Stephanie Kamola, Reflections on my life

A stone’s throw from our house lived and worked Olaf Peterson, a well known painter who had settled with his wife, Ella, many years ago in an old Dachauer moor house, the “Little Moosschwaige”. Ella became known herself by writing a “Yellow Cook Book” which became very successful and the favorite of young housewives. Later, she wrote the “Yellow Garden Book” with illustrations by her husband Olaf. It became also well known and much praised. The Kleine Moosschwaige was rather big. Ella started a school for young ladies to teach them her secret to becoming a perfect cook, a perfect gardener, and a gracious hostess. The school was very expensive, so only young ladies from well-heeled families could attend. To make their stay more interesting, Ella wanted to make it possible for them to learn, beside other crafts, also weaving. She had a friend from Sweden as a house guest. This lady helped Ella buy a loom, equipment, and yarns. Ella’s idea was to write a “Yellow Book of Weaving” and do it...

Munich's artists, crafts people, florists, the theaters, and musicians were all involved in bringing about the festivities called Tag der Kunst (Day of Art). A big procession was planned, designed and executed to demonstrate the different eras of Germany's involvement from prehistoric to the present times. Munich's streets and public places were beautifully decorated with flags and banners in many different earth colors, from reds to browns and deep yellows. Each street was draped in a unique color. It was sensational. The first group in the procession represented pre-historic cave men and women. Then came a group of medieval folks, and on to modern times. One group were Walküres on horseback, dressed with flying capes, metal breast armors, shields, lances, and winged helmets. One of these Walküre (Valkyries) was I. My riding school provided the horses and the riders. Twenty Walküre (Valkyries) were assigned horses. We were all dressed and ready to go. Assembled in the ridi...

René did very well in his profession as graphic artist. He met a gifted young artist, Jorinde, a divorced woman with 2 small children who had gone through extremely difficult times with her sadistic first husband. René was very much in love with this beautiful and gifted woman. He taught her how to paint behind glass, a difficult technique for which Jorinde became in time very famous. He also took care of Jorinde's two children who adored their "Papi" despite his many peculiar egocentric ways. René worked for almost thirty years as graphic designer, head artist, and advisor for the influential firm Giesecke & Devrient in Munich. He not only designed, but also supervised the application of new security techniques in the printing of international bank-notes, bills and securities. He earned world wide fame and honors as an artist. At his death on November 23, 1981, the highest ranking members of the staff bemoaned "the loss of their irrecoverable contributor and fri...

After my brother Karl left Handweberei Geschwister Binder, he made several attempts to find work in the electronics profession, but he could not find a job. He started twice  an electronics business but failed each time. Those were the worst  possible times for starting a business.  The National Work Group Camps, which trained young boys and girls for work, sports, general education, discipline, art, etc. , where advertising for young leaders. Karl applied and was hired. When Hitler came into power, he decreed that these work camps were to be known as the "Hitler Youth Organization". It became obligatory for every boy and girl in Germany to serve one year in the organization.  Karl and Marga were married and moved to the newly erected youth camp in Noerdlingen, where he found exposure to satisfy his many talents. He arranged choruses and theater shows. He taught hand crafts and other free time activities to the young boys after they had worked in fields, on highways,...

Lily My sister Lily's story, which I started to tell above, can now be continued.  She was not interested in Gerhard, who courted her for several years. She wanted to leave for a while our home to earn her way and to make use of her studies in infant and young children's nursing. She accepted a job caring for a little girl in Pommern, a North German country close to the Baltic Sea. Lily was treated shabbily there and was very unhappy. Before returning home after a short year, she interrupted her trip in Berlin, where Gerhard was employed at a Graphics company.  Gerhard Winkler She valued Gerhard's attention while she was alone in Berlin and soon they announced their engagement. No date for a marriage was set. Gerhard kept his Berlin job while Lily came back and worked at our Weaving Studio. During the following three years, Gerhard's Letters to Lily arrived less and less often. Then they stopped. Lily withdrew completely, becoming pale and listless. She cried often and ...

Karl, Stephanie, Marie, Lily, René After I finished school in 1925, my father must have expected I would stay home and tend to the house; learn how to cook and clean, to take piano lessons, and of course, be a good girl. Later he arranged for me to take voice lessons at the school for opera from a Viennese couple who were once members of the Vienna Opera. The teacher, Frau Brakl, heard a "beautiful contralto" voice when she tested me and told my father that such a voice is very rare. She agreed to give me lessons, which pleased my father very much. He was a great music and opera fan and could not have been more pleased. A daughter on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera house? This would have been his greatest joy. I was not asked whether I liked to take lessons, I just had to take them. Mrs. Brakl and my father hoped for a second Onegin (the most famous contralto on the stage and in concert halls during this time). I took thirty-minute voice lessons twice a week in Munich. In...