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Edith Baumhardt - Rochester

Edith (Motzkus) Baumhardt was born in the Ruhr Valley of Germany in 1924 and came of age in Hitler's Germany while living in Cologne. Her father was a police officer and an administrator. Edith was forced to join the Hitler Youth, and survived the Allied bombing of Cologne. At the end of the war the family fled to the Allied lines. She immigrated to the United State in 1958, settling in Rochester, where she spent the rest of her life. She married Walter Baumhardt in 1967 and instantly became the step-mother of five young children. She held many positions, including translating and teaching German, but also French, Polish and English.

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Photos

Caption:
Edith’s parents, Karl and Gustl Motzkus, early in their marriage. Edith’s father worked as a police officer in Cologne, Germany.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Unknown

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Edith Baumhardt’s mother, Gustl Motzkus, date unknown.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Unknown

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Edith with her identical twin sister Gisela, circa 1926 while they lived in Cologne, Germany. Edith’s sister died in a truck accident when they were four years old.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Circa 1926

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Edith in the early 1930s. The family lived in Cologne at the time.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Early 1930's

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Edith when she was a young teenager. The family lived in Cologne at the time.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Circa 1938

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Karl Motzkus, Edith's father, in his police uniform in pre-World War II Germany.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Before 1939

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Edith Gustl in the happier days in pre-war Germany.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Before 1939

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
The Motzkus family during World War II.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Circa 1939-1945

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
The Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Cologne, Germany circa 1945, after it suffered major damage from the Allied bombing campaign.

Where:
Cologne, Germany

When:
Circa 1945

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo



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