Manfred Klepper was born in November 1931 in Trier, Germany. The family actually lived in Maring which is about an hour train ride from Trier. His parents ran a small store that sold bolts of cloth as well as food, canned goods and groceries. His father was a tailor by profession. He would assist others in making clothes for their families. Their home stood behind the store. Klepper's parents took in a Catholic orphan girl named Anna. She became a part of the family and was with them until they left Germany. The family stayed in Maring until Klepper was almost six years old. Things got worse for the family at that time [Annotator's Note: pressure from Nazi persecution of Jews like the Kleppers ramped up during that period in Germany]. The mayor, or burgermeister, of Trier was a kind man, but he disappeared. The new mayor was a Nazi and was rotten to the core. He made it hard on the Jews. Klepper's grandparents and sister immigrated to America in 1937. They had previously lived in an apartment in Trier. Klepper, his parents and Anna moved into that apartment after things got bad in Maring. Things deteriorated. Klepper was called a "dirty Jew" and treated with disrespect. The business in Maring was confiscated from the Kleppers. Nothing was given to the Kleppers for their business. The family never returned to Maring. Klepper would attend Catholic services with Anna while in Trier. The family lived next to a convent. Anna knew all the nuns in the convent. Klepper's mother was very liberal and felt he should learn a little about everything. As a result, Klepper could be found in church with Anna on Sundays and Catholic holidays such as Easter Sunday or Christmas. They even exchanged gifts. Klepper was accepted as a welcome visitor in the church. This went on until 9 November 1938 when all hell broke loose [Annotator's Note: the date of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, in Germany].

Manfred Klepper heard a knock on the family apartment door at dusk [Annotator's Note: on the evening of 9 November 1938]. His mother went to the door to discover six young men in their 20s and 30s with swastikas on their arms. They pushed the door open and shoved his mother to one side. They proceeded to demolish the family apartment with bats and tire irons. The hall tree was destroyed. The people upstairs were also Jewish. They came down to see what was happening. Klepper's mother told all of them to go to the cellar. Everyone did so and his mother secured the door from the inside. They stayed there for a couple of hours. They heard noise upstairs as furniture and glass was broken. This all happened just a few days before Klepper's birthday. Finally, the violent sounds subsided, but then they picked up again. The Nazis had gone upstairs to destroy the apartment of the Jewish neighbors. There was unbelievable damage to the Klepper's apartment. The noise stopped after the family had been in the basement for two hours. Klepper's mother and the neighbor lady went upstairs to see what had went on. When the women observed the destruction, they shrieked [Annotator's Note: Klepper simulates their shock]. The children remained in the cellar until the women returned. They had looked over both apartments and were crying. Klepper's mother told the children to walk carefully because glass and wood splinters were throughout the whole apartment. Klepper was surprised at the destruction. He saw the hall tree in pieces and then proceeded further into their home. The mirror was shattered and on the ground. As he continued into the kitchen, he observed all the drawers were tossed to the floor, and dishes were broken everywhere. Klepper's mother, being Jewish, had three sets of dishes. One was for meat and one was for dairy. A third set was for use on high holidays. None of them survived. The silverware survived only because it was stainless steel. Cabinets were broken along with the glass that was there. No glasses remained to drink water. The dining and living rooms were a total disaster. The rocking chair left behind by his grandfather was destroyed. He left it behind because he did not think it would survive the voyage to America when he immigrated there. Little did he know that his chair would not even survive having been left behind in Germany. Klepper's mother loved small knickknacks. They were all broken. The bedrooms were completely demolished. Nothing was standing. The same thing happened to the neighbor's apartment. It was fortunate that Klepper's father and the man living above them were not in their apartments. They may have been taken to a concentration camp if they had been there. They were away working with the underground. They would not be seen until about a month later. The family did not know what to say to each other after the Nazi attack. There was a knock on the back door. Anna went to see who it was. It was three nuns from the convent who said they heard the terrible noise from the apartments. They entered and saw what had happened. The sisters were astonished. They were a Godsend because they committed to help the two families clean up the mess. They worked all night long with the two families and three additional sisters. The children were sent downstairs to avoid being hurt during the cleanup operation. They heard the noise of the glass going into the cleanup containers. Cots were found and set up downstairs. The children were frightened so they could not sleep. Klepper's mother finally came downstairs and brought them back to the cleaned apartment. There was still glass on the beds so the nuns said they would bring the bedding back to the convent and clean it. Klepper looks at them as "the sisters of mercy." They were so wonderful, it defies explanation. They even supplied them with food, coffee, plates, cups and other goodies. After Kristallnacht, Klepper and his mother rarely left the apartment. The Trier police department was disbanded and the Gestapo took over.

In the early part of 1939, Manfred Klepper and other Jews were made to wear the Star of David on their clothes. Some had it pinned to the chest of their garment while others had it pinned to the arm of their clothing. Klepper's mother was in such shock after Kristallnacht that she could not explain what had happened. Additionally, she did not know where her husband was so that further complicated things for her [Annotator's Note: Kristallnacht occurred on 9 November 1938 when Nazi thugs attacked Jewish civilians in their homes and on the streets. During that time, Klepper's father was away aiding underground forces.]. The family tried to take the events in stride. They never realized that it was the beginning of a great horror. Their home was devastated by six men with swastikas on their arms. Those men did their deeds then vanished. It was only after reaching America that Klepper learned what Kristallnacht was. At the time of the attacks, he was only six years old and was very frightened just like the other two children with him [Annotator's Note: the Kleppers and the family upstairs had taken refuge in the cellar while the Nazis destroyed their homes above]. They could not rationalize why the damage was done to their home. They could only cry. On 10 November, many Jewish temples were burned and completely demolished. They were totally unusable afterward. Klepper was unable to attend school because of Hitler's [Annotator's Note: Adolf Hitler] proclamation in early 1938. He ordered that no Jewish children be allowed to go to school. Klepper had to be home schooled by his mother, Anna [Annotator's Note: his older step-sister] and the neighbor woman from upstairs. The nuns who lived next door also helped in Klepper's education. They also provided school supplies while teaching Klepper to read and write. This happened throughout 1939. The nuns would sneak over and teach for an hour or two at a time. Klepper never thought of himself as being different because of his religion. He was raised Jewish and that was his identity. Klepper and his mother hardly ever left their apartment. Anna would do all the shopping because she was Catholic [Annotator's Note: Anna was Klepper's adopted step-sister. She elected to keep her Catholic religion even after being adopted by Jewish parents.]. The only time they set foot outside their apartment was in 1940 when they were told to report to the burgermeister's office so that they could sign important papers. There was only one other time that they left their home. They were pulled from their home and forced to witness the Gestapo execute five people. That was in the spring 1939. The Nazis forced them to a location with a big red wall where a few hundred people had gathered. No one knew why they were waiting. A Gestapo officer drove up in an automobile. He stood on the running board of his vehicle and lectured the crowd about the guilt of the five individuals being held against the wall. They were accused of harboring Jews and RAF [Annotator's Note: British Royal Air Force] members. The RAF flew overhead frequently. They were looking for the bombs that were dropped on England which were known as the U2s. Those were non-manned rockets fired from Germany to England. They did a lot of damage. The factory was being sought by the RAF. Klepper learned after arriving in America that his father was aiding the underground in moving the RAF escapees to safety. His father had been away from his family for months. He would never talk much about his actions during that time. He would only tell his son that he did what he had to do. He referred to the group he worked with as resistance fighters, not the underground. They attempted to get to the airmen who were shot down before the Gestapo did. If the Gestapo captured them, they would be executed. If the German Army captured an airman, he would become a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war]. The Gestapo and the SS were the meanest people. They would readily shoot a captive without giving them a chance. Sometimes the resistance managed to get the airmen out of Germany. While standing near the red wall, the people observed the Mother Superior, her assistant, an aged parish priest, a rabbi in his 80s, and a younger man who was not known to Klepper. The five were positioned against the red wall. After the Gestapo officer completed his accusations, a truck pulled up close to the red wall. A tarp was thrown back and another Gestapo officer was manning a machine gun. The gun fired, killing the five people at the wall. The crowd was forced to witness the execution. Then the Gestapo vehicles drove off. Klepper's mother and others helped carry the dead into the convent [Annotator's Note: the convent was next door to the Klepper apartment]. Anna brought the three children back to the apartment. They were all crying. They were speechless after returning home. Anna was crying also because she knew the Mother Superior very well. Before an hour had elapsed, Klepper's mother and the woman from upstairs returned to the apartment. They told them that they had brought the five bodies to the convent so that they could get a proper burial.

Manfred Klepper saw things get worse after 1939 [Annotator's Note: in Trier, Germany]. The police force had been disbanded and replaced by the Gestapo. That force did all the patrolling. An individual had to be very careful. Entry into the Klepper apartment by others had to be through a back access. The family had to be given advance notice by a visitor so that the rear door could be left unsecured. The nuns who visited late at night to teach Klepper had to enter his home in that manner. Klepper's father was away for a long time. Klepper did not know his father was helping the underground resistance fighters. They thought he might have been killed or taken by the Gestapo to a concentration camp. The man who lived upstairs was also missing and presumed to have had the worst happen to him. At the end of 1939, Klepper's father returned and revealed some of what he had been doing. He only stayed a few hours and then left in order to stay ahead of the Gestapo. They were looking for members of the underground throughout occupied Europe. His father had to move a lot to not be captured. It was a thrill to see his father for that brief reunion. Klepper was seven years old and hugged him just as much as he could. His father had to leave too soon. He had to be off the streets before dawn. His father always told his son that he had to do what he had to do. He said nothing more.

All of Manfred Klepper's maternal relatives were in the United States. They sent letters to Klepper and his mother to indicate that they were doing all they could to get them out of Germany. They said it was a long, drawn out process to bring them to the United States. Congressman Boyle [Annotator's Note: no given name provided] was a big help in the effort. Boyle was a friend of Klepper's uncle. Governor Horner of Illinois [Annotator's Note: Henry Horner served from 1933 until 1940] was related to Klepper's uncle. He was also attempting to help the family. Between the two government officials, they succeeded in getting the Kleppers out of Germany. In April 1940, the Kleppers were called to the city hall to see the mayor or the burgermeister office. Klepper and his mother went there and were given some papers. They were told to go to Berlin. It was an overnight trip from Trier to Berlin. They reached Berlin and stayed with his father's sisters who lived there. They reported to the German consulate where they turned in the papers they had been given. They were given visas to Russia. They had to report to the airport at a specific date and time. They got up very early so they could reach the airport in time. There were many people standing in rows in front of a long table. The Gestapo was there. They took most all of the money that Klepper's mother had in her purse. Anna had managed to keep the money under her name and passed it to her step-mother [Annotator's Note: Anna was Klepper's adopted step-sister. She had kept her Catholic faith while being raised in a Jewish family.]. The Kleppers were shuffled along to where the airplanes were located. They boarded a two engine Russian plane that held about 80 people. Jews were not allowed in the terminal so everything was done outside. There were 30 or 40 planes lined up to take people from Germany to Russia. After boarding, they were told to move toward the front of the plane and take a seat. The Kleppers were seated in the middle of the aircraft. Prior to takeoff the pilot said the destination was Moscow, Russia. Klepper was eight when he left Germany. As the plane taxied, there were planes ahead of them. When they finally took off, the passengers gave a cheer [Annotator's Note: Klepper simulates the cheer and shows his happiness]. The passengers felt safe and happy. Russia was not part of Germany. They were part of the United States. Young Klepper was so tired that he fell asleep on the flight. When his mother woke him, it was 30 minutes prior to landing. He straightened his seat in preparation for arrival. They landed in Moscow.

Manfred Klepper and his mother got off the airplane and entered the Moscow terminal [Annotator's Note: they had obtained travel visas allowing them to leave Germany]. They had been allowed only one suitcase each for the journey. Klepper had a warm sailor suit and underclothes with him while his mother brought only a few dresses and underclothes. As they walked through a long corridor on the way to customs, Klepper spotted his dad. The family had a joyous reunion [Annotator's Note: Klepper's facial expression shows his happiness]. The resistance fighters had helped him leave Germany, but his visa was only good for travel to Russia and not beyond. Klepper's grandparents did not know where he was so they did not prepare any papers for him to transit to the United States [Annotator's Note: Klepper's mother had family living in the United States who had worked with government officials to facilitate their immigration to the States]. After ten days in Moscow, new visas were prepared for Klepper's father. They visited Leningrad while waiting for the paperwork. The people in Russia were very nice to the family. Klepper's father had prepared the way for his wife and son. He had a hotel room set up. He also had a wad of money. His only explanation was that he got it off a Nazi. The money was largely converted to Russian rubles, but some remained in German denominations. The Kleppers reported to the American and the Russian consulates every day. People were nice to them. They were told that they would be informed when the paperwork for Klepper's father arrived. They visited various sites until they received the word to report to the American consulate. Klepper's father at last had his visa to go to the United States. With that, the family took a train trip across northern Russia and Siberia. The trip took two days. At the end of the line, buses took them to a waterway with a ferry. The vessel took them to China. Some Jews remained in Shanghai, but others travelled via boat to Korea. After a short stay in Korea, the Kleppers voyaged to Yokohama, Japan. They reported to the United States and Japanese consulates every day. A young lady there spoke fluent German and was very helpful. It was 1940 and the United States and Japan were still on good terms. The family stayed in Japan for six weeks while they awaited a boat to carry them to the United States. All available boats were being used by the military to carry troops from the United States to England. The family enjoyed sightseeing while they waited. Japan was different at the time. The younger women had their legs bound to keep them small. It was thought to make them more attractive. Finally, a ship was named to take them to the United States. It was The City of San Francisco. The family was kept informed as to its departure and arrival status. Updates were given every day until they were told to gather their things and report to Yokohama to board the ship. When they arrived at Yokohama, the ship had already arrived. The American flag was on the side of it. It was thrilling. The papers were readied and the family boarded the ship. It felt very good to be on the way to San Francisco.

Manfred Klepper and his parents were on the water for no more than three hours before his mother and father became seasick [Annotator's Note: they were going from Yokohama to San Francisco]. They were sick for three full days. The crew took care of the children of those parents who were sick. Several other children joined Klepper for meals and entertainment by the crew. Klepper was given a knife with the ship's name on it - The City of San Francisco. He subsequently lost track of the souvenir. The doctor told Klepper's parents that they had to get out of their room and go on deck for fresh air. They got their sea legs and recovered after doing so. The family dined together afterward. It was a pleasure to sail on that ten day voyage from Yokohama to San Francisco. The family living in San Francisco greeted them upon arrival. The Kleppers stayed there for five days. He enjoyed the cable cars while there. They next went by train to Chicago where a large family reunion occurred. Klepper was wearing his short pants, German sailor suit. He was told by his sister that he really looked German. Klepper said he had only recently left Germany. Kis sister told him that he could keep his surname but he had to adopt a nickname. They settled on Manny being his new name. It was rough when he attended school because he did not speak a word of English. They arrived in September [Annotator's Note: 1940] just a few weeks before High Holiday. He started Gale School in October. He was fortunate to have a homeroom teacher who was fluent in German. He made friends but could not understand them. A month after starting, the teacher converted him to strictly speaking English. She had been his crutch. He thought he was being thrown to the wolves. He did have good friends where he lived [Annotator's Note: Klepper names several of his friends in his neighborhood]. They took him under their wings and spoke English to him until he picked it up. He learned the English language little by little. He was young and better able to learn quickly. His parents went to a high school at night to get their citizenship papers. They had to learn facts and details about America and then take a test. They attended training for about four years and took the test at the post office. Klepper became a citizen three times. His first time was upon entry into the United States. The second time was when he entered the Air Force. The third time was upon discharge when he became a full-fledged citizen of the United States of America.

Manfred Klepper left family behind when he left Germany [Annotator's Note: the Kleppers left Germany in April 1940 as a consequence of the intensification of Nazi persecution of Jews]. His father's sisters were killed in the concentration camps. Surviving family members attempted to find information on which camps were involved but to no avail. Anna remained in the Klepper home and tried to find details of her step-aunts' death [Annotator's Note: Anna was Klepper's adopted step-sister. She had kept her Catholic faith while being raised in a Jewish family. With her being Catholic, the Nazis did not persecute her when she remained in Germany after the Kleppers fled to America.]. Neither Anna nor the Red Cross succeeded in finding any details. Klepper's uncle even asked Congressman Boyle [Annotator's Note: given name of the Representative was not provided] to assist in finding information on the deaths of the aunts. That was even unsuccessful. The women had lost their identity when they had entered the camps. They merely became a number [Annotator's Note: Klepper gestures to the location on his arm of a typical concentration camp tattoo that was used to identify inmates]. No papers were found concerning their fate. The family only knew they were killed in an undisclosed concentration camp. The quest for information lasted for years without fruition. Even Anna working the pursuit in Germany failed to yield any results. Berlin had no record of a Klepper or their fate. Anna became active with the church. She did not become a nun but was very involved as a Catholic. Klepper's parents would write to her once a week and often attempted to coax her to come to America. She refused the offers as she was getting on in years. She was afraid to fly. She preferred to remain in Germany. The Kleppers received word that Anna passed away at the age of 80 of natural causes. The word came from the nuns who knew Anna [Annotator's Note: Anna was close to the nuns living in a convent near the Klepper home in Trier, Germany].

Manfred Klepper adjusted easily to American life because he went to school and learned the language. His parents had a more difficult time because it took them a longer time to learn English. They attended school to learn the language and prepare for their citizenship. German was the language spoken at home. Klepper's parents did learn English and could converse with those around them. Although it took them longer to adjust, they did. They became citizens and his father got a job. There was little discussion about the events that had happened to them in Germany. The family had a one bedroom apartment. Klepper slept on the couch hide-a-bed in the living room. Klepper's father eventually revealed to his mother what he did while working for the underground in Germany. He was part of an organization that attempted to rescue downed English airmen. Those airmen were seeking the factory where U2s were built [Annotator's Note: Earlier Klepper describes the U2 as an unmanned, flying bomb used by the Germans to attack England. He is likely referring to the V1 rocket bomb.]. The resistance had to be one step ahead of the Gestapo or they would be shot. It was a rough life. Klepper received this information from his mother. His father would not discuss it with him. He would only tell his son that he did what he had to do during that time. He would say it in German so it made a more dramatic effect on his son. Klepper never experienced any anti-Semitism in Chicago. All his friends knew he was Jewish but never made any reference to it. Schoolmates never made any derogatory remarks. That was also the case while he was in the military. The Kleppers were very glad to be in the United States. He and his family were grateful for the country taking them in. That was the main reason he joined the military. He wanted to give back to America. If he would have stayed in Germany, he would have very likely been killed in a concentration camp. He felt good having friends and people who gave assistance to the family. They received help in their efforts to immigrate to America from Congressman Boyle [Annotator's Note: no given name provided] and the Governor [Annotator's Note: Illinois Governor Henry Horner served from 1933 until 1940]. Klepper met the Congressman and thanked him many times. It felt good [Annotator's Note: Klepper chuckles with happiness.].

Manfred Klepper had aunts, uncles and cousins who were lost in the Holocaust. That affected him quite a bit. He had nightmares as a result of the bad memories. He had been witness to the terror of Kristallnacht and Nazi executions of innocent people [Annotator's Note: the Klepper apartment furnishings were destroyed by six Nazis during Kristallnacht - the Night of Broken Glass - which occurred on 9 November 1938. He, his family, and others were later forced to witness the public execution of five religious leaders in the spring of 1939 by the Gestapo.]. Klepper's nightmares lasted two years. He had to have counseling for that. After he entered the service, he tried not to think about those memories. In his temple, he encountered a part-time rabbi who coaxed him into talking about Kristallnacht on the 70th anniversary of the event. Klepper was reluctant to do so but agreed to speak about three months prior to the ceremony on 9 November [Annotator's Note: 9 November 2008]. Several other speakers presented that night at the temple. Previously, Klepper had adamantly refused to discuss his experiences in Germany. His refusal was because he wanted to leave it behind and forget about it. The rabbi talked Klepper into revealing what happened to him so that people could realize that the Holocaust was real. He had to speak so that people would know what the Nazis did and what he personally saw. The rabbi wanted others to fully understand the significance of the deaths of six million Jews plus five million others that was a direct result of the Nazis in Germany. The rabbi said Klepper had to resurrect the memories. That became Klepper's first talk. He has been discussing those memories ever since. It is important more now than ever because people need to know what happened in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s while Hitler [Annotator's Note: Adolf Hitler] was in power. It happened to the Jewish and non-Jewish population alike. People need to know so that it will never happen again. Although Klepper had nightmares related to his experiences in Germany, he cannot recollect the specific events. His mother would wake him as he was crying. Later, his deceased wife would also wake him when he was reliving some of the memories in his sleep. Events of today affect him. When children were taken from their parents recently, he was disturbed by those events. It reminded him of what happened in Germany when children were separated from their mothers in concentration camps. When Klepper talks to groups, he often tears up when he remembers the execution of the five innocent people. He has to pause before he goes on with the presentation. The things he witnessed in Germany have made his faith as a Jew stronger. He has pride in his heritage. He enjoys going to temple. It is important for people to learn about World War 2 and the Holocaust to counter the efforts of those who deny that it happened. His first hand experiences gives a compelling story of what really happened.