domaine martin schaetzel
and WWII
and WWII
| First Hand Accounts The 36th Division from Texas pushed its way over the Vosges, through Ammerschwihr and into Germany. The Division's history in Alsace can be read here. Pictures from the Division's archives are posted here. Personal histories of the men of the 36th Division in Alsace and beyond are here. |
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| four times. The last reversal was earned by the American and French armies as they fought their way west over the mountains on the southernmost flank of the final Allied push into Germany. As the Allies rolled towards Colmar, the Germans established defenses in Ammerschwihr. In November and December, 1944, American bombers, artillery and soldiers literally razed the city on their way to a broader victory. |
| World War II & Ammerschwihr |
| (continued from pg.1) The last battles of World War II left a string of flattened five hundred year old villages in their wake. They were no match for the artillery and bombers of 20th century. Ammerschwihr, the home of Domaine Martin Schaetzel, became a stronghold for the retreating Germans and was leveled. In the days leading to the Battle of Colmar its architecture, patrimony and much of its population was decimated. |
Ammerschwirh, in the aftermath of WWII.
| One of the many destroyed houses belonged to Martin Schaetzel, Jean's uncle. The family's home and Domaine were reduced to a pile of bricks with only a few stone arches left to identify the structure. Along with most of the town, the Schaetzels survived the worst of the bombing and the resulting fires that swept through the city by hiding in the 17th century caves of their neighbors at Domaine Kuhn. While the fires raged, Riesling, Geuwrztraminer, Pinot Blanc and whatever else the Kuhn’s had grown in 1943 saved the townsfolk. The cellar's wooden door caught fire, but the wine was used to soak the door from the inside out and the fire was repelled. Jean can not remember a meal with his father where the war, its destruction and its cost was not discussed. |
The Hotel de Ville in Ammerschwihr, post WWII.
Jean's father and uncle in the rubble of the domaine.
| June, 1945. |
| Below: Domaine Martin Schaetzel, February, 2006.. |
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