Alfons: Yes, it was easy to call yourself an SS man back then; today you must be quiet about it. It all seems so long ago, but in my mind, I remember it like yesterday. I chose the SS because it was known to have rough and tough fighters in the ranks; the best of the SA went to the SS. It was very hard to get in, only the best blood of the Reich could serve early on, later in the war they took most anyone. I was in the early SS and wore the black uniform, it had much prestige in those days. The SS was for me a way to get into life as a soldier, which would offer great rewards after my service time. My comrades had varying reasons; some did so because of National Socialism, some admired Hitler and Himmler, and others saw it as means to move up. As I said it was not a bad thing to belong to the SS then, it had great rewards. The SS was seen as the party's army and we wanted to serve our nation in a very tough and elite branch. We trained much like the army did, but ours was more for parades and guard duties, some served as guards for the high leaders. If one wanted to be the best of the best back then, you applied to and successfully entered into the SS. I compare this to the old Kaiser's mounted Life Guards [Regiment der Gardes du Corps], who wore black and guarded the Kaiser. Once the war started our training was more military-like and it involved tactics and equipment training. I was chosen to go to Jüterbog [north-eastern Germany, about 65 km (40 mi) southwest of Berlin] to train on mobile artillery guns.

You served in the war, what was it like for you?

Alfons: Boy, war is not something to be admired and enjoyed. It was dirty, painful, and miserable. I was lucky to have such good comrades to help ease the misery. We lived most times outdoors, even in winter. There was death at every turn, and you had to be on watch at all times. It scarred men who, to this day, have nightmares about it, it was not a nice thing to see or live through. While it is good to remember the men who fell and fought, war is not glamorous. I saw a comrade get cut in half by an anti-tank shell; it was a useless waste of life. When you look around and see a foot, head, or guts laying in front of you, it is sickening and revolting. War is the greatest waste of life and energy that exists today, yet men keep repeating it. I hope for your generation to never see what we saw, to never know the loss of a comrade or family member.

You won the German Cross in Gold I am told, what is this award?

Alfons: It is a high award for bravery or leadership that was made available to all ranks in the German military. If you won the Iron Cross First Class and again achieved a high level of leadership or personal achievement, you could be awarded this. I do not have mine here, but it is a big and bulky award, that because of this, came in cloth. Many of us in the armored branch wore this version. Early on we could see having many decorations meant always losing them while entering and exiting a Panzer. You would see scratches and dents on the awards for men in the armor branch. You would have to enter and exit very quickly at times and heads, hands, and everything else could get quite banged up. Wearing the German Cross in Gold brought instant respect from everyone since it was very few who wore this award. The Americans called it 'the fried egg', for what I have no idea, it made no sense, but it stuck.