-A true companion in our family throughout the decades-

At the end of the 2nd World War, Solingen was already occupied by the Allies; a neighbour told me that American soldiers would search our flat for weapons.

Early on day someone knocked at our apartment door. Untroubled by this – because we didn’t own any weapons – I let the two uniformed men into our small apartment. How astonished I was when, during a search of our drawers, a soldier held our spatula in his hand and asked me what this dangerous implement was doing in our kitchen.

As I spoke as little English as he understood German, I quickly decided to take my frying pan from the hob and demonstrate to him how one should use this supposed weapon. An understanding smile was his answer. After a short inspection of the other cupboards, they both left our apartment with a friendly wink.

I was regularly using this spatula until shortly before my 90th birthday in 2009.