Washington County, WI – Erna Bild and Elizabeth Feith are neighbors at Cedar Community’s independent living plus apartments. At 98 and 97 years young, they have both discovered the joy of new and deep friendships—with each other. They consider themselves very lucky to have received this gift late in their lives. They talk for hours each day in German and share stories of their youth. It could be said that they are inseparable.
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Erna was born in south Austria. Elizabeth was born in Germany’s Rhine River Valley near Holland. They were both in their early teens when World War II began. They each had families and friends who experienced the horror of war in both Austria and Germany—witnessing bombings, air raids, occupation, and the death of so many innocent people. By the time the war was over, they had both lost everything. They are so thankful they survived and were able to come to America, where they enjoyed freedom and peace.
Erna was the middle of six siblings, counting three brothers and two sisters. Her father was mayor of their small town and worked at a bank. They lived in a large home and all of them were very musical—Erna played the piano. As was not uncommon during the war, military forces commandeered their property and moved into half of their house. The home was wired to hear all conversations of her family. Erna spoke English, and as a result, she worked as an interpreter for the British Eighth Army. For this, she received a small salary and food rations. She recalls that when Hitler took over, everything changed…
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Elizabeth was the youngest of four brothers and one sister—her mother was widowed at age 35. She remembers at the age of 14 she was walking her dog when their town was attacked with bombs. She was thrown into the gutter and the air went black with smoke and soot. The city was burning. People were hurt and screaming, but there was no one to help. Within a half hour, more than 6,000 people died and life was never the same. Her four brothers died in the war.
Elizabeth met John Feith in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was serving as a translator for the U.S. Army.
Originally from Hungary, John spoke English and had been recruited to assist the American forces during the war. They were married in 1947.
Read more about Erna and Elizabeth’s deep bond of friendship in the summer edition of Cedar Community’s Live More magazine by clicking HERE.
