Munich: Nazi memorials

Cars and pedestrians pass the Feldherrnhalle memorial to the Nazis killed in the 1923 Munich putsch. Two armed men stand guard in front of two huge wreaths. There is a changing of the guard ceremony and shots of bicyclists riding by. Both the pedestrians and those on bicycles salute as they walk by. Another changing of the guard ceremony, this time at the honor temple where the dead putschists were buried. The Baker family traveled through Munich on the way to Vienna in October 1937. Helen Baker writes of the visit in a letter dated October 31, 1937: "We started out on an inspection tour, riding to the spot, sacred to Nazis, where sixteen of their martyrs were shot during the unsuccessful putsch of 1923. A guard of honor stands below the memorial tablet, so motionless that one would think it was part of a bronze group. Everyone who passes -- on foot, in autos or on bikes, salutes gravely. It is most impressive. We took some movies of the passers-by -- with police permission -- and hope they are good." Ross Allen Baker was born on November 13, 1886, in Greencastle, Indiana, to Philip S. and Luemma Allen Baker. His father was a chemistry professor at DePauw University. Ross received a BA in chemistry from DePauw and a PhD in 1914 from the University of Wisconsin. He married Helen Fredericka Porter on December 30, 1914. The couple had five sons: Philip, Porter, Frederick, Stanley, and Raymond. He held various teaching positions throughout the US and in England. He was a national counselor for the Boy Scouts of American and helped write the merit badge booklet. During World War I (1914-1918), Ross served in the Chemical Warfare Service specializing in the use of mustard gas. He later became active in efforts to have nations ban the use of biological and chemical weapons in the League of Nations, and later in the United Nations. He was active in several professional associations. In 1928, he was a US delegate for an International Union of Chemistry meeting at the League of Nations and, in 1938, a US delegate to the International Congress of Chemistry in Rome, Italy. In 1937, Ross held a position as professor of chemistry at the City University of New York. During the 1930s, there had been technological advances in optics and photography in European universities and American scientists sought to emulate this work. Ross received a sabbatical leave to take courses in microchemistry at the University of Vienna. Ross, his wife, and three of their five sons lived in Vienna from early 1937 until May 1938; summers were spent in travel. In May 1938, the family accompanied Ross to Rome and also witnessed public events for the summit meeting of Hitler and Mussolini. They travelled the rest of the summer and then returned to the US. Ross retired from San Diego State. He passed away, age 92, in 1978 in San Diego, Ca.