The Kunze Family

Love of the land and freedom from country to country

By Lynette M. Loomis

 

The land has been important to the Kunze family for generations and across continents. It has provided food, shelter, security and a love of nature.

“I remember vividly the stories my parents told me of their escape from Communist Russian-occupied Germany to free West Germany and ultimately to the United States,” said Hans Kunze, 64. His mother Adele, 93, and his father, Rudolf, had grown up in East Prussia and Pomerania, respectively, which then were part of a massive Germany.

In January 1945, World War II was winding down and it was not looking good for the German army; Russian soldiers were occupying more and more of Germany, seizing property, burning buildings, killing people, raping women. German refugees from even further eastern Germany were heading west going from farm to farm in search of a place to stay.

At Adele’s family farm, called Compehner Farm, which had been in the family for many generations, the dairy cattle were moved outside of barns into the cold to make room for refugees. It was a very chaotic time and the roads heading west toward free West Germany were very congested.

“In January of 1945 my mother was only 13 when she and her three younger siblings were told to pack one suitcase each with the possessions that meant the most to them. They left their farm forever, but the men had to stay behind to protect their homes. When it was imminent that the men needed to leave, my grandfather had to put down his favorite horses to spare them from being mistreated by the soldiers. They lost everything. It was a very sad time.” said Hans.

Because the roads were so congested, the family had an opportunity to board a hospital ship that was transporting refugees a little further to the west, avoiding much of the road congestion. Getting on that ship was dangerous since the Baltic Sea had been planted with numerous mines.

Despite that, the family took the risk and did arrive safely. (That ship ultimately did hit a mine and sank.)

As all young men were required to do, Hans’ father, Rudolf, was conscripted into the German army at 19. On the eastern front, he was captured and forced to march with his fellow prisoners, likely to a train station. As they approached a bridge, Rudolf had a sense that if he went across that bridge, he would never make it back alive.

The land saved him as he made a daring escape to the woods. Using a compass, over a week-long walk by night, he eventually made it back home to Pomerania where only his mother still lived. For several months (May through December 1945) he literally lived in a camouflaged hole in the ground on the edge of a forest, foraging for food or eating whatever his mother could provide to him. During this time, he needed to be especially careful not to get caught by patrolling Russians. He did have several close calls while he was visiting his mother.

Though Adele and Rudolf had not yet met, each of them and their families still had the difficult task of eventually crossing the Iron Curtain into free West Germany. Being caught at the border by the Russians would have been devastating for all of them especially Rudolf, as an escaped military prisoner. Upon completing their escape late in 1945, they were so relieved. In the late ‘40s Adele and Rudolf met as they were working on neighboring farms in northwestern West Germany.

Adele said, “I can’t begin to explain the great feeling of making it across the border to freedom, immigrating to the USA and then becoming American citizens. Rudolf and I were so proud to become Americans. We thank God for guiding us safely through the war, letting us meet and ultimately living our dream in a country known as a land of opportunity and freedom!”

Adele and Rudolf became engaged and found American sponsors who wanted household and farm help. Rudolf arrived in Leroy in 1950 and Adele in 1952 and they married in 1953.  They worked hard, saved their money and bought some cows. After 10 years they were able to buy their own farm in Wyoming County. As Hans recalled, “All three of us kids worked on the farm, helping to take care of the dairy herd and crops. On a farm there is no such thing as ‘I’ll do it later.’ Cows have to be milked and fed and cared for whether you’re tired or not. But we loved it; it was a great childhood. Mom and Dad were excellent farmers and to this day we are very proud of their success!”

As a youngster Hans loved nature, especially the birds on the farm. One day Adele took him to an Audubon nature center where he became even more infatuated with birds. He would frequently walk three miles to school so he could see and listen to the birds. He became known as “the bird guy.” On the farm, his dad focused on the crops and did the mechanical chores and his mother was extremely dedicated to the dairy herd and the young livestock.  In her spare time, she loved gardening.

Rudolf and Adele’s three children went on to college; Ursula became a foreign language teacher, and Monika became a registered nurse. Hans went to Cornell, studied finance and agriculture and became a farm and commercial loan officer and banker. At Cornell, Hans was in an agricultural fraternity called Alpha Gamma Rho and part of their community relations mandate was charitable giving. Hans was put in charge of this, coming up with the idea of selling bird feed, a program that continued for another 17 years. The funds were raised for a local charity in Ithaca that provided free transportation for people with handicaps or who were elderly.

After four years as a banker in the Finger Lakes, Hans was able to transfer closer to his family home when his parents needed more help on the 170-acre farm in Wyoming. As a hobby and side business, his interest in selling bird feed came full circle.

“I started the bird feed business in 1990 and in 2010 entered the greenhouse business,” he said.

Hans’ Birdfeeder & Greenhouse is located on the family farm in Wyoming, where he grows and sells a variety of plants; primarily annuals and perennials and year-round several types of bird feed. He remains a very active nature enthusiast — as an avid birder, gardener, landscaper and part-time farmer, selling grass hay in small bales. Hans’ love of nature has been shared with others over the decades. Hans leads bird, nature and garden walks for many groups at their home and other locations. He continues to write his bird and nature column for several Western New York newspapers, submitting articles every two weeks for almost 35 years.

Hans is thankful for friends having helped him meet his wife, Leslie, when he was about 30. Hans and Leslie have three children. Has their love of nature been passed on to the next generation? Leslie, a retired special education reading teacher, laughs when she gives a resounding “Yes!”

Their son, Karl, has a Ph.D. from Cornell University in plant genetics. Daughter Mary has a degree in expeditionary studies, including the great wilderness. Daughter Grace has a degree in conservation biology and has spent the past four summers on contract with the US Forest Service doing conservation work in the mountains of California.

The German heritage of the Kunze family has never been forgotten. Hans is bilingual and has traveled to Germany 13 times. The family celebrates the German traditions and stays in contact with their relatives in Germany. His sisters “go crazy with flowers” and his mother still lives on the farm. Hans and Leslie are deeply involved in their community including church, Rotary, chamber of commerce, Wyoming County Community Hospital, Cornell Alumni, Cornell Cooperative Extension, garden clubs, several bird and nature associations. Leslie’s care and compassion is exemplified by her lifelong constant care of family members and her volunteer work at Suzanne’s Comfort Care home in Perry.

Hans never takes his family’s journey to America for granted.

“My parents were so pleased to be free and thrilled to have become citizens of the United States. They were living their dream and always made us realize how fortunate we all were/are to have our freedom and to live here in Western New York and to be alive. We are so proud of our parents and thank them for their courage in escaping from communism and coming to the USA. We are also grateful to God for our many blessings.”