PARMA, Ohio, July 7 (UPI) -- A Cleveland woman, 84, said she studied for and passed a high-school equivalency test after having dropped out of the fifth grade during World War II.
Trudi Zitner of Parma, Ohio, passed the General Educational Development test and earned her GED certificate, the equivalent of a high-school diploma in May – 73 years to the month after the Nazis invaded Holland, where Zitner was a schoolgirl, the (Cleveland) Sun News reported Sunday.
The bridge leading to Zitner's school was blown up by Dutch soldiers to try to prevent the Nazis' advance. Further, as educating Dutch children was not important to the Nazis, she stopped going to school and never returned.
"I had goose bumps all the way up and down," said Zitner, adding that she screamed when she learned she had passed the test. "I couldn't believe it. It took so long to find out that I thought I didn't make it."
Zitner's daughter, Bonnie Naftzger, informed Parma Mayor Tim DeGeeter of her mother's accomplishment. DeGeeter personally delivered a proclamation of congratulations to Zitner, who was born and raised in the south Holland city of Maastricht.
