PRESENTS TOP TEN REASONS TO VISIT THE NEWLY REMODELED GATEWAY DELI would not have been protected by the Geneva Convention. If captured by the Germans, they could have been executed as traitors. Veteran Eric Hamberg, of Union, N.J., recalls being asked during the citi- zenship process, 'Are you willing to fight against the country of your birth?" "When I heard that I laughed," he says in the promotional trailer for About Face. Hamberg, who served in the 84th Chemical Mortar Battalion, says, "I was fighting as a Jewish boy out of Germany fighting against an enemy that I knew." Kissinger's Story Those interviewed by Karras include Henry Kissinger, who was in counter- intelligence during the war and later served as a captain in the Military Government in Worms — experi- ences that helped launch his diplo- matic career. In the film's trailer, the former U.S. Secretary of State describes the toll the Holocaust took on his extended family. "I started looking for mem- bers of my family to see whether any had survived. But they hadn't," he recalls. "I went back to my hometown and to the place where my grandparents had lived." Kissinger then pauses and looks off camera. That was a some- what emotional experience," he says. As About Face will show, there were plenty of emotional experiences when these refugee soldiers came face to face with their former countrymen. Martin Selling was a German refugee serving in the U.S. 35th Infantry Division. One day while he was on guard duty, a German prisoner asked, "Where did you learn to speak such good German?" Selling, who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., replied, "I learned to speak German in Germany, and I learned how to interrogate prisoners when I was in Dachau." "When he realized I was a former inmate of Dachau," Selling continues, "he got so scared he lost control of his bowels right then and there." Sometimes the encounters were more ironic than traumatic. Veteran Harry Lorch (who went by "Hans" growing up in Germany) recalls an encounter with a German POW. Though he had ordered silence among the prisoners he was guarding, Lorch heard a voice repeatedly say, "Hans." Finally the prisoner said, "Don't you know me anymore, Lorch?" It turned out that Lorch, who now lives in 1. New gourmet menu 2. Brand new interior 3. More gourmet dishes 4. More brealdast specials 5. Same great staff 6. Peter's in charge 7. Fast, efficient service 8. Homemade soups 9. We can't wait to see you 10.This coupon Englewood, N.J., and the German POW had gone to school together in Germany. Life Altering Experiences Speaking with veterans all over the country, Karras heard more than the simple stories of revenge he initially had expected. Many veterans described the life- altering experience of being accepted as American soldiers, their gratitude to their adopted country, and the lasting impact their military experience had on their lives. Once the interviews got under way, Karras realized "these guys weren't talking about revenge. They were talk- ing about acceptance and citizenship and feeling really good." As the veterans told their stories, Karras noticed changes in their body language. The same man who sat slumped in his chair while remember- ing Nazi Germany would come to life discussing his military experience. For most of them, being drafted offered their first chance to step out- side the insular immigrant communi- ties in which they were living. "The Army was where we got our citi- zenship, where we got our drivers' licenses — the last step toward assimilation," says Walter Goldschmidt, who later served as a director-of the Chicago Board of Trade. A letter Goldschmidt wrote to his par- ents during the war demonstrated just how profoundly he had changed. "What a little place it is," Goldschmidt wrote of Beibesheim after seeing his old home- town with new eyes. For the young man who had come of age in a world of sky- scrapers, double-decker buses and food packaged in boxes, it was "hard to realize that I was once at home there." Now, after recording the stories of Goldschmidt and scores of others, Karras and producer Rose Lizarraga are busy editing more than 1,000 hours of interviews. The two are also working to land a distribution deal — simultaneously pursuing both feature film and television possibilities. Fund-raising has been a challenge for Karras. He finds hitting people up for money a "grueling, uncomfortable task" "It's hard convincing someone that they're going to be helping to create a new historical perspective for the ages — if I were building a hospital, it would be much easier." As Karras deals with the frustrations of making his vision a reality, he draws inspiration from the men he inter- viewed. "They don't harp on their mis- fortunes, and that's been a huge lesson for me," he says. 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