Distant Innocence: Serendipity , Chapter 2

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Serendipity , Chapter 2

In 2015, I wrote a series of 8 posts about my wife's aunt, Lt. Othelia Rosten, a WWII army nurse service in the 95th Evac Hospital. Her service included the invasion of No. Africa, Sicily, Italy (Salerno, Anzio), the "other D-Day" - Southern France, Germany and the Dachau liberation.

Taken as a group, the 95th story is the most read of my posts.

In 2018, I received a surprise phone call from Wolfgang in Ebermergen a village in southern Germany. He had discovered my posts on the 95th Evac and realized that the 95th hospital had setup on the outskirts of Ebermergen at the close of the war. A number of 95th personnel were detailed to Dachau (See "Unholy Stuff" in the list of 95th Evac posts below). He had recognized Ebermergen environs in the photos I included in the post and asked permission to use them in a book he and others were assembling documenting the impact of WWII on the Ebermergen area. I was able to dig out other photos from albums Othelia had created on her war experiences and provided access to those as well. (See Serendipity post)

Lo, and behold, what shows up in my mailbox the other day, but a masterful result of a 4 year project by the Ebermergen researchers, documenting the Nazi years impact on Ebermergen.. "Diktator. Krieg. Vertreibung."

All of the photos Othelia took that I made available to them are there, including the cover photo and a 2 page spread of the 95th Hospital setup with Ebermergen in the background.

95th Evac Hospital @ Ebermergen, May 1945

Pretty amazing. And so, the saga continues. Serendipity, 2nd chapter. The only downside is the book is in German :-) My Deutsch language skills need some dusting off.

This chance interaction gives me hope. It illustrates how the internet can bring the world closer together for good.

From the book.