Stories from a Blue Bag - Volk, Karl J.

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Résumé :
In the summer of 1933, Karl J. Volk was sent from the United States to live with family members in Germany because his parents could not cope with a baby in their lives. Little did they know that a dictator named Adolf Hitler had just attained power several months before. For the next eight years, Karl lived in a small village with an aunt and uncle before moving to Aschaffenburg, where he lived with a different aunt and uncle. The bombing by Allied planes in 1945 cut his time there short. In 1946, at the age of fourteen, Karl returned to the United States not understanding English, and living with parents and a sister he barely knew. This is the story of his early life in both countries....

Biographie:
Karl J. Volk was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1932. However, because of the arrival of the Great Depression and family circumstances, he was sent to Germany when only eleven- months old, where he spent his formative years living with his paternal uncles and their wives in Holzkirhausen and Aschaffenburg. It wasn't long after he moved there that Adolph Hitler came to power, and Karl's education included growing up in Nazi Germany as a watched American. Karl's interest in art was sparked by living, for a time, in the same house as Mr. Adalbert Hock, a well-known artist who painted altar pieces and scenes of Aschaffenburg. Karl was intrigued after meeting with the artist. He returned to the United States in 1946, about a year after World War II ended. His growing interest in art continued, and he graduated from Brooklyn College in 1955 with a B.A. in Art Education. After his schooling, Karl began a teaching career in various school districts in upstate New York. His longest and final tenure was in the Spackenkill School District of Poughkeepsie, lasting over twenty-five years. He has also lectured and conducted classes for adults in community programs and is the curator for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie. He would like to establish an Art Repository, a place where artwork from Senior artists can be cleanly and securely stored-in a climate-safe location-to be viewed and purchased upon request, and be available as a teaching and exploratory lesson for future artists, visitors, and friends. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in early 2020, Karl has been focusing on donating his paintings and other works of art to first responders working in area hospitals. You can see his work and contact him through his website at karljvolkstudios@yolasite.com.