"... The city of Plauen, which once had 100,000 inhabitants, was 75 to 80 percent destroyed by the bombing. Numerous inhabitants sought accommodation in the surrounding area, in the surrounding villages - for example in Straßberg, plus large treks of resettlers from the Eastern territories and from the ČSSR. The normal number of inhabitants in Straßberg rose from 700 to 1500. The cultivation and delivery requirement of fields and stables, controlled by the Soviet military command, ensured food. Rooms for 800 people had to be found in the village, and stoves and furnaces had to be procured. Furniture and household goods were raised in the village through solidarity donations, collected by horse and cart and distributed by a local committee. The gymnasium also became emergency accommodation for resettlers and burnt-out people at this time. ..."

(Walter Ballhause 1987, in: Interview with Ernst-Michael Stiegler, excerpts published in: Niedersachen 6/87, p. 296 ff.)