ARNOLD'S WAR: 25 DECEMBER 2017

PREAMBLE

Tough going ... life on the Eastern Front during World War II

The World — and especially Europe — was at a crossroads in mid-1939, a crossroads that were to prove “the war to end all wars” one of the most mistaken pledges of all time.

My late father, Arnold Rozentals, then an enterprising 17-year-old living on Latvia’s Baltic Coast not far from Ventspils, was also at a crossroads — a young man about to embark on an education that saved him from almost certain death in northern Europe during World War II and eventually propelled him to a new life in Australia.

It isn’t a Boys’ Own story of VC-winning gallantry, but it is a story of how ordinary people survived the maelstrom ... a great human story, and, in many parts, a great adventure story.

This is a story from the other side of the world, and really has nothing at all to do with Molong and the surrounding district, though some of you may have come across Arnold during his many years at Orange's Email plant, where he rose from being a highly regarded tradesman to a valued member of senior management.

I'm publishing his story simply because it is a great yarn that's worth reading.

I've published the story before in my other website Oz Baby Boomers (http://ozbabyboomers.com.au/) and started publishing it again in the early days of Molong Online. But I reckon Molong Online has enough fresh readers to make the exercise a worthwhile one again.

EPISODE 1 — A golden summer shadowed by the clouds of war (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/
episode_1/arnold_episode_1.html).

EPISODE 2 — The pleasures of Baltic life ... and some uninvited Russian guests (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/
episode_2/arnold_episode_2.html)

EPISODE 3 — An end to the carefree life as the Soviets bare their teeth (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/
episode_3/arnold_episode_3.html)

EPISODE 4 — A very cold winter ... and a night of terror in the marshalling yard (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/
episode_4/arnold_episode_4.html)

EPISODE 5 — Jani Day festivities ... and four days of freedom (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/
episode-5/arnold-episode-5.html)

EPISODE 6 — The Swastika flies over Latvia … and Stalin becomes a mate of the West (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/episode-6/arnold-episode-6.html)

EPISODE 7 — New lodgings … and a new job … and the shadow of conscription (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/episode-7/arnold-episode-7.html)

EPISODE 8 — A move to Riga … and urgent action to avoid becoming canon fodder on the Eastern Front (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/episode-8/arnold-episode-8.html)

EPISODE 9 — Identifying the enemy … and much closer attention from the Nazis (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/episode-9/arnold-episode-9.html)

EPISODE 10 — A dangerous time … and perhaps a last chance to see parents, other relatives and friends (http://molong.com.au/arnolds_war/episode-10/arnold-episode10-.html)