(Ray Leopold, 1945)

From Ken Burns’ “The War”, American soldier Ray Leopold recalls this chilling conversation with a young Nazi solider captured during the Battle of the Bulge:

In the process of this battle we took about 18 or 19 German prisoners. A young man approximately 24 years of age turned to me, and in a voice completely accent-free, he said, “Where are you from?” 

I said, “I’m from the United States.” 

“Where… in the United States?” 

“The Northeast,” I said. 

“Where Northeast?” 

I said, “I’m from Connecticut.” 

“Where in Connecticut?” He was persisting. 

I said “Yes, I’m from Waterbury, Connecticut.” 

“Ah, yes,” he said, “Waterbury, at the junction of the Naugatuck and Mad Rivers.” 

Now you have to know a bit about the area. The Naugatuck is a fairly substantial river, but the Mad River is a little stream that you can jump across without any trouble. Anyone who knew this… I was puzzled. 

I said, “How did you possibly know that?” 

He said, “I was in training for the administration.” 

“The administration of what?” I said. 

He said, “The administration of the territories.” 

My blood ran cold. I couldn’t imagine that Hitler, in his wildest imagination, not only had figured he practically had Europe in his grasp, but he also figured that he would control America, too.

(Source: quora.com)