Zech was born in Zlattnik, Upper Silesia (present-day Złotniki, Opole Voivodeship, Poland) and was enrolled in the Deutsches Jungvolk, as was mandatory under Nazi rule.

[5] According to Zech, a German general appeared at the family farm several days later and asked the parents to send the boy to Berlin, for an audience with Adolf Hitler.

His father agreed and Zech joined several other Jungvolk child soldiers who were decorated by Hitler with Iron Crosses (2nd class) for bravery.

[6][1][7] A photograph of Zech being inspected by Hitler was captured by Büro Laux, a German Foreign Ministry photo agency, and later – via Pressens Bild – distributed to the Associated Press.

[2] At the subsequent banquet Zech stated that he volunteered to remain in service, unaware that his hometown was already captured and his father was killed in action, after he was pressed into the Volkssturm.