On this day 80 years ago, the 48-hour ultimatum ended without a bullet fired. To the Schwarzenfelders it was tantamount to a miracle. In the early afternoon, Schwarzenfeld’s five hundred men, women and children assembled in a grim human wall …
Fr. Viktor had spent twelve long years fighting to preserve the humanity of his German flock. On April 24, 1945, it must have stunned him to realize he was doing the same for his American countrymen. The significance of sowing …
There is a certain term that perfectly encapsulates the totality of human experience on April 23, 1945. Giving credit where it’s due, I didn’t coin this phrase. I learned it secondhand through Dr. Christopher Mauriello, my friend and colleague who …
On April 22, 1945, about 5PM, the six Hungarian SS wiring up the Naab River Bridge with dynamite failed in their mission. They blamed it on the rain. The bridge was wired. They heard the rumble of tanks approaching. They …
I once asked Hedy, my friend and eyewitness to history, “What was it like in Schwarzenfeld before the Americans arrived?” In a piquant, accented voice, she said, “Do you remember Gone with the Wind? The scene where Scarlett O’Hara was …
Stories from this day 80 years ago convinced me that I had to write The Sower of Black Field. I’ll be honest. In the beginning, I was a skeptic of WWII-era Germans. All my high school and college history lessons …
