Today, as war continues in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, a South Sioux City resident recalls the horror of war that she lived through over 80 years ago.
German American Anna Schaefer, 103, survived in one of the most bombed cities in history, Kassel, Germany, in what is now central Germany. Kassel was the location of the Henschel and Son factory complex, which manufactured the famous German Panzer tank during World War II.
Kassel was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing during the war. Anna’s house was bombed twice. Anna said the home was repaired after the first bombing.
"It wasn't too bad, I mean it was fixable," Anna said, adding: "The second time it was destroyed completely." Asked if she was injured during the bombings, Anna said: "Just a little on my leg a bit, but that doesn't count."
Schefer remembered the bombings were at night; there were no sirens.
“You just heard them (the planes) coming” Anna remembered. Anna lost her little sister, Marita, because of the bombing, saying her sister had scarlet fever and contracted diphtheria after her hospital ward was bombed and she was forced to go the diphtheria ward.
She added that during the war: “I had a lot of friends, most of them got killed.”
During the war, Anna was a draftsman for the German coal mining industry. Her boss helped her get housing after her home was destroyed. An elderly teacher took Anna in.
Anna’s father, Jacob Rieger, was a German Army soldier in both World War I and World War II. He served time in an American prison camp at the end of World War II before being released.
Anna was separated from her mother, Anna, during the war because of her mother's pregnancy. Anna’s mother was taken to a safe area away from the bombing.
After the war, Anna married an American soldier, Gerald Schaefer, from Madison, Nebraska in 1946. They moved to the family farm near Madison, then to a farm near Coleridge. Anna said she was a city girl who milked cows. Anna and Gerald moved to South Sioux City in 1949, joining Anna's mother, father, and brother, who lived next door to Anna and Gerald. Anna and her German family became American citizens in 1956.
Anna was part of a German-speaking community in Siouxland over the years. German, Polish, and Czech immigrants had a German language club and met in Sioux City. Anna recently met her Catholic Pastor at St. Michael Catholic Parish in South Sioux City, Fr. Matt Niggemeyer, and was very pleased to find out he is fluent in German. Anna remembers some Latin, which the Catholic Church used worldwide in its liturgies until the 1960s. Anna went to Catholic School in Germany before World War II and was educated by religious Sisters.
“The nuns were good teachers, but they were strict,” Anna said.
Today, Anna is enjoying living in a peaceful community with her family. Anna lives with her retired daughter, Doris, in the family home in South Sioux City. Anna's brother, Joe Rieger, who came over from Germany after World War II, is a successful businessman, the owner of Triland Foods in Sargeant Bluff, Iowa.
Anna and her husband, Gerald, were active parishioners at St. Michael Catholic Parish in South Sioux City. Gerald helped with
Bingo over the years. Anna would help with the fish fries during Lent, washing dishes for the huge meals that were served. Anna would also walk through town collecting money for the fish to be served.
Last year, Anna flew to Virginia to visit her late son, Jerry. The flight crew and the pilots of the airliner met Anna at the end of the flight and told her that she was the oldest passenger that they ever had on a flight. When Anna first came to the United States in 1946, she flew on a propeller plane into New York City, not traveling on a passenger liner like most transatlantic travelers at that time.
Anna had a celebration of her 100th birthday in Dakota Dunes in 2023, attended by many family members and friends.
Anna is in relatively good health for a 103-year-old, but she does suffer from some vision and hearing loss. She was an avid reader, so she does miss that.
