A Return to Germany
By Madilynn Schumann
Rolf Wagschal
August 21, 1910 - July 26, 1992
A candid moment of Rolf during his time in Germany, circa 1945.
“Captain Charles H. Foertmeyer’s Album,” compiled by Charles H. Foertmeyer Jr, accessed August 2, 2021, http://ww2.foertmeyer.com/.
In Section T2 at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Rolf Wagschal lays beneath a headstone adorned with the Star of David, an indication of his Jewish faith that may have encouraged him to fight during World War II. Rolf was born in 1910 in Duisdorf, Germany, a small town south of Cologne, where he grew up in a rural Jewish community.[1] Jewish populations had strong community lives and organizations in the Weimar Republic, yet the economic devastation caused by post-war reparations meant that by the time Rolf was 13, “four billion German marks had the equal value of one American dollar.”[2] Despite hardships, Rolf attended school and became a doctor like his father, Ferdinand.
As Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, life was altered for all German Jews. In an interview, Kurt Klein, a fellow Jewish-German immigrant with a story that closely mirrors Rolf’s, states that “It was suggested for young [Jews] to leave because there was obviously no future for them in Germany.”[3] Jewish businesses were boycotted and Rolf, who worked as a private physician, decided to immigrate to America in 1934.[4] The process to procure an American visa at this time was intense and often unrewarding. Rolf was extremely lucky that he was able to successfully and legally immigrate to the United States. After being processed in New York, he travelled to Denver where he began working as a doctor once again. In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were enacted and German citizenship, along with a host of other privileges, were stripped from German Jews like the Wagschal family.[5] Rolf, his sister Anneleise, and their parents Alice and Ferdinand, all had their property seized and their German citizenship revoked in 1938.[6] Luckily, by that time the entire family had already relocated to America with Rolf a few years earlier in 1936 in order to escape the escalating discrimination in Germany.[7] The Wagschal family was safe from the Nuremberg Laws and the ensuing state-sponsored abuse in Germany.
Rolf with some of his war buddies in Gotha, Germany, including Charles H. Foertmeyer (far right), circa 1945.
“Captain Charles H. Foertmeyer’s Album,” compiled by Charles H. Foertmeyer Jr, accessed August 2, 2021, http://ww2.foertmeyer.com/.
In Colorado, Rolf married his wife, Grete, a fellow German-Jewish immigrant, in 1938. By 1939, Rolf had been living and working in the United States for five years and became a naturalized citizen.[8] With his new citizenship, Rolf immediately registered for the Army, perhaps hoping to eventually go and fight against the government that betrayed him, his family, and his people. By the time Rolf set out to fight in 1941, he and Grete had their first daughter, Barbara. In the army, Rolf became a Captain. He is featured in an album compiled of pictures taken by Captain Charles H. Foertmeyer MD of the 80th Infantry Division, 305th Medical Battalion. Although it cannot be confirmed that Rolf was a part of Captain Foertmeyer’s Medical Battalion, it is clear that they were close friends and war buddies.[9] It is likely that Rolf utilized his medical training in the war effort in Germany. According to Captain Foertmeyer’s photos, Rolf was in Gotha, Germany in 1945, helping liberate the town from Nazi control and in Gmunden, Austria sometime after that.[10] It is difficult to track any more of Rolf’s military movements beyond those two towns.
Rolf sitting with “Bromo” Morris Seltzer in Gmunden, Austria, circa 1945.
“Captain Charles H. Foertmeyer’s Album,” compiled by Charles H. Foertmeyer Jr, accessed August 2, 2021, http://ww2.foertmeyer.com/.
Rolf later came home to his family in Denver where he raised his daughter and baby son with his wife. Their daughter Barbara grew up to become a lawyer at an all-female firm before becoming the first female mayor of Stockton, California. She always advocated for minority and immigrant groups such as the Hmong and Mexican American agricultural laborers.[11] Her father’s story of immigration and discrimination likely had impacted her work deeply and she lived her life in his memory. Rolf’s son, Peter, would grow up to be a Harvard scholar, college professor, and author.[12] Rolf lived long enough to see both his children grow into successful adults and start families of their own. He died July 26, 1992 with Grete passing on almost exactly 6 years later on July 30, 1998.[13] They are buried side-by-side at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” ancestry.com, entry for Rolf Wagschal, Denver, Colorado, USA, image 1454.
[2] “How Did Hitler Happen?” The National WWII Museum, accessed July 30, 2021, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/how-did-hitler-happen.
[3] Kurt Klein, “Oral history Interview with Kurt Klein,” interview by Linda G. Kuzmack, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, October 11, 1990, https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn504600.
[4] “Colorado, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1868-1990,” ancestry.com, entry for Rolf Wagschal, Denver, Colorado, USA, image 70.
[5] “German Jewish Refugees, 1933–1939,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, accessed July 28, 2021, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-jewish-refugees-1933-1939.
[6] “Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, entry for Rolf Wagschal, accessed July 19, 2021, https://www.ushmm.org/online/hsv/person_view.php?PersonId=12981380.
[7] “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” ancestry.com, entry for Ferdinand Wagschal, New York, New York, USA, image 16.
[8] “Colorado, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1868-1990,” ancestry.com, entry for Rolf Wagschal, Denver, Colorado, USA, image 70.
[9] “Captain Charles H. Foertmeyer’s Album,” Compiled by Charles H. Foertmeyer Jr, accessed August 2, 2021, http://ww2.foertmeyer.com/.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Joe Goldeen, “Barbara Fass, Stockton’s First Female Mayor, Dies at 80,” Recordnet, 2020, accessed July 30, 2021, https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/politics/county/2020/06/05/barbara-fass-stocktonrsquos-first-female-mayor-dies-at-80/42150507/.
[12] “Peter Henry Wagschal,” Prabook, accessed July 30, 2021, https://prabook.com/web/peter_henry.wagschal/800908.
[13] “U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current,” ancestry.com, entry for Grete R Wagschal, Denver, Colorado, USA.
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