| Interviewee | JOHNS, Gerald (b. 1925) and Irmgard Stieger (b. 1928) |
| Military Service | U.S. Army WWII Veteran, SHAEF |
| Interview ID # | OH 1200 |
| Date(s) of interview | |
| Description | Army veteran and his German war bride. His experiences in the European Theater during World War II while attached to SHAEF; her experiences as a German civilian before and during World War II. His original assignment to K Company, 116th Infantry, 29th Division; transfer to Headquarters Command, SHAEF, as head of the officer's mess, 1944; comments about entertainers Glenn Miller, Jack Benny, Paulette Goddard, and AL Jenkins; transfer of SHAEF to France after D-Day; transfer of SHAEF to Frankfurt-am- Main; personal observations of relations between Generals Dwight D Eisenhower and George S Patton; redesignation of SHAEF to USFET following the defeat of Germany and subsequent American occupation; transfer to Kronberg Castle as head of the officer's mess; observations of civilian hardships in postwar Germany; screening of civilian staff for ex-Nazis. Irmgard's youth in prewar Nazi Germany; her membership in the Hitler Youth and personally meeting Adolf Hitler at a party rally in Frankfurt; anti- Semitism in her home village of Schonberg; Allied air raids; her initial encounters with American troops; economic hardships of her family after the war; employment as a waitress at Kronberg Castle and her first encounter with Sergeant Gerald Johns; their account of the theft of the crown jewels at Kronberg Castle; stealing food for her family; their first date; her near accident with General Eisenhower while horseback riding; his marriage proposal and her family's reaction; their marriage on September 2, 1947; her reception as a German war bride by his family and the residents of Wrightsville, Pa., 1947. |
| Interviewer(s) | Ronald E. Marcello |
| Physical Description | 71 pp. plus documents (6 pp.) |
| Terms of Use | Open |
