Erick Hernandez

From the Ground

It was February 3, 1945 when it all happened. The Allies were getting closer and all of Berlin
began to panic in the streets. People were scared and I could see it in their faces. I knew someone
was coming, but at the time I was only eleven and had no idea of the horrors of war. I had not
been in Berlin in previous bombings because we had been staying at my grandparents in the
countryside. Mother wanted to return to our home to grab some items she deeply cared for. My
Mother was crying as she looked outside the window the into streets. I tried to comfort her, but
she said she was ok. My father was fighting in the war and I was an only child so no one else
could comfort her. Soon after Mother came to her senses and said we had to leave. She said we
were heading to a railway station. So we entered the streets and I began to get scared as I could
now see right in front me the fear and panic on everyones faces. People were shoving and some
were running. Everyone acted as if they were the only ones there and ignored anybody but their
families.
We made it to the station and there was a huge line to get in. Many people were cutting and
rushing inside. It was just after three and a loud siren began to go off. As soon as the siren went
off nearly everyone began to shove. A humming sound was beginning to be heard. It got louder
and more intense and the sound of gunfire began to rang out. Suddenly explosions were being
heard and the sound got so intense that you couldnt even hear a thing. I thought I was going
death. I just caught a glimpse of the hundreds of gigantic airplanes in the sky then Mother
grabbed my hand and started to run inside the station. I was trying to cover my ears from all the
chaos. I felt as if I only blinked and I was thrown to the floor. My head was hurting and I could
barely open my eyes. It must have been hours that I had been laying down because when I woke
up all the sounds were gone. I could not see any bombers either. I slowly started to get up and

could not believe what I was seeing. Everything in my field of vison was in rubble! Buildings
were either completely gone or missing parts of it. I looked around for mother and could not see
her anywhere. The entrance of the station collapsed and was blocked. I began to get scared as I
saw the bodies of people lying on the ground. Not one person around me was standing and I
almost passed out from fear when a stranger came up to me said that he could take me
somewhere safe. As we were walking I saw hundreds of people either injured, dead, or looking
for others in the rubble. The man ended up taking me to a station that was still intact and not
blocked off. I asked where my mother was and he said the only thing I could do was wait. So I
did and sat alone outside. As I was sitting a doctor came up to me an began to speak to me.
-Peter Elben 1985
From the Aftermath
I had been a doctor for nearly twenty-five years, but I had never seen anything like what
happening during the bombings. It was February 3, 1945 and I was checking on my patients.
Some of whom were soldiers and injured in battle and some injured in previous bombings. Berlin
was mostly evacuated because of the advancement of the Soviet Union and the rest of the Allies.
Although many people still lived in the railway stations like myself. I was stationed in a railway
station in the east side of Berlin. I heard the air raid siren and immediately went to cover. I could
hear the bombers coming. Their sound was so loud it could be heard echoing through the tunnels
of the station. The ground then began shaking as the city was being bombarded. Hours passed
until it was all clear. The other doctors and I waited outside near the station to prepare for the
injured. Many people were being brought in, but none were alive. All the people being brought
had already passed and were being laid in area outside the station. Slowly injured civilians began
to come in.

The doctors and I began to treat the injured and I cannot describe the injuries I saw. All I can
say that war is a horrifying part of life and humanitys greatest problem since the dawn of man.
The sounds of destruction were replaced with the sounds of grief. People were either crying over
their lost loved ones or calling out to the ones they could not find. Throughout this sad time there
was one moment of happiness I felt. I began speaking to boy who was sitting alone. He told me
his mom was missing and that he was scared. I began to comfort the boy and get his mind off all
this chaos. His name was Peter and he began to speak about his time in the countryside and that
he came back to the city to retrieve some of the valuables his mother cared for. His excitement of
over his stories made it seem like everything was fine. While speaking with the boy a women
was brought to me and the boy exclaimed mother! She was very injured and had a broken right
arm and right leg. Those were the only obvious injuries. There was more wrong with her, but I
did not have the resources and equipment to see what exactly it was. She desperately needed the
equipment. Apparently the mother and son became separated because an explosion caused the
mother to fall down the stairs of the station with the entrance collapsing behind her. A group of
men inside the railway station at the time opened up the entrance and brought her here since the
other station was nearly destroyed. The son was very worried as I helped her and I told him she
would be fine. I may have said that, but inside I knew her chances were slim.
-Dr. Horst Abram 1972
From the Air
It was January 31, 1945 when we received the orders. We were to go on a bombing run above
Berlin. There were to be 900 bomber escorts and 550 fighter escorts. I was to be stationed in one
of the first fifty bombers leading the charge. My job as a bombardier was to aim and release the
explosives when above the target area. Before every missions I got nervous, but this one in

particular was especially nerve wrecking. We were to target not only government buildings, but
train stations filled with civilians! I felt remorse at first. Then I remembered all the civilians the
Germans have killed and my brothers they have killed as well. Thinking of that helped me
prepare for the mission. Days went on until it was the night of February 2, 1945. The mission
would begin the next morning
Morning arrived and my crew and I boarded the plane and began the pre-flight check
procedures. After that was done we took off. It was almost an hour flight to Berlin and along the
way the crew did not talk. Usually we talk and have a few laughs on the way to target, but not
this time. Everybody was determined to accomplish the mission. The allies were surrounding
Germany and war was surely to be over soon. So we all wanted to do our part in making sure the
war ended as soon as possible. We were approaching the target and we all in positon ready to go.
I could see the city the city of Berlin and as soon as I saw it gunfire was coming from below. The
plane was shaking as the anti-air guns shot around us. Other planes were getting shot down as
German planes began to try and intercept us. The air was filled with sounds of thousands of
planes, gunfire, and planes hurling to the ground engulfed in flames. We were approaching our
specific target which was one of the railway stations in eastern Berlin. I began to look through
the bombsight and aim at my target. I released them and watch hurl towards earth. I could see the
explosion as we continued flying. Our mission was over and the pilot began to follow the path
for planes who have accomplished their mission. As we were heading back to base I felt an
emptiness inside knowing how many innocent people I may have just killed. I could not comfort
myself with ideas that comforted me before. Thankfully my next few missions were not civilian
targets. Although that feeling I felt on February 3, 1945 still sticks with me today. Every
anniversary of that day I pray and hope I am forgiven for all the sins I committed during the war.

-Officer Frank Brookes 1979

I decided to write my assignment about World War II. Its a time period I have always found
interesting and sad. As a kid the war seemed cool and heroic because of games like Call of duty.
When you get older you see that war is not a happy time. Specifically, World War II because of
the bombing of cities and the Holocaust. My whole paper revolved around the bombing of
Berlin. The specific date I chose was February 3, 1945. On that day Berlin was bombed with 900
bombers and 550 fighter escorts. It was not the first time Berlin was bombed and not the last.
Berlin I felt was a place not seen much in movies and the perspective of Germans is almost never
seen. Not everyone in Germany actually caused harm to the Allies. This thought helped me come
up with a childs perspective and a doctors. In addition, I decided to add the perspective of an
American bombardier. Its a role sometimes seen in movies and in history textbooks. I used it as
sort of like a bad guy perspective. In the eyes of the people of Berlin they the allies were the bad
ones.
The first rhetorical move I used was that I wrote my paper in three separate narratives. As
soon I decided for sure I would write a narrative for this project, I instantly came up with idea of
three points of view. I had idea of weaving three points of view to one event. I put the
perspective of the German boy first followed by the doctor. Then finished it with the perspective
of the American bombardier. So the narratives were in order then finished with a flashback.
Since the American was the cause of grief in this story I put his narrative at the end. For the
perspective of the American I had him think to himself a lot. Not once in the narrative did he
communicate with anybody. This was done to give the image that sometimes when someone
goes into a battle they only have their thoughts. Each narrative had a different image of the

situation at hand. The doctors narrative was seen through the eyes of someone who knew what
was happening and he had experience. The boys narrative was through the eyes of an innocent
child who wasnt exactly sure what was going on. Finally, the Americans narrative was though
the eyes of an experienced bombardier. Throughout all the narratives I was very descriptive so
the reader could see the setting of each. In other words, I used some imagery. An example is the
line engulfed in flames. The last rhetorical move I used was suspense. In the boys narrative I
left the conclusion of his story a mystery. In the doctors narrative I left the outcome of the
mother a mystery as well. By doing this it created suspense and a need for closure.
These three narratives say lot about World War II. The first and most obvious is that our
history books and movies mainly focus on the Allies point of view. We have been taught to be
sympathetic for soldiers and the innocent civilians killed on the Allies side. The innocent
civilians killed in Germany, which included children are not brought to peoples attention. The
only example I can recall in which you are intended to feel bad for a German civilian was in the
movie Boy in the Stripped Pajamas. This is understandable because the innocent people on the
Axis side are overshadowed by an evil dictator and the Holocaust. Since the Allies won the war
their side is seen. History in general is always decided by the victor. The side that lost or caused
the war doesnt get sympathy. Im not saying that all people who werent with the Allies deserve
sympathy, but the innocent people who lost their lives do. My intention in these narratives was to
show a setting not explored in history and different perspectives during that setting. Just like
Germany bombed cites and the Japanese bombed pearl harbor, the Allies did the same. It may
have been somewhat justified, but that doesnt change the grief and the pain caused.