Eisenbacher Dampfteam

Franz Demattio was a typical "Eisenbacher Bueb". Born in Eisenbach in 1919 as the 13th of 14 children of Italian immigrants, he naturally decided to become a precision mechanic. After completing his training, he was drafted into military service and served as an aircraft mechanic on airfields from northern France to the former Soviet Union between 1939 and 1945. Only in the final days of the war did he become a British prisoner of war, from which he was released after a few months. Back in Eisenbach, he started a family, became a master craftsman and worked in various roles at a well-known, now internationally active drive manufacturer in Eisenbach until his retirement in 1982.