Certificate of Release, 1946
Johann Sebastian “Hans” Dirnhofer is born in 1923 in Amberg. In the 1930s, he completes an apprenticeship as a mechanical locksmith. In his free time, he acquires a glider pilot license. This skill leads to him being drafted into the Wehrmacht as an Air Force pilot in May 1941 when he is 18 years old. On May 10, 1945 – by this time, his unit in Prague has not yet realized that Germany has surrendered – Hans is captured and taken to Siberia. In 1946, he is released to Munich fairly soon, also due to a leg injury. This certification serves as proof. In Dachau, Hans undergoes the denazification process and meets an American officer who turns out to be a former schoolmate. The Jewish family of the schoolmate had fled to the USA in 1938. Hans’ father, a high customs officer, had helped the family export significantly more goods than allowed under the exploitative laws of the National Socialists. The officer has not forgotten this and provides Hans with initial accommodation. After returning home, Hans marries his childhood sweetheart, Irmgard. His father arranges a job for him as a customs officer. However, despite the job security, the land of the perpetrators is repugnant to the couple. In 1953, Hans and Irmgard Dirnhofer board a ship to Canada. Both find temporary jobs in a restaurant in Toronto. After some time in various restaurants, a wealthy Canadian hires her for household tasks and chauffeur services. After six years in Canada, Irmi and Hans decide to start anew once more – this time in the USA. The trained mechanical locksmith, Hans, works his way up in the construction industry in the USA. He becomes part of the management level at the construction company Webcor. His wife, Irmi, is also employed at this company as an office manager in the personnel sector. A few years later, they both retire. Although the couple came from Germany and Hans was a soldier in the Wehrmacht, both Canada and the USA accepted them just a few years after the war ended and offered them the opportunity to adopt citizenship there. Hans and Irmi remained in the USA until the end of their lives – they both passed away there in 2013.
