J U LY / A U G 2 0 1 4
‘I Always Was
Lucky’
Willows At Citation
resident looks back
on his long life
by Tanya J. Tyler, Editor
At almost 94 years old, Gerhard
Kindler has a lot of life to reflect on.
“I always was lucky,” said the
German-born Kindler, who immigrated to the United States in 1960.
His adventure-filled sojourn tested
his luck and ultimately proved his
ability to survive harrowing situations.
Born in Stuttgart on Sept. 20,
1920, Kindler remembers growing
up in the aftermath of World War
I. “It was a miserable time because
Germany had to pay a lot of money
to the guys who won the war,”
he said. “It was a big recession.
Beggars were coming every day,
begging for food.”
Gerhard says he was a late
bloomer. “I was a sleepy guy and I
didn’t listen in school,” he said. But
he later “woke up” and made good
grades. He went to school for eight
years, starting at age 7, and then
learned tool making.
Kindler was a young man when
Adolf Hitler came into power and
things changed in Germany.
“Hitler was a tremendous speaker,” he said. “Hitler knew if he had
the young people, the older people
would go along. So if you were
young and you had any intention
to do any type of sports, of money
25
earning, he made it possible.”
While he worked as a tool maker,
Kindler joined a flying club. The
members built and flew their own
glider.
“Instead of sleeping long like we
really wanted to, we went there on
that mountain,” Kindler said. “We
put our plane together and all day
we went up and down with that
plane.”
These experiences enabled him
to join the German Air Force when
World War II began. He wanted
to be a fighter pilot, but the planes
had a tight cockpit and Kindler’s
legs were too long.
“You have a stick for flying so I
had no room,” he said. “But since I
Gerhard and Irmgard “Candy” Kindler have been married for 64 years.
was a mechanic, they made me an
airplane mechanic and that’s what I
did for almost the whole war.”
Fortunately, he wasn’t held
She was working for Gerhard’s
During the last part of the war,
prisoner very long – about two
mother, helping people find clothhe became a foot solider. He went
months, he estimated. But returning.
to Berlin to fight for a losing cause.
ing home was a challenge. He had
“I used to walk every day,”
“The Allies wanted us to give up
some problems with his leg and no Kindler said. “This was a must. I
but Hitler did not,” Kindler said.
shoes, so walking was difficult. He
usually walked three miles. [One
“T