Rodingen, February 13. A devastating blow struck the Wampach-Schroeder and Schranck families last Wednesday. Around 4 p.m., the boys Nikolaus and Joseph Wampach, along with their friend Alfons Schranck, went to the Titelberg to collect dry wood. On the grounds of the mining operation, known as “Stackeis,” they found a Panzerfaust (anti-tank weapon). As is typical for 15-year-old boys, they wanted to investigate. However, this didn’t happen, because the projectile suddenly exploded due to some random movement. The son of the miner Schranck and 13-year-old Joseph Wampach were killed instantly. Miners took the critically injured Nikolaus Wampach to the municipal hospital in Petingen, where he succumbed to his severe internal injuries that evening. As this sad incident proves once again, parents and educators cannot be told often enough to repeatedly point out to their children the dangers that the war-related situation inevitably brings.
