On Jan. 23, 1943, my uncle, Frank Ebner Gartz, (photo in uniform, above) reported to the draft board in Chicago to start his training for WWII. So began the correspondence between him and family & friends, comprising almost 300 letters going both ways. I’m posting many of these World War II letters, each on or near the 70th anniversary of its writing. To start with his induction, click HERE.


This blog began in Nov., 2010, when I posted a century-old love note from Josef Gärtz, my paternal grandfather, to Lisi (Elisabetha) Ebner, my paternal grandmother, and follows their bold decision to strike out for America.


My mom and dad were writers too, recording their lives in diaries and letters from the 1920s-the 1990s. Historical, sweet, joyful, and sad, all that life promises-- and takes away--are recorded here as it happened. It's an ongoing saga of the 20th century. To start at the very beginning, please click HERE.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Fallen -- coming in three parts


The letters were hidden for decades, but when they were brought to light, their indecipherable handwriting unraveled, and the readable German words translated into English, they revealed unknown secrets about my family's relation to this monument and a relative whose name appears right near the top.

PHOTO AT LEFT:
War Memorial--Grosspold, Romania--my grandmother, Lisi Ebner/Gartz's hometown when it was still part of Austro-Hungary.




Part I
What this war memorial revealed to my siblings and me on our 2007 visit to Grosspold, my grandmother's hometown in Romania.

Part II
The last words of one of Grosspold's  "Fallen Heroes."

Part III:
Lisi and Josef's role in creating this memorial--from 5,000 miles distant.

PHOTO AT RIGHT:
War Memorial, Grosspold Evangelische Lutheran Church, Romania
(Another view of same memorial shown above)

Top section reads: To Our Fallen Heroes in the War 1914-1918

Bottom section reads: To Our Fallen in the Second World War and to Our Dead in Russian
Posted by Linda Gartz at 12:58 PM
Labels: , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)