But until then, there was still a lot to settle and think about. Marga would be alone with the boy for the whole week, and her work had to go on as well.
Without the support of the parents, this would not be possible. Despite the generous financial offer, we also had to cope with considerable restrictions, and four years of study would not remain without unforeseen additional costs. Whether I would succeed in keeping the combo together was also written in the stars.
In any case, my musicians were very skeptical. There were many ifs and buts, but the die was cast. I didn’t have the slightest idea of what was in store for me. Without illusions, I was ready to begin the studies. In September 1963, the ceremonial matriculation took place in the world-famous trade fair city in a historically significant building.
We were welcomed as new teacher students by high-ranking personalities and exhorted to study diligently. Above all, as future teachers, we should never forget the great responsibility we had in educating the youth to become socialist personalities. After the ceremony, the students were divided into seminar groups in the large lecture hall according to their field of study.
I belonged to group 11/63, which consisted exclusively of men. The youngest was just 20 years old and the oldest had already passed 30. Not a word was said about the course of instruction, but our seminar leader surprisingly informed us that the entire academic year would voluntarily help the farmers in the northern district of the GDR to bring in the potato harvest as a large FDJ contingent.
With the emblem of the rising sun on the blue flags, a special train set off north two days later. It was only in the potato field that I got to know my fellow students better.
Most of them were former NVA members or, like me, production workers. Most of them already had families. The 11/63 was therefore ideally suited for digging potatoes out of the ground for the agricultural cooperatives located near the GDR state border.
We were accommodated in the attic of a large granary, sleeping in double bunk beds. Apart from a few wash bowls and a toilet in the yard, I don’t remember any other sanitary facilities. But we were well fed. The weather was kind to us. Every evening after work we jumped into a nearby pond and swam a few laps.
The huge potato patch was so large that its end could not be seen in the glimmer of the late summer sun. We chipped in, because while we were there, it should make sense. The LPG chairman beamed when we suggested to him that we work on a piecework basis. A plastic token for each full basket, and we would be paid when the potato field was harvested.
When the weather changed and became unpleasantly cool and rainy, we harvested the last wet, shiny golden-yellow tubers. After work, we were allowed to take a shower with the cows in the electric milking system; only there was enough warm water. The study group 11/63 had fulfilled the FDJ assignment with bravura and in addition earned good money, because the chairman paid generously.
However, the successfully beaten harvest battle was no reason to break down the tents in the hamlet and go home. We had to wait until the centrally located harvesting operation was officially called off. In the remaining free time, we did not remain idle, repairing farm equipment and otherwise making ourselves useful. 𝓣𝓸 𝓑𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓮𝓭…
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