Family History: Joseph Hofmann, 57, Wins La Salle’s Leo Prize by Writing About His Uncle’s Experiences in WWII

This was not your typical student paper. For Joseph Hofmann, it was personal, and involved interviewing his parents and writing about his family members’ their experiences in WWII (including a cousin who fought for Germany). 

Hofmann, 57, submitted his work for a seminar class at La Salle University, and then entered it in the History Department’s Leo Award Contest, given for the best paper on local history.  His was the named the winner.

The project also allowed him to earn his degree from La Salle (he began taking classes more than 30 years ago) and gave him something to focus on other than a painful back injury he suffered on the job. (He’s now on partial disability and works part-time as a crossing guard in Delaware County.)

Hofmann wrote about his uncle, Joseph Hofmann (he was named after him), who died at 19 during WWII, and his uncle’s first cousin, Otto Mezger, who fought with the German army.

The two cousins never met, but Joseph Hofmann grew up hearing about them.

“I did (the paper) for my Uncle Joe,” said Joseph Hofmann. “I wanted to keep my uncle’s name alive. And I did it for my dad.”

Hoffmann’s uncle, father and mother grew up in Philadelphia’s Olney section, which had a large German-American population. (During the war, Hoffman’s mother said her father, a policeman, told her the German-American Club in Olney was ‘watched.’)

Hofmann’s uncle was a star football player at La Salle College High School, where he made the city’s All-Catholic team. After graduation, Hofmann says his uncle was offered football scholarships to the University of Pennsylvania and Duquesne University, but chose to work at a refinery in Marcus Hook, Pa. When he turned 18, he joined the army in 1942.

Hofmann’s father Jerry, now 79, graduated from La Salle College in 1951. He said being interviewed for his son “was interesting and fun. It brought back many memories. (The process) made you stop and think and remember things you had forgotten.”

He said it wasn’t painful talking about his brother: “Time heals all things,” he said. “I was very proud of him. He was four years my senior. I certainly looked up to him and went to all of his games on Sundays. Football was a big part of (our) life then.”

Hofmann’s mother Jean, who’s 78, said, “I thought the idea of taking his cousin in German and his uncle Joe was a good idea, and very good for the family history, to keep the American-German relationships alive.”
She added that she was surprised her son’s paper won the Leo Award: “he was always a good writer, but a terrible speller,” he said. Hofmann added that his son-in-law, Chris Hatton, was a big help in typing the manuscript.

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In 1969, Joseph Hofmann enrolled at La Salle College and completed his junior year, but got married “and I needed a job.” He went to work for the U.S. Postal Service, and moved to Delaware County. In 1998 he was injured on the job and has had terrible pain in his back since then.

He went to Germany to have three artificial disks inserted in his spine. That didn’t work, and he went to Maryland to have two of the disks fused, and he said he developed complications and almost died. . He retired from the Post Office on partial disability in 2004. He says he gets by now with the aid of a pain pump.

In addition to the pain, he was fighting boredom. He had always hoped to complete his college degree, and spoke with Elaine Mattern, then Assistant Director of La Salle’s College of Professional and Continuing Studies. “She was one of my inspirations, she really wanted me to earn my degree,” said Hofmann.

Mattern suggested Hofmann take courses at Delaware County Community College to earn additional credits. Then in the fall of 2006, Hofmann began taking a two-part seminar class with History Professor Charles Desnoyers. If he completed them, he would have enough credits for a degree.

“As a student, he was totally dedicated, always contributed and was very sharp in class in a way that only someone who has been out in the world can be,” said Desnoyers. “Needless to say, I enjoyed him immensely in class.”

At the end of a seminar, a student is expected to write a paper. Desnoyers said a typical seminar paper runs 40 to 60 pages. Hofmann’s, including his bibliography, ran 87 pages. It includes several photos of his uncle playing football, of Mezger in the German army, a post-card dated Dec. 7, 1944 that his father wrote to his uncle that was never sent, and several family photos. (During his course, Hofmann sent Mezger’s son, Hans Otto, several questions to ask his mother, Fanny, then 86. Hofmann also acquired some family photos through Hans. Joseph Hofmann then added Fanny’s comments to the paper, and then submitted that revised version for the Leo Award.)  

Hofmann started his project by reading 20 books on World War II and related topics. He spent hours pouring over issues of the Olney Times from the 1940s. He also used La Salle’s archives (which includes both the University and the high school), and he donated several of his uncle’s belongings, such as a varsity sweater, to the collection.

When Hofmann completed the seminar in May of 2007, he had earned enough credits to graduate from La Salle with a degree in history. “It was one of the greatest moments of my life when I graduated, and to have my children and granddaughter see me graduate was terrific.”

“He’s a bulldog,” said his father, Jerry. “When he puts his mind to something, he does it. I was happy for him.”

“I was ecstatic that I won the Leo Prize,” said Hofmann. “I didn’t know how hard (this paper) would be. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope I didn’t bite off more than I can chew.’ But I felt all my work came to fruition.”

“I hope my story will inspire people who are in pain or suffering from a chronic illness that they still can accomplish what they want to do in life,” he said.

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