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German American
Edelweiss Society
Message from the
President
Story about one of our Members
News Letter
Dates to Remember
Board of Directors
Membership Application
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If anyone has a story they would like to share email Teri at tme@ksu.edu. Thank you!
This is a story about one of our members. She is on the board of directors and sent this story for one of our news letters. She also has taught German for KCK Comunity College. Enjoy the story!
MRS. LAURENT
THIS STORY IS FROM MRS. LAURENT
I'm very happy to speak about some of the history of my homeland, south Tirol. South Tirol is a very beautiful mountainous region in western Austria and northern Italy. Before World War 1, Tirol was a crownland of Austria. Austria is a small country in central Europe, famous for the beautiful mountain scenery, "The Dolomite." In many areas, broad green valleys separate the mountains. Lovely mirror lakes and thick forests cover much of the land. Austria was once one of the most powerful countries in Europe. The royal Hapsburg family began to gain control of Austria in the late 1200's. In time, the country became the center of a huge empire ruled by the Hapsburg family. This empire collapsed after World War I in 1918. The treaty of Saint Germain, signed in 1919, divided the region into two parts, north and south. North Tirol was given to Austria, and south Tirol was given to Italy. Tirol is a winter playground for the people of many countries. Skiing and tobogganing are favorite sports. The warm summers in Tirol attract vacationers and mountain climbers. Mineral springs in the south make Tirol a popular health resort.
The Romans conquered Tirol in 15 B.C. They retained possession of Tirol until 1805.
For over ten years, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia had been fighting against the Hapsburg empire for possession of the land. Napoleon captured Vienna on November the 3rd, 1805. In December of that year Austria lost the war to France. In April, 1809, Austria declared war on France. The hardy mountaineers of Tirol attached themselves to Austria with big heroism. Their words for fighting and dying were: "For God and country". Then came World War 1.
I was born in 1919 and three months later southern
Tirol became Italian. I grew up during the very hectic days of World War 1. Mussolini wanted to Italianize the province very quickly within a year. He took our language away and our way of life. My father had a wood business and lost it all. The whole province became poor and the schools too.
We suffered so much hunger. We kids walked 3 or more hours to get some food from the farmers. We didn't mine because we were happy to get something to eat. The people didn't get help from the government. The rule was: "Help yourself." Mussolini sent the German hater from the south. I remember they were not nice to us people. We younger ones went along as well as we could. I tried to learn the Italian language and I went to Rome. My brother studied there to become a priest. I studied 4 years at the university in southern Anselmo. Besides that, I taught the German language there. All together, I lived over 12 years in Rome, Italy. The time came in 1939 that Hitler and Mussolini went together. Hitler knew our race. He said: "Let the people vote, they all will vote for you." Wrong! 90% of the voters voted for the German Hitler, even though at that time we did not know who Hitler was.
My father was also the Mayor of the town. People everywhere did not know what to do; father told them not to vote. Those who listened to him are still big farmers on their homesteads. The Italian government put our propaganda stating that whoever didn't vote would be sent to southern Italy. This was not true! Good young men voted for the German. After 2 months, Hitler drafted them all. To make it short, 62 young men came back after World War 11. Half of them were crippled, some had TB, and four priest were beheaded in Berlin because they refused the Nazismus. I lost two brothers in world War 11 and one brother in World War 1. We had wonderful parents and none of our 9 children displeased our parents. My mother died of a broken heart when she was 59. When I was in Rome, I was drafted because I knew the German & Italian languages and they used me as a translator. I was half starved because I did not have any Italian food rations. The Germans were supposed to feed me but they didn't have much to eat themselves. Fruits and vegetables were not rationed. Mostly I ate an apple and bread when ever I was hungry. I always ate 2 slices of bread, but I gave the rest of the bread away to older people sitting along the street begging for food. In the fall of 1944, I was sent to Verona; it was bombed twice. After the war I did not go back to Rome. I found a job close to my home and worked with the Red Cross. They operated a rest center for American officers and enlisted men in Cortina D"Ampezzo. This was a big tourist place like the one in Vail, Colorado. I met my husband in Cortina D"Ampezzo. He spent a total of 12 years in Europe; serving in France, Germany, and Italy. All three of our sons were born in Italy. My husband landed in Anzio and Normandy. He was in the 30th Infantry. He was wounded in Anzio. His leg gave him a lot of trouble and they sent him to a hospital in Munich. He did not do well in Munich, so the Army sent him to the Fitsimmen Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado. After three months I followed him with 3 small children. From Trieste, Italy we boarded an Army ship bound for New
Jork. It took us 10 days to get to New Jork. We arrived about 10 O'clock in the evening on September 24, 1952. 1 could not sleep because I was so excited. I just looked out the window, and saw a lot of traffic like I had never seen before. In the morning we got off the ship and I could see the big lady, "The Statue of Liberty." I was kind of frightened. I was wondering what my new life would be like in America; I was already home sick. My first big, impression of America was the immense size of the city, the big wide streets, the huge amount of traffic and cars, the big advertisements and billboards, how everything was lit up, and the friendly people.
I spent seven months in Philadelphia. A new Army regulation came out stating that if the wife spoke English, and knew the Constitution of America, and had spent 6 months in one place, she could get her American citizenship. Eager, like I have always been, I requested a book about US Citizenship. I spent 7 months alone in Philadelphia, studying and memorizing 112 questions. All I can tell you was that I was the happiest woman. Finally I had a nationality that I did not have. I did not belong to Austria or Italy; now I was an American. I have lived for a long time now in Kansas; I belong here with you.
