Friday, February 17, 2017

OLE Story by Tim Schochenmaier

Friday, February 3, 2017

Visiting Alwina Koch (nee Schochenmaier) born in 1927

We started the new 2017 with visiting Alwina Koch (nee Schochenmaier) and celebrated her 90th birthday. She is the third oldest Schochenmaier all over the world!!! She is daughter of Jacob Schochenmaier (1896-1937) amd Margaretha Grauer (1899-1952). 


Her life wasn't easy. In 1943 when some of the Black Sea Russian Germans moved westbounds together with the Germans who occupied the Ukraine, the Alwina's husband had to join the notorius German SS. After the WWII came to its end, he had been arrested and got 25 years of prison in the Soviet Siberia (GULAG). He survived the Stalin era, Alexander was released under Khrustschev in the 1960s and he could finally go to his family deported to the Kazakhstan's steppes in 1946. In the down of the 90s they all got repatriated to Germany.

In the photo, you can see me on the Alwina's left in the checked shirt, left to me is Walter Wahler (nephew of Oma Alwina), his brother with the guitar and the people behind the Oma are her children.