http://www.lostinthefog.org/ Rachel Van Meers talks about Belgium, her life, and everything in-between en-us 2008 Daniel Chase and Rachel Van Meers Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:24:00 -0400 http://www.rssfeedssubmit.com/rss-generator/ http://www.lostinthefog.org/lostinthefogpic.jpg http://www.lostinthefog.org/ 144 223 http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno01.mp3 As promised, we launch the first of a new series of podcasts with Rachel Van Meers. In this inaugural episode, Rachel explains why she picked the title, "Lost in the Fog," what it means to her, and the weather in Belgium. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno02.mp3 The second in a new series of podcasts with Rachel Van Meers. This week, Rachel talks about the languages of Belgium and how her mother's refusal to allow her to learn French affected her life growing up during the 1930s. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno03.mp3 The third in our new series of podcasts with Rachel Van Meers. This week, Rachel talks about her grandmother, going to church in Belgium, and a scary painting in her grandmother's house. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno04.mp3 This week, Rachel Van Meers tells a story about what happened one time when she was looking in the mirror at her grandmother's house. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno05.mp3 In podcast number five, Rachel talks about her mother before the war, their relationship, and standing in line for food. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno06.mp3 In this interview clip, Rachel Van Meers remembers her mother's collection of "Piccolos," a magazine from Europe, and how it met its end. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno07.mp3 If there's one person that affected Rachel's life the most, it was her stepfather, Geoffrey Voorst. This week on the podcast, Rachel explains how he and her mother met and Geoff's relationship with her mother. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno08.mp3 In 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, thousands refugees fled over the borders of Spain into Europe. Rachel tells the story, when she was eight years old, of her encounter with one of those refugees. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno09.mp3 Hitler's armies invaded Belgium on May 10, 1940. This week, Rachel remembers what it was like being ten years old when the Nazis marched into Ghent and how the landscape changed under the German Occupation. http://www.lostinthefog.org/podcast/fogcastno10.mp3 During the German Occupation, Rachel's mother and stepfather, Geoffrey Voorst, joined the SS. While Geoffrey was fighting against the Allies, he took the lion's share of the SS money, leaving only a small, insufficient amount for Rachel, her mother, and her infant brother and sister. This week Rachel remembers those experiences, and how they survived using special SS rationing coupons.