As I said in my class introduction, my father was born in Austria. His father, my “Opa” (grandfather) had a big farm in an area called Kolut, which was once part of Yugoslavia. They were hemp farmers, but were “asked” to join the German army during the war. My Opa’s father was killed on the Russian front. Opa was a prisoner of war in Scotland during most of WWII. At the end of the war, he walked all the way to Austria, because the Red Cross told him his mother was in a displaced person’s camp there. That’s where he met my “Oma” (grandmother). They worked very hard doing construction work, rebuilding Austria after the war.
My father was born there, and when they saved up enough money, they came to the United States. He was five years old and didn’t speak any English. My grandparents came by ship and it was a long voyage, especially since my Oma was pregnant with my aunt, and very sea sick. My aunt was born here.
This semester I’m taking a class on Nazi Germany, and am finding out interesting things about what happened to my father’s family during the war. My mother’s relatives participated on the American side, but having different perspective on what happened in Europe is very interesting. That’s why I’ll be writing on this topic for my future blogs, as I learn more about the effects of the war on my family.
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