5 July, 1927 – 24 December, 2023
Anneliese Elisabeth Miklosy, 96, of Laguna Beach, Calif, widow of Leslie Daniel Miklosy, died peacefully at her Laguna Beach home with son Les George at her bedside.
Anneliese was born July 5, 1927, the youngest of two girls and two boys to parents Elisabeth and Georg Fraunhofer in Achdorf village – a borough of the medieval city Landshut in Bavaria, Germany. Anneliese would like us to remember her WWII US immigration story.
When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, her brothers were drafted by the German army, the older one was captured and held in a Russian prison camp, and the younger was sent to Dunkirk, France. In 1940, her sister Hanna was disabled in a severe trucking accident and remained in hospital. A year later, her mother, Elisabeth, suffered a cerebral stroke and became paralyzed; Anneliese remained at home to support her parents while attending school.
In 1942, at age 15, she became a technical drafter and illustrator with the Messerschmitt AG aircraft factory in Regensburg, Germany. She lived in worker barracks and commuted home on weekends by train. On Tuesday, 17 Aug. 1943, the U.S. Army/Airforce began “Mission No. 84,” a strategic bombing mission with 376 B-17 aircraft in Operation Regensburg- Schweinfurt. When Anneliese reported to work that morning, she was instructed to immediately begin summer vacation and return to Landshut by train. When she arrived, she could hear the sound of heavy bombers; the bombing of Regensburg had begun. Anneliese considered her fortune in bewilderment; the U.S. bombing raid killed all her co-workers and leveled the Messerschmitt factory.
By 1945, Anneliese, nicknamed “Liska,” met her future husband Leslie Daniel Miklosy, “Laci” to friends, was a war refugee from Hungary. Laci dreamed of living in the United States, and since the Russians occupied his family estate and war refugees occupied her home, Laci and Liska wanted to leave Germany for the promise of a new life, “im Amerika”.
On her lucky star day, 17 Aug. 1949, Liska, 22 and Laci, 24, were married and sought immigration to the United States. The U.S. immigration officials set requirements for legitimate immigration: an American sponsor to receive them stateside, financial security in cash, English proficiency, knowledge of American history and proof of Nazi deprogramming. In 1951, the married couple satisfied their probation, and with $600 in cash and a sewing machine, the couple qualified as guests of U.S. immigration.
On 31 Sept. 1951, the couple boarded the last sailing of USNS General S.D. Sturgis, with 1,317 immigrant passengers from Bremerhaven, Germany, arrived in New Orleans on 11 Oct. 1951.
Leslie became a developer of single-family homes in Sunland, Calif. By 1965, LESLIE HOMES developed a large portion of Top of the World Laguna Beach, where Anneliese named streets after familiar cities from her homeland Germany: Bonn, Bern, Tyrol, Alpine and Nestal. By 1970, she worked for the Laguna Beach School District cafeteria and later as a seamstress and sales associate for the Balcony Tea Room at Diamond and South Coast Highway. Anneliese’s favorite pastimes were spent gardening at her TOW home and playing her 1959 Wurlitzer organ. A music dedication for her would be “Song About Anne” by Annie Lindstrom. Anneliese loved animals and created a garden home for songbirds, owls and her Canyon Critters. Anneliese approached difficulty with positive sentiment. Among her favorite expressions were these:
“Alles gute kommt von oben” – All good things come from above
“Es gibt Schlimmeres” – Worse is possible
“Schon wieder aufgewacht” – (I) woke up again
“Das Haus verliert nichts” – A house loses nothing
Anneliese is deeply loved by her extended family and Laguna friends. The placard outside her home reads “Bin im Garten,” today, her spirit hovers with the butterflies among her garden daisies and camellias.
