Alexander Schmorell, the son of Hugo Schmorell, a German doctor, was born in Orenburg, Russia, on 16th September, 1917. His mother, who was Russian, died of typhus during the Civil War when he was two years old. In 1921 his father took him to live in Harlaching, an affluent suburb of Munich. He grew up in the care of a Russian nurse who spoke no German. As a result he spoke Russian fluently. Schmorell joined the Hitler Youth but he never enjoyed the "marching and singing and saluting". However, he volunteered to join the German Army and served with a horse-artillery unit. Schmorell was allowed to study medicine at the University of Munich. On the outbreak of the Second World War he became a member of the Second Student Medical Company. |
Sources:
John Simkin. "Alexander Schmorell" Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational. Web. 10
Feb. 2017. www.spartacus-educational.com/GERschmorell.htm.
John Simkin. "Alexander Schmorell" Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational. Web. 10
Feb. 2017. www.spartacus-educational.com/GERschmorell.htm.