Books may surprise you

I never expect to read a book and find a real-life connection. But I love when that happens! 

Recently I started reading “When Books Went to War,” a non-fiction historical reference about the book drives held all over the United States during WWII. The ALA (American Library Association) and several non-profit organizations at the time came together to see to it that U.S. soldiers serving overseas had access to books. 

Libraries all over the country started collecting books. The soldiers said reading helped to keep up morale. 

This book has so many stories rolled into one. Another fascinating story about this era is the fact that the Nazis were burning books, libraries, and museums, anything that did not promote their mission of a singular country, singular race. 

In order to protect priceless works of literature, H.G. Wells started the Library of Burned Books in Paris in 1934. There, they housed many books and works of art for safe keeping from the Nazis. 

The New York Times labeled this act a “literary holocaust.” It was the destruction of books like we’ve never seen before. 

By 1938, the Nazis banned 18 categories of books that spoke against their mission. This included the burning of 4,175 titles, the complete works of 565 authors, 402 museums, and 957 libraries. 

The ALA felt that by sending books to U.S. soldiers in Germany, it would encourage Americans to read, and Germany’s propaganda would be diluted and its book burnings would stand in marked contrast. 

It’s estimated that 100 million books perished during WWII. However, through the ALA’s effort, more books were given to American troops than Hitler destroyed. 

Back to my initial statement of finding a connection to what you’re reading… I wasn’t too far into this book when I came across a name tied to our great state of Iowa: Frederick William Kaltenbach. He and a man from Illinois were hired by the Nazis to help spread German sentiment throughout the U.S. This was done through radio programming. 

When I read that Kaltenbach was from Iowa, I decided to do some research into his background and story. 

He was a German-American born in Dubuque, Iowa. He was raised in Waterloo. 

He received his education degree from Iowa State University and taught school in Dubuque and Manchester. 

He went on to get his master’s and doctorate from the University of Berlin. That’s where Kaltenbach became a Nazi sympathizer. When he came back to the U.S., he started a spin-off of Hitler’s youth movement in Dubuque in 1935, called the Militant Order of Spartan Knights. 

In the early ‘40s, Kaltenbach hosted a radio program called “Letters to Iowa.” While it sounded warm and heart-felt, it was actually disguised as a way to clarify the Nazi philosophy and minimize any U.S. criticism of Hitler. 

In 1943, Kaltenbach was jailed for treason and died at the age of 50 in 1945. Reason for his untimely death at a young age were unknown in my research. The location of Kaltenbach’s burial is also unknown. Considering he’s an Iowa boy, I thought perhaps he’d be buried back in Iowa. 

I found Kaltenbach’s story fascinating. And it was a surprise to read about Iowa’s connection to WWII and the Hitler regime. 

Typically when I read a book, especially non-fiction, I just read the book for enjoyment. Yes, I do learn something along the way. But this mention of Kaltenbach forced me to learn more than the book revealed. I was quite surprised by his background and the way he tried to spread his message. 

And to think he was so close to this area… I’d be curious if there were any of his students still around from his time teaching in Dubuque and Manchester. Were his teachings biased toward the Nazis?