Knowing and internalising that he was viewed as the less-important son had considerable impact on Franz’ childhood. Franz was unable to pinpoint any particularly happy times after his mother’s death. He grew to become a challenging child, then a rebellious teenager.  The family was strict.  Franz was unable to discuss his school reports, as he was never privy to their contents. His father, in conjunction with his school, decided that at the age of 15 he would begin an apprenticeship as a mechanic, a decision Franz chose not to fight as it was preferable to both further schooling or farming. The bond between Franz and his father was not strong. Franz’s childhood happiness level deteriorated further upon his father’s remarriage to a German woman Franz describes as having marked mental issues.

At the age of 18, Franz received an official document from the state saying he was no longer under the guardianship of the state or his assigned guardian, his aunt. The letter was never discussed or referred to again by anyone until his father’s death, when it was confirmed that Franz had never been legally adopted. The Brauns were multigenerational dairy farmers, with the farm passing from father to first-born over the generations as is Swiss law, and there were rumblings in the family about what the adoption of young Fritz/Franz would mean for the family dynasty.  What happened is that Franz was never legally adopted. Raised as the child of a farming family, Franz had often felt he was not a genuine family member, yet had no recall of, or any emotional connection with his birth mother. Indeed, when he reached legal adulthood and had a method to message his mother requesting contact, his request was denied.  She had married, had two children with her husband, and they had no knowledge of his existence.  His birth mother was not in a position to provide him with the belonging he so craved. All of this was a distinct blow to the young man’s sense of identity, but the man that is now Franz Braun is a testament to the fact that it is possible to overcome even the worst challenges and make a good life for oneself.

The apprenticeship turned into a barely-disguised blessing for Franz, because his employer and mentor, Hansreudi Hofer, became the surrogate father that Franz so badly needed.  Despite Hansreudi administering “tough love”, the relationship grew and blossomed, to the benefit of both, becoming a life-long one of mutual love, respect and a great deal of pride.  After Hansreudi’s death, his widow gifted Franz a heavy lever archfile of all the correspondence Hansreudi had received from Franz over the years.  It made very tearful reading, beginning with a letter, in German, beginning, “My dear step-father”, written by Franz from Johannesburg on 5th May, 1976. Switzerland had never been a truly happy place for Franz. He completed his 4-year apprenticeship with honours, motivated by a perverse desire to show his “father” and school just what he could do if he put his mind to it. Franz then ticked off his compulsory military service and headed abroad in 1975.  At that point in his life, anywhere was a better option for young Franz, then 20, than Switzerland.  The choice for migration came down to either Australia and South Africa, and so off to Johannesburg it was, since their government would agree to pay a greater portion of his airfare, and funds were tight. Franz has never regretted his decision to leave Switzerland, despite initial homesickness he was too proud to admit. Over the past decades has never returned there to live, yet has visiting often.

Franz has lived in many other places as well: Malawi, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Australia and now Thailand, and has conducted business in many more, including Liberia, Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Middle East and the Philippines. His difficult experience as a new migrant to South Africa, with no language other than German, and no job, has shaped the way that Franz now relates to, and interacts with, others. Although his first job in South Africa was as a mechanical engineer with a German firm, Franz has moved outside his comfort zone on many occasions, taking on a diverse range of employment until he was able to go into business for himself. Despite being constantly busy with both his work and his growing family, Franz was able to upgrade his qualifications, graduating with a Master’s degree in Engineering in 1986.

Working with people of so many nationalities, cultures and language backgrounds has been a boon for Franz, who points to learning to successfully team build across great diversity as his greatest personal achievement so far. Franz still advocates for improved interpersonal communications and for people to have the strength of their convictions: to stand up and be counted. Franz believes making others happy can be as simple as listening to them and then truly communicating, arts that he feels are being eroded in modern societies. Franz sees great hope for the future in the youth of Africa, who are making it plain that racial inclusivity is the only acceptable path into the future.

This determination was spurred by the fact that Pauline, with her central place in Franz’ life, was never able to achieve the full respect of his Swiss family, despite valiant attempts. She was older than Franz, not Catholic, not acceptable. The introduction of two Asian children, with their own unique skin and features, was arguably the last straw in the relationship breakdown, with the couple deciding that the Swiss connection was no longer worth pursuing. Franz would like to be more tolerant, but if people let him down badly, they frequently are not given a second chance. He has learnt from his past mistakes.

Franz’s time in Sierra Leone crystallised the desire to contribute, to serve others, that is still apparent to people who know Franz today.  Franz took on the role of Honorary Consul General for Switzerland, which saw him handling all diplomatic and government business between Sierra Leone and Switzerland.  Franz also became responsible for issuing visas and responding to calls for help from Swiss Nationals in Sierra Leone.  It was a job very well suited to Franz’ developing skill set.  He thrives on organising, planning, team building and structuring solutions, skills equally as important to his life’s work as his Engineering qualifications.  The breadth of Franz’ community involvement is beyond the scope of this article. Franz and Pauline have been staunch, on-going supporters and fund-raisers for a particular school in Sierra Leone, ever since their time in the country. Franz names Sister Mary, the nun in charge, along with the renowned Mother Teresa of Calcutta, as the people he most admires. Briefly, here in Hua Hin, Franz has embraced any and all opportunity to make a difference.  He is generous, not just financially, but with his time, skills and transportation, and has taken part in activities co-ordinated by both Jungle Aid and Scholars of Sustenance.

One driving factor in Franz’ commitment to give back is that his own life has not been all champagne and roses. Franz understands what it is like to suffer setbacks, and even levels of adversity which would crush most people.  Franz is resilient: he is a survivor, and a strong believer in things happening at the appropriate time. Franz has trained himself to see each new door opening, each new opportunity, while at the same time, pushing through any obstacles in his path. The most potent example of Franz’ resilience was between 2011 and 2013, during the family’s residence in Australia. Franz and Pauline moved the family to Brisbane, Australia in 1994, Franz looking for a business opportunity to best exploit his vast and varied management expertise. Making use of his skill in developing connections, Franz joined local business organisations and bought a furniture company and rebranded it.  Over the next five years or so, Franz put his personal stamp on the company almost completely reinventing it, retooling, exploring new markets and significantly expanding it until it had 50 or so employees.

For a while it looked as though the family would lose their home to the bank as well.  In another instance of a door opening at just the right time, Franz received notification that he had received an amount of money, an inheritance from his birth mother, once he was able to prove that Franz Braun, Australian resident, was Fritz Vogt, Swiss baby given up for adoption.  The inheritance saved the house in Brisbane, which Franz and Pauline hope eventually to leave to their daughters.  The apartment above the detached garage gives the pair a base for their Australian visits, while rent from the house funds their lives in Hua Hin.

Franz first visited Hua Hin around 2014 to stay with a friend in Pranburi.  He also took advantage of some “dental tourism” at the time.  In 2018, when he broke his leg on a visit to Hua Hin, Franz had an unwanted opportunity to check out the quality of health care available locally.  Just before the Covid pandemic, the decision was made to move to Hua Hin, but then circumstances forced the couple to remain in Australia until 2022. Now living just south of Hua Hin and embracing the retirement lifestyle, Franz enjoys the fact that many people in the local community, whether they are Thai or foreigners, are living for today.  He feels that in Hua Hin there is a sense of community, where people genuinely care about others.  Franz loves the climate, the foods and the smells almost as much as he values the people, but is irked by rubbish discarded by the side of the road.  He acknowledges that better environmental education is needed.

Life is about living for Franz.  He wants to round off some of his rigidity and embrace a less direct tone with others.  On Franz’ bucket list are another trip to Africa, and a return to Switzerland for his 70th birthday, in the full knowledge it could be his final trip to his country of origin.  Franz’ life has been a veritable maze of twisting paths, with some very dangerous corners added for good measure. He is happy to have followed every dream and taken every opportunity, despite the bad times he has encountered.  While Pauline is now enjoying the freedom to explore new culinary opportunities in Thailand, Franz still yearns for some simple sausage and rösti, and a gin and tonic. His salad eating is improving though, another thing for which he is indebted to Pauline. Franz can now have time off, though he is still better at working than relaxing.  His favourite place in the world to relax is now here, at home, on the couch, with the dog, YouTube on the TV, Alexa playing soothing music, himself half asleep. Yet this is an infrequent occurrence.  Franz is a man who requires constant stimulation in his life.  He is energised by situations with a lot going on, and will just switch off if boredom strikes.  Thank goodness there is much to occupy Franz locally, with plenty of doors still for him to open.