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On Holocaust Memorial Day a writer finds he has a Nazi in the family. This came as quite a shock to the author and he presented his story to a Jewish audience
A Nazi in the family
Posted from bbc.com
Germany
Judaism
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 5
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Wow, SFC William Farrell that must have been a shock to the Holocaust Memorial Day writer who most likely is not Jewish.
Author Derek Niemann was shocked to learn that his grandfather was SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Niemann who worked in the concentration camps.
It came as the most profound shock to Derek, who writes gentle books about nature, to discover a family secret which had been hidden from him for more than 50 years.
He accompanied his wife Sarah to a conference in Berlin and decided to try to visit the house where his father had grown up during the war, in order to take some photos.
He looked up the address online.
"Up came a sheet which said SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Niemann… crimes against humanity… use of slave labour," recounted Derek.
"I can remember falling back in my chair, going next door, and saying to Sarah - I've just found my grandfather."
Sarah said: "I said, what do you mean you've just found your grandfather? And he explained. I can remember the look of complete and utter shock on his face."
Author Derek Niemann was shocked to learn that his grandfather was SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Niemann who worked in the concentration camps.
It came as the most profound shock to Derek, who writes gentle books about nature, to discover a family secret which had been hidden from him for more than 50 years.
He accompanied his wife Sarah to a conference in Berlin and decided to try to visit the house where his father had grown up during the war, in order to take some photos.
He looked up the address online.
"Up came a sheet which said SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Niemann… crimes against humanity… use of slave labour," recounted Derek.
"I can remember falling back in my chair, going next door, and saying to Sarah - I've just found my grandfather."
Sarah said: "I said, what do you mean you've just found your grandfather? And he explained. I can remember the look of complete and utter shock on his face."
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SFC William Farrell
Thats the impression I got from the article LTC Stephen F. but he was able to share it with Jewish audiences. Shows you what kind of man he is.
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Holy crap! Imagine finding this out about your family. Quite a shock and blow no doubt. Thanks for the share SFC William Farrell.
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SMSgt Thor Merich
I was born in Germany. Everyone on my mother's side of the family is German. My grandfather was in the German Navy in both WWI and WWII. My aunt was drafted into the military late in the war and manned AA guns. While most Germans were not Nazi's and were unaware of the concentration camps, they did know that Jews were being rounded up. While my family denies any Nazi involvement, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few.
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