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Not an easy war for Germanâ€"Canadians Chronicle Staff Wilfrid Bitzer was 18 when the First World War broke out. Even now, at age 93, he can remember the surprise felt by Berlinâ€"Waterloo‘s community of people of German descent. "I remember saying this is just a flashâ€"inâ€"theâ€"pan and will be over by Christmas. I couldn‘t imagine two related royal "There was a lot of propaganda issued about the cruelty of the German people in Germany. They were our ancestors and we couldn‘t imagine they could engage in such actions." Though it hurt, and hurt a lot, at the time, Bitzer now looks back and says, "Propaganda is necessary to get the people worked up. You fight with arms and you fight with played football. S â€" "Then the propaganda changed the minds of some people." f wtk" , Then thete was the night the Concordia Club was "raided" # 4 by "soldiers and people who had become antiâ€"German." w At the time the 118th Batallion was stationed in Berlin. . Wilfrid Bitzer was 18 when the First World War broke out. Now at age 93, he recalls how As t ue war d things litt] as war on, sometimes got a little uneomfirnbloinm-CmAdiAncunmunity. there was the occasional confrontation. _ "There was quite a group of British immigrants who came over in 1912 and settled in Berlin. We got along very well and ith the outbreak of war, some friendships suffered. And for long. And they had so much common (Continued on page A14) uncomfortable the times were for the Berlinâ€"Waterloo Germanâ€"Canadian community. in ty prot WATEIDOMMAYW‘_ 1989 â€" PAGE A11 M0aprrertormnmmmmmmemmmmemmmmmmmmmmmmmmunmunaaiat 22 S 2 SE T Wilf Furzer today looks back at the war as somehting that must not be glorified. He lost two close friends in athe battle to capture Italy. ian Kiriby photo