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Interview
with Dielmann Conducted
by Liz Cruz and Christine Young |
| Liz: How did you learn to speak German? |
| Mr.Dielmann: Very simply, my grandparents were from Germany originally and they came over in the late 1800’s. They could speak little English. When the grandchildren spoke English to them they wouldn’t answer. They would only answer if you spoke German to them. That’s how we had to learn. They wanted us to learn the language so to speak to them we had to speak German. We learned a little at home too. Learned prayers and all that kind of stuff. |
| Liz: What are you parents’ names? |
| Mr.Dielmann: Father's name is Leo. My Mother’s name is Ella; her maiden name is Wagner. Her father came from Hessen. And her mother came from Stutgart. They came over separately and they met over here, married here in San Antonio. |
| Liz: Where were you born? |
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Mr.Dielmann: I was Born in San Antonio. My mother and father were both born here in San Antonio too. My father was born and raised on Labacka Street, downtown by South Hemisphere Plaza. He was famous in the paper. I don’t know where in San Antonio my mother was born. She grew up on Adam’s street, that’s where all her siblings were born. Mr.Dielmann: I have two older sisters: my youngest sister was 11 years older and my oldest sister was 12 ½ years older. They had to wait for me. Mr.Dielmann: Parents married in 1911 and the girls were born in 1912 and 1914. He didn’t come along till 1925. Mr.Dielmann: They were Catholic and belonged to St. Joseph’s Parish which is downtown and can now be seen right be RiverCenter. That was where he went to grade school. It was St. Joseph’s Acamdeny. After 3rd grade moved all the boys across the street to a college. It was just 4-7th grades. The boys were just across the street to not conimate the girls. Mr.Dielmann: 7th grade was the farthest you went before highschool which was 8-10 Mr.Dielmann: Started school when he was 5 years old. Mr.Dielmann: Went to mass every morning and church which was part of school. Started school at 8 8:30 Mr.Dielmann: Church was the center of activities for the community Mr.Dielmann: Life was just go to school, to church, to go and study, play with friends, neighbors and all activites centered around the community and the parish. Mr.Dielmann: Costed 75cents to go to German summer school. Very very expensive once in grade school. This was big deal. For 6-8 weeks. Learned how to write and read german. Tried to learn how to read the old scripture… he could never do that. Mr.Dielmann: Had chores to do at home, until WWII we didn’t have gas heaters in house, one chore was bringing in the wood. That was the way we heated the house. During WWII there was enough people around to cut the wood and bring it in the houses and so it was hard to get. They finally had gas put into the house. |
| Liz: Did you ever had a trip or vacation to Germany? |
| Mr.Dielmann: In later years I finally managed to get to Europe on a tour. Never visited were they were born or raised, but we did get to go to Germany. They were raised in what my grandpa used to call the Wester Wald, the western forests of Germany, close to Holland. I never thought Iwould be able to go over and see the country. |
| Liz: What occupations were your parents involved in? |
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Mr.Dielmann: My father was an architect, which I became also. Mr.Dielmann: Mother was a house wife. In those days it was more common for a woman to be a house wife than to work. Mr.Dielmann: Mother’s mother when she first came over she wasn’t married… she worked for the pastor or the director of the Madison Square Pestiberian Church close to the Bapist Hospital. She was house keeper for the minister there. Grandpa was a cabinet maker by trade. Grandpap Dielman was a stone Massion came over in early 70’s. Came in up in New York. He went across to Minnestoa friends told him to go, it was too cold so he came down to Texas. He started trade in hill country. Appling his trade… he’d build a house for the ranches he stayed at. Then he liked it so much he went back to Germany married grandma and brought her back here. They landed in Indianola. And walked up from Indianalo to San Antonio. My dad says that the men walked and the women rode the carts. |
| Liz: Do you recall how WW1 and 2 affected their lives here in San Antonio? |
| Mr.Dielmann: There was a large group of German people with german extraction in San Antonio at the time of WWI and they were kinda shunned. Socially shunned in San Antonio. Orginally King William St. was a really big german named street. That’s where all the german’s lived down that street. During WWII, they changed the name because the people in San Antonio didn’t want a street named after the german keizer. A lot of perjuidce. During WWII there wasn’t any problem. |
| Liz: Did they forbid you to speak German? |
| Mr.Dielmann: I don’t think there was any possibility they could do that, there were too many of us. |
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