The Unlikely Romance of a Black Nurse and a German P.O.W. in World War II
2024 ж. 6 Мам.
3 562 759 Рет қаралды
In this edition of Maryville Talks Books, author Alexis Clark and host Paul Schankman have a conversation about her remarkable new "stranger than fiction" book, Enemies in Love, which tells the true story of a black nurse and a German Prisoner of War, who fell in love during World War Two, and eventually married. Though their story began more than 70 years ago, it feels very relevant today as America continues to wrestle with issues of racism and hate.
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"You should know my name. I am the man that is going to marry you." At 19 he said this. Men today can't give you 2 full sentences in a text.
rashida7777 exactly
@@karmenhigh7184 the world is changing and so are patterns no wonder we adore the vintage years👍
Sad but true..
Considering how most women carry themselves today, they aren't even worth more than 2 sentences. Same goes for men too.
Exactly 😂😭
Who wants this book to be a movie? 🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️
It would be the love story of love stories those two souls had everything against them yet their love presevered. It better become a movie. I just found out about this incredible story im like WOW.
Kay Cee there something slightly like this movie called “where hands touch”
HEEEECKYEAAAAA
I was just thinking this
Lori Torres tbh that movie was trash but yes we need a movie like this lol
" You should know my name. I'm the man who is going to marry you." If that's not the most Romantic introduction in history, what would be? It brought tears to my eyes. I can't wait to buy your book. Thank you for bringing their beautiful story to light.
OK ive watched this twice and I'm obviously losing the plot as I can't find where he says this 🤣 is it me or did this come up in the video and ive missed it somehow or was it in the book ??
@@annied1827 Hi. It's in the video. I haven't read the book yet.
@VictorLewis-nd4ld so I am losing the plot and totally missed it twice sounds about right 🤣🤣
@@annied1827 It’s at the very end of the video, after the interview ends
Just be white law
its very evil how a person can hate you just by your race or where you from 🤦🏾♀️
It's pattern recognition, if I'm constantly be threatened, stolen/robbed assaulted by a certain group I'm not going to further risk it by associating with them!
*being
@@bobdollaz3391 … y’all where the ones who started robbing and raping people though. That’s the irony 😂
@@bobdollaz3391 that's why I'll never understand why White people burned Black towns after slavery. Black people were thriving because they separated themselves and created a thriving economy. Getting away from evil and prideful Whites proved beneficial.
@Fermati Chebellosei wym it’s not crap it’s the truth. No one liked to hear the truth everyone knows white men are the rapist of the society. If you can’t count on anyone to be a killer, robber, or rapist. Find the white community you found all the crime.
"You should know my name, I'm the man that is going to marry you." My dude smoother than the frictionless surface from physics exam questions
A cat can slide across those words with ease.
And my man couldn't get out more than hahahaa and lol. But it was still cute 😂
🤣🤣🤣
Lol 🤣
So inspiring...
I almost cried when she said black soldiers where discriminated against even more then the captured German soldiers, imagine seeing ur friends and brothers die and dying yourself for a country that hates you, and then seeing the men you were fighting against having more rights , FFUUUCCCKK
linafelina same.
linafelina Rightly Said Darlin!!
You are just now finding this out? Come on!
@Derek Lowe come on Man.. You and i know that perception is everything. If a tall black man passes close to a group of white women at night the women will suddenly feel threatened but If it is a Tall white man they will admire his elegance without perciving him as a threat.
Derek Lowe your statistic are incorrect I believe. Black men are more likely to attack other black people but white men are more likely to attack white women
And they stayed together and made it work. What an amazing story. Against all odds.
As a black woman who is engaged to a white man who is German as well, i can totally relate to this story. i met my fiance while on a study abroad trip to Germany. i lived there for a whole year during college getting my degree in, you guested it, Nursing LOL. This story is me and Michael's. atleast it feels this way. Luckily we really had no objections to our relationship, while in Germany. but once we moved to the states, id get dirty looks from mostly black men. we'd get stared at sometimes, scoffed at and just out right people making comments. most of them all being by my fellow blacks, which was very disappointing. one time, i went to Michaels job to meet up with him for lunch, he was working in Cyber security at Brinks, and the security guy asked me who i was looking for but by the time i was getting ready to tell him, Michael called me and said he would be right down. i told the security guard my fiance said he will come down...ok no problem. he was a black guy who seemed super sweet and helpful. he made sure i was able to get in contact with him since i wasnt allowed upstairs. when michael finally comes down to meet me he gave me a kiss and hug. when i tell you the look on the security guards face was twisted, youd think me and my hubby was the devil himself standing in front of him. as hubby and me spoke in German, the security guard said "oh, wasnt expecting your man to be pale". ive never been so disgusted in my life. we were just stunned that this man had the nerve to say something like that. then proceeds to tell me "i need me a good strong black man". Hubby Michael went off. he cursed him out for first disrespecting me, then for his racist comments. they almost fought right there in the hall. im so glad he wasnt fired. but the guard was for is nasty comments. it was the saddest day we have ever had as a couple. a month after that, we moved back to berlin and have been here ever since. sorry for the rant guys lol. but i am so happy to see this couple existed so long ago. makes me and hubby feel really good seeing this video. BTW we are expecting our first child in 7 months! wedding day is 3 weeks from now. exciting time for us. thanks for this story! very inspiring.
I'm sorry that y'all have to go through that especially from black people, who some knew how it is to be discriminated by their skin color and how it made them feel. Aside from that, Congratulations to you and your fiancé on your wedding and child, wish you'll all the best 🎉🎉 in this new journey.
@@lavishitocs awww thank you so much!!
Real love 😊
@@nappssnapps2891There's a lot of ignorance and hypocrisy out there. Black people hate when they travel and get stared out and encounter racism at home and abroad. People still stare at what they deem as rare. As people go into other circles, this love pairing will be seen more. A lot of black women used to feel some kind of way when black men were dating out. If you found someone that makes you happy, that's what matters. I am glad you are not getting a lot friction in Germany as parts of Europe seem to be getting tough. Yes, that guard was ignorant and out of line, but in the long run, who is he to you and your happiness? While it may be disliked by some black people, especially some black men, in the US and I believe it parts of Europe, some studies have shown it's more acceptable in the white community for the male majority partner. All the best on your marriage, your new life with your husband, and the your baby! Congratulations!
I would love to see this story in a movie. Thank you Ms. Clark for writing this book. For a couple so young, they had to have strong courage, love, and dedication to each other. I’ll be reading this book.
Sometimes I wonder if the blacks had invented gunpower and guns first the race dynamics will look today. At least there will be no slave trade in Africa and Europe will largely be underdeveloped. Because white men can not jump. 😂😂😂
there is a movie similar to this type of love story. A mixed race girl who’s father was black is born in germany during the height of WW2. She falls for a boy who’s father is a captain in Hitler’s army, the boy is expected to one day be a soldier as well. They fall in love in this amazing movie, defying odds
This will make bull connor mad😂 Him an his goons will storm the Film booth.
I know it’s not a movie but there’s a book called “This Side of the Sky” by Elise Singleton with a very similar plot. Really great book. I highly recommend it.
I was thinking of the movie Where Hands Meet also!!
Here's your movie title: "You Should Know My Name"
randal gibbons the sequel “I am going to marry you”
La Reina del Sur good one. Stay safe.
Fighting for Love
The made a movie already
@@lovemehateme5620 name?
"You should know my name; I'm the man who's going to marry you." I'm using that line - German accent and all.
Miguel Lowe 🤣🤣🤣
Miguel Lowe lol 😂
Lmao 😂 let me hear it 👂
@@ronnieyoung2075 😁
I really want to hear this accent too 😂🤣
what a wonderful story. this deserves to be turned into a film
They always do this mixing propaganda movies and it fails cuz people start to know what they actually wanna see
@@sendmeyourlocation1145I would be a gold standard to you. However I wouldn't give you an ounce of thought due to your Neanderthal thinking. What a disgusting man. Shameful
I hope that wouldn’t happen if they made this into a movie, but it would be inevitable.
I'm thankful that KZhead recommended this video. I can't imagine living in a time when my husband and I couldn’t be together because of racism 😢 How shameful is our country's history that black soldiers couldn’t eat in the dining hall but our enemy could because of their skin.
For real, I still experience a little bit of racism, I’m Mexican and my fiancé is white. It’s just sad
Absolutely!! Totally disgusting!
White people couldn't mind their business then or now!!!!
Okay Netflix let me pick the actors......
Exactly! This would be such a great story to adapt to film 💓 a love story that isn't cliché but a new twist on forbidden love and life during a war. A nonfiction masterpiece, this would be 👌
I would love to audition for this😍
just STFU
Haley Olson go watch “Where Hands Touch” with George Mackay & Amandla Stenberg. It’s about this exact thing.
Ahh so true!
If done right, this would make a great movie.
Robert M I absolutely agree it’s for sure a fascinating story I could see depicted into a film. 🙂👏🏾
Zazi Beatz and Timothee Chalamet were born to play this extraordinary revolutionary couple. Make it happen Hollywood this story needs to be told.
@@andrewforte3852 where's Netflix when you need one. It would also be great to not just see their love for each other but the period and evolution of others around them. Families friends etc 👍
Agreed
No, Hollywood will screw it up completely. A documentary would be more appropriate
My grandmother was German and my grandfather was an English POW. Not as difficult as this couple and what they endured but still proves that love prevails.
Ms. Clark is such a marvel to listen to. She is a gifted storyteller and one with driven purpose. History is our collective memory, and memory is what defines our identity. The stories that are not told, become left out of our identity as a culture - thank you to heroes like Ms. Clark who make it their mission to illuminate these important pieces of our past.
They were quite an attractive couple
Ikr!They both look like Hollywood material (when "class" wasn't just located in school)
No.
I bet their kids would have been stunning
I think it was love. They look perfect together.
Fredrick was attractive
"You should know my name. I'm the man who's going to marry you." Down in history as one of the all time BEST pickup lines EVER! I don't even fall for lines, but that man had me at that.
He would've had me with that line too!!!💜❤💙
I was so done. Here I am sir!!!
Alisa Oliver me too
When I was 8 and my husband was six, the first thing he ever said was “who are you?! I love you will you marry me?!”
@Lana Kane Where can I find it?
I was attending Nursing School in Boston during the late 70,s. I was introduced to a engineering student. We both enjoyed jazz and blues music. Initially we met at clubs and public places. Gentlemen came to your residence, when he came to call. You probably guessed it by now. He was black and I was white. Although he was always well dressed with impeccable manners he was not allowed inside the dorm. I had never dated a man that I had so much in common with and enjoyed being with. We got many negative comments, some were hurtful. We felt that we were meant to be together. There were many obstacles in our way. His father was a Southern Baptist minister., my father said terribly things about him that I can’t repeat. Our life would be hard but we knew our children’s lives would be tougher. We decided to break up this relationship despite our deep love for one another. We kept in touch for many years but it was never the same. How idiotic it is to judge someone by their skin color.
Sorry your story came to an end that way but nevertheless it's sounds like an interesting love story all by itself...❤
🥲 AMEN...IT'S SAD THAT YOU HAD TO ENDURE THOSE KIND OF OBSTACLES...WHAT COULD'VE BEEN.
So very sad
What a heartbreaking story. Thank you for sharing what you two went through. ❤
Reminds me of the old Hot Chocolate / Stories song "Brother Louie"
My aunt and uncle met on a boat during world war two! My Aunt Sadie was black, our family was white, but for my entire life I knew her as my beloved great aunt. She passed in the late 90's, I wish I'd been older than a teenager and understood how rare this was... I would have liked to ask her many questions.
Wow. Was this in Germany?
racism was created by man and not THE CREATOR
My gf said same thing
easy way not even most racist don’t even know people of other racea
By white man
Right.
Correction: Racism was created by white people.
Not every soldier agreed with Hitler. Just like the Soviets, fear and intimidation was a huge tool.
Just like most American soldiers don’t agree with Trump.
Alice Rodríguez what nonsense are you talking about? He’s talking about the army dumbass
Alice Rodríguez Ice is not the military 🤦🏽♀️
@@hurricaneirma561 ,
MavHunter20XX , I agree 100%!!
I feel sorry for the older brother. The pain has obviously followed him through his life
What an incredible host is Paul Schankman. He listens carefully, interacts with the guest in the most genuine way and his face shows it all. As an Iranian artist living aboard I'm not really familiar with American TV stuff, but I know and experienced a tiny bit of xenophobic and racist atittude myself wherever I was working or studying. It's absolutely unbelievable and beyond imagination to see in the pictures that there were bars, restaurants and public spaces where black people couldn't enter. And obviously huge thanks to Alexis Clark for doing the research and writing such an inspiring book. I'm gonna order mine today for sure. Cheers
When you fall in love you fall in love with the person not their skin color.
@Notre Aira spot on, people forget that!
Absolutely ❤️❤️❤️
Notre Aira exactly! black men get so mad bc DSBW date other races of men bc there's NO LOVE for us in our own community, but they praise the light& bright women on all social media platforms🤦🏾♀️🥴 CRINGE🥴
@@vixii6230 frrr Black guys get so mad when I date other races... Their like ughhh hes white why tf u dating him?? I'm like bitch!!! You date white girls!!!
unless its fetishism
My brother-in-law told me that my husband told him the night we met that I would be his wife someday. We were married 6 months later. I'm black and he's German.
Wow
No offense but you sound ignorant just like the title of this video, you're black and he's German. Are you American, am I to assume he's white just because he's German? We have to stop labeling ourselves as black, we're much more than that
Beautiful
@@deseanp93 Shut-up and go read a book. Truly, you are ignorant and need further upbringing from your parents. Be safe......A-Hole. :)
@@queentracey7670 Bitch you said absolutely nothing
I can't imagine living in a time where I couldn't be with the man I love because of his race or ethnic background. Love is love no matter what.
I love how Alexis Clark researched this love story, wrote and published a book - and she still sounds like she's in disbelief LOL. What an incredible story! Hope Frederick and Elinor had a wonderful and happy life together. 💕🧡
So true!
These two were my great-aunt and great-uncle. I saw this pop up in my feed and I’m amazed! Aunt Eli and Uncle Frika really did have a love story. I witnessed this first hand and Ms. Clark (the author) consulted me and other relatives as she wrote this book. My sister and I spent our childhood summers with our mom’s side of the family so we have a lot of memories. Aunt Eli was my grandmother’s sister. Uncle Frika even walked my mom down the aisle on her wedding day and gave her away to my dad.
Alethea Felton That’s so lovely! What do you think of the finished book? Have you read it yet?
That’s so cool
How cool! It’s amazing family history!
They have beautiful story.
😍😍😍
She forgot to mention that this 19 year old German soldier was severely beaten after they found out he was involved with the black nurse. This young man didn't let that stop him. Those were the real days compared to the filth you see today.
^^ exactly both of their lives were on the line this relationship had so much trust and risk it’s scary
My god the amount of boomer energy in this comment is astounding, you realize back then was far more filth then what you see today. I mean the 19 year old was getting beaten because he was involved with a black nurse. Today, you no longer see this extreme amount of racial prejudge as you did back than.
@@NoNAME-ju6lr found the nazi
so a white guy getting his head smashed in for dating a black woman was the good old days was it
Siggie Tyrone Boomers were born during ww2 apparently.
My grandparents were an interracial couple that married in VA in 1945 long before it became legal to do so. I wish I'd asked them questions as a kid, so I could use my writing degree to write a book about them. I will always wonder what it was like for them.
I am surprised Hollywood did not make a movie based on their love story. It would be a good movie romantic war movie. I ordered the book too . I can not wait to start to read it.
Also the fact Hollywood wants to be so progressive, make a story on this, it'd be great.
if i was a black woman living in that time i would be so skeptical and scared to date a white man, these two mustve had extremely kind hearts
It was a beautiful love story, those two were crazy for each other ❤️ Viva El amor
@Mrs. Arthur Morgan I know but they are lovely together that's the true love
Thank u....
Love will make one due some really crazy things. When you fall in love, color is the last thing on ones mind..
Scared ? Pure mental abuse .
“you should know my name, i’m the man who is going to marry you” i’ve always cringe at pick up lines, but damn that’s smooth af
RIGHT!❤️ lol
And he MEANT it.
Smooth and from the heart
Straight panty dropper
😂😂❤❤
I read the book a few years ago, having checked it out from a local library in Tucson. An interesting part of WWII history, US civil rights history, and Arizona history as well! Highly recommended! Frederick became a pastry chef for Pepperidge Farm (if I remember), so a lot of the treats you eat now are of his design.
Being deeply moved at 56 by this story is an understatement 😔 such a beautiful story
This wasn’t just a sweet romance. This was trust, dedication, commitment, love, and respect. I admire it all. A powerful couple.
Love lives in the heart! The heart wants what the heart wants!
Amen.
@@bobbiekendall4333 6
Right 💯💯
God✝️ and humility
Ironic that you sent these women thinking no white male would want them. I’m pretty sure there were many secret relationships that nobody knew about lol. The picture they showed ALL are very attractive .
I TOTALLY AGREE!!!!
The way you're talking is as if a white man is somehow more special and that if they don't want you you should feel about yourself like they are somehow the standard, really bad implications come from this.
@@KRay-wi3pq huh?
K.Ray you can only get implications if it was implied, but that was never implied. I suggest you re-read their comment. Never implied that a white man was some top notch race that black women should be honored if they even glance at them 🙄 , they were addressing the stereotype that black women are unwanted by every race especially white men, which is untrue.
i took it as more of a judgment on germans and their biases than a judgment on the nurses, but perhaps that's me looking through a modern lens.
Wow, great story of AMERICAN history !!! Thank you Alexis Clark. Love has no boundries.
This is a very important story, very well presented in this interview. Perhaps slightly less important, but equally intriguing, is the story of Esther Anumu Fordham. She was a child of African immigrants in Hamburg and experienced World War II with her mother from the German perspective. After the war she married a black American soldier and moved to the US, where she says she first experienced real racism. There is a long interview with her on KZhead.
I burst into tears when Fredrick said, "you should know my name. I'm the man who's going to marry you. " Beautiful, just beautiful.
Rosemarie, I was floored and I almost cried too! I wish that would happen to me one day soon! Absolutely the sweetest thing I have ever heard! He was truly confident and I am so glad they did marry! Love is truly a beautiful gift from God!
@@CherylDavis321 could be an incredibly romantic movie
none business, Yes, Indeed it would be, but they would need to get some outside movie company to produce it, just don't use Hollywood or Hollyweird nor none of their actors or actresses! We don't want it turn into some vulgar, filthy, slimy film! We want something classy! I love interracial love!
Cheryl Davis Cheryl you certainly won't have any shortage of guys who would line up for that duty! You can afford to be extremely picky about who you choose for that honor. Don't lower your standards!
motorcop505, God bless you for those kind and thoughtful words! Oh! I do have standards and that is why it is taking me a while to wed! I was blessed to have the ability to wait long term if I have to until the right gentleman come along. Trust me I will not settle because I love, value and respect myself too much!
I really want to see a movie about this beautiful story.
Theres is a similar movie about a nazi and a black woman falling in love called when hands touch
sickksaad world what is it called
Check out that movie Loving its after the time era of this story. but you see a emotional ocean of a interracial romance. ❤ The heart is a powerful and mysterious thing. But you gotta have 2 that are in unison communication, fair, and in respect with each other. Are some important ingrediants.
cinthia resendez similar kinda to a Bronx tale -May God be with you and be with us all in the mighty name of Jesus Amen!
The movie I was talking abo uh t is called "Loving" with Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga from 2016.
Oh I hope it does make into a movie without losing the qualities in the book! Great interview. Love the down-to-earth quality of the author!
Thank you so much for sharing this story. They endured so much, but love prevailed!! 💕
You're so very welcome. It's a pleasure to be able to share stories like this!
As a black woman who is engaged to a white man who is German as well, i can totally relate to this story. i met my fiance while on a study abroad trip to Germany. i lived there for a whole year during college getting my degree in, you guested it, Nursing LOL. This story is me and Michael's. atleast it feels this way. Luckily we really had no objections to our relationship, while in Germany. but once we moved to the states, id get dirty looks from mostly black men. we'd get stared at sometimes, scoffed at and just out right people making comments. most of them all being by my fellow blacks, which was very disappointing. one time, i went to Michaels job to meet up with him for lunch, he was working in Cyber security at Brinks, and the security guy asked me who i was looking for but by the time i was getting ready to tell him, Michael called me and said he would be right down. i told the security guard my fiance said he will come down...ok no problem. he was a black guy who seemed super sweet and helpful. he made sure i was able to get in contact with him since i wasnt allowed upstairs. when michael finally comes down to meet me he gave me a kiss and hug. when i tell you the look on the security guards face was twisted, youd think me and my hubby was the devil himself standing in front of him. as hubby and me spoke in German, the security guard said "oh, wasnt expecting your man to be pale". ive never been so disgusted in my life. we were just stunned that this man had the nerve to say something like that. then proceeds to tell me "i need me a good strong black man". Hubby Michael went off. he cursed him out for first disrespecting me, then for his racist comments. they almost fought right there in the hall. im so glad he wasnt fired. but the guard was for is nasty comments. it was the saddest day we have ever had as a couple. a month after that, we moved back to berlin and have been here ever since. sorry for the rant guys lol. but i am so happy to see this couple existed so long ago. makes me and hubby feel really good seeing this video. BTW we are expecting our first child in 7 months! wedding day is 3 weeks from now. exciting time for us. thanks for this story! very inspiring.
When are people going to realise , this is the only planet we have.
This comment really moved me
When it will be too late
So true😫
I think never... Hate everywhere
Species369 I’ve been saying the same thing
She was a beautiful woman! No wonder he fell in love with her.
@PurelyAfrican well, he did froze at the bakery under a spell as she walked in 😍
She was a sell our her father must had to denied her
@@erlandgriffith English not your first language, huh?
Yeah she was. Hopefully he saw far more that that in her.
teamcougars attractive stunning lady
My grandparents were enemies in love too. My Filipino (American Ally) grandmother fell in love with a Japanese (German ally) journalist in the war. Four Children, my mother being the third. He died in the war. She passed a few years ago at 102. She always said in the 70 years apart that they were the best 10 years of her life. Even though they would have all been murdered by both sides for their “betrayal”. Thank you Lola Buena and my grandfather, gone long before I was born 🕯✨✨
My hubby is Japanese and my grandmother was sent to USA as 17 year old in 1924 to escape Bavaria as ww1 was rolling into WW2. My husband’s grandmother managed to get to California. We met in the military too. People always ask about our history.
This is one of the reasons that I love this polyglot nation. Your family history, Leza, is really great.
1924 was far away from WW II.. Hitler became Reichskanzler in 1933! WW II started 1940!
Can't blame the man for falling in love. I literally said "wow" the first time they showed her picture. Gonna need to read this.
Same!
She's beautiful ! 😍
Agree! She is such a beauty!
@F. Lampard, who cares?
F. Lampard ok?...
I work with people Alzheimer and this 80 something year old while gentleman moved into my unit. From the first time he saw me he would follow everywhere I went , he had bad behaviors (comes with the disease sometimes) and people just hated dealing with him but for some reason he would do whatever I asked with a smile.( I’m dark skin Woman and only black in the entire memory care). One day he was up late telling us about his family etc and all over a sudden he says ‘you are just like her’ my coworker asked him who ? He said the love of my life. Thinking he was talking to her( I’ve met his kids and they are white) I asked him to tell us what she was like he went on and on how kind and loving she was not to mention beautiful and how he would’ve done anything for her but they wouldn’t let them get married and the only way to protect her was not to marry her. (He had 11 children okay and We are thinking it’s just the Alzheimer’s talking so we just go with it) He then takes my hand and tells me ‘ ‘ it looks like I’m given another chance’ I’m like look I’m married... he said he knew that but I was a remainder of his only love . At this point we were just hoping he doesn’t change the subject. So he tells us he met this black girl when they were 17 and fell madly in love , her family loved him but his hated her because she wasn’t ‘the right color’ as he put it and when he said he was going to marry-her and move away they threatened to kill her and make him watch. He said he knew they mean it and they had means to do it so he did what was right to keep her alive few month later he was forced into a marriage and the girl and her family moved and never heard from her again but always loved her. As far as his wife she knew about it. He said he loved his wife but also felt bad for her because she knew he wasn’t hers. For the next few years as the disease took most of him he still had the same smile for me and called me by her name “June “all the time . He would do stuff like eat or bathe if people told him June said so. Even after he was gone we always wondered what would’ve become of them if there was no racism. It makes me sad sometime to think that later in life he thought I was her I wonder if she still felt the same way wherever she is /was. Maybe that’s what he meant the first time he told us his love story “he was given a second chance .” Imagine being married to someone who wasn’t your choice for 60 something years . What a cruel world we live in destroy love for nothing . 3.1K 😧Thank you,this is more than I expected. I’m glad “Their” story has touch so many of you.
This made me cry. Oh poor love destroyed with racism. He must have really loved her for he still remembers her though the disease is eating his memories away. Sigh
Thank you for this. This is a sad yet beautiful story. I would love if there was a book published that compiled stories like this. It would be so interesting to read
Im not black nor white but thats such a cute love story how could they say that ppl then were so racist and JUST ugghhhhhhh
Very sad, right? 60 something years of marriage with a second choice while thinking of another... This world could be so cruel sometimes...
That's one of the saddest stories I've ever heard.
When I choose a candy bar, I don’t choose it because of the wrapper, even though it may have a great wrapper, I choose it for what’s inside. How much more important with a human being? This is a wonderful story! We need to celebrate the idea that Americans come in a variety of colors. It’s part of our rich heritage. It’s who we are!
How many candy bars have you consumed, bro ? 💀💀💀
They way those two look at each other says it all....they loved each other. And their actual affluent backgrounds made them have more in common...sounds like soul mates.
WE DEMAND A FILM ASAP. Imagine how many soldiers died due to shortage of nurses due to racist thinking.
True and so sad!!
Stupidity is deadlier than all the viruses of the world.
@@coral5132 no it's not, that story is fiction, there is no movie based off of this specific story
Yeah, exactly. But also imagine how many soldiers died solely because of racist thinking.
Disgusting. Imagine falling in love with someone from a regime that would exterminate your entire race had they won the war. They killed millions of Africans in Namibia and Botswana and took heads as trophies. I hope no movie ever gets made because they seem to romantise this historic evil and white wash it and these black women who seem to worship white men overlook the implications of kraut winning the war 🤢🤢
Really hurt me when she described German POW's eating with white soldiers while black US soldiers were not allowed in the car.
Me too, and that picture of them. Heartbreaking.
I have done some researches recently about slavery. I almost had a mental breakdown when i saw the things black people went through during and after slavery. Did u know that if a Black man of status was invited to a meeting with the whites they were only allowed to drink lemonade? No alcohol nothing fancy only lemonade.
Yes, that's really disgusting!
It does hurt but now black men are as Nick Cannon said ""marrying white women and getting as many as they can afford"
@@vendettagang3749 . But you do not know all Black people. Somals, Etiopians and Sudanas. We enslaved so called white Men.
Life is beautiful when love is always in control of everything.
I had never heard this beautiful story or the circumstances that surrounded it before now. Thank you for posting it on KZhead 💖
I feel sick to my stomach thinking about all of the black soldiers looking through that dining room window. My heart hurts.
It made me cry 😢
@Kwum aix going back where? Our minds can't go back we are designed to move forward. The ones dreaming of time past, can't move forward, therefore those will get lost in the shuffle.
Rosie Callender Did your history Teacher leave out to you why we are taught history in the first place?
Kwum aix Trump is far from Klan. Ur just being racist and believing in fake media. Ur just a follower. N don’t know what trump stands for. Hilary was Klan. And Obama was the worst.
Chris Simpson what the fuck?!?! I swear some of u y’all are just fucking disgusting and racist. A lot of blacks are racist. N y’all disgust me and y’all help keep racism alive.
If this ever gets made into a movie I am going to play her. I’m manifesting it.
go for it, you can do it
bpm81 thank you!!!
You got this!
August Morgan your support means everything!
Beauty 😍
Alexis Clark created a literary treasure on so many fronts! Awesome work! Thanks!
Thank you. The whole interview was so terrific, assisted by the inserted photos. What an unbelievable story, as you said.
"You should know my name, I am the man that is going to marry you" the SMOOTHNESS
someone said something like that to me once and I laughed nota fan of arrogance
@@susanrhodes5681 shut up
It sounds something like Tommy Wiseau said in The Room movie LOL
It was lol.
My white great grandfather married my black great grandmother shortly after returning from France during WW1, and were together until his death in 1987, they had five children. Apparently, great grandad was a tough character who wasn't afraid to be violent if necessary, and he also served as the sheriff of the county they lived in North Carolina, so racists left them alone for the most part. I'll never know how he was elected, but I'm thankful he was because had he not been the sheriff, I believe things would have been a little tougher for them.
I have nothing but respect and love for u and ur family my dad was irish mum English our next door neighbour who was Welsh used to call my sister and myself half breeds stayed with me all these yrs I'm 70 she's long gone to hell I hope xx
😘
@@brendadrumm9708 Thank you.
@@brendadrumm9708 i have a gorgous baby son aged 7 in kenya by accident..he is a Miracle
@@brendadrumm9708 what half breed 😩 Irish and Welsh are the same race it's so funny when ppl don't have anything to hate they invent things to hate
What a fantastic author, interview and story - so inspiring and courageous!
Incredible story. I am glad they found each other so long ago.
I love this...my father, a black officer in the Canadian Airforce married my mother, a jewish holocaust survivor. A different story but so similar
That is beautiful!
That's interesting. Don't take this the wrong way...but didn't Canada not have the same segregation as the US? You can let me know if I'm wrong. The big reason why is specifically because racism was so rampant in the US. As the author mentioned, they had to face Jim Crows laws and Nazism. I don't recall an equivalent of Jim Crow in Canada. Was there?
@@lisacox3750 There weren't segregation laws but businesses and schools were allowed to discriminate based on race. Also residential schools. Canada may not have been as bad as the US but we certainly weren't innocent either.
You should write a book or do a documentary
Black man and white or non-black woman isn't at all uncommon, especially in a time of war. This story is far less common.
"You should know my name. I'm the man who is going to marry you". OMG!
Heru- deshet THATS THE TYPE OF ENERGY I NEED!
A prisoner of war. And still he had SWAG!!!
Isnt that romantic???
@That One IRL this scenario would pretty much never work and these NPCs are just pretending while in reality expecting someone way above their league to pick them up like this. Let them pretend, their lack of consciousness will never give them the ideals anyway.
IKR!!
Wow! What a great interview! Ms Clark put a tremendous amount of work into this book. I just downloaded it from Amazon and will read it this summer. I feel a bit of a connection. I am a retired nurse, trained in Germany where I was born. In the late 1960’s I met an American GI and we got married in Germany. One of my husband’s GI mates was black. I think he was the one who gave me a book to read “Amerikaner Zweiter Klasse” (second class Americans). It was a right eye opener for twenty-something white me having grown up in 100% white towns. Once we had moved to California I established my nursing career here. I worked with quite a few black nurses over time, some of whom became my friends. Race wasn’t an issue for me, I mingled with people of various ethnic backgrounds. But I wish I had realized just how much of an issue race was for them. I just figured as long as I treated them as equals I was doing my part. That was a naive attitude. I didn’t realize how hard they had to work to be treated as equals. Nursing is a tough job. I can’t even imagine how much harder my fellow nurses of African American origin had to work to arrive where they are today. And the journey is far from over. Sometimes it feels like it’s going backwards. Alexis Clark, thank you for your persistence. Authors like you and Walter Mosley are relating history we don’t get to read in history books. Even though Mr Mosley’s Easy Rawlins Series is fiction, you get the idea what life was like for black people in the 1950’s. BTW… Frederick was one lucky dude. Elinor was a gorgeous woman! I wonder what she would think about her story appearing in a book?!
Thank you for your comment! ❤️ I enjoyed hearing your story/perspective
Well I just can’t understand why racist parents teach they children’s to be racist! But I feel that color no matter what color we are all the same, even now in this town where I live there is a lot older people very racist, when Obama was ruaning for president I was in the line at the post office and there were this older guys talking about him( Obama) and they were saying terrible things about black people, they were wearing overalls and probably in their eighties and good thing there were no color people in the post office! We have some black family’s living in this town but I hardly see them! In the park or in stores, I don’t go out that much myself but I consider myself very lucky that my best friend is a black person we both are in our seventy’s and we met in a electronics factory, and she was the only black person, it look kind of out of place cause I never seen to many people working in factories, one day she was standing outside waiting for somebody I stop and I ask her do you need a ride, she said no’ iam waiting for my brother to pick me up he works close by! Ok bye next time I saw her walking towards the main st, I stop and I said hi! You need a lift? Well I live far from her in the next town, is ok I don’t have anything to do, just go home and rest and get ready for tomorrow I live by myself and I don’t have that many friends and don’t know to many people; she said are you sure? Yesss! So from that day on I would ask her if you need a ride just tell me and I’ll pick you up! We been friends for the last 48 years and still counting! The rest is history we don’t see each other that much but we keep in touch! I move to AZ and she still lives in CA I don’t drive that much any more and being in a fix income we don’t travel at least I don’t, my husband goes and visit our daughter in TX and I have to many medical problems but iam glad that he has done that; my son and him used to drive all the way out there 16 hours is just to much for me, but now he hasen been going out there our son pass on last October and that really made it hard for us to get things done he was our only help he’s wife left him took thes kids and he move with us and started to look for work and pit the past 3 years he was the only fam, we had to help us out but he died unexpected he was always as early to get up! That day he’s food was lock and my husband had to go trough the window and he was laying in bed with he’s cloths still on from the night before he tought that we was sleep but he didn’t move or respond he call me I went in and he look like he was sleeping but I touch him and he was very cold and rigid he was dead and it’s been very hard for us loosing our only son! We have my daughter only now she cama to help us to make the arrengments for him and no money! She call all her cousins on my husband side and they started a fund but it wasent enough to bury him so we had him cremated, we still paying for some bills that he made with our credit card, he was staring a small paint Co, and he was doing ok, the night before he was so happy cause he got a job for a big house to paint, but he never made it he’s workers lost a good friend and a good job! He would hire in legal guys with no paper is very hard to get a job when you are not legal and he did he’s best to help him out; I know there is a lot of racist to in this town about Hispanic people; and that’s why; sorry I understand what black people still get harraz for being black is the 20 century and some people still back in the last century thinking that they are better than the rest: but we all are Gods kids!👵🏻🙏❤️🙋🏻♀️
@@ruthreyes9191 So sorry for your loss! I wish you all the best ❤
@@ruthreyes9191 all the best to you, Ruth! I have some friends I’m still in touch with from first grade! Old friends are the best, they stood the test of time. Very sorry for your loss!
As a black woman who is engaged to a white man who is German as well, i can totally relate to this story. i met my fiance while on a study abroad trip to Germany. i lived there for a whole year during college getting my degree in, you guested it, Nursing LOL. This story is me and Michael's. atleast it feels this way. Luckily we really had no objections to our relationship, while in Germany. but once we moved to the states, id get dirty looks from mostly black men. we'd get stared at sometimes, scoffed at and just out right people making comments. most of them all being by my fellow blacks, which was very disappointing. one time, i went to Michaels job to meet up with him for lunch, he was working in Cyber security at Brinks, and the security guy asked me who i was looking for but by the time i was getting ready to tell him, Michael called me and said he would be right down. i told the security guard my fiance said he will come down...ok no problem. he was a black guy who seemed super sweet and helpful. he made sure i was able to get in contact with him since i wasnt allowed upstairs. when michael finally comes down to meet me he gave me a kiss and hug. when i tell you the look on the security guards face was twisted, youd think me and my hubby was the devil himself standing in front of him. as hubby and me spoke in German, the security guard said "oh, wasnt expecting your man to be pale". ive never been so disgusted in my life. we were just stunned that this man had the nerve to say something like that. then proceeds to tell me "i need me a good strong black man". Hubby Michael went off. he cursed him out for first disrespecting me, then for his racist comments. they almost fought right there in the hall. im so glad he wasnt fired. but the guard was for is nasty comments. it was the saddest day we have ever had as a couple. a month after that, we moved back to berlin and have been here ever since. sorry for the rant guys lol. but i am so happy to see this couple existed so long ago. makes me and hubby feel really good seeing this video. BTW we are expecting our first child in 7 months! wedding day is 3 weeks from now. exciting time for us. thanks for this story! very inspiring.
I served in the US Army in the 90’s. When I was stationed in Germany I could see that Germans were attracted to black soldiers. Talking to my German friends, it was not a matter of them being rebellious or going against the system, it was pure attraction to what they consider exotic beauty, something different and out of the ordinary. They loved the dark complexion and the hair too.
Your experience is based on a preselected group. You only observed the ones who were attracted to black soldiers but have no way of counting the number of those who weren’t/aren’t. Your observation is not representative.
@Celisar1 Well, I was over there in the 80s, and I saw the same thing. There were more German women in the base clubs than American women!!! This is not about the entire German population but an observable social trait, many looking for husbands, no doubt!! However, racism exists in Germany too!!
gloriso3805, Amen to everything you said!! I once asked this white guy what was it that white men like about black women and he said, "that exotic" beauty!! Our beautiful darker color skin is one of the attractions. It's something captivating and special that they see in us that a lot of black men don't!! That's been my experience and I work on a military base where it is full of white men, and they are always complimenting me on my looks and hair and even holding doors open for me. One guy even went so far as to share his popcorn with me!! They make me feel like a princess sometimes!!
@@Celisar1 sounds like you’re jealous. Same goes with American women and men. Blacks are attractive. Sorry if you’re not
@@jacorymatthews5024 you ever seen Lizzo. Yikes!
That line..."You should know my name. I'm the man who's going to marry you." Been waiting my entire life to hear a man say that to me.
No sane man would want to marry a woman nowadays ...
@@awax2585 more like no sane man or woman would marry you.. I'm glad you will stay single and not reproduce
Same but I know the divine have something marvelous for everyone who deserves love ! ❤️
And there is a Man who IS going to say that to you...and stay madly in love with you forever!
Lol
So when is “You Should Know My Name” coming to theaters?
I'm gonna be making that movie also,we gonna get Brad Pitt for the role. I'm telling ya, we're gonna walk down the aisle.Oscars, here i come!
As soon as we find a vaccine for this pandemic!
That title is sooo perfect. Now all we need is an accurate and amazing cast
@Wigunlubo Newmai Brad Pitt is way too old to play a 19-year-old
@@rowingaway don't worry, he ages backward.
Beautiful story. And through children and grandchildren their love lives on.
wow, she has such an elaborate way to express this story & articulate like a master ❤
I am guessing that English is her 1st language & she's educated after all.
I am an older white man, And...I love this story. I hope it does go on screen because I will be the first in line to buy tickets. Thank you!!!
TOO ME!!
Count me in too!!
Amma Asante should make a movie based on this story
@@maximr6576 Oh yes! I loved Belle.
Im an older white man" shut the fuc up . you been living in heaven all your life.
In addition to Elenor and Fredrick’s story, a movie about the black nurses serving German POWs would make a fascinating movie.
Elinor
I would definitely watch this in the cinema. We’ll be needing that to come out in the UK cinemas
Yes. Like The Help but in Germany lol
This is amazing. He wasnt full of crap. He really loved her. What a beautiful couple. Thru all the terror they didnt give up. This is gonna be on my winter reading list!
@Frederick Wells Medical caretakers. Moron.
What a beautiful story & a great interviewer too! He has great questions & fully let her answer his questions without interrupting her.
I really enjoyed this a lot.....it brought tears and happy thoughts to my mind of what must have happened during their lives but knowing that LOVE kept them together throughout it all
My grandfather was white and my dear grandmother was black.. 64 yrs of the best marriage, but couldn't be married on paper because of the times they lived in so on paper 30yrs, and the day after my grandmother passed my grandfather took his life to be with her.. A love story I was lucky enough to see for a few years of my life. My grandmother told me when I was sixteen that racism works for no one, and always be kind because a smile changes lives for the better.. Proud of my black and white blood.. CHEERS...
For me, it was my great grandfather and mother, together in Alabama with two children but could not marry. This was in the 1890's
I’m mixed too... parents tho but a touching story. Glad to be here👏🏽
Funny story, these liaisons happened since the beginning of time. My great grandfather who was Welsh-American lived with my Great grandmother, daughter of an American Slave who may have been indigenous or African, for 60+ years as married in Alabama (illegal to marry). They had two children. hey lived together until my great grandfather died in 1952.
@@cherylmurray7942 Love that..Cheers Cheryl..
My great-grandparents were a mixed couple, well he was a freed african slave who married his best friend, who happened to be a white Dutch & German woman. This was the late 1800's, where the penalty in some areas was jail or death. They moved to the Caribbean, instead of the USA and planted their roots. It was funny meeting my German 2nd cousin as I served her in a restaurant, we both jumped in excitement. I told her about her great-aunt, who happened to be my grandmother. She freaked out and then it was times for her to leave but overall I am grateful to have met her. My family is a rainbow of colors, even though sometimes I do struggle with the racism in the US. Life moves on.
It’s so sad to think that even in his 70s the older son still felt it was too painful to talk about his childhood.
same as any age it doesn't go away
ive seen it gradually change a lot since the 70's
@@syritasdoneitgoodytwoshoes2471 well thats good to know that the pain finally goes away if we live to be in our seventies, If that is what you meant or I misunderstood?
@@DAKINS896 You misunderstood. You just learn to live with the pain from childhood...it never goes away. This includes ANY abuse a child suffers. I'm 70.
@@DAKINS896 perhaps Linda is talking about attitudes gradually changing since the 1970's
The power of love and not letting a negative environment make you deny your true feelings for each other.
They were so brave and sorry they faced so much hardship. Richard and Mildred Loving are another inspiring couple.
my grandmother was one of these nurses.
Interview her, please!!!
My relative was one of these prisoners. War is always started by cowardly men. The ones that die or are mistreated, are always the ones that deserved peace.
elchasai you must be very proud
👏🏽👄
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Our children ask us " why do people stare at us when we are out together?". I said " cause we are are a beautiful loving family that shows affection and have smiles on our faces".
Stop lying to your children
Justin Simuel You’re probably not one of the brighter ones. Why would you have such a serious conversation with children before they’re ready to have it
yendaaaa ...because, they can grow to resent you overtime once they realized how often you lied to them. It’s best to address it when they first experience it and not to downplay or run from it. You cannot grow into acceptance if you refuse to at first fully accept yourself.
@@KPITGangsta I think it's best not to traumatize them so early by filling their heads with negative, serious, adult worries. Those things affect you when you are young. Why not let them just enjoy their childhood?
That's a beautiful response. People would give my parents mean looks and say mean things. They used to stare at my mom and I when we were out together, too. Now, I feel like they stare at my boyfriend and I. But luckily, I think more people are (finally) warming up and realizing that we are all the same. You just have to accept it still stands out a little more than being with someone of the same color, and you may come across the wrong people from time to time.
What an amazing story! These stories need to be told indeed…very grateful to writers like this lady who took time and made the effort to bring back to life humans that have changed the world perspective even without intending in doing so!! Shame for the son not wanting to be part of it, it would represent his family legacy as well as heritage, however painful! I’m European and I know how painful the wars were for my family but they are part of my family history and we have a duty for the next generation to keep talking about the wrong doing on any war!!!!
Fantastic story and video. Shows me once more love can be found in the most unlikely situations with the most unlikely people falling for each other. I will need to grab this book!
So nobody is going to talk about how incredibly beautiful the author is?
This! She's beautiful.
Yes!! Alexis Clark is downright gorgeous!
I'm not finished staring at her yet!
Oh, she's gorgeous. Absolutely.
She is very very beautiful and her smile is great and beautiful ❤️
I like her voice, smile and the way she speaks. Gorgeous.
True. Me too
I was hoping that she was actually a granddaughter or something of the couple. But yes… She’s beautiful and this is a great story💞
@Suzanne Miller You sound severely uneducated. First of all, the fact that you based your opinion on all black women on how the racist media portrays us is disgusting. Secondly, even if a woman does act 'ghetto', who are you to judge Suzanne? Children don't choose to be bought up in poor areas, and usually, if they do act 'ghetto' it's a defence mechanism to protect their inner child. I pray you educate yourself because you sound like a typical ignorant, privileged, white woman. Peace.
@Suzanne Miller White people don't swear?
Yes, her voice made the video even more compelling as the story was told to the interviewer.
Wow! That is so incredible. I love that she found this small piece of a story and dug into it.
This is such a wonderful story, it needs to be turned into a film.
If she ever decides to make a movie on this, I would definitely watch
Same!
frfr❤🙇🏾♂️
@T South Dang! I must've missed that one. wt...?
Trash
I am waiting for this to happen
Black women are beautiful.
Appreciate it...
Very very very beautiful...tyra banks so so hot...
Besides what society says. And what society considers as beautiful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
And black men are very well hung. Or so I hear.
WishIWasInItaly thank you 😊
I’m glad they finally found some peace in Village Creek where they were able to live happily. Great story of love. ❤️
The Author is so eloquent..so wonderful to listen to. so glad i watched this.
I think the dress back in the day was gorgeously demure.
yeah, the woman with a little kid in this video...just grand and so feminine.
Tu la bukan takat asian je. even the european/american punya pakaian zaman dulu sopan je nak compare nowadays 😂
@@fashioncreator5119 What an asinine statement.
You are more right than you can ever imagine
The women were beautiful and sexy without it hitting you in the face as a "look at me" case.
This made me cry, being black is an extreme sport.
Winning victim points must be fun.
Winning trolling and miserable points must be fun.
You got that right. I'm in an interracial relationship as well. We met in Philly in 2002. The stares we got were horrible and disgusting. My b/f also got in a few fights because he was going out with me. He was raised and lived in an all white neighborhood. I was like a ghost, I was gone from 7am to almost midnight most days because of school and work. Some thought I might cause trouble for them. I never invited friends over, or family... Didn't wanna scare the folks. A few years after meeting, we both moved to Vegas. We're still together... annoying as ever. LOL Vegas is one of the places you can be yourself. Gay, straight, crazy, trans, interracial, or whatever... And no one would bat an eyelid.
@@Lionheart1188 people like you are always the first to cry and say you're looking at some of you at you know i think you people also colonized being victims
With no "time outs"
This is such a sweet story of love triumphant that it brought tears to my eyes.
Such a lovely calm soothing voice the author has. Beautiful woman, beautiful extraordinary story
Thank you!
So heartbreaking to hear that their big son who is now in his 70's is still living in pain due to the racial abuses.
SAD but TRUE!!! His heart was just filled with racist abuse😢😢😢😢😢😢
Childhood trauma untreated can be tough.
@@livingmetaphysically84 It is something you can live with, but it takes time. LOTS OF TIME.
That's horrible. Im so sad now. 😭
That's his choice.
Who can blame him look at that girl gorgeous women black girls are gorgeous in general well that's just my opinion
Xavier park sung i agree 🥰😍
Yes
Asian men are hot
I agree.
Yes we are, thank you..
Wonderful true story, and so necessary to be known todas. Wonderful interview!!!
I just bought the book. I love WW2 history too. I was stationed in Germany in the 90’s. Can’t wait to read this book.