[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Fw: Passing of George Wittenstein
- To: noelle
- Subject: Re: Fw: Passing of George Wittenstein
- From: Robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>
- Date: Sat, 05 Sep 2015 09:34:29 -0700
- Keywords: my-Oakland-voicemail-number
OK.
> From: Noelle <noelle>
> Date: Sat, 5 Sep 2015 08:09:57 -0700 (PDT)
>
> we saw the movie White Rose
>
> On Sat, 5 Sep 2015, Robert wrote:
>
> > To: noelle
> >
> > Why did you send this to me, again?
> >
> > > From: "Don" <http://www.cox.net/~d8>
> > > Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2015 08:56:57 -0700
> > >
> > > > From: "Robert Reid" <http://www.cox.net/~reidz2>
> > > > Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2015 08:31:53 -0700
> > > >
> > > > George (Jürgen) Wittenstein: 1919-2015
> > > > A Member of WWIIâ??s White Rose
> > > > Santa Barbara Independent - Thursday, July 9, 2015
> > > > By CHRISTEL J. BEJENKE, with ELISABETH WEBER and JEAN YAMAMURA
> > > > The Fascist grip on Germany was complete after 1934. Leaders of other
> > > > political
> > > > parties
> > > > were jailed or killed; state governments were replaced. It was
> > > > dangerous to
> > > > befriend
> > > > Jews or to associate with those who spoke against the Nazis. George (JÃ
> > > > ¼rgen)
> > > > Wittenstein, studying philosophy, psychology, and medicine at the
> > > > University of
> > > > Munich
> > > > during those dark years, did both. At personal risk and with great
> > > > loyalty to
> > > > his friends,
> > > > he took part in the White Rose resistance, the only German resistance
> > > > group to
> > > > publicly
> > > > condemn the extermination of European Jews. An active participant in
> > > > two
> > > > resistance
> > > > groups against the Nazi regime, he is one of the few White Rose
> > > > members to
> > > > survive and
> > > > in 1947 published the first report on them: â??The Munich Student
> > > > Movement.â??
> > > >
> > > > ^L2
> > > > A longtime Santa Barbara resident, Dr. Wittenstein died on June 14 at
> > > > age 96.
> > > > His
> > > > mother, Elisabeth Vollmoeller, was a successful businesswoman; his
> > > > father,
> > > > Oskar
> > > > Wittenstein, a doctor of chemistry, concert pianist, and aviation
> > > > pioneer, died
> > > > six
> > > > months before Georgeâ??s birth while testing a giant war- plane. A
> > > > philosophy
> > > > of personal
> > > > responsibility and justice was instilled during Wittensteinâ??s
> > > > boyhood by the
> > > > Vollmoeller
> > > > family and Schule Schloss Salem, which remains one of the finest
> > > > schools in
> > > > Europe.
> > > > Salemâ??s revered headmaster, Kurt Hahn, spoke openly against Hitler
> > > > and fled
> > > > to
> > > > England in 1933, after having been arrested upon Hitlerâ??s take-over.
> > > > Instead of the ubiquitous swastika, 13-year-old Jürgenâ??s bicycle
> > > > flew the
> > > > flag of the
> > > > Paneuropean Union, a peaceful unification group banned by Hitler. High
> > > > school
> > > > graduation (Abitur) was immediately followed by compulsory labor and
> > > > military
> > > > service
> > > > and then by military medic training in Munich, where he befriended
> > > > Alexander
> > > > Schmorell, and they shared their hatred of the Nazi regime. His mentor,
> > > > the art
> > > > historian Dr. Kurt Badt, was brutalized in 1938â??s Kristallnacht
> > > > attacks on
> > > > Jewish
> > > > citizens, and the next day Wittenstein was ordered by the Gestapo, as
> > > > an â??
> > > > Arianâ?? and
> > > > German soldier, to stop associating with Jews. More ominously, the
> > > > Gestapo
> > > > accused
> > > > him of homosexuality, a feared Nazi ploy to eliminate enemies of the
> > > > regime.
> > > >
> > > > © George (Jürgen) Wittenstein
> > > >
> > > > Wearing his Wehrmacht uniform decorated with a silver sharpshooter
> > > > braid â?? heâ
> > > > ??d
> > > > won marksmanship awards since age 16 â?? George Wittenstein was
> > > > photographed
> > > > with
> > > > his mother at home in Beilstein in 1938.
> > > >
> > > > He began his studies at Munich University in summer 1939, where he met
> > > > Hellmut
> > > > Hartert and Hans Scholl. â??We had a few magical and exhilarating
> > > > months,â?? he
> > > > said, â??free
> > > > from uniforms, from years of regimentation; free to study, travel,
> > > > attend
> > > > concerts,
> > > > nature; to choose our lodging â?? wear civilian clothes!â??
> > > > Warned of his growing Gestapo file, the family made plans for him to
> > > > leave
> > > > Germany. In
> > > > August 1939, after gaining the nearly unobtainable documents, the
> > > > 20-year-old
> > > > boarded
> > > > the Hansa for New York, bringing along a car for his uncle, the writer
> > > > and poet
> > > > Carl
> > > > Vollmoeller, who lived in self-imposed exile in the United States
> > > > after having
> > > > rebuffed
> > > >
> > > > ^L3
> > > > Hitlerâ??s appointment as Minister of Culture. A U-turn in the shipâ?
> > > > ?s wake
> > > > meant they
> > > > were returning to Germany, and he made a plan to cross the nearest
> > > > border as
> > > > quickly as
> > > > possible. Instead, he drove two stranded and endangered Jewish teens
> > > > home to
> > > > Berlin
> > > > and gave up his last chance to escape Germany. After an intense search
> > > > by
> > > > Wittensteinâ??s
> > > > wife, the three reunited 70 years later, and Esther and Nat Berkowitz
> > > > described
> > > > the
> > > > terrifying journey, full of flag- downs by police and searches of
> > > > every car but
> > > > theirs. They
> > > > always wondered what kind of high Nazi official or diplomat this
> > > > elegant and
> > > > selfassured young man could be who was waved through checkpoints. It
> > > > turned out
> > > > their
> > > > car carried an export license plate and therefore could not be
> > > > searched.
> > > > Back at Munich University, he was redrafted into a medical student
> > > > company.
> > > > Constant
> > > > spying, mail interception, and telephone taps made it dangerous to
> > > > express
> > > > opinions and
> > > > communicate; it wasnâ??t until after the war that Wittenstein learned
> > > > that his
> > > > company
> > > > commander would mislead the Gestapo when they demanded information
> > > > about him
> > > > until the very last days of the war. When his PhD advisor in
> > > > philosophy, Prof.
> > > > FritzJoachim von Rintelen, was dismissed, Wittenstein and a friend
> > > > organized a
> > > > protest, an
> > > > unheard-of act in 1941. The first â??Leaflet of the White Roseâ??
> > > > appeared in
> > > > spring 1942,
> > > > denouncing Nazi crimes and appealing to the conscience of the German
> > > > citizens
> > > > to defy
> > > > Hitlerâ??s dictatorship. A call for active resistance followed the
> > > > friendsâ??
> > > > experiences at the
> > > > Russian front in 1942. Wittenstein took more than 100 photos of this
> > > > trip alone,
> > > >
> > > > including of the Warsaw Ghetto and the iconic photos that are in
> > > > nearly all
> > > > White Rose
> > > > publications, exhibits, movies, newspaper and magazine articles of the
> > > > past 65
> > > > years on
> > > > the subject.
> > > >
> > > > © George (Jürgen) Wittenstein
> > > >
> > > > The iconic White Rose photo picturing Hans and Sophie Scholl with
> > > > Christoph
> > > > Probst
> > > >
> > > > The tragic demise of the White Rose is well-known. Triggered by the
> > > > arrests of
> > > > Hans
> > > > Scholl and his sister Sophie as they distributed the sixth leaflet
> > > > early in
> > > > 1943, the Scholls
> > > > and Christoph Probst were executed, only hours after their trial.
> > > > Alerted to
> > > > the trial by a
> > > > friend, Wittenstein was able to bring the Schollsâ?? parents to the
> > > > Palace of
> > > > Justice â?? at
> > > >
> > > > ^L4
> > > > great risk to himself â?? who were thus able to see their children
> > > > alive one
> > > > last time.
> > > > Professor Kurt Huber and Alexander Schmorell were executed several
> > > > months
> > > > later.
> > > > Walking past a waiting Gestapo agent to deliver the message,
> > > > Wittenstein had
> > > > tried to
> > > > send rescue information to Schmorell via his father, and he smuggled
> > > > clandestinely
> > > > collected money to Huberâ??s destitute family until after the war. He
> > > > was
> > > > interrogated by
> > > > the Gestapo in November and by the military court in March 1944, but
> > > > he
> > > > disproved
> > > > their accusations. When later asked why he risked his life repeatedly,
> > > > Wittenstein,
> > > > always surprised at the question, would answer â??Someone had to do
> > > > it.â??
> > > > To be safer from the Gestapo, he volunteered for the front and was
> > > > posted to
> > > > Italy.
> > > > During the American offensive he operated the wounded in a railroad
> > > > tunnel, as
> > > > the only
> > > > physician, often for 48 hours without respite. There, he collected
> > > > weapons from
> > > > wounded soldiers for Freedom Action Bavaria, a resistance group that
> > > > saved
> > > > Munich
> > > > from Hitlerâ??s order for its destruction as the war ended. He was
> > > > wounded
> > > > during an
> > > > attack by US strafe planes, despite a large Red Cross flag draped
> > > > across his
> > > > back. He
> > > > never completed his PhD in philosophy because Professor Huber, his
> > > > advisor
> > > > after
> > > > Professor von Rintelenâ??s dismissal, was executed.
> > > > It was always with tears in his eyes that he recalled getting his
> > > > U.S.visa.
> > > > McCarthyism
> > > > had made emigrating difficult, as all resistance members were assumed
> > > > to be
> > > > communists; but he could no longer live in a country of such horrors.
> > > > The day
> > > > he
> > > > received temporary papers for England, where he would wait for his US
> > > > Visa, he
> > > > married
> > > > his sweetheart Elisabeth Sophie Hartert, to improve her chance of
> > > > eventually
> > > > receiving a
> > > > US Visa. It was, however, two long years until they reunited in the
> > > > U.S.
> > > > Immediately
> > > > after the war, he had met with students from all parts of Germany, to
> > > > make
> > > > plans for a
> > > > New Germany, and he wrote a draft for a New German Constitution. In
> > > > England, he
> > > > spoke at universities about his disillusioned generation of Germans
> > > > and about
> > > > their duty
> > > > to contribute to the reconstruction of Europe.
> > > > Wittenstein continued his surgical training at Harvardâ??s Peter Bent
> > > > Brigham
> > > > Hospital
> > > > and the universities of Rochester and Colorado. During their
> > > > residencies, the
> > > > couple saw
> > > > little of each other for another year, due to the locations of their
> > > > training
> > > > programs. They
> > > > were so poor they built their own furniture, a skill George had
> > > > learned at
> > > > Salem. Once
> > > > Elisabeth completed her medical specialization, she became chief of
> > > > anesthesiology at
> > > > Denver General Hospital in 1950. George taught at the University of
> > > > Coloradoâ??
> > > > s medical
> > > > school, simultaneously enrolling as a medical student to obtain his
> > > > U.S.
> > > > medical degree.
> > > > He joined the UCLA medical faculty in 1964, serving as professor and
> > > > chair of
> > > > the
> > > > Department of Surgery at UCLA/LAC Olive View Medical Center from
> > > > 1976-1991,
> > > > when
> > > > he retired to private practice in Santa Barbara. His work as a general,
> > > >
> > > > cardiovascular,
> > > > and thoracic surgeon included returning to Europe to teach and perform
> > > > the
> > > > latest
> > > > complex heart operations in 1956, and, at the invitation of the
> > > > Chinese
> > > > government after
> > > > Nixonâ??s visit, he taught in China in 1973 with a group of American
> > > > cardiac
> > > > surgeons,
> > > > cardiologists, and an anesthesiologist (Dr.Bejenke).
> > > > George and Elisabeth had four children, all born in Denver between
> > > > 1952 and
> > > > 1955. The
> > > > family moved to Santa Barbara in 1960, where Wittenstein practiced his
> > > > specialties for
> > > >
> > > > ^L5
> > > > 35 years. He loved camping and hiking with the family in the
> > > > backcountry and
> > > > the
> > > > Sierras. After Elisabethâ??s death in 1966, he married Christel J.
> > > > Bejenke, MD,
> > > > an
> > > > anesthesiologist who helped raise his four young children. He and
> > > > Bejenke, who
> > > > had
> > > > extensive experience with cardiac anesthesia, were instrumental in
> > > > preparing
> > > > Cottage
> > > > Hospital to perform cardiac surgery and trained its first â??pump-teamâ
> > > > ?? in
> > > > extra-corporeal
> > > > circulation. He served in various capacities at four Santa Barbara
> > > > hospitals
> > > > and UCSB Affiliates. Also a writer and a poet, he was pleased to serve
> > > > on the
> > > > boards of
> > > > the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Friends of the UCSB Library.
> > > > His wartime experiences were always painful to recall, and he was
> > > > haunted by
> > > > flashbacks and nightmares until the end of his life. For 40 or more
> > > > years, he
> > > > did not
> > > > speak about his experiences. Only when some White Rose relatives were
> > > > concerned
> > > > that
> > > > the story was not being told in full, he felt he had to contribute
> > > > what he knew
> > > > and give
> > > > equal voice and respect to all who had done so much and given their
> > > > lives. He
> > > > inspired
> > > > countless students, in classroom visits to schools and colleges,
> > > > through
> > > > lectures about
> > > > the White Rose and the resistance.
> > > >
> > > > © George (Jürgen) Wittenstein
> > > >
> > > > After the executions of Probst and the Scholls, arrests were rampant
> > > > and were
> > > > followed
> > > > by additional executions. Wittenstein, expecting to be arrested any
> > > > day and
> > > > probably also
> > > > executed, had this photo taken for his mother, who knew nothing of his
> > > > resistance activities.
> > > >
> > > > In recognition of his involvement in the resistance, for contributions
> > > > to
> > > > German cardiac
> > > > surgery, and for promoting scientific exchange between the United
> > > > States and
> > > > Germany,
> > > > Wittenstein was awarded the Commanderâ??s Cross of the Federal
> > > > Republic of
> > > > Germany
> > > > (Grosser Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) and the
> > > > Bavarian
> > > > Service
> > > > Medal (Bayerischer Verdienstorden), Bavariaâ??s highest honor.
> > > > He is survived by his wife, Christel J. Bejenke; his children Eva
> > > > Munday,
> > > > Nemone
> > > > Wittenstein- Helmling, Andreas Wittenstein, and Catharina
> > > > Wittenstein-Garrow;
> > > > nine
> > > > grandchildren; and five great- grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, a
> > > > contribution to
> > > > Planned Parenthood, Domestic Violence Solutions, Sarah House, or a
> > > > homeless
> > > > shelter
> > > > would be appreciated.
> > > >
> > > > ^L6
> > > >
> > > > To honor George Wittensteinâ??s life, a memorial will take place at
> > > > Santa
> > > > Barbaraâ??s
> > > > Museum of Natural History on October 11, 3-5 p.m.
> > > > - Santa Barbara Independent July 9, 2015 (Edited by C. Bejenke)
> > > >
> > > > Additional)Information:
> > > > - â??The Munich Student Movementâ??: Die Münchener Studentenbewegung (
> > > > Institut
> > > > für
> > > > Zeitgeschichte)
> > > > - White Rose photos: http://misc.akg-°©â;??
> > > > images.de/newsl13M2/WeisseRose/index.htm
> > > > - Oregon State University Holocaust Memorial Lecture by J. Wittenstein:
> > > > Life
> > > > under a
> > > > dictatorship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TFRRNsIglA
> > > > - Memories of the White Rose, 4 parts (1996):
> > > > http://www.historyplace.com/pointsofview/white-rose1.htm