Welcome!      In 1914, my Grampa Steve was fighting for the Austro-Hungarian Empire when he was captured by the Russians, became an exiled Prisoner of War in Siberia and a first hand witness to the Russian Revolution. Through his wit, cunning and contacts, he eventually escaped back to his home town of Vienna.

Then years later while working for a European textile firm, Steve was captured in Brittany during the 1940 Nazi invasion of France.  He escaped over a wall, then rode a bicycle through enemy lines and across France to the Pyrenees.  At every turn there were Nazi and gendarme checkpoints. He had to decide - could he trust the man in the black leather jacket to take him safely into Spain?

In 1970, my brother interviewed and recorded Grampa Steve as he told of his adventures.  Within these pages you will hear Steve telling interesting segments from those interviews. I followed Steve's journeys in 2006 and 2007 to research the places where he had been.  Included here are photos from those travels as well as other pertinent historical and cultural information.

Enjoy!                                                   Linda Engle,  1 February 2008

To begin - choose the story you would like to hear at left or click here

Copyright Linda Engle, 2007. For reproduction of any of this story contact Linda Engle .