The Girl from Copenhagen

Born in 1923 in Stubberup, Denmark, Inge Buus enjoyed an idyllic childhood on her father's farm, Klostergaarden. Though she never mastered the art of milking cow, she picked up many other practical homemaking skills that would serve her well throughout her life. An excellent student, she learned to speak English without a trace of an accent. In 1940 she witnessed the German invasion of Denmark. When she came of age, she moved to Copenhagen and found employment during the brutal Nazi occupation, under which she became accustomed to German tanks rumbling menacingly through the town square and armed soldiers demanding to see her Ausweis card. She worked as a bookkeeper at the largest shipyard in Denmark, which, as it was now forced to manufacture U-boat engines for the German navy, became a prime target for both Allied bombers and the Danish Resistance. When the war was over, Inge met a charismatic GI at a dance. After a whirlwind courtship, Inge agreed to marry Sergeant Bob Peterson and start a new life in the States. Eventually settling down on an undeveloped plot of land in rural New Jersey and camping out in the wild without running water or electricity, the resourceful couple built their dream house with their own hands. Included in the memoir is a selection of photos from my mother's albums, depicting her childhood and young adulthood in Denmark and her subsequent life in America.