The Typist
Herman F. Allen on the lake at Rättvik, 1944
Yes, Herman was bored. “It started to get monotonous …
One day the commander of the internee camp in Rättvik said that they were looking for a typist in Stockholm. They needed more help “down there,” and they wanted to know if anyone could type.
Well, of course I put up my hand. I could type, I don’t know how well, but somehow to get out of there … I could type!
I looked around and I was the only one who had put up their hand … There were about forty of us there.
So, he said, “You’re it … Go to Stockholm!”
I got orders from the Swedish Air Force that I could leave Rättvik to go to Stockholm to work for the military attaché, in the internee section.”
So The Typist set off for Stockholm. Herman’s American Legation ID card reads April 12, 1944.
And the next adventure begins …
Note: Herman related these facts in a recorded family gathering interview in the late 1970′s. It has been a long standing family joke that Herman volunteered that day even though he couldn’t type. I know now that he was an excellent typist, although he typed with two fingers only. I have original copies of the poetry he wrote and typed in the 1940′s before and during the war. Yes, he was … The Typist. (Daughter Pat)
thanks for raising your hand Herman! (otherwise I wouldn’t be here)