The Shadow
The sun is bright, Birds flutter to and fro Ever-present but I was unaware: In the shadows lurks The Holocaust.
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Read reflections and testimonies written by Holocaust survivors in their own words.
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Yom Kippur Afternoon Services
I belong to a Reform synagogue. On Yom Kippur, I always go to the afternoon service, which is led by laypeople. When my sister, Edith, was alive, she often came with me because we didn’t need tickets, as we did for the morning service. Over the years, I have become a member of the Religious Practices Committee. Several years ago, the Reform movement published new prayer books for Shabbat and then the high holidays. Our congregation has been using them ever since except for the afternoon Yom Kippur service.
One Good Day
By train and boat, and other means, I arrived in Thorpe, Norwich, England, in June 1939 to live with the Harrisons. Mr. Harrison, Uncle Harry, read a sign on the bulletin board at the shoe factory where he worked, asking for families willing to take refugee children from Germany. I was just past my second birthday and had been brought from Germany by an organization called the Kindertransport. While I had three sisters, each living in separate places in England, I arrived by myself.
Monuments
As a Holocaust survivor and volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, I think much of the work we do here qualifies as building a kind of monument.
No Choice
The choice was made, Alone she would travel To a foreign country A new family To safety
Why Tell Our Stories
Wrapped in history Hearing our words go out in the world.
Reinhart
Recently, I spoke to a group of eighth graders via Zoom. From what I could see, the students in the several classrooms were very attentive and well prepared. Using the PowerPoint prepared by the Museum’s Office of Survivor Affairs, I told the story of my Holocaust experience.
What is America?
My mind was in turmoil. From one day to the next, I was whisked away from my happy, carefree life as a 10-year-old in Thorpe, England, to a large ship, on my way to America.
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Survivor Reflections and Testimonies
Listen to or read Holocaust survivors’ experiences, told in their own words through oral histories, written testimony, and public programs.