The horror of what was the systematic eradication of more than 20 million Jews and other groups of people deemed inferior by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi followers became a reality to U.S. Army Operational Test Command employees Friday at their annual Days of Remembrance observance.

Rose Longwell, a Holocaust survivor, and Barbara Trundle, the daughter of a survivor, shared their stories of unimaginable persecution, fear and despair in the hope that knowledge will prevent similar atrocities from happening now and in the future. Both ladies are members of the Fort Hood Jewish Congregation.

Trundle's story

Trundle, who spoke first, said she would not be here if her mother had met the same fate as the 6 million Jews who perished under the cruelty of the Third Reich. Her grandparents, Hans and Franziska Markendorf, owned a textile factory and had two children, Trundle's mother, Hannelore, and her uncle, Adi.

"My grandmother tried to convince my grandfather to leave Germany and come to the United States," she said, "but he refused, believing that because he was German and a decorated World War I veteran, he was safe and no harm would come to the family."

But on Nov. 9, 1938, also known as Kristallnacht or Night of the Broken Glass, Trundle's grandfather was beaten so severely by German soldiers at his factory that he died two days later.

"Knowing things were only getting worse for Jews in Germany, my grandmother knew she had to get her children out," Trundle said. "She was able to get my mother, Hannelore, on a Kindertransport to Scotland."

Unfortunately, Hannelore's brother Adi exceeded the age limit to go with her, and he was forced into manual labor.

"Every day the Nazis would come and round up Jews to take to the camps," Trundle said. "My uncle's cousin Heinz, who was 15 years old and worked beside him, was taken and never seen nor heard from again."

Hannelore remained in Scotland until after the war, returning to Germany to find her mother and brother still alive. "My mother returned to England where she became a British citizen, got married and completed nurse's training," Trundle said. "While working as a nurse at the British military hospital in Berlin, she attended Rudolf Hess, who was in Spandau prison. How ironic is that?"

Longwell was barely 10 months old when Kristallnacht took place, but her family, like Trundle's, decided to stay in Germany because Longwell's maternal grandfather was a decorated officer and WWI veteran and thought no harm would come to his family.

"We were able to stay in our own home off and on throughout the war because of my mom's courage and strength," Longwell said. "My mom was constantly harassed, particularly by one individual, a district leader, who told her he would take us to a place of no return if she didn't do what he said.

"She finally had enough and told him if he took her and her girls, she would make sure he was included on the trip because she knew he was the son of Jewish parents," Longwell said. "Only three other neighbors knew we were Jewish and they kept that secret.

"I can remember many times during the four years of war the soldiers coming in the night, making us all stand in the street while they searched," she said. "Little did they know Jews were standing right in front of them."

Seven years old when the war ended, Longwell remembered her mother painting a large yellow star on a bedsheet and hanging it out of a second-story window to let American soldiers know they were Jewish.

"We would wake up to find our yards filled with C-rations and candy," she said, "but the other yards were filled with trash."

Longwell said one of her most vivid memories was accidentally knocking over a pot of hot chicory and roasted wheat, which was a coffee substitute. Burned over her face, head and shoulder, Longwell was taken by bicycle to the only local medical provider — a veterinarian.

"He had no supplies to treat me," she said. "He cleaned it as much as he could and applied Vaseline. On the way home I was still screaming and crying when an American jeep full of soldiers pulled up and asked my mom what had happened."

After her mother explained the situation as best as she could, Longwell said, the soldiers put them in their jeep, along with their bicycle, and took them to their first aid station, where medics treated her appropriately. She healed with no scarring.

Longwell married a U.S. soldier in 1953, and was able to bring her mother to America with her. "My husband retired at Fort Hood after 32 years of service," Longwell said. "He passed away in 1992 and my mother before him in 1982. My sister died a year and a half ago, and now I'm all that's left."

Edithe Fryer, a Fort Hood Jewish Congregation lay leader and retired Army nurse, introduced the speakers and shared facts about the Holocaust observance.

Col. Kenny Crawford, the command's chief of staff, presented the trio with plaques and hosted a reception in their honor afterward.