The first Oversea Trip Carol planned from Everett, Washington, included Germany. We were met at the Templelof Airport by Reverend Lothar Schultz and Betty his pregnant wife.

In their crowded Volkswagon they took us to the Quaker House where we were to stay. As we drove through the City, there was still much rubble and the clearing of blocks of leveled buildings, was much in evidence. They took us by the site of the Church to show us a sign ...in front of the Quonset Hut ,which our church in Everett had made possible . We were impressed by the amazing power of the German people who were so quickly recovering; with the help of the Marshall Plan.

Lothar & I were classmates at the Berkeley Baptist Divinity School in Berkeley California in 1939. We both were paid 35 cents an hour through a Library Grant, of the National Youth Administration to repair books and work in the Basement of the School. I interpreted America to him. He had been in the Hitler Youth Organization & was a leader. Though he knew the War was wrong, he said to me: “Elroy, I got a college education because of Hitler”.

The circumstances of our visit came out of the Schroeder Family in the Everett, Church; Carol & I were pastoring. Lothar was the Schroeder’s nephew. . Out of correspondence, our Church, sent a carload of heavy winter coats & boots to Germany. Delores Heller& Dick Strieby leaders in the Youth Group, lead the Church & Community in this worthy project. Rachel Schroeder, had translated his “Thank You” letters to the Church . Though Lothar did not invite Chaplains to speak in his church, I was afforded the personal privilege and helped serve communion to scores of tearful Germans from East Germany that had traveled the still open tube railway to the church that Sunday morning. About 100 were present. Carol, always mentioned that the red wine from the common silver cup was well stained with lipstick when the Deacon offered her communion; but when the Deacon served me he carefully wiped the cup.

My sermon was in poor German. Only once before at the Anaheim California Baptist church, had I shared what Jesus meant to me in the German language....Half way through the sermon as the people were smiling at my German phrasing, Lothat interupted and said “Your Verb endings are not communicating”; and he translated the rest of my message ...from the Gospel of John on ‘THE MEANING OF LIFE”... THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE, TO KNOW THEE,THE ONE TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST WHOM YOU HAVE SENT.”

Times were still tough. The meal in their apartment home was very simple. As was their custom we had some precious chocolate in the living room. Mrs. Schultz had earthy soil(dirt) to eat, which women were to take to make their babies strong.

Our overnite trip through “Checkpoint Charlie” to another Quaker House in East Germany was memorable. A large Church had been made into an Anti-Religion Museum. I had never before seen the vicious machines the Church had produced during the Inquisition. It was horrifying. There was also a large picture of a Southern Baptist Church with a name and a cross on the steeple... But in front of the Church were scores of women & children being sprayed with water hoses and snapping police dogs in America. I took many slide pictures and showed them in talks Carol & I made on our return from Germany. The Museum showed Lenin saying in German “Religion is the opiate of the people.” There were at least ten murals displaying church history at it’s worst . Even, yet today, I am sad when I think of the bad, as well as the good, the Church has fostered.

The Faith of Jesus has been sadly and crudely -- even viciously -- twisted ; as is witnessed by the Crusades, and repressive times in history. Ethnic Cleansing, & the Church acting as the handmaiden of the State, in hurting minority peoples; chiefly women & children through the ages.

At a bookstore I thumbed through a book entitled “America Through a Keyhole”.... The pictures of hundreds of lynchings, dated and detailed, were graphically portrayed on it’s pages.

Carol & I participated in a Youth discussion Group with the Quakers. We were impressed by the Christian values the young people wanted to put into the Labor movement. “They were eager Christians with lots of questions” Carol wrote in her Diary. Impressive also, were The Baptist Deaconesses we met who had set up “ A Sheltered Workshop Home” for the handicapped and polio victims. Each day these children were taught how to assemble simple electrical and other devices for Company’s. Harold Polshan, and Peter Darden , showed us through two homes, and one other Home for about 12 older people.

A very clever play was presented by the young people called “Christ Was also in Nineveh’ implying that Christ is also in the Eastern Zone. Carol counted the young people present and wrote in her Diary “48 young people were present for the evening play & discussion.”