A great idea to put on your show.....

SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY
The book “Somewhere in Germany” is written by Deborah G. King of Rocky Face, Georgia, based on a true story right out of the mountains of Ellijay and Chatsworth.

Somewhere in Germany is the story of a young southern man, coming of age that was drafted into the US Army and sent to Germany towards the end of the war in 1944. He was involved in a fierce battle, the battle of Appenrode, Germany, on March 18, 1945. The main character, Paul Crook killed 15 Germans, captured 24 and wounded 1 and held his captives overnight all by himself until support troops came the next day and took them off his hands. His whole unit was killed except for him, and his wounded friend Robert, who later became his best friend and comrade.

Robert and Paul were transferred to another unit. There in this unit, they were sent to stand “Post” guarding the perimeters of Munich (Munchen, the Germans called it then) after the US Army captured and held the town. Robert, and Paul were assigned to a small post just outside the small town of Fahrenzhausen, Germany. Fahrenzhausen sat in the low lands of Bavaria in the shadows of the Alps. There they had to build a guard shack and a border stop, to stop vehicles going into Munich -stopping the flow of contraband and weapons from getting back into Munich when the war was over.

As time went by, the men at the Post, got to know the townspeople of Fahrenzhausen. One particular person Paul got to know was a little girl around 7 years of age, named “little Sonya” who came to the post almost everyday and sat with Paul on turned up side down buckets as he stood guard.

After the remorse and extreme emotional effect that Paul Crook had to go through after the battle of Appenrode and the loss of his friends in his unit, Little Sonya was like a ray of sunshine to Paul, and soon helped him recover his soul and restored faith in human nature. Because of Little Sonya, he met a young German woman named “Anna Reinoehl.” This was May or June of 1945, and they became good friends, despite their cultural and language differences. He spoke little German, and she little English, but over time the two fell in love, and spent much time together. Paul helped Little Sonya’s mother move from Fahrenzhausen to Ingolstalt because her husband had been imprisoned after the war in Army prison camp. This alone could have gotten him in trouble, but he had such a kind heart, that he wanted to help this woman who had triplets, and little Sonya as well.

Paul spent Thanksgiving with the Anna and the Reinoehl family, and became like a family member, especially after helping the Germans keep their livestock when the Polish and French immigrants came through their town, and they tried to steal the German’s animals. He is still like a legend to the old people in the town, today for the heroic act he committed. Paul also spent Christmas in Fahrenzhausen with the Reinoehl family, and learned of their holiday traditions as well. He even had to go on a dangerous mission, to Karlsfeld, a town near by and take some of the vigilante immigrants to a prison.

Just when Paul and Anna were in love, and he was taking her to English lessons, so that he could understand her completely, and she could him, Paul and Robert got a new assignment. They were to go to England on a new assignment and had to leave Fahrenzhausen, and Paul had to leave Anna behind. He promised her he would come back, he believed in keeping his promises. Paul always kept his word, for he was an honorable man.

Robert and Paul both assumed they would be returning to stand Post in Fahrenzhausen after their assignment in England. They were shocked after spending 3 months in England helping getting troops ready to go back to the United States, for they too received orders to board a ship and report back to Ft. Bragg North Carolina when the shipped arrived in America. Paul did not want to go back, but would be considered Awol, if he went back to Fahrenzhausen against his orders.

Robert and Paul both reported to Ft. Bragg, just as they were supposed too, and was surprised several weeks later, when they were released from the Army, and could go home.

In 1946 and 1948 letters came to the farm in Chatsworth, from Anna in Germany. Paul could not read German, so he never knew what they said. He only knew that they were from Anna. He felt good that they were from her, and he wanted to go back to Germany as soon as possible. But life as a civilian was much different than the life of a soldier. Paul’ mother had saved every penny he had sent home in an allotment out of his military pay, and she had just purchased a 70 acre farm just below Chatsworth, on the old Ramhurst Rd. But the farm house on the property was basically a shack. So many renovations had to be made for it to be livable, and the property had to be cleared for gardens to be planted. So many things arose, that every time he tried to save for the trip back to Germany, and to Anna, other things always arose, and seemed to take the money he had saved for the fare.

After about 5 years, he had to finally realize that Anna had probably went on with her life, and come to the realization that he would not go back to Germany. He had to make a choice, and reluctantly did so, choosing his family and the farm, instead of Anna, who had probably married another by then. But Paul Crook, was an avid farmer, who farmed the rest of his life to fill his time with things other than the memories of the love that he and Anna had shared.

2005, while searching through some old family things, in a quest for history, in an old enclosed garage, the letters written by Anna in 1946, and 1948 were discovered. Paul had died in 2001, never married, never had children, and never even dated after the war. The truth about the love story between Anna and Paul had died with Paul in 2001. He never told anyone how much in love that he and Anna were. He never told anyone about how he won the Bronze Star that he had won from the battle of Appenrode-for heroism, and bravery.

The letters were written in German and no one could read them. I took them home with me, and they sat on a computer shelf for almost a year, crying out softly- find out about me, I am harboring a secret!

Finally the letters won over, and a translator was located that could read and speak German. A Swiss man had agreed to read us the letters. As he read the letters, it was clear that they were very touching and desperate love letters to Uncle Paul. But who was this Anna, and why had he kept her letters all these years?

Upon thinking about Anna, and how old she could be, and if she could still be alive in Germany, I began to write letters to Germany trying to find her. The letters had stayed in Paul’s bedroom in an old hatbox along with his Bronze Star for 55 years until he had died, and then his brother had moved them out into the old enclosed garage with all Paul’s personal belongings. The garage had a door on it that was lockable, and he thought they would be safe there. No one questioned the letters and who Anna was, even though they remembered the letters coming to the Farmhouse in Chatsworth so many years ago. He had made light of the letters, many years ago and said that they were from the Reinoehl family when questioned about the letters. No one even thought a lot about the fact that he carried her picture in his wallet until it was almost completely worn out. No one knew about the love, the true and undying love between the two.

I had to tell Anna!, if she were still alive, she would be 78, 79 or 80 years old. That Paul had not forgotten about her all those years ago. I pictured an old woman sitting in her elderly attire, reading the letter from me when she received it and knowing that Paul had indeed loved her, and he had never forgotten about her.

I wrote to the 60 year old address on the return part of the letter, since the Swiss man had told us that Germans did not move around much and that she could still live at that very address. But I got no response. I was heartbroken, and I felt the agony that both had felt when they knew they could not be together. I hurt for the both of them. But I didn’t give up.

I posted a post called “World War II love story gone wrong” on the internet on a German web post. I waited for a response, and soon a woman named Vera Nagel of Frankfurt Germany, answered my post and said she might be able to help me. After weeks of correspondence and sending small document packages to Frankfurt, she finally came up with an address of a person who might be related to Anna in Fahrenzhausen. The persons name was Reinoehl also, and when she gave he his first name, and I looked back at the letters, I realized it was Anna’s younger brother- Niklas that I had the address to.

So I wrote to Niklas Reinoehl and waited for a response.
I had almost given up hope, when one morning when checking my email before going off to work, I received a strange email from a woman named Sofie. She was in Munich, and I almost deleted the email, thinking it was one of those foreign lottery emails.

But when I read the email, I was so shocked I almost fell out of my chair. She was translating for a person of the name of Reinoehl.

The shock of it all came as I read the complete letter.

It rang in my mind what this person said to me.

Dear Mrs. King,

You talked about the big love between Anna and Paul. You asked for a picture of Anna when she was 18. This is impossible, for she had a stroke about 5 years ago (around the time of Paul’s death) and she will want to know why I want the picture of her.

My birthday is May 7, 1946, and I am probably the result of this big love.
My name is Josiah Reinoehl, and I want to know why he never sent any sign of life.

Attached is a picture of Anna Reinoehl when she was married for 50 years, and the other is a picture of me when I was younger. I would be very lucky (happy) if you would send me a picture of Paul, because I was waiting for 61 years to see him.

I hope I meet your expectations and you will write back to the following address.

Josiah Reineohl
Fahrenzhausen, Germany

You can imagine the shock I felt since I had known Uncle Paul for 25 years and never knew about this love story until after we found the letters, and I certainly did not know he had a son.

After Paul left Fahrenzhausen, Anna must have realized she was with child. Paul’s child.
She wrote the letters to him after he got out of the military to the farmhouse, but she never mentioned the baby. The letters were being censored by the military or the government and she did not say anything about the child because she was afraid that they letters would not get through.

The regrets piled up high as Paul lived his life without Anna, let alone, that he had to live without the only woman he had ever loved, but if he had known he had a son in Germany, he would have never forgiven himself.

Now, when we talk about Josiah, his brother Charles remembers more and more about that time of life, and he said that Paul wanted to go back to Germany for years, even after he got much older. I think he wanted to know what happened to Anna, and to make sure she had went on with her life. Anna did marry, but she waited on Paul for 5 years, and that was along time, given that the war had ended and everyone was extremely poor, and she only had her parents to help her. Five years later she married a man that had settled in Fahrenzhausen in 1946.

The last page of my book is titled “The Ending”

And it says this about the story.

One day when Charles and I went to visit Paul’s grave,
I said in a whisper, to give me inspiration if he wanted this story told.

So someday, when all of this is over,
I am going to take the letters from Anna,
And the pictures from Josiah,
And I am going to dig a hole at the bottom of
Paul’s grave, and I am going to bury them,
So their spirits can be together as they should have been in real life.

Anna is still alive and is 83 years old and living in Fahrenzhausen Germany

for more information,
Please contact:
davidanddebbie1@alltel.net

ellen did portia go with you to florida. how come you haven't showen her or mention her since the writers came back. we love her too. hope everything is going good for the 2 of you. you have such a beautiful smile we can't help but be happy when we watch your show. thanks for being you.

I'M HOME RECUPERATING FROM SURGERY. I WATCHED YOUR SHOW AND GOT HOOKED ON IT. JUST WANTED TO

SAY THANK YOU !!!!

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A DUCK TOUR AT THE INNER HARBOR IN BALTIMORE? I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT VIDEO. FUN!

THANKS AGAIN FOR ADDING FUN TO MY DAY.

SUSAN

love your show, Ellen...you're amazing, especially when you dance...you're really cool...hope you could come here in the philippines and have a dance showdown with jesi corcuera..she's a young actress here who's a lot like you...LoVe ya Ellen...so much!!!

Ellen...come to Ontario, Canada...I sent you a suggestion for coming down for our walkathon....what a dream that would be...Your the best....

Love from your Canadian friends....

Judy Redmond
(My team: Judy's Jewels for MS)

Could you please tell me where i can purchase those titty bear seat belt clips. They are just to cute. You gave them to your audience members. Thank you, My mother and her friend wants one really bad. Please reply.

I LOVE THE JONAS BROTHERS !!! THERE MUSIC IS AMAZING AND I LOVE THEM THANKS FOR HAVING THEM ON UR SHOW!!

IS THERE ANYWAY ELLEN THAT U CAN GET ME TO MEET THEM THAT WOULD BE THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I LOVE THEIR MUSIC AND THERE STYLE THERE JUST GREAT GREAT GUYS WHO MAKE GREAT MUSIC!!!!

PLEASE ELLEN HELP ME MAKE MY DREAM COME TRUE!!!!!!!!

BTW LOVE THE SHOW AND I TRY TO WATCH AS MANY EPISODES AS I CAN POSSIBLE!!!

SINCERELY CORRINE!!

Ellen, I happened to watch your show on April 2 from Universal Studios. In the segment where you played the marshmallow game I have to tell you that it was so unfair to the person from Hollywood
Florida. The marshmallows were way to high for her to get at! The other lady certainly had the advantage. This was not the first time I've seen this happen. I think the marshmallows should be set based on the height of the contestant. I also think the lady from Hollywood FL should have gotten the same prize as the winner because of the unfairness. From here on out lets play the game fair!!!! Love your show anyway. Mary