In the late afternoon on Thursday, Feb. 12, Egon Schwarz, Ph.D.,
an 81-year-old professor emeritus of German language and literature
at Washington University, spoke to a crowd of about 50 people of
his experience of living in Austria during the Nazi invasion.

Schwarz’s family left Vienna, Austria, his hometown, in 1938 to
flee the Nazi occupation. As a Jew, Schwarz’s family moved
throughout Europe until they finally got visas letting them reside
in Bolivia.

Schwarz, who was invited to Saint Louis University by the
Department of Modern and Classical Languages, is author of the book
Refuge: A Chronicle of a Flight from Hitler. This book documents
the uprooting of Schwarz’s life in Austria and the long journey
that his life took him on before settling in the United States.

He read two passages from this book to the audience that
assembled. His first account was that of his days in Gymnasium, an
Austrian high school.

He spoke of being excluded as a Jew and the discrimination and
fear that he felt at that time. The second account that he read was
about when he finally got a student visa to study in Bolivia.
Schwarz had to go to New York City to get Austrian proof that he
attended high school. He read about the long journey back to
Bolivia and the interesting ways he made it home to Bolivia with
very little money.

“I like the fact that we had to go for class because otherwise I
wouldn’t have experienced it,” said Cliff McEvoy, a senior in the
College of Arts and Sciences who is currently taking a German
class. “I liked his understanding and outlook on life. He didn’t
complain about his situation; he just kept going.”

“I thought his book sounded interesting. It was a nice mix of
historical information with a personal account,” said James
Meinert, a sophomore who also is taking a German course.