C'es la vie: Ein Deutscher (Black & White)

Hans Schmidt was born on the 23rd of February, 1920, on the right side of the Rhein River in Bendorf Germany. Born into perhaps the most tumultuous time in human history, he did not support the rise of the Nazi party and the subsequent start of World War II. As a Carpenter he helped to rebuild Germany's industry and the construction of the West Wall. As Germany invaded France he was drafted as Combat Engineer into the Wehrmacht, serving primarily on the Eastern Front where he was eventually captured by the Russian Army in 1944. In 1949 he was released and finally met his first-born child. He continued to grow his family and lived out his life in peace. His story is fairly typical of the German war generation.