Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates?: My Family's Journey to Freedom

By George E Pfautsch and Melitta Strandberg

There are few fictional stories that can match the true story of the Mohr family and their long quest for freedom which began in Romania as World War II was getting underway. Their journey from Romania to Weimar Germany would begin a perilous four years in the lives of the parents and their children, especially Melitta. She vanished into a Nazi institution on the day of her birth and would not be seen again by her family for six months. The miraculous circumstances of the reunion with her family would alone make a compelling story. But the dangerous adventures did not end. Their experiences in Weimar, which was also home to the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp, were among the worst that could occur to any family. Later, the family would be confronted with another decision between the time Patton's Third Army liberated Buchenwald and Weimar and before the region would be turned over to the Soviet Union. Their efforts to catch the last train from Weimar to Augsburg, West Germany, are captivating.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456717940

George E Pfautsch

George E Pfautsch spent most of his working life as a financial executive for a major forest products and paper company. His final years with Potlatch Corporation (now Potlatch Deltic Corporation) were spent as the Senior Vice-President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Following his retirement, he began writing about the national morality he believes was intended for this country by the founding fathers. He is the author of fifteen previous books covering the subjects of faith, freedom, morality, and justice. In addition, he is the co-author of a book written by Melitta Strandberg, which is the story of her family’s quest for freedom, before, during and after World War II. He is also the co-author of a book written by Leroy New, the “Guitar Wizard” of Branson, Missouri. George is married to Dodi, his wife of more than 60 years. He has two children, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

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© 2011 Melitta Strandberg. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 1/12/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4567-1793-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4567-1794-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011900067

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Dedication and Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to my parents, Oskar Mohr and Gisela Csek Mohr. Without their brave and courageous quest to find freedom, my sister, brothers and I would probably have spent many years behind the Iron Curtain without freedom.

There are others that I would like to acknowledge. My sister, Grete Mohr Chastain, was born in 1939 and went through the horrible ordeals of war at an early age. She has conducted speaking engagements regarding her experiences, in her church and social groups in the Pacific Northwest. My brother, Wilhelm Mohr, who also heard the bombs in the first four years of his life, now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. My younger brother, Alexander Mohr was born in Augsburg, Germany in 1954, and is now a successful businessman in Germany. After reaching freedom, my siblings and I lived normal and happy lives. But, we will never forget the early childhood years described in this book.

Last, but not least, I thank my husband, Herb, for supporting my goal of writing this book. Without him, I would not have had the courage to put my story into words.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1 – Life Before the Journey

2 – The First Phase of Our Journey

3 – Life in Weimar, Germany

4 – Sept 3, 1944 And Subsequent Events

5 – The Last Year in Weimar

6 – The Journey to the West

7 – Freedom

8 – Life in Augsburg

9 – July 4, 1963

10 – A Life of Freedom and Faith in God

About The Authors

Foreword

In early June of 2010, I received an e-mail from Melitta Strandberg. The e-mail stated that she had a story regarding World War II and wondered if I would be interested in helping her write a book about the story. She indicated that she had a friend who was an acquaintance of mine from the early years of my life and who knew that I was an author.

At that time I had just published a book and had two other manuscripts in process so I did not answer, because there was plenty of work ahead for me without taking on another book. A couple of weeks later she again contacted me and attached a copy of her story. Finally, a few days later after another e-mail, I began reading her story. The more I read the more I became convinced that her story deserved publication. After a few more e-mail exchanges I agreed to co-author her story.

The part of the book that initially convinced me to help Melitta was the chapter of the events surrounding her birth. I have visited Dachau and have also heard the horrible stories of the human experiments that occurred under the Nazi regime, but had never met anyone who experienced it. Here was someone who was subjected to it from the first day of her life. That part of her life was enough to convince me to work with Melitta. I put my other projects on hold and began working with her.

However, that was only part of the story. Her parents’ journey to find freedom is also a compelling story by itself. The more Melitta told me of her story the

Reviews for Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates?

[icecream18 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book tells of the reunion of little Melitta with her family during the 1940's. The author describes the upheaval and sadness her family felt during this time period. She was taken from her mother at a hospital where children were selected for experiments. Her mothers rememberd a birthmark on her left arm-a very important identification mark. In this very short book, the reader follows the family's life throughout this horrible time period, during their reunion, and after. The descriptions are detailed and in depth, the reader will be able to picture the scene. This is a book of hope and happiness for the future. The author does not leave the readers on a cliff-hanger, the readers will be told what happens to each member of her family.

[skstiles612 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Every now and again we hear in the news of a baby disappearing from a hospital. I have always felt for those parents who are traumatized in this manner. So it was with this book. This is Melitta’s story. It is a story of her abduction and return. It is not an easy story to read. Imagine you have given birth to a child and then when they bring the child in, you know they have made a mistake. You pitch a fit and so they remove the baby but don’t return your child. Melitta was actually taken from her mother by the Nazi’s. This was a time when babies were experimented upon at Hitler’s command. He chose women who were from Poland, Romania, Hungary, etc. He didn’t consider them purebred so he figured he could do with the children as he wanted. What is unusual about this story is that six months after disappearing Melitta is reunited with her family. This was not the usual case. This is the telling of that time, and the events that took place shortly thereafter. Melitta’s parents managed to make it onto the last train leaving East Germany and ended up in Augsberg, Germany. This was freedom to them. Children leaving the train were met by soldiers who offered them chocolate. This is where the title comes from.I would recommend this book to anyone who loves this time period. I have a former student who did an entire history project on survivors of the holocaust and I know that this is a book she will definitely want to read. I enjoyed learning another part of this time period I was not familiar with.