Background

Comments from the authors and creators

Our Parents, Ernst Hepp and Frances Fulenwider Hepp, met in New York and were married in Denver, Colorado, in 1937. They soon found themselves swept into the maelstrom of the worst war ever fought. Our American mother and German father were citizens of two of the main opposing forces of this war. Their experience thus offers insight into the conflicts of loyalty, sense of duty, and sheer survivability that in many ways were hallmarks of the attitudes and values of their upbringing and our era.

Our father decided to write about his experiences in 1975 after he had retired and, with Frances, had moved to Denver, Colorado from Santiago, Chile, where they had lived for twenty years. He passed away in 1978. Later, our mother decided to write her own account of that period of their life. She passed away shortly after completing her story in March, 2004. Their love for each other and their sense of loyalty to their family was in conflict with their loyalty to their countries, and forced them to make many very difficult and agonizing decisions.

The events covered in this book have recently taken on some urgency for us. Although there are, of course, many differences, we find there are some disturbing trends at this time, in this country, that parallel some of the things that were going on in Germany prior to Hitler’s consolidation of power.

One feature of Hitler’s Germany was the concentration of the media (newspapers, magazines, and radio) and the increasing manipulation of the “news” for propaganda purposes. We also see the endless repetition of false statements by those in power in order to persuade and mislead the public. In both times, this has contributed to increasing political polarization and a climate of intolerance and anger. We believe that our parents’ story can shed some light on our era. Some lessons can be learned and must be learned from our history so that we not be condemned, again, to repeat it.

We have decided to integrate the two accounts into a single book that generally follows their chronology.

Ernst A. Hepp: For those who have grown up in political freedom, it is extremely difficult to understand totalitarian regimes and how the terror system works. I, too, … was utterly naïve in believing that a totalitarian police state could be moderated from the inside. I was fortunate to survive, while others did not. How did the German people live under the Nazi regime? How did they react? How was it possible that such terrible crimes were committed by the Nazis? How could a highly intelligent, cultured nation, which has produced some of the greatest minds in history, tolerate such barbaric behavior?”

Frances Fulenwider Hepp: To be an American married to a German, and have a war come between our two countries was a nightmare. Many of these times in our lives remain as vivid and clear as when they first occurred. I have found that no matter how traumatic some situations have been, there are always others full of kindness, thoughtfulness, and love that make worth living. Every experience, no matter how painful, has something to teach us about ourselves.

Siggi Hepp-Dax, 2006: This is a story about a beautiful fashion model from Denver and a dashing German journalist who met in New York in 1937, fell in love, married, started a family, and were swept up in World War II. Their international life of adventure spanned the United States, Germany, Sweden, and finally Chile. Despite misgivings of friends and family, Frances followed Ernst to Germany to keep the family together. Ernst, who had come to love the United States, believed he could help steer his country in a more peaceful direction, but was to find out just how futile and dangerous such efforts would be. As a sophisticated American girl living in rural Germany, Frances found herself treated with sympathy and kindness by villagers and neighbors. When Ernst was posted to Stockholm, he found ways to help the opposition at risk to himself, and his entire family, and engineered the family’s official “escape” to Sweden. The war presented Ernst and Frances Hepp with moral and emotional challenges, dilemmas which they did their best to face with courage, and determination to live by their highest principles, despite the risks involved.

Ted Hepp, 2006: This intriguing story of the integration of two lives, my American mother and my German father, is told in their own words. Although they came from different cultural backgrounds, they both had strong roots in a tradition that valued ethics, loyalty, and a curiosity about life. My father felt that their adventure during World War II needed to be told. He felt strongly that his experience provided a perspective not available through the eyes of the American media, and that many oversimplifications clouded the postwar Allied perspective.

Although half a century has passed since the events in this account, it seems we are at a period in American history when many elements prevalent then are emerging again. The German wartime experience included all aspects of media consolidation and manipulation, historical distortion and propaganda, government secrecy, gradual erosion of civil liberties, and increasing executive power, that we are beginning to see in the United States today. The establishment of the totalitarian state in Europe under Hitler and Stalin and its consequences were defining aspects of the twentieth century. Recent events are likely to have an equally profound effect on our century. We feel that the significant parallels make it particularly relevant to share our parents accounts of their unique experience now.

Back to top