Since he was a child, growing up in Franzfeld, Yugoslavia, Adam Giess of Mansfield has faced more perilous situations than most people could fathom. The fact that he is still living today is a miracle — but what makes his story truly inspiring is that he continues to maintain a positive outlook on life despite the hardships he encountered.
In the words of his wife, Judith Giess, “He’s always had a good attitude about anything that’s ever happened to him. I mean he never says, ‘Why me,’ and you never hear him complain. He just accepts things and goes on.”
Adam Giess was born into a German family in 1934. He grew up in a town called Franzfeld, which is now known as Kacareva. “Everything was fine, but when the war (WWII) broke out, Hitler wanted to take that area, so the Germans attacked it and took it,” he described.
After the war ended, Yugoslav revolutionary Josip Broz, also known as ‘Marshal Tito,’ acted as prime minister from 1945 – 1953. During that time, Tito led Yugoslavia through a cruel form of dictatorship to transform the country into a socialist state.
“He took everything away from us,” described Giess. “All we had were our clothes, maybe a suitcase. He took everybody out of their homes and put them in one area in Franzfeld in a concentration camp.”
Children and the elderly were separated from able-bodied individuals, who were forced to stay in Franzfeld as forced laborers. “They just wanted to get rid of the nonworking people, so they had more room for the working people,” he explained. That meant he and his siblings, along with his grandpa and grandma, were moved to another village, leaving behind his mother and older sister.
At that point, Giess was about nine years old.
A few months after the separation, his mother snuck over to the camp where her children were at to bring them back to Franzfeld. She was able to successfully reunite her family by bribing the guards with cigarettes.
“When we got to Franzfeld, she put us in a pigpen to hide us,” said Giess.
Although they were in the clear, the guards soon found out that many parents were sneaking their children away from the other village so they could reunite their families. Thus, everyone in the village of Franzfeld was separated again; however, this time, the Giess family (Giess, along with his mother, brother, and two sisters) stayed together. Weeks later, his grandpa and grandma joined them at this new village (Rudolfsgnad) in Yugoslavia.
“It was a kind of bad place,” Giess reflected. “People died because of hunger and sickness. They wanted to destroy us.”
Both his grandpa and grandma died in Rudolfsgnad.
Giess and his brother nearly died one evening when they attempted to take wood from a corncrib. “While we did that, a couple guards walked up the street. They were going to shoot us,” he said. His mother, who was standing nearby, wept at the sight of a guard pointing his gun in the direction of her children. Fortunately, one of the guards encouraged the other to put his gun down and let them go.
For about two years, his family faced horror upon horror while living in Rudolfsgnad. Eventually, they were forced to move again—this time back to Franzfeld, where they endured three years of forced labor. “We had to work seven days a week,” he described.
“When the three years were over, we were allowed to buy our citizenship back,” he noted. That meant that he and his family would be free to leave the village.
So, after they completed their three years of labor, they moved to Germany to reunite with Giess’ father, who had been a prisoner of war in England. Giess explained, “If he would have come home to Yugoslavia [after he was released], the Communists would have killed him.”
The Giess family lived in Germany for seven years before immigrating to America in 1957. “Germany was a mess after the war, so a lot of Germans came to America,” Giess described.
At the age of 23, Giess journeyed to America, eventually ending up in Mansfield, Ohio. “We had friends from our home in Franzfeld who were here [in Mansfield],” he said. The family friends took the Giesses into their home for about a month or so until they got situated and found employment.
His family ended up settling right next to his future wife’s home. “The Bible says, ‘Love your neighbor,’” Giess said with a laugh.
For Judith Giess, “It was love at first sight,” she said.
This year they celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. Together they have four children, Joanne, Michael and Brian Giess and Ginger McClelland; and they have seven grandchildren.
Although Giess didn’t know the English language well when he entered America, he was able to pick it up from friends and co-workers.
For about one year, he worked at Leppert Machine in Mansfield. Thereafter, he joined his dad to work at ALSCO Metals Corporation. Eventually he started his own construction company—Giess Construction—where he worked for 45-50 years.
He and his wife began attending Mansfield Baptist Temple in 1973 and formed a relationship with the church that has lasted ever since. For about 40 years, Adam Giess served as “bus captain.” In that role, his wife described, Giess would visit children every Saturday and then help pick them up the following day on a school bus to take them to church and Sunday school. Without his help, many of these children wouldn’t be able to come to church, she said.
Pastor Robert Kurtz of Mansfield Baptist Temple said he’s known Giess for the last 30 years. “He’s one of the most precious men you’ll ever meet,” he said of Giess.
In November, Giess was presented an award in recognition of his perseverance and faithfulness in life and in service to the Lord at a men’s conference that included 800 individuals from different churches. During the award presentation, Giess’ life story was shared.
“He went through some unbelievable difficulties,” said Kurtz, “and we just wanted to encourage everyone by sharing his story and about his faithfulness to the Lord.”
About five years ago, Giess suffered from a shattered left knee and right heel, as well as a head injury after he fell from a roof. Two years later, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called sarcoma. “The doctor thought the trauma from the [roof] accident caused my cancer,” he said.
He underwent three radiation treatments and three surgeries, one of which involved the amputation of his right arm.
“It’s a stage four cancer,” described Judith Giess. “It’s aggressive and fast growing, but the doctor is amazed that he’s still around.”
In a recent CT scan, the doctor did not locate any new tumors. He will get another CT scan in six months to check the status of his health.
Kurtz said that Giess’ “life verse” is Proverbs 3:5-6, which states, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Giess demonstrated his firm belief in that verse while describing his life story. He never masked his recollections with despair or frustration. He said he does not at all feel as though he was ‘short-changed’ in his life. In fact, in every horrific situation he encountered, he said he knew that the Lord had been watching over him.
In every instance, “The Lord watched over me and I have just needed to trust Him,” he said, adding, “I’m still here, and the Lord is still watching over me.”
Giess and his brother nearly died one evening when they attempted to take wood from a corncrib. “While we did that, a couple guards walked up the street. They were going to shoot us,” he said. His mother, who was standing nearby, wept at the sight of a guard pointing his gun in the direction of her children.
