Wally Hendel, above, an illustrator, painter and musician whose work, below, can be seen at the Passavant Retirement Community chapel, performs during Passavant's Spark the Arts program. The German-born artist talked about her life and her work in the art community.

ZELIENOPLE — Dozens gathered at the Passavant Community retirement home, 105 Burgess Drive, to hear the story of Wally Hendel, an accomplished artist and musician who came to America as a German war bride after World War II.

Hendel was the first to be featured in Passavant's new “Spark the Arts” program, which seeks to highlight the stories and talents of those living at Passavant Community.

Pieces of her art lined the walls as Hendel told the story of her life.

“I was born in 1924,” Hendel said. “That's only six years after World War I ended. That is ancient.”

Growing up in Germany, Hendel said she saw the effects of the Treaty of Versailles which ravaged the German economy after World War I.

“It didn't allow people to do anything,” said Hendel. 'The German people are very industrious.

“If there had been no peace treaty, there would've never been Hitler.”

When the Nazis came to power in the 1930s, many people thought it was the end of the hard times in post-war Germany. Hitler and his party would give out food and use the power of the government to put people back to work. The Nazis began enlisting young people in the movement, sending them to youth camps or having them work with families to raise German children.

Hendel chose to go to a youth camp, where she was first able to showcase her talent for art and music.

She was one of the few to be chosen for further leadership training, but her parents intervened.

“My mother said 'You're not going,'” Hendel said. “Later on, how glad I was, because when I saw what happened to the people who went with the party, oh my goodness, it was horrible.”

During the war Hendel found work in the German film industry as an illustrator.She worked there for three years until the government shut down all operations that were not contributing to the war effort. Soon after, the city began to be bombed.“It was a miracle we came through it because Berlin was getting heavily bombed all the time,” Hendel said. “As a young girl, I didn't have faith in the Lord, and I didn't know what would happen to me when I died. But I tried to brace myself.”The war finally ended in 1945, and Hendel lived in Communist-controlled East Berlin, living on near-starvation rations.The only people with food, she said, were members of the Communist Party.“And we didn't want to join the party because we saw what happened to the people who joined the Nazi party,” she said. “We all lost weight.”One day while walking through the city, Hendel ran into an artist she once worked with. He had found work in a club in West Berlin drawing 10-minute profiles of American soldiers still stationed in the city and recommended she try to do the same.After one audition she was hired on the spot, and that night began drawing the faces of American soldiers that filled the club.“The next day, a man with a mustache came at 2 p.m.— no soldiers come in at 2 p.m.— and said he wanted his face drawn,” she said. “And he came back every day and every day and he never left.”That soldier was her future husband, Harry.They left Germany together, and came to America to get married.“Harry took me over as a war bride, and we got married in Pittsburgh,” she said.They lived in a trailer in Western Pennsylvania, and while Harry worked, Hendel taught herself English by listening to radio soap operas. She and Harry also began speaking English at home, though Harry spoke fluent German.She learned to speak well enough to apply for jobs, and soon was back working with her artistic talents.“I got a job at the Sun Telegraph in advertising,” she said.After staying there for some time, Hendel decided she wanted to try her hand at a new kind of design.“I said I'd really like to be a fashion designer,” she said. “I just drew things like dresses swinging around and things like that.”She took her drawings to local fashion companies and they said she needed more practice but told her what to do to improve.“Changing to a new art form is like doing something completely new,” she said.It was not easy to learn a new form of design.She got advice to draw her friends and the outfits they wore and also to copy existing fashion ads that others had already drawn.“Then, he hired me,” she said.Meanwhile, her husband was struggling working a job with changing shifts that left him little sleep.Then Hendel went with her mother on a trip to Germany. She took a camera and when she returned she showed her husband the pictures.“He fell in love with Germany and said 'Let's move there,'” said Hendel.With no plans for work or lodging, the two left America for Germany and eventually settled in Leonberg.“It was crazy,” Hendel said.Despite brutal housing shortages in Germany, the couple managed to find a place to live and found jobs.Eventually, they decided they'd return to America.“I became homesick,” she said. “I missed Billy Graham and Christian radio. They didn't have that in Germany.”They also struggled with cultural differences in Germany.“We were spoiled in America,” Hendel said. “Stores were open until 9 p.m., and you didn't have to watch that little kids didn't steal out of your cart.”When they came back, Hendel was able to return to her job at the Joseph Horne Co., and Horne also hired her husband to work in the photography department.It was during the 1970s Hendel became involved in the Charismatic movement, a Christian movement with beliefs and practices similar to the Pentecostal movement.“It was during that time I wanted to do a banner, to do a portrait of the Lord,” Hendel said.She put her artistic and musical skills to use for the church, joining the choir and creating art pieces showcasing stories from the Bible.She credits God with giving her the artistic talents she has.“I can't take credit for it. It's in your DNA,” she said. “God is a giver.”Hendel continues to practice her art and much of it can be seen at Passavant Community.Additionally, Hendel wrote a book about her life titled “Memories of a German War Bride.”Spark the Arts is free to attend and open to the public.The event hopes to give community residents a chance to show their talents and share their stories with an audience.“Once a month we're going to be showcasing their talents,” said Cathy Reid, life enrichment coordinator at Passavant.For more information, visit www.lutheranseniorlife.org or call 724-452-5400.