I had voluntarily joined the ranks of the active SS and I had become too fond of the black uniform to relinquish it in this way. -Rudolph Hoess, Commandant of Auschwitz.
Dedication
This book is for my mother, France Joerg Blum, who took me to Germany and gave me the key: Ich liebe Dich, meine Mutti. And it is in beloved memory of my dad, Robert P. Blum, who would have said Mazel tov.
First words
The funeral is well attended, the New Heidelburg Lutheran Church packed to capacity with farmers and their families who have come to bid farewell to one of their own.
