Letters From Home, a World War II Story

Peter Christian Adolph Cramer, my first cousin three times removed, arrived from Denmark in the early 1890s.  Anna Clara Lowe, another first cousin three times removed, arrived from Germany about the same time, becoming a member of the LDS Church.  It was likely they met after coming to the United States.  They probably met in Utah within a few years of their arrival.   They married in Salt Lake City in 1895.  

                                 Region of Germany where the Lowes lived

Anna Clara's family came from a mountainous area of Sachsen, Germany, close to the Czechoslovakian border.  This region of Germany was heavily mined for silver and tin, but most mining had ceased by the late 19th century.  Life was not always easy for many of those who lived there.  As things often were during those times, one child came to the United States, and one stayed at home in Germany.  Anna Clara came to Utah, where her uncle lived, while her brother Emil remained in Germany.  

                    Early Silver Mining in Saxony's Ore Mountains, public domain

Emil and Anna Clara wrote letters back and forth, but only a few of Emil's letters remain for us to examine.  Little did they know, as they corresponded, that their letters would hint at the unimaginable things that would transpire in the world ten years later.  Letters between December 1934 and 1945 highlight a shift in mood exhibited by some Germans pre and post-war.

 

Apologizing for not being able to send financial assistance to his sister Anna Clara, Emil states, "We may not send money out of the country as all is wanted to build up our new empire and pay our debt…  We have been brought down by misgovernment of a gang of international jobbers, robbers, thieves and traitors, who for fourteen years filled their pockets out of our work and savings. "

 

Emil goes on to thank his sister for her words regarding his leader.  In December 1934, he described the leader as the most honest, straightforward man, a hard fighter for the truth and righteousness amongst the nations.  "I showed the letter to some friends and officials, who were so pleased with it, I had to copy it for circulation in all offices, clubs, schools and party organisations.  I decided to send the original to the Fuhrer and received, after 3 days the following reply:" (in translation)

 

"Reichskauzlei:  Dear Mr. E. Lowe

By order of the Fuhrer and Chancellor, I thank you for notice heartily.  The letter of your sister has been taken notice of with great interest as the contents prove, your sister must be an especially brave and religious woman.  To such people the work of the fuhrer cannot but make impression.  The leader requires you to send greetings & best wishes when you write to your sister again.  Heil Hitler!  Dr. Thomson Government Councellor."

 

In 1935 Emil described working conditions at the Wanderer Works factory where a relative worked.   Christmas bonuses and paid days off are given to every man for special occasions such as christenings and weddings, and employers encourage employees to talk about their grievances.  He tells his sister that the factory, which initially employed 2000 workers, now has 5200.  Emil assures his sister that he doesn't understand the concern over the Jews as "not a hair on their heads has been disturbed."

 

Later, in a letter from 1939, Emil reminds his sister of how difficult life had been in this part of Germany only 10 years before, with unemployment, foreign debt, strikes, and too many political parties.  He feels that by 1939, all who can 

work are working and that conditions are vastly improved. The single-party control of the government, in his view as played a part in this improvement.  He states, "I wish I could write a book about the lovely wonderful time we experienced since our great leader has taken over the government."  

 

In an undated letter after the end of  World War II to other family members in the United States, Emil describes the results of the war.  "We have gone through a terrible war.  Most of our cities are smashed and burned down to a great extent. At the boundery of our place the soldiers made the last hopeless stand for 3 weeks.  During the air raid I had my hip damaged and was laid up for 6 weeks."

 

Few could have foreseen the changes the post-war world would see with the horrors of the extermination of the Jews, the defeat of German armies, the trials at Nuremberg, and the Marshall Plan.  In letter after letter, we see the world tumbling inextricably towards the abyss of war, though Emil did not let on or see this was happening. For many of those who lived then, some things were just unimaginable. From our historical perspective, we can see what had been unfolding.

      Peter Cramer and Anna Clara Lowe and Family, courtesy of the author

Emil died in 1955, and Anna died in 1940 before America joined the war.  Emil continued to communicate with family in the United States through the 1950s.

                                 Obituary for Anna Clara Lowe, Newspaper Archives

 

Emil Lowe Letters, Cramer Connections, The Cramer Family Newsletter, Editor David B. Oswald, Layton, Utah.

Originally published in Generations, a newsletter of the Southwest Colorado Genealogical Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheelbarrow Johnny, A Gold Rush Tale

                                                                    Blacksmith's Shop, Public Domain

John Mohler Studebaker was born in 1833 in Adams County, Pennsylvania.  As a young boy, he moved with his family to Ohio.  An 1850 Federal Census for Montgomery Township, Ashland County, Ohio, shows a 16-year-old boy named Mohler in the household of John Studebaker.  John, 51, and Henry, 23 (same family) both list their occupations as blacksmiths, while Mohler is listed as a laborer.  

                                                    1850 US Federal Census for John Mohler Studebaker

 

John Mohler decided sometime in 1853 to take a wagon of either his own making or his father's and join a wagon train to the gold fields of California.  John arrived in Placerville on the last day of August 1853.  He went there to search for gold but took a job in a blacksmith's shop at 543 Main Street.  He began a five-year professional relationship with the blacksmith H.L. Hinds.  John worked repairing miners' tools and stagecoaches but soon learned to make wheelbarrows.  John was making ten dollars a wheelbarrow by 1855 and had saved considerable money.    

       

      John Mohler Studebaker's Wheelbarrow, El Dorado County Historical Museum, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

There are numerous historical references to John Mohler or "Wheelbarrow Johnny" as he became known.  San Joaquin County Biographies records the biography of a man named David R. Reynolds.  Mr. Reynolds indicates meeting John in 1853 and developing a long-lasting friendship.  The Sacramento Daily Union, 7 February 1854, has an advertisement for unclaimed mail for a Jno M. Studebaker.  A California historical marker commemorating Wheelbarrow Johnny is located in Placerville, and during annual festivities, there are wheelbarrow races to celebrate Johnny.  The Studebaker Family reunions hold wheelbarrow races as well.

Stephen Studebaker with Historical Marker for John Mohler Studebaker, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

                    

                        Historical Marker for John Mohler Studebaker, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

In 1858, John returned east to South Bend, Indiana, where his family now lived.  He came by water through the port of New York.  John saw many heavy wagons and elegant carriages in New York and thought his family wagon-making business might be interested in manufacturing similar vehicles.  When he returned to South Bend, he had $8,000 to invest in the family business, which ultimately became the factory that made wagons and, eventually, the famous Studebaker cars. The Studebakers were one of a handful of wagon makers for the Oregon Trail.

                     

                         Studebaker Wagons, El Dorado County Historical Museum, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

John Mohler Studebaker became the co-founder and president of the Studebaker Corporation.  He built a beautiful home in South Bend, Indiana.  He called the home Sunnyside. 

                                   Sunnyside, J. M. Studebaker home, photo taken in 1901.  Public Domain.

                                      John Mohler Studebaker (seated far right), courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

John Mohler Studebaker is my husband Stephen Studebaker's 3^rd cousin, 4x removed.