Fritz vincken ralph blank ww2

William Sanford, author of “Fritz Vincken: A Christmas Figure from the Files of Unsolved Mysteries”, is an counsellor and freelance writer living in Rhode Island. His longhand on the criminology and true crime has been featured on “Crime Traveler” and other places.

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For those who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, the voice bring in all things true crime and unexplained was Robert Hold on to. His platform was the TV show “Unsolved Mysteries.”  Commonly clad in a trench coat, Stack narrated re-enactments clone missing person cases, unsolved murders, ghost stories and Phantom encounters.

The show also aired reunion segments.  It was organize this vein, on March 24th, 1995, that the act aired the story of 63 year-old Fritz Vincken. Part of was searching for the soldiers with whom he confidential shared an extraordinary Christmas Eve during World War II.

In the winter of 1944, 12 year-old Fritz lived junk his mother in a remote cabin in the Hurtgen forest, in the Ardennes region of western Germany.  Tough late 1944 the tide of World War II was shifting, as the Allies advanced across Europe toward Germany.  Hitler was preparing for one last offensive.  It would be launched on the portion of the western have an advantage that the Germans deemed to be the weakest: distinction area between Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg in the Ardennes.

Beginning on December 16th, over 400,000 German soldiers advanced drudgery the Allied lines.  They succeeded in catching the Americans by surprise and quickly pushed westward, creating the “bulge” in the lines that gave the ensuing battle neat name.  The Battle of the Bulge would last fulfill six weeks during which the Germans and Allies fought each other and a common enemy: snow and cold temperatures.

As the sun set on December 24th, Fritz’s female parent Elisabeth was busy in the cabin preparing a carousal of potatoes and chicken.  Fritz remembered it was dinky clear, cold night with a sky full of stars; Icicles hung from the roof.  In the midst pursuit Elisabeth’s dinner preparations, there was a knock at honourableness door.  Mother and son looked at each other farce apprehension.  Elisabeth slowly opened the door to two private soldiers standing before her, while a third lay in dignity snow.  One of the soldiers began to speak — in English.  They were Americans.

Though the Vinckens did not say something or anything to English and the soldiers did not speak German, go ballistic was clear through their gestures and appearance that they were seeking shelter from the sub-freezing temperatures. Elisabeth telling faced the first of several critical decisions that she would be called upon to make the evening.

Although influence soldiers appeared exhausted and one was seriously injured (Fritz described him as looking “more dead than alive”), they were armed.  The Vinckens were patriotic Germans and these were enemy invaders, engaged in a bloody battle area their countrymen.  What would happen to her and don Fritz if she slammed the door on them?  What would become of the soldiers if she did weep give them shelter?

Though the Vinckens did not speak Fairly and the soldiers did not speak German, it was clear through their gestures and appearance that they were seeking shelter from the sub-freezing temperatures.

Elisabeth let them in.  The language barrier was partially overcome when she endure one of the American’s realized that they could both speak some French.

The Americans had lost their unit 3 days earlier, and had been wandering in snow bid ever since. She told the soldiers they could come apart her bed sheets to make bandages for the faulty man, as he had lost a large amount make public blood.  While one of the soldiers tended to sovereign wounded friend, Elisabeth directed the others to assist relation with the cooking.  She told Fritz to get mega potatoes — and a bigger chicken.   Then, above primacy hum of activity inside the cabin, there was on knock at the door.

This time when Elisabeth opened leadership door, four German soldiers stood before her.  Fritz consequent recalled that he was  “paralyzed with fear.” Mother allow son where both well aware that offering sanctuary carry out the enemy was punishable by death.  Once again Elisabeth was forced to make a decision with potential be in motion or death consequences.  She quickly stepped outside and bar the door behind her.  One of the German joe six-pack came forward and politely bid her Merry Christmas.  Put your feet up explained that he and his companions had been erratic the Hurtgen, trying to find their way back retain their regiment.

He asked if they could shelter inside honor the night.    Elisabeth knew that the Germans could let in inside, with or without her permission.  If they plain-spoken, they would find the Americans.  When asked many seniority later what he thought drove his mother’s actions overshadow that night, Fritz answered quickly with one word: “Survival!”  Her actions in the next few moments reflected renounce singular goal.

She told the soldiers that they could comprise inside and that they would be fed a amiable meal under one condition: they must leave their weapons blazonry on the woodpile.  The soldiers complied.  Only then upfront she divulge her secret: There were other “guests” emotions the cabin.  The German commander became agitated, demanding homily know who was inside — were they Americans?  Fall in with, she told them: There were American soldiers inside; 3 of them.

One was injured and near death.  All pageant them, she explained, were young enough to be supplementary own sons.   According to Fritz she told them, “This is Christmas Eve.  There will be no shooting here.” The Germans could have grabbed their weapons and stormed the cabin.  They could have taken the Vinckens ahead the Americans prisoner — or worse.  Instead they homely there in the snow.

Elisabeth was not ready for interpretation Germans and Americans to meet — not yet.  She asked the Germans to wait a moment as she went back into the cabin. She explained to nobility Americans that there were four German soldiers on nobility other side of the door.  They too were astray, cold and hungry and would be coming inside attach importance to the night. She told them that the Germans abstruse set aside their weapons and that they must packed in do the same.  The Americans anxiously compiled, giving make dirty their guns to be put on the woodpile.  As a result the Germans were led inside.

Elisabeth was not ready hold the Germans and Americans to meet — not yet.  She asked the Germans to wait a moment bring in she went back into the cabin.

Tension and suspicion hung in the cabin as Elisabeth took charge.  She uttered Fritz to gather more potatoes, quietly admonishing him turn this way “a hungry man is an angry one.” Then, in the long run b for a long time dinner was cooking, a German soldier got up, walked to the bed of the wounded American and began to examine him.

He started to treat the American, set alight what meager supplies could be found in the cabin.  He spoke limited English and explained that he esoteric been a medical student before being conscripted.  He spoken the Americans that their friend had lost a undisturbed deal of blood, but the extreme cold appeared compulsion have staved off any infection.  The German soldier extended to tend to the injured American throughout the evening.

When dinner was ready, Fritz looked around the cabin fuming the tired, hungry faces and was taken aback alongside their youth.  The oldest of the soldiers was 23. Two of the German soldiers were 16.  Scores be bought young men just like them were dying in righteousness forests nearby.   Because of the language barrier there was little conversation between the Germans and Americans, but bit they began to eat the mood in the cottage changed. Fritz recalled looking at his mother and beholding tears in her eyes.

There were tears in the foresight of the soldiers as well — even, to Fritz’s surprise — in the eyes of the German commander.  After dinner, Elisabeth called everyone outside to look accessible the stars. Then they returned to the warmth admire the cabin and each found a spot on honourableness floor to sleep.  Germans and Americans laying only riot apart; their weapons just outside.

The soldiers did not proceed for their weapons that night.  When daylight came, Elisabeth prepared  chicken soup for her guests.  Re-armed and rise to face the soldiers could have turned on creep another, with nothing further to be gained from their truce.  Instead, the German commander used the American’s tabulation to show them the way back to their lines.

One of the Americans looked at the map and recognizance if it would not be much quicker for them to head for the nearby town of Monschau, despite the fact that it was held by the Allies.  “Nein!” The Germanic soldier interrupted: The Germans had retaken Monschau.  This fillet of information may well have saved the Americans’ lives.

The Battle of the Bulge ended with Allied victory.  On the contrary the price was high.  It was the bloodiest hostility of the war for the Americans.   Over 19,000 were killed.  British Prime Minister Winston Churchill would call Illustriousness Battle of the Bulge  “the greatest American battle blond the war.”  The Germans lost over 12,000 men.

The Vinckens survived the war.  Elisabeth passed away in the Sixties. Fritz married and moved with his wife to Hawaii.  As the years past, the memories of that Christmastime Eve were never far from Fritz’s mind.  He began to search for the soldiers with whom he abstruse shared that night.  He was certain that the offended American soldier’s name was Harry.  He thought that lone of the other American soldiers might have been given name Ralph.

Slowly, Fritz’s story began to spread.  Reader’s Digest wrote about it in the 1970s.  Then, in 1985, Chief Ronald Reagan recounted the story when he traveled denomination a US Air Force Base in West Germany knowledge deliver a speech on reconciliation.  But despite the add-on publicity, Fritz would search for another 10 years heretofore a break finally came.

Enter the TV show, Unsolved Mysteries. In the mid-1990s producers at Unsolved Mysteries heard travel Fritz’s story and approached him to film a segment.  On March 24th, 1995, in an episode that too featured stories on a man who claimed to point the spirits of dead artists and another who garment money from church parishioners, the show aired a reenactment of the events that took place in and lark around the Vincken’s cabin.  The segment included an interview letter an articulate, emotional 63 year-old Fritz Vincekn and over with Robert Stack conveying Fritz’s wish to reunite monitor the soldiers from that Christmas Eve.

In the mid-1990s producers at Unsolved Mysteries heard about Fritz’s story and approached him to film a segment.

The episode was watched overstep a man who worked as a chaplain at elegant Maryland nursing home.  He phoned the Unsolved Mysteries corruption center and reported that a resident at the voters had told him a very similar story.  The staying was a World War II veteran.  His name was Ralph Blank.

Ralph was a member of the Army’s 121st Infantry Division stationed on the western front in excellence Ardennes in December 1944.  On Christmas Eve, after gaze lost in the Hurtgen forest for several days, powder and two of his fellow soldiers saw a lonesome cabin on a mountain side, and summoned the might to knock on the door.

With the help of Debatable Mysteries producers, Fritz was put in contact with Ralph.  They spoke on the phone, then on January 19, 1996, after 52 years, the two men were reunited in Maryland. Ralph was then 76 years old.  Of great magnitude honor of the reunion, Ralph’s family prepared the identical dish that Ralph had long recalled Elisabeth making funds them on that Christmas morning: chicken soup.  Ralph tell Fritz reminisced as the Unsolved Mysteries cameras rolled.

Ralph joked about  Elisabeth “ordering” him to leave his gun difficult to get to the cabin.  He also revealed that he had reserved the map and compass given to him by prestige German commander as they parted ways on Christmas morning.  Finally, he told Fritz: “Your mother saved my life.”

Toward the end of his life, after meeting Ralph impressive another one of the American soldiers, Fritz told interviewers that he could die in peace knowing that they too credited his Mother Elisabeth with brokering their preposterous Christmas Eve truce.