Betty Jane Early Andrews knew the Winzen family well while she was in college and knew Lily as the sister of Franz von Papen [Hitler was named chancellor and von Poppen was named vice chancellor].
Betty said, "I never took German but Otto Winzen (Lily's son) always called me "shahtzi". I went to a German movie with subscripts and finally learned what that meant. I remember I went to a Legion of Mary breakfast and Otto came up and talked to me. And he got up to give this talk. And he said well Hitler this and that. And then he said, wait a minute. No, this is the way it is. There's not a convent standing in Germany now. And he knew he was on dangerous ground in America because people weren't getting out of Germany except through his uncle, Franz von Papen. Father Kuhn told me every man in Germany and Barvaria knows the name Christian Otto Winzen. He was the Henry Ford of Germany. His invention was the Volkswagen. Smaller and smaller and hardly any gasoline was used in it and took very little of the battery.
Otto's mother Lillie Winzen and I loved each other very much. Her brother was prime minister, von Papen. She was Lillie von Papen [but official records have her maiden name as Lillie Lerche]. Otto never bragged. He never talked about the fact that his mother was the sister of Von Poppen, the former Chancellor of Germany. Every time I'd bump into her, she'd be coming out of the convent, Mary Reporatrix, and I'd be going in.
Otto's wife Maryann was the most beautiful girl I think I've ever seen and the most wonderful Catholic. Otto was the most deeply religious person I have ever met and his wife Marion said, 'the most spiritual.' Otto took Marion to Oconto, Wisconsin to see Dr. Patrick O’keefe's (Betty's grandfather) residence and offices.
Otto said that his father told him never join any German club when you get to America, like the Bund. The German Bund had looked Otto up. Otto was politically naive and he joined this organization backed by the Bund and meet Vera there, who was not Catholic but German Luthern. Anyway, Otto did get a job through them and invited me to go to an evening social in a park one night sponsored by the Bund. The Bund met in the General Motors building across from the Fisher building in Detroit and I never went to anything other than this social which was in a park closeby. I met Vera, maybe not that night, but I did meet her. Otto called me one day. He said "Betty I have the most wonderful news." He said "could you ever come downtown. Just get on the bus and stay ‘til the end of the line." So I got on the bus and the name of this place in Detroit is called Grand Circus Park where the buses all end. And he came up and grabbed my hand and he said, 'I want to show you something.' And he opened his wallet and pulled out a check. He said, 'I've got a job.' I don't know how much it was, but many thousands. He said, this is my first paycheck. He said, 'I was so excited I couldn't come out to the house. I had to have you come here.' He didn't know it but it was from the Bund; he was unknowingly employed by the Bund. It was so much he dared not leave until putting it in the bank.
And then I went into nursing and entered the Army as a nurse and didn't see Otto. He was put in as an American Prisoner of War and I lost track of, and I didn't see him. I'm getting into so many things… but anyway, America made him a prisoner of War and it saved his life. After I was in nursing, the FBI looked Otto up because of his membership in the Bund and put him in a concentration camp in Minnesota I think during World War II. Otto was transferred to a prison camp in Arkansas I think. The FBI questioned me about Otto."
However, according to Ralph KERR, a relative, "Johanna Lillie von Papen is not listed as one of Franz von Papen's siblings in a search I conducted on Google Deutchland. Several other people were listed as his siblings. Johanna Lillie von Papen Winzen was a relative of mine."
Below is information about who Betty knew as her brother:
Chancellor of Germany
1 June – 17 November 1932
Died 2 May 1969 (aged 89)
Political party Centre Party (expelled in 1932)
Independent (after 1932)
Occupation Officer, diplomat, politician
Religion Roman Catholicism
Military service Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen (29 October 1879 – 2 May 1969) was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934. A member of the Catholic Centre Party until 1932, he was one of the most influential members of the group of close advisers to President Paul von Hindenburg in the late Weimar Republic. It was largely Papen, believing that Hitler could be controlled once he was in the government, who persuaded Hindenburg to put aside his scruples and approve Hitler as Chancellor in a cabinet not under Nazi Party domination. However, Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized by Hitler and he left the government after the Night of the Long Knives, during which some of his confidants were killed by the Nazis.
Social Security Death Index:
Name: Lillie Winzen
SSN: 548-21-2926
Last Residence:
90401 Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, USA
BORN: 6 Jul 1890
Died: Jan 1976
State (Year) SSN issued: California (1973)
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW MARION WINZEN:
To: Marion G. Winzen Thursday, April 19, 2007
Dear Mary Ann –
It is many years since you and Otto visited us at our farm in Tennessee in 1961! That was a very momentous and unforgettable event. From the great conversation that night I knew what a genuine and deeply religious person you are, Mary Ann. I was so grateful to God for giving him such a gift as you!
You told me that evening that on a business trip Otto still went to early morning masses. Yes, even at the Jesuit University of Detroit where Otto was in Engineering, he always was either at 6 am mass in the chapel in the chemistry building or at 6:30 am mass daily at the university church – Gesu Church.
Otto got his father and mother, brother Hans and sister Elsbeth out of Germany, where Otto told me not a convent still stood under Hitler! My European History teacher, Fr. Kuhn, S.J., told me that Otto's father, Christian Otto Winzen, was the Henry Ford of Germany. Otto's father sold Volks-wagan to porsch in France to get his family out of Germany. Otto was in America (Detroit) a year before his father, mother, sister & brother got here. Otto's mother, "Lilly" Winzen's brother was Prime-Minister of Germany before Hitler came to power. Her brother Von Papen, was retained as prime Minister by Hitler. And at the Neurenburg war crimes trials Pope Pius the XII declared that Von Popin served under-cover for the Vatican for his whole tenure of office – a saint!
Lilly Winzen (Otto's mother) too was a saintly, beautiful & wonderful person. I loved her dearly. We were always running into each other coming in or leaving Mary Repartrix convent (a wonderful cloister for retreats adjacent to the University of Detroit campus). She was as deeply religious as Otto was.
By telephone, just a month or so before you and Otto visited us at our farm, Otto said what a magnificent soul you are, "Too magnificent to Loose" were his words.
Otto said at the time, "Betty, if you ever hear of my sudden accidental death or suicide, it will be neither!" Otto was too profoundly religious to commit suicide!
Love & prayers,
Betty
Marion G. Winzen
70 Western Avenue N, Apt.110
Saint Paul, MN 33102-4616
To: Betty Jane Andrews
July 27, 2007
Betty my Dear,
Such a joy to touch bases with you the other day. So many years ago. Thank you for locating me.
You sounded so happy and filled with life. THANK you for filling me in on your life.
You were very special in Otto's life and he truly thought of you, thought of you as a special friend from his youth.
Betty, please find my card with address etc.
Do keep in touch and keep me in your prayers as I WILL keep you in mine.
God bless your world always.
Marion
Marion Winzen dies of cancer
University of Minnesota
College of Design News
September 23, 2008
Long-time Friend of the Goldstein, Mrs. Marion Winzen died of cancer in late September 2008. In addition to her participation on the Friends of the Goldstein board of directors, Winzen donated several pieces of designer clothing to the Goldstein. Donations in memory of Marion Winzen can be made to the Goldstein Museum of Design.
Otto WINZEN
Birth Date: 24 Oct 1917
Death Date: Nov 1979
Social Security Number: 374-14-9862
State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Michigan
Death Benefit Localities
Zip Code: 55402
Localities: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota
Otto C Winzen in the 1940 Census
Age 22, born abt 1918
Birthplace Germany
Home in 1940
359 W Lewiston
Ferndale, Oakland, Michigan
Household Members Age
Head Christian Winzen 57
Wife Johanna L Winzen 49
Son Otto C Winzen 22
Son Hans P Winzen 19
Daughter Elizabeth L Winzen 18
HER'S SON'S BALOON ACCIDENT:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14,1958
BLYTHEVTLLE (ARK) COURIER
NEWS PAGE THREE
Crash Injures Balloonist*, Test Halted ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) -
The crash of a training balloon gondola Wednesday night injured a balloon builder and an Air Force researcher who was preparing for a solo flight to test man's reaction to isolation in space. The last was postponed. Capt. Grover J.D. Schock, 32, and Otto C. Winzen, 40, suffered extensive injuries when their open gondola plunged 100 or more fee to the earth after they cut loose from the balloon as it headed out over Lake Superior. They apparently released the ball-shaped gondola rather than be blown over the water in darkness. They smashed into a pasture half a mile inland when the gondola's parachute failed to open. Their fall was witnessed by a police officer, a waiting ambulance crew and two men in a plane sent aloft to follow the balloon.
Mrs. G. E. Terwilliger, on whose farm the crash occurred said, "There was a terrific thug the gondola came down 10 yards from our house." She said the balloon had been flying low, dragging a line that came close enough to grab. "I saw the balloon pass behind a grove of trees and while it was out of sight I heard a loud report. Then the balloon climbed into the sky without the basket." Schock, a space biology specialist, was cut under the chin from one side of his face to the other. He also suffered back and possible internal injuries. He was in critical condition but showing improvement, according to Capt. George Ruff, an Air Force physician treating him at St. Joseph's Hospital here. The physician said Schock could not be moved to determine the full extent of his injuries.
Assigned to Holloman Air Force, Base, N. M., Schock was raised in Galesburg, 111. Winzen is president of Winzen Research, Inc., Minneapolis, builder of plastic balloons for experimental purposes. He is in good condition, but suffered two broken ribs, a fractured right arm and back injuries. He will be hospitalized for several weeks. M. Lee Lewis, former Navy balloonist employed by Winzen, said it was the first accident resulting in injuries during the 12 year history of plastic balloons. The pair had ascended from St. Paul, Minn., 175 miles southwest of Ashland, Wednesday morning. The flight was made so that Winzen could qualify Schock for a stratosphere takeoff. Schock was scheduled to start his 20-mile-high flight Thursday morning from an open pit mine near Crosby, Minn. An Air Force officer said in Minneapolis that the flight had been postponed indefinitely, will be carried out at some future date.
________________
2012 Contributions to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Otto C. Winzen Charitable Fund
Betty said, "I never took German but Otto Winzen (Lily's son) always called me "shahtzi". I went to a German movie with subscripts and finally learned what that meant. I remember I went to a Legion of Mary breakfast and Otto came up and talked to me. And he got up to give this talk. And he said well Hitler this and that. And then he said, wait a minute. No, this is the way it is. There's not a convent standing in Germany now. And he knew he was on dangerous ground in America because people weren't getting out of Germany except through his uncle, Franz von Papen. Father Kuhn told me every man in Germany and Barvaria knows the name Christian Otto Winzen. He was the Henry Ford of Germany. His invention was the Volkswagen. Smaller and smaller and hardly any gasoline was used in it and took very little of the battery.
Otto's mother Lillie Winzen and I loved each other very much. Her brother was prime minister, von Papen. She was Lillie von Papen [but official records have her maiden name as Lillie Lerche]. Otto never bragged. He never talked about the fact that his mother was the sister of Von Poppen, the former Chancellor of Germany. Every time I'd bump into her, she'd be coming out of the convent, Mary Reporatrix, and I'd be going in.
Otto's wife Maryann was the most beautiful girl I think I've ever seen and the most wonderful Catholic. Otto was the most deeply religious person I have ever met and his wife Marion said, 'the most spiritual.' Otto took Marion to Oconto, Wisconsin to see Dr. Patrick O’keefe's (Betty's grandfather) residence and offices.
Otto said that his father told him never join any German club when you get to America, like the Bund. The German Bund had looked Otto up. Otto was politically naive and he joined this organization backed by the Bund and meet Vera there, who was not Catholic but German Luthern. Anyway, Otto did get a job through them and invited me to go to an evening social in a park one night sponsored by the Bund. The Bund met in the General Motors building across from the Fisher building in Detroit and I never went to anything other than this social which was in a park closeby. I met Vera, maybe not that night, but I did meet her. Otto called me one day. He said "Betty I have the most wonderful news." He said "could you ever come downtown. Just get on the bus and stay ‘til the end of the line." So I got on the bus and the name of this place in Detroit is called Grand Circus Park where the buses all end. And he came up and grabbed my hand and he said, 'I want to show you something.' And he opened his wallet and pulled out a check. He said, 'I've got a job.' I don't know how much it was, but many thousands. He said, this is my first paycheck. He said, 'I was so excited I couldn't come out to the house. I had to have you come here.' He didn't know it but it was from the Bund; he was unknowingly employed by the Bund. It was so much he dared not leave until putting it in the bank.
And then I went into nursing and entered the Army as a nurse and didn't see Otto. He was put in as an American Prisoner of War and I lost track of, and I didn't see him. I'm getting into so many things… but anyway, America made him a prisoner of War and it saved his life. After I was in nursing, the FBI looked Otto up because of his membership in the Bund and put him in a concentration camp in Minnesota I think during World War II. Otto was transferred to a prison camp in Arkansas I think. The FBI questioned me about Otto."
However, according to Ralph KERR, a relative, "Johanna Lillie von Papen is not listed as one of Franz von Papen's siblings in a search I conducted on Google Deutchland. Several other people were listed as his siblings. Johanna Lillie von Papen Winzen was a relative of mine."
Below is information about who Betty knew as her brother:
Chancellor of Germany
1 June – 17 November 1932
Died 2 May 1969 (aged 89)
Political party Centre Party (expelled in 1932)
Independent (after 1932)
Occupation Officer, diplomat, politician
Religion Roman Catholicism
Military service Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen (29 October 1879 – 2 May 1969) was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934. A member of the Catholic Centre Party until 1932, he was one of the most influential members of the group of close advisers to President Paul von Hindenburg in the late Weimar Republic. It was largely Papen, believing that Hitler could be controlled once he was in the government, who persuaded Hindenburg to put aside his scruples and approve Hitler as Chancellor in a cabinet not under Nazi Party domination. However, Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized by Hitler and he left the government after the Night of the Long Knives, during which some of his confidants were killed by the Nazis.
Social Security Death Index:
Name: Lillie Winzen
SSN: 548-21-2926
Last Residence:
90401 Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, USA
BORN: 6 Jul 1890
Died: Jan 1976
State (Year) SSN issued: California (1973)
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW MARION WINZEN:
To: Marion G. Winzen Thursday, April 19, 2007
Dear Mary Ann –
It is many years since you and Otto visited us at our farm in Tennessee in 1961! That was a very momentous and unforgettable event. From the great conversation that night I knew what a genuine and deeply religious person you are, Mary Ann. I was so grateful to God for giving him such a gift as you!
You told me that evening that on a business trip Otto still went to early morning masses. Yes, even at the Jesuit University of Detroit where Otto was in Engineering, he always was either at 6 am mass in the chapel in the chemistry building or at 6:30 am mass daily at the university church – Gesu Church.
Otto got his father and mother, brother Hans and sister Elsbeth out of Germany, where Otto told me not a convent still stood under Hitler! My European History teacher, Fr. Kuhn, S.J., told me that Otto's father, Christian Otto Winzen, was the Henry Ford of Germany. Otto's father sold Volks-wagan to porsch in France to get his family out of Germany. Otto was in America (Detroit) a year before his father, mother, sister & brother got here. Otto's mother, "Lilly" Winzen's brother was Prime-Minister of Germany before Hitler came to power. Her brother Von Papen, was retained as prime Minister by Hitler. And at the Neurenburg war crimes trials Pope Pius the XII declared that Von Popin served under-cover for the Vatican for his whole tenure of office – a saint!
Lilly Winzen (Otto's mother) too was a saintly, beautiful & wonderful person. I loved her dearly. We were always running into each other coming in or leaving Mary Repartrix convent (a wonderful cloister for retreats adjacent to the University of Detroit campus). She was as deeply religious as Otto was.
By telephone, just a month or so before you and Otto visited us at our farm, Otto said what a magnificent soul you are, "Too magnificent to Loose" were his words.
Otto said at the time, "Betty, if you ever hear of my sudden accidental death or suicide, it will be neither!" Otto was too profoundly religious to commit suicide!
Love & prayers,
Betty
Marion G. Winzen
70 Western Avenue N, Apt.110
Saint Paul, MN 33102-4616
To: Betty Jane Andrews
July 27, 2007
Betty my Dear,
Such a joy to touch bases with you the other day. So many years ago. Thank you for locating me.
You sounded so happy and filled with life. THANK you for filling me in on your life.
You were very special in Otto's life and he truly thought of you, thought of you as a special friend from his youth.
Betty, please find my card with address etc.
Do keep in touch and keep me in your prayers as I WILL keep you in mine.
God bless your world always.
Marion
Marion Winzen dies of cancer
University of Minnesota
College of Design News
September 23, 2008
Long-time Friend of the Goldstein, Mrs. Marion Winzen died of cancer in late September 2008. In addition to her participation on the Friends of the Goldstein board of directors, Winzen donated several pieces of designer clothing to the Goldstein. Donations in memory of Marion Winzen can be made to the Goldstein Museum of Design.
Otto WINZEN
Birth Date: 24 Oct 1917
Death Date: Nov 1979
Social Security Number: 374-14-9862
State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Michigan
Death Benefit Localities
Zip Code: 55402
Localities: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota
Otto C Winzen in the 1940 Census
Age 22, born abt 1918
Birthplace Germany
Home in 1940
359 W Lewiston
Ferndale, Oakland, Michigan
Household Members Age
Head Christian Winzen 57
Wife Johanna L Winzen 49
Son Otto C Winzen 22
Son Hans P Winzen 19
Daughter Elizabeth L Winzen 18
HER'S SON'S BALOON ACCIDENT:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14,1958
BLYTHEVTLLE (ARK) COURIER
NEWS PAGE THREE
Crash Injures Balloonist*, Test Halted ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) -
The crash of a training balloon gondola Wednesday night injured a balloon builder and an Air Force researcher who was preparing for a solo flight to test man's reaction to isolation in space. The last was postponed. Capt. Grover J.D. Schock, 32, and Otto C. Winzen, 40, suffered extensive injuries when their open gondola plunged 100 or more fee to the earth after they cut loose from the balloon as it headed out over Lake Superior. They apparently released the ball-shaped gondola rather than be blown over the water in darkness. They smashed into a pasture half a mile inland when the gondola's parachute failed to open. Their fall was witnessed by a police officer, a waiting ambulance crew and two men in a plane sent aloft to follow the balloon.
Mrs. G. E. Terwilliger, on whose farm the crash occurred said, "There was a terrific thug the gondola came down 10 yards from our house." She said the balloon had been flying low, dragging a line that came close enough to grab. "I saw the balloon pass behind a grove of trees and while it was out of sight I heard a loud report. Then the balloon climbed into the sky without the basket." Schock, a space biology specialist, was cut under the chin from one side of his face to the other. He also suffered back and possible internal injuries. He was in critical condition but showing improvement, according to Capt. George Ruff, an Air Force physician treating him at St. Joseph's Hospital here. The physician said Schock could not be moved to determine the full extent of his injuries.
Assigned to Holloman Air Force, Base, N. M., Schock was raised in Galesburg, 111. Winzen is president of Winzen Research, Inc., Minneapolis, builder of plastic balloons for experimental purposes. He is in good condition, but suffered two broken ribs, a fractured right arm and back injuries. He will be hospitalized for several weeks. M. Lee Lewis, former Navy balloonist employed by Winzen, said it was the first accident resulting in injuries during the 12 year history of plastic balloons. The pair had ascended from St. Paul, Minn., 175 miles southwest of Ashland, Wednesday morning. The flight was made so that Winzen could qualify Schock for a stratosphere takeoff. Schock was scheduled to start his 20-mile-high flight Thursday morning from an open pit mine near Crosby, Minn. An Air Force officer said in Minneapolis that the flight had been postponed indefinitely, will be carried out at some future date.
________________
2012 Contributions to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Otto C. Winzen Charitable Fund
Betty Jane Early Andrews knew the Winzen family well while she was in college and knew Lily as the sister of Franz von Papen [Hitler was named chancellor and von Poppen was named vice chancellor].
Betty said, "I never took German but Otto Winzen (Lily's son) always called me "shahtzi". I went to a German movie with subscripts and finally learned what that meant. I remember I went to a Legion of Mary breakfast and Otto came up and talked to me. And he got up to give this talk. And he said well Hitler this and that. And then he said, wait a minute. No, this is the way it is. There's not a convent standing in Germany now. And he knew he was on dangerous ground in America because people weren't getting out of Germany except through his uncle, Franz von Papen. Father Kuhn told me every man in Germany and Barvaria knows the name Christian Otto Winzen. He was the Henry Ford of Germany. His invention was the Volkswagen. Smaller and smaller and hardly any gasoline was used in it and took very little of the battery.
Otto's mother Lillie Winzen and I loved each other very much. Her brother was prime minister, von Papen. She was Lillie von Papen [but official records have her maiden name as Lillie Lerche]. Otto never bragged. He never talked about the fact that his mother was the sister of Von Poppen, the former Chancellor of Germany. Every time I'd bump into her, she'd be coming out of the convent, Mary Reporatrix, and I'd be going in.
Otto's wife Maryann was the most beautiful girl I think I've ever seen and the most wonderful Catholic. Otto was the most deeply religious person I have ever met and his wife Marion said, 'the most spiritual.' Otto took Marion to Oconto, Wisconsin to see Dr. Patrick O’keefe's (Betty's grandfather) residence and offices.
Otto said that his father told him never join any German club when you get to America, like the Bund. The German Bund had looked Otto up. Otto was politically naive and he joined this organization backed by the Bund and meet Vera there, who was not Catholic but German Luthern. Anyway, Otto did get a job through them and invited me to go to an evening social in a park one night sponsored by the Bund. The Bund met in the General Motors building across from the Fisher building in Detroit and I never went to anything other than this social which was in a park closeby. I met Vera, maybe not that night, but I did meet her. Otto called me one day. He said "Betty I have the most wonderful news." He said "could you ever come downtown. Just get on the bus and stay ‘til the end of the line." So I got on the bus and the name of this place in Detroit is called Grand Circus Park where the buses all end. And he came up and grabbed my hand and he said, 'I want to show you something.' And he opened his wallet and pulled out a check. He said, 'I've got a job.' I don't know how much it was, but many thousands. He said, this is my first paycheck. He said, 'I was so excited I couldn't come out to the house. I had to have you come here.' He didn't know it but it was from the Bund; he was unknowingly employed by the Bund. It was so much he dared not leave until putting it in the bank.
And then I went into nursing and entered the Army as a nurse and didn't see Otto. He was put in as an American Prisoner of War and I lost track of, and I didn't see him. I'm getting into so many things… but anyway, America made him a prisoner of War and it saved his life. After I was in nursing, the FBI looked Otto up because of his membership in the Bund and put him in a concentration camp in Minnesota I think during World War II. Otto was transferred to a prison camp in Arkansas I think. The FBI questioned me about Otto."
However, according to Ralph KERR, a relative, "Johanna Lillie von Papen is not listed as one of Franz von Papen's siblings in a search I conducted on Google Deutchland. Several other people were listed as his siblings. Johanna Lillie von Papen Winzen was a relative of mine."
Below is information about who Betty knew as her brother:
Chancellor of Germany
1 June – 17 November 1932
Died 2 May 1969 (aged 89)
Political party Centre Party (expelled in 1932)
Independent (after 1932)
Occupation Officer, diplomat, politician
Religion Roman Catholicism
Military service Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen (29 October 1879 – 2 May 1969) was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934. A member of the Catholic Centre Party until 1932, he was one of the most influential members of the group of close advisers to President Paul von Hindenburg in the late Weimar Republic. It was largely Papen, believing that Hitler could be controlled once he was in the government, who persuaded Hindenburg to put aside his scruples and approve Hitler as Chancellor in a cabinet not under Nazi Party domination. However, Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized by Hitler and he left the government after the Night of the Long Knives, during which some of his confidants were killed by the Nazis.
Social Security Death Index:
Name: Lillie Winzen
SSN: 548-21-2926
Last Residence:
90401 Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, USA
BORN: 6 Jul 1890
Died: Jan 1976
State (Year) SSN issued: California (1973)
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW MARION WINZEN:
To: Marion G. Winzen Thursday, April 19, 2007
Dear Mary Ann –
It is many years since you and Otto visited us at our farm in Tennessee in 1961! That was a very momentous and unforgettable event. From the great conversation that night I knew what a genuine and deeply religious person you are, Mary Ann. I was so grateful to God for giving him such a gift as you!
You told me that evening that on a business trip Otto still went to early morning masses. Yes, even at the Jesuit University of Detroit where Otto was in Engineering, he always was either at 6 am mass in the chapel in the chemistry building or at 6:30 am mass daily at the university church – Gesu Church.
Otto got his father and mother, brother Hans and sister Elsbeth out of Germany, where Otto told me not a convent still stood under Hitler! My European History teacher, Fr. Kuhn, S.J., told me that Otto's father, Christian Otto Winzen, was the Henry Ford of Germany. Otto's father sold Volks-wagan to porsch in France to get his family out of Germany. Otto was in America (Detroit) a year before his father, mother, sister & brother got here. Otto's mother, "Lilly" Winzen's brother was Prime-Minister of Germany before Hitler came to power. Her brother Von Papen, was retained as prime Minister by Hitler. And at the Neurenburg war crimes trials Pope Pius the XII declared that Von Popin served under-cover for the Vatican for his whole tenure of office – a saint!
Lilly Winzen (Otto's mother) too was a saintly, beautiful & wonderful person. I loved her dearly. We were always running into each other coming in or leaving Mary Repartrix convent (a wonderful cloister for retreats adjacent to the University of Detroit campus). She was as deeply religious as Otto was.
By telephone, just a month or so before you and Otto visited us at our farm, Otto said what a magnificent soul you are, "Too magnificent to Loose" were his words.
Otto said at the time, "Betty, if you ever hear of my sudden accidental death or suicide, it will be neither!" Otto was too profoundly religious to commit suicide!
Love & prayers,
Betty
Marion G. Winzen
70 Western Avenue N, Apt.110
Saint Paul, MN 33102-4616
To: Betty Jane Andrews
July 27, 2007
Betty my Dear,
Such a joy to touch bases with you the other day. So many years ago. Thank you for locating me.
You sounded so happy and filled with life. THANK you for filling me in on your life.
You were very special in Otto's life and he truly thought of you, thought of you as a special friend from his youth.
Betty, please find my card with address etc.
Do keep in touch and keep me in your prayers as I WILL keep you in mine.
God bless your world always.
Marion
Marion Winzen dies of cancer
University of Minnesota
College of Design News
September 23, 2008
Long-time Friend of the Goldstein, Mrs. Marion Winzen died of cancer in late September 2008. In addition to her participation on the Friends of the Goldstein board of directors, Winzen donated several pieces of designer clothing to the Goldstein. Donations in memory of Marion Winzen can be made to the Goldstein Museum of Design.
Otto WINZEN
Birth Date: 24 Oct 1917
Death Date: Nov 1979
Social Security Number: 374-14-9862
State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Michigan
Death Benefit Localities
Zip Code: 55402
Localities: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota
Otto C Winzen in the 1940 Census
Age 22, born abt 1918
Birthplace Germany
Home in 1940
359 W Lewiston
Ferndale, Oakland, Michigan
Household Members Age
Head Christian Winzen 57
Wife Johanna L Winzen 49
Son Otto C Winzen 22
Son Hans P Winzen 19
Daughter Elizabeth L Winzen 18
HER'S SON'S BALOON ACCIDENT:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14,1958
BLYTHEVTLLE (ARK) COURIER
NEWS PAGE THREE
Crash Injures Balloonist*, Test Halted ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) -
The crash of a training balloon gondola Wednesday night injured a balloon builder and an Air Force researcher who was preparing for a solo flight to test man's reaction to isolation in space. The last was postponed. Capt. Grover J.D. Schock, 32, and Otto C. Winzen, 40, suffered extensive injuries when their open gondola plunged 100 or more fee to the earth after they cut loose from the balloon as it headed out over Lake Superior. They apparently released the ball-shaped gondola rather than be blown over the water in darkness. They smashed into a pasture half a mile inland when the gondola's parachute failed to open. Their fall was witnessed by a police officer, a waiting ambulance crew and two men in a plane sent aloft to follow the balloon.
Mrs. G. E. Terwilliger, on whose farm the crash occurred said, "There was a terrific thug the gondola came down 10 yards from our house." She said the balloon had been flying low, dragging a line that came close enough to grab. "I saw the balloon pass behind a grove of trees and while it was out of sight I heard a loud report. Then the balloon climbed into the sky without the basket." Schock, a space biology specialist, was cut under the chin from one side of his face to the other. He also suffered back and possible internal injuries. He was in critical condition but showing improvement, according to Capt. George Ruff, an Air Force physician treating him at St. Joseph's Hospital here. The physician said Schock could not be moved to determine the full extent of his injuries.
Assigned to Holloman Air Force, Base, N. M., Schock was raised in Galesburg, 111. Winzen is president of Winzen Research, Inc., Minneapolis, builder of plastic balloons for experimental purposes. He is in good condition, but suffered two broken ribs, a fractured right arm and back injuries. He will be hospitalized for several weeks. M. Lee Lewis, former Navy balloonist employed by Winzen, said it was the first accident resulting in injuries during the 12 year history of plastic balloons. The pair had ascended from St. Paul, Minn., 175 miles southwest of Ashland, Wednesday morning. The flight was made so that Winzen could qualify Schock for a stratosphere takeoff. Schock was scheduled to start his 20-mile-high flight Thursday morning from an open pit mine near Crosby, Minn. An Air Force officer said in Minneapolis that the flight had been postponed indefinitely, will be carried out at some future date.
________________
2012 Contributions to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Otto C. Winzen Charitable Fund
Betty said, "I never took German but Otto Winzen (Lily's son) always called me "shahtzi". I went to a German movie with subscripts and finally learned what that meant. I remember I went to a Legion of Mary breakfast and Otto came up and talked to me. And he got up to give this talk. And he said well Hitler this and that. And then he said, wait a minute. No, this is the way it is. There's not a convent standing in Germany now. And he knew he was on dangerous ground in America because people weren't getting out of Germany except through his uncle, Franz von Papen. Father Kuhn told me every man in Germany and Barvaria knows the name Christian Otto Winzen. He was the Henry Ford of Germany. His invention was the Volkswagen. Smaller and smaller and hardly any gasoline was used in it and took very little of the battery.
Otto's mother Lillie Winzen and I loved each other very much. Her brother was prime minister, von Papen. She was Lillie von Papen [but official records have her maiden name as Lillie Lerche]. Otto never bragged. He never talked about the fact that his mother was the sister of Von Poppen, the former Chancellor of Germany. Every time I'd bump into her, she'd be coming out of the convent, Mary Reporatrix, and I'd be going in.
Otto's wife Maryann was the most beautiful girl I think I've ever seen and the most wonderful Catholic. Otto was the most deeply religious person I have ever met and his wife Marion said, 'the most spiritual.' Otto took Marion to Oconto, Wisconsin to see Dr. Patrick O’keefe's (Betty's grandfather) residence and offices.
Otto said that his father told him never join any German club when you get to America, like the Bund. The German Bund had looked Otto up. Otto was politically naive and he joined this organization backed by the Bund and meet Vera there, who was not Catholic but German Luthern. Anyway, Otto did get a job through them and invited me to go to an evening social in a park one night sponsored by the Bund. The Bund met in the General Motors building across from the Fisher building in Detroit and I never went to anything other than this social which was in a park closeby. I met Vera, maybe not that night, but I did meet her. Otto called me one day. He said "Betty I have the most wonderful news." He said "could you ever come downtown. Just get on the bus and stay ‘til the end of the line." So I got on the bus and the name of this place in Detroit is called Grand Circus Park where the buses all end. And he came up and grabbed my hand and he said, 'I want to show you something.' And he opened his wallet and pulled out a check. He said, 'I've got a job.' I don't know how much it was, but many thousands. He said, this is my first paycheck. He said, 'I was so excited I couldn't come out to the house. I had to have you come here.' He didn't know it but it was from the Bund; he was unknowingly employed by the Bund. It was so much he dared not leave until putting it in the bank.
And then I went into nursing and entered the Army as a nurse and didn't see Otto. He was put in as an American Prisoner of War and I lost track of, and I didn't see him. I'm getting into so many things… but anyway, America made him a prisoner of War and it saved his life. After I was in nursing, the FBI looked Otto up because of his membership in the Bund and put him in a concentration camp in Minnesota I think during World War II. Otto was transferred to a prison camp in Arkansas I think. The FBI questioned me about Otto."
However, according to Ralph KERR, a relative, "Johanna Lillie von Papen is not listed as one of Franz von Papen's siblings in a search I conducted on Google Deutchland. Several other people were listed as his siblings. Johanna Lillie von Papen Winzen was a relative of mine."
Below is information about who Betty knew as her brother:
Chancellor of Germany
1 June – 17 November 1932
Died 2 May 1969 (aged 89)
Political party Centre Party (expelled in 1932)
Independent (after 1932)
Occupation Officer, diplomat, politician
Religion Roman Catholicism
Military service Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen (29 October 1879 – 2 May 1969) was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934. A member of the Catholic Centre Party until 1932, he was one of the most influential members of the group of close advisers to President Paul von Hindenburg in the late Weimar Republic. It was largely Papen, believing that Hitler could be controlled once he was in the government, who persuaded Hindenburg to put aside his scruples and approve Hitler as Chancellor in a cabinet not under Nazi Party domination. However, Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized by Hitler and he left the government after the Night of the Long Knives, during which some of his confidants were killed by the Nazis.
Social Security Death Index:
Name: Lillie Winzen
SSN: 548-21-2926
Last Residence:
90401 Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, USA
BORN: 6 Jul 1890
Died: Jan 1976
State (Year) SSN issued: California (1973)
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW MARION WINZEN:
To: Marion G. Winzen Thursday, April 19, 2007
Dear Mary Ann –
It is many years since you and Otto visited us at our farm in Tennessee in 1961! That was a very momentous and unforgettable event. From the great conversation that night I knew what a genuine and deeply religious person you are, Mary Ann. I was so grateful to God for giving him such a gift as you!
You told me that evening that on a business trip Otto still went to early morning masses. Yes, even at the Jesuit University of Detroit where Otto was in Engineering, he always was either at 6 am mass in the chapel in the chemistry building or at 6:30 am mass daily at the university church – Gesu Church.
Otto got his father and mother, brother Hans and sister Elsbeth out of Germany, where Otto told me not a convent still stood under Hitler! My European History teacher, Fr. Kuhn, S.J., told me that Otto's father, Christian Otto Winzen, was the Henry Ford of Germany. Otto's father sold Volks-wagan to porsch in France to get his family out of Germany. Otto was in America (Detroit) a year before his father, mother, sister & brother got here. Otto's mother, "Lilly" Winzen's brother was Prime-Minister of Germany before Hitler came to power. Her brother Von Papen, was retained as prime Minister by Hitler. And at the Neurenburg war crimes trials Pope Pius the XII declared that Von Popin served under-cover for the Vatican for his whole tenure of office – a saint!
Lilly Winzen (Otto's mother) too was a saintly, beautiful & wonderful person. I loved her dearly. We were always running into each other coming in or leaving Mary Repartrix convent (a wonderful cloister for retreats adjacent to the University of Detroit campus). She was as deeply religious as Otto was.
By telephone, just a month or so before you and Otto visited us at our farm, Otto said what a magnificent soul you are, "Too magnificent to Loose" were his words.
Otto said at the time, "Betty, if you ever hear of my sudden accidental death or suicide, it will be neither!" Otto was too profoundly religious to commit suicide!
Love & prayers,
Betty
Marion G. Winzen
70 Western Avenue N, Apt.110
Saint Paul, MN 33102-4616
To: Betty Jane Andrews
July 27, 2007
Betty my Dear,
Such a joy to touch bases with you the other day. So many years ago. Thank you for locating me.
You sounded so happy and filled with life. THANK you for filling me in on your life.
You were very special in Otto's life and he truly thought of you, thought of you as a special friend from his youth.
Betty, please find my card with address etc.
Do keep in touch and keep me in your prayers as I WILL keep you in mine.
God bless your world always.
Marion
Marion Winzen dies of cancer
University of Minnesota
College of Design News
September 23, 2008
Long-time Friend of the Goldstein, Mrs. Marion Winzen died of cancer in late September 2008. In addition to her participation on the Friends of the Goldstein board of directors, Winzen donated several pieces of designer clothing to the Goldstein. Donations in memory of Marion Winzen can be made to the Goldstein Museum of Design.
Otto WINZEN
Birth Date: 24 Oct 1917
Death Date: Nov 1979
Social Security Number: 374-14-9862
State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Michigan
Death Benefit Localities
Zip Code: 55402
Localities: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota
Otto C Winzen in the 1940 Census
Age 22, born abt 1918
Birthplace Germany
Home in 1940
359 W Lewiston
Ferndale, Oakland, Michigan
Household Members Age
Head Christian Winzen 57
Wife Johanna L Winzen 49
Son Otto C Winzen 22
Son Hans P Winzen 19
Daughter Elizabeth L Winzen 18
HER'S SON'S BALOON ACCIDENT:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14,1958
BLYTHEVTLLE (ARK) COURIER
NEWS PAGE THREE
Crash Injures Balloonist*, Test Halted ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) -
The crash of a training balloon gondola Wednesday night injured a balloon builder and an Air Force researcher who was preparing for a solo flight to test man's reaction to isolation in space. The last was postponed. Capt. Grover J.D. Schock, 32, and Otto C. Winzen, 40, suffered extensive injuries when their open gondola plunged 100 or more fee to the earth after they cut loose from the balloon as it headed out over Lake Superior. They apparently released the ball-shaped gondola rather than be blown over the water in darkness. They smashed into a pasture half a mile inland when the gondola's parachute failed to open. Their fall was witnessed by a police officer, a waiting ambulance crew and two men in a plane sent aloft to follow the balloon.
Mrs. G. E. Terwilliger, on whose farm the crash occurred said, "There was a terrific thug the gondola came down 10 yards from our house." She said the balloon had been flying low, dragging a line that came close enough to grab. "I saw the balloon pass behind a grove of trees and while it was out of sight I heard a loud report. Then the balloon climbed into the sky without the basket." Schock, a space biology specialist, was cut under the chin from one side of his face to the other. He also suffered back and possible internal injuries. He was in critical condition but showing improvement, according to Capt. George Ruff, an Air Force physician treating him at St. Joseph's Hospital here. The physician said Schock could not be moved to determine the full extent of his injuries.
Assigned to Holloman Air Force, Base, N. M., Schock was raised in Galesburg, 111. Winzen is president of Winzen Research, Inc., Minneapolis, builder of plastic balloons for experimental purposes. He is in good condition, but suffered two broken ribs, a fractured right arm and back injuries. He will be hospitalized for several weeks. M. Lee Lewis, former Navy balloonist employed by Winzen, said it was the first accident resulting in injuries during the 12 year history of plastic balloons. The pair had ascended from St. Paul, Minn., 175 miles southwest of Ashland, Wednesday morning. The flight was made so that Winzen could qualify Schock for a stratosphere takeoff. Schock was scheduled to start his 20-mile-high flight Thursday morning from an open pit mine near Crosby, Minn. An Air Force officer said in Minneapolis that the flight had been postponed indefinitely, will be carried out at some future date.
________________
2012 Contributions to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Otto C. Winzen Charitable Fund
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