April 6th 1943

It was April 6th 1943, he was 17 years old, and he just received his official call to enlist in military service. He surely knew that this mail was coming. His older friends had received theirs without fail. This was the fate of every young man in Nazi Germany in 1943. It is hard for me to imagine what level of anxiety must have come along with that postcard. When I turned 17, my mind was primarily occupied by thoughts of girls and fun, not war and a very possible early end to life. The second card is dated May 5th, 1943, it is an appointment card for an X-ray to affirm his health. One has to imagine that by 1943 in Germany, it took very little to qualify and pass this exam. The final document shown, the larger letter, designates his proper acceptance into service of the German military. He was now on his way to a speedy and rather crude basic training, one that would never prepare him for what he would experience. April 6, 1943 was the day that his life would change forever.