Jan 14, 2010
Gerhard's and Rüder's family history project just got another boost with the scanning of the newspaper articles about Opa's arrest as a German spy.
Gerhard has always said that his dislike of Mexican officials stemmed from the time they took his dad away. Gerhard was only about 4 years old when this traumatic event occurred, so to a child it was a "long time" until his dad returned, but actually only about a week.


Wartime excitement encouraged by the press!



Denouncing a citizen of another country, whether for gain or for fanaticism, is seen as a patriotic duty.


Brother Bryant Clark told us he was on the train with the U.S. official who was in charge of Opa, and asked why Schill was being detained. He didn't receive an answer that was satisfactory.

The legal process took longer than the actual detainment, but Opa was vindicated and his good reputation was regained.

As we see current laws being made and policies changing that have the potential to take away some liberties in the name of "non-discrimination" it is entirely possible that in the future others of our family may face persecution.