Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

A Fallier's Story

61

Rolf, Lothar, Manfred,
and Helmuth Levy, Schmieheim
Schloss in background

The drive through the winding roads of the Black Forrest began to an-
swer all of these questions for me. The dark, dense foliage of the forrest's
trees brought back the earliest memory I have of my hometown - the Summer
of 1935, right before my fifth birthday. One of my favorite activities at
the time was Walking through the Black Forrest with my grandfather and
chasing colorful butterflies. I could almost see the other boys from the
town running after the butterflies, and my grandfather carrying me on his
Shoulders. I was born with a congenital heart condition, so I would tire eas-
ily when I was Walking through those paths. In fact, I could not run and
play like the other young children, and my parents were always extra care-
ful to guard me from any injuries. My grandfather always accompanied me
on these walks and would lovingly lift me up when he saw I needed a little
help.

The memory of my grandfather triggered other memories of my family
in Schmieheim. As we drove into the town, I remembered the Schloss I
used to play by as a small boy. Düring the winter months, I would sied
down the hüls of the town Schloss with other boys. I could almost hear my
mother scolding me as she did on the day I feil off the sied and hurt my
nose. When I returned home that morning, and my mother saw my bloody
nose, she prohibited me from siedding anymore that year. I spent the rest
of that winter looking out at the other boys playing in the snow from our
living room window. I was determined to find my house so that I could
show my sons that window.

The only indication I had for the location of my family's house was that
it was a short distance from the Schloss. Driving through Schmieheim, and
with my sons's assistance, I was able to find it. It was the house I grew up
in, together with my parents, my maternal grandparents, and my brothers,
Lothar and Helmuth. It still looked identical to the way my family left it in
1938.

As we disembarked the car to get a closer look at the house, the memories
came flooding back to me. By the front door of the house was the