Blueness of a Clear Sky 

Hildagard A. Weiler

Book Description

Blueness of a Clear Sky is the compelling story of one child’s war time refugee experience. Hildegard Weiler was born in 1937 in Zombor, Hungary. In the waning months of World War II, Hildie, with her mother and sister, fled their home in Hungary to escape the advancing Russian army. Hildie’s story takes place over a two-year period from August 1944 through September 1946, when she and her family came to the United States.  
 
This memoir is powerfully written in first person, present tense. The author’s intent was, in her words, “to allow the reader to experience the condition of war through the eyes of a child.” In each chapter, stories of wartime refugee experiences are told from the point of view of 7-year-old Hildie. The approach is extremely effective in that Hildie’s voice conveys with vividness the sense of confusion, terror, and chaos that define much of her childhood refugee experience. 
 
But this memoir is more than a story of survival – it is a story of healing. During the late 1980’s, Ms. Weiler worked with a psychiatrist to heal from the post traumatic stress she carried with her as a result of her childhood war experiences. The author has included brief scenes from her sessions with Dr. Gregg. This technique provides the reader glimpses into the difficult process of healing, and offers insight into tremendous courage required to embark upon the journey of recovery from post traumatic stress disorder. 
 
Hildegard Weiler has given us a powerful and touching account of childhood refugee trauma which will enrich both our understanding and compassion. Before her death in 2009, Ms. Weiler noted that her aim in telling her story was to “shine a light on the resilience of the human spirit”. She has unquestionably succeeded.

A special feature of Blueness of a Clear Sky is an introductory “Historical Background” section prepared by Dr. Michelle Mouton, a faculty member in the history department at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Professor Mouton’s essay provides the reader a broader perspective on the complex historical and political context of the events described.

Hildegard A. Weiler was born in 1937 in Zombor, Hungary. In 1944, Hildie, with her mother and sister, left their home in Hungary to escape the advancing Russian army. After the war, Hildie’s family immigrated to Chicago where she spent the remainder of her childhood and early adult years. 

Hildie married Joseph Klemm at age 20. She had three children—Kenneth and Susan who survive, and a third child, Christopher, lived a few hours after birth. This great loss stayed with Hildie throughout her life.

While being a stay at home mom, in the later 1970’s she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Mundelein College in Chicago. Later in 1986, her husband’s work took them to Louisiana where she pursued her Master’s degree. As part of that undertaking she wrote the first draft of this book.

In l988, Hildie and Joe divorced. She returned to Chicago and worked as the Executive Director of the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons until her retirement, at which time she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to be near her daughter, Susan.

In 1992 she was diagnosed with breast cancer from which she had a good recovery. As part of her healing process she began to draw daily for about two years. It started with stick figures and evolved to a life time of drawing and painting healing images for others as well.

Hildie was a woman of faith, first as a Roman Catholic and eventually as a member of the Religious Society of Friends, Quakers. She was active at the unprogrammed Evanston, Illinois Meeting and then at the Charlotte, North Carolina Meeting. Her membership in the Meeting and her relationships with Friends supported her deepening faith.

In 2005, Hildie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. During the final stages of her illness, she entrusted the book manuscript to Marsha Rossiter, with the hope that it could one day be published. Hildie died on May 29, 2009 at the age of 71.

Hildegard A. Weiler (1937 – 2009)