In the German Army and a Mysterious Black Cat

[Mashek]

The year was 1939 and I was in Poland, I somehow knew, although I had not moved an inch from my real-life suberb. I remember standing on the far-end of the football oval under a dismal, unmoving sky in the cold of winter, the deep green of the land around lying under a light mist. A few Polish men stood beside me, and I assumed I was one of them, or a visitor. One of the men to my left was old, with greying hair and a fur hat on his head, and his hands were pocketed in his heavy, brown coat. There were maybe two other men beside him, both in their thirties, and were quite average looking, dressed in 1930’s outfits. One of the men in particular was bald and wore only a white, cotton shirt with suspenders holding up grey pants.

Standing in the cold, talking with my companions, I could see ahead of me my real-life house, sitting along a street that was real as well. It was strange because I knew the year was 1939 and I was in Poland, yet I was looking at my street and its surrounds as I knew it and as it really is in the year 2007. This is strange as many of my dreams are featured in this one area with my house, the street it sits on and the football oval across the road. Maybe this is because it is a familiar location? Perhaps I feel some kind of spiritual connection with this land and which affects my dreams? Nonetheless all the houses, even my own house, sitting along the left side of the road (the oval on the right side where we were), looked a lot older and East-European fashioned. Some of the houses further down the road were also two storied, when in reality they are all only one storied. Together with the nipping coldness and the deep green of trees and grass, the atmosphere was quite cold and dark. Yep, I was in Europe.

Standing there I remember suddenly feeling a tremor reverberating through the land. The tremor soon grew louder and into a rumble that shook the ground, and for a moment we were all confused. Then we could hear squeaking metal tracks, and I almost immediately knew they were tanks. German tanks. We all looked pass the oval and along the stretch of road running before the houses, where the long, grey barrel of a tank could be seen coming down the street, slowly appearing from behind the blocking house sitting on our side of the road. Seconds passed and soon the barrel was a part of a large, grey tank, rolling down the street road, squeaking wheels and rumbling earth in its wake. Many more tanks followed after it: Tiger tanks, Panzer tanks and half-treads, as well as trucks carrying men and provisions for the campaign they were embarking upon.

The Polish men beside me just stood there watching, and the long stretch of tanks, together with the trucks disappeared around the curve of the road, as if to enter some other part of the countryside for a frontline we had no idea of.

Still looking at the long line of vehicles coming down the road, seemingly a part of a massive army invading this countryside, the Poles looked a little relieved, and the old man spoke aloud, ‘At least they’re not stopping here.’ And he said something like ‘Let them come through, so long as they don’t bother us’. Yet for some reason I suddenly had knowledge of all that had happened in World War II, and that I was from the future. I told him that he was wrong, and the Germans were here to stay for a long time, that they would kill millions before finally being pushed out. Such great destruction I spoke of in the coming war, that sixty million would die. I do not remember the Poles’ reactions, only that some of the German tanks and trucks in the column suddenly turned off the road and into the oval entrance. I was a little alarmed, and so were the Poles. Yes, the Germans were here to stay, and I somehow knew they’d be setting up some kind of base of operations here on the football oval.

Maybe the dream blanked out, I don’t know, but I suddenly remember being in the same place of the oval that I was before, and seeing at least a half tread and tank parked right beside the cricket nets, the thick green grass sprouting in front of the treads. German soldiers were there, unpacking, and were laughing among one another. One particular German was standing on top of the tank and was passing a crate to another soldier. He was grinning about something. Just friendly chatter I suppose. Anyway they didn’t seem to pay me (or us) any mind. It is also at this stage that I cannot remember seeing the old man or the other two there any more. Maybe they were, maybe not?

Here again perhaps the dream blanked out or I have forgotten what happened as I have only just decided to write this some months after it happened. I remember being told by a German commander, together with other Polish men, to line up in single file. We ran to the line and made a single file, all obedient, or just afraid of being shot. We were still at the oval, still in the same place as I was before when talking to the three men. Anyway we all lined up and were told to do laps around the oval, practice shooting rifles, and just certain little duties for training. I remember doing errands for the German officers, like running messages etc from one side of the oval to the other.

Then I later remember being a German soldier itself, in the grey uniform and all and with rifle, and obeying yet more duties from this German commander. I remember this commander having a real attitude. He was always grouchy and yelling - a bit like the training officer off the remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. I was a bit intimidated but also laid back. For some reason this camp on the football oval seemed really laid back as soldiers were always laughing with one another. The commanders were always sitting on wooden chairs out in the grass and we were always doing orders. But I never really talked here, like all I could do was observe that around me. I also remember getting coffee for the grouchy commander.

Later on in the dream I saw a crowd of people to the north of the oval, where the grass grows yellow and harsh. I knew this was the place where I had always come across those lions in my other dreams many years ago. Even today I fear lions in my dreams. I went over and asked the people what had happened, and I saw blood on the ground. One man gave me a photo of an at least 8 year old girl and told me a jaguar had killed her here not long ago. I suddenly had the image of a large, vicious black cat in my mind and I felt eyes on me. I also felt a sudden sense of sadness for this young child, and was crying. I told the man that I would hunt this cat down and kill it. Then for some reason I found myself telling my commander I was going to hunt this cat. He didn't want me to, but I felt this passion to kill this cat because it killed this innocent child. I argued my point and walked off to trade my rifle in for a better gun. I soon found a sniper rifle and went off hunting. I remember hunting for so long through the yellow grass (near the german camp on the oval) and looking for this jaguar. I would ask people many questions (like a detective) to develop some ideas and a theory as to where this cat could be. Anyway I never found this cat, and the process trying to, narrowing the places where it could live, was really long in the dream. I think I came across the animal's home where a child jaguar was. It growled and started clawing at my leg. I killed it by hitting it repeatedly with the rifle butt. But I still never found the mother jaguar. Shortly afterwards the dream ended.

Anyway this dream was so vivid and felt so real. Even today, many months after I had it, I still think and wonder about it. Any interpretations please?

[JON]

Little tip, Mashek, take a look at this posting by Kalinka:

same dream for years

http://www.sleeps.com/forums/dream-i...ation/9521.htm

Maybe you could help each other with this subject.

Cheers, Jon

[Mashek]

Cheers, Jon!

Anyway I looked at the main themes of this dream a lot closer and got some pretty interesting interpretations down.

One particular one was that this jaguar that I could never find tells me about myself. Always the jaguar manages to escape punishment by keeping away from its pursuer for the wrong it has done, that it avoids. I noticed that in real life I have done some things that I not only avoided but avoided someone altogether as well. That I kept away from that someone.

Anyway, if someone else has anything to say about any other symbols / themes they may have found please write away!