"Most families would like to forget their sordid past."

Christina Strunck is one of the most renowned art historians both internationally and nationally. Her focus is on early modern art. As an expert in her field, however, she also examines artifacts from our own era—such as photographs. Their significance and interpretation play a major role in her non-fiction book *Die Aufsteiger: Deutscher Mittelstand unter Hitler. Eine Familiengeschichte* (The Rising Class: The German Middle Class Under Hitler. A Family History). Her talk at “Samstags um 12” begins with the creation of a photo album in 1936 by Herbert, the youngest brother of her grandfather Arthur. The occasion for this act of remembrance is a sad one. In 1936, Katharina Strunck, wife of Johann Strunck II and mother of five children—Hans, Käthi, Arthur, Erika, and Herbert—passed away. Christina Strunck: “They were a completely normal family, perhaps a bit more affluent than most—a typical middle-class entrepreneurial family.” The Strunck Enterprises (cement products and viticulture) were founded in 1906 by Johann Strunck I and prospered especially during and shortly after World War I. Plans were made for a workers’ housing development, and part of it was built. In the 1920s, the company was swept into a downward spiral by inflation and the economic crisis. Christina Strunck: “The company was teetering on the brink of ruin.” The children, Hans and Käthi, had to drop out of college to help out in their parents’ business.

Patriarch Johann Strunck II began to become politically active. Aligning with the rising NSDAP promised both the company owner and his children economic and social advantages. All five children held leadership positions in the party’s youth organizations. All five, according to Christina Strunck, “represent different aspects of Nazi rule.” Christina Strunck’s book traces their sometimes tragic life stories: “Most families would like to forget their sordid past.” Christina Strunck’s curiosity stood in the way of that. It had been sparked early on when her grandmother Tilly showed her a bread bag filled with mementos—including a photo of Christina Strunck’s grandfather Arthur in uniform with a skull-and-crossbones emblem. Later, the black-and-white photograph disappeared.

The author conducted meticulous research and shares it with her readers. She weaves in her own diary entries from childhood as well as the writings of a young girl from Sprendlingen during the Nazi regime. In this way, not only does the sometimes harrowing family history come to light, but also that of the small village of Sprendlingen in Rheinhessen, where great-grandmother Katharina Strunck purchased the picturesque town hall in 1923. The book traces the history of the Schloss family—the Jewish butcher in Sprendlingen and his daughter Ilse, a “half-Jew.” It also describes the pogrom of November 10, 1938, as it escalated. A photograph by Dr. Willi Brüser (married to Erika Strunck) draws attention to the atrocities committed by the Wehrmacht in the East: in a visually striking image, a man’s beard is being cut off in the midst of a group of German soldiers. The soldiers appear relaxed. They strike a pose for the photograph: “The photo shows that they had no sense of wrongdoing.” 

The end of World War II was a sobering experience for the Struncks, who had also employed forced laborers—no family member had been able to gain any lasting benefits. Herbert Strunck was killed on the Eastern Front toward the end of the war; other family members were taken prisoner; some ended up in court, where they were either convicted or classified as followers. One family member developed a mental illness due to traumatic wartime experiences; the patriarch’s descendants only learned of Herbert Strunck’s illegitimate daughter by chance. A memorial stone now commemorates the grave guilt of another family member. The company was looted, and the proud town hall was sold to the municipality in 1951 for far less than its value—presumably not least for reasons of restitution.

For Christina Strunck—holder of the Chair of Art History at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg—the Nazis’ two-class mentality is particularly dangerous: “us” and “them,” “we Germans” and “the others”—the subhumans who don’t count, who have no value. Her conclusion: “Most Germans were involved in some way, either as perpetrators or at least as supporters of the system.” And: “I’m preoccupied with the question of whether this could happen again.”

Christina Strunck encouraged the guests on the show “Saturdays at 12” to explore their own family histories: “It opens up new lines of communication within the family and brings people closer together.” She added: “It’s very interesting to look beyond just the main perpetrators.” The professor had some tips on hand that can be helpful for this kind of research.