Gerd Schroth: From Child of Nazi Germany to American Citizen
The Road to Now
Benjamin Sawyer
4.8 • 629 Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2025
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Nazi regime that came to power in Germany in 1933 unleashed the most brutal and comprehensive war that humanity has ever seen. The horrors of the Nazis and the destruction they left behind is something most of us learned about in history class, but for Gerd Schroth it is the story of his childhood. Born in Germany in 1938, Gerd came of age on the scorched earth left behind by the German war machine. Gerd's father had joined the Nazi party because he thought Hitler could restore Germany's greatness, but he bequeathed to his children a world in ruins.
More than seven decades after the end of World War II, Gerd is still writing the story of his life. He is now an American citizen, and his children were born in the United States. Gerd has moved on from the tragedy of his youth, but he has never forgotten it. He has thought a lot about how his parents' generation and why they embraced the horrifying ideology of Nazism. He has found value in past traditions while abhorring the actions of his ancestors. And in doing this, he has built a much stronger legacy for future generations.
In this episode of The Road to Now, we share Gerd Schroth's personal story of his life as a Citizen of Nazi Germany, refugee, immigrant, and now, American Citizen.
We are reairing this episode in honor of Mr. Schroth, who passed away in January of 2025. This episode originally aired on September 18, 2017 and was edited and produced by Bob Crawford and Pete Schroth.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm Ben Sawyer and this is the road to now. Gerd Schroft was born in January 1938 and spent his early |
| 0:13.5 | years in the destruction wrought by the Nazi regime. Gerd's father had joined the Nazi party because |
| 0:18.5 | he thought Hitler could restore Germany's greatness, but he bequeathed to his children a world in ruins. Gerd moved on from the tragedy of his youth. He moved to the U.S., became an American citizen, and raised a remarkable family. If you're an Avert Brothers fan, you might know Gerd's son, Pete, who orchestrates the brilliant stage design for the band's life shows. And if you've been to a show |
| 0:38.3 | more recently, you might also recognize his grandson, Otto, who graduated from MTSU's audio |
| 0:43.5 | production program in 2023 and now works behind the scenes alongside his father. Gertroth passed away |
| 0:50.2 | just a few days ago, and he left behind a legacy to be proud of. He was an example of what one |
| 0:55.1 | can do when you learn from the mistakes of the past, but refused to be bound by them. Today, in honor |
| 1:00.2 | of Gerd Schroft's remarkable life, we're re-sharing his story in an episode originally created |
| 1:05.1 | by Bob Crawford and Pete Shroth in 2017. The Nazi regime came to power in 1933 and unleashed the most brutal and comprehensive |
| 1:13.5 | war that humanity has ever seen. Six million Jews, along with a countless number of gay, |
| 1:20.0 | disabled, and other ethnic minorities were murdered as part of an attempt to build a so-called |
| 1:25.7 | master race. Tens of millions of others died on the battlefield |
| 1:30.0 | or at home from bombing raids or starvation. The war in Europe finally came to an end on May 8, |
| 1:36.4 | 1945, but the damage left behind by Hitler and his regime remained. Cities had been leveled, |
| 1:43.8 | and economies destroyed. Borders shifted and so did people |
| 1:47.6 | as those who lived through the war sought to reconstruct a shattered continent on new foundations |
| 1:53.8 | that would never again allow such a tragedy to be replayed. This story is one that most of us |
| 2:00.4 | have studied in history class, but for Gertschroat, |
| 2:03.2 | it is the story of his childhood. |
| 2:05.7 | Born in Germany in 1938, Gert came of age on the scorched earth left behind by the German |
| 2:12.0 | war machine. |
| 2:13.1 | His father joined the Nazi party to make Germany great, but had bequeathed to his children a world in ruins. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Benjamin Sawyer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Benjamin Sawyer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.