Accepted History vs Famiy History

To the victors go the spoils. And the history. Over and over again I read revised history. Not where new information has come about and is added to the records, but burying the past to make it more palatable. From Betsy Ross to the War Between the States to Operation Iraqi Freedom, it gets tiresome trying to sort through the misinformation.

I claim my right as a first generation American, however I will not call myself German-American. My heritage is a war torn nation brought to its knees by ancient feuds and a tyrant. My family did not talk about the wars much and at the time I was too young to understand. To me the war was John Wayne and Audie Murphy. Germany was my Grandfather's farm nestled way up in the mountain that his family used to own.

To me, my grandfather was a great man. I did not realize how much it humbled him to go to work at the U.S. Army Base. I saw him there a couple of times, smiling at the soldiers. By his demeanor you would not have guessed that he was an officer in the German Infantry up until 1945. He seemed happier at that job than he did as an insurance salesman. A change would come over him when someone would mention who he called "The Little Corporal."

I was his little "professor," too smart for my own good sometimes. I loved to listen to the stories that people would tell about days gone by. I guess he would get a little irritated when I asked the wrong questions. I learned from other family members that he tried to avoid the draft in the late 1930s. He had a talent that they wanted other than being a warm body in a uniform. He was politely informed that his home would be bombed with his family in it if he did not put the uniform on again.

One of my great aunts would regularly send packages to distant relatives in Poland. She too was hesitant to talk about the past but sometimes did. The older generation would sometimes reminisce about the Kaiser and Bismarck and how things were prosperous during those days. There was also a hint of the animosity towards the Russians. Again, at the time I didn't know why.

Later, when I was old enough to understand the stories I had the chance to converse with other survivors of the war. Some German, some Austrian and all told similar stories of how the promise of hope turned into a nightmare. In villages like my grandfather's the depression, after the war, did not hit that hard because they were self sustained. During the war everything went to the war effort. The young, charismatic politician did not attract that much attention. His promises that the government would do everything for them often fell on deaf ears. Their fields were fertile and water was fresh. Paved roads would have been nice but not necessary at the time.

The Little Corporal was promising that he would take care of everything. Though Germany was in a depression they still had untapped wealth and pride. Those that were not drawn to the socialism were drawn to the pride. High up in the mountain in an unused path into France they were outsiders looking in. Something did not seem right about what was going on in Berlin but restoring Germany to its former glory did have its appeal. Something did not sit right with their adherence to the Protestant Reformation.

The Lutherans and Methodists lived close together and Catholics were not welcomed there. Religious intolerance was not unusual but flat out hatred was not allowed. At first it was easy to blame the Jews and the Gypsies and the Slavics for all the ills in Germany. As the Nationalist fervor grew it became easy to hate them. That is until people started disappearing. It is difficult for me to imagine when my grandfather first learned of this or how his involvement started. I only know that he was involved with getting people out of Germany. Being so close to France I surmise that is where he sent them.

The Little Corporal played on every perceived injustice he could find. He used every religious belief he could twist into his own gain. Blinded by their new sense of nationalism the country fell right into step with him. It must have been difficult when Hitler signed a compact with Russia, but then again, the beloved Otto Von Bismarck tried to do the same. Maybe there could be a reconciliation with the Russians? The disputes between the Caesars dated back to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Socialism griped the nation as the government owned more and more of the industries and economy. The people had everything that the government could give, which at the time was a lot. The Glory of Germany was returning. The laborers were secure in their employment. Wealth was being redistributed among the people. Not many complained when it was time to go to war. Restoring Germany of all its lands was a noble cause. Operation Barbarosa was immanent. Time for the German to finally take out their ancient enemy, the Russians, and claim the throne that should have been theirs.

The after math has been well documented and often distorted. People still cannot believe the atrocities that were committed. Some claim my view is biased but the stories were the same from many different sources, including some published memoirs. The notion that Hitler hated Russia because they were communists does not hold up to history when you realize that the animosity was there before the Bolshevik Revolution. Russia stood in the way of Germany being the ultimate power in the world. Then there were the family ties that went sour. History, like it or not, has been written in large part by some who favored the Soviet Union. History has been written by those that deny the States had a right to secede from the Union.