chimney pipe disappearing into the ceiling, presumably to warm a bedroom above reached by stairs rising from the corner of the room. A small pile of wood stood by the stove. The floor was bare, apart from a mat near the door. Stark as it was by our standards, this was home to the Konze family. As to their washing, toilet, or cooking facilities, I have no idea.
Nearby, round a corner not far from the Konze farm, was a burned-out building which had been a shop long ago. This building was the sole obvious relic of the war. It had never been cleared away and rebuilt because its owner had been a member of the Gestapo. No-one wanted anything to do with him (if he was still alive), his family, or his derelict property.
Tractors were to be seen in and about the village, and they were mostly horizontal-engined, single-cylinder, diesel-powered, Unimogs. My understanding of the situation was that few farmers could afford to own one, and that they were owned and shared on a communal basis. The same was true of other farm machinery, although I cannot ever remember seeing a threshing machine. Occasionally, I watched as tractors and implements arrived at the village hall, there, presumably, to be reallocated, for I saw different farmers driving them away afterwards.



Video showing SEN-009 clip from Ken Senar's film.   The clip is largely about the village of Borgentreich.   It starts with the "Borgentreich" village sign.   Then, `Sam' Weller and the new Accounts Officer (name forgotten) walk to the village.   Farming scenes along the road.   Farm dog.   Pigeons.   Horse and cart.   Village streets showing the icy state and some farm transport.   Borgentreich was entirely agricultural with almost no private cars at all.   It was a very poor area.   Local children sledging.   Snow plough at work back on camp.   Evidence of the thaw setting in.   Slush.   Finally, a car driving off.

At certain times of the year, calves, young horses, lambs, and other animals, were taken to the undercroft of the Rathaus for inoculation, or maybe sale.2 It was in this building, as well as the Burgomeister, that Obermeister Knoll, the local policeman, had his office.3 He was a short, plump, individual always dressed in his pale green uniform, with leather belt, holster, high leather boots, and peaked cap. He supervised village life. He had a respect for the RAF and, for my part, I had a respect for him.
There were a number of Fachwerk houses.4 These were survivors of pre-war days, and many had the neatest gardens I have ever seen, each totally weed-free and any bare soil neatly raked with almost unbelievable precision. Newer, post-war, houses were bare brick with walls, sometimes only one brick thick, tied in with concrete ring beams at ceiling level. These houses later had an outer layer of brick or cladding added as soon as the occupants could afford it. They had an unattractive look.
Roads were a mixture of pavé or tarmac, but sometimes little more than compacted loose chippings. Pavements in the village were marked out but not necessarily surfaced. At intervals paving stones and bricks were piled along the sidewalks so that individual householders, themselves, could surface those areas immediately outside their properties.
The people of Borgentreich, though mostly poor, were determined to make the best of what they had, and to help each other. They viewed the RAF as a useful source of additional income and were very tolerant of us. We brought trade to their shops and spent money in their inns. Some newly arrived married Junior Officers even took rooms in those inns while they waited their turn for married quarters. The RAF, for its part, also employed, under the auspices of Herr Niemeyer, our RAF German supervisor, several local people and contractors.5 Such, to an extent, was our interdependence.
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2 Rathaus = town hall. A well-built stone building. Now an organ museum.
3 Burgomeister = local mayor.
4 Fachwerk = Frame houses rather like Tudor houses in England but with brown woodwork and buff infill.
5 Herr Niemeyer was a short, thin, wizened, busy-body of an individual who spoke reasonable English but whose false teeth were prone to dropping when he did so.
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