Martin Roemers

Annemarie May (b. 1932 in Germany) lost her sight during the Second World War (WWII). 'One night, a Russian tank fired at our house as we slept. My grandmother and a refugee were sleeping in the same room as me. Both of them were killed. I lost an eye and a hand because of the fragments. My other eye was also damaged. My mother, my brother and my sister who were sleeping in the other room were unharmed. Later we heard that a couple of young men had been firing machine guns at the Russian tanks on the opposite bank of the Elbe. The Russians fired back. Our house, which was on the top of a hill, was a suitable target. My wounded eye was operated on and I could see a bit again. I've had a normal 'seeing' life but my eye gradually deteriorated from 1967 onwards. Since 2004, I can no longer see the difference between light and dark. I feel like I'm living in a prison.'