Immaculate Conception

The uproar about birth control coverage by insurance companies not only points out the friction between freedom to choose birth control and religious liberties but also the fallacy of our employer-based healthcare system. Yes, I defend religious freedom but I question the authority of religious institutions to impose their morality on others. I understand that bishops and priest do not have to worry about the impact of contraception on their families but I do. Maybe I should not speak up because I am a Jew but I vigorously defend the right of catholic women (and men) to choose the most suitable form of birth control. According to a study by the Guttmacher Institute three quarter of sexually active women of modest means, ages 18-34, said that they could NOT afford a baby BUT thirty percent had put off a gynecological or family planning visit to save money. For those still using an oral contraceptive, one quarter skipped their daily pill to safe money. The cost of birth control is one reason why poor women are more than three times as likely to have unintended pregnancies. We all pay for this failed approach to family planning! Every dollar the U.S. government spends on family planning reduces Medicaid expenditures by $3.74!! If each employer (such as the catholic church and other affiliated institutions, can reserve the right to raise "moral objections" to almost each and every aspect of a broad-based healthcare coverage then we are in real trouble! Whats next? Infertility treatment, already covered only by a quarter of health insurance companies, may be next. Whats about erectile dysfunction treatment for seniors? Treatment for gender identity problems in teenagers? Maybe some orthodox Islamic or Jewish employers will not pay for treatment in clinics that do not provide sex-segregated waiting rooms, or only male gynecologists. Maybe some employers object to gay doctors on moral grounds? In these times of a religiously and ideologically based culture war anything is possible! When will it stop? Well, there is one solution! A single-payer system funded by the tax payer in which each recipient receives a benefit card to CHOOSE healthcare coverage from any doctor, clinic, hospital, emergency room of their choice! Wow, free choice! What an outrageous thought! I hope that more will speak up against the Ayatollization of our society. Yes, I am for religious freedom but priest, rabbis and imans should confine their morality to their respective church, temple or mosque and leave it up to us to make moral choices! Yours Bernd

US Marines and SS Symbols

Attached a link US Marines and SS Flag to a disturbing article titled " Panetta seeks probe of Marine SS flag" reporting that the U.S. military scrambled to explain a picture of an elite Marine unit posing with a flag symbol that is similar to a Nazi "SS" logo which surfaced on the Internet a day earlier. Marine Corps Scout Snipers from the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion are seen in the photo standing and kneeling with their sniper rifles in front of a blue flag with white Nazi "SS" runes. The picture was taken in 2010 in Afghanistan and the photo's description says the "SS" flag had been "adopted and used by the Marines in reference to Scout Sniper." The Military Religious Freedom Foundation was alerted to the photo by Marines who expressed their concern, said group founder Mikey Weinstein. MRFF then distributed it to news organizations. The Marine Corps said it became aware of the photo last November and the local command investigated, but found it not to be racially motivated, according to a statement released by a Marine Corps spokesman, Lt. Col. Stewart Upton. The unit's commander decided not to proceed with disciplinary action, it said, but all Marines in the unit were reminded that such behavior will not be tolerated and any further display could result in punishment. Its hard to believe that the top US military leadership is only now responding to the event. Imagine this would have been German, French or British troops serving in Afghanistan? We should demand more than an apology from our military! Outreach and education efforts are sorely needed to prevent this from happening again. Yours Bernd

Unite Against Hate

Attached a link http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/uproar-after-jewish-american-newspaper-publisher-suggests-israel-assassinate-barack-obama-1.408429 to an article titled " Uproar after Jewish American newspaper publisher suggests Israel assassinate Barack Obama" reporting that Andrew B. Adler, owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, published an article last week, in which he suggested that Israel consider assassinating President Obama!!! Adler, who has since apologized for his article, listed three options for Israel to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons in an article published in his newspaper last Friday. The first is to launch a pre-emptive strike against Hamas and Hezbollah, the second is to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and the third is to “give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place and forcefully dictate that the United States’ policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.”Adler goes on to write: “Yes, you read “three correctly.” Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel’s existence. Think about it. If have thought of this Tom-Clancy-type scenario, don’t you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles?” Adler apologized for the article, saying “I very much regret it; I wish I hadn’t made reference to it at all,” Adler told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. And in an interview with Gawker.com, Adler denied that he was advocating an assassination of Obama. The American Jewish Committee in Atlanta last night issued a harsh condemnation of Adler’s article, saying that his proposals are “shocking beyond belief.” "While we acknowledge Mr. Adler's apology, we are flabbergasted that he could ever say such a thing in the first place. How could he even conceive of such a twisted idea?" said Dov Wilker, director of AJC Atlanta. "Mr. Adler surely owes immediate apologies to President Obama, as well as to the State of Israel and his readership, the Atlanta Jewish community." Andrew Adler smeared not only the image of the Jewish community in the U.S. but has pleased anti-Zionists and delighted anti-Semites by giving them the kind of “proof” they relish for accusing American supporters of Israel not of “double loyalty” but of one-sided treachery, plain and simple. Furthermore, he also tarnished the image of Israel, a close U.S. ally by claiming that it may consider assassinating the U.S. President! Unfortunately, this event had to happen and the putrid stew of falsehoods, hatred and bigotry boiled over! Adler’s crazy and criminal suggestions are not the ranting of some loony-tune individual and were not taken out of thin air - but are the inevitable result of the inordinate volume of repugnant venom that some of Obama’s political rivals, Jews and non-Jews included, have been spewing for the last three years. In my opinion certain extremist groups within the Jewish community are responsible for this propaganda campaign alleging that President Obama is an enemy of Israel. Words lead to deeds and we should have the courage to speak up and point out those who spread this nonsense. Vile resentments need to be replaced by civil discourse. We can disagree with each other but should maintain civility. Andrew Adler's action should remind us that we have to double our efforts to return to a dialogue based on facts and accepted norms of behavior. Yours Bernd

Book Update

My book is going to be released in Israel in July. I also participate in a project called "The Ghosts of the Third Reich."
For more information see http://www.sdcinematografica.com/index.php?code=progetti_pagina_5_540
Yours
Bernd

NPR Interview, June 2010

Attached you find a link to my recent interview with The Story.
http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_1062_Bernd_Wollschlaeger.mp3/view
Looking forward to your comments.
Yours
Bernd

German Life Published in Brazil

Dear Reader:
A lot has happened since my last blog entry. I never expected that my book would trigger so much interest which resulted in over 100 lectures and presentations throughout Florida, Canada (Montreal), New York,California (Los Angeles) and Israel.Furthermore, I have given several radio interviews on local NPR stations, was featured in a JTLV Yom Hashoa program and contribute to a documentary about children of supporters of the Nazi regime.
I feel humbled and honored to have had the privilege sharing my life experience with so many wonderful people from all walks of life. I also continue contributing all of my lecture proceeds to various charitable organizations supporting the teaching of the Holocaust and the support of Holocaust survivors. Meanwhile my book was also published in Brazil and an Israeli edition is pending.
Most importantly, I just returned from a very emotional journey to Poland visiting the sites of the former concentration camps culminating in the March of the Living which I walked together with my daughter Jade from Auschwitz to Birkenau.
I will never forget standing next to the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria in Birkenau silently praying for the all of victims of Nazi genocide. I hope that my creator will give me the strength to build a better world and to share my aspirations and ideas for many years to come.
I look forward hearing from you.
Yours truly,
Bernd

Amazon Kindle Edition

If you like to read the book on your kindle then follow this link http://www.amazon.com/German-Life-Against-Possible-ebook/dp/B002MPPYGG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1251177820&sr=1-1

EBooks Now Available

Following your suggestions I am offering now my book as an ebook on Amazon.com (Kindle) and on Mobipocket.com.
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD

Canada Book Tour

Was invited to give two book presentations in Montreal,Canada on September 17th and 18th 2009.
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD

Book Goes Global

Dear Reader:
I haven't kept up posting updates to my blog but there is indeed a lot to report.
1) I lecture frequently throughout South Florida. Upcoming meetings include presentations for the "March of the Living" program. Next scheduled on May 5th 2009 and May 14th 2009 and at Na'amat Boynton Beach,FL May 7th http://www.naamat.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=90 .
2) The leading Israeli Newspaper Yediot Ahronot published a 4-page article on April 17th which reached millions of households in Israel.
3) Galei Zahal, the Israeli Defense Forces radio station,interviewed me on April 25th and broadcasted the interview on April 20th.
4) A leader Israeli publisher agreed to publish the book "A German Life" in Hebrew. More details to follow.
5) You can follow my activities on Twitter at agermanlife.

Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD

Stauffenberg:New Book Publication

he Tom Cruise movie " Valkyrie" popularized the issue of resistance against the Nazi Regime. Unfortunately, the movie depicts only the sizzling action of the failed assassination attempt. The producer does not even attempt to explain the complex character of Count Claus von Stauffenberg, who who represented the one beacon of hope that pierced the dark cloud of tyranny which had settled over Germany.
Unfortunately, the bomb failed to kill Hitler. Nearly six thousand men and women were subsequently murdered in the wake of Hitler’s revenge; many strangled in front of cameras. Hitler gloated while watching these executions captured on film.
Stauffenberg was one of the first to die, his body shattered by bullets, burnt to ashes, and scattered over unknown fields. His pregnant wife Nina was arrested by the Gestapo, confined to a prison then later to a concentration camp. Though their children were given up for adoption, all survived the war and later reunited.
I was born in 1958, the son of a highly decorated World War II tank commander and grew up in the house of family Stauffenberg.
In this book I recalls my childhood growing up in the house of a postwar German hero and questions my fathers war accomplishments as a WWII tank commander.
I learned first about Stauffenberg’s heroic action from my father who dismissively called him a traitor.
My father, a German officer like Stauffenberg, was sworn to defend and obey Adolf Hitler. He grudgingly admitted to me that he knew about the murder of Jews but chose to ignore it; his inaction in stark contrast to the decision made by Stauffenberg. My father’s inability to admit to what I saw as his mistakes led to conflict and the dissolution of our relationship. From conversations with Stauffenberg’s widow and personal study, I tried to discern what, unlike my own father, had motivated Stauffenberg to break his oath and attempt tyrannicide.
According to close confidants who survived Hitler’s revenge, Stauffenberg received reports about the mass murder of Jews and was convinced of their authenticity. He himself witnessed the events of November 9-10, 1938, euphemistically called Crystal Night, when most synagogues in Germany were burnt down. Ninety-one Jews were killed and an estimated 20,000 were sent to concentration camps. This not only symbolized the beginning of the end of Jewish life in Germany but also convinced Stauffenberg that such a tyrant had to be removed from power.
Stauffenberg’s strong personal sense of religious morality and justice conflicted with his commitment as an officer sworn to defend his nation. He discussed Hitler’s removal from power with close friends and confidants but at the same time continued to serve his fatherland in the war, which had turned Europe into an inferno. He himself was almost fatally wounded in North Africa in 1943, yet despite crippling injuries, he joined existing resistance groups, eventually emerging as their leader.
In the absence of suitable candidates he volunteered to carry the bomb and tried at least twice to detonate it in front of Hitler even if it meant sacrificing himself. On that fateful day the third attempt to kill Hitler failed. One can only imagine how many lives could have been saved had he succeeded.
What did I learn from his bravery? That a solid ethical and spiritual foundation and commitment to act along those principles defines a moral person. Furthermore, that as citizens of any country, we should not blindly follow our leaders but must critically judge them, finding the courage to object and even to disobey.
Stauffenberg was not a martyr or tragic hero. He was a man who followed his mind and heart. His sacrifice reverberates as a timeless message of hope throughout my life. We should not forget him and all the other men and women of July 20, 1944.
Their sacrifice gave hope for a new generation of Germans like me.
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD

Remember July 20th, 1944

Today marks the 64th Anniversary of the attempt by a group of courageous officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
The attempt failed and thousands of brave men and women were imprisoned, tortured and killed by Hitler's henchmen.
Among them Count Claus von Stauffenberg and in his memory I have written the attached editorial:

=============================================================================

Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg: Bravery in The Face of Tyranny

By Bernd Wollschlaeger, MD

July 20, 1944 marks a turning point in Germany’s history when a few brave men attempted the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Among them, Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg who represented the one beacon of hope that pierced the dark cloud of tyranny which had settled over Germany.
Unfortunately, the bomb failed to kill Hitler. Nearly six thousand men and women were subsequently murdered in the wake of Hitler’s revenge; many strangled in front of cameras. Hitler gloated while watching these executions captured on film.
Stauffenberg was one of the first to die, his body shattered by bullets, burnt to ashes, and scattered over unknown fields. His pregnant wife Nina was arrested by the Gestapo, confined to a prison then later to a concentration camp. Though their children were given up for adoption, all survived the war and later reunited.
I was born in 1958, the son of a highly decorated World War II tank commander who grew up in the house of family Stauffenberg.
I learned first about Stauffenberg’s heroic action from my father who dismissively called him a traitor.
My father, a German officer like Stauffenberg, was sworn to defend and obey Adolf Hitler. He grudgingly admitted to me that he knew about the murder of Jews but chose to ignore it; his inaction in stark contrast to the decision made by Stauffenberg. My father’s inability to admit to what I saw as his mistakes led to conflict and the dissolution of our relationship. From conversations with Stauffenberg’s widow and personal study, I tried to discern what, unlike my own father, had motivated Stauffenberg to break his oath and attempt tyrannicide.
According to close confidants who survived Hitler’s revenge, Stauffenberg received reports about the mass murder of Jews and was convinced of their authenticity. He himself witnessed the events of November 9-10, 1938, euphemistically called Crystal Night, when most synagogues in Germany were burnt down. Ninety-one Jews were killed and an estimated 20,000 were sent to concentration camps. This not only symbolized the beginning of the end of Jewish life in Germany but also convinced Stauffenberg that such a tyrant had to be removed from power.
His strong personal sense of religious morality and justice conflicted with his commitment as an officer sworn to defend his nation. He discussed Hitler’s removal from power with close friends and confidants but at the same time continued to serve his fatherland in the war, which had turned Europe into an inferno. He himself was almost fatally wounded in North Africa in 1943, yet despite crippling injuries, he joined existing resistance groups, eventually emerging as their leader.
In the absence of suitable candidates he volunteered to carry the bomb and tried at least twice to detonate it in front of Hitler even if it meant sacrificing himself. On that fateful day the third attempt to kill Hitler failed. One can only imagine how many lives could have been saved had he succeeded.
What did I learn from his bravery? That a solid ethical and spiritual foundation and commitment to act along those principles defines a moral person. Furthermore, that as citizens of any country, we should not blindly follow our leaders but must critically judge them, finding the courage to object and even to disobey.
Stauffenberg was not a martyr or tragic hero. He was a man who followed his mind and heart. His sacrifice reverberates as a timeless message of hope throughout my life. I will not forget him and all the other men and women of July 20, 1944.

Book Update

Dear Friends:
The last two months were filled with with a flurry of activities among them:
* numerous book presentation including schools, synagogues, Jewish Federation (Miami,FL), American Jewish War Veterans (Aventura,FL)
* completion of the German edition of the book
* contracted professional translators for the Hebrew, Russian and Spanish edition and book synopsis for both languages available on request
* explore book contract with Brazilian publisher for the Portuguese edition
* interview with Channel 9, Russian speaking Channel of Israel TV, in Tel Aviv. Program to be aired on May 1st, 2008 - Yom Hashoa (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
* Keynote Speaker at Yom Hashoa Event, Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, May 1st, 2008 6:30PM

I will keep you posted about any other events.
Yours
Bernd

January 2008: Speaking Events in South Florida

Dear Reader:
Attached several of my upcoming speaking events:

1) January 14th, 2008; 6:00PM to 8:00PM: Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. For more information please contact Mr. Alex Rosenberg at 561-852-3128.

2) January 20th, 2008; 2:30PM: Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, Hollywood,Florida. For more information see http://www.hdec.org/wollschlaeger.htm

3) January 24th, 2008: 6:30PM, Temple Beth Tikvah,3765 Airport Pulling Road N., Suite 200,Naples, FL 34105. For more information call Mr. Phil Jason at (239) 434-1818 or 239-287-8921.

Yours
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD

Upcoming Speaking Engagements, November 2007

Dear Reader:
Attached some dates of my upcoming speaking engagements:

- Saturday, November 10th, 10:00AM: Miami International Book Fair;Building3,4th Floor, Room 341. For more information see
http://www.miamibookfair.com/2007/fgg/saturday_11_10_07.pdf

- Thursday, November15th,7:00PM Location: Next Generations Film Event; Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall located in the de Hoernle International Center at Lynn UniversityTicket price: $18.00 Contact: Nancy Dershaw, Pres. ndershaw@yahoo.com or Judi Hannes, Vice Pres. judihng@yahoo.com

- Sunday, November 18th, 11:30 AM: Congregation Kol Tikvah 6750 University Drive, Parkland FL 33067 Temple Office:
(954) 346-7878. For more information see http://www.koltikvah.net/guest.htm

Book on Amazon

You can purchase my book on Amazon .com. Enter my last name "Wollschlaeger" to search for the book or paste the link http://www.amazon.com/German-Life-Bernd-Wollschlaeger-M-D/dp/0979183103/ref=sr_1_10/102-5053745-4036927?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193709377&sr=8-10 into you browser.
I guarantee immediate delivery within seven business days.
Yours
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD

Book Update

Dear Fellow Friends and Readers:
Thank you so much for all your feedback and support. I try to answer each and every e-mail and please apologize if I have missed answering any of your comments or questions.
Here are some updates:
- EMOR PUBLISHING is soon releasing a new version of the book web site and it will include several new features (including an integrated blog and online ordering.
- Amazon.com will feature the book very soon and you can post your order there too.
- I will speak on Saturday, November 10th, 2007 at 10:00AM at the 2007 Miami Book Fair International and Emor Publishing will be represented at the Book Fair where you can buy the book.

Looking forward to your comments and questions.
Yours
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD

BOOK PUBLISHED

Miami, Friday September 14th, 2007:

My book " A German Life" was released today by EMOR PUBLISHING,LLC and can be obtained on request via my web site.
For $ 18.95 plus shipping you can obtain a personalized and signed copy of the book (Florida residents please add 7% sales tax)
Please contact me at info@agermanlife.com or you can reach me at 305-342-2522.
Yours truly,
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD,FAAFP

Book Goes To Print

Dear Reader:
Great news! After several long weeks of final edits and formatting the galley proofs are ready and go to the printer on Monday.
We expect to receive the first batch within 3-4 weeks.
Furthermore, a new managing partner with extensive business and marketing experience has joined Emor Publishing LLC.
The company will pursue an aggressive distribution and marketing strategie for the book and I will keep you posted about any book lectures and presentations.
Thank you for your patience.
Yours
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD
Managing Partner Emor Publishing,LLC
Book Author

Miami Herald Features A German Life

Posted on Tue, Jun. 19, 2007
Doctor's secret: A Nazi father, now a Jew by choice

BY JOHN DORSCHNER
Bernd Wollschlaeger has two stories to tell.
First, he's a former officer in the Israel Defense Forces, a physician who developed expertise in biological warfare. He lives in Miramar, runs a family practice in North Miami Beach, has become a legislative leader of the American Medical Association and is active in local Jewish causes.

Now, at 49, he has decided to tell ``my coming-out story.''

It is this: He was born the Christian son of a World War II German tank commander -- a third-generation warrior who received Deutschland's highest military honor, the Iron Cross, which was pinned on his uniform by Adolf Hitler himself.

As a teenager, Bernd studied the Nazis and the Holocaust and was repelled by what he learned. Ultimately, he converted to Judaism and moved to Israel.

''This was, and is, very difficult to deal with,'' he said. ``I never saw my father again.''

But recently, after telling his children about his father, he started talking -- first at Hillel Community Day School, where his two eldest children attend. Now, he has created a website -- AGer manLife.com -- and plans to publish a book under that name.

''He is an amazing individual,'' said Brian Siegal, executive director of the American Jewish Committee's local chapter, where Wollschlaeger was elected to the regional board. ``He's gone through an amazing self-reflection and contributes greatly to the work we are doing.''

For years, he kept his past secret, not even telling his first wife, a Jew he met in Israel -- an omission that, when revealed, seriously damaged the marriage.

''I lied, plain and simple,'' he said. 'I was ashamed of my past, and it wasn't something that you could work easily into a conversation in Israel. `My father was a Wehrmacht officer.' That's definitely a party pooper.''

`A TRAGIC FIGURE'

Here is Wollschlaeger's story, based on interviews, e-mails and a manuscript of his book:

Growing up in Bamberg, a small town in Bavaria, Bernd came to view his father, Arthur, as a brooding drunk whose life had been shattered by the Nazis' defeat. ''I think he was a tragic figure. He got caught up in a system. Then his whole notion of the world collapsed,'' Wollschlaeger said.

Arthur had been educated at NAPOLA, the elite Nazi training academy. He never joined the Nazi Party, but he embraced Hitler's vision of making Germany great again.

Arthur won the Iron Cross for a tank charge in Poland. He was wounded five times during the war -- the last an open head wound from a grenade. After the defeat, he spent a year in a U.S. prison camp. Eventually, he became a government bureaucrat, but his life was never the same.

At home, he drank a lot and talked proudly about his Iron Cross, while brushing off other aspects of the Hitler era. ''Son, I have told you everything you need to know.'' Sometimes old army buddies dropped by for long bouts of booze during which they sang Deutschland üeber alles and Die Fahne hoch, the Nazi Party anthem.

From an early age, Bernd didn't like his father's authoritarian bearing and his parents' insistence on obedience.

After Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, a teacher told Wollschlaeger's class that the Israelis ``brought it upon themselves. . . . Some people believe that they are special and too powerful and, in my opinion, they are.''

Wollschlaeger, then 14, thought that was an odd response to a slaughter, and he didn't understand when some people said, ``Not again.''

THE HOLOCAUST

He knew the Nazis had put Jews in concentration camps and that some had been murdered. ``But [I] had no idea about the industrialized and sophisticated killing machine designed to systematically exterminate an entire ethnic group.''

He began reading everything he could find on Jews and Israel. His parents noticed. ''Why are you so preoccupied about their suffering?'' his mother, Elizabeth, asked him. ``Jews were not the only ones who died in the war. Have you forgotten what I told you about our suffering? We lost everything and had to start all over.''

In 1979, as Wollschlaeger was starting college, the American TV series Holocaust was shown in Germany. 'My father's reaction was predictable. `Nobody in this house will watch this program,' he yelled. 'This is just another smear campaign by those Jews in Hollywood, and we don't have to listen to their lies.' ''

But another time, Arthur admitted that on the Eastern front he had seen ``cattle cars filled with civilians, mostly women and children.''

Still, he insisted to his son that he learned the extent of the killing only after the war.

Writes Wollschlaeger: ``This was hard to believe, and I recognized that even in retrospect, my father was camouflaging what he knew.''

At a peace conference in Germany organized by Israeli and Palestinian young people, Wollschlaeger heard their stories and decided he had to make a trip to Israel to see for himself. His father thought that was a ``ridiculous idea.''

But his mother gave him the money for the trip and asked him to deliver a prayer for her in Israel. Wollschlaeger later wondered whether his maternal ancestors had been Jewish. But his mother, now dead, never said.

On the morning of the trip in 1978, Wollschlaeger's father drove him to the railroad station. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he went to the Western Wall, sometimes called the Wailing Wall. He slipped the prayer his mother had requested between stones.

``After doing so, I closed my eyes to pray for her soul. I forgot the world around me and imagined the thousands of people who had prayed at this very spot over the centuries.

``I lost sense of time and place and prayed with a fervor I had never felt before. I was weeping and I felt the divine presence in me.''

He continued his quest for understanding Judaism and Israel. He had been baptized a Catholic, but religion had not been practiced in his household. He viewed Christianity as cold and abstract.

The more he read about Judaism, the more he was impressed with its depths.

In medical school, he sought to talk to a rabbi about converting. The small Jewish community remaining was suspicious of his motives. ''Please understand that I cannot encourage you to convert,'' the rabbi told him. ''Actually, I should discourage you, because Judaism does not proselytize.'' Still, the rabbi offered to help him learn.

He studied for 10 years.

Finally, as he was finishing med school, Wollschlaeger convinced Jewish teachers of his sincerity. He was ready for conversion. Because so few religious leaders were left in Germany, he had to travel to Switzerland for a mohel to perform his circumcision and to France for the immersion in the ritual bath or Mikveh.

After passing his medical exams, he celebrated with his classmates. Then, while somewhat inebriated, he went to find his parents, who were having dinner at a restaurant. He told them about his conversion and his conclusion that to lead a full Jewish life he needed to move to Israel, because there were so few Jews left in Germany.

''I am losing my only son,'' his father said bitterly.

LIFE IN ISRAEL

In Israel, he started taking classes in Hebrew while working in a kibbutz that raised bananas. His father regularly sent letters. Wollschlaeger refused to open them. Six months after he arrived, his sister told him that his father was dead. He had been diagnosed with cancer and ``chose not to receive treatment.''

Only then did Wollschlaeger open the letters. In the last, his father wrote that he had removed Bernd from his will and asked that he not attend his funeral.

Eventually, Wollschlaeger married a New York woman who also had emigrated to Israel, and they had a son. After Iraq's Scud missile attacks on Tel Aviv and Haifa during the first Gulf War, she had had enough of the danger, and in 1991, they moved to South Florida, where she had relatives.

They had a second child, a daughter, but the pressure of the move and other factors ended the marriage. In 1999, he married a Hispanic Catholic. They have a daughter, who has been baptized. ''She's being raised in a Jewish-Catholic environment. When she's old enough, she will make her own decision,'' Wollschlaeger said.

Over time, he told his children bits and pieces of his past, and it was son Tal who started telling others.

''One day, we were learning about the Holocaust at school,'' Tal said, 'and the teacher asked, `Was anyone's family in the Holocaust?' And I raised my hand and said, 'My grandfather was a Nazi.' I was the class clown and everybody thought I was kidding.''

Wollschlaeger spoke to the class and has kept speaking about his past to selected groups, even appearing on a WLRN show, but he rarely discusses it in the healthcare field, where he is a maverick.

While many doctors are political conservatives, Wollschlaeger drives a Honda Accord with a Barack Obama bumper sticker.

For his practice, he rented an office in a blue-collar area of North Miami Beach. ``I did not choose medicine to get rich.''

In Jewish causes, he has gone on solidarity missions to Israel with American Jewish Committee leaders and was elected to the regional board of the Anti-Defamation League, dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism.

''He wants justice to be served in the world,'' said Andrew Rosenkranz, the league's regional director. ``He's an extraordinarily kind-hearted man.''

Seeking closure on his past, Wollschlaeger recently traveled to Germany and met his sister for the first time in 18 years. She remains ''incredulous'' at his decision. ``In her perception, I destroyed the family.''

He submitted a manuscript of A German Life to several publishers and was rejected. He is now planning to self-publish a limited edition and hopes to connect with a major publisher.

He acknowledges that all children are shaped by their parents in some way. From his dad, he says, he learned ``to be disciplined in everything I do and stubbornness.''

He also inherited his father's weakness for alcohol. ''I was a happy drunk. I stopped because I wanted to be a good father.'' He has been in recovery for 12 years and is trained to be a specialist in treating addicts. Earlier this year, he was elected president of the Florida Society of Addiction Medicine.

``I learned what my father didn't learn.''