Lest I Forget

Jan-Albert Goris, “We Shall Come Back,” “Lest We Forget” series, Part III, Reader’s Digest, Vol. 46, No. 273 (January 1945), pp. 69-70.
This article, condensed from an article printed in News from Belgium, 9 September 1944, described the liberation of Belgium and the last words of the Germans as they left that were broadcast from the German radio in Brussels. In the article, the author recorded the Germans as saying “We shall never rob you. We shall never pillage you. Do not show hatred towards us. One day we shall come back; till then à bientôt.” Goris contrasted this last message with the atrocities committed by the Nazis against Belgium during the war, and argued that the Germans already committed the crimes they claimed they would never commit. He briefly described the crimes committed by the Nazis and the numbers of Belgians that were abducted, imprisoned, and murdered during the war. He ended the article with a warning that if the Germans were treated the way they were after World War I, then their threat of returning to occupy Belgium again would become a reality.
For other articles in the “Lest We Forget” series, see Inserts 1 and 31.

These are the fronts and backs (following post) of collectors’ cards from German cigarette cartons. These tiny cigarette cards (2” x 2.5”), as they were known, are fascinating cultural artifacts that were produced by German tobacco companies during the Weimar and Nazi eras, c. 1924-1939. They featured images and brief accounts of heroic German leaders and great moments in German history meant to rally the spirits of the German people during the dark days of the post-war era of the 1920s, and to inspire the people during the early years of the Third Reich. They also featured images of German movie stars and Native Americans to provide entertainment for Germans, and, most likely, to sell cigarettes. The cards, printed in color, were created in several differently-themed sets, such as “Postwar Times,” “From the Lives of the Indians,” “Colorful Movie Images,” “The Greatest Moments in World History,” and “Highlights of German History.” Cigarette card collecting was a popular hobby during this era, and Germans could display and enjoy their cards in the collectors’ albums sold by the tobacco companies. When completed, these albums provided Germans with images and stories of national greatness, past and present.

Insert 33d —Wednesday, February 7, 1945
“Famille Bisdorff-Jeanpierre/Beyren/ fr. D. de Luxembourg.”

Insert 33d —Wednesday, February 7, 1945

Envelope in which the following unidentified photograph were stored. Goetz most likely acquired these photographs from abandoned houses and buildings occupied by his unit as it crossed through Germany.
The uneven printing on the envelope, characteristic of an older hand, suggests that Goetz labeled this envelope much later in his life when he was reorganizing his diary.

Goetz did not identify the images in the photographs contained in the envelope. However, research reveals that this image is the Tannenberg Memorial, Hohenstein, East Prussia (now Olstynek, Poland) dedicated to German soldiers who lost their lives at the Battle of Tannenberg in World War I. The Memorial was destroyed at the end of the war.