Bremerhaven: A Memoir of Germany, 1945-1947

The war in Europe had ended but a few weeks before and we in the room that afternoon, who had followed the victorious invaders by various routes into Germany, had wound up in a holding unit in a charming spa, Bad Salzuflen. It was there that 92 Intelligence Team had been cobbled together, its members being selected without their learning why they were being separated from their units. Now we were being told that ours was not to reason why, but to go and work with the Counter Intelligence Corps of the United States Army. And so, a couple of days later, we did. But not before the Area Intelligence Officer gave us a final piece of advice. "The Yanks play hard," he said with a knowing smile, "but they also work hard. Don't ever underestimate them."