Which should this topic be in?
 

Here or in parf?

Would like to know if those of German origin such as those members' fathers/mothers/grandparents came to the US before WW2 had some knowledge of what Hitler was doing before WW2? Or his intentions?

I would like to hear stories about how easy or hard it was to get out of Germany prior to WW2?

I believe it should stay here because there is no discussion of whether it was right or wrong. Just would like to hear the true stories of escaping Germany prior to WW2. I have total admiration for those that could escape Germany/Austria prior to WW2.

Anybody?
Cheers, G.

My grandparents were Dutch and hid Jews. They also survived the Battle of Arnhem. From what I know, there wasnt much that could be done to leave except for escaping to England. Shortly after the war, they came to California.

France and England were well aware of what Hitler was doing. The French did nothing when Hitler ignored the Versailles Treaty and retook the Rhineland in 1934. England appeased him all the way up until he invaded Poland. They didn't lift a finger when he took Austria in 1936 and the Sudetenland in 1938. The Nuremburg Laws were enacted in 1935. What was unclear about his intentions?

If anyone was really caught by surprise, I'd say it was Russia, since they had a non-aggression pact with Germany and, upon being told by a spy in the Soviet Embassy in Tokyo that Germany was about to attack Russia, Stalin had that spy recalled and executed. He really didn't believe it was coming. Everyone else knew and did nothing.

This is all well-documented, why the need for the question?
My father got out of Germany in 1938, joined the British army and after the war interrogated Nazis.His parents went to Netherlands,tried from there to get to USA but were caught out by the German invasion and spent years in concentration camps before being exchanged( as two of only 168 people fortunate enough, and one of those died on the way to the exchange because he had been so weakened by his sojourn in Belsen) for Germans captured by the Allies in the Middle East. My grandfather was instrumental in obtaining financial compensation for victims from the German Government after the war but that did not compensate them in any way for the suffering, the losses of relatives., etc.
De Gaulle once said that he loved Germany so much he was glad there were two of them.Its a great pity that Germany was ever reunited.

My great uncle also escaped Germany, went to Belgium, then France, and was rounded up there.. He went to a concentration camp in July 1943 but we don't know which one as the French didnt keep such meticulous records as the Germans. It was very difficult to leave Germany during the Nazi regime as unless you had papers to go to a particular country it was pointless trying.The USA had quotas, turned a shipload of refugees away, most of whom went back to Europe to eventual death.

The ability to leave was not a black/white scenario. Rather, it became increasingly difficult from the early to late 30's. As indicated, lots written on the subject. If you're interested in a serious discussion about German politics and mindset preceding WW2, read "Hitlers Willing Executioners" by Goldhagen. http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Willing-Executioners-Ordinary-Holocaust/dp/0679772685

My German ancestors did come here before WW2 - they arrived on the snow Betsy in 1739, so they didn't know any more or less than any other Americans. Our family has a Snow Betsy Day every August to celebrate their arrival.

The USA saw all that Germany was doing and ran from the fight until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. France tried to fight when they were attacked but that was a very short battle. England at least tried to stop Germany. With our help of war materials they were at least keeping Germany occupied and inflicting some heavy damage.

Back to the the original question. My mother's grandparents were German. My great grandfather and his brothers fought for the US in WW1. My mother's grandfather was a card carrying member of the socialist party.

My grandfather was German and was working as an educator in Russia. He was conscripted into the Russian army as a correspondence officer and eventually he and my grandmother escaped to back into Germany. Once there, they came to America on Kaiser Wilhelm's ship "Der Grosse". I used to listen to many stories from my grandfather. The best one being that when first in America they were given bananas to eat and my grandmother threw them away thinking they were rotten because they had black spots on them.

Around that same time frame, my mother-in-law and her family (barely) escaped Stalin's great purge when the communists decided personal freedom and land ownership were no longer allowed.
The STATE wanted their farm and all the other farms, so the STATE went about killing all the farmers after passing a law that said the STATE automatically inherited all land when the owner passed away.

They walked hundreds of miles barely staying in front of Stalin's henchmen, escaping into China. My mother in law born during that trip.
From there she eventually made it to Canada, and then to the United States.

She earned her citizenship and loves this country and is strongly outraged at the stupidity and ignorance of US citizens who lean toward communistic philosophies and ideals.
She says that they have no idea what they are asking for and how bad it can get.



wiki

I understand before the war started in Germany it was not a big problem to leave Germany for anybody. The problem was money, plenty of money, and or foreign connections. For Germans with or without Jewish heritage the problem was acceptance by other counties. Neighboring countries controlled their borders tightly, much like it is today for anybody seeking permanent residency abroad. Then, in Germany before the war started, though life was made hard for Germans of Jewish heritage, suffering from discrimination laws, they could survive somehow. Especially if they were businessmen or craftsmen. And, tragically, there were very few opportunities to move with their families out of Germany.

For anybody who is interested how life was like inside Germany, during the Nazi campaign to take power, there is an excellent book. It is written by William Sheridan Allen, an American, who, as a student, worked on a PHD thesis about life in a small German town between the years 1922 to 1945. He studdied and described in all details how the Nazis with relentless political skill, hard work, and tireless agitation changed the whole town in a few years, and what happened to many of the town's citizens:



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