Skip to main content

Learning New Life Skills

Refugees at Scattergood Learning How to Drive Car

Scattergood Guests inspecting the training car

For many refugees, the most daunting aspect of American life was learning to drive a car. In German cities they had walked or used public transportation.

John Kaltenbach, director of the hostel, noted how difficult it was for the refugees to learn how to drive a car. "They seem to have little sense of speed or judgment of distance, and consequently 'Susy' had taken quite a beating." 'Susy' was the name affectionately given to the automobile that was the victim of the many incidents that occurred in training. Some of these incidents ended with fences being struck or wheels being replaced, and several times 'Susy' needed to be pulled out of a ditch.