery reported in vicinity. May never transpire but if it does, it won’t catch us napping. The Russian armies are still making progress. They are getting lots of moral support from me.
The 1ST and second platoons have been inactive during the last 24 hours. The third Army on all its fronts is making progress, mostly consolidating positions already taken. I went for a walking reconnaissance of the town today. Nothing of interest (much that is gruesome). Hit the sack at 2100.

Sunday, 21 January 1945 Berbourg, [Luxembourg]
Out of my sack at 0600. A quiet peaceful [continued on next page]

Inserts


GoetzDiary_2015.002.040a

“A Whole Original Loos,” Sweepstakes ticket for a lottery in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, scheduled to take place 9 and 10 May, 1901.
Goetz wrote a note on the back of the page in the diary, next to the attached ticket: “Sweepstake Ticket. Picked up at Beyren, Luxembourg, 17 Jan.”


GoetzDiary_2015.002.040b


GoetzDiary_2015.002.041a

10 Franc bill, Luxembourg, featuring the image of Charlotte, who reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1919-1964), with French text on the front; the Luxembourg coat of arms and the Luxembourgish language is featured on the back. This 10 Franc bill was printed by the American Bank Note Company as part of a large order of currency, requested by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1944 for the purpose of supplementing local currency during the Liberation period.


GoetzDiary_2015.002.041b


GoetzDiary_2015.002.042a

Paper fragment from the Hôtel de Luxembourg, Rue Breydel, 35, Anvers. J.Robert-Thill, Proprietaire.
The Luxembourg Hotel, located on Rue Breydel in Antwerp, Belgium, provided lodging for emigrants from Luxembourg headed to the United States on the Red Star Line of steamships. The Red Star Line provided shipping services for passengers and freight between Antwerp and New York and Philadelphia beginning in 1873 and ending in 1934. The five-story Hotel, operated in 1883 by Mathieu Thill, and after 1894, by J. Robert-Thill, was an important way-station on the long trip from Luxembourg to the United States, offering not only food and shelter for Luxembourgians, but also transportation from the train station and to the Antwerp harbor.
Grace Bello, “Museum in Antwerp Recalls the Ships that Brought Einstein and Irving Berlin to America,” Tablet, 27 November 2013. Online edition; Francois Besch, “Mit der ‘Red Star Line’ uber Antwerpen in die USA,” Tageblatt, 12 June 2007, pp.32-33. Online edition.