Karl

Karl was born on May 6, 1896 in a small village in Germany near Strasbourg where his father served as a Lutheran pastor.

By all accounts, Karl's home was cold and conservative. He was educated as a youth, but having neither the money nor the inclination to go to college, Karl left home at the age of sixteen, finding work in factories and on the odd farm in Belgium and France.

One year later, at a village farm belonging to Emile near St. Mihiel, France, Karl decided remain behind to work as a farmhand. It was here that he fell in love with Marie, Emile's daughter. From this love a baby was born just as the war was starting and Karl was asked to leave France.