INDIANAPOLIS — The FBI entered a butcher shop and took young Anneliese's father away. Her mother, Alma, struggled to keep the store open. But after boycotts, swastikas covering the exterior, and bricks shattering the windows, she shut the door forever and the family went on welfare.
Unable to reunite the family in any other way, Alma voluntarily took Anneliese and her brother and entered an internment camp on Ellis Island.
Their crime? Although they had become American citizens, she and her husband had been born German. And it was 1942.
Anneliese Krauter of Indianapolis will share her story at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library's second anniversary celebration on Jan. 26, along with other German-Americans held in internment camps. The panel, from 1 to 3 p.m., also consists of Frances Ott Allen of Cincinnati, Eberhard Fuhr of Palatine, Ill., and Alfred Wohlpart of Oak Ridge, Tenn.
At 3 p.m. Indianapolis writer, editor, and cultural strategist David Hoppe and photographer Kristin Hess of the Indiana Humanities Council will discuss the stories behind the state's food renaissance captured in Food for Thought: An Indiana Harvest with Debra Des Vignes, Spotlight Indianapolis host.
Norb Vonnegut, a relative of Kurt, takes the stage at 4 p.m. He describes himself as being fascinated by what can go wrong with having access to money and has turned his years of Wall Street experience into successful novels.
Admission to all events is free.
Then, at 6 p.m., the Heartland Actors Repertory Theater (heartlandactors.com) will perform a staged reading of "So It Goes, an Evening with Kurt Vonnegut," a play by Todd Grove. Tickets are $35 and seating is limited. To order tickets, visit the website at www.vonnegutlibrary.org or call 652-1954.
The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library is a public-benefit, non-profit organization championing the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist, and Indianapolis native. The library seeks to engage people in the written word - especially their own. It's in the historic Emelie Building at 340 N. Senate Ave., in downtown Indianapolis. The library is open daily except Wednesdays from noon to 5 p.m. and is closed on all major holidays. Admission is free but donations are accepted.
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