Dick Sears

Dick Sears, Denver native and member of the United States Military Government in Berlin, circa 1946. Dick Sears helped the Loewenstein family communicate with Henry in England after the war, and expedited the family's admission to the United States.

World War II ended on May 7, 1945.

The Loewensteins had endured incredible hardships, but they had survived. Of the more than 160,000 Jews in Berlin before Hitler came to power, few were still alive. The city lay in ruins and feeding the population was a huge challenge. The victorious Russians wanted Germany to care for the needs of Berlin’s civilian population, but wanted to be sure that no Nazis would be involved.

Otto Grotewohl had lived in the rear of the Loewensteins’ apartment building when Henry was a child and had served in the Reichstag before Hitler came to power.  He was one of the few anti-Nazis with administrative experience who had survived the Hitler era. He began by first organizing food distribution in the immediate neighborhood and soon handled all of Berlin and much of what was to become the East Zone.

With her clear anti-Nazi past, Karin became his assistant and soon dealt on his behalf with representatives of the Western Powers. Her main contact with OMGUS, the Office of the Military Government of the United States in Berlin, was Denver native Dick Sears, who played an important role in the family’s later lives. Grotewohl soon became the leader of the Social Democratic Party in Germany and eventually the Prime Minister of East Germany. Under Soviet pressure he met secretly in February/March 1946 with the leader of the German Communists, Wilhelm Pieck. Only Karin was present to take notes as the two leaders planned to betray the Western Powers. She passed the information to her American contacts, was taken prisoner by the Russians, escaped, and her American friends arranged for her, Max and Maria to leave as quickly as possible for safety in the United States.