Good-bye and good luck. [WWII]

[**The following is taken from a memoir of Irmgard A. Hunt, who grew up in the mountains under Hitler’s Eagles Nest during the Second World War.**] >I tried hard not to stare when passing a wounded soldier, but sometimes it was impossible not to look at a mangled man on crutches or a group of two or three with their pant legs and arm sleeves pinned back revealing the void where a limb had been. The very young still wore their casts as if they were badges of honor, and we regarded them with great respect and compassion. Sometimes I worked up my courage, smiled, and nodded a greeting to one of them, and once a soldier with a bandaged head, moving slowly on his crutches, smiled back and said, “Good-bye and good luck, little girl.” >I said, “Good luck,” and later realized that we both had neglected to say “Heil [Hitler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Hitler_portrait_crop.jpg).” ____________________________ **Source:** Hunt, Irmgard A. “Hardship and Disintegration.” On Hitler’s Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2005. 182. Print. ____________________________ **Further Reading:** [Adolf Hitler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler)