Norbert was born in Berlin in 1942. Though we have been to Germany several times I have never been to Berlin. According to Norbert's mother, twice a day they had to go to the hole in the back yard his father had dug with only an old door for cover as the allied bombers flew over like clockwork twice a day.
This story has many twists. Norbert's father, Erich, was born in the US but was brought to Germany by his parents where Norbert's grandmother died unexpectedly. For unknown reasons, Erich's father left him with relatives so he grew up in Germany. When the war came Erich was drafted into the German army and became an American POW.
When a bomb destroyed their chimney his mom decided it was time to escape to the West. She guessed her husband would find her there with relatives when the war ended. The crowds at the train station trying to get out were huge but she desperately pinched Norbert to make him cry and thus getting preference to get on the train. Unfortunately the tracks were bombed out and she had to walk through the woods at night and hide during the day.
In 1956 Norbert and his family qualified to come to the US as refugees sponsored by a church in Connecticut. This has a fascinating twist. Norbert's father presumed he had lost his US citizenship because he had fought in the German army. No so. People in his situation were given amnesty. BUT it turned out he had done what no US citizen may do. Presuming he had lost his US citizenship, he voted in a local election in Germany. That is what caused him to lose his US citizenship.
So along with the rest of his family he became a naturalized US citizen.
After the wall fell, Norbert took his dad with him when he ran the Berlin Marathon. His father showed him where they had lived and other places that had meaning.
When Norbert and I visited Germany in 1972, Berlin was still divided and from just outside his hometown of Goslar we could see the watchtowers in the Harz Mountains. Because of his being an escapee, I was not willing to go to Berlin passing through the narrow corridor and checkpoints so this will be both an introduction for me to Berlin and a visit to Norbert's roots.
This story has many twists. Norbert's father, Erich, was born in the US but was brought to Germany by his parents where Norbert's grandmother died unexpectedly. For unknown reasons, Erich's father left him with relatives so he grew up in Germany. When the war came Erich was drafted into the German army and became an American POW.
When a bomb destroyed their chimney his mom decided it was time to escape to the West. She guessed her husband would find her there with relatives when the war ended. The crowds at the train station trying to get out were huge but she desperately pinched Norbert to make him cry and thus getting preference to get on the train. Unfortunately the tracks were bombed out and she had to walk through the woods at night and hide during the day.
In 1956 Norbert and his family qualified to come to the US as refugees sponsored by a church in Connecticut. This has a fascinating twist. Norbert's father presumed he had lost his US citizenship because he had fought in the German army. No so. People in his situation were given amnesty. BUT it turned out he had done what no US citizen may do. Presuming he had lost his US citizenship, he voted in a local election in Germany. That is what caused him to lose his US citizenship.
So along with the rest of his family he became a naturalized US citizen.
After the wall fell, Norbert took his dad with him when he ran the Berlin Marathon. His father showed him where they had lived and other places that had meaning.
When Norbert and I visited Germany in 1972, Berlin was still divided and from just outside his hometown of Goslar we could see the watchtowers in the Harz Mountains. Because of his being an escapee, I was not willing to go to Berlin passing through the narrow corridor and checkpoints so this will be both an introduction for me to Berlin and a visit to Norbert's roots.
This is a great story, Janis! Wow...
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing it here :-)