Father’s Olympian Legacy Revisited in Reclaiming Luxembourg Citizenship

Luxembourg's growing community of dual citizens in the United States continues to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries, with many embracing their heritage and sharing it through language, tradition and entrepreneurship.

This article is seventh in a series on Luxembourg Americans who have gone through the process of reclamation of Luxembourg nationality to become Luxembourg citizens. These dual citizens, who were assisted in their citizenship journey by Luxembourg Legacy, reflect the passion that new Luxembourgers in America have for all things Luxembourg. This month, we are featuring Jeanne Warner of Lawrence, Kansas (US), born in Luxembourg and whose father was a Luxembourg Olympian, later appointed honorary consul general of Luxembourg.

When Jeanne Warner reclaimed her Luxembourg citizenship in 2023, it was an emotion-filled, full-circle moment for her.

“I was born in Luxembourg and I feel as though I reclaimed something that was lost; something I want back,”Jeanne Warner said, whose father, Robert F Schaeffer, was born in Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg in 1930.

Robert Schaeffer graduated with distinction from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris (France) and then attended the University of Kansas (KU) (US), on a Fulbright scholarship, pursuing post-graduate studies in human relations in business and industrial psychology.

Although her father was extremely bright, he had a difficult time in school, Jeanne Warner noted.

“His English professor, who was a track and field coach, persuaded him to start running. My father became very good at running and then he became very good at everything,” said Jeanne Warner. “Running helped everything fall into place.”

Schaeffer competed in track and field as a sprinter and qualified to represent Luxembourg in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki (Finland) in the 200 m and 4x400 m relay. Jeanne Warner has all his Olympic participation medals.

Trying to build a life

While attending KU, Robert Schaeffer met Barbara Krug, a student who worked as a foreign student counsellor. After earning his master’s degree, he went back to Luxembourg but returned for Krug, who had graduated and was working as assistant curator of the Spencer Museum of Art at the university. Her parents believed the two should be married before moving away together, so the couple were quickly wed and headed to Luxembourg. Jeanne was born ten months later. Schaeffer had moved there for a job that did not work out so the family moved back to the United States. He began working for his wife’s parent’s lithography business, Krug Litho Art Company, in Missouri and eventually became president and part owner of the business. At the age of 60, Schaeffer retired and went on to have another successful career as a salesman for luxury department stores. 

In 1972, Schaeffer was appointed by Luxembourg as Honorary Consul for the eleven-state Midwestern area. In 1983, he was promoted to Honorary Consul General of that area and for the next years, he championed the economic, political and cultural interests of Luxembourg and supported Luxembourg nationals. As Honorary Consul General, he met Grand Duke Henri and was honoured with a series of decorations from Luxembourg, including Commandeur de l'Ordre de Merite du Grand Duche de Luxembourg.

The trauma of war

Jeanne Warner said her father originally came to the United States to escape the shame and stigma hanging over him due to his brother having volunteered to join the German forces during World War II. Thousands of Luxembourgers were forcibly conscripted in the German forces after Germany annexed Luxembourg in 1942. Many resisted, with about 40% going into hiding, while approximately 3,000 Luxembourgers died. A national strike broke out to protest the German occupation but it was violently suppressed and many leaders were executed. That made voluntary collaboration even more contemptible.

“Luxembourg is basically like a small town, so everybody knew about my uncle fighting with the Germans. My father, who had gone to live in Echternach with his uncle, felt that the legacy of his brother had a negative effect on his ability to get anywhere. It was a millstone around his neck and that is why he moved to the US,”Jeanne Warner said. She eventually met her uncle while visiting her grandmother in Luxembourg.

“My dad was never close to his brother after he enlisted in the German army. But he lived in the same building as my grandmother, so we got to know him and he was very funny, very, very kind and very nice. But he did the wrong thing,” remarked Jeanne Warner.

Reconnecting with the land of her birth

When she turned eighteen and registered to vote in the United States, Warner relinquished her Luxembourg birthright citizenship, which she said just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But as she got older, she felt increasingly drawn to reclaiming her citizenship.

“My father did not actually talk about Luxembourg that much with my brother and me. I spent a good deal of time there as a child during the summers, so I got to know the countryside. Then, I started seeing information on the LACS [Luxembourg American Cultural Society] page on Facebook and Kevin [Wester’s] posts about festivals and happenings and important figures. That is when I decided to pursue my dual citizen. I felt I was missing so much about this beautiful country where I was born and that I had been to a few times at length,”said Jeanne Warner. 

A retired lawyer, Jeanne Warner, who has three adult children, lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with her husband Mike, a retired former state and federal prosecutor. She reclaimed her citizenship through Article 7 in 2023 by having an all-male lineage back to Luxembourg.

Becoming a dual citizen was a poignant milestone

“It is very emotional for me. I was born in Luxembourg and it feels like I have reclaimed something that was lost. Luxembourg is so beautiful and has so much to offer. The people are so kind. It just feels like home to me,” she emphasised.

She will be returning to her homeland later this month with Kevin Wester’s Luxembourg Legacy tour group. 

“I am going on Kevin’s tour in May and I plan on doing a lot of fun things and learning a lot. I know who my grandmother, grandfather, uncles and aunts were - I know all that - but it would be wonderful to go back a little farther and see how long my family had lived in Luxembourg. I would like to explore all that. And you know what? Maybe I will want to live there some day.”