My Years with Ludwig von Mises.pdf - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

CHAPTER IV
~§capc
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ON JULY 4, 1940, at 6:30 in the evening, our bus left from the
American Express office. Lene Lieser and Tiny, our housekeeper,
were there to see us off. We never saw them again.
There was great excitement among all the passengers who were
about to leave. Many were crying. No seat remained empty, and
the passengers very soon became acquainted with each other. Everyone
had a story to tell, and soon we were like one big unhappy
family with one wish in common: to avoid the Germans. Our destination
was Cerberes, France, a tiny town on the shores of the
Mediterranean at the Spanish border. To get there without encountering
the Germans, the driver had to change his route frequently,
after seeking information from French peasants and soldiers. We
had to make a great circle, going via Grenoble and Nyons to Orange,
which was to be our stop for the night. The German troops
had advanced very far, ~nd they were everywhere. More than once
our driver had to backtrack to escape them.
Finally, late at night, we arrived at Orange. We left the next
morning at six. At Nimes we stopped for breakfast. We saw fewer
peasants, more and more French soldiers. Some soldiers were
walking alone, trying to get home to their families; others were in
groups,but all of them looked beaten, humiliated and unhappy,
exhausted and hopeless. There were no waves, no greetings, no
jokes, no smiles. Once we had to stop suddenly and turn back;
some soldiers warned us that the Germans were right behind them.
But the driver knew the country well. Never, not for a moment, did
he lose his nerve.
At 2:30 in the afternoon we arrived at Cerberes, beautifully located
on the sea. But we had no eyes for beauty 0r landscape. We
had only one thought: Would it he possible to cross the horder
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