Every community has certain individuals that have contributed a considerable amount of energy and services to the community. Sometime we lose sight of them and we ask: What are they doing now? One such special person is a Kitchener-Waterloo entrepreneur who shared his tremendously good fortune with many people in our community and is still doing so. But not only that, a book about his life, which was first published in German was now released in English , written by Ulrich Frisse.

John English had this to say in the preface:

"In this remarkable biography of Paul Tuerr, Ulrich Frisse views the tumult of the twentieth century through the prism of an individual life. And what an extraordinary life Paul Tuerr has lived. Frisse uses historian Arnold Toynbee's concept of "challenge and response" as a theme to link together the different threads of Paul's life. Where there has been challenge - and there were many - Paul's response has been invariably ingenious and creative.

I have known Paul Tuerr for over forty years. He was then a young entrepreneur whose step was quick, his energy endless. I was then dating Hilde Abt whose parents, like Paul came from the Batschka area in Yugoslavia and who knew Paul and his family well. He attended our wedding in May 1967, and I still have the silverware that Paul and Anna, whom we knew as Medy, gave us on that occasion.

Hilde and I lived in the United States for four years, but we often saw the Tuerrs on our visits home, especially at Oktoberfest which we never missed in those early days. When we returned to Kitchener, we got to know Paul much better when we gathered late in the evening at the new Rathskeller restaurant for wine and its speciality Zurich toast. Paul was a marvellous storyteller, and he filled in many blanks in the tales of the "Heimat" that I was learning at the Abts' dinner table. Those were the days when Paul's ambitions knew no bounds. He would muse about new development projects, talk about starting a newspaper to challenge The Record's monopoly, and dream of a community that had no equal. I had not known of Paul's education in architecture and engineering in Germany, but quickly it became evident that he did not simply slap together wood and mortar as too many Canadian builders did. Here was a sophisticated and highly intelligent designer of homes and buildings who brought to his craft a solid training and expertise.

What Paul also brought from Europe was a strong historical sense and a commitment to his own background. He was very proudly Donauschwab, a descendant of those who settled on the lands reclaimed from the Ottoman Empire and the swamps in the eighteenth century. Although I am a professional historian who had studied European history, I knew little of the history of the so-called Danube Swabians. Like so many peoples of Eastern Europe, their history was shrouded in mist in the sixties when I read history texts. From Paul and his friends, I learned, on the one hand, the strong sense of community among the Donauschwabens and, on the other hand, the tragic history of that community in the twentieth century.

Within the rich cultural mosaic of the Austro-Hungarian Empire the Donauschwabens had thrived in the nineteenth century, farming the rich lands of the Danube plain and creating cities and towns whose schools maintained German language and culture, whose stores carried the goods of Budapest and Vienna, and whose industries produced items of excellent quality. When the twentieth century began, the Donauschwabens were a successful people under Emperor Franz Josef in a multicultural Empire where German was the primary language. The century brought horrors beyond imagination and ended with scarcely a trace of the German past in the Backa where they had so long thrived. Their churches are empty; the cemeteries a reminder of a world that was lost.

Ulrich Frisse has captured so well how Paul Tuerr represented this community in the personal tragedies his family endured, but also in the success he has so abundantly found in Canada. To be sure, there was luck involved. Frisse's description of Paul's escape from danger in the last days of the war reveals how fortune smiled upon Paul, but not on many others. Yet Paul's determination shines through every page of this book from his early decision to seek education in Germany and his willingness to take on hard tasks. Although his education and contacts would have assured him success in post-war Germany, he came to Canada without knowing the English language. Canada would not recognize his professional training, and he began as a labourer with Dunker Construction where his strong back was infinitely more important than his excellent brain.

Yet his ingenuity and cleverness quickly led him to independence. He brought his knowledge of European building methods to Canada and his awareness of land development in Europe gave him an advantage over his Canadian peers. Reading this book, I became aware how profoundly Paul Tuerr has influenced the development of Kitchener and surrounding regions. He was a leader who inspired others, and a father and a husband who thrived in a strong family unit.

Ulrich Frisse has written a book that illuminates the Donauschwaben contribution to Canada while describing the immense contribution that Paul Tuerr has made to his community The path was not easy: it passed through wars, ethnic cleansing, personal agonies, and difficult beginnings. In reading Frisse's words, in poring over the wonderful photographs that enhance the story, I learned how a strong sense of purpose, history and family can motivate an individual to achieve excellence. This biography recalls some of the worst moments of the last century but it reminds us that from these tragedies an individual can gain great strength. Paul Tuerr has that strength and so does his story."

On Thursday July 12, there will be a ceremony at 3pm in Mannheim at the monument he had erected in honour of his wife. Afterwards Friends and Family will gather at a fundraising event at Paul Tuerrs’s Farm at 5pm. For more information call the German Canadian Remembrance Society, which he also founded a few years ago. (519- 578-6185)

A success 90 years in the making

If anyone went to the German Club Harmonie, Toronto, some time back, they probably encountered Rolf Haas as the manager. Later he also managed the Austrian Club Edelweiss until it closed down. That was of course long after he had officially retired.

We recently visited him in his Toronto home of over 50 years in the heart of the city where family and friends had gathered to celebrate his 9oth birthday. We had not seen him in perhaps 15 years and he did not appear to have changed much at all. He was as lively as always and remembered us instantly. Two of his children, Anita, who had arrived from the US where she has lived for quite a long time, and Frank and his family from Toronto were at hand to look after the many friends and neighbors who had turned up to cheer him on. Even the weather cooperated and kept the thundershowers to a minimum.

There was much talk of the past and a successful life.

Rolf Haas was born May 31, 1918 in Nuernberg, Germany, the son of an entrepreneur who owned a chain of bicycle stores. Prior to WWII he trained in the hospitality industry and we can see how this worked out well later in life, when he worked after the war first for the Americans as in-charge for the General’s Mess in Katterbach and the Officer’s Club In Kitzingen. He also owned a dance hall and restaurant in Ansbach before he came to Canada in 1954 with his family. He bought early on his house on Summerhill Ave, where he still lives. His career in the hospitality industry elevated him to Manager of Operations for CARA Industries and he is still a member of the Maitre’D Association.

Besides his work and people he liked to travel the world with his wife Elisabeth, which he lost in 2000. But he carries on with a smile on his lips, looking as chipper as ever, despite a few health problems.

Happy Birthday Rolf, and many more!

Until next time

Sybille Forster-Rentmeister