My Journey
From the Third Reich to the New World
by
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Now-a-days, the words "Der Fuehrer spricht" (the Leader speaks) electrify the nation, as Hitler’s speeches mean to many an almost religious experience. They are broadcast all over the country and bring life to a virtual standstill. Wanting or not, everyone is ordered to listen to them in public places, schools and offices. Today Hitler addresses a rally at the large fairground to which I have been bussed along with my classmates and scores of noisy school children, happy to have no classes. Thousands of people from all walks of life are jamming the field, wearing street clothes or Nazi uniforms, here to see the Fuehrer with their own eyes, to hear him speak, and to join in the jubilation. In this sea of Nazi banners, brown-shirted "SA" party bands are playing rousing marches, Hitler Youth choruses singing patriotic songs and chanting in unison: "Deutschland erwache!" (Germany awake!), "Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Fuehrer!" (One country, one people, one leader!) and "Fuehrer befehl – wir folgen!" (Leader command us - we are following). Adolf Hitler’s appearance at the podium, surrounded by a large contingent of party dignitaries, sets off endless ovations. When at last quiet returns, his speech is riveting, his manner clipped and commanding. He keeps being interrupted by shouts of encouragement and wild applause. He speaks with messianic fervor of the privilege and the pride of serving the Fatherland at this unique time of national awakening; he exhorts his listeners to dedicate themselves totally to hard work and to sacrifice for Germany's great and glorious future. But to make this possible, the unjust Versailles peace treaty must be overturned and the nation's vicious enemies, above all Bolshevik Judaism, defeated. The meeting ends with the singing of both the new and the old national anthems, followed by jubilation and unending, frenetic chants of "Sieg Heil"(hail to victory)! This is a most enthusiastic audience, and many are undoubtedly attending this rally and cheering "the Fuehrer" of their own free will. They seem swept away, ecstatic to witness this glorious moment, feeling part of this "great patriotic awakening" as Hitler has called it. Under the spell of his powerful personality and compelling oratory, many have tears of pride and joy in their eyes. ***************** Obsessed with the idea of racial purity, the government has decreed that every German must have an "Ahnenpass" (ancestral passport) to prove his Aryan descent. This obviously creates a major dilemma for me. In class they had us working already for weeks on preparing a personal family tree, but so far it had been voluntary. Now, however, we are handed a form with specific questions about race and religion. Prepared and signed under oath by the parents, they must be returned to the registrar's office within a month. The matter is being most earnestly discussed at home, and it is decided, true to the German saying "Ehrlich waehrt am laengsten" (honesty is the best policy) to declare my half-Jewish ancestry. Oma, the matriarch and usually acting as the family spokesperson, completes the form and turns it in at the school office in person. I am very nervous about this Ahnenpass, documenting me for the first time as a "Juedischer Mischling ersten Grades" (Jewish half-breed of the 1st degree).
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About the Book
An engaging account of the author’s childhood and youth in Nazi Germany, his unexpected discovery of being half-Jewish – thus stigmatized under the Nuremberg race laws, his search for his father, and his eventual quest for a new life abroad. It provides insightful flashbacks to Hitler’s coming to power and to life under his rule, the country at war, the plight of the writer’s aunt – a staunchly anti-Nazi school teacher – in the hands of the Gestapo, and later to his efforts to aid and free his beloved mother and grandparents from French internment. The diverse episodes, ordinary, heart-warming or dire, evolving in Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and France on the way to the New World, make for compelling reading.
About the Author
After leaving Europe at the age of twenty-three, Harry Mewes Santo, a linguist and an unceasing observer of the human scene, spent his vocational life in foreign trade in New York, Miami, Venezuela, and since 1958, in Southern California. He and his wife have devoted the past few years to travel and to community service, teaching languages.