DENVER — Of all the connections we make in life, the relationships we maintain are the ones that stick out.
The relationship between Carl Unrein and Jim Smallwood began long before they were born. It likely would've been lost to the forgetful whims of time except for the recent discovery of an old letter, collecting dust in a drawer.
Unrein's father, Tony, was a first lieutenant in the 94th Infantry Division. He was injured after his unit was captured by German soldiers in January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge.
Jim's grandfather, Hans Zembsch, was a German soldier. He was fluent in English from his time in San Francisco before World War II broke out, and assigned to guard and translate for American war prisoners at a hospital near Nuremberg.
Tony Unrein and Hans Zembsch were brothers in war, but not brothers in arms.
"It’s so remarkable, it’s almost inconceivable at some points when you see all the points of intersection," Smallwood said.
You'll understand why the coincidences make this story, in Unrein's words, "surreal" soon enough. However, the decades-old friendship illuminated in the long-forgotten letter is notable on its own.
The single page is addressed to Smallwood's mother from Tony Unrein. It's dated May 23, 1985, but the relationship it illuminates began forty years earlier and thousands of miles away.
Tony's single line, staccato diary entries, written on song paper to evade detection by his captors, tell the hardship of life as a prisoner of war.
"It says 'captured,' it talks about no food, being transported, marches," Carl said, reading the tiny, delicate pages still preserved in family lore — and family archives — years later.
Tony Unrein's 1985 letter explains he survived with the help of Jim's grandfather, who by then had passed away.
"I am still indebted to him for his untiring efforts to obtain food for all the men in the barracks for which he was responsible," Tony Unrein wrote. "He was a good man and cared for us as if we were brothers."
Zembsch wore the uniform of atrocity. When they spoke about their family's role in the war, which wasn't often, Jim's mother always said he was drafted into the German army against his will.
"My mother would occasionally drop little comments like 'Well you know your grandfather wasn't like that,'" Smallwood recalled "'Your grandfather wasn't a member of the [Nazi] party, your grandfather basically got sucked into a war that he didn't want any part of, right?'"
Zembsch wore the uniform of atrocity. When they spoke about their family's role in the war, which wasn't often, Jim's mother always said he was drafted into the German army against his will.
"My mother would occasionally drop little comments like 'Well you know your grandfather wasn't like that,'" Smallwood recalled "'Your grandfather wasn't a member of the [Nazi] party, your grandfather basically got sucked into a war that he didn't want any part of, right?'"
Smallwood, who now serves as minority caucus chair in the Colorado State Senate, wanted to believe it but wasn't sure.
"If you’re a person of German heritage, you always carry with you the little bit of shame of what happened in World War II," Smallwood explained.
Then Smallwood found Tony Unrein's letter to his mother all those years ago. "That brings a lot of comfort and a lot of relief," he said. "A lot of relief."
Smallwood felt he had just to know more about the extraordinary friendship the letter revealed.
"That’s when things got really fascinating," Smallwood said. "Because when I look at the letter, I realize for the first time in my life that it’s from someone in Denver, which is where I live."
He reached out to Tony Unrein's family who, through a twist of coincidence, still lived where Tony settled after the war. They were just a 30-minute drive from Smallwood's home outside of Denver.
Carl Unrein was more than happy to tell him more about the bond. "My dad told stories about this friendship all the time," he said. "It was a defining experience in his life as a POW."
They quickly discovered new connections between their two families that they never knew existed. Smallwood manages a pension belonging to Carl Unrein's brother and they had unknowingly met with him before, for example.
"There's no six degrees of separation in Denver," Carl Unrein said. "What is it? One. That's Denver!"
"It's a small world," Jim agreed. But he's grateful for that: without the rich history Carl's family committed to memory, he would never have known the strength of the relationship his grandfather maintained with his one-time prisoner.
Carl told him the ties between Tony Unrein and Hans Zembsch continued for years after liberation. Tony sent "care packages" to Hans' family in post-war Germany, where gifts like bikes and blue jeans were rare luxuries.
In return, Zembsch sent Tony Unrein sets of Bavarian porcelain from the factory where he worked as a bookkeeper for the rest of his life. Carl Unrien still has the delicate pieces.
"There was a yearning there," Carl Unrein said. "An incompleteness to my dad’s life. He wanted to not close that chapter, but continue that chapter."
Now, decades later, it has continued. Smallwood and Carl Unrein have met in person twice to exchange memories and fill in the blanks missing in the stories of their forefathers' past, and the friendship they forged across enemy lines.
"It's tough for German guys to say the word love," Carl Unrein said. "But I think there was that love there."
"Had to be," Smallwood agreed.
>Below: Extended interview with Carl Unrein:
>Below: Extended interview with Jim Smallwood:
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