Raem
13-05-2005, 22:54
"It was in the autumn of one year of my youth that I met one of the most remarkable men I have ever had cause to know. In the course of one of that semester's classes, I first met a Mr. Wilhem Strauss, a German-born Jewish man who first came to the States in the thirties to escape the growing anti-semitism of the time. He was referred to me as a veteran officer of the war that shortly followed his escape from Nazi Germany, which would come to be known as the Second World War.
I spoke with Mr. Strauss over the phone one afternoon to ask him for an interview regarding his activities and whereabouts leading up to and during the war in Europe. Though he was initally reluctant to speak with me, he eventually agreed to answer a few questions in the privacy of his own home.
I met him there at the agreed-upon hour armed with all the tools a modern student requires for this sort of activity. I discovered that he was a gaunt man quite advanced in years. His face held a sort of sadness that I could not immediately understand. However, he was quite a courteous host, and had prepared drinks and refreshments for our first meeting.
That day, I stayed with him for perhaps two or three hours, eagerly recording what he was willing to say of the battles in which he fought. On some matters he would not speak at all; the discovery of concentration camps and their liberation was chief among these subjects. He would say nothing of the Holocaust, and grew somewhat angry when I pressed the point.
Over the next two months and the remainder of project for which I was interviewing him, I came to understand his reluctance to speak of such things. I had thought at first that anger moved him to silence, though later I discovered this was not the case.
I began investigating his role in the war more closely after the first meeting. He had first come to America, then moved to the United Kingdom when he could no longer tolerate America's neutrality in the war. Once there, he attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force, but lacked the reflexes or technical aptitude to be an effective member of of RAF.
Afterwards, he was accepted to the army and spent several months early in the war in France. I cannot now recall any of the small towns through which he passed in his tour of duty, and I suspect that neither can he.
He was wounded in a battle near the French border and was unfortunately left behind when his side was routed. Of what came after, no official records would say. He had proven to be as reticent on this subject as he had been on the subject of the Holocaust."
Sometimes I am moved to write. Feel free to comment. Critiques are welcome. Will probably work up the rest of the story later.
I spoke with Mr. Strauss over the phone one afternoon to ask him for an interview regarding his activities and whereabouts leading up to and during the war in Europe. Though he was initally reluctant to speak with me, he eventually agreed to answer a few questions in the privacy of his own home.
I met him there at the agreed-upon hour armed with all the tools a modern student requires for this sort of activity. I discovered that he was a gaunt man quite advanced in years. His face held a sort of sadness that I could not immediately understand. However, he was quite a courteous host, and had prepared drinks and refreshments for our first meeting.
That day, I stayed with him for perhaps two or three hours, eagerly recording what he was willing to say of the battles in which he fought. On some matters he would not speak at all; the discovery of concentration camps and their liberation was chief among these subjects. He would say nothing of the Holocaust, and grew somewhat angry when I pressed the point.
Over the next two months and the remainder of project for which I was interviewing him, I came to understand his reluctance to speak of such things. I had thought at first that anger moved him to silence, though later I discovered this was not the case.
I began investigating his role in the war more closely after the first meeting. He had first come to America, then moved to the United Kingdom when he could no longer tolerate America's neutrality in the war. Once there, he attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force, but lacked the reflexes or technical aptitude to be an effective member of of RAF.
Afterwards, he was accepted to the army and spent several months early in the war in France. I cannot now recall any of the small towns through which he passed in his tour of duty, and I suspect that neither can he.
He was wounded in a battle near the French border and was unfortunately left behind when his side was routed. Of what came after, no official records would say. He had proven to be as reticent on this subject as he had been on the subject of the Holocaust."
Sometimes I am moved to write. Feel free to comment. Critiques are welcome. Will probably work up the rest of the story later.