Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates?: My Family's Journey to Freedom
84
Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates?: My Family's Journey to Freedom
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781456717940 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 01/17/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 84 |
| File size: | 463 KB |
About the Author
George E Pfautsch spent most of his working life as a financial executive with Potlatch Corporation, a major forest products and paper company. His final years with them were spent as the Senior Vice-President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Following his retirement, he began writing and speaking on the subjects of morality, justice and faith. He has published several books on those topics and he views this book as encompassing each of those subjects.
Read an Excerpt
Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates?
My Family's Journey to FreedomBy Melitta Strandberg
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Melitta StrandbergAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-1793-3
Chapter One
Life Before the Journey
My family's story began in Romania. Both of my parents were born in Romania during a troubled period of time. My father, Oskar Mohr, was born in Buhusi, Romania, on May 22, 1912, shortly before World War I, and my mother, Gisela Csek, was born in Buzau, Romania, on June 2, 1914, as World War I was about to begin.
World War I was a destructive war for Romania. Much of its army was captured or killed during the war and by May, 1918, it was in no position to continue the war and negotiated a peace treaty with Germany. It would re-enter the war later in the year. Following the war there was a significant addition and merging of countries in that region. Much of that was the result of the Treaty of Paris in 1920, and the region became known as Greater Romania.
The union of those numerous countries into Greater Romania resulted in the inclusion of various sizable minorities, which included ethnic Hungarians, Germans, Jews, Ukrainians, Bulgarians and several others. This was the Romania of my parents' youth.
The first and longest ruling government of Romania after World War I was a liberal constitutional monarchy. Due in large part to the expansion of minorities in Romania, especially Jews, the government faced the rise of nationalistic and anti-Semitic parties. The result was that King Carol II abolished the constitutional monarchy. Under King Carol II, Romania became a dictatorship.
My father attended a military academy in the region known as the "Sudetenland," a German region, within what is now Czechoslovakia. My father obtained his diploma (similar to a degree) in industrial engineering from the military academy in the Sudetenland, on September 24, 1931. He then returned to work in Romania. A few years later, in 1936, my parents were married. My father was of German heritage, whereas my mother was of Hungarian heritage. That seemingly insignificant difference in their background would play a troublesome role in later years. Sudetenland would become well known when Hitler would occupy it in the early stages of World War II. It was one of the earliest indications of his desire for world domination, but that lust of power would only become obvious to the world a few years later.
On February 3, 1939, their first child, my sister, Grete, was born. At that time, Romania was again in upheaval. Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. As a result of the non-aggression pact between the two nations, they divided much of Eastern Europe into "spheres of influence." Romania fell under the Russian sphere of influence.
With a dictatorship ruling Romania and the Soviet Union being given much authority due to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, life was becoming ever more turbulent and difficult for my parents and many other Romanians.
As World War II began, King Carol II tried to maintain Romania as a neutral country. But he was eventually forced into an agreement with Hitler. Through that process almost one-third of what was once Greater Romania became a part of other nations. Some lands were given to Russia, some to Hungary and some to Bulgaria.
Following these territorial losses, King Carol II was forced to abdicate and he was replaced by his son Mihai, but the real power was held by the military dictator, Ion Antonescu.
In 1941, my family was living in Buhusi, Romania, where my father was born. The country was in turmoil. Antonescu, a dictator of the worst kind, who would eventually be executed for war crimes, was making life unbearable for many people. He would eventually be found responsible for the death of more than 400,000 people, most of whom were Jews. Borders were not only being altered but sometimes closed.
That is one of the interesting and all too common stories of dictatorial rule. First they make life difficult for everyone and then they make sure no one escapes the miserable life they caused. Dictatorial rule occurs all too often in our world. In those situations, the inalienable right to freedom endowed by our Creator succumbs to those seeking more and more power, regardless of the price paid by the people.
The lack of freedom can be a terrible price for those who experience life without it. My mother and father experienced oppression too many years of their lives. This story has much to do with their personal quest for liberty.
My mother was also pregnant with a second child while my father was working as an engineer for a small textile factory in Buhusi. Life in Romania, under the Antonescu regime, was becoming ever more difficult.
This period of time was still three years prior to my birth. Therefore, I can only pass on to you some of the stories I recall my parents passing on to me.
I recall my parents telling me of one incident when they were living in Buhusi. One day some Russian soldiers came knocking at our door. I am not sure if my parents knew the reason, but I doubt that my father thought that it was going to be a friendly visit. He grabbed a large alarm clock and held it just inside the door. Dad told the Russians that he had a bomb and if they did not leave he would pull the wire connected to the bomb and everyone would be killed in the process. Being able to hear the ticking, they left rather hurriedly.
That type of incident does not make for peaceful and tranquil living. The rumors that communism might become a way of life was of deep concern to my parents. My father had a good job but Hitler was offering jobs in Germany and needed large numbers of people to fill them. Hitler was promising a better life in Germany which people wanted to hear.
Mother was in her final days of pregnancy with my brother, Willie. They made plans to settle in Germany. It would be a long trip that took some planning. By the time they had figured out the path they would take and also what items to pack or leave behind, my brother was born. In spite of the fact that they now had a tiny infant, it was time to leave.
Among other things, going to Germany meant a new language. My father was able to speak German, but my mother had to learn German from scratch. I recall her telling me that she learned German by reading her Bible.
Mother's prized possession was her sewing machine. She was a seamstress and that sewing machine simply was not going to be left behind. My father disassembled it and stored it under the mattress of the baby buggy that was carrying Willie. They were careful to store it in a manner that would not cause its detection. At that time the sewing machine was very important, as many of the family's clothes were made on it. Later on, other kids would envy us for being among the best-dressed. Mom took great pride in that.
It was a culmination of factors that convinced my parents to leave Romania. At some point in the life of human beings, situations, especially involving dictators, can become very stressful. Under such circumstances, people are often willing to forsake almost every material possession they have, (sewing machine excepted) in order to find freedom, especially when they also believe that they will find a better job situation. Unfortunately, when they left in 1941, they had no idea that they would be going from the frying pan into the fire.
Chapter Two
The First Phase of Our Journey
In late April of 1941, my father gathered the family together and goodbyes were said to our grandparents and other relatives. They would never see my grandparents again and it would be 29 very long years before they would see any of their other relatives. My parents were not even able to return for the funerals of my grandparents.
Almost all of our possessions had to be left behind when my family departed by train during the night. Their journey that evening began in Buhusi, Romania, and would slowly transport them to Weimar, Germany.
It was not necessarily a dangerous trip but there were some risk-filled experiences in many ways. There were numerous stops along the way and what few possessions they had would be checked. But the sewing machine was never discovered. That was a big relief to my parents, especially my mother. Had the sewing machine been discovered it could have been confiscated and my parents could have been ordered back to Romania or even jailed.
The journey lasted several days. With everything else to worry about, my mother's experience was almost beyond our imaginative capabilities. The unknown situation that was awaiting them, a new language to learn, very few possessions, and the birth of a new child are memories that will always be a reminder of the courageousness of my mother. She was, is and will always be my heroine. She was yet to endure much more.
My father too was a courageous man. Over the next four years, he would find himself in dangerous situations and would have to use many ingenious tactics to protect us and himself.
Following the family's arrival in Weimar, Germany, it did not take long for my father to find employment. Not long after our arrival in Weimar my father became the Chief Engineer at the "Gusslovwerke," a German ammunition factory. Life seemed to be on track again. Initially, that was true.
The immediate situation in Weimar was an improvement of my family's life compared with Romania. But even as they arrived there, events taking place in Germany were rapidly changing life for German people and those who had immigrated there.
Even though Germany was waging war in 1941, it was still a land of promise for many. The German economy grew by leaps and bounds under Hitler. He had built the Volkswagen, autobahns, and numerous factories. Compared with the long Depression following World War I, the German people were prospering under Hitler during the 1930's and even into the early 1940's.
During the early part of his regime, his brutal tactics were not that obvious. After that long Depression that followed World War I, the German people had some legitimate reasons to initially like his regime. No other country was more prosperous and people were flocking to Germany to find employment. My parents were among those people.
In 1941, the dark clouds of war were becoming more apparent and more widespread, but it was still early in the war and the Nazis were having success in the military aspects of the war, even though unjustified success. Also in 1941, Hitler had already brought Austria into the German Republic, and occupied the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia, which as noted earlier, was home to many German settlers who were happy to be reunited with the homeland.
Those of you, who have seen the "Sound of Music," have some idea of what was happening in Austria in the late 1930's. The Von Trapp family, featured in that film, had to make some of the same type decisions my family also made.
By 1941, Hitler's armies had also invaded Poland and France. Along with the Italians, they also occupied territories of North Africa. London was being bombed. In many ways, Hitler was truly "having success" on the battlefield. As one can imagine, the factories were also busy putting out the machines of war.
In June of 1941, Hitler's army also invaded Russia. Then in December of 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the United States was brought into the war. Hitler was now fighting wars on many fronts and the war would soon turn against him. As the war began turning against the Nazis, the lives of people living within Germany would become a living hell.
Chapter Three
Life in Weimar, Germany
I am not exactly sure how much knowledge my parents had of the aforementioned military events, but not too long after they arrived in Weimar, their lives would again take a bleak turn, along with all others living in Germany.
Many of these military events were occurring at about the time my family arrived in Weimar. One event that would prove to be disastrous for them was Hitler's attack on Russia in mid-1941. The effects of this were not immediate for us, but when the counter-attack from the Russians came, it would have a great impact on our lives in 1945.
It started becoming more obvious to more people that Hitler's plans went beyond his lust of dominating the nations of Europe and possibly the world.
It became known that Hitler was intent on creating a "master race." He was also intent on destroying and eliminating the Jewish race. The building of his "master race" also put foreigners within Germany at risk. My family was at risk. As noted earlier, although my parents were both born in Romania, my father was of German heritage and my mother was of Hungarian heritage.
Just five miles from the city of Weimar, was the infamous Buchenwald prison camp. My parents' home was near Buchenwald on the outskirts of Weimar towards the area of that terrible camp. They would witness the thousands of people who were in long lines and loaded on to and off of trucks and trains, never to be seen again. These people had to wear bands on their arms with blue stars painted on them.
Buchenwald was one of the worst of the Nazi prisons. It is estimated that almost a quarter of a million prisoners were held there at some time and that more than 56,000 people died there.
Once again, it is painful to think about the experience of my parents and siblings. There were rumors about the atrocities. At times, my parents would take walks near Buchenwald and would hear the gunfire, and could see some of the mass graves. I believe they understood something about the Jews who were there and who were permitted to starve and die. The cries could be heard at night if you were within a quarter mile of the camp.
Life during 1942 and 1943 became increasingly worse for my family. The war became more intense and cities in the region were now being bombed more frequently by the Allied forces. The cities became piles of rubble.
As the war continued my father was drafted as a medic in the spring of 1944. My mother would again go through another extremely difficult period. Her husband was gone and she was left alone to care for my sister and brother.
While she was at home alone with my brother and sister, I can only imagine how difficult it was for her. She would often have to wait in line to try to get what little food might be available. Everything was rationed. My brother and sister would sometimes have to go to bed hungry. Mom would tell us how painful it was to experience that. In addition to standing in lines she would go through garbage cans to find food. She also would sometimes create a meal out of potato peelings. That kind of living is hard for us to imagine. In addition to those hardships she was again pregnant.
Chapter Four
Sept 3, 1944 And Subsequent Events
On September 3rd, 1944, I was born in a hospital in Weimar. My parents were unaware that this particular hospital also served as Hitler's operation for selecting newborn and young children for experimental purposes. That was especially true for babies born to parents from Poland, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. Once again the foreign nationality of my mother may have played a role.
We were not a part of Hitler's "pure race," which he intended for Germany. Shortly after my birth, I was taken from my mother and vanished.
I was later told that a different baby was given to mom hours later for feeding. My mother refused and told them she was not going to accept this baby because it was not hers. They took that baby away but I was not returned to her.
My mother had one recollection of my birth in the few minutes I was with her. She remembered that I had a birthmark on my lower arm. That birthmark would become a significant identification at a later period.
One can only imagine the trauma my parents felt and their frantic search to locate me. They looked many places and many doors were shut in their faces. Lies were told to them, including that I had died. Regardless of what they were told my parents remained determined to find me and to also find answers and the truth.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates? by Melitta Strandberg Copyright © 2011 by Melitta Strandberg. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword....................ixIntroduction....................xi
1 – Life Before the Journey....................1
2 – The First Phase of Our Journey....................9
3 – Life in Weimar, Germany....................13
4 – Sept 3, 1944 And Subsequent Events....................17
5 – The Last Year in Weimar....................25
6 – The Journey to the West....................29
7 – Freedom....................37
8 – Life in Augsburg....................45
8 – July 4, 1963....................57
10 – A Life of Freedom and Faith in God....................61