Hans and Helga's Corner

Hans Ludwig von Schweinitz

Included herein

• Hans’ Autobiography 1934-2019 137pgs 230519
• Hans’ Biography 1934-1958 233pgs 250315
• Hans’ Biography for Writing Club 1934- 57pgs 250426
• Hans’ Album by Pages 169pgs 250315
  • 1934-1977, 1946 to 1955, and 1955-1957
• Hans’ Albums by photos 1946-1957 455pgs 250315
• Hans’ Education 1934-1977 62pgs 230526
• Hans’ Important Documents 125pgs 250315
• Hans’ Funeral 2015 166pgs 250315

Hans was born in October 1934, into a world of privilege and upper class social standing.  He lived with his family in a Manor house big enough to be considered a castle, it even had a moot and drawbridge.  In 1934, the Manor house was surrounded by an estate that was then in Silesia portion of Poland.  This section of Poland would sometimes become part of the Germany Empire and sometimes become Poland, as history documented.  Many famous Germans came from this very region, such as Wernher von Braun, Richard Wagner, and Johann Sebastian Bach.  Not only were both his parents in the Manor, but lots of other family members.  There were always aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents around.  There was also a large house staff to care for the family’s needs.  Hans even had his own nanny.  He lived in this environment for the first 11 years of his life, and his experiences influenced his outlook greatly.  Especially when he added what happened in his 8th year.  His mother died from influenza.  Then in his 11th year (early 1945), the whole family was forced out of the manor house with only a few hours warning, and they had to flee West.

The flight west changed Hans’ world completely.  He went from having a staff to take care of his every need, to having to take care of his self.  On the day that they had to flee, all the sturdy wagons and heavy horses were out in the field, working.  So all their possessions had been loaded onto the only wagon in the barn, the honey wagon (manure wagon), It was pulled by the only harness horses in the barn, high stepping carriage horses.  They were trying to make their way to Dresden, which was classified as a sanctuary city.  The high strung horse could not take all the commotion caused by the bombings and troop movements.  They were constantly spooking and turning the wagon over into the ditch.  By the time the family got to Dresden, they were completely shattered emotionally (horses and people), and their possessions were strewed over miles of ditches.  No one was watching over Hans, and he was only 11 years old.  so, he learned how to survive on the streets.  He continue traveling with his family to a town near Wiesbaden Germany.  He would spend his days taking on odd jobs so that he could bring food back to feed his family. 

When he was 14 years old, he took on an photography apprenticeship.  Hans tried to begin his own photography business, but family members nearby would not help with financing.  They believed that it was best that he shoulder the responsibility of a business on his own.  When he tried to go to a bank and ask for financing, he was rejected.  Because of the remains of the class system in Germany, the banks believed that anybody born into the privilege class automatically had access to money and did not need a loan.  He was stuck.  First he tried to go to Australia, but because he was still under the age of 21, he needed his Father’s permission.  His Father refused.  When Hans became 21, he applied for visa to United States.  And emigrated in 1957. 

When he arrived in United States, he was starting fresh.  He had everything taken away from him.  His mother was dead, he no longer belonged to the privileged class, he had no money, his family rejected him because they thought he was crazy to emigrate, and he did not speak English.  He restarted his life from the bottom.  This influenced many of actions he would take later in life.  He was always ready to help others that were also working their way up from the bottom, or starting new.  He sponsored many immigrants, and advised even more.  

Hans’ Autobiography 1934-2015

This compendium is a collection of personal information that Hans wrote on resumes and an essay for a communication skill course.  There are also transcripts of a 2009 interview and a 2014 paper that was written about Hans, the immigrant. Hans did not learn English until after he emigrated to USA in 1957.  Several words were miss-spelled in the essay and resume, they have been corrected in the text here.  Mainly because the new technology of word processing will auto correct the spelling and it is annoying to convince the software to except a miss-spelling.  That is one reason why there are scans of the original attached at the end of this compendium.

Hans Biography 1934-1958

This compendium gives some background on how an estate operated in the 1940’s and before. Then I have written down some tales, as Papa told us, about his life on the estate as a young boy. I have also included some historical events or effects through my research mostly with Wikipedia and Google search. As a young boy Papa would may not have known or understand the history that was unfolding around him in Germany.  Also, Stara Rudna book 2021 written by Malgorzata Danczak in Polish has several pages about what occurred in 1945.  These are excerpts from the book translated into English with the help of Google.

Hans’ Historical Biography Version for Writing Club

This document has been moved to the “Daughter” tab

Hans’ Albums by Pages 1934-1977

1934-1977, 1946 to 1955, and 1955-1957

Hans’ Albums by Photo 1934-1977

1934-1977: Helga had put together an album of some important events in Hans’ life.  This album has been scanned in and is attached.  1946-1955: This album is about the time between 1946 when Hans and his family were refugees, fleeing from Silesia, through Dresden, and finally living near Wiesbaden West Germany. 1955-1957: This album is about the time between 1955 when Hans lived in Wiesbaden West German and when he left for the USA in 1957.  1946-1957 Book A and B:This compendium combines the two albums from 1946-1955 and 1955-1957.  This is about the time between 1946 when Hans and his family were refugees, fleeing from Silesia, through Dresden, and finally living near Wiesbaden West German. The compendium begins when the family finally settles in Wiesbaden in 1946.  It goes through episodes in Hans’ live and ends when he emigrates to the USA in 1957.  By 1955/56, Hans had become a professional Photographer, was living alone, and had a source of income.  West Germany was finally starting to reap the benefits of rebuilding after World War II, and travel was becoming easier. Hans now had the time and the means to travel, so he did.  Hans went on several trips for just a day or two, but Hans went on three extended trips.  These trips included taking a Moped over the Alps to Northern Italy.  He also took a train to the Baltic resort island of Usedom Insel.  Hans was a member of the Grünstadt Swim team and the team attended the Sport Festival held in Leipzig East Germany.

Hans’ Education from 1934-1977

This is a compendium of Hans von Schweinitz Self-Improvement education. “SelfImprovement Education in the military means any course taken that is not part of your career field and is provided by a non-military education institution.  It begins with his Elementary education, goes through to his Bachelor’s of Science in Math in 1974 and finishes with his GRE in 1977.

Hans’ Important Documents

The following attached file contains copies of important documents that Hans accumulated during her life time.  Such as Birth Certificates, US Citizenship, Marriage Certificate, Education diplomas, Passports, Id’s, International Drivers License 1945-2015, and many more until the Death Certificate.

Hans’ Funeral

Contains the documents and notes used to organize Hans’ funeral and live service in 2015.  Also contains Memorial Book from Life Services on 14 September 2015 at Cook Walden Funeral Home in Austin Texas which has images of contents of book prepared by Cook Walden.  Included is additional information distributed or received during Life Services.  A Life Remembered book from Life Services on 14 September 2015.  Prepared by Cook Walden Funeral Home in Austin from the photo slide show provided by Family.  Obituary ran in the Austin American Statesman.