Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Hank Sawicki

WWII | U.S.S. Kalinin

Hank Sawicki remembers some of the troubles they had on deck, a lot of which included how fortunate he and his crewmates were to make it out of their time on the Kalinin alive. (3:44)
After returning home from WW2, Hank Sawicki found a job and transitioned into civilian life. Serving his country and making his way into a civilian design job was an easy switch for him. (6:58)
Hanks Jones

WWII | HQ Company 399, 100th Infantry Division

Tasked with laying communication lines, Hanks Jones talks about the dangers his unit faced on the front lines in Europe during World War II. (3:40)
Hanks Jones, a communications technician, talks about how his unit would sleep in abandoned houses to protect themselves from artillery fire and shrapnel in France during World War II. (2:06)
Hanks Jones shares his story of how he ended up surrounded by 200 German soldiers in Alsace-Lorraine who, luckily for him, had no interest in fighting. (3:07)
Despite his training, Hanks Jones recalls an alarming sight that quickly made him lose his "John Wayne syndrome" on his first day in Europe during World War II. (1:32)
Hanks Jones discusses how many German soldiers became disillusioned with the war and began to readily surrender towards the end of World War II. (1:09)
Hannah Deutch

WWII | German Civilian

Hannah Deutch's father served in the German Army during WWI. He would not live long enough to see the tragedy that befell his Jewish family, having died in a flu epidemic in 1929. She and her mother were living with her grandparents in Bochum, where the schools were excellent. She was very good at learning languages. (5:45)
Hannah Deutch had two inseparable friends when she was growing up in Dusseldorf. One made it through the Holocaust and one didn't. All of her family except she and her mother also perished. It all started when one of her non-Jewish schoolmates said she could not play with Hannah anymore. (4:41)
Her Jewish school had been closed so Hannah Deutch was working in a textile store. She turned in early but was awakened by chaos outside. It was Kristallnacht, when anti-Jewish riots devastated the German Jewish community. (6:54)