Germany needed war to get out of their severe, economic slump. Without going to war, there would have been starvation and huge civil unrest in Germany, eventually leading to the formation of a new government.
Keith
That's true.
My great grandfather was killed in WWI fighting for Germany. There was no money for widows of the war. My great grandmother had to let her three daughters go to different homes to work and live. One was my grandmother.
Great grandmother lived on very little, from the stories handed down. The three girls grew up and all three married.
Together they came to America in the late 20s. The three husbands stayed in New York for several years to work off the cost of the trip over. Two of the girls and their mother settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin. All on the same street, in three different homes. The third continued on to Utah and lived with the Mormans.
The three husbands joined their wives and raised families. My grandfather was one of them. His hometown was Dresden, and he always missed it.
Together my grandparents had three children, one died shortly after birth. The two girls remained in La Crosse, one my mother. After a short stint in the Army, she met my father, who was in the Navy, and after discharge they also settled in La Crosse. I was born in 1952.
My earliest memories of my great grandmother was this tiny old woman who never left the house. And there was always a bad odor in the house. As a family we would only visit during Christmas and Easter. Both times she would give us candy bars. Mom would always take them away and tell my brother and me they were unfit to eat. One time she showed us . . . opened the candy bar, cracked it in half, and worms came out.
When Oma died, they tore the house down. The walls all had holes in them between studs, covered by wallpaper or framed pictures. Below the holes food in varying stages of decay was packed . . throughout the house.
The very hard years following WWI must have been traumatic. Mom probably hording food in Germany and then for sure in the states. The three girls away from each other living and working as servants to make ends meet.
My grandmother never spoke of those times that I heard. She was very strict with my mother, as I recall my mother sharing stories of her childhood.
There were many Germans that settled in La Crosse. They formed a singing "community" of sorts calling themselves the Frohsinn. My grandfather was the last secretary. He was the creator of the records contained below.
La Crosse Public Library recordsand the guide to the records
Guide to the records 
