Rene Reppel (1885 - 1936)
Elise Schwartz (1886 - 1964)
René was born on Oct. 8, 1885 in Paris, France. He was the eldest son of Joseph Reppel a baker and Melanie Breitel a cook both of Alsatian descent. René and his younger brother Maurice, who was born April 3, 1888 spent their early years in Paris.
In 1895, the Reppel family returned to Alsace (then part of Germany). They settled in the small village of Mussig which is 9 kilometers south east of Sélestat.
In August 1901, 16-year-old René was sent to Rheims, France to learn the bakery trade. Upon completing his apprenticeship in July 190, René returned to Mussig to assist his father in the Reppel family bakery.
On Oct. 18, 1913, René age 28, married Marie Elisabeth Elise Schwartz (born in 1886 in Itterswiller.) The couple settled in Mussig where René assisted his father with the bakery and the field work before assuming full control of the bakery.
Not long after their marriage, René and Elise started a family. As the family grew, the grandparents Joseph and Melanie moved into the little house at the side of the bakery and René and his family lived in the rooms over the bakery. The couple were blessed with 8 children.
- Marcel 1914 - 1987
- Maurice 1916 - 2009
- Julien 1917 - 1945
- Jeanne 1920 - 1920
- Edmond 1921 - 1991
- René 1923 - 1982
- Robert 1926 - 1990
- Marie-Hélène 1929 - 2016
August 3rd, 1914, saw the beginning of World War I. Alsace was then part of the German empire. René (then 28) was conscripted on April 28, 1916 and released on October 1, 1916. His grandson Raymond Neff stated that it was not the normal practice for someone his age to be released so soon; he wondered if his grandfather suffered from heart problems which are common in the Reppel family.
Following the end of WWI, Alsace would again be annexed by France. Rene the sole remaining brother in France continued to run the bakery in the small village of Mussig. He would train his six sons in art of baking bread as well. In the early 1900's baking the bread was hard work, mixing and kneading the dough. It was young man's work. Soon Rene assumed full control of the bakery. Rene continued learning the bakery trade and on May 2, 1934 he received his Master Baker diploma.
Following the end of WWI, Alsace would again be annexed by France. Rene the sole remaining brother in France continued to run the bakery in the small village of Mussig. He would train his six sons in art of baking bread as well. In the early 1900's baking the bread was hard work, mixing and kneading the dough. It was young man's work. Soon Rene assumed full control of the bakery. Rene continued learning the bakery trade and on May 2, 1934 he received his Master Baker diploma.
Following the end of WWI, Alsace would again be annexed by France. Rene the sole remaining brother in France continued to run the bakery in the small village of Mussig. He would train his six sons in art of baking bread as well. In the early 1900's baking the bread was hard work, mixing and kneading the dough. It was young man's work. Soon Rene assumed full control of the bakery. Rene continued learning the bakery trade and on May 2, 1934 he received his Master Baker diploma.
Rene and Elise had great hopes for their sons. They believed that two should be scholars (Marcel & Edmond), two bakers (Julien & Rene), and two farmers (Maurice and Robert).At that time most young Alsatian lads only spent 8 years in school (age 6 to 14). Marcel the eldest son showed promise in school. After completing a secondary school in Selestat, in 1931, he was sent to study in Strasbourg. Following his graduation in 1934, Marcel performed his mandatory military service in Algeria.
A mere 6 years after the death of his father, Rene passed away on July 19th, 1936 at the age of 50, leaving Elise to finish raising the children alone. Marcel, the eldest, was serving in the military at the time. Maurice would leave in the fall to fulfill his required service (1936 - 1938). So Julien, the third son, at the age of 18, became responsible for baking the bread.
The War: September 1939 - June 1940
At the end of August 1939, the threat of war was clear. Men were recalled to the army; Maurice on September 2nd, was assigned to defend the Sponeck blockhouses of the Maginot line near Marckolsheim. Marcel and Julien are recalled from September 1939 to July 1940, Marcel to Somme, and Julien to the region of Sedan and Verdun. (The 3 men pictured while on leave wearing the French army uniforms.) With his older brothers away, 16-year-old Rene was now responsible for baking the bread.On September 1st, the Nazis invaded Poland. Two days later France declared war. The French government evacuated civilians of Strasbourg and other villages along the Rhine. 374,000 Alsatians left their houses with 30 kg of luggage and 4 days of food, leaving all their other possessions behind.
Until May 1940, practically nothing happened between the French and German armies, the Germans were occupied in Poland. For the family grief is added to the uncertainty of war; grandmother Melanie Reppel nee Breitel died on April 9, she was 82 years old.
In May the Germans launched an offensive against Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In Alsace civilians from villages in zone 2 were evacuated. After the surrender of the Netherlands and Belgium, Hitler turned to France. On May 10th Germany began bombing airfields, railways and ammunition depots. On June 5 Germany attacked the Somme line. Paris was occupied on June 14th; the French armies were threatened and nearly surrounded to the east.
On Thursday, June 6th, the evacuation order was announced for the villages of Zone 3, including Mussig. The livestock was evacuated on Friday 7 and the population abandoned the village on Saturday, June 8th.
On June 13th the French armies that had been defending the Rhine, retreated to the Vosges mountains, leaving behind the units entrenched in the Maginot line bunkers, including Maurice's unit. Maurice's unit was attacked on June 15th with artillery and flame-throwers. He was taken prisoner by the Germans on June 21st.
On June 22nd, the armistice was signed which effectively ceded Alsace back to the Germans. Now the Germans occupied almost all of France. Elise with her children and the entire population of Mussig return home. Alsatians prisoners of war were released and allowed to return to their families on July 2nd. Maurice, Marcel and Julien are freed and allowed to return to their homes.
The Germanization of Alsace
July 4th, the French-German border is re-established to the 1871 border. Soon a physical border and police isolate Alsace from the rest of France. Alsace is annexed into the Baden district and governed by Gauleiter Robert Wagner. All government positions in Alsace are run by senior officials from Baden. Local Alsatian officials wishing to retain their jobs are required to sign a declaration of allegiance to the Führer. All that is "French" in public places disappears including statues of Joan of Arc. The wearing of the beret is strictly forbidden. Alsatian events and folklore festivals are forbidden. The Nazification of Alsace begins immediately. Orders given by German administration include:
● July 2: Names of towns,villages, streets, squares are Germanized;
Sélestat became Schlettstatd, Rue de Sélestat became Schlettstadter Strasse
● July 27: Public signs for shops and businesses, take German names;
the family bakery becomes Bäckerei, the Town Hall Bürgermeisteramt
● August 16: German becomes sole official language in Alsace; thus any official document or civil status is now written in German. It is forbidden for Alsatians to speak or write in French.
● November 23: the Germanization of individuals names, even on tombstones.
Maurice, Julien, and Rene are called Moritz, Julius, and Renatus.
Were there objectors? To silence the critics, the Nazi initiated detention and reeducation camps - Sicherungslager - Erziehungslager - Schirmeck. The first objectors were sent starting August 2.
● July 2: Names of towns,villages, streets, squares are Germanized;
Sélestat became Schlettstatd, Rue de Sélestat became Schlettstadter Strasse
● July 27: Public signs for shops and businesses, take German names;
the family bakery becomes Bäckerei, the Town Hall Bürgermeisteramt
● August 16: German becomes sole official language in Alsace; thus any official document or civil status is now written in German. It is forbidden for Alsatians to speak or write in French.
● November 23: the Germanization of individuals names, even on tombstones.
Maurice, Julien, and Rene are called Moritz, Julius, and Renatus.
Were there objectors? To silence the critics, the Nazi initiated detention and reeducation camps - Sicherungslager - Erziehungslager - Schirmeck. The first objectors were sent starting August 2.
On October 1, 1940, Schools, colleges and lycées are converted to the German school system. Denominational schools are forbidden, and seminaries closed; the cathedral of Strasbourg is closed to worship and to the public. Alsatian teachers have been reeducated to teach in German. They are supervised by German teachers. At the head of the University is a German Rector.
Economically, the Germans "plunder" the region for their benefit. The French franc, gave way to the German Reich mark. The conversion was very unfavorable to the Alsatians, at the rate of one mark for 20 francs, while the official exchange rate is one in eight.
As early as July 1940 rationing was introduced in Alsace and a card was needed for foodstuffs (bread, meat, vegetables) and then for clothes, shoes, soap. According to Maurice Reppel, "We suffered much during the war; the bread, meat and clothing were rationed. Many of the people who said what they thought about that or who went and bought something on the black market were sent to concentration camps... We could keep but one pig, and the chickens and rabbits were counted."
During all of this Nazification of Alsace, the Reppel family was regarded as politically unreliable due to the former association with the French.
In early 1941, all 18-year-old Alsatians were "invited" to join the paramilitary Reich Labor Service RAD. When the recruitment campaigns failed to turn up sufficient volunteers, it was made mandatory in January 1942.
The Conscription of Alsatian Men
In August 1942 the Germans began to forced conscription of Alsatian men. Maurice, Julien, Edmond were incorporated into the German army and sent to the Russian Front; Marcel and Rene escaped to Southern France were Rene would join the French Resistance. Robert, too young to serve in the Army, was placed in the Reichsarbeitsdienst (compulsory labor service for young men). The stories of each of Elise's children will be featured in future posts.
Many young men, like Rene and Marcel fled to Switzerland. In order to stop the hemorrhage, on October 1, 1943 Wagner issued an ordinance establishing the collective responsibility of the family for deserters and draft dodgers. The families could face confiscation of property, deportation to eastern Europe and forced labor. Nearly 5,000 people were deported, and 14,000 were sent to re-education camps, the main one being Schirmeck-Vorbrück.
Elise was harassed by the local Nazis. The Reppel family was considered Francophiles and two of her sons had eluded the draft. In 1943 the Germans shut down the bakery for being anti-German. Between 1943 and the end of the war in 1945, all three of her sons were injured on the Eastern Front. Between the harassment and fear for her sons, Elise's health began to fail. Her young daughter Helene was her soul companion and assistant.
After the D-day invasion, the Allied armies began clearing the Germans from France. Selestat which was only 4 miles away was liberated on Nov. 15, 1944; the village of Mussig was liberated on Feb. 2, 1945. After the liberation, Elise's son Rene who by then was serving with the Allied forces liberating the area was able to make a quick home. In his memoir, the said house had not suffered too much damage, although a few shell fragments were embedded in the walls.
Many young men, like Rene and Marcel fled to Switzerland. In order to stop the hemorrhage, on October 1, 1943 Wagner issued an ordinance establishing the collective responsibility of the family for deserters and draft dodgers. The families could face confiscation of property, deportation to eastern Europe and forced labor. Nearly 5,000 people were deported, and 14,000 were sent to re-education camps, the main one being Schirmeck-Vorbrück.
Elise was harassed by the local Nazis. The Reppel family was considered Francophiles and two of her sons had eluded the draft. In 1943 the Germans shut down the bakery for being anti-German. Between 1943 and the end of the war in 1945, all three of her sons were injured on the Eastern Front. Between the harassment and fear for her sons, Elise's health began to fail. Her young daughter Helene was her soul companion and assistant.
After the D-day invasion, the Allied armies began clearing the Germans from France. Selestat which was only 4 miles away was liberated on Nov. 15, 1944; the village of Mussig was liberated on Feb. 2, 1945. After the liberation, Elise's son Rene who by then was serving with the Allied forces liberating the area was able to make a quick home. In his memoir, the said house had not suffered too much damage, although a few shell fragments were embedded in the walls.
Peace returns to Alsace
In November, Elise's son Rene who was then serving with the Allied forced was demobilized. He returned to Mussig and pair reopened the bakery. Rene would run the bakery for 32 years before turning it over to his son.
Elise would remained in the village helping with the bakery and being an active mother and grandmother. On December 25, 1964, Elise, died in Nancy, France at her son Marcel's house where she was spending Christmas. She was buried in Mussig in the Mussig Church-yard cemetery.Elise was 79 years old and had lived through the two great wars that ravaged Europe during the 20th century. Widowed in 1936 at the age of fifty, she finished raising seven children alone: six boys and a younger daughter.
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