After a few weeks I began to get worried, because I was experiencing a very near repeat of what I went through in Brünn. The prospect of spending several years working and living with boys who would probably remain strangers to me was alarming. My mother was very sympathetic about my worries when I discussed them with her on one of my weekend visits to Karlsbad and she promised to give the matter serious thought.
During my time in Eger I was not aware of any political unrest in Europe. It was certainly peaceful in this part of the Sudetenland and the only incident of note in Eger was a visit by Konrad Henlein. I remember seeing a procession of large state-cars, with mounted swastika flags, drive through crowd-lined roads, but it seemed to be a low-key affair. Come to think of it, this was the biggest public display of National-Socialist power at which I was ever present.
When I saw my mother a week later, she had good news for me. She had heard of a boarding-school in a small country town called Gebesee in central Germany that sounded ideal for me and she had already gone to visit it. My mother had immediately been won over by the relaxed and happy atmosphere and was told that the school aimed particularly at achieving a good social environment for the students. In addition, many sporting interests and a wide range of practical hobbies were catered for. All this seemed to be just what I wanted; friends and the opportunity to pursue a variety of interesting activities. It appeared that the director was prepared to accept me at short notice and I remember that I felt no hesitation in saying that I would like to go to that school. Of course, it would become impracticable to go to Karlsbad for weekends, but my mother was sure that the facilities offered by the school would ensure that I was neither bored nor lonely.
My departure from Eger was quickly arranged since my mother was due to return to Ireland and she wanted to see me settled in my new school before she left. My aunt and uncle in Karlsbad were very understanding and assured me that I could come and stay with them whenever I wanted to. I knew that the offer was sincere and that my enterprising Aunt Hella would love to be able to plan all sorts of wonderful holidays for Erika and me. I left Eger after being there just six weeks. There was much in the town and countryside that I would now not be able to explore, and this I regretted. However, I had made my choice and, once again, was on my way towards a new environment.
My new school was a two-hour train journey from Eger. Called Schloss Gebesee, it had previously been a castle in private ownership and had a park and a working farm attached to it. The main part of the school was a four-storey building with ancillary two-storey buildings enclosing a large cobbled yard. Of the 110 pupils, thirty were girls, but they were senior to the boys and in classes of their own.
After we arrived, my mother and I called on the headmaster, Dr Max Prüss, and his wife. They were a jovial couple who immediately gave me a hearty welcome and arranged for us to meet other members of the staff. One of the teachers, Herr Arnold Kieschke, and his wife Traute were given special responsibility for my welfare.
Gebesee was known as a Deutsches Landerziehungsheim, which literally translates as German Country Educational Home, and was one of a group of schools which had been founded by a gifted educationalist called Hermann Lietz. He had a novel approach when selecting locations for his schools. Together with fellow-teachers, whom he had hand-picked, he set off on his quest by cycling through Germany. It was usually an old castle with extensive land, which he found ideal for his purpose and over the years he acquired additional sites with the help of private donations and loans. In colloquial language the schools were called Hermann Lietz Schools and had been established at the turn of the century. Having gone through an extremely unhappy time during his secondary education, Hermann Lietz had resolved to become a teacher and to break away from established, conservative systems of teaching.
He was deeply opposed to methods which concentrated on filling pupils with knowledge, while neglecting basic pedagogic principles and the psychology of teaching. To him the person as a whole, with mental and physical attributes in harmony, was most important. The qualities which Hermann Lietz wanted to foster were a Christian outlook, honesty, integrity, freedom from bias (whether racial or social), friendship, helpfulness and an understanding of one’s fellow man. In parallel with this, physical activities in sport, crafts and general handiwork were promoted, as well as a love of nature and an understanding of the arts. In order that students should receive good guidance at all times, they were divided into groups of about twelve, called families, each of which was headed by a teacher and his wife, who were known as family father and family mother.
The group of schools consisted of two junior, three intermediate and two senior schools of which one, Gebesee, was co-educational. Pupils usually progressed through all three grades and completed their secondary education by matriculating in one of the senior schools. A farm was attached to each of the schools and all students had to help out during periods of peak labour requirements. We also carried out manual work during the construction of new student facilities. This was considered by Hermann Lietz to be a very important aspect of our education.
Herr Kieschke, my family father, showed me around the school and introduced me to other students. Meeting them allayed any doubts I might still have had about my new school. The boys were so naturally friendly and open in their ways that I immediately took to them. There were eleven boys and three senior girls in my family and we boys slept in two dormitories in a third-storey wing of the main building.
I enjoyed the daily routine very much. Every morning the whole school went off on a pre-breakfast jog followed by a hot and cold shower. Lessons went up to lunchtime and the afternoons were devoted to the practice of “arts and crafts” for which a wide selection of training facilities was available. Among other things, one could do carpentry, sketching, build model gliders or learn to play a musical instrument. A different craft could be selected at the beginning of each term, but if a pupil had no interest in any of them, he was obliged to join the gardening guild and work in the fruit and vegetable garden
Prep was done after tea with the family father at hand and he would at any time during the week, or at weekends, give help with queries relating to the lessons no matter what the subject was. Of course, the teacher and his wife were also there to help us with whatever problems or wishes we might have. But, though we led a privileged existence, we were not pampered in any way and discipline, though not rigid, was strictly maintained.
Despite the emphasis on life within a family, the members did not become divorced from the main body of pupils. It was really during leisure hours that the practice of showing consideration for the other pupils in one’s family arose. Since age-groups were purposely kept mixed, there was also an onus on the older boys to look after the younger ones. One boy in each family was termed “family representative.” He had a disciplinary responsibility within the family, but was not allowed to beat the boys or make them do any personal chores for him.
I liked my fellow pupils very much and do not remember a single objectionable one among them. Our background was varied and a few of us had lived abroad. One important thing that the students had in common was that their family background was such that they would have been out of sympathy with the National-Socialist regime. I can honestly say that I never found it to be otherwise and was glad to be among schoolmates who shared my more independent way of thinking.