Wow! That is as apt a word as one can use to describe what you will learn here of the life lived by the actor, Eric Braeden born Hans-Jorg Gudegast. Born during the Hitler regime in 1941, Hans was just a toddler when World War II came to an end. He had no understanding of who Hitler was nor of what was happening. His home life growing up in the town of Bredenbek, Germany was pleasant during his childhood. The family had maids and a cook to help keep the house running smoothly, his father was mayor of the town and had a driver. His mother often entertained guests at 4:00p.m. with cakes and tea served. His father died when Hans was 12 years old which threw the household into a downward spiral and which to this day is a heartbreak he has never recovered from. Without his father’s income the servants were let go and the family was forced to move to the lower quarters of what had been their home. His mother continued her practice of serving tea and cakes at 4:00p.m. now and then but she had to take a job in a factory to support the family (all sons). The boys went to work for local farmers bringing home food from the fields they were able to scrounge. Christmas meant each boy received a new pair of shoes that had to last them till the next Christmas. Never was mention of Hitler brought up in his classes at school. German history was taught but the generation after the Hitler regime was not privy to the atrocities that transpired during the 17 years Hitler had been in power. Hans had a good life, fell in love with a well-to-do young lady but at 17 when the opportunity arose that an American cousin living in Texas offered to sponsor him to come to America he jumped at it. Having seen western films from the U.S. his dream was to move to America and become a cowboy. His first job in America was working in a lab cutting the knee joints out of cadavers – read the book for the whole scoop there – yikes! How messed up is that? He continued his education enrolling in college and taking courses as his time and money allowed. A college professor asked him in class one day, how a country that was the birthplace of Beethoven, Goethe, Albert Schweitzer, Sigmund Freud etc. could allow Hitler to commit the crimes he did? Embarrassed, Hans had no answer. He did not know what the professor was talking about. After that he began to read everything he could get his hands on to find out what happened during WWII, who Hitler was and what he had done. Upon learning of the death camps and the cruelty of the psychotic fuhrer, Hans felt deep and utter shame for what he termed throughout his life the sins of the father. He wrote stern letters to his mother demanding to know if she and his father had participated in the Nazi regime? To which his mother answered they would talk about it when he came back home. She had a neighbor explain that while his father was a member of the Nazi party it was only because Germany was suffering at the time and when Hitler delivered bread to the hungry and restored jobs and gave validity to the mark everyone’s life improved. They did not see what all was going on in the camps. They didn’t know. They thought all was well and saw Hitler as a strong leader who restored the country. Not everyone participated or even knew what was happening elsewhere although they learned later. Hans bears guilt to this day for what he feels his country did. Around this time another relative living in Montana offered him a place to live and had a neighbor who needed help on his ranch. Hans went for it – he could realize his dream of becoming a cowboy – which he did! He returned to taking classes at the University of Montana, joined the track team and the local soccer club going on to champion status. Due to his athletic prowess on campus he was sought out by a documentary film director/writer/actor to help him make a film called, “The River of No Return,” in which they were filmed shooting rapids and surviving a trip on treacherous water. This led to his interest in pursuing an acting career so he rode a grey hound bus to Los Angeles to see if he could make it in Hollywood. He lucked into several roles as German soldiers and many roles as Nazi officers under his given name. He was told if he really wanted to do well in Hollywood he was going to have to change his name, it was too German. Hans feeling was when will people get over that 17 years of Hitler’s regime and start treating the German people with respect for all the good that has come out of Germany? To this day he strives to do away with prejudice in all of its forms and has dedicated his life to humanitarian work. After hearing at a party that he needed to change his name and then getting an agent who told him the same thing that if he wanted to do more than play Nazi roles the rest of his life he really needed to change his name, He finally did though under extreme duress. He took the name Eric which was popular in Germany and he took a version of his hometown as his surname adding an a and shortening it to Braedon. The roles began to pour in. He guest starred on all the top t.v. shows even landing a year’s contract on “The Rat Patrol.” When the “suits” wanted him to portray his character with a limp and wear an eye-patch he refused to do so saying that stereotype of German soldiers had been perpetuated for too long. A German officer was a well-trained soldier who acted with honor serving his country as any soldier does, and he would not play the part any other way. The “suits” allowed him to do it his way and the character was a many faceted person rather than a ridiculous cartoon. Fans of the show liked the character so what started out as a 3 episode deal lasted a year. His then agent told him to only accept film roles but he told his agent he wanted to know of every offer that came in and he would decide for himself what he wanted to audition for. When the offer came in for a soap opera role his agent was against it, but intrigued by this new genre he hadn’t tried, yet, Eric Braeden decided to go for it. And to go with a new agent. Turns out the fans responded to his performance on the show. They liked this tough rich guy on the show, Victor Newman. At first the character was one dimensional, always evil. Eric was tired of playing a jerk. He asked the writer to flesh out Newman’s character get to the meat of his background and why he was so evil. Give him a personality. And that is how Victor Newman told the world on a Christmas episode of The Young and the Restless that his father was an alcoholic that left his mother and she being unable to support him left him at an orphanage. The audience fell in love with Victor Newman. He wasn’t evil! He was a poor mistreated child in the body of a man crying out against the indignities and injustices he had suffered that is why he acted like he did. BINGO! The audience embraced Victor and his character has been a major player on the show for 37 years and counting! To which Eric Braeden says, “I’ll Be Damned.” There is so much more to learn about Hans-Jorg Gudegast a.k.a. Eric Braeden. This is a terrific book that offers up an unashamed honest look at what lies beneath the character we know and love and sometimes love to hate – Victor Newman. Eric Braeden has a star on the Walk of Famie in Hollywood. The reader will learn the mayor of L.A. actually declared it Victor Newman Day on the show’s anniversary of its 1,000 episode. Eric has fans throughout the world and is always amazed when he goes different places even different countries and hears “Victor!” To which he again says, “I’ll be damned.” It’s always a surprise and a good feeling to be appreciated and he is always gracious to his fans because he knows he wouldn’t be where he is if not for them. He has had the distinguished honor to meet many world leaders and chat with them even calling many of them friends over the years and strives to use every opportunity to reach out and make the world a better place. Very well written. A wonderful introduction to a man who is passionate about life.
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