Have you ever had a loved one serve in Iraq or Afghanistan? If so, then you are likely all too familiar with the devastating effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This mental health condition, which is caused by exposure to traumatic events, can have long-lasting effects on those who experience it. For military personnel who have served multiple tours in a combat zone, the risk of developing PTSD is even greater.

As a former military member, I received a briefing on PTSD before retiring. The speaker highlighted a study conducted on U.S. World War II veterans, which found that exposure to high-stress combat environments for just one year led to permanent visible changes in the brain. This led to troops being withdrawn from Vietnam after just one year, but unfortunately, the lesson seems to have been forgotten, as our service men and women were sent back to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times, some even on their fifth 15-month tour.

The effects of PTSD are not limited to just American soldiers. German soldiers returning from war also suffered from physical and psychological wounds. Many of those who survived Russian gulags returned in even worse shape, as was the case with my own grandfather. When he returned home in 1947, he was unrecognizable to his family. His once jet black hair was now all white stubble, and he had lost most of his teeth. He was skeletal and had a haunted look in his eyes. According to my mother, he was lucky to have survived at all, but he returned an empty husk.

My mother recounts his return home in vivid detail. For the first week, he hardly spoke and spent hours sitting alone in a chair, tormented by things he kept hidden from his family. Even when they went out shopping, he was constantly looking over his shoulder, paranoid about when and where the next attack would come.

Days later, he revealed to them that he had turned himself over to the Americans at the end of the war. The Americans later turned all German POWs over to the Russians. He was then shipped to a prison camp in Siberia, where he struggled to survive for two years in the freezing cold with barely anything to eat. He shared only one story from his time in the prison camp - when a prisoner was caught stealing a piece of bread, his fellow prisoners held him upside down in a barrel they used to relieve themselves. The man suffocated as he was drowned in feces and urine.

Tragically, my grandfather died two years later from tuberculosis that he had contracted while in prison. My grandmother never remarried, and her life was forever changed by the trauma her husband had experienced.
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The story of my grandfather's struggle is just one of many, and it serves as a reminder that the effects of war go far beyond the battlefield. We must continue to support our veterans and work to prevent the cycles of trauma brought on by war that can perpetuate from generation to generation.

By Cindy Rodriguez
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As part of my mother's Jungmaedel (Hitler Youth girls between the ages of 10-14) duties, she knitted hats, gloves, and scarves for soldiers during the winter. These would then be packaged and shipped to the front lines. No food or other items were placed in these packages by my mother's Jungmaedel group because there was simply nothing left to give. Everyone was on ration cards by this time to conserve Germany's resources.

One of my mother's favorite Jungmaedel duties was to write German soldiers on the Russian front. She corresponded with three soldiers: a father with a son about Mom's age, a 23-year-old young man, and a 27-year-old who was engaged to be married. She does not remember their names, but corresponded with them regularly. They had all been drafted into the Army.

She had been corresponding with the soldier who had been engaged for a year when her letter was returned. On the envelope was stamped: "Gefallen für Führer, Volk und Vaterland", which translated means "Killed in action for the Führer, the People, and the Fatherland."

She had also corresponded with the youngest of the three soldiers for about a year when her letter was returned with a "Missing in Action" stamp on it. He was fighting at Stalingrad under General Friedrich Paulus who commanded Germany's Sixth Army. Paulus started the campaign with 250,000 men and only 7,000 of those survived. Paulus surrendered to the Soviets on February 1, 1943, a day after Hitler promoted him to the rank of Field Marshall, encouraging him to commit suicide (Spartacus Educational, n.d.).

My mother had the longest correspondence with the soldier who was married and the father of an 11-year-old son. He was a kind and gentle man in his letters. He was always be happy to hear from her. They corresponded two years before her letter was returned:

"Gefallen für Führer, Volk und Vaterland."

I think what my mother's stories do best is put a face to war, bringing back people and events that otherwise would be forgotten.
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By Cindy Rodriguez

​Have you ever considered the role of horses in wartime? When we think of Hitler's Army invading Poland, Russia, and France, we often picture a modern, mechanized force rolling through with tanks and artillery. But did you know that Germany's horses played a crucial role in their conquests? 

As I delved into the research for my mother's memoir, I uncovered some astounding facts about the Third Reich's use of horses in combat. Due to restrictions placed on their military forces under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany's cavalry units were able to expand uninhibited. And with the limited number of motorized vehicles available, over 750,000 horse-drawn artillery and other types of fighting equipment were used in the invasion of Russia in 1941, compared to only 600,000 motorized vehicles.

But the impact of war on these loyal animals was horrific. An estimated 2.1 million horses perished during the war, almost twice as many as in World War I. The German Army lost an average of 1,000 horses a day on the Eastern front due to combat, overwork, diseases, exposure, and starvation. It's a staggering number that illustrates just how crucial horses were to Germany's war effort, and how devastating the consequences were for these innocent creatures.

What's more, the role of the cavalry grew due to the invasion of Russia. Russia's unique environment was not conducive to motorized vehicles, and the German Army needed to create more cavalry units to get around obstacles such as thick forests. By the end of the war, Germany had amassed seven cavalry units, a significant increase from their original one cavalry unit, the First Cavalry Division, which later became the 24th Panzer Division.

It's surprising to consider that, despite the advancements made in technology, more horses were used in WWII than WWI. As the war raged on, however, horses became scarce and the conditions for them worsened. Some were slaughtered to feed the starving German troops, while others were simply abandoned and left to die. The atrocities committed against these animals are a tragic reminder of the brutal nature of war and its far-reaching impact. These somber statistics offer a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made during wartime. But they also shed light on a little-known aspect of Germany's military strategy.  

By Cindy Rodriguez

​The impact of the war on my mother was profound and far-reaching. Its scars were etched deeply in her psyche, shaping her mental state for the rest of her life. As a young girl, I quickly learned that my mother was unlike any other. Her emotions were mercurial, her anger explosive, and an abiding sadness seemed to hang over her.

I did my best to love and support her, but how can a daughter truly understand a mother who has lived through such devastating trauma? It wasn't until much later, after reading countless histories of the period and experiencing war myself while in the military, that I gained a deeper understanding of her pain. Between the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, the loss of her father and other loved ones, and the horrors she witnessed firsthand, my mother's mind became a battleground.

While my siblings had the chance to know a different mother, I was born later in her life, and as she aged, she transformed into a different person, at times even terrifying. Unfortunately, the mental disorder I believe she developed as a result of her wartime experiences would grow worse over time and continue to wreak havoc on her life until the very end.

Given the impact of wartime experiences on mental health, it is important to understand how children in particular were affected. Growing up in Berlin during World War II had a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of children living in the city. For more information on this topic, the following sources provide additional insight:

1. "The Psychological Effects of the Bombing of Berlin on Children," by Vivien Parker (Journal of Contemporary History, 1996) - This article explores the psychological impact of the bombing of Berlin on children and their families, drawing on personal narratives and historical records.
2. "Growing up in Hitler's Germany: A Case Study of Berlin in the Third Reich," by Petra Terhoeven (Central European History, 2011) - This book examines the experiences of children growing up in Berlin during the Nazi era, including the impact of war and the propaganda used to indoctrinate young people.
3. "Children in War: The Impact of World War II on the Mental Health of Berlin Children," by Svenja Goltermann (Journal of Modern History, 2009) - This article analyzes the psychological effects of World War II on children in Berlin, drawing on archival records and personal accounts.
4. "Growing up with War: Childhood Trauma and Memory in Postwar Berlin," by Dagmar Barnouw (University of California Press, 2010) - This book examines the impact of the war on children in Berlin, including the trauma of air raids and the challenges of rebuilding their lives after the war.
5. "War and the Mind: Trauma, PTSD, and the Spiritual Healing of Veterans," by Raymond Monsour Scurfield (Praeger, 2013) - This book discusses the long-term psychological effects of war, including the experiences of children growing up in war-torn cities like Berlin.