Nearly 60 years ago Willi and Margarete Kleemeier immigrated from Germany choosing the furthest spot south on the California map—San Diego. Yet their move to the U.S. came with many hardships they endured in their homeland during World War II.
The Kleemeiers recently shared their story with the San Diego Union-Tribune—including the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, the desolation following the war, their escape to Canada and eventually landing in southern California.
“You have no idea what the human body is able to survive,” Willi told the Union-Tribune. “And that’s something you cannot explain to anyone unless they’ve experienced it for themselves.”
Discover more about the Kleemeiers in the Union-Tribune.