School & Community News

transit Nurnberg #4 USA

In December 1970 I was drafted into the US Army. 1971-72 I served my term in Nurnberg, Germany in the 7th Corp, 3/17th Field Artillery. I took many photo while in Germany and for the purpose of finding some of my old Army friends, in 2005 I published the photos in a website featuring my base in Nurnberg, Merrell Barracks. I was pleasantly surprise to be introduced to an editor, Gerhard Yochem, of a forthcoming book chronicling the lives of servicemen and women that have served in the American military in and around Nurnberg from 1945 to 1995 when the last soldier left. He saw my pictures and wanted to use them in the book. He also asked me to tell the story of my time in Nurnberg. I became chapter 5 in "transit nurnberg #4, USA" which was released November 2010. I also had the pleasure of attending the book release in Nurnberg at the behest of the editor. I spent a week in Nurnberg with personal guided tours, arranged by Gerhard and his beautiful partner Susanne Rieger. The book is available at the Lewis County Military Museum in Chehalis or you can order a copy direct for the editor at info@testimon.de . I would like to leave you with a few words from the editor's Introduction of "transit nurnberg #4, USA" : "15 million U.S. servicemen...together with their families have passed through German since 1945. Probably the most prominent among them was Elvis Presley, who served here with the 1st Medium Tank Battalion...from March1958 until March 1960.

Another living bond between Nuremberg and the USA is the Jewish families who had to leave the city because of the Nazi persecution, and their offspring. Of 2,539 refugees officially registered by 1940, 10,030 immigrated to the United States.

With this 4th issue of our publication series "transit nurnberg" the most ambitious not only because of its bilingualism, we try to trace and save what remained of these points of contact, on both sides, beyond the official brouhaha.

For all who participated in this project, and maybe also for the reader of the book, it was an exploratory journey into the past and present, raising questions about individual experiences and stereotypes.

He (editor) wishes that the result of our joint endeavor will live up to that essential quality formulated for eternity by Groucho Marx: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read".