Anton+Schmid

__ **The story of a betrayal: Anton Schmid** __ __ **A picture of Anton Schmid** __ @http://auschwitz.dk/Schmid/Schmid.htm

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__Who was he???__
Anton Schmid was a holocaust hero for his actions. He was an Austrian man who was drafted into the Deutsche Wehrmacht.

__ What was his early life like? __
He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1900. He owned his own personal radio shop while still living in Vienna. For work he was a technician and a soldier. Among many things he was a religious man devoted to Catholicism. He was married to his wife named Stefi and they had one daughter.

__What was his military career like?__
He was a soldier who was first stationed in Poland and then after the Wehrmacht attack against the Soviet Union, Schmid was stationed near Vilnius. He was a sergeant in the Wehrmacht who witnessed the terrible ways the Jewish men, women, and children were round up, tortured, and finally killed. With the way the the Jews were treated he thought he had to intervene so he helped save 250 or more Jewish citizens.With this situation in mind he knew he was disobeying orders and betraying his country but he didn't care. He helped them out by (Anonymous) “Hiding them, supplying them with false ID papers, and helping them escape”.

A picture of the //Righteous Among The Nations medal.//
@http://www.israelidecorations.net/CivilianDecorations/Righteous_among_the_Nations.htm

__How did he help the Jewish people?__
Braving his life, Schmid went into the ghettos and gave much need supplies to the Jewish men, women, and children. Every time the Germans came to round up the Jewish people, Schmid would warn the Jews that the Germans were coming. He also used his military advantages to free the jews, help them get to a safer area, and become productive citizens. Because of the section that he was in, he had access to military troop transport trucks. Schmid would use these army trucks to transport Jews out of the country and to better areas. Not only did he do those things to help them but he sheltered them inside his apartment and office. Adding to his many Jewish helping causes he organized secret meetings between leaders in the Jewish underground. He wanted to keep the Jewish homeland a country after the war was over.

__ What was he like? __
Schmid stood out from the other German soldiers. He was a kind, compassionate man who stood up for what he felt was right. He was one of the few German soldiers who had the courage to stand for his beliefs. Because of this, he was able to rescue between 250 and 300 Jewish people on record. (He may have saved more Jewish people, but if so it is not know.)

__ How did his life end? __
Unfortunately, for the Jewish people Anton Schmid was arrested in January 1942 on charges on of high treason against his country. He was found guilty and was executed on April 13, 1942. Schmid's actions made others suffer as well. After his death his wife and daughter were harassed and suffered abuse from their Nazi neighbors.

__Did he do anything important or get anything from it?__
Schmid did some important things during his lifetime. One of them was to host the Dror Jewish Underground (Like the Underground Railroad from the Civil War) to celebrate the new year of 1942. Another one was to try to get his employed Jewish helpers to be able to get ID cards so that they were not executed. Because of his actions in the Holocaust he got the title of Righteous Among the Nations and a street in Vienna was named after him.

__How was he a hero and what did I learn?__
This person was a hero for saving hundreds of Jewish people during the Holocaust and for housing Jewish citizens. He was willing to do what others would not do during the Holocaust. I learned that even if no one likes what you think you should stand up for what you believe and that Anton Schmid was a person who was beyond all odds a man of kindness, respect, and helpfulness.

=__ What works did I use? __=

Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, 2014. Web. Dec. 8, 2014. []

ExecutedToday, WordPress, 2014. Web. Dec. 8, 2014.

Anonymous, FindAGrave, Ancestry, Sep 28, 2011, Web. Dec. 8, 2014. __ [] __

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