Holocaust Survivors | jonodavid

Holocaust Survivors

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"I admire your photos and the concept behind them. Up to now, all the photographers tried to make
us look old and unhappy, whereas, in reality, we had full and productive lives after the Holocaust.”
— Marcel Drimer, Holocaust survivor, Washington, D.C.

Life Before the Holocaust: Portraits of Character

Available now in paperback and eBook on Amazon.

Nat Shaffir
b. 1936 
Iași, Romania 
Arrival in USA: 1961 (via Israel)

OBJECTS: Dahlia flowers (home grown)

“I grew up on a farm, so gardening was always in my blood. In Romania and Israel, I had mainly vegetable gardens, but after I settled in the United States, I started growing flowers. I grow some 70 varieties of dahlias in my garden. They are a challenging flower to grow because they require specific conditions. I also grow other flowers such as zinnias. Being in nature makes me feel great.”

Maud Michael Beer
b. 1929 
Prostějov, Czechoslovakia
Arrival in Israel: 1948

OBJECT: Decorative vessel (unidentified) (family heirloom)

"This vessel was in the house of my grandfather and grandmother in Prostějov, When I was a little girl, they told me it was from Jerusalem. This was very important for me because we knew we were Jews, and that we would one day go to Palestine.”

Marcel Drimer
b. 1934 
Drohobycz, Poland (today, Ukraine)
Arrival in USA: 1961

OBJECT: Diploma, Polytechnic Institute of Wroclawska

“This is my diploma from Polytechnic Institute of Wroclawska [Politechnika Wrocławska]. These studies were the beginnings of my career as an engineer. When I came to America, I initially worked as a draftsman but soon became a fully-fledged engineer. I contributed to the mechanization of the US post system and worked for the Army Corp of Engineers. I am proud to have given something positive to society.”

Péter Georg (Grünwald)
b. 1941 
Budapest, Hungary
Arrival in USA: 1980

OBJECTS: Hungarian cookbooks

“Growing up in communist Hungary, food was rationed and often scarce. When I came to the United States in 1980, I brought a Hungarian cookbook together with my mother’s handwritten recipes. I didn’t miss much about Hungary when I left except for my mom and her cooking. I still miss them.”

Fred Knoller
b. 1921 
Vienna, Austria 
Arrival in UK: 1952 (via USA)

OBJECT: Cello

“My parents were musical. We were three brothers. The eldest played piano. My middle brother played the violin. And I learned to play the cello from age 8. I love playing the cello. It makes me feel wonderful and alive. Playing the cello takes me back to my childhood.”

Ada Braiman
b. 1941 
Kharkov, Ukraine
Arrival in Israel: 1995

OBJECTS: Seashell collection

“When I came to Israel, I started collecting shells because I often go to the sea. They make me feel good. There’s something philosophical in the shells. Having them around me makes me feel more connected to the sea.”

Harry Kornhauser
b. 1929 
Berlin, Germany
Arrival in UK: 1939

OBJECT: Decorative horse

“When I was a kid in Germany, I used to ride horses. That love carried on here. My wife and I owned three horses — one at a time, over 30 years. Looking after the horses and bonding with them added an extra dimension to our lives.”

Ella Blumenthal
b. 1921 
Warsaw, Poland 
Arrival in South Africa: 1948

OBJECT: Pince-nez

“I was given these pince-nez as a gift when I arrived in South Africa. They remind me of the fashions of a bygone era. When I wear them today, I still feel elegant and smart.”

Alexander Rabinovitz
b. 1934
Lugansk, Ukraine
Arrival in Israel: 1997

OBJECTS: Tool and menorah (example of things he repairs)

"In my retirement, I started repairing and fixing up antiques and other old things. I like working with my hands. I help out people from the club [Association of Concentration Camps & Ghetto Survivors in Israel] too when they need repairs at home. I put together many of the photo displays at the club.”

Helena Aronson
b. 1927 Pabianice, Poland
Arrival in UK: 1946

OBJECTS: British West Africa one penny coins

“My husband and I were in Lagos, Nigeria between 1957 and 1964 for his work with the meteorological stations of West Africa. Seeing the Magen David (Star of David) on the Nigerian money was quite a surprise. I was pleased to learn it was an emblem of Nigeria. Today, when I look at these coins, I recall those days with fondness, and I will remember the time forever.”

Ben Helfgott
Sir 
b. 1929 
Pabianice, Łódź, Poland
Arrival in UK: 1945

OBJECT: Barbell

“All of my adult life I have striven to overcome bigotry and racial prejudice brought about by ignorance and intolerance. To this purpose, I spend most of my time promoting research, education and remembrance of the Holocaust in the hope that its lessons may be learned and understood. Weightlifting helped me achieve the confidence to do this work.”

* Ben represented the UK for weightlifting at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

Eve R. Kugler
b. 1930 
Halle an der Saale, Germany 
Arrival in UK: 1990 (US arrival: 1941)

OBJECTS: New Yorker Magazines

“I was born in Germany, but I never identified as a German. I married an American man and settled in New York. In the 50 years I lived there, I became a New Yorker, and I very much feel American. I love the New Yorker Magazine not only because it is excellently written, but because it’s symbolic of who I became. Reading it makes me feel like the New Yorker I am.”

Erich Reich
Sir 
b. 1935 
Vienna, Austria
Arrival in UK: 1939

OBJECT: Wire bicycle

“I organized my first charity bicycle event in 1992. The charity events enabled me to give something back to the UK for allowing me in as an unaccompanied child refugee [on the Kindertransport]. The bicycle events which I organized helped the charities that benefitted thousands of people afflicted with various illnesses. They also challenged the participants physically.”

Hania Rosenberg
b. 1934 
Oświęcim, Poland
Arrival in Sweden: 1946

OBJECT: Mother’s coat

“This is my mother’s coat that she had for some 20 years before she passed away. I keep it because it makes me feel she is always with me. I put it on sometimes to be near her. My mother protected me all of my life, and her coat still protects me today.”

Emerich Roth
b. 1924 
Veľká Sevljuš, Czechoslovakia (today, Ukraine)
Arrival in Sweden: 1950

OBJECT: Swedish Heroes award (2012) (awarded by Aftonbladet evening newspaper)

“I received the 2012 Swedish Heroes award for my work and talks against racism and xenophobia. I was speechless when I saw how many people had gathered for the ceremony. It was a great sense of satisfaction and validation for all my efforts.”

Hedi Fisher
b. 1927
Balassagyarmat, Hungary
Arrival in UK: 1946

OBJECT: Hanukkiah (purchased in Israel approx. 1990)

“I was brought up in Hungary by orthodox parents. When I saw this Hanukkiah in a shop window in Tel Aviv, I bought it because it reminded me of my childhood. But it also expresses my love for Israel where I have been every year since 1956.”

Halina Yasharoff Peabody
b. 1932 
Kraków, Poland 
Arrival in USA: 1968 (via UK and Israel)

OBJECTS: Table tennis trophies

“I picked up table tennis as a hobby in my mid- teens at the Maccabi Youth Club in London [England]. Table tennis helped me to overcome my new environment, language and culture. In 1953, I represented England at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. I competed again in 1957 and then remained in Israel for 11 years. In 1959, I was crowned Israel’s women’s table tennis champion.”

Ziggi Shipper
B.E.M. 
b. 1930 
Łódź, Poland
Arrival in UK: 1946

OBJECTS: Stationary products

“I had been trained as a tailor, but I hated every minute of it. I went into the printing and stationary business because my father-in-law was a supplier. He gave me a job. A few years later, I branched out and opened my own business which I had until 2012. I couldn’t have had a better career because I was always with people. I love people.”

Margit Meissner
b. 1922 
Innsbruck, Austria
Arrival in USA: 1941

OBJECTS: Dolls

“These dolls were acquired on the many trips my husband and I took. The black one is an Argentine gaucho — the first one in the collection of some 200 dolls from 50 or so countries. The doll collection represents years of travel and learning about various cultures.”

Joan Salter
b. 1940 
Brussels, Belgium 
Arrival in UK: 1947 (via the United States)

OBJECT: Script (TV)

“I was a script writer for radio and television in the late 1980s/early 1990s. I did mostly comedy and comedy-drama. Writing fulfilled my creative nature. I really enjoyed it because I developed a whole set of characters and scenarios. Being a woman script writer at that time was unusual. It made my achievements all the more meaningful.”