Rita Brandes was born in July 1939 in Bremen [Annotator's Note: Bremen, Germany]. As a young child, she knew only the sounds and fear associated with wartime. She had to steal food in the fields and search for coal for heat. It was difficult but necessary to stay alive. She did not attend school until 1946. During the war, Brandes had to seek shelter from the bombings in local bomb shelters. Her parents briefly sent her out to the country when she was two years old to escape the bombing of Bremen [Annotator's Note: Bremen was bombed from 1939 to 1945]. Brandes' mother was raised on a farm with nine brothers and sisters. She worked almost as an indentured servant for other families. Brandes' father was born and raised in the city of Bremen. Brandes' parents met when her mother was sent there to work. There was never much more information provided to Brandes. Her father sold insurance until he was drafted when she was nine months old. He came home only three or four times on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] during the war. He paid special attention to his youngest daughter when he returned home. Brandes' older sisters were jealous of that show of affection. Nevertheless, Brandes was angry at her father for not returning from the war. He was killed fighting the Russians. She did not understand why he left her. He entered the war in 1940 and died at the end of 1944 or beginning of 1945. [Annotator's Note: Brandes wipes a tear from her eye.] Her father said in a letter to his family that he was surrounded by the Russians and would save the last bullet for himself. Bremen was in the British Zone [Annotator's Note: British Zone of Occupation after the war ended], so she had little concern about the Russian advances into Germany. Rationing was put in place during the war. Mothers and children had to resort to stealing. Coal had to be taken from slow railcars to use for heating during the cold weather. Nothing was available to the civilians. Everything was committed to the war effort. [Annotator's Note: Brandes wipes a tear from her eye.] Fear of neighbors during the war was prevalent. Some followed the Nazi restrictions. When he was home, Brandes' father listened to the BBC [Annotator's Note: British Broadcasting Corporation] despite its prohibition. He wanted to know what really was going on in the war. He listened under a blanket so neighbors could not hear him doing that.

Rita Brandes has vivid memories of the bombing raids. Bremen [Annotator's Note: Bremen, Germany] was one of the three cities bombed the heaviest during the war [Annotator's Note: Bremen was bombed from 1939 to 1945]. Dresden [Annotator's Note: Dresden, Germany] and Hamburg [Annotator's Note: Hamburg, Germany] were the other two heavily hit cities. Most of her family's time was spent in the bunkers. Most buildings were destroyed in her neighborhood, but her home was still standing. After the raids, smoke would be prevalent. Animals were killed and wounded. The sounds of their pain are still with Brandes. Whenever the alarms were sounded, the populace had to race to the bunkers prior to the doors being locked. In the crush of the crowd, Brandes' mother once lost her daughter's hand, and Brandes was nearly trampled to death. Brandes always carried a small suitcase with silverware in it. The night raids were the worst. Brandes screamed most of the time the bombs fell. The bunker had three high bunks and Brandes and her mother would grab the top bunk. She still has a fear of loud noise. [Annotator's Note: Brandes expresses surprise that she is brought to tears by some of the memories.] Individuals had to bring their own supplies to the bunkers. There were fights in the bunker with men being the worse culprits. Brandes was always protected during the conflicts by her mother. When two-year-old Brandes was sent by her parents to the country, her older sisters stayed in Bremen. The older teenage sisters often chose to find other shelters rather than stay with their younger sister and mother. There were day and night bombings. After day raids, she would run to see if her home was still intact. She also checked to see if animals were injured. The Brandes put their valuables in a hole in the backyard for safekeeping. Relatives did not come to stay with the Brandes in Bremen. They lived too far away except her father's twin brother who lived nearby. When her uncle's home was bombed, the relatives made a makeshift dwelling to replace it. Her father was first reported missing with no further status updates forthcoming. He was declared dead after the war in order for Brandes' mother to receive widow's benefits. Getting the declaration was a difficult process to undertake. The war ended without Brandes taking notice. At her age, she assumed everything was just normal. The bombing raids she went through produced post traumatic stress disorder [Annotator's Note: generally referred to as PTSD]. It was decades before she was able to talk about it. She had to go to therapy to get past the trauma. When she reached the United States, citizens could not understand what suffering she had been through. The lack of empathy was frustrating to her. The Germans had work parties to clean the rubble from the streets after the bombing raids. Her mother told Brandes that Jewish women had to remove the debris. Her mother would boil potatoes and leave them for the workers to have the next day.

Rita Brandes had uncles who survived the war. Rather than being angry at her uncles for surviving, she was mad at her father who was killed in the war. She had wanted him to come home to her. When Brandes attempted to visit with her uncle, she did not feel kindness. There was no warmth from her father's twin brother. When her father was wounded in action, Brandes and his mother hitchhiked across Poland to visit him near the Eastern Front. Brandes was angry during the week's visit that her father was not coming home with her. After he recovered, he was sent back to the front. He was somewhat of a rebel and was sent to the Russian front as a result. Her uncles were more accepting of the military rules and regulations imposed on them. [Annotator's Note: Brandes simulates a military salute.] Photographs of her father, uncles and other soldiers show them exercising and playing games, particularly soccer or football. As a young child, Brandes did not know there was a war. She only knew that her father would come home on rare occasions. She has a good memory of him riding her on his back. During air raids, her family took valuables to the bunker. Brandes took a suitcase with silverware in it. When she was sent to the country [Annotator's Note: to escape the Allied bombing raids], she stayed with strangers.

Rita Brandes was in the British Zone of Occupation after the war. Most clothing came from the United States. She had a prized pair of patent leather shoes until someone turned her in for having two pairs of shoes. She was disappointed by that loss. She loved butter the most after the war. Her mother appreciated the real coffee compared to the ersatz coffee [Annotator's Note: coffee made of non-specific ingredients to replace real coffee]. Brandes attended school run by the German government. Most major buildings were confiscated by the Allies. Movies were in English, so they were off limits to the local population. Children would get candy from the Allied soldiers. Older girls would get that plus food and cigarettes from the troops. Travel was difficult because there was no money. German money was worthless. Trade and barter with farmers in the country became the norm. People were not above stealing to provide for their family. The occupying forces treated the teenage girls very well, but the rest of the populace saw little of them. Fraternization was commonplace. Brandes' middle sister, Vatok [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], met her husband Bruce in Bremen. He was an American in the British Zone of Occupation. Brandes felt the American may have been in a Secret Service activity. Ina was Brandes' oldest sister. Her father had picked the name Rita for Brandes. Brandes' middle sister talked her mother into allowing her rebellious sister, Rita, to go to America. Brandes never looked back once she went to America. She had no intention of returning to Germany despite promises made to her mother that she would.

Rita Brandes stayed with her sister and her husband [Annotator's Note: Brandes left Bremen, Germany as a teenager and immigrated to the United States to live with an older sister]. By the time her sister and brother-in-law transferred to England, Brandes had met her future husband. Both her sisters had married veterans. Her older sister's husband, Gilbert, was like a father figure to Brandes. He was transferred to the Philippines while still in the service. The Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 1950 to 1953] was in a faraway place for Brandes. The German schools taught nothing about what had happened during the Second World War. History stopped prior to then as if it did not happen. She learned more when she arrived in the United States. She felt Americans felt all Germans were bad. Brandes educated herself as to what happened in Germany during the war. She finds it unbelievable that those things could have happened under the guidance of that little Austrian Corporal [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler]. He destroyed Austria. Without him, there may not have been a Second World War. The war years totally shaped her life. She was angry at what had happened to her. It was part of the post traumatic stress disorder [Annotator's Note: generally referred to as PTSD]. It shaped her life until she went to therapy. She thought she was normal until then. She felt she had to take care of herself first. Now, she is blessed to be at Catalina Island [Annotator's Note: Catalina Island, Los Angeles, California] and the ocean. She jogs on the beach and enjoys cooking while having a glass of wine. She goes to the balcony and gives thanks for being at the most beautiful place on Earth. She ended up there after visiting Los Angeles with a friend. Seeing Los Angeles, she made her mind up to live there. She met a husband there. In one year, she was divorced, lost her mother, and her house. Brandes worked there and met friends who all called themselves the "Bliss Sisters." She decided to move and live there. She had lived at Randolph Airbase [Annotator's Note: Randolph Air Force Base] in San Antonio, Texas and then Oklahoma. When she arrived in the United States, it seemed everyone was affluent and had material things. She visited Los Angeles and made up her mind that she would move to California. Her most vivid memories of the war were the burning buildings and animals across the street. There was horrible noise coming through the air pipes in the bunkers. Every neighborhood had its bunkers. Brandes began her education in Germany and completed it, including a two-year college enrollment, in the United States. Brandes is glad that she agreed to be interviewed despite some trepidation. She feels that it is important to continue teaching World War 2 History as is being done by The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. Brandes is anxious to go to the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Holocaust Museum LA] to see more details of the information that was suppressed in Germany during her time there.