Unimaginable Courage

This is a paper I wrote for my Nazi Germany history class. I do include factual information about my Grandpa Joseph's time as a soldier during WWII.

Grandpa Joseph (2002)

Those who lived through the war, oftentimes don’t share what they saw because of how traumatic their experience was. What occurred during WWII was unimaginable and required great courage to fight against the Nazis. Allie soldiers, those who were treated as outcasts in German society, and those who hid those outcasts constantly lived in fear. The actions of these groups and resistance fighters required an unimaginable courage. After the 1935 Nuremberg Laws were established, many Jews attempted to flee for safety, but were turned away. They had to make quick decisions that determined whether they would live or die. During the Holocaust, many brave ordinary citizens opened their homes to hide Jews. It is because of their actions that thousands of Jews and other social groups survived the war. We mainly focus on the negative aspects of WWII and the Holocaust and overlook what good came out of it. It brought people from different groups together and taught the world many lessons. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor describes how he was able to survive living in a concentration camp during WWII, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Like Viktor, those who survived the war went against all odds and remained hopeful. Without hope, everything is lost. These stories of hope depict how one can overcome the obstacles put in their path, during troublesome times.

Many Germans did not agree with Hitler and the Nazis’ beliefs, so they spread awareness to other nations of the atrocities occurring in Germany and Europe at the time. Adam von Trott zu Solz, was a German resistance fighter who opposed the Nazi regime beginning in 1939. He continuously attempted to communicate with Allie forces to gain support to overthrow the regime. At the beginning of these confrontations, Solz was not trusted. Later on, the meetings became more productive and attempted to establish plans of action to contain Germany. Solz met with an American who was a representative of the American National Council of Student Christian Associations. He discussed his future vision for Germany once the Nazi regime was overthrown. He described how they would undo everything Hitler had put in place and reconcile with those attacked. Solz represented the minority of people who opposed Hitler. Many of those who did oppose Hitler openly, were killed. It required bravery for Solz to turn to the Americans during the Nazi regime and risk facing death. It shows how he attempted to bring truth to those who were not seeing with their eyes the atrocities being committed in Germany and Europe at the time. He was a voice for the oppressed. Solz had an inner hope that allowed him to remain strong during this tough trial.

Holocaust survivors’ stories allow us to reimagine what is must have been like to live as an outcast in society. David Galant, a Holocaust survivor, recalled the Nazi occupation of Paris, France where he was born. In 1941 when the Nazis were arresting Jews, Galant knew him and his family were in danger. He was a teenager at the time. The French government was allowing the Nazis to round up Jews in Paris. When David saw the mass roundup of Jews in Paris, he was not able to understand why innocent people were being taken by the Nazis. Later, Galant and his family fled to Nice, France in 1943 when they were warned that the Nazis were coming to Paris. In 1944 him and his family were transported to Auschwitz, being told they were going to a work camp. He was the only one in his family who survived and was there for 14 months. Eventually, Belgian and American troops came in and liberated David and his friends who were in hiding in 1945. He remembers the Belgian soldiers telling them not to worry and that they are safe. Throughout the war, David put all his strength and hope in surviving. He said “In order to survive you just put away.” (18:25). David had to make quick decisions that determined his life or death. His brother’s last words to him pushed David to continue to fight for his life and survival. He almost died multiple times, but showed courage since he was the last surviving member of his family. David most likely would have died if it was not for the Belgian and American soldiers who rescued him. His story and many others allow us to see the struggles Jews and other groups faced and how they were able to remain strong, avoid death, and live to tell their miraculous stories of survival and unimaginable courage.

My Grandpa Joseph’s war story depicts the different emotions experienced by soldiers and how after the war they were changed people. He only told my Uncle Jason about the war, and the first time he told him was when my Uncle Jason was twenty. Uncle Jason said my grandpa had a different side when he talked about his experience in the war. Normally, my grandpa’s personality was that he joked around a lot. However, when he talked about the war, he got more serious. My uncle described how he talked as confessional and that my grandpa wanted to get everything out, but it was difficult. No matter how many years after his time in service during WWII, it is and will never be easy to remember and relive those experiences.

By talking to my uncle, about my grandpa’s time in the war, I was able to uncover the hidden and traumatic parts of my grandpa’s past that are so rare and astounding. He fought mostly in Paris, France during WWII and was stationed in a little town. He was part of the reinforcements in D-Day and his troop was trying to clear the town and make sure no more Germans were there. The German machine gun, my grandpa and the soldiers called it the burp gun because of how it sounded, constantly instilled fear in my grandpa every time he heard it. Right before Paris was liberated, my grandpa got shot in the back and had to be carried through the Arc de Triomphe. He remembers how everyone else around him was able to walk through it, and that made him feel helpless. He later returned to Paris about forty years later with my grandma. He had one purpose for that trip, to return to the areas he fought at and to walk under the Arc de Triomphe. When he was there, the Arc was under construction and no one was allowed to walk under it. My grandpa told the police officers about why he wanted to walk under it, and they let him. Him walking on his feet under the Arc de Triomphe symbolized how he would not let his traumatic experiences define who he was. My grandpa was proud to fight for his country.

Even though my grandpa was fighting against the Germans, he took the time to care for those who were injured no matter what side of the war they were on. There were a couple of American troops and a German officer who were injured. The German officer had said in English to my grandpa, “Help me, I’m hurt”. My grandpa helped the American troops first and told the German officer that he would come back for him. Looking back on this experience, my grandpa realized the German officer could have had a gun and shot him. He returned and took the German officers’ side arm and brought him to the first aid area. The actions of my grandpa show his bravery and how in that moment he didn’t think that the German officer would hurt him. He saw the German officer as a fellow human who was in pain and needed help. I do not know the severity of the German officers’ injury, but I do know how grateful that officer must have felt. It took a lot of courage for my grandpa to go back to help him. As a souvenir from helping the German officer, he was given the officers’ luger, hand-gun. That encounter, between my grandpa and the German officer, shows how even during war opposing sides were able to look past their differences and help one another. My grandpa constantly risked his life to defend our country. Through these experiences he grew as a person and did what he thought was right. I’m not sure everyone would have done the same thing my grandpa did and help the injured German officer. This kind of unimaginable courage my grandpa had was used to save lives.

A year or so before my grandpa died and he was in the hospital, he told my uncle more war stories for the last time. He wanted to make sure that before he died his story was passed on and never forgotten, since he never told anyone about his war experiences. Even though it was difficult for him to relive those experiences when talking to my uncle, he did not want history and his story to be forgotten. I believe he was trying to pass on his unimaginable courage that only one can have and find by hearing about it. It is so rare and special. I am so grateful my uncle told me my grandpa’s war stories. I will never forget what I have learned about my grandpa’s time in WWII. Like my uncle, I will pass my grandpa’s stories on so that others can hear of his unimaginable courage and they too themselves can find courage when things seem difficult.

The stories of the survivors of WWII serve the purpose to teach us how horrendous things were and what life was like during that time. The Holocaust had psychological effects on its survivors and forever remained apart of who they were after they were freed. During the Holocaust, the unimaginable happened and people were killed because of who they were and what social groups they identified with. It is through these stories of survival and unimaginable courage that we can learn about and from the past. We can never forget the actions of those courageous enough, who went against authority and risked their lives. They are an inspiration to all and can teach us how we can help those around us. The remarkable story of my grandpa’s time in WWII shows how, like Adam von Trott zu Solz and David Galant, he never gave up and continued to fight for those who could not fight for themselves. He looked past a person’s identity and saw them as a fellow human who needed saving. This teaches us today, how no matter how many things divide us as nations or people we are all humans and must care for one another.

Footnotes

1. “21 Frankl Quotes on Meaning of Life, Love, and Suffering, Project Monkey Mind, July 31, 2017. https://www.projectmonkeymind.com/2017/07/viktor-frankl-quotes-meaning-life-love-suffering/.

2. “Note on the Conversations between Adam von Trott zu Solz and "Mr. Eliot", GHDI, December 1941. 1-2.

3. David Galant, “Oral History Interview with David Galant,” Holocaust Oral History Project, February 12, 1989. Audio, 51:17. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn512340.

4. Interview with Jason Torphy on February 16, 2019.

5. Interview with Jason Torphy on February 16, 2019.

6. Interview with Jason Torphy on February 16, 2019.

7. Interview with Jason Torphy on February 16, 2019.