The Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection

While a portion of my time interning at UNCA’s Special Collections was spent transcribing the oral histories of Hilde Hoffman, Richard Braun, and John Rosenthal, I spent the majority of my internship processing the Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, a brand new collection to UNCA, from beginning to end. There’s plenty of technical jargon that I could use to describe everything that I did, but I don’t think many people (save for librarians, archivists, and maybe historians) would enjoy that. Let it suffice to say that I gained an intimate knowledge of every single document and picture in this collection.  As an aspiring archivist with a background in history, I was excited about this project from the very beginning. I was going to see things that no other patron had ever seen! I was going to make it possible for this collection to be viewed by the world! Thanks to my work, the world was going to have access to a previously untold part of Jewish and Holocaust history! What I wasn’t expecting, however, was the “story” behind my work that would leave me devastated, shocked, inspired, and in awe.

This is the last segment of my Remembering the Holocaust series, and it is very special to me. It was an unbelievable pleasure and honor to work with Sharon Fahrer and her new collection. Now, originally this was intended to be a physical exhibit, but that is no longer possible (courtesy of Covid-19), so I’ve decided to create a sort of digital exhibit of some of my favorite pieces from the collection instead. The individuals discussed below are members of the Majerowicz family that were affected by the Holocaust. However, the full collection includes information on Sharon’s father, Irving Cantor, as well as other materials relating to Sharon’s research into her family’s history. I hope you are as inspired by the Majerowiczes remarkable journey as I was.

Arthur Majerowicz

Arthur Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Arthur Majerowicz was a German Jew, draftsman, and Sharon’s grandfather. He married Marie, a German non-Jew, and had three children: Kurt, Irma, and Ruth. While much of Arthur’s experiences during the holocaust remains unknown, we do know that Arthur successfully remained hidden from the Nazis for the entire duration of the war! We know this because, as if evading the Nazis wasn’t incredible enough,  Arthur reunited with Marie and their family after the Holocaust.

 

Arthur and Marie Majerowicz Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde membership card, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Arthur and Marie resumed their life together, living in a German displaced persons camp. Although Marie was not born Jewish, she and Arthur both held memberships to the Israelite Religious Community in Munich after the war, as can be seen from their membership cards to the right. Eventually, Arthur and Marie followed their daughter, Irma, and her husband Irving to the United States and living out their remaining years in New York.

 

 

 

Arthur Majerowicz Test Certificate, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

While Arthur’s file doesn’t have any primary sources from his time in hiding, it has a wealth of information about his life before and after the war, such as this certificate Arthur received for passing an exam that certified him in his field of work. This certificate, dated October 4th,  1911, was issued to Arthur after working in the field from 1907 to 1911.

Marie Majerowicz

Marie and Arthur Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Marie, Sharon’s grandmother, had quite a different experience from the rest of her family. Since Marie was not Jewish, she was not forced into a concentration camp. Instead, Marie suffered in a much different way. She continued living and working in Berlin, but she had to sit back and watch as her husband and children either faced persecution or fled to other countries where they would be safe.

Marie and Ruth Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

She had to read falsely cheery postcards from her son, who was in a workcamp, as well as the (clearly insincere and uncaring) letter the Nazis sent her when her son perished. She had to live with the anxiety everyday that her husband may be found. She had to send her youngest daughter to the Kindertransport program so that she could be taken away from her and sent to another country, where she would be safe.

 

 

Marie Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

On a table in her Berlin apartment, Marie kept pictures of all the Majerowicz family members (pictured in the background of the photo to the left), including the daughter-in-law and granddaughter (age two or three) who she never got to meet as both of them perished in a concentration camp. Undoubtedly a strong woman, Marie lived through the war, reunited with her husband and two out of three of her children, moved to the United States, and lived out the rest of her days.

Sigfried Majerowicz

Sigfried Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Sigfried’s story is a tragic one. Brother of Arthur and beloved uncle of Irma Majerowicz, Sharon’s mother, Sigfried did not live through the Holocaust. Not only was Sigfried Jewish, he was also openly homosexual. This was not one but two marks against him in the Nazis’ eyes.

Sigfried Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collections, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Even if he had not been Jewish, he most likely would have been targeted by Hitler simply because he was a gay man. Knowing that he was surely marked for death, Sigfried took his own life rather than face torture at the hands of the Nazis.

 

Kurt Majerowicz

Kurt Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Kurt, Sharon’s uncle, was the only son of Arthur and Marie Majerowicz. After the rise of the Nazis, Kurt fled to the Netherlands where he lived in several refugee camps as well as with a Dutch woman in Amsterdam before ending up in Westerbork, a work camp for Jews. This camp later became the transportation center for the deportation of Dutch Jews who were sent to concentration camps.

Power of Attorney document from Kurt in Westerbork, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

It was at Westerbork that Kurt met Rita Schlachet, a refugee from Austria. The two were married and had a baby girl, Marie. Eventually they were shipped off to concentration camps in Germany. Rita and baby Marie were sent to Auschwitz where they were murdered by the Nazis shortly after being transported. Marie was only a couple years old at the time of her death. Kurt was sent to Gros Rosen where he survived a little longer, but he eventually perished in Buchenwald.

 

Birthday postcard from Kurt, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Kurt’s mother received a very insincere letter regarding his death. A stolperstein, or a “stumbling stone,” was purchased later on by the family in Kurt’s memory. Stolpersteine are brass plates that are inscribed with Holocaust victims’ names and life dates. These plates are then fixed into sidewalks of various cities that participate in this program. Kurt’s stolperstein is located in Berlin.

Irma Majerowicz Cantor

Irma and a Friend in Germany Before the War, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Irma Majerowicz was Sharon’s mother and the eldest daughter of Arthur and Marie. Being of working age when the Holocaust began, Irma sought a way out of the country to escape the Nazis. Her opportunity came to her in the form of a test. Irma applied to a program that sent women to England to work as domestics in wealthy households. If Irma could clean a house spotless from top to bottom, she would be allowed to travel to England, where she could work cleaning the houses of wealthy people.

Irma and Kurt Majerowicz, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Irma passed the test with flying colors and proceeded to England, where she met Irving Cantor, and American soldier and  her future husband. Before she left for England, though, Irma visited Westerbork, where she saw her brother Kurt one last time. The photograph to the right is the last time Irma ever saw her brother alive.

Irma and Irving Cantor’s Wedding, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Irma followed Irving to the United States where they were wed at the Bay Shore Jewish center in New York. Irma lived out most of her life in New York state before following Sharon to Asheville where she lived for eleven years until her death at age 91.

Ruth Majerowicz Savoca

Ruth Majerowicz Kindertransport ID card, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Ruth was Sharon’s aunt and the youngest child of Arthur and Marie. Ruth’s story is very different from that of her parents and siblings. Born in 1929, Ruth was quite young when the Holocaust began and was unable to apply to work programs like her sister Irma. Instead, Ruth qualified for the Kindertransport, a program that worked to get children out of Nazi territory.

Ruth Majerowicz Savoca, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

The children were safely relocated in England where they were placed with families. At a young age, Ruth was take away from her family, friends, and country and thrown into a completely different world. Ruth was fortunate to be placed with extended family in England, but the experience of being uprooted and taken to a new country must have been difficult nonetheless. Having her life altered so drastically undoubtedly affected Ruth’s strength of will and perseverance. By age fourteen, Ruth was on her own in England and working as a secretary.

Ruth and Frank Savoca, Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collection, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Eventually, Ruth also made her way to the United States with the help of her sister’s husband, Irving Cantor, who sponsored her. Ruth settled in New York like her sister and parents. After relocating to the United States, Ruth met her husband, Frank Savoca. Before her death, Ruth and Sharon were able to participate in a reparations trip to Germany. Ruth was also able to connect with other individuals who had been Kindertransport children and had this unique experience during the war.

I hope this online exhibit has given you a glimpse into the different experiences that the Majerowiczes lived during the Holocaust. If you are interested in learning more about their journey, feel free to peruse the finding aid for the collection. Once the pandemic has passed and UNCA’s Special Collection is open once more, I would encourage each and every one of you to visit Special Collections at Ramsey Library to learn more about their collections on Jewish History and the remarkable stories these collections hold.

– Kristen Byrnes

Remembering the Holocaust Part 3: John Rosenthal’s Story

In honor of Yom Hashoah, the Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day, as well as the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we are continuing our Remembering the Holocaust project. This project pulls from two different collections at Ramsey Library Special Collections, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains and The Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, to explore, honor, and celebrate Holocaust survivors. This is the third installment in the series. John Rosenthal was a young boy from Cologne, Germany when the Nazis took over. John had a long journey before he and his family finally came to the United States, where they finally found a home.

A Tumultuous Journey

John Rosenthal’s Story

 

Rosenthal Family, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

Individuals experienced the Holocaust differently. For Frederick John Rosenthal, a young boy from Cologne, Germany, it began with being sent off to Holland. John’s parents, recognizing the growing tensions in 1933 with Hitler’s rise to power, thought it would be best to send John and his brother, Max Adolph, somewhere they would be safer. John and Max’s move to Holland was the first of many moves within the span of a couple of years. Because of constantly moving—much of which was to other countries—John’s education was interrupted. At times learning was extremely difficult due to language barriers.

John recalled one place, Landschulheim Herrlingen, in particular as extremely pleasant. Landschulheim Herrlingen was Jewish boarding school in southern Germany near Ulm. Located in the countryside, not far from what would later be the home of German General Erwin Rommel, Herrlingen provided John and his brother with a “beautiful education” that included music and crafts. However, Herrlingen was also short lived for John. One day, while jogging through the woods, John started limping and fell behind the others. It was discovered that John had contracted Polio and had to return home to Cologne. Back in Cologne John was given all sorts of treatments, from hydrotherapy to electroshock, and had to take two aspirins every night before bed just so he would withstand the pain enough to sleep. What helped the most, John remembered, is his father rubbing his thighs with extract of “bee poison” every night, which “had the effect of increasing blood circulation.” By this time things were tough for Jews in Germany. Jews could no longer attend German public school, go to the movies or opera, or even sit on park benches. “Everywhere you went and looked there were signs, ‘Juden unerwuenscht,’ or ‘Jews not wanted here.’” John also recalled kids chasing after him and throwing stones at him, yelling “Jud, Jud.”

Jewish School in Ulm, Germany, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

As things continued to worsen, the Rosenthals began to consider emigrating. They looked to friends in England and the United States for help. John’s father had to sell his business before they could leave. The buyer ended up being a former employee and friend of the Rosenthals who had joined the Nazi party. She bought the business for only 1/3 it’s actual worth. In the meantime, things were rapidly deteriorating for Jews. Daily life included things such as open trucks “filled with Nazi brown shirts, driving through the streets singing their Nazi songs, ‘When Jewish blood spurts from the knife, things go twice as well.’” Then came Kristallnacht.

On the morning of Kristallnacht, John’s father had left to go to the police headquarters to pick up their passports so they could leave for America. After being warned by friends about what was happening, he quickly returned home, gathered up his family and some provisions, and the Rosenthals hid for three days in the top story of their apartment building, among the washers and dryers. The Rosenthals all survived, although the Jewish high school and their synagogue did not.

Frederick John Rosenthal’s Passport, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

The Rosenthals were finally able to leave Germany—though not before they paid part of the Judenbusse, the penalty Jews were required to pay for a murder of a German diplomat by a Polish Jew, which was the official reason for Kristallnacht—so they headed to Switzerland before continuing to the United States. The elder Rosenthals had thought ahead and sent much of John’s mother’s jewelry and handmade dresses out of the country. These would provide them with a source of income once they were free from Germany.

The United States was a time of acclimation for John, who had to learn a new way of speaking and dressing. “…the English I learned was the King’s English and of course I was made fun of in school. Also, I wore short pants, which also were made fun of, so the two quickest acclimatizations were dropping the King’s English and dropping the pants to full length.” John’s parents continued moving the family around until John’s mother’s business was finally reestablished in New York City, where it became quite successful and included customers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, B. Altman, and Henri Bendel, and more. John helped out with the business by taking charge of all the incoming and outgoing correspondence. The United States was also where John received his first degree through a business school in New York.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, John was drafted into the United States Army where he was sent to the University of Minnesota as part of an Army Specialized Training Program. It was on his journey to Minnesota that John stopped off in Asheville, where he later returned to live.

John had a long, tumultuous journey before he and his family finally found a home. He is a reminder of the great lengths to which parents would go to keep their children safe, even though “safe” was a hard place to find during these trying times. The elder Rosenthals used every mean with in their capabilities to rescue their family from a terrible fate that many others were not fortunate enough to escape. Despite difficulties John faced, and perhaps even in defiance of the abuses John and his family experienced at the hands of the Nazis, they did finally find a safe place to call home.

John’s story is part of the Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains collection at D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, located at the University of North Carolina Asheville. This collection is a compilation of oral histories of Holocausts survivors. For more information on John and other survivors’ stories, visit Ramsey Library Special Collection’s online finding aid.

If you are interested in exploring more Holocaust survivor history, please see our newly processed collection, the Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection.

-Kristen Byrne

 

Remembering the Holocaust Part 2: Richard Braun’s Story

In honor of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, as well as the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we are exploring some of the stories in our Jewish History collections at Ramsey Library Special Collections. This week is the second installment of our Remembering the Holocaust series. Like Hilde Hoffman (from our previous post), Wolfgang Richard “Dick” Braun was a child during the rise of the Nazis. From recalling the prejudice he experienced at the hands of his fellow students to remembering the signs hung in public places saying “Jews not wanted,” Dick’s story shows us what it meant to internalize these abuses as a child, to accept them as “the order of things.”

“The Order of Things”

Dick Braun’s Story

Young Dick Braun, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

“The Germans swallowed Hitler lock-stock-and-barrel because he promised them a rebuilding of a greater Germany and he was well on his way,” remembered Wolfgang Richard “Dick” Braun. Dick was the son of affluent, well-educated parents who believed there was no way the good Germans could really subscribe to the Nazis’ silly propaganda. However, after reading Mein Kampf, Dick’s father took Hitler at his word and knew Hitler was very serious about his plans.

Dick’s memories of Nazi Germany were through the eyes of a child, as he was around 10 or 11 when Hitler came to power. Dick recalled kids coming to school in brown Hitler Youth uniforms and all the teachers wearing swastika buttons on their clothing. Eventually, Dick asked to be excused from the outings his class would take. These outings were part of the official school curriculum and involved things like hiking and were designed to help the kids develop an appreciation of nature. However, as Nazi ideals and prejudices continued gaining hold in German society, children like Dick experienced harassment and abuse at the hands of their fellow students. Dick remembered having to run away at times because it would become physical.

Wolfgang Richard Braun’s Passport Page 2, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

The racism didn’t just stop at school, though. Dick recalled seeing Nazi flags flying outside of people’s windows on holidays and knowing immediately what this meant–these individuals were antisemitic. They didn’t like people like Dick or his family. Dick also remembered seeing signs in public places that said things like “Jews not wanted.” He didn’t remember these things as painful, exactly, because children don’t really have any perspective on this. They simply see these sorts of prejudice and accept it as “the order of things.” Dick also recalled another tool of racism that the Nazis used called an Ahnenpaß, which was a sort of “ancestry pass.” These documents could be used to separate Jews from non-Jews and allow people like police officers to single out Jews for mistreatment. According to these documents, being 1/8 Jewish made you a Jew. Dick related it to racial distinctions that were made in the United States, where a drop of Black blood made you Black.

Dick Braun with His Paternal Grandmother and Cousin, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

Dick’s father, who was a physician, lost his practice in 1935 due to the Nuremburg Laws. It was then that Dick’s father decided they had to leave Germany. The elder Braun left for England to see whether this country would be a suitable place to relocate his family. While in England, Dr. Braun decided to travel to the United States as well and, after locating some family in the U.S. who were willing to provide the Brauns with affidavits, Dr. Braun decided the family would be relocating to the U.S. The Brauns were luck in that their entire family, save for Dick’s elderly paternal grandmother, made it out of Germany alive. As for Dick and his parents, they lived in Manhattan where life remained difficult as the U.S. was in the midst of a depression and Manhattan was overrun with doctors, making it more difficult for Dick’s father to find work.

Dick’s experiences are a painful reminder of the effects and influences that our beliefs and political policies have on children. Even though many gentile children previously had no issue with Jewish children, they learned this behavior from their parents and government. Even though Jewish children previously noticed no difference between themselves and their peers, they were taught to understand that they were separate and lesser. These lessons are internalized and, although it is possible to undo such social conditioning, the memories of segregation and hate and exclusion will remain.

Dick’s story is part of the Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains collection at D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, located at the University of North Carolina Asheville. This collection is a compilation of oral histories of Holocausts survivors. For more information on Dick and other survivors’ stories, visit Ramsey Library Special Collection’s online finding aid.

If you are interested in exploring more Holocaust survivor history, please see our newly processed collection, the Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection.

– Kristen Byrnes

Remembering the Holocaust Part 1: Hilde Hoffman’s Story

We are pleased to feature a series of blog posts in honor of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on Tuesday, April 21 this year. The posts were written and researched by Kristen Byrnes, an alum of the UNC Asheville History Department who is currently enrolled in UNC Greensboro’s Master of Library and Information Studies program. Kristen did this work as part of her practicum through UNCG’s MLIS program, working with several collections from UNCA’s Jewish Life in Western North Carolina Collections to illustrate the impact of the Holocaust on individuals. This first of four posts tells the story of Hilde Hoffman. Kristen’s posts will come out each week during April.

– Gene Hyde, Head of Special Collections.

This year’s Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is particularly special as this year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. In honor of this event, we will be celebrating our local Jewish community with a series of posts that highlight Holocaust survivors in Western North Carolina. These posts will pull from two incredible collections at are housed at Special Collections: Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains and the Sharon Fahrer Holocaust Collection, a new addition to our repository. Please enjoy the first installment of our Remembering the Holocaust series as we learn about Hilde Hoffman’s story.

Prejudice: A Learned Behavior:

Hilde Hoffman’s Story

Hilde Hoffman with lion cub, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

At first, the rise of the Nazis wasn’t particularly alarming, Hilde remembers. “I just heard the marching of big armies of people, marching and demonstrating and singing and the running around with flags and in the beginning, it seemed like just a very patriotic behavior after the war and no personal fear was felt. It wasn’t until… the end of 1934 when new rules were made.” These rules—which would change how Jews related and interacted with the rest of society—were even felt, though not always understood, by children.

From a young age Hilde knew she was Jewish, but that was the only difference she could see between herself and Lottie, her best friend who was not Jewish. Hilde and Lottie’s friendship continued during the rise of the Nazi party. The Nazis began to inject segregation into Germany’s school systems, prohibiting Jewish children from playing with their classmates at recess. They were made to eat lunch separately as well. Hilde remembers this isolation as absolutely devastating. Eventually, non-Jewish people were no longer allowed to interact with Jews. Despite this rule, Lottie’s aunts—at great risk to themselves—insisted Hilde accompany the aunts and Lottie on a vacation under the guise that Hilde was just another one of their nieces. This was the summer of 1934. This, Hilde says, show that “sincere friends are willing to take tremendous chances.” Hilde took a chance herself when she snuck into the church to see Lottie’s confirmation, an act that was absolutely forbidden. Hilde later received a photograph in the mail of Lottie in her white confirmation dress. Lottie’s confirmation in the Spring of 1935 would be the last time Hilde ever saw her.

“Prejudice is something we learn. We either learn it by seeing it from our elders, or it is taught in some schools, maybe, and we have to be careful that we don’t indulge in that because it’s going to poison our outlook in life and it limits our abilities…”

She also remembers witnessing segregation in larger society as Jews were prohibited visiting public places such as the theater, concerts, even the zoo. This was another shattering blow to Hilde, who had long loved the zoo. Since Hilde visited the zoo multiple times a week, she was familiar with all the zookeepers. She recalls the birth of a lion cub who was rejected by its mother. The zookeeper took this cub and placed it with his dachshund who had just given birth to puppies. The dachshund nursed the lion cub for a few weeks until the cub grew too large and the keepers began to bottle feed it. Throughout this time, Hilde visited the zoo often and knew of the lion cub’s progression. On the last day Jews were allowed to visit the zoo, Hilde’s father took her one last time. The zookeeper, seeing Hilde crying said, “if you father has a camera with him, why don’t you have your picture taken with your lion cub because then you’ll always remember.” Hilde sat on a bench with the cub, talked to him, and had her photo take with him.

Hilde with Lottie and Lottie’s aunts, Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville.

Hilde’s message for us is a call to educate ourselves. “You live in a free country, this is probably the best country in the whole world […] At one time Germany was a beautiful country, Russia was a more or less beautiful country, look what happened to all these countries because people didn’t care enough to maintain their society at a certain level of broadmindedness […] Try to get to know as many people as you can of as many different religions, of as many different nationalities or if you can travel you see them in their own country, which is even more educational. And after a while you will understand that doing this, you’re not losing a thing of your own identity, but you’re enriched by the things that you can learn from other people and that they can learn from you. And most of all, prejudice isn’t born in nobody. No baby ever that I’ve met and I’ve met a lot of babies, has shown any kind of prejudice. So prejudice is something we learn. We either learn it by seeing it from our elders, or it is taught in some schools, maybe, and we have to be careful that we don’t indulge in that because it’s going to poison our outlook in life and it limits our abilities and I think it takes away some of our happiness.”

Hilde’s story is part of the Choosing to Remember: From the Shoah to the Mountains collection at D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, located at the University of North Carolina Asheville. This collection is a compilation of oral histories of Holocausts survivors. For more information on Hilde and other survivors’ stories, visit Ramsey Library Special Collection’s online finding aid.

For Hilde’s full interview, please see the video below.

– Kristen Byrnes

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