The Life of Frederick Maehle from His Memoirs

This is a story of a family...at least a part of it. It is based on the memoirs of the authors grandfather Frederick Maehle who was born in 1871. Frederick known as Fritz lived with his family in the city of Lodz. During WWI when Lodz was under siege; the schools were closed his work was erratic so he would tell his children stories about his ancestors his childhood and his youth. He began his memoirs in 1913. Although he ended writing the memoirs in 1938 his son Kola continued them from notes and journal entries he found after the war. The last journal entry is dated May 20 1940. Kolas wife Hilde translated most of the manuscript Gerda who adapted the memoir had Ursula translate the remainder. Fredericks writings are painfully intimate in which he reveals his heart and his soul. This story is not one of happiness and prosperity it is a story of survival of a family devastated and fragmented by World War I then the Great Depression and finally WWII.