The product of two cultures, Joe Volmar, 73, of the Adrian, Mich., Soaring Club, learned to fly under Adolf Hitler.
American to the core, he spent two periods of his youth in a Germany mostly under Nazi control, and narrowly escaped service in the German army.
Mr. Volmar writes both English and German well and speaks both languages fluently, without a trace of accent. It was this ability, he explained, that enabled him to move from one country to another without problems, and to find work after World War II as an interpreter for the U.S. government.
Mr. Volmar recalls that he first came to this country in 1930 at age 3 with his parents, remaining until, as a teenager, he went back with his family to Germany. By that time, he excelled in languages, having spoken English at school but only German at home.
In Germany he immediately came under Nazi domination. “American-trained, I resolved not to be influenced by propaganda,” he said.
As a member of a youth organization, Mr. Volmar received intensive training in aircraft soaring, and obtained a license in 1914.
Last year, here in the United States, Mr. Volmar published an account of his experience learning to soar in Germany. He prepared and wrote a self-published paperback book called I Learned to Fly for Hitler, over a 20-year period.
The book covers the years of his German training from 1941 to 1945. The end of the war terminated his soaring flights.
At age 24, he returned to the United States with his mother. He worked for a time in Detroit, then moved to the Toledo area, where he engaged in various enterprises including the operation of Volmar's Kitchens, a remodeling firm from which he retired in 1991 after 20 years.
Ten years ago, during a visit to Germany, a display of World War II gliders of the type in which he had trained, suddenly rekindled an urge to fly once more.
Mr. Volmar joined the Adrian Soaring Club, and regained all of his old skills. The Dundee resident flies club gliders and also owns his own German-built Typhoon, a motorized craft that can be used in launchings.
Most of Mr. Volmar's flights have been pleasantly uneventful, but he recalls one day that was different.
“I suddenly ran into a wind shear, which is a complete direction change,” he explained. “The glider was thrown upside down and I hung by my straps. I think my military training helped, because I recovered at 600 feet and made a safe landing.”
Much of Mr. Volmar's leisure time is spent at the airport, but he also jogs regularly on wooded trails. He is working on a second book and also issues newsletters, one for members of the soaring club and the other for owners of Typhoon aircraft.
Millie Benson is a Blade Columnist.
First Published November 4, 2000, 12:35 p.m.
