 Complete the following phrase:  Mende was born on 28 October 1916 in Groß Strehlitz, in the Province of Silesia, a province in the Kingdom of Prussia. Today it is Strzelce Opolskie, part of Opole Voivodeship in Poland. He was the third of four children of Max Mende 18851943 and his wife Anna 18891968, née Krawietz, of Polish descent. He had a seven-year-older brother Walter and a five-year-older sister Amalie. His father was the director of a secondary school Volksschule and, as was usual among Catholics, a supporter of the Centre Party. He grew up in region of Silesia heavily fought over during the Silesian Uprisings of 1919 to 1921 which pinnacled in the 