Franziska Ben

Mrs. Ben was a very sweet lady. I visited with her and gave her Holy Communion at Lorien on most Thursday mornings. May she Rest In Peace. JoAnn Lingner

I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the family. During this difficult time, God is near to those that are broken at heart, and those who are crushed in spirit He saves. Psalms 34:18

Who wrote this death notice? It is devoid of any awesome facts about Franziska. She had to endure living in Munich during WWII. The family were constantly bombed and starved. Once when she arrived at a factory that made weapons for the war, she was told she forgot to salute and say "Hail Hitler" She promptly said, "You can kiss my ass with that hail Hitler, I am not saying it." An SS man was standing in back of her and she was arrested. She was made to do hard labor with others. She was made to clean the underside of a train engine with a toothbrush. Another run in she had with Hitler's henchmen is when the allies bombed the factory she was working at. She was on the night shift and walked to the factory at night. She began tripping over debris. She looked down and saw body parts everywhere. She turned and ran home and refused to go back to work. She was warned she would be arrested if she didn't return to work and still she refused. The Gestapo came and arrested her and put her in a jail cell. She cried and lost weight for about a month. Her jailers learned that she liked to sew. They brought in all their mending from home to give her something to do to pass the time. The most amusing moment of the war she and the neighbors had is when they were all down in the bomb shelter and she had to sit on a bucket to relieve herself. Bombs could be heard in the distance falling. Someone asked if that was the sound of bombs coming. And a man said, "No, that is the sound of Franziska on the bucket. Everyone laughed and she turned red, but also laughed. Out of 4 pregnancies, she had 2 children that survived their first year of life. She is survived by 6 blood relatives; her last remaining son Andy, and 5 grandchildren, Sara, Becky, Mary, Adam and David.