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Returning to the Site of their Childhood, 60 Years Later Holocaust Survivors Reunion
For a week this fall, 46 child Holocaust survivors returned to the Blankenese home on the Warburg family estate, where they convalesced after World War II some 60 years ago. Located outside of Hamburg, Germany, the estate -- once occupied by the Nazis and used as a military hospital — served as an idyllic setting in which child survivors could recoup their strength.
The home on the Warburg family estate was run by JDC with the support of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). The Warburg family's connection to JDC dates back to 1914 -- Felix Warburg was one of the founders of JDC and Edward Warburg served as a Chairman of JDC for some twenty-five years. The home offered accommodations in a pastoral setting for the nearly 400 children — most of whom were orphans — that resided there. Children stayed at the home for several months as they gained back their health and vigor. Most of these youngsters were then sent on to Israel. One of those present at the reunion, Dora, now 83, worked as the administrator of the home in 1946 and had not been back since. Upon entering the home, she reverted to her former role of mother hen, doting on the other attendees. Today she lives in England, where she is a linguist. Yossi, a child survivor from Poland, said that the Blankenese home was the first place that afforded him a childhood. He and his mother were the only survivors from an extended family of 102, all from Lodz, Poland. Today Yossi lives in Warsaw, where he works for JDC helping to "revive the Jewish community of Poland." Being at the reunion brought back warm memories for him because it was in Blankenese that, for the first time in his nine years of life, Yossi did not go hungry, he felt safe and was surrounded by warm loving people. "My mind and body grew stronger," he recounts, "and I knew that a new life awaited me in Israel, a new land full of hope and promise." Yossi's life has come full circle with his work at the Joint, which has given him the opportunity to help other Jews and to help ensure the continuation of Jewish life in Poland. Decemmber 2006 |
