Figure 1.--A GI named Eddie sent this photograph home of two Austrian boys posed on the bumber of his jeep. (Americans liked to take pictures around the family car.) I'm not sure when this photograph was taken, but would guess about 1946. The Jeep is named "LOTTY" and has a UHRRA unit designation on the windshield. The building in the background is the Post Hotel Frauenkirchen.

Many GIs began occupation duty with great bitterness toward the German/Austrian people. Most GI's had lost friends during the War. Many had also seen the conentration camps and all had heaed about them. There was a general assumption that most prople had participated in the attrocities or at least known about them. (There is still considerable debate as to how involved the German/Austrian people were in the attrocities.) Gradually as the occupation progressed, many GIs began to change their attitudes. One factor here was the children. The children were less standofish than the adults once they learned that the GIs were not dangerous. They were attracted to the GIs who had an informal, nonchalant attitude and were quickly found to be a seeminglly endless source of chewing gum and Hershey bars as well as food and cigarettes. There were a lot of children on the street. There were displaced families as well as abandoned children. Many families had their homes destroyed as a result of the bombing and figting. The American reached Austria (April 1945). Schools had been closed down and the Summer vacation meant that children had little to do. Often the GI's met the children's families. Many GI's remember those interactions. Often they sent or brought photographs home of the Austrian children. A good example is the photograph take by a G.I named Eddie who posed two boys on the bumper of his jeep (figure 1). The resulting contacts must have been part of the process in changing attitudes, although it is difficult to assess just how important it was.

Created: 1:01 AM 3/16/2005
Last updated: 1:01 AM 3/16/2005