A resourceful woman

I asked Gretel how Meta managed to keep this diary when a few days after they entered camp they had to hand in all their paper. She explained that Meta had fashioned a kind of concealed apron that she wore and where she probably kept this little book. I thought it might have been an old recipe book and that because it wasn't blank it wasn't collected by the Japs. But Gretel tells how the women passed the time talking about food and their recipes and that Meta had written these in her book, with the names of the "owner" written beside it. Gretel also tells that the camp doctor warned against thinking and talking about food because it would activate stomach acid and with no food to digest, this would damage the stomach lining.

Gretel also related how resourceful Meta was - being a Customs Officer's daughter she knew a few tricks for getting stuff across the border. One story is about the time the family went on leave back to Germany and to attend a family wedding. Apparently textiles like satin and lace were taxed in Germany and if you imported these duty was payable. But they were cheaper to buy in Indonesia, so Meta had a supply for the bride and to avoid paying duty she had lined travel blankets with the satin and stuffed cushions with the lace and Gretel remembers how when customs came to inspect them on the train she was covered in a blanket and sitting on the cushions.