Immigrants

About the Book

War crimes do not end with the war. Revisit this riveting memoir as told by a Croatian immigrant, whose family became unwitting actors in the cruel theater of a postwar Europe, and how they survived to tell their story. In this compelling frame story, the author intertwines his return to his ancestral home with his past in Croatia. All the wonderful images and emotions, which he experienced in 2015, stand in stark contrast to those years from 1943 to 1950 when he and his family embarked on a protracted journey fraught with danger, disease, and death in a war-torn Europe. The author’s meaningful pilgrimage in 2015 not only reveals all the beauty and charm of Croatia but also reminds us of the need to take a renewed look at the issue of immigration and family. After his return voyage, the author brings home the affirmation and reminder that we are all immigrants—that melting pot that makes us a stronger America.

About the Author

JOHN SCHISSLER, JR. was born in Yugoslavia in 1943. Before spending even a year in his hometown in Croatia, he and his family were forced from their home as refugees in Austria and Germany for the next six years. He came to the USA in 1950 and has lived in Wisconsin since then. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee with majors in German and Latin, and a minor in English. He taught at John Marshall H.S. in Milwaukee from 1968 to 2000. In the past 20 years he has traveled to Germany seven times and to Croatia in 2015. He currently resides in Milwaukee with his wife, three children and four grandchildren.