User:Paul A. Strassmann

Summary Background
Paul A. Strassmann was a computer executive, managing information systems from 1954 through 2016. After graduation from MIT in 1955 worked with calculating machines at MIT (1954-1955) and at Burns & Roe (1955-1960). Directed corporate systems at General Foods (1961-1965) and Kraft/National Dairy (1966-1969). Directed global computer networks for all Xerox systems (1969-1976). Policy levels and planning at Xerox (1976-1986). Retired from Xerox in 1986 as a consultant (1986-1989). In 1989 appointed as Director of Information Systems and member of the Senior Executive Service, Department of Defense (1989-1993). Returned to consultancy practice (1993 - 2002). Chief Information Officer of NASA (2002-2003). Professor at US Military Academy, West Point (2004-2009) and George Mason University (2008-2013). Joined the International Data Corporation (2012-2016) as researcher. Retired in 2017.

Strassmann born in 1929 in Trencin, Slovakia. Military service 1944-45. Emigrated to the US in 1948. BS Engineering, Cooper Union 1953, MS Industrial Management, MIT 1955, PhD George Mason University, 2009.

Lives in New Canaan, Connecticut (1975-date). Married (1954). Four children.

Years in Trencin
Life in Trencin met usual childhood expectations until political events disturbed any semblance of normalcy. In 1938 Czechoslovakia was dismembered when a part of the country (Sudetenland) was ceded to Germany. . Father was a former command officers in the Austro-Hungarian army in WWI and was a reserve officer (Major) of the Czechoslovak Army. He was recalled into service but the Munich treaty which granted to Germany possession of Sudetenland on the border of Czechoslovakia. That stopped further military preparedness. Conditions did not change in Trencin and life was not affected. . Encouraged by Germany, a long festering dispute between the largely catholic Slovaks and the largely protestant Czechs now erupted. Slovaks then proceeded to declare an independent state, severing all connections with Czech and Moravia lands, which anticipated their takeover by the Nazi Germany. . A treaty of alliance was then signed between Germany and the new Slovak state, which pledged the Slovaks to follow the Germans militarily, comply with Nazi legislation, particularly in regard of anti-Jewish laws.

The Strassmann family contemplated emigration from Slovakia in 1938. However, a large extended family was largely dependent on the father and therefore the prospect of leaving was continuously deferred with a hope that somehow conditions would not deteriorate further. Passwords were prepared, but the process for obtaining exist visas was blocked with the creation of the Slovak State and the start of WWII on September 1, 1939.

In early childhood I was brought up by nurses because my parents were totally involved in building a large and prosperous business. Because Trencin has been a military garrison for centuries, my favorite playground was with the military (it also pleased the officers who were courting my nurses). Meanwhile Paul's childhood progressed from initial peaceful years in a Jewish parochial school until that was closed down early in 1940. While the school lasted, it was a tightly-knitted social center for all the children in Trencin and the surrounding communities because Jewish children almost never associate with others. The school was housed in a building leaning on one of the walls of a former fortress. There were 100 children from age of five to eleven, taught by three teachers. After 1940 my entire education was obtained randomly from paid-for tutors, including a brief interval in learning English from a refugee (who was deported in 1942) and from a piano teacher. The only noteworthy experience was membership in a highly active Hashomer Hatzair (a militant Zionist organization, which also closed in 1942). The highlight of my early school years was the Sabbath service with songs improvised by leading classmates. The service was staged in one of the classrooms and not in the adjoining opulent synagogue with songs improvised by leading classmates. Starting in 1937 the community was able to attract a number of refugees as teachers who instilled to many of the children a life-long love of history as a primary source of understanding of society.

Starting in 1939 the conditions for Jews could be compared to a gradually tightening noose. Visit to public places such as theaters and movies were prohibited (early 1939), a yellow star had to be worn at all times (late 1939), apartments with windows to a street had to be vacated (early 1940), a curfew from 8PM to 6 AM was enforced (early 1940), all radios, cameras and jewelry had to be handed in (late 1940), all travel has to be reported (early 1941), all gold and foreign currency handed in (mid 1941), property ownership handed over to party officials (late 1941), apartments on designated streets vacated and occupants removed to undesirable locations (early 1942), everyone registered for relocation to Poland or to local labor camps (early 1942). Tracking the increasingly deteriorating Jewish conditions was now recorded by a designated number of local Jews. Although my religious mother insisted that I past the Bar-mitzwah in January 1942 (the last known Jew in Trencin who qualified), my father was now seeking was how to avoid the inevitable deportations to what looked as annihilation camps. As a long standing friend of the local catholic bishop father consulted about the possibility of conversion. That would take too long and time was running out. However, the roman-catholic contact were useful. They provided my father with "exemption" status from deportation. Meanwhile, a local lutheran Senior was more amenable because several notable local lutherans supported our conversion. After an intensive (and pleasant) immersion in lutheran theology my entire family was baptized in June of 1942. The baptism produced several effects. The family moved into two room slum accommodations with an outdoor privy and no hot water. However, the catholic church recognized my baptism and admitted me in 1943 into a priest-run gymnasium where I was treated with great courtesy. During summers I worked in a machine shop fixing farm machines where several workers were suspected as connected with the anti-nazi underground. During these years American bombers used to fly frequently over Trencin on the way to bomb German installations. Although this happened late in 1943 and throughout 1944, that signaled that the end of war was near even though nobody knew when that would happen.

Deportations of 65,000 Jews from Slovakia to Poland took place from April 1942 through July 1942. An additional 12,000 were placed in labor camps where they worked as slave laborers mostly for the Slovak govern ment. My favorite maternal grandfather ended up in the Novaky camp, where he was a carpenter and useful as a craftsman. Approximately 8,000 "economically useful" or baptized Jews remained after the deportations abruptly stopped for reasons not fully understood. It was only during the last years of the war that my badly pressed parents ever had the time to devote to me. Most of the loving care came from my maternal grandfather who used to take me to the woodworking shops of his former apprentices as well as making sure that I attended religious services.

Partizan War
The acceptable life from 1943 could not last. Starting in 1944 there are increasing rumors that "partizans" started appearing in the proximity. The "black shirts" (Hlinkova Garda) patrolled steers, though there was no trace of Germans who were increasingly occupied while retreating from Stalingrad. My principal pleasure was listening on a borrowed radio at night to broadcasts from London.

Due to misdirected efforts a few of the troops of the Slovak Army mutinied against the Slovak Nazi government on August 28, 1944. The mutiny was poorly organized, misdirected and poorly timed. . As troops were escaping Trencin military barracks, my father invoked already prepared contingency plans and removed the family to the house of a friendly farmer in the nearby mountains. Our escape to the mountains was poorly conceived and badly organized. Getting transported from Trencin to the mountains using the company's truck made our movements easily recognized. After receiving encouraging news about conditions in Trencin, the entire family returned back to our dwelling on September 1.

Due to curfew I stayed at a friends house the night of September 1. Early in the morning I received the news that during the night armed police seized everyone, while also looking for me. I was advised to proceed to the next back-up shelter, which was the home of one of our former employees. I was not welcome by the employee's wife because rumors were circulating that any family hiding a Jew would be executed. Early next morning I was given a sandwich and an apple and told to come back late in the evening.

While sitting in the bushes next to the river it became apparent that I could not return to the hideout. A noontime I heard machine-gun fire in the mountains across the river. Without further thought I plunged into the swift (and rocky) river with only a polo shirt, short pants and sandals. Floating through the river allowed me to bypass all bridges and villages that were likely to be occupied. After more than an hour in water I emerged, and walking on hidden paths I returned to the village where I left two days ago. That night a friendly watchman (who knew my father) fed me, gave me a peasant jacket and directed me to sleep in a hayrick in the woods.

Next day I ran into a group of Slovak army deserters who refused to accept me, but gave me a hand-grenade. Thus armed I proceeded to walk in the direction from where machine gun fire could be heard. After a day in the woods I arrived at a clearing watching what appeared to be a truck commandeered by what looked looked like partizans. It was a well armed motley band of eight headed by a man with a red star on his cap. That was Batko, a Russian parachutist coming back from a raid in the proximity. I volunteered to join them. It just happened that the partizan group needed a local "point man" to walk ahead of everyone. My claim that I was intimately acquainted with the surroundings was accepted. I was immensely gratified to become a part of a group of German killers. I did not realized that this group was completely separated from the Slovak Army. Batko and another man (the "commissar") were recently dropped Russian parachutists whose objective was to completely avoid any combat but to concentrate on the mining the railroads to interfere with military transportation. I just happened to join a small mining squad whose speciality were in explosives, not in infantry warfare. It took me a long time to figure out that belonging to a small group of miners saved my life. The the ill-conceived Slovak uprising failed two months later not being able counter heavily armed SS troops who were experts in conventional warfare.

Only three days ago I was completely lost what to do. Now at the age of 15 I became a guerrilla fighter - a fighting Jew. The details of my partizan experiences are described in "Paul's War " (188 pages), "My March to Liberation " (192 pages), "We Fought Back: Teen Resisters of the Holocaust " (35 pages) and "Boy Partizan" " (5 pages).

Slovakia 1945 to 1948
On March 25, 1945 my sick and starved partizan group crossed the lines that separated the Nazis from the free world. NKVD then sorted out any suspects and let the rest of the group to go wherever they could find a place. An emaciated 16 year old Jew was waved off to the Czechoslovak army command who sent me immediately to a sanatorium in Tatranska Lomnica for recovery. After two weeks of rest I was shipped to a newly formed officer training school. It appeared the Army needed completely reliable officers, drawn from the partizan ranks, to lead new units that would then occupy land previously seized by the Nazis. There was no question that my attitude to inflict vengeance on Germans qualified me for such posting. The officer school ended the day when peace was declared. Because of my youth I received only a commission as corporal in the Czechoslovak army. My assignment was as an aide (and body guard) to a colonel at the Bratislava headquarters. On the way to the new post I stopped in Trencin. With a full uniform (and a automatic weapon) I showed up after midnight at the former Strassmann home. A petrified family immediately vacated my parent's bedroom. There was no news about anybody from my family.

My services in the Czechoslovak army lasted only three months. Without any formal education there was not future for me as an officer. Meanwhile, my sister returned from Ravensbruk concentration camp where she survived as a slave laborer cleaning parts from shot-down german airplanes. The Army was glad to let me go and I resumed my seat in the Trencin gymnasium.

There was not question that there was no future for me Trencin. Nazi collaborators were still walking around. The idea of ultimately taking over my family properties did not appeal to me because my ambition was to acquire excellent education. My father's former partner offered to bring me to America where I could build a new life without remembrances or ties to the past. Meanwhile, the brick factory was sold for cash and I suddenly possessed money to do what would please me. I moved to Prague where I tried to catch up with my education by attending a concert, play or theater every day throughout 1946 and 1947, while also keeping up with my gymnasium studies in Trencin. Simultaneously I also studied English, ending with a certificate as an English teacher from the Charles University.

While in Prague I was waiting for a US immigration visa even tough my fathers's partner, Andor Kubicek, did his best to get me on what was a very small waiting list. Sometime in October 1947 I received a call from Fred Kobler, a relative of Kubicek, that I must hurry to get out of Czechoslovakia as soon as possible. Through bribery I finally managed to obtain a British visa and left Trencin by train on February 8, 1948. On February 15, 1948 the communist party took control over every aspect of government. Czechoslovak borders were closed while I was arriving in England to wait for a US visa. While in London, Fred Kobler took very good care of me (continued while I was getting started in the US), arranging for me to get English and mathematic certificates from the University of London.

On October 15, 1948 I arrived in Brooklyn on a Liberty ship that was transporting refugees. A new life, full of new opportunities, has begun. I had a $20 dollar bill in my pocket.

Cooper Union 1949-1953
Upon arrival in Forest Hills at the house of the Kubicek family, my first priority was to resume my education. The advice received from HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Assistance Society) was discouraging. I did not have a high school diploma and had no money to pay for any tuition or fees. After attending the Jamaica High School at night, while supporting myself mostly by selling socks in the Gertz Store, I finally qualified for a high school diploma. Through a combination of luck I was nevertheless admitted to the completely free excellent engineering school, the Cooper Union. I started at Cooper only later after the start of the semester and therefore had to pick the only available civil engineering curriculum. I found college courses very difficult, but ultimately caught up earning membership in the highly select engineering Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon (for civil engineers) honor societies. By the time I graduated I picked up all sorts of other honors, receiving the greatest satisfaction of a prize for a lecture in the Cooper Union Hall for an illustrated speech. My civil engineering class elected me as president, which was then followed by election to the Cooper Union student council. In 1952 the post of the managing editor of the Cooper Union student magazine was suddenly vacated. I accepted the post because it offered companionship of some the brightest girls. I reorganized the biweekly 36 page paper despite the demanding workload of working on my now high course grades and part-time work to earn a living. Meanwhile, my source of greatest satisfaction came from weekly attendance at the Cooper Union Forum. During these years the Forum represented the choice platform that was attended by the leadership of Greenwich Village intellectuals. As an usher at the Forum I was paid wages. My acculturation to becoming an American, while shedding traces of being a refugee, was now progressing well.

Late in 1950 I was approached by the Jewish Agency if I would leave in two days for Israel to work as a surveyor. Arabs had just vacated their villages and surveyors were needed to lay out farm plots for new immigrants. The compensation for a few months of work was phenomenal and I had just completed an engineering course in land surveying. My qualifications were strengthened by my military experience because I was told that "surveyors get short at". My work started a four in the morning in Jerusalem, but the heat of the day called for quitting by noon. Although I was always tempted to consider joining in Kibbutz Dalia my few remaining comrades from Hashomer Hatzair, a visit to Kibbutz confirmed my commitment to stay in America and get an education.

In 1951 I left my bed at Kubicek's and rented a tiny bedroom that was a walking distance from Cooper Union. Started working as a low-level draftsman for the prominent firm Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendoff that sustained me with sufficient income until I graduated. At HNTB I rapidly progressed, ending up with well paying appointments as resident engineer on the West Virginia Turnpike (1952) and the Maine Turnpike (1953). As my years at Cooper were coming to a close, I recognized that my engineering education was insufficient. When the attractive Rossi scholarship for entering the Sloan School of Management at MIT was advertised. I decided to apply for admission dispensing with scholarship (although assured by the Dean that I was the most qualified applicant). When Sloan accepted, I showed up in Cambridge, Mass. in the Fall of 1953.

The most important event at Cooper was meeting my wife Mona of 64 years. During one of the lectures in the Spring of 1953 I was attracted by a tall, extremely well dressed art student that had long braided hair. She concentrated on the lecturer instead of flirting. When the entire graduating class decided to celebrate at Coney Island, I was paired with Mona to ride a giant roller coaster. She fainted and I had to hold her tightly. Afterward we went for a walk. I proposed in the Summer of 1953 and we were married in May of 1953 during my final exams at MIT.

Books
Information payoff