Christian W. de Marcken was born in January 1928 in Brussels, Belgium. He was the oldest of nine children, and he and his siblings were all registered at the American Embassy as American citizens. His grandfather immigrated to the United States from Belgium in the late 1800s, and de Marcken's father was raised and educated in Chicago. But his First World War service brought him back to Belgium where he met and married de Marcken's mother. After the war his work kept him in Belgium. The family resided in an old, cold castle they rented that was a little removed from Brussels, and de Marcken spoke English at home, only beginning to use Dutch, French and German when he entered the school system. When Hitler's [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] advance seemed likely to affect Americans and de Marcken's father, as an American citizen, was called back to the United States, he took the risk of staying in Europe where he knew he could make a living. The Belgian attitude toward the Germans became apparent when they built pillboxes and anti-tank barriers at their borders, none of which, de Marcken says, proved effective. On 10 May 1940, the de Marcken family could hear the first bombing and strafing in the nearby village. When the British and French defenders came in, de Marcken said they were fearless. On parade the French troops, composed of North African soldiers, chanted in French, "Where are the Germans?" The 12 year old de Marcken was greatly impressed.

Christian de Marcken's parents had seen the harbingers of war talked about how the situation resembled the prelude to the First World War. It was apparent to him that the country was at war from the first day he saw the new German planes in the skies. The Stukas [Annotator's Note: Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers] had sirens on their wings, and when they dove they generated a nerve-wracking scream. The next village over, situated on a crossroads, was completely destroyed. Marcken's family was forced to evacuate to France, and although their route was always under threat of bombing, neither of the two cars his parents were driving were hit. He remembers going through the town of Soissons, and being overwhelmed by the smell of the French soldiers' bodies rotting in the sun. They were caught by the Germans and sent back to Belgium. The Germans were machine-gunning the civilians and their livestock, and the whole of Belgium was in chaos. The de Marckens were hungry, but independent as Americans. The children of the de Marcken family engaged in small acts of sabotage; it was their contribution to the war effort. During a sweep by the Germans, the SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary orgrnization] picked up de Marcken's father. He had been betrayed for helping American airmen escape. He was scheduled for execution and was on his way to Germany to meet his fate when Patton's [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] troops intercepted the "Belgium Phantom Train." While the Germans were retreating, de Marcken wanted to watch them leave, and went into the woods to observe; he heard the engine of an American bomber and had to take cover while the Germans were being wiped out on the nearby road.

The German occupiers took a portion of the Belgian civilians' food, Christian de Marcken says, and he was responsible for raising rabbits, which the Germans did not want, for his family's table, as well as collecting dead wood for fuel. During the winter they only heated one room of the castle. The Germans routinely shot into any window where they detected light at night. "They were ruthless," de Marcken said, and took liberties, denied and prevented medical care, and murdered at will. There was a German Wehrmacht commander living in the castle with the de Marcken family, a lecherous elderly man who liked to watch the girls milking the cows, but who was generally harmless. De Marcken said the Germans they really feared were the SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization]. They would surround the house in the middle of the night in hopes of detecting underground activity. The would occasionally invade the house, and question and threaten the children with pistols, but they never found any of the American pilots the de Marckens hid for short periods as they made their way to safety. Many times, de Marcken said, the SS put the men of a village in a barn and set it on fire, killing them all.

The children of the family did not always know, Christian de Marcken clarified, about their parents' sheltering of fugitives. Once they hid a young Jewish boy, and another time a Belgian officer and his wife. But the children knew the Germans were "bad," and that Belgians had suffered at their hands before. De Marcken's father was sent to a concentration camp for his suspected underground activity, and although he was starved, his American citizenship spared him torture. Once, though, he was put into a "black hole," for subversion. The Belgians called the Italians "macaronies," and had little respect for their ability to fight. When the Italian army capitulated, the elder de Marcken received a package of macaroni from his wife, cut it up in little pieces, distributed them around the camp to spread the word, and the prisoners all wore the macaroni somewhere on their clothing to antagonize the German guards. When the culprit was discovered, he was punished. After the Americans had won in Africa, and then Italy, the Germans got panicky about their ill treatment of prisoners, and when de Marcken's father had a kidney removed, he was sent home, ostensibly to die. In bad shape, and dressed in rags, he surprised his family by appearing at church services one Sunday; his wife took him home and nursed him back to health.

Christian de Marcken recalled that when his family was forced back to Belgium, their home had been occupied by the German air force. He and his father attempted to re-occupy their home, but were driven away. It took many days and working with the American embassy to get the house back. When the family came home, they found all the toilets had been intentionally blocked, and all the beds and floors had been soiled with urine, feces and vomit. The furniture had all been broken, as well, and even thought the family spent weeks weeks cleaning up, the place was always "smelly." The Germans had left behind munitions, and the children had fun blowing up the material. In the ignorance of his youth, one of de Marcken's younger brothers blew up a shell and was injured by its shrapnel. It also wounded one of his sisters, and the two had to be rushed to a hospital for treatment. De Marcken carved a pair of homemade crutches for the boy; luckily, both recovered. Nevertheless, the children continued to play with the weapons and de Marcken said he used to enjoy throwing hand grenades over the garden walls for the thrill of the explosion. He admitted that it was foolish, but his father was away and his mother was struggling to keep the family going and was not always able to control her children.

Towards the end of the war, Christian de Marcken recalled, the German air base nine miles from his home was bombed. The de Marckens were thrilled because the Germans "were getting it in the neck." By then his father was home, and one day his mother rushed in and declared, "The Americans are coming!" She sent de Marcken to fetch an American flag that she had stitched, and he said he was proud to hoist it. No sooner was it up that his mother demanded he take it down because three German tanks were coming down the road. De Marcken said he jumped to action, and no German ever saw it. Remarkably, one of the tanks ran out of gas at the end of his driveway, and stayed there for some time. On the next day, the Allies were truly arriving about four miles away. Mrs. de Marcken and a few of her children bicycled there in time to witness a British tank blown up by a Panzer tank. But the Americans did arrive, to the great delight of the Belgians, and de Marcken's mother took a couple of hungry soldiers home and fed them. He also remembers lying on the grass and counting the groups of American bombers fly in groups of 36 overhead. Over 1,000 planes passed over his house that day. A few planes were shot down, and the de Marckens and their extended family were able to save a few pilots from German capture, and to get weapons and ammunition into the hands of the underground. After the war, the Belgian government recognized de Marcken's parents for their service.

Christian de Marcken said that at the time of the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Caounter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], the V-1 rocket, like an airplane without a pilot, was used to bomb Liege. Some 1,500 were launched, but not all of them were on target. On Christmas Eve 1944, a V-1 "buzz bomb" passed over the castle, and when it landed, blew three gamekeeper's homes to bits. The British had taken positions around the de Marcken castle, and Mrs. de Marcken approached the officer in charge and offered her auspices to the soldiers as they rotated duty, so there were always infantrymen and officers in the house. Having waited four-and-a-half years for someone to liberate them, the family was happy to have them. When the American 30th Infantry Division Signal Corps came on the scene, they were not allowed to go into citizens' homes, but on one occasion de Marcken's mother, who was very religious, arranged for a mass to be held in the castle. The division had a Protestant chaplain, but no Catholic priest, and the Catholic soldiers were extremely appreciative. The whole family was in attendance, and it was an extremely moving experience for de Marcken. "Those were tough times," he said.

The retreating Germans destroyed Belgium villages, Christian de Marcken said, and murdered as many people as possible. He still holds a great animosity for their kind and believes the Germans are still waiting for the emergence of another Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler]. After the war was officially over, the de Marckens relocated to the United States. His father, having survived his ordeals, wanted nothing to do with war torn Belgium. De Marcken said his father had always played up the benefits of living in America, and he "brainwashed" his children. He was eager to leave Belgium because he could not accept the Socialism. He asserts that America is heading in that direction now, and finds the situation appalling. De Marcken and his four brothers all served in the military of the United States because of what they went through growing up. De Marcken served with the military police in the Army with special clearance because he worked with high-ranking officers. He and his brothers came out of the war alive, and they felt they owed it to America to serve.

Unluckily, history repeats itself, according to Christian de Marcken, and that is why it is important for us to continue to teach the history of the Second World War. After the war, the Americans were very, very generous, and the Marshall Plan helped put Europe back on its feet, although they are not very grateful, in de Marcken's opinion. He and his wife go to many schools and other forums, at their own expense, on speaking engagements to tell people to beware. They feel that because of their experiences, they can shed light on the potential dangers.