When I arrived in the USA in 1955, I was confused and scared. My husband and I brought with us our two small children, two suitcases and 100 dollars. I was 29 years old and spoke no English. I had never seen rush hour traffic, sales or endless rows of food and goods in many supermarkets. I knew only poverty, brainwashing by the Nazis and rigid rules under dictatorship.

America was so different it frightened me in the beginning. My American neighbor's daily life style boggled my mind, but the first thing I noticed was that most people were very kind to me. They laughed a lot and tried to help whenever possible. They also acted so unafraid and free - and freedom was completely new to me. I did not know how to relate to such a life style! Freedom puzzled me until I learned its meaning and how to live as a free human being. I fell in love with freedom and America. Today I consider freedom God's greatest gift to the human race, and America the greatest nation on planet earth. Freedom gives choices while dictatorship makes human robots. I am proud to be an American, not by birth, but by my free choice. I love God, America and Freedom! I would rather die than ever be unfree again. I pray that we as the American people will never take freedom for granted or we might loose it. If Freedom is lost, there will be no more refuge left for those who try to find a better way of life as I did when I came to America. The lights will go out around the world when freedom dies!

May God keep freedom alive and may HE bless my beloved America for evermore!