Holocaust survivor speaks to Oley Valley students
On Nov. 15, 2016, Hilde Gernsheimer and her twin sons, Jeff and Jack, offered an inspirational story of hope, courage and survival to students enrolled in History of the Holocaust class at Oley Valley High School (OVHS). Gernsheimer was ten years old in 1936, two years into Adolf Hitler’s dictatorial rule, when the Nazis ordered that all Jewish children be banned from German public schools. Because of this, Gernsheimer was forced to attend a synagogue in a nearby town in order to continue her education. Then, in November 1938, the catastrophic night known as Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) occurred. Jewish businesses, homes, synagogues, etc., were burnt and heavily damaged, including property owned by Gernsheimer’s family. Her father was arrested that same night and taken to one of the first Nazi-run concentration camps. She remembers her father not even having time to tie his shoes as the Nazi authorities dragged him out of the house. Her father would later send a message to his wife warning her to quickly move the children to safety.
Gernsheimer and one of her sisters were soon accepted into the Kindertransport program that sent Jewish children to England so they could escape the dangers of Nazi-occupied Europe. Once across the English Channel, she and her sister stayed in a boarding school where they learned English and made new friends. Unfortunately, after the war was over in 1945, Gernsheimer realized that most of her family did not survive the Holocaust. She would then move to Canada and later to the United States, where she would start a family of her own.
Gernsheimer said she considers herself incredibly lucky because she survived, unlike the one million other Jewish children who suffered a cruel fate at one of the many infamous concentration or extermination camps. Her survival was something that she cherished, believing she had to “make the best of what was handed” to her. She continues to keep in touch with some of her other “family” members, the young Jewish girls who also endured the same life-saving voyage to escape the Nazis. Gernsheimer and her sons want to share their family’s experiences with others, in the hope that they will learn from this tragic chapter in history so it never repeats itself.
Once across the English Channel, Hilde and her sister stayed in a boarding school where they learned English and made new friends. Unfortunately, after the war was over in 1945, Mrs. Gernsheimer realized that most of her family did not survive the Holocaust. She would then move to Canada and later to the United States, where she would start a family of her own. Hilde considers herself incredibly lucky because she survived unlike the one million other Jewish children who suffered a cruel fate at one of the many infamous concentration or extermination camps. Her survival was something that she cherished, believing she had to “make the best of what was handed” to her. She continues to keep in touch with some of her other “family” members, the young Jewish girls who also endured the same life-saving voyage to escape the Nazis. Hilde and her sons want to share their family’s experiences with others, in the hope that they will learn from this tragic chapter in history so it never repeats itself.