It’s one of those stories that you never hear about even though it’s been recanted by President Reagan, Reader’s Digest and featured on Unsolved Mysteries. Maybe the reason it hasn’t been made into a movie is that it’s just a story of several people coming together to have a dinner. But when you think about who the people are and the what was happening at the time, it is a wonderful tale of how how humanity can be surprising.
On Christmas Eve, Fritz Vincken, 12, was at a cabin with his mother, Elisabeth, in the Ardennes Forest near the German-Belgium border when he would get a nice lesson in the goodwill of people. There was a knock at their door and they were surprised to see three American soldiers who had become lost from their platoon. One of them was injured. They were seeking shelter. However, there was a language barrier as they didn’t speak German well and she didn’t speak English well. They used French and hand gestures to communicate.
Elisabeth knowing that as Germans they could be severe repurcussions if they were discovering to be “harboring the enemy.” But she wasn’t going to let the men freeze and especially since one of them was hurt from a bullet wound. The soldiers were invited in where a nice fire stove warmed them up and Elisabeth and Fritz were preparing a dinner, of which they were going to add some of their own rations to the meal. Fritz would get his sweet tooth when the soldiers gave him some chocolate.
Then, there was another knock at the door.
The soldiers hid but took precautions. Elisabeth opened the door to discover four German soldiers, two of which were just a few years older than Fritz. They were seeking shelter. Elisabeth knew she couldn’t refuse them shelter. But she asked them if they would leave their firearms and any weaponry in a shed outside. The smell of food and feeling of the warm fire appealed to them so they obliged.
But when they walked in, they were surprised to see the soldiers. Elisabeth told the soldiers to put down their weapons as the Germans were unarmed. One of the German soldiers noticed the wounded American and went to assist him medically, much to the surprise of the other Americans, who put their weapons outside in the shed with the Germans’ before returning back to help Elisabeth prepare a meal.
They ate together, cried with Elisabeth said a prayer, talked with each other and even scounged together some gifts to give to their hosts. The next morning, the Germans and Americans worked together to make a stretcher so they could carry the wounded American back to the front lines. The supervising German officer gave them a direct line they could take to get back to their platoon surpassing any German soldiers.
They left never to see each other again. With helps from Unsolved Mysteries producers, Fritz was reunited with one of the Americans, Ralph Bank, who had been a sergeant at the time. Bank was living in a nursring in Maryland the mid-1990s. A TV movie, Silent Night, featuring Linda Hamilton as Elisabeth aired in 2002. But it took a lot of liberties with the story, even having a third act that involves a Nazi soldier discovering the cabin and trying to arrest the Americans.
It’s not a good production mainly because a simple story of people coming together, putting their differences aside has to have some major conflict arise. When Ralph saw Fritz after more than 50 years, he said “Your mother saved my life.” That might have been why everyone decided it wasn’t the time nor the place to fight. Ralph was only in his early 20s. Many of them saw their own mothers in Elisabeth and she showed concern for all of them.
Anyone who knows history knows by late December 1944, Germany was being squeezed by American and Soviet Union forces. On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered. All of the German soldiers had been kids when the war started in 1939. They all just wanted to have their first Christmas in years that seemed normal without the fighting.
They wanted peace on Earth even if it was just for a night.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 