TheRagens
Site Contents

Home Page

Book Resources

Family History

Newsletters

Reunions

Wildlife Photos

Wine Tastings
 - Bottled Poetry

Other Pages
 

About Us

Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Registration

Site Map
 

Affiliate Sites

Additional Affiliate Programs

My Century And My Many Lives, by Frank Munk
Memoirs, 1993
Postscript, 1994

Frank Munk, my grandfather, wrote this autobiography to record his memories from 1901 onwards. This history and its postscript are available on our family website in his memory as they tell a complete story of the 20th century. These memoirs may be referenced as long as proper attribution is made; our family retains ownership and copyright. We have one request: if you reference this material in any way, please send us email at feedback@theragens.com and a copy of the paper, if possible, as we would like to know when this material is of interest and we are curious as to how it is being used. We'd like to hear from you.
© Copyright 1993, 1994, The Munk/Ragen Families

My Century
And My Many Lives

Frank Munk
1993 and 1994

To Nadia and our offspring

Note: We have now published this entire autobiography as a single document. This may make it easier to print out and read offline.

INTRODUCTION

My father's life so far almost spans the 20th century.  His age is easy to remember.  In this year of 1992, he is 91 years old.  Not only does his life parallel the century, but he has always been a curious and keen observer.  And not satisfied to be an observer, he has often been an active participant in pivotal political and historical events in Europe and the United States.

For some time, I have suggested to my father that he should record his memoirs, not just for our family, but for others who are interested in the history of our times.  He was always too busy with the present to devote so much time to the past.

As often happens, a random event was the catalyst for these memoirs.  In 1990, my parents were visiting Brooks and me in Seattle.  We invited a young couple to have dinner with us who were about to be married and go to Czechoslovakia for their honeymoon.  We had a pleasant evening and they learned a great deal from my parents about their destination.  Two years later the young man sent me a small clipping from his college alumni magazine.  It was a request from a University of Chicago history professor for any information on President Benes' time in the United States in 1939.  I forwarded the clipping to my father and he, in turn, recorded what he personally knew of this period and sent it off to the professor.

The floodgates had opened.  Freed from the pressure of composing memoirs in chronological order, my father sat down at his Macintosh computer (acquired at age 90) and began to write.  Chapters would arrive in my mail in random order. They were always fascinating.  I was given the honor of editing.  We hope what follows will be of interest not just to the Munk grandchildren and their children, but also to students of twentieth century Western history.

Click here for the next chapter

Return to the Munk Biography Page

Return to the Ragen's Family History Page