I'm An American -- Franz Werfel

On March 16, 1941 Franz Werfel spoke with William H. Carmichael, District Director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, about life in Europe without democracy and liberty. Mr. Carmichael asks the Austrian novelist about his escape from Europe the previous year. Werfel details his escape and relief at the first sight of America. The novelist reflects on life before the Nazis. Werfel tells Mr. Carmichael why he left Austria and chose to become an American citizen. He also reveals what could happen if American ideals are destroyed. Werfel closes the episode by claiming Europe’s disease of hate threatens America and it is the nation’s responsibility to protect democracy around the World. Franz Werfel (b. Franz Viktor Werfel) was born on September 10, 1890 in Prague. During WWI, Werfel served for several years on the Russian front as a soldier in the Austrian army. He was later forced to leave the Prussian Academy of the Arts. His 1933 novel, "Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh" detailed the mass murder and expulsion of Armenians from eastern Anatolia in 1915 and received much attention in the United States. Werfel's books were burned by the Nazis. He fled Austria after the annexation with Germany. He escaped from France by hiding in the Catholic sanctuary of Lourdes, crossing the Pyrenees mountains on foot to safety in Spain and leaving from there for the United States. With gratitude for his sanctuary at Lourdes in mind, he wrote the best-selling novel, "The Song of Bernadette."