German Brother, Sister Reflect on WWII to Lakeview Students
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Heinz Fussle and Hildegard Fehlmann grew up in Germany during World War II. Fehlmann remembers going to kindergarten and having to say “Heil, Hitler” while giving the Nazi salute. Monday, the brother and sister spoke to Lakeview Middle School students about the war, Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust. Principal Dr. Jon Lippe said every student got to hear the siblings speak during social studies. Their presentation is a great introduction to Holocaust survivor Eva Kor speaking to students and the community today at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, he said. Kor’s presentation to the public starts at 6 p.m. Fussle was born in September 1939 and Fehlmann in April 1937 in Freiburg, Germany. For the Germans, WWII started Sept. 1, 1939, when they attacked Poland. The United States didn’t get into the war until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. The war ended in August 1945. In an interview between speaking to groups of students, Fehlmann recalled hearing air raid sirens going off frequently while she was growing up during the war. She said they weren’t that afraid because they had a university and a veterans hospital in their town. One night, however, that all changed when their town was bombed. Their family home was lost, but all the members of their family survived the bombing. She said the German people were “kept in the dark” about the Holocaust. Fussle said there was no free press – Hitler used the media to his advantage and it only told the people what Hitler wanted them to know. Using the media, Fussle said Hitler was able to tout all the good things he was doing like bringing work to the people after the Depression, with the audobon and the Volkswagon. “Hitler brought hope to the people,” Fehlmann recalled. Fehlmann spoke about Hitler’s gradual rise to power, while Fussle spoke about the gradual elimination of the Jews and other groups. “There was untold misery put upon the Jewish people,” he said. During a period of questions-and-answers with the students, Fussle said they didn’t know any Jewish people where they lived during the war. Because they were too young, they weren’t coerced into joining the Hitler Youth. In the presentation, they told the students how everything was tightly controlled by the Nazi government. “What we did not know growing up in a sheltered part of Germany was the ethnic cleansing going on already in Germany,” Fussle said. Fussle said, “Hitler took his sweet time to get to where he wanted to be. Once he got in position, he took it.” Their father was a preacher, Fussle said. Hitler’s idea included not only getting rid of the Jews, but also religious leaders, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and many other groups. “We’re certain our dad was on the list,” he said. “We stress we wouldn’t be here today if not for God’s protection,” Fehlmann said. In preparing his presentation to the middle school students, Fussle was up until 3:30 Monday morning, he told them. He found himself crying. “Hitler said (the Jews) were non-people. They’re like rats in a barn that needed gotten rid of,” he stated. Fehlmann spoke about how after the war everyone was trying to get food and many people went hungry. Their father was held as a prisoner of war in France as he served in the German military. She recalled how their family also got care packages after the war from U.S. churches. The main thing was food, but they also got clothing from American Christians. “We were very, very grateful and still are today for the American people who collected it and sent it to us,” she said. Americans never judged them after the war for being Germans, though some in Switzerland may have, Fussle said. Their family left Germany relatively early after the war, Fussle said. Fehlmann went to England in 1957 to learn the language, stayed there until 1962 and then left in 1965. She landed in the United States in 1980. “Our family left for Switzerland,” Fussle said. They lost most of their family in Germany during the war. Fussle came to the United States in 1962. During the conclusion of their presentation, Fussle shared some relevant quotes from famous people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Oscar Wilde. The last quote was from Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” He then offered their advice to the students, telling them to always stand up for what is right and if need be, speak out about it. Fussle said the students should keep their eyes and ears open to what is happening around them, and be thankful for the religious freedom they still have, along with the freedom of the press. Lastly, he told them to always trust in God in their everyday lives.
