The seventeen year old Texas-American Girl peered seriously at the much older German Lady she had grown to Respect and Love through exchanged Letters throughout the years, and Memories of the times Frau Eckfelder had gladly Babysat her when her American Dad and Mom went out to dinner and the movies, while her Dad was stationed at the American Ramstein Air Base many years ago.
“Frau Eckfelder, I need to ask you some very important Questions, but I’m afraid of offending you,” Cheyenne said earnestly.
Frau Eckfelder stared for a moment at the Young Teenage Girl sitting across from her at the kitchen table through her sturdy glasses and replied, “Let me hear your Questions, Cheyenne. I will determine whether or not I can adequately Answer them for you.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Cheyenne said as she nervously wiggled in her hand carved wooden chair, and strove to sit up straight.
“Frau Eckfelder, you need to know that Mom did not want me asking you these Questions. I am going against her wishes.”
Frau Eckfelder’s facial expression did not change. “Go ahead, Child.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Cheyenne said quietly. “Frau Eckfelder, first of all, I need you to know that I Love and Respect you tremendously, and that’s one of the main reasons that these Questions are so hard for me to ask you, and yet so hard not to.”
“Yes, go on,” Frau Eckfelder said gently.
“Frau Eckfelder, how could someone as Good and as Intelligent as you are have supported the Nazi Regime ? How could you follow someone like Hitler ?”
“I’ve been to your Lutheran Church with you and your Son and Daughter’s Families. I know that you truly Believe in the Teachings of Jesus Christ. That most of the folks who decided to follow Hitler and his Hateful Regime went to the same Christian Church that y’all do.”
“Yes, that is true, Cheyenne. And what you are asking is indeed a very difficult thing to hear and to think about. But it is true nonetheless,” Frau Eckfelder admitted with a small sigh.
“However, I understand why it is important for you to ask me these things. So, I will do my best to answer them.”
“Mom told me that you lost your Husband a couple of days after the War was declared over, because the area he was killed in had not heard that the War was over yet.”
“That is true,” Frau Eckfelder said sadly.
“Why would a Good Man like your Husband fight for the Nazis ?” Cheyenne asked. “Please, explain that to me.”
“Cheyenne, they were very difficult times. By the time everyone who would have opposed Hitler finally woke up to what was actually happening within our Country, it was too late,” Frau Eckfelder said slowly.
“To oppose Hitler made you an Outcast. Those who did were harassed. They had their businesses ransacked and burned down. Their houses ransacked and burned. They were spit upon and shunned by everyone privately and publicly.”
“Those who did it publicly were putting on a Big Show for EveryOne else to see so that they ThemSelves would not be thought of as a Traitor to Germany.”
“Eventually the Protesters and Dissenters were jailed, threatened, tortured and some were even murdered. Some were shot outright in the streets. Especially when the Crimes against the Jews and Other Immigrants became more frequent and violent in nature.”
“People, like myself and my Beloved Friedrich, became to afraid to oppose Hitler and his Followers,” Frau Eckfelder said sadly. “And as a result, Germany fell under his Evil Spell, and marched to War.”
“But how could such an Educated and Civilized Society do such a thing, Frau Eckfelder ?”
“You mean go to War with other Nations ?” Frau Eckfelder asked.
“Well, that’s a part of what I mean,” Cheyenne answered.
“Is America not at War with the small country North Vietnam over Oil Fields they bought from the French ? Are they not invading and murdering people for Profit while it is hidden behind Patriotic Idealism ?”
“No Ma’am. America would never do that !”
“Forgive me, Cheyenne,” Frau Eckfelder paused. “Perhaps, if I try to explain how Germany felt after World War I, I can help you in your search for Reasons beyond Reasoning.”
“After World War I, the Nations who conquered Germany’s troops wanted to punish and plunder Germany through Reparations,” Frau Eckfelder explained.
“Do you know what Reparations are ?”
“Yes Ma’am, they’re Payback.”
“Yes, indeed, Payback primarily off of the already impoverished and brutalized by the War Backs of the Middle Class and Working Poor,” Frau Eckfelder agreed.
“The Payback the Victorious Nations demanded from Germany was too much. It was meant to put and keep the German People down and out. And so, the German People grew disgruntled, angry and restless.”
“The German People longed to be Proud of themselves and their Country once again. The German People longed to be out from under the Oppressive Regimens and Poor Economy forced upon them by the Victorious Nations.”
“The German People longed for a Change of Leadership which would make them feel better about themselves and improve their Destinies within the German Economy.”
“Hitler, had been scared and angered by the very same World War. He had been burned and smothered by its modern Mustard Gas. It Radicalized him, and scarred Soldiers like him.”
“Their anger grew, and found a cohesive Form and Direction within the Putsch Halls and Outdoor Rallies. They noted what the Listening Crowds responded to the most. They created Uniforms and Flags and Platitudes and Parades to Inspire, Excite and Incite the Crowds. ”
“Hitler, and the Men and Women who lifted him up in stature, and his avid Followers Cheered him on. Hung on his every Word. Wore his Uniforms. Waved his Flags, Sang his Songs. Repeated his Platitudes. Marched in his Parades.”
“Over time Hitler and his Henchmen had Formed their own Military and Small, Growing Movement, as they rose to real Governmental Power within Germany.”
“Hardly anyone took Hitler seriously, until he began to rise in Power Politically.
“Then the Violence which had been whispered about upon the streets, and in quiet corner conversations, rose in number and damage done to people’s belongings and people’s lives. Life itself was taken from some.”
“The Jews had to wear their Mark. It was made Law. To try and hide the fact that you were a Jew was against the Law. Then the Jews were driven out. To do business with Jews was verboten.”
“Then the Attacks and Gatherings of the Jews forcing them from their Homes began. The Parents were Separated from their Children in many places. They were stuffed into trains and sent to Concentration Camps along with The Other Immigrants, the Mentally and Physically Handicapped, as Hitler strove to Purify the Superior White Aryan Blood of Germany.”
“Hitler gave Germany a Good and Efficient Economy through his new Slave Labor Forces and the Treasures and Treasuries from the Nations he and the Nazis were ravaging through one right after another.”
“Hitler gave Germany a boost to its Ego. Hitler gave a Nordic, Wagnerian godlike Vision of OurSelves to aspire to.”
“Fear of Hitler and his Followers made the Churches go Silent against his Vision for Germany or Preach his Hateful Vision from the their Pulpits.”
“Hitler modernized Germany, and used all of her brilliant Scientific Minds to create wondrous Inventions and Killing Machines, the Autobahn, the Volkswagon. His Scientists tampered with our Superior Genes to create new Future Super Heroes and German Genius’ to believe in and follow.”
“Hitler had an Artistic and Scientific Vision. He had a flare for the Dramatic. He knew and understood the Frightened, Vicious and Ravenous Beast that lie within the Heart of every German at that Point in Time, and he manipulated and goaded that Beast into an Ecstatic Rage in order to gain Power for himself and his Henchmen.”
“He fed The German Beast Hate and those Hitler Chose to Hate. And gave The German Beast Cultural Scapegoats to tempt and whet its ravenous appetite.”
“Hitler was a Dictator, an Autocrat to be Feared, and demanded to be Revered. He ruled by and through Fear and Brute Force, hidden behind the crude mask of Patriotic Adoration and Duty.”
“Jews, Immigrants, The Others were to driven out. We Will Drive them to the Ground, some would say.”
“Hitler had the Lawyers, Judges and Politicians change the Laws to favor his hideous Vision for his Fatherland. And he would ignore the Laws that did not please him until his Lawyers, Judges and Politicians could change them.”
“Hitler was overtly Racist and Hateful in Public, and suffered no Consequences. And so he was allowed, overtime, to make his Xenophobia - his Racism - his Hatreds Patriotic and something to Aspire to and Rudely or Violently Act Upon Publicly.”
“Hitler took over The Press, the Radio, the Movie Screens. Anyone who spoke out against him was vilified and made out to be a Liar before they were punished or killed.”
“Hitler told his Followers that anyone who spoke out against him or his plans Hated Germany, and the German People, and was a Traitor to Germany and deserved to be Cast Out, Locked Up or even Murdered in the streets by their Hitler Loving Neighbors - the True Germans.”
“Hitler stood up for anyone who Stood up for him until they no longer served him or his plans. He had no Loyalty to Anyone but himself.”
“He was a damaged Human Being, who became a Terrible very Darkly Destructive Human Being. Germany was a damaged Nation, who became a Terrible, very Darkly Destructive Nation.”
“No one in Europe, Northern Africa or North America came out of World War II UnScathed or UnChanged, Cheyenne.”
“Does this very brief explanation help you better understand why my Family did as we did during that very dark and momentous time in Germany ?” Frau Eckfelder asked with a steady gaze.
“Yes Ma’am. In a Nutshell, the folks that were saying We Will Drive Them to the Ground we’re not expecting that very same Energy to Turn Back Around.”
“And, sooner or later, it always does, does it not ?”
“Yes Ma’am. That‘s what History and Real Life teaches us. It always does.”