(1) Did Frederick (Friedrich) and Elizabeth (Elisabeth) Trump, Donald Trump's Grandfather and Grandmother, sympathize with Germany during WW I and resent US involvement in the war?
Both had close relatives living in Kallstadt, Germany, and both concealed their Germany ethnicity.
(2) Friedrich Trump left Kallstadt, Germany at the age of 16 and headed to America, leaving close relatives behind.
Elisabeth, a German citizen, met Friedrich during his visit to Kallstadt in 1901. She traveled to America, but the couple tried to move back to Germany in 1904.
(3) Friedrich and Elisabeth moved to New York and they set up house in an apartment in the predominantly German quarter of Morrisania in the Bronx.
Elizabeth (as her name was spelled in the United States) kept house, while "Frederick" worked as a restaurant and hotel manager.
(4) Their first child, also Elizabeth, was born on April 30, 1904. Despite living in a German neighborhood, mother Elizabeth, who had lived in Germany all her life, was homesick. The family returned to Kallstadt, Germany in 1904, selling their assets in America.
(5) Bavarian authorities accused Friedrich Trump of leaving Germany at 16 in order to "avoid service in the Imperial Army", & they told Trump he could not remain there, so the family returned to the United States in 1905.
July 28th, 1914, WW I began.
cdn.theguardian.tv/mainwebsite/20…
(6) In 1905, when Frederick Trump returned to America with his wife and daughter, both named Elizabeth, he left his family of origin and Elizabeth's family of origin behind in Kallstadt.
Friedrich was turned away for the German equivalent of "draft dodging".
(7) Another source records the incident this way (1/2).
allthatsinteresting.com/frederick-trum…
(8) Another source (2/2): The decision of the High Royal State Ministry was taken especially hard by Friedrich's wife, Elizabeth, who didn't like America, and now could not return to her homeland.
(9) Their 2nd child, Fred, was born in 1905, & they set up house on 177th St. in the Bronx. Elizabeth gave birth to her 3rd child, John, and they moved to Queens, where Frederick began to develop real estate.
During the 1918 flu pandemic, Fred died of flu, just before WWI ended.
(10) Now widowed, Elizabeth Trump had 3 children to raise, Elizabeth (14), Fred (13), Donald's father, & John (11), who would become a Professor at MIT.
The stern German mother focused her energy on building a real estate business and training her eldest son, Fred, to run it.
(11) Elisabeth Trump was born in Kallstadt, Germany and all her family still lived there. Her lost husband, Friedrich also was born in Kallstadt and came to America leaving most of his family behind.
Their relatives likely fought for Germany in WW I, along with Adolf Hitler.
(12) In '23, Elizabeth Trump & eldest son, Fred, founded "The Trump Organization" under its original name, "E. Trump & Son". Fred began construction of his first house shortly after graduating high school.
Elizabeth remained active in the business until she died in 1966 at 86.
(13) Both Friedrich & Elisabeth Trump were native born Germans, w/almost all their family in Germany.
Friedrich died tragically from the Spanish Flu in 1918, leaving Elizabeth to raise their 3 children alone.
It's likely their allegiance was to Germany in WWI & perhaps in WWII.
(14) Credits and References:
@ATInteresting
@Wikipedia
allthatsinteresting.com/frederick-trum…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Trump
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trump…
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