Norman Weber was born in August 1935 in New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York]. His father was from northern Germany. Weber’s father was the middle child of three siblings who thus became very self sufficient and decided as a teenager that he wanted to immigrate to the United States. At 22 years of age, Weber’s father arrived in the United States at the end of the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. He stayed in New York. Weber’s mother was a typical Bavarian born outside of Munich [Annotator’s Note: Munich, Germany]. She had three siblings. Her family ended up in Munich. Weber’s maternal grandfather was a high official at a brewery there. Weber’s mother came to the United States to support her homesick sister. She did not intend to stay, planning to eventually return to Munich. Weber’s parents met in New York after his mother had prepared to return to Germany. Convinced to go to the American-German Friendship Club, Weber’s parents first encountered each other there. They were wed in a Catholic church in New York. Weber’s father was employed as a building superintendent in a huge apartment complex. The family apartment was halfway below the sidewalk, such that people’s feet could be observed as they walked by. He remembers looking out of the window and seeing the legs of passersby. [Annotator’s Note: Weber laughs]. He remembers going to Lake Placid in upstate New York and Staten Island [Annotator’s Note: Staten Island, New York] to visit his mother’s sister. He recalls riding the Staten Island Ferry for five cents. Later in life when he rode the ferry, it reminded him of his youth. Weber’s mother worked in the United States as a nanny for a wealthy family in New York for six months. Weber was four years old when he left New York. He does not remember playing with any other children. His relatives were older than he was. He had an inquisitive mind and tried to check things out in the neighborhood. Germany was completely different.

Norman Weber’s family returned to Germany despite his father wanting to stay in America forever. Weber’s parents had two children who were American citizens. Suddenly in May 1939, which was a few months before the war [Annotator’s Note: Germany attacked Poland in September 1939], the family learned that Weber’s maternal grandfather [Annotator’s Note: who lived in Munich, Germany] was very ill. The family wanted everyone to return to Germany to see the ill patriarch for the last time. Passage was paid for by the relatives in Germany. Traveling by ship, Weber explored the SS Hamburg with another boy he met on the vessel. Weber’s father discovered his son up on the ship’s bridge conferring with the ship’s captain. From then on, Weber’s father knew he could find his son on the bridge whenever he disappeared. Weber was allowed to sit in the captain’s chair and touch the wheel to steer the ship. It was his playground. It took six days to reach Germany. Weber’s parents enjoyed parties. Nightly on the ship, Weber’s sister would go right to sleep. Weber chose to go toward the sound of the party and complain to those present to be quiet so he could sleep. Decked out in his pajamas, the young lad was the darling of the gathering [Annotator’s Note: he was only four years old and quite adventurous]. At that point, Weber was happy with his parents until they returned to their cabin with him. [Annotator’s Note: He laughs.] The reason the family went to Germany is unresolved and unable to be solved. All his ancestors are now dead and the papers he received under the Freedom of Information Act [Annotator’s Note: a request to the United States government to supply information gathered by a governmental agency] show five different answers for the return to Germany. The family kept the reason from Weber. Some of the possible reasons related to taking care of the property of his ill father. Weber eventually inherited that property from his father. The other reason was that there were undisclosed business matters that had to be resolved. Weber’s mother always told her son that the return was due to visiting his dying maternal grandfather, but the grandfather did not die. The family stayed in Germany when Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] closed the borders. An opportunity to flee to Denmark was turned down because of a lack of funds to cover the train journey for the entire family. Weber’s father was interrogated by the German Gestapo [Annotator's Note: German Geheime Staatspolizei or Secret State Police; abbreviated Gestapo] in 1940. Two men came to interview his father in their apartment. Weber tried to listen to the conversation, but could not clearly hear what was being said. His mother revealed in her biography that the family was under surveillance by the Hitler regime because her two children were American citizens and their father was a naturalized American citizen. She was concerned that the family might end up in prison. Weber’s father was given the option to join the German Army or else the family would be incarcerated. The children would be sent someplace, while the parents would go to prison. Weber’s father went into the Army and lost his American citizenship as a result. When Weber’s father departed for the Army in 1941, his son was six years old. The young Weber pledged to his father to obey his mother and protect her and his sister. Weber worked hard to keep his promise. Weber’s mother had to take care of things by herself. The grandparents sent them food boxes. Germany had heavy restrictions on food, as was also the case in the United States. The restrictions got pretty bad in Germany. After disembarking from the ship in Germany, Weber remembers a long train ride to reach his grandparents’ home in Munich. He was allowed to roam the facility because he was Director Bauer’s grandson [Annotator’s Note: his paternal grandfather was a high official in a Munich brewery]. Weber enjoyed animals, particularly the brewery horses. He remembers eating a Christmas goose which he helped cook with his grandfather. Other than that, everything on the trip to Munich after landing in Bremerhaven [Annotator’s Note: Bremerhaven, Germany] is a blur.

Due to his father’s employment, Norman Weber and his family moved to Berlin. [Annotator’s Note: the family had lived in Munich, Germany prior to the move to Berlin, Germany. Weber was approximately five or six years of age and an American citizen at the time.] The large family apartment is still vivid in Weber’s memory. He has returned to the location multiple times. The apartment building was four stories, with the family’s unit on the third floor. The park was right outside, as was the streetcar stop. The city square was outside with more apartments on the other side. There were many air raids and bombing attacks during that period. It was the beginning of the war, and the British bombed at night. The Americans were not involved in the war at that point. The Americans were day bombers. [Annotator’s Note: tThe American 8th Air Force did not commence bombing raids on Germany until January 1943. The British had bombed Germany since 1940.] The citizens of Berlin were in their basements a lot. When air raid sirens sounded for the first time, Weber was very frightened. His mother told him to compose himself, get dressed, and gather his suitcase to make his way down three flights of stairs to the basement. Weber did not realize that his mother had previously prepared suitcases for her children to bring to the shelter. The contents of the suitcases were never unpacked. Reaching the shelter below, he heard the explosions of the bombs above. Later, the sirens sounded to announce the attack was over and that it was safe to return to the apartment. The bombing raids seemed daily, but they were not actually that frequent. Weber had a routine to keep his clothes on a chair next to his bed. He put on those garments during the alarm, got his suitcase, met the family at the front door, and prepared to walk down the stairway to the shelter all together. Everyone had an assigned area in the basement. Little children slept, but the parents listened. Weber listened as well because of the promise he had made to his father to protect his mother and sister. [Annotator’s Note: prior to Weber’s father leaving for forced service in the German Army, he made his son pledge to obey his mother and take care of her and his sister.] One particular bombing attack shook the whole basement, upsetting those inhabitants. There was screaming and crying and Weber moved closer to his mother as if to protect her. When the basement door opened, a person in uniform told them to stay in the basement until a bomb above was disarmed. Weber’s mother told him the building might collapse if the bomb exploded. Weber was concerned that they might not be able to escape, but minutes later an individual entered from the outside and told those sheltering that it was clear for them to return to their apartments. The next morning, Weber visited the site of the deactivated bomb. He and his friends found metal parts that might have come from the bomb. Weber’s comrades did not exchange baseball cards like other children, but rather collected different colored pieces of shrapnel. The children made art objects with the pieces and exchanged them. [Annotator’s Note: Weber laughs.]

As a child in Berlin [Annotator’s Note: Berlin, Germany in 1941], Norman Weber remembers seeing people walking on the sidewalk with a yellow star on their clothing [Annotator’s Note: the Nazi regime mandated that Jews wear yellow stars of David on the exterior of their clothing]. Though he questioned his mother about it, she would never tell him the reasoning for the star. As a six-year-old, Weber knew that something was not right with the situation. He could see that people were being differentiated. In school, he and his classmates were taught what a Jew looked like. They were shown facial features that identified a Jew. Weber’s parents never revealed why they were being bombed or why people were being singled out. That was true until the family moved from Berlin. They went to the park and the zoo a lot. Before his father went into the Army [Annotator’s Note: Weber’s father was coerced into joining the German Army in 1941], the two of them would go to the airport to observe the planes taking off and landing. On one visit to the airport, Weber’s father sent his five year old son home by himself via specific streetcars. Weber’s German was not solid, and he journeyed home without money for the ticket. He had problems pronouncing the name of his street address. It is a long German name, but the passengers figured out the crying boy’s streetcar stop and helped him. Reaching his apartment, his mother was anxious about him being alone on the journey. When his father returned home, he and his wife had a closed-door conversation. All Weber heard was his father’s confidence in his son being able to take care of himself. [Annotator’s Note: Weber laughs.] Today, Weber goes places by himself and learns to pronounce the names of places beforehand. Weber was taught in school in Berlin to identify Jews by particular facial features like noses and cheekbones, how they walked, their short height, dark eyes, and dark hair. Weber was used as an example for his classmates of Aryan features dissimilar to those of a Jew. Those who looked different than Weber might be a Russian or a Jew. Aryans could have dark, straight hair though. A left handed child was pushed to write with the right hand. Under Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler], a left handed person was a deviant and not part of the rest. The child tried hard to convert. Weber was frowned upon for trying to help the youngster. After a few times in class, the left handed classmate did not return. When Weber tried to find out what happened to the boy, the teacher admonished him not to inquire. Later in life, Weber found out that the Nazis determined those deviants were not worthy of life. The boy possibly went to a concentration camp. The thought of what may have happened to that boy makes Weber emotional. Weber attended school until 1943, so the boy was perhaps six to eight years old. Weber remembers during school that between classes, the students would have a lookout watching for the teacher approaching the classroom. When they heard the warning, the classmates would stand by their seats and tell their teacher good morning by giving the Heil Hitler salute. The teacher would respond in kind. The students would be standing at attention until the teacher instructed them to be seated whereupon they would sit down as one. Then the teacher would tell address them with the work to be done. That is what Weber remembers. [Annotator’s Note: He chuckles.]

As a child [Annotator’s Note: in Berlin, Germany from 1941 to 1944], Norman Weber studied various subjects in school. He learned geography, strictly regulated German history emphasizing Hitlerism [Annotator's Note: studies concerning German dictator Adolf Hitler] and Nazism, advanced mathematics, singing and music appreciation, though Weber was a bad singer. Classical music appreciation including writing musical notes continued beyond World War Two. Weber loved the study of music. He participated in physical education including boxing and rope climbing, in which he excelled. Medicine ball throwing and rope jumping were also included. The exercises were all intended to strengthen the boys for Hitler’s priority, the military. Hitler believed in indoctrinating children in his philosophy including gaining more Lebensraum, German for “living space”. Weber excelled in history and physical education. When two boys got into an argument in class, the teacher would admonish them to stop and wait until physical education when they would put on boxing gloves and fight each other. Because of Weber’s English accent [Annotator’s Note: he was an American citizen born in the United States in 1935, and only immigrated to Germany in May 1939], he often got into fights with the other boys. His father had taught him how to fight, so he defeated every one of his opponents. His long arms were an advantage in the boxing ring. Additionally, he was always the tallest student in the classroom. [Annotator’s Note: Weber laughs.] That was all during World War Two and Weber was told by his teacher that he would be a good example for the nation. Weber only learned later that meant he was a good example of Nazism. His parents reminded him that his physical looks and characteristics saved him during the war. After the war, being singled out as an American was an advantage to Weber in the classroom. In personally witnessing the bombing of Berlin, Weber always asked what did the country do wrong. As a young child, he had developed an inquisitive nature. During the war, his mother constantly reminded him not to talk or ask questions. When Weber found out about the German invasion of Poland [Annotator’s Note: on 1 September 1939], he asked why that had to happen. No adult ever answered his questions. His mother feared repercussions because of her son being born in the United States and an American citizen. Also, the family had lived in America which could be a concern to the authorities. His father had become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Authorities had concerns about his father working for the German defense industry. Weber’s father never talked about his work in Germany, but years later, Weber researched his father’s work through the Freedom of Information Act [Annotator’s Note: a request to the United States government to supply information gathered by a governmental agency]. Only then did Weber discover what his father did before he was ordered into the German Army. Weber found out that his maternal uncle was in the German Army as a tank commander. As such, his uncle had participated in the invasion of Poland. Weber could never reconcile things that he witnessed that were wrong. By the time America became involved in the war and around the last nine months of the war [Annotator’s Note: by August 1944], Weber began to understand what was happening around him.

Norman Weber’s father received permission to bring his family to his duty station in Poland, in a town called Siemysl. They lived there for four or five months. His father told his family to leave because the Russians were coming. Weber remembers saying goodbye to his father and boarding a packed train for the three-week trip to Munich [Annotator’s Note: Munich, Germany where his relatives lived]. He learned later through his research that the family had to beg, borrow and steal their way from Siemysl to Munich. He does not know how his mother managed it, but she never talked about it, even in her autobiography. Reading about someone else’s experience on a similar trip, Weber could not complete the account because of his fear that his family had to endure the same thing. He potentially blacked out his memories of the time. His mother would only say that her son was courageous. He never complained and always helped. Weber feels the family went to hell and back to get to Munich. His mother was so alone in completing the exodus. She decided to go to her sister’s home south of Munich. Weber does not want to relive those three weeks. He remembers arriving in Munich and making their way to the tiny enclave where his aunt lived. The night before to their arrival, the US 8th Air Force bombed Munich. The fleeing family had to stay with his mother’s aunt whom she had not seen for 22 years. Weber and his sister slept soundly in a real bed that night. They awoke early the next day and continued on to Weber’s aunt via train. It was then that Weber learned more about the bestiality of war because a forced labor camp was nearby, as was a munitions factory. Weber’s questions of why the laborers were being mistreated were never answered. He and his cousin went to the camp fence, but were chased away by the guards. Weber’s uncle worked at the factory and had a big house. Recollections of that home are vivid in Weber’s memory. There were over 70 air raid alerts around that time, but only one bombing. All the other times, the 15th Air Force out of Italy was flying over them en route to Munich to bomb that area. Alarms sounded when the bombers returned to Italy over them. They were never bombed except for one day.

Norman Weber and his cousin heard a different sound to the sirens [Annotator’s Note: air raid sirens sounded near a munition factory adjacent to Munich, Germany]. Running to a hillside bunker rather than the basement [Annotator’s Note: seeking shelter from falling bombs], they observed 76 B-17 bombers [Annotator’s Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers] attacking the nearby factory. Weber’s grandmother wrote in her diary that the earth shook with the explosions. It was over very quickly, and then there was silence. The sirens indicated that all was clear. Exiting the bunker, Weber saw a huge cloud of smoke that probably came from hits on the factory. The civilians were concerned about the status of their homes. The homes were not damaged except for blown out windows. For the next seven days, there was no heat or electricity. The family depended on a wood-burning stove for heat and cooking. Recently, Weber discovered from a friend in Germany things that his mother had admonished him not to ask about [Annotator’s Note: Weber was a youth asking questions in Nazi Germany about the regime and things he observed about its prejudice toward Jews and other dangerous topics to be discussing]. Weber constantly asked hard questions of his mother. Weber learned about the labor camp and the factory near his home. He learned what his uncle did at his work [Annotator’s Note: he was an official in the factory that used force labor]. Weber became aware of what the adults did during that timeframe. He learned of the actions of the guards and the treatment of the poor laborers in the factory. Weber’s new friend filled in the gaps for him, after which he went on to research at the National Archives and found the mission report of the 76 bombers and details of personnel and the 15-minute bombing run. Weber wrote a book about the mission and the 2,100 bombs dropped. One person was killed. The factory above ground was damaged, but it was not destroyed and continued to produce ammunition. It was 5:15 p.m. on 9 April 1945. Weber’s story of the 15 minutes was written up in the town’s newspaper. [Annotator’s Note: He chuckles.] He now understands they were bombed because of the munitions plant.

Norman Weber has a significant and raw memory of how the war ended. The family had to flee their home. It was the end of April [Annotator’s Note: April 1945] when they heard much rumbling in the camp [Annotator’s Note: the family lived adjacent to Munich, Germany which had a nearby forced labor camp for a munitions factory]. The camp was very close to his home. From the window, he and his cousin observed camp inmates screaming and running after the one-armed camp commandant who had severely mistreated them. The commandant was being lynched while the two boys watched. The freed prisoners stabbed and beat the German officer as he fled. The boys saw an odd-looking vehicle approaching. It was a jeep with Americans in it. The commandant tried to reach them. Hearing a loud pop, Weber saw an American with a raised rifle who may have put the German out of his misery. The Americans turned and left as the Commandant’s remains were mutilated by his former prisoners. Despite being told by the adults to get away from the window, the two boys saw all of it. Shortly afterward, the family heard their doorbell ring. All eight family members went to the door as if to protect each other. Opening the door, they saw three pitiful looking camp inmates who were hungry and angry. The three demanded to be fed. Meanwhile, a rock was thrown through the window. Weber’s mother prepared food which the three devoured hastily. The three finished and said as they left that they would send more, which frightened the family. They decided to leave and find shelter with the Americans. It was cold outside so everyone layered their clothing. Gathering food and possessions, they took off through the woods. People fired rifles at them, but no one was hurt. The elderly grandmother was a consideration in the decision to go to the open road. They were hit, accosted, and threatened while traveling. Language directed at them was foul and horrible. There were dead animals and people along the way. Animals had been carved up for food for the hungry. The elderly grandmother was protected by a cordon of family members surrounding her as they walked along. When the Americans were spotted, Weber’s mother ran to them and talked to them. She spoke fluent English. The memory gets to Weber. Weber’s mother had kept the birth certificates for her son and daughter who were both born in the United States [Annotator’s Note: Weber’s family was of German ancestry and had left the United States for Germany in May 1939 when he was just three years of age]. Those citizenship papers were why the soldiers came to protect them. [Annotator’s Note: Weber’s voice reflects his emotion.] The soldiers provided shelter to Weber and his family. When a former camp inmate displayed hostility to Weber’s family, the Americans posted an armed guard by their door. That all happened because of the two pieces of paper Weber’s mother had saved when she left America.

Norman Weber and his family were protected by the Americans [Annotator’s Note: The two Weber children had been born in the United States and were citizens, but were forced to remain in Germany during the war.]. The family reached the city [Annotator’s Note: Munich, Germany] and because Weber’s mother was fluent in English, she became a translator. She was the darling of the city because she helped the population with various issues they had with the American authorities. In turn, the citizens aided the Webers. The city was run by a trained American soldier named Captain Carl Bishop. He had been a city manager before military service. After he returned to the United States, Captain Bishop sent the Weber’s care packages with coffee, powdered milk, flour, candy, gum, and cooking fat. People sent the packages to German families they knew. The Webers also received packages from his aunt in Staten Island [Annotator’s Note: Staten Island, New York] as well as Bishop. That went on for about a year. The anticipated packages represented a feast when received. The translators were allowed to eat at the military mess hall. The Americans were generous with their food, particularly when children were involved. Weber received an orange from some American ballplayers. The soldiers even provided Weber with additional oranges for his family. Weber ate the whole orange without even pealing it. It had been six or seven years since he had eaten an orange. The family feasted on oranges. It was delightful and beautiful. What the soldiers did was forbidden under the no fraternization policy. Later, Weber learned that General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] rescinded the policy six months later. The common American soldier saw the Germans in need and tried to help them out.

Norman Weber is shocked by his experience in the Hitler Youth [Annotator's Note: a youth organization of the Nazi Party for young men] Camp. In February 1945, a letter from Munich [Annotator’s Note: Munich, Germany] was received ordering Weber’s mother to send him to a camp ten miles away. Weber walked with his cousin even though they were only 10 and 11 years old, respectively. They were indoctrinated at the camp by messages over the public address speakers. They learned the words of German martial music. They were taught about their superiority compared to others who should be eliminated. The lessons taught that Germany needed more living space. That was the reason for the Anschluss [Annotator’s Note: annexation] of Austria, Czechoslovakia and the Sudetenland. Total loyalty was to be committed until death. The boys were taught to fire pistols, rifles, and shoulder weapons or bazookas for anti-tank warfare. After a week of training, they were dismissed and sent home. Afterward, Weber’s mother was notified that he was to take additional training. He had been successful in the prior training and would be given advanced lessons in Hitler’s [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] leadership school. It was to prepare him for leadership in the military. Children were being used against the Allies at that point. Weber’s mother gambled by not sending him to the training. The war ended April 1945 without anyone showing up at her door to ask her why she did not comply with the order. During this time, Weber was listening to underground radio reporting the progress of the western forces [Annotator’s Note: the American and British forces crossing into Germany from her western borders]. When the Americans took the first German city, Aachen, Weber excitedly reported that progress to his mother. She told him to keep his mouth shut [Annotator’s Note: Weber’s mother had to frequently tell her son to contain himself on verbalizing about the war and asking questions about the actions of Nazi Germany]. Weber learned he could not speak freely even in his own house. He still quietly reported the American progress to his mother as they approached. The German population was fearful of the Soviet advance. They were worried enough to flee the eastern part of the lands Germany had captured. The talk among the populace was predicting when the Americans would arrive. Then they saw the jeep [Annotator’s Note: Americans arrived near Munich in late April 1945 in a jeep]. When asked by students today about his allegiance toward America or Germany, Weber responds that he thought the British and Americans were bad when no one explained to him why he and his family were being bombed. He was listening to German radio and Hitler’s addresses. When he saw mistreated people walking in the streets with a yellow star identifying them, he knew it was wrong. He knew that Americans were coming to stop those actions. That was when he switched sides. He does not know exactly when that happened, but it came automatically. He began to change his attitude and looked forward to the arrival of the Americans. A similar shift can be observed in his grandmother’s diary as well. He is asked about brainwashing. All vestiges of those teachings have been eliminated because of what he learned concerning what the Germans did. Those actions were wrong, as were the deaths caused by Stalin [Annotator's Note: Joseph Stalin; General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union].

Norman Weber’s father was drafted into the German Army in 1941. The family was with him in Poland during 1944. He was home with his family on furlough twice between in those years. He was equivalent to a warrant officer in the US Army. He was a trained specialist in charge of a maintenance company. The company repaired trucks and tanks. After leaving Poland in July 1944, the family did not hear from him. They lost contact completely until he showed up in September 1945 in the town of Wolfratshausen where they lived just south of Munich [Annotator’s Note: both cities in Germany]. Weber was playing with his cousin in a small cart that glided down a hill. They saw a man coming toward them. He was wearing a long, German Army coat. He sat down and the boys were concerned until Weber recognized his father. He ran to his father as they reunited. They talked and laughed. Weber confirmed to his father that he obeyed his mother and protected her [Annotator’s Note: a promise he had made to his father before his 1941 departure for the army]. They talked for a long time and then returned to the family. A big celebration ensued. The next day, Weber’s father was informed by his wife that he had a job. He would be hired by Captain Bishop [Annotator’s Note: city administration officer Captain Carl Bishop] as a translator. Weber’s father filled out the necessary paperwork for the employment. Weber retains that original documentation with its 144 questions. Weber’s father helped property owners who lost property confiscated by the Nazis. He worked at that for a year until the US authorities turned over the government to the local citizens. Captain Bishop offered another job to him if he would relocate, but the decision was made to move the family to Munich. That was where young Weber attended school. He did not graduate from high school. Today, Weber has a master’s degree. [Annotator’s Note: He laughs.] Weber’s father got a nice job and requested that his son help reinstate him as an American citizen. He had lost his citizenship when he became a German soldier. Weber contacted a prominent Illinois congressman to assist him. Aided by Leslie Arends, who was fantastic, there was constant communication between the American and German governments until his father ceased attempting to change his citizenship. Congressman Arends was planning to submit a private bill to Congress to reinstate the citizenship of Frank Weber, but that all ended. Weber’s father was living in Munich when he died. Weber returned there to close the business. His father’s remains are in Tennessee. His father stopped trying to reinstate his citizenship because of war related circumstances. His father showed him horrific photographs of the war. What he saw was so horrific against human beings. His father wanted him to have the photographs, but Weber cut them up and disposed of them. It was tremendously bad depictions of Germans doing things to other humans. Weber was a teenager at the time. The family is puzzled by the photographs. They do not know why he was given the photographs. His father only told him that he, his son, would go to the United States at some time and tell the story. Instead, Weber got rid of the pictures. That is why he is a dropout.

Norman Weber entered an American Army post [Annotator’s Note: near his home in Munich, Germany] while making a delivery for his father. Weber saw a reenlistment poster for the US soldiers on the base. As an American citizen [Annotator’s Note: he was an American citizen born in the United States in 1935 and only immigrated to Germany in May 1939], he asked to join the US Army. He was given paperwork to have his parents sign their approval because he was not yet 18 years old. His father readily signed to approve his son’s enlistment. Not a word was said by his parents except his father’s acknowledgment that his son would be leaving. Weber took one of the two family cars and returned the paperwork to the sergeant. He was sworn in that day. A week later, the sergeant sent papers to Weber for his transfer to Zweibrücken [Annotator’s Note: Zweibrücken, Germany was the site of a US Army occupation base] for his uniform and to await transit to the United States for training. Weber returned to the base where he had enlisted after receiving his uniform. He requested a 30-day pass [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] from the same sergeant who swore him in. Weber returned to his family, and they celebrated the fact that he was an American soldier. [Annotator’s Note: he laughs.]

Norman Weber recognized changes in his father when he returned on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] while serving in the German Army [Annotator’s Note: Weber’s father, Frank Weber, was a naturalized American citizen when he was coerced into joining the German Army. He lost his US citizenship when he became a member of the Germany Army]. He was the equivalent of a captain in the US Army. As a German officer, he carried himself in a straight and tall manor. He was well liked by his subordinates, but was understood to mean what he said or ordered. Young Weber felt the same way toward his father. Weber grew up understanding his father’s faith in him. His father never spoke negatively about his role in the military. He accepted the life he was given in order to save the family [Annotator’s Note: Frank Weber was told to join the German Army or he and his wife would be incarcerated and the children taken away from them.]. As the Russians closed in on Poland, Frank Weber and the troops with him were withdrawn to the south of Berlin [Annotator’s Note: Berlin, Germany] in a town called Eisenach [Annotator’s Note: Eisenach, Germany]. He was captured there by the Americans. Weber’s father was a pacifist who did not believe in killing. Prior to capture, he told his men and superiors that he would never kill a human being and specifically not an American even though he was given a gun. He was demoted to sergeant after being a captain. The men under him agreed to lay down their arms when the Americans came. From Eisenach, Frank Weber was sent to a POW [Annotator’s Note: prisoner of war] camp in France. He was interrogated there and Weber has a transcription of the questioning. After that, Frank Weber became an interpreter in the prison camp. He helped other prisoners with his influence and command of the English language. He was released from the camp in September 1945. He was a changed man when he returned home. Although a quiet man, he loved being with his wife’s mother. He liked day trips to the country. He enjoyed history and that is likely why Weber also enjoys that area of study. Frank Weber was congenial and jovial especially at parties. The influence of war was not noticeable to him. He never talked about the war. He would shut down when the topic came up. Weber never asked his father about the war because he felt he would not talk, and he was concerned about his negative reaction. Frank Weber’s employees liked him and respected his authority. Weber’s maternal uncle would never talk with his brother-in-law about their wartime experiences in the German Army. Weber’s uncle did talk to his nephew about what he had done in the war. It was sad but fabulous, so Weber has written about it. When Weber saw the photographs provided by his father, he was stunned [Annotator’s Note: these were horrific photographs of what Germans had done to other humans]. Frank Weber told his son that he would learn about the German Army after seeing the pictures. Weber destroyed the photographs. His father’s role when the original pictures were taken in the Ukraine remains a mystery to him. Because his father always carried a camera with him, Weber thinks he may have been the photographer. It was 1949 and Weber was 14 years old when he was given the photos. It was a time when Germany was divided. Frank Weber’s parents lived in East Germany. The pictures may have been brought back from East Germany when he secretly visited his parents. It is a confusing situation. Prior to the pictures, a man showed up at the house to see his father. The two men met outside and talked for an hour and then the individual left and never returned. His father became a quieter man afterward and began to drink too much. That is probably related to the war. War causes impacts on the poor veterans.

Norman Weber was told by a counselor that he has PTSD [Annotator's Note: post-traumatic stress disorder; a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event either experienced or witnessed]. Watching elements of the war causes nightmares for him. Seeing the evacuees of Ukraine [Annotator’s Note: Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 causing a massive evacuation of citizens to avoid shelling and rockets] and hearing that they were fleeing through the Polish town of Siemysl, where he lived, drove his wife to request that Weber not watch the events on the news. Nevertheless, he saw enough to cause horrible nightmares and make him to relive some aspects of the war. His family was totally against him writing about the war and talking to students because he would have frightening dreams, which he did. His counselor stressed that the process was self-healing. It also informed people of what can happen when people are ugly to each other. As a result of his experiences, Weber has learned tolerance toward other human beings. He sees other people as human beings of God. He has traveled overseas and seen other lands and how people live. Some would call it poverty, but Weber does not judge them. It is how they live. War made him look at how people are treated, and he determined that it was wrong. When Weber walked into the Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], he called his wife. [Annotator’s Note: Weber’s voice begins to break up.] Because he was getting emotional, he asked her to walk with him. Seeing the Pullman Car [Annotator’s Note: a replica Pullman Car is an exhibit in the Museum] reminded him of his uncle being put in a similar car and transported from Norfolk, Virginia to a POW [Annotator’s Note: prisoner of war] camp in Kansas. Seeing the B-17 [Annotator’s Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] hanging overhead made him emotional because troops jumped out of it into Normandy and Holland. Weber jumped out of a C-119 [Annotator’s Note: Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar transport aircraft]. It affects him and brings up emotions, but Weber must see it. World War Two must continue to be taught to future generations so that people learn to stop treating each other in a dominating manner. Things must be done peacefully and globally. We do not need war. We do not need bombs like Russia is using in Ukraine today. The Museum is growing by leaps and bounds because of the families that are coming in to teach their children that attempting to control another people is wrong, both psychologically and under God. That must continue to be taught.